By: Joe Graedon August 10, 2026 34 Comments
    How Dangerous Is It to Stop Taking Aspirin?

    Aspirin gets very little respect. Perhaps that's because it is well over 100 years old, or because it is inexpensive and available over the counter. Whatever the reason, it's our observation that peop…

    By: Terry Graedon August 10, 2026 37 Comments
    How Can You Lower Blood Pressure Naturally?

    Everyone loves pills. Doctors love to prescribe medicine. Patients love to swallow drugs. We are a pill-taking society. But all medications come with pros and cons. That is true of anti-hypertensive d…

    By: Joe Graedon August 10, 2026 12 Comments
    Farxiga Side Effects: Should You Pay Attention t…

    Drug commercials are easy to tune out. After all the cheerful music, smiling actors and beautiful scenery, an announcer suddenly races through a frightening list of adverse reactions. Most viewers pro…

    By: Joe Graedon August 10, 2026 0 Comments
    Do You Love Your Kidneys Enough? Find Out!

    Chances are good that you know your blood pressure. After all, home BP monitors are inexpensive and widely available. You probably have a rough idea of your cholesterol levels, too, since your doctor …

    By: Joe Graedon August 6, 2026 153 Comments
    Lisinopril Side Effects Can Be Life Threatening:…

    Keeping blood pressure under control is extremely important, since hypertension (high blood pressure) is a major risk factor for both stroke and heart disease. In many cases, the best medication may b…

    By: Terry Graedon August 6, 2026 5 Comments
    What Happens When Children Get Too Much Food Dye…

    Too many Americans, including our youngest ones, are getting too much sugar in their diet. In addition, some parents are unwittingly feeding their children high doses of food dye. What are the consequ…

    By: Joe Graedon August 3, 2026 6 Comments
    Are You Playing the Generic Drug Lottery with Yo…

    More than 90 percent of prescriptions filled in the United States are generic. That means millions of Americans may be participating in the Generic Drug Lottery without realizing it. Each time a pha…

    By: Joe Graedon August 3, 2026 30 Comments
    Low-Dose Oral Minoxidil: Hope or Hype for Hair L…

    Hair loss can be emotionally devastating for both men and women. Witnessing hair thin, or gradually disappear, can affect identity and confidence. For some, hair loss can trigger frustration or anxiet…

    By: Joe Graedon July 27, 2026 6 Comments
    Prescription Heat Damage: Is Your Medicine Cooki…

    We recently ordered some baking supplies that included chocolate chips. Needless to say, what we actually received was a chocolate mess. The chips had melted in the heat. We should have known better t…

    By: Terry Graedon July 27, 2026 60 Comments
    How Safe Is Vaginal Estrogen Cream to Prevent Ur…

    Many women experience recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) that disrupt their lives. Urinary frequency and urgency have them running to the bathroom, but when they get there, urinating is very pa…

    By: Joe Graedon July 27, 2026 16 Comments
    Is NyQuil or Benadryl A Good Way To Stay Asleep?

    We often wonder whether people read the label of their over-the-counter medicines. If they did, would most know what they were taking? Nyquil Cold & Flu formula is advertised to “relieve your s…

    By: Joe Graedon July 27, 2026 57 Comments
    Nighttime Restless Legs Wreck Lives, Sleep, and …

    Have you ever heard of Willis-Ekbom disease? Most people haven’t—even though millions live with it every day. Better known as restless legs syndrome (RLS), this condition is frequently dismissed o…

    By: Joe Graedon July 27, 2026 103 Comments
    Will Praluent, Repatha or Lipfendra Work If You …

    When someone has a heart attack, there is a very good chance he will be put on a statin-type cholesterol-lowering medicine. This is called secondary prevention because the goal is to avoid a second he…

    By: Joe Graedon July 27, 2026 16 Comments
    Unexpected GLP-1 Side Effects: Do They Cause Vis…

    GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound are transforming medicine. They help people with type-2 diabetes control blood sugar and often lead to dramatic weight loss. Researchers are als…

    By: Dennis Miller, RPh July 22, 2026 3 Comments
    Pharma’s Quiet Admission: We Often Do Not Know…

    Dennis Miller, R.Ph. is a retired chain store pharmacist. His book, The Shocking Truth About Pharmacy: A Pharmacist Reveals All the Disturbing Secrets, can be downloaded in its entirety at Amazon for …

    By: Terry Graedon July 20, 2026 14 Comments
    What Can You Use for Psoriasis If You Can’…

    Although no one knows precisely what causes psoriasis, most experts believe this skin condition gets worse when the immune system is especially stressed. Skin cell growth goes into overdrive, and cell…

    By: Joe Graedon July 20, 2026 43 Comments
    The Dark Side of Gabapentin as an Off Label Med

    Has your doctor told you if you are taking a drug for an unapproved use? By unapproved we mean for an “indication” that has never received a review from the FDA. It is estimated that when teenager…

    By: Joe Graedon July 19, 2026 414 Comments
    Atorvastatin (Lipitor) Side Effects & Compl…

    It is not entirely clear why Lipitor (atorvastatin) became the most successful drug in the history of the pharmaceutical industry. It was first approved in December of 1996. Tens of millions of people…

    By: Joe Graedon July 16, 2026 16 Comments
    Lipfendra (Enlicitide) Slashes LDL Cholesterol! …

    The Food and Drug Administration approved a brand-new cholesterol pill on July 16, 2026. This medicine is a PCSK9 inhibitor. Unlike its comrades, alirocumab (Praluent) and evolocumab (Repatha), it is …

    By: Dennis Miller, RPh July 15, 2026 1 Comments
    “Is this Drug Safe?” Why Pharmacists…

    Dennis Miller, R.Ph. is a retired chain store pharmacist. His book, The Shocking Truth About Pharmacy: A Pharmacist Reveals All the Disturbing Secrets, can be downloaded in its entirety at Amazon for …

    By: Joe Graedon July 13, 2026 10 Comments
    Blood Pressure Roulette: Is Finding the Right Dr…

    Nearly half of all American adults have high blood pressure. That represents roughly 120 million people, and most will eventually be encouraged to take medication. But blood pressure roulette is an un…

    By: Joe Graedon July 13, 2026 12 Comments
    Is Your Aluminum Antiperspirant Setting You Up f…

    People take their aluminum antiperspirant for granted. They apply it every morning like clockwork because of a fear of body odor. No one wants to offend co-workers, friends or family members. That's e…

    By: Terry Graedon July 12, 2026 138 Comments
    Taking Thyroid Medicine Properly

    Millions of people suffer from an underactive thyroid gland. That is why the synthetic thyroid hormone levothyroxine (Synthroid, Levothroid, Levoxyl, Unithroid, etc.) is one of the most widely prescri…

    By: Joe Graedon July 9, 2026 37 Comments
    Do You Love Your Liver Enough?

    Most Americans have no idea where the liver is located or what it does. They generally ignore this organ until something goes badly wrong, such as cirrhosis or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Admit…

    By: Joe Graedon July 9, 2026 38 Comments
    Should You Take Aspirin for your Heart? The Answ…

    One of the most confusing questions in modern medicine has been: "aspirin for your heart?" This inexpensive old drug has been praised, dismissed, recommended, restricted and re-evaluated more times th…

    By: Joe Graedon July 9, 2026 8 Comments
    Oral Ketamine for Depression: Game Changer or Fa…

    Oral ketamine has been a tantalizing possibility for people with hard-to-treat depression. Instead of traveling to a ketamine clinic for pricey IV infusions or using a nasal spray (esketamine, aka Spr…

    By: Joe Graedon July 6, 2026 46 Comments
    Paradoxical Excitation from DPH Sleeping Pills

