I don't really think of 74 as being that old. As I often do, I hung out, the other day, with my dear friend J's parents. (They're almost like family; they've practically adopted me for the last 25 years.) They're 77 and 79, and they are both still alert and spry.

I would not take it trivially, if a doctor said that prescription medication addiction didn't matter, at their age. I'd either straighten the doctor out, or seek a doctor with a different perspective and attitude.