Multiple Drugs May Pose Dangers

Newspaper Columns, Pharmacy Q&A June 12, 2007

Q. My husband takes Coreg, Lanoxin, amiodarone, Lasix, metolazone, Lipitor, aspirin, Uroxatral, Renagel, potassium and insulin. He also gets a shot of Procrit weekly for severe anemia caused by kidney problems.

He takes so many pills it gets very confusing. Even though he uses a pill container to help him keep things straight, I discovered amiodarone in with his Lasix, so he was taking double doses of this heart medicine some days. If he thinks he forgot a pill, he takes an extra. Does he really need all this medicine?

A. Only your husband’s doctors can determine if there are medications he may not need. He does need someone to review all his drugs, however. We have detected a number of potentially dangerous interactions among the drugs on this long list.

We are sending you our Guide to Drugs and Older People with a Drug Safety Questionnaire to help his doctors and pharmacist evaluate his medications. It can be downloaded for $2 from the Website: www.peoplespharmacy.com.

Reader Comments

I've been taking Uroxatral for the past two months. During this time, I've had short-term lowered blood pressure, 99/51 (normal around 125/70), and what I describe as "skipped heart beats," sometimes every two or three beats.

I researched Uroxatral, then discontinued its use. The symptoms disappeared. I haven't reported the above to my cardiologist yet. I have not had any previous heart problems.

Posted by: Ed Barrett | August 20, 2007 9:41 AM

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Joe Graedon is a pharmacologist. Teresa Graedon holds a doctorate in medical anthropology and is a nutrition expert. Their syndicated radio show can be heard on public radio. In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of this newspaper or e-mail them via their Web site: www.PeoplesPharmacy.com.

The People's Pharmacy® with Joe and Terry Graedon

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