Do YOU know the side effects to your prescription drugs?

Now, this isn't a "boycott all prescriptions" rant. I realize many people here are for natural remedies and anti-pharmaceutical. I'm definitely not against natural. But lots and lots of people do take prescriptions, and this is something most don't give much thought to unless it happens: "Rare but serious side effects may occur."

I guess I was too arrogant to ever worry that I might be less than the 1% of people they happen to. But damn...can they suck. For the past two years I've been taking Minocyclin for my acne, and I've had good results without any problems. (Its been the # drug prescribed for acne for years).

Then about three weeks ago I woke up in the most intense pain I'd ever been in. I'm only 19 and I felt like I was an 80 year old woman with arthritis in her whole body. Every day it got worse until I couldn't get out of bed or get dressed by myself. I was afraid to go to bed because I was terrified of waking up in so much pain. My joints and muscles were so painful I couldn't even pull the foil top off my yogurt container. My hair was getting dry and brittle, my abdomen hurt, my lymph nodes were swelled and I couldn't swollow without it being super painful.

From researching online I had many of the symptoms of lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. Too many to be a coincidence. My doctor made no connection, but out of curiousity I looked online at the drug Minocyclin and discovered one of the rare side effects - less than 1% of users - got was something called "minocycline induced lupus" which caused identical symptoms of lupus, but went away once the drug stopped. Well...I stopped taking it to see if that might be my cause, and sure enough my symptoms have nearly gone away a week later. I'm still monitering whether any of them come back, but I'm almost positive thats the cause.

It's SCARY that you can be prescribed something for so long without at least a warning (except for the little one written last in tiny print on the sheet that comes with the meds). I looked up more cases online, and it turns out they were all in people taking the drug for an average of 2 years or so, just like me. It makes me angry that they don't REQUIRE any sort of check up or test, or at least an issued warning, if you take a long-term med.

Of course it's plenty my own fault for taking a drug with blind trust that nothing bad would happen, but I'm sure I'm not the only one. And who would connect overnight debilitation with a medicine for acne? Not me...

Just kind of a friendly reminder/rant. Maybe take a few minutes to learn what could be the worst of the worst, so at least you recognize it if it ever happens...instead of fearing you have a chronic disease like I did, it was definitely a wake up call for me

 

your right, that is scary as all hell!
that is why, when the doc gives someone a prescription, a pharmacist must fill it.
physicans are not the best sorce for information on medications, pharmacists are educated far, far, better in drugs then physicans!

whenever my doc gives me a prescription, i always ask the pharmacist for the drug fact sheet that comes in the carton of every prescription filled. ALWAYS, ASK FOR THE FACT SHEET, EVERY TIME YOU GET A PRESCRIPTION FILLED... IF YOU DON'T ASK FOR IT EACH TIME YOU GET A PRESCRIPTION FILLED, YOU WON'T GET IT!
the fact sheet makes for "great" reading; it is borning as all hell to read yet, it is the best sorce of the latest information on any drug right, after the pharmacist.
one other bit of wisdom. have your prescriptions filled at a pharmacy that is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and, 365 days a year that, is close to where you live. that way you can get drug refills quickly and, get hold of a pharmacist for drug information quickly too.

 

Unless the skin touches something to make it break out such as poison ivy most out breaks are about elimination. I would think many medications for the skin push the toxin the skin is trying to eliminate back into the body. It never seems to occur to drug companies to make meds that help the body do it's job .