Watch out for new meds

Good reminder...

This is why my Pharmacist is part of my health team. So even if I get samples from a Dr. I will ask them to do a medical check for interactions with any other medications I am taking.

As well as I make sure that all the Drs. I see are in contact with one another and never overlap care and are aware of any medication that the other wants to prescribe. I also make sure they know every single OTC med or supplement that I take.

And one more suggestion is that if you need to bring someone with you to your Dr. appts. to make sure you bring up all the questions that you need to, this might be a good idea.

I can't imagine starting to take any new medications without knowing everything about them, when to take them, what they are for, and are they absolutely necessary.

I think I read in your other post about these meds and they seemed very similar and overlapping.

I have to say that this may not be a Dr. you want to continue seeing if she is the type to just hand you samples/prescriptions of medications but doesn't know anything about them or let you leave without knowing exactly how to take them:(

We ALWAYS need to read labels...not just on prescription meds but over the counter ones, too.  There is a lot of Tylenol and/or ibuprofen in many of those drugs. 

 

I have gerd and take Pepcid AC, prescription strength, and still can take ibuprofen.  I always take it with food and that helps the stomach.  I also take another med, Misoprostol, that helps protect the stomach too.  If I couldn't take ibuprofen, I'm in tremendous pain and almost can't walk.  This is not from fibro but something else.

 

Sherrine

Several years ago, I scheduled a doctor's appointment for back pain. Since my doctor was booked, I had to see another doctor in the same practice. I had severe problems with gerd, and it should have been well documented in my records. The other doctor was unaware of this, and did not notice it in my records. I had not taken prescription strength ibuprophin, and was not aware that this would cause problems with the gerd. Since I am sensitive to many of the opiates that would be used for this type of pain, this limited what could be prescribed. Since the subject had not come up during the appointment, I just assumed that the doctor was aware that I had gerd, and I did not ask any questions. A couple of days into taking the Ibuprophin, I was in misery. I had to go back to the doctor's office, and this time I got to see my doctor, and he recognized the problem immediately. I had to take Carafate for awhile to repair the damage that the Ibuprophin had done.

I had a similar experience with Doxycycline once that had been prescribed to me by my regular doctor. For some reason, this did not set well with my stomach problems. This is now listed as an "allergy" on the front of my chart.

Almost medfree, I had to take PPIs for many years, most recently Nexium. Several months ago, I went off it on my own because of long-term side effects. I have been taking OTC Pepcid and doing fairly well with it. I have to watch what, how much, and when I eat very closely. If I break through, I take Tums. I have also been using a mixture of organic apple cider vinegar and baking soda in warm water, and this really helps alot!