Drug Information
Can NSAIDs for Pain Harm Your Kidneys?
Have you taken nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like diclofenac, ibuprofen or naproxen? These pain relievers are very popular. In fact, you can buy ibuprofen and naproxen without a prescr…
How Can You Ease Heartburn Symptoms?
If you suffer from heartburn, you might describe it as a burning sensation under the breastbone. People with recurrent reflux can usually also talk about the types of foods that trigger their discomfo…
Sick of Prescription Drug Ads? FULL WARNINGS Cou…
Based on informal polling, most of our readers hate prescription drug ads! We often discover that many health professionals, including physicians, pharmacists and nurses, also despise drug commercials…
Coping with Anxiety During Really Stressful Time…
If you aren’t at least a wee bit anxious, you may have been paying zero attention to the news. An awful lot of your friends, neighbors and family members have been suffering from anxiety. That’s i…
Can You Manage Your Blood Sugar Naturally?
Metformin is a first-line medication for people with type 2 diabetes. Although doctors also prescribe it for different disorders, from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) to prostate cancer, the majori…
Can Repatha Substitute for Statins to Lower Chol…
Not everyone can tolerate statins to lower cholesterol. Some people react to drugs like atorvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin or simvastatin with muscle pain and weakness, arthritis, mus…
Show 1443: Rethinking Medications: Uncovering th…
Americans take a lot of medications. Luckily, the Food and Drug Administration only approves those that are safe and effective. However, the agency’s definition of “safe” includes medicines that…
How Helpful Are Beta Blockers After Heart Attack…
Beta blockers have been among the most trusted and most prescribed drugs in the pharmacy. This category of medications includes atenolol (Tenormin), bisoprolol (Zebeta), carvedilol (Coreg), labetolol …
Should You Be Taking Vitamin Supplements?
Vitamins were among the most exciting discoveries of the early 20th century. Since then, however, doctors have been expressing a lot of skepticism about the value of taking vitamin supplements. A pron…
Are Pharmacists Complicit in a Medical System Th…
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 …
Repurposed Drugs Can Save Lives!
Years ago, we spoke with a bright young doctor who was working on finding treatments for rare or unusual diseases that did not have cures. Dr. David Fajgenbaum first accomplished this goal in saving h…
How To Stop Duloxetine (Cymbalta) Without Withdr…
Based on what we hear from readers of our syndicated newspaper column and visitors to this website, most patients are not warned about how to stop duloxetine (Cymbalta). Perhaps the prescriber assumes…
Overdosing on Acetaminophen in Cold and Flu Reme…
Many over-the-counter medicines marketed for treating colds and flu contain acetaminophen (paracetamol in the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand). This non-aspirin pain reliever helps lower fever. …
What Happens When Minor Drug Side Effects Turn D…
Health professionals often categorize drug side effects three ways. First come the common complications of medicines. If 20 to 30 percent of patients complain of headaches or diarrhea after taking a m…
When You Can’t Handle Statins, What About …
There are powerful cholesterol-lowering medicines making waves. Many health professionals are convinced that there is no such thing as too low a golf score or a cholesterol level. They are right about…
Insiders Expose Secrets: Generic Drugs, Big Phar…
If you really want to know what’s going on inside an industry, talk to the people who have worked there. Former salespeople at car dealerships reveal how extended warranties, “add-ons” and finan…
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…
Diabolical Dilemma: High Blood Pressure or Risk …
"Cookbook medicine" can be deadly! What do I mean by that concept? Many physicians are following "GUIDELINES" set up by professional organizations. The idea seemed good. It was based on the concept of…
PPI Use Linked to Chronic Kidney Disease
Acid-suppressing drugs called proton pump inhibitors or PPIs are considered so safe that they can be purchased over the counter as Nexium, Prevacid and Prilosec. House brands include esomeprazole, lan…
Serious Side Effects of Voltaren Gel Are Scary: …
Many people, including some health professionals, believe that the skin is a great barrier to topical drugs. They assume that only a little bit of the medicine gets into the blood stream. We have lear…
Rediscovering Low-Dose Lithium for Mood Disorder…
