8 Drugs Doctors Would Never Take

Men's Health; MSN ^ | August | Morgan Lord

[yorkie]

With 3,480 pages of fine print, the Physicians' Desk Reference (a.k.a. PDR) is not a quick read. That's because it contains every iota of information on more than 4,000 prescription medications. Heck, the PDR is medication — a humongous sleeping pill.

Doctors count on this compendium to help them make smart prescribing decisions — in other words, to choose drugs that will solve their patients' medical problems without creating new ones. Unfortunately, it seems some doctors rarely pull the PDR off the shelf. Or if they do crack it open, they don't stay versed on emerging research that may suddenly make a once-trusted treatment one to avoid. Worst case: You swallow something that has no business being inside your body.

Of course, plenty of M.D.'s do know which prescription and over-the-counter drugs are duds, dangers, or both. So we asked them, "Which medications would you skip?" Their list is your second opinion. If you're on any of these meds, talk to your doctor. Maybe he or she will finally open that big red book with all the dust on it.

Advair

It's asthma medicine... that could make your asthma deadly. Advair contains the long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) salmeterol. A 2006 analysis of 19 trials, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that regular use of LABAs can increase the severity of an asthma attack..................

[null and void]

Eight in the headline,

Advair

Avandia

Celebrex

Ketek

Prilosec and Nexium

Pseudoephedrine

seven in the article...

[ken21]

thanks.

[SoftballMominVA]

Nexium - that's my drug of choice for controlling acid reflux.

It'd have to be pried out of my cold, dead hands.

[Stephanie32]

I’m really surprised by Prilosec being on there. Especially since it’s gone over the counter now at full strength.

[big'ol_freeper]

You could not have said that any better. Retired military here and when the formulary eliminated Pepcid as the prescribed drug they switched me to Nexium...OMG...what a difference. They also would have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands.

For me..it has ZERO side effects. One of the few scripts that I can say that about. The only effect it has is that I have ZERO heartburn.

[chaos_5]

Pseudoephedrine

Forget that this decongestant can be turned into methamphetamine. People with heart disease or hypertension should watch out for any legitimate drug that contains pseudoephedrine. See, pseudoephedrine doesn't just constrict the blood vessels in your nose and sinuses; it can also raise blood pressure and heart rate, setting the stage for vascular catastrophe. Over the years, pseudoephedrine has been linked to heart attacks and strokes. "Pseudoephedrine can also worsen symptoms of benign prostate disease and glaucoma," says Dr. Rodgers.

Yeah, but it WORKS!! Stupid meth-heads make is nearly impossible to buy a box of Actifed.

[SoftballMominVA]

that’s my only side effect, no heartburn

[BibChr]

One of them screws up your ability to count.

[steve86]

I take Prilosec but you really have to watch for calcium deletion (in bones) over the years with any of the Proton Pump Inhibitors. Sometimes side effects are silent. You also have to watch for a masked ulcer.

I couldn’t eat or drink without a PPI.

[Alberta's Child]

I can vouch for Nexium myself. I don’t take it regularly, but about 1-2 times every year I’ll have a stress-related gastric event that would keep me awake for days at a time without it.

[millerph]

Advair also contains a steroid which greatly reduces the number of asthma attack. As with any medication one must weigh the benefits against the risk. Much much fewer attacks vs the possibility an attack may be worse.
Could someone die from Advair? Sure. Can/do people die from uncontrolled asthma? Yes and I can assure you many people are alive today because of the drug. As a pharmacist do the benefits outweigh the risks? I think so and so does my daughter who has used it for many years and NEVER had a severe asthma attack since starting, but regularly had 1-2 episodes a year without it.

[GATOR NAVY]

Prilosec is the only one of these drugs I’ve ever been prescribed. I don’t take it unless the pain is bad enough to keep me awake at night.

[grame]

try aciphex, I believe, for me anyway, much better, less side effects

[null and void]

1-2 times every year I’ll have a stress-related gastric event that would keep me awake for days at a time without it.

If zerObama gets it that could be a daily occurrence...

[Scythian]

Do a few tea spoons of Apple Cider Vinegar and you’ll find you don’t need Nexium. Get some PH strips and you’ll see your body is totally acidic, eat watermelon, get your body back into balance.

[Alberta's Child]

LOL.

If he wins, I'll buy stock in whatever company manufactures Nexium.

[ktscarlett66]

But they keep on prescribing them to their patients? Did they interview *all* physicians and they *all* said they wouldn’t take any of these? Were these docs paid by the competion? Having worked in a doc’s office, I am highly suspicious of many preferred or condemned drugs, to be honest.

And I like their advise on Nexium - ‘lose weight’. My husband and son both have reflux and have had the endoscopies to prove it. Neither one is overweight and nothing OTC helps in the slightest. Hubby was on Prevacid and Propulsid at the same time and then on something else. Finally got Nexium approved via insurance, been the only thing that has worked for him.

[Stephanie32]

“Prilosec”

I never took it but heard that it works great. One of my friends had told me that she heard it could be dangerous and I thought she was confused but it surprises me that it would be on that list. I would have expected to see Protonics before Prilosec.

You should elevate your head at night if you have a lot of pain. You probably already know that.

[visualops]

You left out Visine