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The FDA has just updated its warnings on cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins. These include Altoprev (lovastatin extended-release), Crestor (rosuvastatin), Lescol (fluvastatin), Lipitor (atorvastatin), Livalo (pitavastatin), Mevacor (lovastatin), Pravachol (pravastatin), and Zocor (simvastatin), as well as the combination products Advicor... (Read More)

Have you ever heard the phrase "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil"? Wonder where it comes from? This proverb about three monkeys is often used to refer to people who deal with bad behavior by pretending it... (Read More)

by Douglas J. Segan, MD, JD, FACEP Most of us dread going to the emergency room when we are sick or injured. Even under ideal circumstances, it is a scary experience. The pain, the noise, the dread of the unknown... (Read More)

I read your article about the danger some drugs pose for falls. I would like to share my experience. In October 2009, I underwent major spinal surgery. I was given a combination of pain meds. When I left the hospital,... (Read More)

Dangerous drug interactions are one of the most serious problems older people face. The more medicines they take the more likely there will be an incompatible combination. Combine the blood thinner warfarin (Coumadin) with a pain reliever like ibuprofen (Advil)... (Read More)

Researchers have estimated that medications cause 17 million visits to emergency rooms and 8.7 million hospitalizations each year [Johnson, J.A. and Bootman,, J. L. "Drug-Related Morbidity and Mortality: A Cost-of-Illness Model." Archives of Internal Medicine, 1995; 155:1949-1956.] It has been... (Read More)

Drug-Induced Nightmares Have you ever awakened in the middle of a nightmare? On the one hand it can be an enormous relief to realize that you are dreaming rather than actually be attacked by monsters or falling down a well.... (Read More)

In June of 2009 we answered the following question about the antibiotic clindamycin: "Q. For an abscessed tooth, I was given a prescription antibiotic called clindamycin. Ever since I took it, I have had unremitting diarrhea. Now my dentist wants... (Read More)

Last week we asked the question "What Do Doctors Do to Piss You Off"? We were overwhelmed by the response. (Read More)

Whenever we talk with people who have seen a doctor recently, they are generally happy to have gotten helpful advice and treatment. But there are usually two or three things about the visit that drove them nuts. High on the... (Read More)

We can think of few diseases that are more dreadful than ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). Losing muscle control to the point of total paralysis takes an incredible toll on the patient and the family. We speak from personal experience. A... (Read More)

A decade ago the prestigious Institute of Medicine (IOM) shook the medical community to its foundation. The IOM estimated that almost 100,000 Americans die in hospitals every year as a consequence of errors.What can people do to protect themselves and... (Read More)

The People's Pharmacy and ConsumerLab.com Find Generic Antidepressant Behaves Differently from Original Drug. May Explain Complaints by Patients. (Read More)

Doctors hate side effects. After all, physicians are supposed to follow the adage first, do no harm. Yet every medication they prescribe can cause problems.That poses a dilemma for any doctor prescribing drugs. Perhaps that's why many physicians discount patient... (Read More)

Generic drugs are supposed to be identical to their brand name counterparts. For nearly 30 years, we believed this argument. All that changed several years ago. Have you had a negative experience with a generic drug? (Read More)