Q. I am 13 years old. I read an article for current events titled “nicotine may aid memory.” If you don’t smoke, is it okay to use a nicotine patch just to boost your memory?
A. The research on nicotine and memory is intriguing, but the studies are still preliminary. The most recent research from Duke University found that nicotine patches reduced “senior moments” in a small group of older people.
The nicotine patch can have side effects such as nausea, dizziness and rapid heart rate. It can’t be recommended to boost memory in young healthy people like you.
Q. My husband has been taking Lipitor for years with no special instructions or restrictions. I take Estrace for hot flashes, Synthroid for my thyroid, verapamil for blood pressure and sometimes Sonata to help me get back to sleep.
We recently changed pharmacies and we were both told to avoid grapefruit. Our trees produce delicious fruit and we’d hate to give them up, so my husband asked his physician how important it is. The doctor said not to worry. Do you have any information to explain this contradiction?
A. Grapefruit has the potential to affect several of your medications. Blood levels of Lipitor, Estrace, verapamil and Sonata may be higher in the presence of grapefruit. This could increase the risk of side effects.
To help you better understand this interaction we are sending you our Guide to Grapefruit Interactions along with a one-hour CD of a radio interview we conducted Dr. David Bailey, the researcher who discovered the grapefruit effect. You may wish to share this with your doctor. Anyone who would like copies, please send $17 in check or money to: Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy, No. CDJ-413, P. O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027.
Q. I have degenerative disc disease. My doctor prescribed physical therapy, but I found it difficult. It felt like I would take one step forward and two back, so the doctor prescribed Celebrex to ease back pain.
About a week after starting Celebrex, I landed in the hospital with horrendous head pain and blood pressure of 225/125. (I had never before had high blood pressure. When I’d taken it ten days before, it was borderline at 139/82, as it had been for some time.)
There was no warning with the Celebrex that it could cause an increase in blood pressure, but the emergency room physicians said right away that there could be a connection.
It took four days in the hospital to get me stabilized. Why wasn’t I warned that Celebrex could increase blood pressure?
A. A study of more than 80,000 nurses (Archives of Internal Medicine, Oct 28, 2002) showed a connection between pain relievers and blood pressure: “Use of NSAIDs and use of acetaminophen were significantly associated with increased risk of hypertension, but aspirin use was not. A substantial proportion of hypertension in the United States.may be due to the use of these medications.”
Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, etc) and naproxen (Aleve) are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). So are newer pain relievers like Celebrex, Vioxx and Bextra.
Most people do not experience blood pressure elevation with such medicines, but some, like you, appear vulnerable to this problem. We don’t know why your doctor didn’t mention this possible side effect.
The People's Perspective on Medicine