Drug Side Effects
Learn what others have experienced when taking medications. Which side effects should you be alert for? Share your own experience so others can learn.
Is It Illegal to Get Your Prescriptions from Can…
Q. What's the latest on buying prescription drugs from Canada? The cost of brand name medications is destroying us financially. Is it true that buying drugs from a Canadian pharmacy is illegal? A. In …
Patients Are in the Dark About Drug Pros and Con…
If your doctor told you he could leap tall buildings in a single bound like Superman, you would be skeptical. But if he told you that a drug or a surgical treatment would cure what ails you, you might…
Sore Arm Persists for Weeks after Receiving Flu …
Q. It has been seven weeks since I had my annual flu shot, and my arm is still sore at the injection site. I do not think I have a Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration (SIRVA) from having…
Blood Pressure Pills Are Contributing to Nerve D…
Q. I have high blood pressure for which I take metoprolol, hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), hydralazine and lisinopril. I have developed pins and needles in my fingers and numbness in my hands that keeps m…
Is MiraLAX Safe for Children?
Q. My 2-year-old grandson has problems with constipation, and his pediatrician has recommended MiraLAX to be taken daily. He has now been taking it for about two months. I am concerned that his pediat…
Prostate Pill Leads to Stuffy Nose
Q. Is a stuffy nose a side effect of Flomax? I can't think of any other reason my nose is so stuffed up. A. In the studies done for this drug to be approved to relieve symptoms of an enlarged prostate…
Anti-Anxiety Drugs Raise the Risk of Alzheimers …
Are anti-anxiety agents and sleeping pills making us stupid? That is a question that is giving some scientists nightmares. These are among the most prescribed drugs in America. Alprazolam (Xanax) is d…
Popular PPI Heartburn Drugs Have Scary Side Effe…
Q. More and more evidence suggests that long-term use of PPIs is bad for health. I've read they contribute to osteoporosis, C diff, pneumonia, vitamin deficiencies and other problems. There are 30 mil…
New Eliquis (Apixaban) Alert: Unexpected Side Ef…
A few years ago we received alerts about an increasing number of serious bleeding episodes associated with the anticoagulant Eliquis (Apixaban). This medication is prescribed to prevent blood clots in…
Corn Syrup Study Raises Red Flag
Just how risky is a sweet tooth? While we have been warned not to overdose on sugar or high-fructose corn syrup, we are usually assured that they are identical in their physiological effects. Now a st…
Does General Anesthesia Affect Brain Function?
Q. I know two senior citizens (in their 70s) who had misadventures with surgical anesthesia. They are both rapidly losing their short-term memory. Do specific anesthesia drugs cause this in geneticall…
Natural Vitamin D3 is Easier on the Stomach
Q. My doctor says I need to take vitamin D3, but I know from past history that vitamin D3 upsets my stomach, no matter what the dose. I was pleased to learn that there are two different kinds of vitam…
Flu at Epidemic Levels! What Should You Do?
Have you noticed that friends, family and co-workers are sick? Perhaps you too have fallen prey to this year's influenza virus. Well, the CDC has just acknowledged that the country is in the midst of …
Blood Pressure Pill Makes Skin Sensitive to Sun
Q. I am taking Dyazide for high blood pressure and have developed skin rashes and itching when exposed to the sun even after generous coatings with sunscreen. What is it and why does exposure to sunsh…
Can Cocoa Substitute for Aspirin?
Q. My husband takes a baby aspirin every day on the advice of his doctor. He wants me to do the same, but I am afraid to. Years ago, before I met him, I had a frightening allergic reaction to aspirin.…
Hallucinating Ghosts on Tramadol
Q. I was recently prescribed tramadol for pain from a bad hip. (There is probably surgery in my future.) I ended up with hallucinations. Ghost-like people were floating along next to my shoulder. I th…
Blood Pressure Pill May Lead to Hair Loss
Q. I am a 47-year-old female who once had very thick red wavy hair. It was so thick hairstylists would comment on it. In the past several months, however, I have been losing so much hair that I am rea…
Vitamin C Can Protect Stomach from NSAID Injury
Q. I read that taking vitamin C at the same time as aspirin can reduce stomach irritation. Does this protective effect of vitamin C also apply to other NSAIDs such as ibuprofen or naproxen? A. One of …
Do Statins Mess Up Mental Function?
There are few more contentious issues in cardiology today than the pros and cons of statins. These cholesterol-lowering medications are among the most successful drugs in history. Statins Save Lives! …
Falls Can Be a Deadly Consequence of Medicine
Decades ago Mom and Dad protected you from accidents and picked you up if you fell. Now it's time for you to return the favor. A fall can be life-threatening for an older person. A broken hip can lead…
Does Antidepressant Act Like An Aphrodisac?
