Are Your Drugs Making You Ill?

Medicines not only treat or prevent illness; they can sometimes make you sick. According to a new study appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, older Americans suffer half a million preventable drug side effects every year.  About 180,000 of the bad reactions are life-threatening or fatal.

The American Academy of Family Physicians says that anybody can have an adverse drug reaction, but people who take more than 3 or 4 medicines every day, like many seniors do, are at greater risk.  You should learn what to do if you think you or someone you take care of is having an adverse drug reaction.

• Work with your doctor to limit the number of medications you take.  Tell each of your doctors, if you see more than one, about all the medicines you take, even for a short time.  If you are concerned about remembering the names of your medications, take them with you to your doctor’s appointment.  Find out what each one is for and if you really need it.  It may also help to use only one drug store.  Your pharmacist’s computer program can often spot medications that might cause an adverse reaction.
  
  
• Medications that don’t need a prescription can also cause trouble.  Vitamins, health supplements and herbs in tea may also cause adverse reactions.  Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are using these kinds of products.
  
  
• Leftover or old medicine.  It may be tempting to use old medicines that you’ve used before.  However, you may be taking drugs now that are different from those you were taking when you were also taking the old drug.  Even if you didn’t have a bad reaction before, you might have one if you take it with the drugs you are taking now.
  
  
• Beware of any changes in your body.  Tell your doctor if something unusual happens.  Note when your symptoms started and whether they are different from other symptoms you had from an illness.  Remind your doctor of all the medicines you are taking.  Be alert for skin rashes, easy bruising, bleeding, severe nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, confusion, breathing difficulties.  Your doctor might notice changes in lab test results or an abnormal heartbeat.
  
  
• When you have an adverse reaction.  Your doctor might tell you to stop taking the medication so the symptoms will go away, or your doctor might have you try another medicine to treat the reaction.  If serious, you might need to go to the hospital, but this doesn’t happen often.  Never stop taking a medicine on your own; always call your doctor immediately.

Source:  “Drug Side Effects in Elders Preventable,” Lindsey Tanner, The Associated Press, March 4, 2003.  “Drug Reactions,” American Academy of Family Physicians, February 2003.

For money saving tips on how to save on prescription drugs see, “How a Retired Pharmacist Saves on Prescription Drugs; It Pays to Check Around” at http://www.tscl.org/NewContent/101781.asp.

June 2003

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