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.
Constipation Is a Common Complication of Pain Me…
Narcotic medications can be essential for managing severe pain, but they also can cause quite serious constipation that is difficult to control with everyday remedies or laxatives. Sometimes the const…
High-Dose Antidepressants Can Be Dangerous for A…
Teenagers and young adults are twice as likely to hurt themselves or attempt suicide when taking high doses of antidepressant medication. That is the conclusion of a study of more than 160,000 patient…
Taking a Statin to Lower Cholesterol Resulted in…
Many people have found that statins have side effects that are difficult to endure. Although patients may complain of nerve pain or numbness in fingers and toes, doctors sometimes don't make the conne…
Can Too Many Tums Cause Trouble?
Q. My wife has been taking three Tums tablets (750 mg) daily for years as a source of calcium. Is this amount safe? She has lost her appetite. A. Your wife is getting 2250 mg of calcium carbonate dail…
Diabolical Dilemma: High Blood Pressure or Risk …
Q. I am a 73 year old retired RN who has been treated for high blood pressure since last August by an internist and a cardiologist. Every prescription they have written has had adverse side effects fo…
Are Popular Pain Relievers Really Killing People…
Every day millions of people swallow pain relievers such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, etc), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn, etc) or prescription medications such as celecoxib (Celebrex), diclofenac (Catafl…
Will E-Cigarettes Help Smokers Quit?
Q. I have recently started using an e-cigarette. It has dramatically cut down my smoking of traditional cigarettes plus there is no smoke smell or residual on clothing or furniture. I initially experi…
Heartburn Drugs Trigger Mysterious Rash That May…
Q. When I read in your newsletter that PPIs like omeprazole can trigger an autoimmune rash, I almost fell out of bed. My husband has had an awful skin condition for six months. It began about two mont…
Scientists Fight About Statin Side Effects
Q. I work in the pharmaceutical industry and find your articles on statin side effects scare people unnecessarily. You fail to mention the benefits of lowering cholesterol. Patient stories do not qual…
Multiple Blood Pressure Pills Add Up to Dangerou…
Q. I take amlodipine, lisinopril and metoprolol for high blood pressure. My readings are 115/56. I get terribly dizzy, especially when I first stand up. My doctor says low blood pressure is not danger…
Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs): A Flawed Go…
We are frequently told that randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials are the gold standard for high quality drug research. Heck, we've even said it ourselves on numerous occasions.…
Drug for Prostate Made Penis Shrink
When your doctor recommends a medication that you will take for a long time, it makes sense to find out what side effects it may cause. Some men were alarmed to discover that their prostate medication…
Heartburn Drugs Linked to Rare Autoimmune Skin R…
Powerful acid suppressing drugs called proton pump inhibitors or PPIs may cause an autoimmune skin condition called subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus. This unpleasant blistering rash may be trigg…
Pros & Cons of Osphena for Vaginal Discomfo…
Q. I went through menopause several years ago and have struggled ever since with vaginal dryness and pain. A few years ago I used Premarin cream, but it was messy and smelly and I was scared that it m…
The Dark Side of Aggressive Blood Pressure Treat…
Every one knows the dangers of hypertension. We are repeatedly told that the "silent killer" leads to heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease, blindness and dementia, to name just some of the scary con…
Aggressive Blood Pressure Treatment Leads to Fal…
Older people treated aggressively for hypertension may be at higher risk for injuries from falling. Investigators tracked roughly 5,000 Medicare beneficiaries for three years. These senior citizens ha…
Will Your Pain Reliever Trigger a Heart Attack?
A high-stakes drama unfolded at the FDA recently but very few people appreciated its significance. Naproxen, sold over-the-counter as Aleve and by prescription as Anaprox and Naprosyn, is a popular no…
Statin Ruined His Bodybuilding Career
Q. I am a 63-year-old male who competes at the national level in masters bodybuilding. My doctor had me take Crestor for one month and my total cholesterol went from 260 to 189. Sounds good, right? Th…
How Long Do Drug Side Effects Last? For Some, Pe…
When most physicians prescribe medications, they may not realize they could be in danger of violating the Hippocratic principle to first do no harm. That's because virtually every drug has the potenti…
Fenofibrate Side Effects, Interactions & Co…
Q. You responded to a patient who was worried that his blood pressure may have gone up because of Trilipix (fenofibric acid) to lower cholesterol. Please be cautious when you tell someone a medication…
Naproxen Label Will Continue to Warn of Cardiova…
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (or NSAIDs) have been linked to a variety of cardiovascular complications. Pain relievers like ibuprofen, found in Advil and Motrin, as well as Celebrex, diclofena…
Does Sex Matter? The FDA Doesn’t Know What…
If you watched 60 Minutes the other night you would have seen a fascinating story titled "Sex Matters: Drugs Can Affect Sexes Differently." Lesley Stahl challenged the FDA on its traditional policy of…
Do Statins Cause Erectile Dysfunction?
