Two out every three patients who visit a Doctor leave with at least one prescription medication. Almost 40% of the US population receive prescriptions for four or more medications. Consequences of drug interactions with food and beverages are more common the more prescription medications a person takes. Examples of drug interactions with food and beverages: Grapefruit juice can cause an increased level of certain blood pressure medications, anti-anxiety medication Buspar and the insomnia medication Halcion. Licorice can increase the level of the heart medication digoxin and reduce the effects of the blood pressure medications hydrochlorothiazide and spironolactone. Chocolate can potentiate the class of antidepressants called monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI) and… Continue Reading What you put in your mouth may affect your prescription medications. Avoiding drug interactions
The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) recently issued a new safety alert for ‘high dose statin’ drugs prescribed by Doctors to lower cholesterol in patients at risk for heart disease. The FDA named the prescription drugs Crestor (rosuvastatin), Lipitor (atorvastatin), Zocor (simvastatin), and Pravachol (pravastatin), as well as the combination drug Vytorin (zetia/simvastatin) in the safety alert. The warning stated that the use of these drugs in high doses may be linked to memory loss, diabetes, and muscle pain. This was a general statement derived from a recent review of many different studies that were all part of the Women’s Health Initiative. The conclusions made from the analysis of these… Continue Reading Should I Still Be Taking My Cholesterol Lowering “Statin” Prescription Drug My Doctor Prescribed?