Pharmacological Recommendations Medicine, Nursing Research Paper

Read the analysis of the scenario below and provide recommendations for alternative drug treatments to address the patient’s pathophysiology. Be specific and provide examples.
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Patient Scenario
The case is about a 46-year- old woman with complaints of hot flushing, night sweats, and genitourinary symptoms. Looking at the bigger picture based on the information presented in the scenario, there are several health needs have been determined. She weighs 230 pounds, suggesting that she has problems with obesity, and her blood pressure is 150/90 even if she is on current medication. It is also a possibility that the patient is currently in the menopausal transition. According to the National Institute on Aging (NIA), menopausal transition most often begins between ages 45 and 55, and the onset of this can also be affected by several factors. In a review conducted by Ceylan and Ozerdogan in 2015, studies have shown that a high body mass index (BMI) has been found to be associated with a higher menopause onset age, and it has been found that women with hypertension enter menopause at earlier ages.

Management and Treatment
The menopausal transition is one of the conditions that concern the patient. It begins on an average of four years before the final menstrual period that includes a number of physiologic changes that may affect a woman's quality of life (Casper, 2019). Therefore it is still early to treat it, but, the healthcare provider can assist in decision making regarding symptom management and timing of screening and intervention to address physiologic changes. Although menopausal symptoms are the patient’s main concern, uncontrolled hypertension is also highly important that needs to be addressed. The current medication regimen needs to be adjusted, by adding Clonidine 0.1 mg orally once a day and may increase frequency to twice a day. Clonidine is a medicine used to treat high blood pressure and prevent migraine headaches, and it is also a non-hormonal medicine that has been shown to be effective in reducing menopausal hot flushes (Kelsberg et al., 2016). A follow-up with the patient’s primary care provider is also warranted to evaluate the efficacy of added Clonidine to his blood pressure medication regimen.
Adherence to medication regimen along with lifestyle modifications should be encouraged in order for a more effective management of hypertension and obesity (Lee et al., 2015 & Clark, 2015). With patient already manifesting signs of the premenopausal syndrome, she is going to be at risk for cardiovascular disease, considering obesity as comorbidity that can be modified, considering weight loss through diet and exercise reduces the patient’s risk of death, and improve overall health.