    When you think about sleeping pills, you probably imagine medications that make you drowsy. After all, the whole point of sleeping pills is to help you fall asleep easier. In recent years "PM" pain re…

    By: Joe Graedon July 6, 2026 55 Comments
    Unbearable Itching After Stopping Antihistamines…

    This website is devoted to helping people make informed decisions about their health. To do that, people need information from health professionals and other patients. Over the years, more than 30 mil…

    By: Joe Graedon July 2, 2026 13 Comments
    It’s Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature: Time to R…

    For decades, athletes and weekend warriors have been told to treat a sprain or strain with RICE: Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. Add a couple of ibuprofen tablets, and you have what many physici…

    By: Joe Graedon June 29, 2026 13 Comments
    Dangerous Drug Side Effects: Why We Tune Out the…

    Why don’t Americans care more about adverse drug reactions? Perhaps we assume that bad things only happen to other people. Or perhaps dangerous drug side effects have become so familiar that we no l…

    By: Joe Graedon June 29, 2026 29 Comments
    Lisinopril and Angioedema: A Life-Threatening Si…

    Lisinopril is the most frequently prescribed blood pressure pill in the United States. At last count, over 20 million Americans take this ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitor daily. Except fo…

    By: Dennis Miller, RPh June 24, 2026 14 Comments
    Science, Marketing, Ideology, and Mythology in t…

    Dennis Miller, R.Ph. is a retired chain store pharmacist. His book, The Shocking Truth About Pharmacy: A Pharmacist Reveals All the Disturbing Secrets, can be downloaded in its entirety at Amazon for …

    By: Joe Graedon June 22, 2026 78 Comments
    Best Home Remedies for Restless Legs Syndrome

    Restless legs syndrome (RLS) affects 5% to 15% of adults (Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, Dec. 15, 2016). That means as many as 30 million Americans suffer from RLS. Roughly 6 million people are s…

    By: Joe Graedon June 22, 2026 48 Comments
    Hidden Memories in Alzheimer’s Disease: An…

    For generations, families have watched loved ones disappear into the fog of Alzheimer's disease. As memory fades and communication becomes challenging, many assume that the person they once knew and l…

    By: Joe Graedon June 22, 2026 12 Comments
    Pills or Shots for Obesity? New Foundayo Pills v…

    The FDA approved oral Wegovy (semaglutide) on December 22, 2025. Eli Lilly received approval for its pill, Foundayo (orforglipron), on April 1, 2026. It will be a fight for America’s fat. Instead of…

    By: Joe Graedon June 18, 2026 0 Comments
    The Ultimate Allergy Survival Guide: From Sneezi…

    For many people, allergies are little more than a nuisance—runny noses, itchy eyes and an occasional sneeze. But an Allergy Survival Guide becomes essential when allergies trigger asthma, severe s…

    By: Joe Graedon June 18, 2026 35 Comments
    Will Exercise Help Wegovy Weight Loss Last?

    Unless you have been hiding in a cave, you have assuredly heard of GLP-1 agonists. Although these drugs were originally developed to help treat type 2 diabetes, they have made headlines because of the…

    By: Joe Graedon June 17, 2026 22 Comments
    Can GLP-1 Agonists Fix What Ails You — and War…

    Popular drugs approved for diabetes control and weight loss produce many other effects in the body as well. Drugs like semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) have helped some people cut back on alcohol consump…

    By: Joe Graedon June 15, 2026 35 Comments
    Hormones and Breast Cancer: Why the Confusion Wo…

    For decades, women have been caught in the middle of one of medicine's most contentious debates. The question seems simple enough on the surface: does hormone replacement therapy (HRT) increase the ri…

    By: Joe Graedon June 14, 2026 10 Comments
    Are You Taking A Sleeping Pill That Messes with …

    Sleeping pills are big business. That is especially true for over-the-counter drugs. Millions of people take “PM” pain relievers regularly because they fear they may not fall asleep easily. Diphen…