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Herbal Supplements May Cause Dangerous Drug Interactions in Orthopaedic Surgery Patients
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons ^ | October 10, 2011 | Unknown

Posted on 10/11/2011 12:27:08 PM PDT by decimon

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Many of the most popular herbal supplements used today can have serious side effects when combined with prescription medicines. For example:

Feverfew (used for migraine prevention), ginger, cranberry, St. John’s Wort and ginseng can interact with the anti-clotting drug warfarin;
Feverfew, ginger, and gingko can interact with aspirin;
Garlic can interfere with anti-clotting medications and the immunosuppressant drug cyclosporine (prevents transplant rejection);
Valerian (used as a sedative) can intensify anesthetics; and
St. John’s Wort can interact with immunosuppressive drugs and potentially lead to transplant rejection.

Herbal products marketed for osteoarthritis also can pose serious risks when combined with prescription medications. For example:

Glucosamine, chondroitin and flavocoxid can affect clotting agents;
Black cohosh can interact with the cancer drug tamoxifen; and
Cat’s claw can interact with clotting agents, blood pressure medications and cyclosporine.

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(Excerpt) Read more at 6.aaos.org ...


TOPICS: Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: health
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To: decimon

I learned a powerful lesson back in the 1980s that Doctors are *not* pharmacists. Even in the 1960s, Doctors were having a hard time keeping up with medical discoveries and innovation—made much more difficult because they could either do research, or help patients, but they did not have the time to do both.

Modern pharmacology is a specialty, and more and more knowledge is expected of pharmacists. This includes not just the drugs themselves, but a specialty within pharmacology called “compounding”, which means that pharmacists ‘tailor-make’ drug combinations for an individual, which is considerably harder than just dispensing prescriptions. Compounding pharmacists are relatively rare.

But typically, pharmacists must know drug interactions with each other, drug and food interactions, drug and OTC medicine and herbal interactions.

FOR THIS REASON, it is important to always have a COMPLETE list of prescribed drugs, OTC drugs, supplements and herbs, including vitamins, and just about anything you can thing of, even such things as pseudo foods, like Omega-3 fish oil.

So completely natural foods and alternative medicines can be extremely potent, very interactive, and downright dangerous. Some are so complicated that their effects have yet to be determined.

So while your Doctor has some good ideas and perhaps strong views, your pharmacist is a much better person to talk to about such things. And it is a normal part of their duties to brief and discuss drugs with people, so don’t be bashful.


21 posted on 10/11/2011 1:08:48 PM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy
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To: miss marmelstein
Valerian (or, to be more exact, one of the chemicals present in the plant) actually is close to the anti-seizure medication valproic acid. Valium was synthesized in a lab in Nutley, NJ, and did not come from the plant. Another of valerian's chemicals appears to target the same receptor in the brain as Valium (and other benzodiazepines) so that's where there's a similarity. Many drugs originated in herbals, digitalis being one of my favorites, from the foxglove.
22 posted on 10/11/2011 1:09:54 PM PDT by Pharmboy (Austrian achievement: convincing world that Hitler was German and Beethoven Austrian)
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23 posted on 10/11/2011 1:17:40 PM PDT by TheOldLady (FReepmail me to get ON or OFF the ZOT LIGHTNING ping list)
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To: surroundedbyblue

Okay, thanks.


24 posted on 10/11/2011 1:20:14 PM PDT by decimon
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To: American in Israel
Gee I would sure hate for the food I eat to interfere with the Rat Poison they were feeding me...

Love it!

25 posted on 10/11/2011 1:22:37 PM PDT by Netizen (Path to citizenship = Scamnesty. If you give it away, more will come. Who's pilfering your wallet?)
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To: Pharmboy

Thanks for the update! I may only be right in that valerian smells awful! I had to throw it out of my house.
I’ve always read that valerian is the basis of Valium but you are certainly more educated than I am.

My fav is peppermint - not spearmint which I prefer but (according to my witch books) has no effect on tummy problems.


26 posted on 10/11/2011 1:27:05 PM PDT by miss marmelstein (Let's have a Cain Mutiny!)
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy
But what if your pharmacist is an Indian immigrant in a Walmart or Duane Reade who barely wants to relinguish his drugs to you much less explain them to you?!

It's a far cry from the days of the ole pharmacist in the ole drugstore who would dispense coke syrup for a stomach ache.

27 posted on 10/11/2011 1:31:12 PM PDT by miss marmelstein (Let's have a Cain Mutiny!)
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To: miss marmelstein

Yep...I was even taught in medical school that peppermint is good for stomach disorders. And I’ve just learned that cinnamon and parsley are good for reducing blood sugar in people with diabetes. Go figure!


28 posted on 10/11/2011 1:32:44 PM PDT by Pharmboy (Austrian achievement: convincing world that Hitler was German and Beethoven Austrian)
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To: decimon

Oh right, the problem is with the supplements not with the narcotics. Check.