Lithium is a chemical element that is widespread in nature. You can find it in the earth's crust, in water and even in the food you eat. Depending upon where you live, there is a good chance that ther…
Singulair – Montelukast Warning About Seri…
What took the FDA so long to issue a montelukast warning about serious neuropsychiatric reactions? We are constantly amazed that the Food and Drug Administration moves so slowly when it comes to serio…
Rx for Disaster: Why Common Meds Are Silently Ki…
Americans are dying from an invisible killer far faster than their counterparts in rest of the developed world. These deaths are mostly unreported and ignored by the healthcare system. I am referring …
A Giant Indian Drugmaker Failed to Fix Safety Br…
This story was originally published by ProPublica. by Megan Rose and Debbie Cenziper ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stor…
The FDA Let Substandard Factories Ship These Med…
This story was originally published by ProPublica. by Debbie Cenziper and Megan Rose, ProPublica, and Katherine Dailey, Medill Investigative Lab ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative ne…
Another Generic Drug Scandal! How the FDA Lets U…
When it comes to generic drugs I am not easily shocked, but new stories from ProPublica this week have me even more alarmed than usual. I have been writing about generic drugs for more than 50 years. …
Antidepressant Withdrawal: A Scandal the FDA and…
When most people hear the word "withdrawal" they think of drug abuse. Alcoholics who stop drinking suddenly can experience delirium tremens or the DTs. Going "cold turkey" after injecting heroin for w…
Hair Loss Side Effect from Beta Blockers or HCTZ…
Most medications come with a pretty long list of potential adverse reactions. When a health professional prescribes a medicine, such as a beta blocker for the heart or high blood pressure, the chances…
Will People in Pain Suffer Because of FDA’…
The FDA has followed the lead of the CDC in cautioning doctors about prescribing opioid pain relievers. Short-acting narcotics now come with boxed opioid warnings about misuse, abuse, addiction, drug …
New Concerns About Gabapentin and Pregabalin (Ly…
Patients and physicians have become leery of opioid-type pain medications, especially for non-cancer chronic pain. As a result, doctors are turning increasingly to gabapentinoids, especially to treat …
Cure or Curse? Why Do Medications That Heal Some…
Americans love simple solutions to complex problems. Doctors seem to fall into that trap as well. For decades we were told that if we ate margarine instead of butter, that would be good for our hearts…
What Are the Alternatives to an EpiPen? neffy?
Several years ago, there was quite a fuss about high prices and shortages affecting EpiPen emergency allergy injections. This epinephrine shot is used to avert anaphylactic shock that can be life thre…
How to Get Back to Sleep in the Middle of the Ni…
According to the CDC, 33% of Americans don't get adequate sleep. Chronic insomnia is linked to all sorts of serious health problems including diabetes, hypertension, obesity, heart disease and depress…
Do Turmeric Supplements Have a Downside?
The yellow spice turmeric is extremely popular both as a food ingredient and as a supplement. When it is used to flavor food like yellow mustard or curry, turmeric is considered safe. Some case report…
Is Aspirin Underutilized for Preventing Second H…
Aspirin has a long history, loaded with controversy over its benefits and risks. Chemists originally synthesized the compound, acetylsalicylic acid, in 1899. Very soon thereafter, the Bayer company ma…
New Ways to Get Rid of Skin Tags
Skin tags have a fancy medical name: acrochorda (a single tag is called an acrochordon). Dermatologists also call them fibroepithelial polyps. These are soft, fleshy growths that often show up in armp…
Beware Unnecessary Antibiotics from Urgent Care …
Have you ever visited an urgent care center or a retail clinic (like those found in some pharmacies)? It can be a convenient way to get medical attention when your regular doctor won't have an appoint…
Does Green Tea Interact with Prescription Drugs?
When you sit down to enjoy a beverage, do you think about whether it might affect the medications you take? Years ago, research on grapefruit juice showed that what you drink can indeed affect your pi…
Indian Generic Drug Company Spanked Again by the…
The Indian generic drug company Sun Pharma is in trouble with the Food and Drug Administration...again. Sun Pharma is the largest pharmaceutical company in India. According to the company itself: "Sun…
Do You Trust Prescription Drug Ads? A Harris Pol…
Do you watch television? If so, you have almost inevitably seen commercials for medications we hope you will never need. If you are like a lot of our visitors, you are sick and tired of prescription d…