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.
Did Cholesterol Drug Trigger ALS?
Q. My wife took Lipitor to lower her cholesterol. When her legs began to hurt, she quit taking it. She still couldn't ride the mower, one of her pleasures. She was diagnosed with ALS and passed away l…
Antibiotics and Sudden Death?
The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published a provocative article this week titled "Azithromycin and the Risk of Cardiovascular Death." It stimulated dramatic headlines: "Popular Antibiotic M…
Did Grapefruit Plus Lipitor Lead to Accident?
What harm could it do to combine grapefruit with a cholesterol-lowering drug such as atorvastatin or simvastatin? Some of our readers have had serious incidents, possibly as a consequence of an intera…
Be Aware of Tekturna Interactions
Q. Do you know anything about a new blood pressure drug called Tekturna? Three months after my doctor prescribed this pill I developed the most horrendous deep cough. I thought it was whooping cough. …
How to Handle Hot Flashes?
Q. I am at my wit's end. I've been taking Prempro for hot flashes. Now my doctor wants me to stop because of cancer concerns. Whenever I quit, though, the hot flashes return worse than ever. My friend…
Vitamin Overdose Damages Nerves
Vitamins are essential compounds that we don't make ourselves. Consequently, we must get them from our food, or failing that, from supplements. In most cases, people can't get too much of any vitamin …
New Warning for Finasteride
The Food and Drug Administration has modified the labeling information for the hair loss drug Propecia and the prostate medicine Proscar. Both drugs contain finasteride. The labels for both medication…
Old-Fashioned Remedy Causes Purple Penis
Q. I have been breastfeeding my baby for seven months and have suffered through recurring infections with Candida albicans. The antifungal pill fluconazole worked but I needed a very high dose. That w…
Horrible Cough from Blood Pressure Pill
Q. I was given a prescription for lisinopril last year to lower my blood pressure. During the winter I developed a constant horrible dry cough that just wouldn't go away. One day at work I started cou…
Drug Causes Diarrhea from Hell
Bathroom functions make us uncomfortable and as a result people tend to crack jokes about them. Euphemisms for diarrhea--the runs, the trots, Montezuma's revenge or the squirts--tend to minimize diges…
Depo-Provera Boosts Risk of Breast Cancer
A contraceptive medication has unwelcome hazards. Depo-Provera is injected every three months to provide long-lasting protection from pregnancy. The ingredient, medroxyprogesterone, is the same synthe…
Niacin Side Effects: Hot Flashes Are Nasty
Q. I am taking niacin 1000 mg to improve my good cholesterol. I get a hot flash about 20 minutes later that lasts about 15 minutes. Is this normal? My doctor recommended niacin since the bad LDL chole…
Antibiotics and Eye Damage
A class of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones has just been linked to a risk of retinal detachment. These medications have long been a mainstay for treating a wide variety of infections including sin…
Cough Medicine Triggers Panic Attack
Q. My daughter just told me a horror story about a close friend of hers. This young woman became depressed at college and was taking Zoloft. When she caught a bad cold and took over-the-counter cough …
Drugs Affect Quality of Life
Physicians assess treatment success by looking at numbers. Blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and thyroid function are all tracked with numbers. The goal is usually to get these measurements int…
Tramadol Side Effects and Withdrawal are Dauntin…
Doctors love tramadol (Ultram, Ultracet) because it is perceived as safer than narcotics like hydrocodone (Lortab, Norco, Vicodin, etc.) or oxycodone (Oxycontin, Percocet, etc). In case you had not no…
Potassium Plus Blood Pressure Pills A Deadly Mix
Do you know how your diet relates to your medication? Prescribers don't always mention dietary precautions when they hand out a prescription. But often they should discuss this to avoid a potential pr…
Can Prozac (Fluoxetine) Provoke Violence?