29 posted on 10/11/2011 1:32:59 PM PDT by mancini
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To: GraceG
I am fearful they will be using this as an excuse to outright ban herbal medications.

You're darn right it is. But they won't ban them; there is too much money to be made off of them! The F'nDA (as Robert Atkins used to call it) can't wait to get its filthy hands on health supplements and the regulation of them.

30 posted on 10/11/2011 1:36:19 PM PDT by mancini
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To: Pharmboy
Why did my mother's idiot doctor - in a dulsatory conversation - tell me that it “was all in my mind” about peppermint? It infuriated me at the time (of course, I said NOTHING) and just reconfirmed my idea that doctors were very strange creatures and sometimes not-very-bright individuals.
31 posted on 10/11/2011 1:38:03 PM PDT by miss marmelstein (Let's have a Cain Mutiny!)
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To: decimon
I don't get it. Most of the criticism we hear about herbals and supplements is that they don't work...just a placebo. Now we are supposed to believe that they are so powerful they can act synergistic with pharmaceuticals.

Well if they are so powerful why not take them instead of the man made chemicals!?

32 posted on 10/11/2011 1:39:07 PM PDT by Awgie (truth is always stranger than fiction)
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To: miss marmelstein
Well, while most did well in school in order to get in (although some get in because of money or connections), some are not so bright; but being closed-minded is even worse. My pharmacology course in the second year of medical school was taught by a great bunch who were--for the most part--very interested in teaching us the historical origins of drugs. And the older editions of the doc's bible of drugs, The Pharmacological Basis of Medical Practice by Goodman and Gilman had large sections on pharmacohistory that listed all the herbals.
33 posted on 10/11/2011 1:47:18 PM PDT by Pharmboy (Austrian achievement: convincing world that Hitler was German and Beethoven Austrian)
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To: mancini
The F'nDA (as Robert Atkins used to call it) can't wait to get its filthy hands on health supplements and the regulation of them.

Buying the little red pseudoephedrine pills for sinuses has become ridiculous.

Until recently, I had to show a photo ID. Now, I also have to fill out a full-page pharmacist's consultation form each time I buy them. It would be easier, maybe, if they did make them prescription.
34 posted on 10/11/2011 1:50:34 PM PDT by TomGuy
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To: decimon
My, what incredible power these herbals have to specifically target those who are having orthopedic surgery and to ignore other types of surgery!
35 posted on 10/11/2011 2:04:53 PM PDT by miele man
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To: miss marmelstein

Ginger is very effective against stomach upset, at least in my experience. It is available in capsules.


36 posted on 10/11/2011 2:09:29 PM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: Pharmboy

I think “close-minded” is probably closer to the truth than my somewhat undiplomatic “dumb.” But, of course, close-mindedness DOES eventually make you dumb.

If I pick up the book you mentioned, will I be able to understand it? My herbal books are all from Great Britain - they are marvelously educated in this field. But then, unlike the USA, they had Shakespeare who was an expert in herbs. His plays are filled with references to them. Most herb books will tell you how to create a Shakespeare herbal garden.


37 posted on 10/11/2011 2:12:38 PM PDT by miss marmelstein (Let's have a Cain Mutiny!)
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To: trisham
Ginger is great for nausea. It's often used for seasickness. We always used flat ginger ale for stomach problems until I switched to peppermint tea, lol.

One day, someone will get to the bottom of the uses of orange marmalade. Some people think it refers to sea sickness - mar malade. Once, in desperation, I gave it to a very sick friend. It didn't work!

38 posted on 10/11/2011 2:18:42 PM PDT by miss marmelstein (Let's have a Cain Mutiny!)
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To: miss marmelstein

I love ginger ale. I also love ginger in various dishes, mostly chinese cuisine. Imho, peppermint is rather spicy. I don’t think I would be inclined to use it to settle my stomach, but fresh mint it is a wonderful way to freshen the breath. It’s also nice in bath water, as is rosemary.


39 posted on 10/11/2011 2:28:36 PM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: trisham

I adore fresh ginger. When I think that we Americans grew up without it in the 50s, 60s and 70s, I wonder how we survived. I use it in a very delicious succotash recipe that I adapted from a writer named Laurie Colwin. Of couse, Chinese cuisine would be kinda worthless without it.

It might sound odd but peppermint tea or peppermint schnapps is very good for settling a stomach. I read somewhere (probably in some quack magazine) that it stopped stomach cramps. It certainly works for me.

My freezer is now full of spearmint which I will be dropping into various recipes over the winter. I may also mix it up with some butter and freeze it.


40 posted on 10/11/2011 2:36:17 PM PDT by miss marmelstein (Let's have a Cain Mutiny!)
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