Drug side effects.

[3Hotdogs]

I have 6 drugs prescribed for me. When we get the original script filled, we get a sheet with fine print, two or three pages of crap that few read.

Some of the info is printed in bold. That may get read.

So I got an email from A.A.R.P. that listed side effects of drugs prescribed for heart condition. One of the sides is depression. Yeah, I'm fuckin' depressed. It may not be from the drugs but I don't know.

THE POINT: Why doesn't the physician prescribing the shit, tell us one or two main things to look out for? Why do I have to depend on A.A.R.P. to warn me?

[dhol82]

1. I would ask the pharmacist to have a look

They know more about the drugs and their interactions than the doctors.
Most are happy to discuss any problems with you.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

4. When in doubt,

ALWAYS ask the Pharmacist. MDs are not trained in the side effects of the medications they prescribe, but the Pharmacist is trained in exactly that. They know not only the side effects but the benefits as well as the contra-indications of the meds your on.

An MD once prescribed two medications for me that absolutely cannot be taken together. He was completely unaware of this. When I presented the scripts to the Pharmacist, he immediately called the doctor and asked him if his intention was to make my heart explode, because those two meds, taken at the same time, would have given me a heart attack.

Another time, a doctor of mine took me off a medication I had been on for years. Little did I know that going "cold turkey" like that would find me in the ER in 8 hours. Again, it was a Pharmacist who understood that and informed the doctor that my trip to the ER and all that I had gone through was his fault for not researching this more carefully [I was in the military at the time, and the Pharmacist was so angry about what had happened to me that he reported the MD to the Commanding Officer at that military hospital.]

I would also say this: the BEST patient advocate you will ever have will be yourself. Learn about your condition, research your meds, and by all means TALK to a Pharmacist -- they welcome the questions and may just save your life.

[dhol82]

10. Excellent advice.

[k8conant]

2. BIG PHARMA RULES

I don't think the physician cares.

You shouldn't have to depend on AARP.

I have gone down this road several times.

[elleng]

3. The physician SHOULD warn, imo.

[WheelWalker]

5. The best authority on drug side effects and interactions is the pharmacist. It's their specialty,

not the physicians'.

[JayhawkSD]

6. The ultimate responsibility lies with the person taking the meds.

I am responsible for whatever happens to me. If I am taking a medication it is my responsibility to know what I am taking, why I am taking it, and what effects and side effects it has. If I don't fully understand something it is my responsibility to ask.

In your original post you say, "...we get a sheet with fine print, two or three pages of crap that few read." It's not the doctor's fault that you didn't read it. It's not the pharmacist's fault that you didn't read it. It's not the drug company's fault that you didn't read it. It's your fault that you didn't read it.

The responsibility for keeping me safe lies with me. I am not some helpless idiot who is unable to care for myself.

[YOHABLO]

7. Because they don't fucking know most of the time.

[ZZenith]

8. The physician's job

is to prescribe the drugs manufactured by the company whose rep last took them out for a round of golf. He’s not meant to actually know what the drugs actually do.

Sorry, but there it is.

[KT2000]

9. Docs don't even like to hear

about negative side effects.

[mopinko]

11. they think that if you know, you will "catch" them.

esp if you are female.