Q. The pain and trauma of erectile dysfunction in a loving relationship cannot be underestimated. I am a mature woman in a relationship with a man I adore who has ED. A blood pressure medication chemi…
Lanolin Allergy Aggravated Chapped Lips
Q. Some lip balms made my chapped lips worse. I had rough raw skin from my nose to my chin. Then I remembered that my mother is allergic to lanolin (sheep's wool oil). Once I stopped using products wi…
Dabigatran – Pradaxa Side Effects, Interac…
The blood-thinning drug Pradaxa made headlines when a New York Times article by Katie Thomas blew the lid off insider communications. The scandal hit the fan because a federal judge in Illinois releas…
Statins & Irreversible Muscle Damage, ALS-L…
For decades we have been receiving messages from people who have experienced devastating and debilitating muscle damage from their use of drugs like atorvastatin (Lipitor), rosuvastatin (Crestor) and …
Are Testosterone Supplements the Solution to Sta…
Q. My husband takes atorvastatin (10 mg) to control his cholesterol level, which is now 150. He is on Seroquel for anxiety and depression, thyroid hormone, and Androgel. Why doesn't the doctor take hi…
Are Older People Being Overmedicated?
Older adults often have more medications than other patients. This is partly because aches, pains and serious conditions tend to accumulate along with birthdays. But it is also partly because doctors …
Levaquin (Levofloxacin) Side Effects Leave Long-…
Antibiotics are magical. Americans think of such drugs as miracle medicines. It all stems from the discovery of penicillin. Here was a drug that changed history. People who would have normally died fr…
Could My Medicine Be Causing Excruciating Leg Cr…
Q. Several years ago my doctor prescribed 20 mg of Lipitor. Since then doctors have gradually raised the dose till I am now on 80 mg of generic atorvastatin. Initially I experienced calf cramps that…
Ambien Can Trigger Bad Heartburn Along with Slee…
Q. Doctors believe Ambien is a relatively benign sleeping pill, but it wreaked havoc with my stomach. The bloating was the worst, followed closely by the acid reflux and extreme eructation (burping be…
Did Drug Taken to Prevent Diabetes Lead to Vitam…
Q. I recently started vitamin B12 injections. I had gone to my doctor with numbness and tingling in my hands and feet, fatigue and memory changes. He gave me extensive neuropsychiatric testing and did…
Don’t Let Older People Die Needlessly from…
Henry's kitchen table is littered with drug paraphernalia. There are syringes, bottles, vials, nebulizers and a pill cutter. Henry is not a drug abuser...rather he is a senior citizen with a pill prob…
Omeprazole and Metformin Combined to Cause Vitam…
Gastroenterologists have been very enthusiastic about proton pump inhibitors, PPIs. These acid-suppressing drugs work extremely well in treating ulcers and severe reflux disease. Physicians often pres…
Drugs for GERD Can Deplete the Body of Crucial V…
Some of the most common pills in the pharmacy might deplete the body of a crucial nutrient. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are powerful acid suppressors and are prescribed for stomach ulcers and seve…
Antibiotic Ended His Participation in Basketball
Q. I was taking a 30-day prescription for Cipro. After playing full court basketball, I awoke the next morning to knees that felt as though they were encased in concrete. Ever since that time (20 mont…
Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs Interfere with Life-S…
Ask most health professionals about the most valuable thing you can do for good health and you're likely to be told to exercise. Regular physical activity is good for the heart, the brain and the body…
How to Manage Low T Without Taking Testosterone …
Q. I recently learned through testing that I have borderline low testosterone. My doctor suggested medication but the possible side effects concern me. Are there natural ways to increase testosterone …
Spiriva (Tiotropium) Side Effects & Memory …
You may have seen commercials of a person with an elephant sitting on her chest. Here's a link in case you may have missed them. It's a clever marketing strategy to reinforce the idea that a serious b…
Difficulties Getting Off Cymbalta Have Her Looki…
Q. Over the last 10 years I have been on various antidepressants, including Prozac (fluoxetine), Zoloft (sertraline), Effexor (venlafaxine), Lexapro (escitalopram) and Cymbalta (duloxetine). I have ex…