Q. Is it possible Prozac may trigger violent and irrational reactions? Last year my son, who had been put on Prozac by his psychiatrist, had what I would call a gigantic temper tantrum. He destroyed h…
Sleeping Pill Worsens Reflux
Q. I have been on Ambien or zolpidem for five years for insomnia. My reflux has gotten worse and worse until it became debilitating last year. I've had every test imaginable and have seen a GI doctor…
Sleeping Pills Have Scary Side Effects
Are you dying for a good night's sleep? If you rely on sleeping pills, you might literally be putting yourself at risk of premature death. That's the conclusion from a careful analysis of the records …
Drowsy Driving Caused Car Crash
Q. Last month I rear-ended another car because I was drowsy. There wasn't much damage, but it scared the heck out of me. After the accident, I asked my doctor for help with my sleeping problem and he …
Woman Bothered By Bigger Breasts
Q. My doctor prescribed hormone replacement therapy, but I find it has made my breasts bigger. Every estrogen I have looked up has the same side effect listed. Some of my other drugs (Claritin, nortri…
Simvastatin Side Effects: Diabetes & What E…
The Food and Drug Administration upset the applecart when it announced that statin-type cholesterol-lowering medications like simvastatin (Zocor) could raise blood sugar levels and increase the risk f…
Blood Pressure Pill Proved Deadly
High blood pressure is a risk factor for strokes and heart attacks as well as kidney disease and other chronic conditions. Doctors can choose from a wide range of medications to control hypertension. …
Quality Problems Lead to Shortages
Ask any hospital pharmacist in America about current drug shortages and you are likely to hear a tale of woe and intrigue. Most have never seen anything like this crisis during their professional care…
New Warnings on Statins
The FDA says statin-type cholesterol-lowering drugs can cause memory problems. Drugs like atorvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin and simvastatin are widely prescribed to lower cholesterol and reduce th…
Sleeping Pill Dangers
A study of more than 30,000 patients has concluded that those who take popular prescription sleeping pills like Ambien, Lunesta or Sonata are at a greater risk of dying over the next several years. Th…
Can Statins Cause Diabetes?
Q. I am having a statin and blood glucose problem. I am NOT a diabetic! My readings have all been great up until recently. I do have numerous family members who are Type 2 diabetics however. I was rec…
Sleeping Pill Use Linked to Early Death
Researchers analyzing the electronic health records of more than 30,000 patients have found that those taking popular sleeping pills such as temazepam (Restoril), zolpidem (Ambien), eszopiclone (Lunes…
FDA Warns of Memory Problems with Statins
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 (atorv…
Prostate Drug Complicates Cataract Surgery
Q. I need cataract surgery and have been told I must stop taking Flomax pills two weeks beforehand. I need an alternative drug to help me urinate. Otherwise I might explode or end up in the emergency …
Handling Hot Flashes Without Estrogen
Q. Why are doctors so determined that menopausal patients should take estrogen? When I told my doctor that I am reluctant to take Premarin for fear of cancer, she actually said that cancer is no big d…
Generic Alprazolam Causes Withdrawal Side Effect…
Q. I made it clear to my doctor a few years back that the generic brand for Xanax does not work effectively. It is at best 50% effective. I first realized how poorly it worked about 3 years ago when I…
Will Ginkgo Help Short Term Memory Problems?
Most people worry about their memory, especially when they forget things they shouldn't, like an important birthday or a PIN number or a password. There's nothing much scarier than the fear of dementi…
Hip Fractures Linked to Heartburn Drugs
Q. I have just read that powerful acid-suppressing drugs are linked to hip fractures. My doctor wants me to stay on Prevacid even though I have expressed my concerns to him. When I told him what I had…
Licorice Overdose Can Be Life Threatening
Everyone knows that candy is not healthful, but can you imagine that too much could kill you? The New England Journal of Medicine (Sept. 24, 2020) published a case report describing the death of middl…
Pain Medicine Triggered Life-Threatening Bleedin…
Q. My husband was just released from the hospital as a result of taking naproxen for tendinitis. He used it exactly as prescribed, and it still caused more trouble than it was worth. He had severe gas…
Citalopram (Celexa) Escitalopram (Lexapro) &…
Tinnitus, an annoying and often constant or near-constant sound that nobody else can hear, drives many sufferers crazy. An estimated 30 million people cope with this debilitating and invisible condit…
Antidepressants Cause Sexual Difficulties
Q. My husband has suffered from depression for years. It got really bad last winter and I finally convinced him to see a psychiatrist. Ever since he started taking sertraline he is a different person.…
Iodide-Containing Contrast Disrupted Thyroid
Q. To diagnose my appendicitis a few years ago, I had a CT scan with contrast. When my energy didn't return after the surgery and my weight started dropping rapidly, I underwent tests that resulted in…