Q. I have been taking Wellbutrin (bupropion) for depression for seven years. I don't think it increases my sex drive, but it doesn't interfere with it either. Before that I took sertraline during a ve…
Drug Combo Causing Intolerable Dry Mouth
Q. My mother has atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure. She takes Lasix for heart failure and Detrol for an overactive bladder. Her arthritis is troublesome, and her doctor prescribed Lyric…
Trouble with Tramadol
Doctors often worry about their chronic pain patients becoming addicted to narcotics. That may explain the popularity of a pain reliever perceived as non-addictive. Tramadol is categorized as a weak o…
Paracetamol Is Acetaminophen
Q. I have taken just about every arthritis medicine known to man including Advil, Voltaren, Aleve, Celebrex and Vioxx. They either make me constipated or give me a stomach ache. A friend from Australi…
All Adults Between 66 and 75 Should Be On Statin…
A research letter in JAMA Internal Medicine (online, Nov. 17, 2014) points out that 97% of older Americans between 66 and 75 years of age should be taking statin-type cholesterol-lowering drugs. That …
Reflux Drugs Reduce Diversity of Gut Microbes
Scientists at the Mayo Clinic noted that people taking the strong acid-suppressing drugs called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) to treat reflux are more susceptible to intestinal infections such as thos…
Getting Patients to Take Their Medicine
Doctors usually assume that if their patients would only take their medicine as prescribed, they would get better. The problem is that only about half of all those getting a prescription follow throug…
Did Cholesterol Drug Take the Joy Out of Sex?
Q. I am a healthy 53-year-old man with high cholesterol. I take atorvastatin to keep it under control. Soon after starting on this drug I noticed that my erections were softer. Cialis solved that prob…
Should You Give Up On Aspirin?
The headlines were grim. If you read no further you would conclude that aspirin is a bust when it comes to heart health. Here is just a small sampling of the spin on the latest aspirin study: "AHA: As…
Scary Reaction to Flu Shot
Q. I was given a flu shot at a routine doctor visit. Afterwards, I didn't feel well. I went to bed early and slept for over 11 hours. The following day, I began to have difficulty breathing. I thought…
New Discoveries Confirm Amazing Aspirin Benefits
Aspirin is more than 100 years old and it is still capturing headlines. Research continues to reveal new uses for this ancient drug. Aspirin Against Cancer A number of studies have shown that aspirin …
CoQ10 Eases Gulf War Syndrome
Almost a third of the troops that fought in the Persian Gulf War in 1990 and 1991 were later diagnosed with Gulf War syndrome. What Is Gulf War Syndrome? This is characterized by muscle pain, weakness…
Did Ballerina’s Pain Reliever (Ibuprofen) …
Q. I am a 56-year-old woman recovering from a stroke. Although my general health was very good, I had long used NSAIDs to ease the pain and inflammation of chronic injuries from 35 years teaching clas…
RLS Drug Triggered Serious Gambling Addiction
Q. I have had restless leg syndrome (RLS) for as long as I can remember. I've been on a lot of different medications that did not work. When I started taking ropinirole (Requip) several years ago, I f…
The Dangerous Dilemma of Sleeping Pills
Insomniacs are caught in a classic double bind. On the one hand, they are told that the consequences of chronic sleep deprivation include hypertension, heart failure, obesity, depression, cognitive dy…
Propofol Linked to Less Confusion after Surgery
Q. After reading your column on the aftereffects of anesthesia, I want to share my own experience. I had severe memory lapses for months after undergoing anesthesia. It was like knowing something was …
Treating Restless Legs Could Trigger Compulsive …
Some medications prescribed to control the tremor of Parkinson's disease patients and the discomfort of restless leg syndrome can have unanticipated side effects. Compulsive Behaviors Some people taki…
Children Are Frequently Given the Wrong Dose
A new study shows that parents and caregivers frequently miscalculate the dose of pain medicine and fever reducers for children. The younger the child, the more likely there will be a dosing error. Po…
Patients in Pain Are Outraged about New Hydrocod…
On October 6, 2014, a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) decision to restrict access to hydrocodone combination pain relievers (HCPs) went into effect. Medications like Lortab, Norco, Vicodin and g…
The Battle Behind the Black Box Warning for Chan…
Last week there was high drama at the Food and Drug Administration. The maker of the stop-smoking drug Chantix (varenicline) wanted the FDA to remove the black box warning for this medication alerting…