Drug Withdrawal
A surprising variety of medications can cause withdrawal symptoms if stopped too abruptly. Even certain over-the-counter drugs can cause such problems.
Red Dye and Other Synthetic Dyes: Going, Going&#…
The FDA’s mission is clear: “The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for protecting the public health by ensuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biologic…
Trapped in Treatment: How Antidepressant Researc…
Over 30 years ago we wrote that the number of people suffering a mood disorder was “staggering” (Graedons’ Best Medicine, Bantam Books, 1991). Back then it was estimated that 20 million people w…
Getting Off Venlafaxine Can Be Incredibly Challe…
Many years ago we heard from a reader who was trying to get off alprazolam (Xanax). It was not commonly recognized that short-acting benzodiazepines (benzos) could pose unbearable withdrawal symptoms …
Deprescribing: Can You Ever Stop Taking So Many …
How many pills do you swallow every day. There was a time, not that long ago, when people took medicines only when they needed them. That included a week or two of antibiotics to cure an infection, op…
Drug Recalls From India – Do You Trust For…
The overwhelming majority of your generic drugs are now made abroad. That's the conclusion of the United States Pharmacopeia (USP). This independent organization is over 200 years old. It sets standar…
Can You Overcome an Afrin Addiction?
Have you ever become addicted to your nasal spray? Millions of people do. Decongestant nasal sprays can be used safely for only a few days before they start to produce rebound congestion that can be q…
Zyrtec Withdrawal Is a Nightmare
Cetirizine (Zyrtec) is an antihistamine often used to treat allergies, nasal congestion or hives. It is considered a second-generation non-sedating antihistamine. In other words, it doesn't make you d…
How to Sleep During Anxious Times
This is a terrible time to be an insomniac. Headlines are designed to provoke anxiety or fear. Contentious political clashes and war make the nighttime news distressing. When the days get shorter and …
New Concerns About Gabapentin and Pregabalin (Ly…
Several years ago, a review of the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) revealed some disconcerting data about commonly prescribed drugs for nerve pain (ISMP QuarterWatch Reports (March 27, …
How To Stop Venlafaxine: Very, VERY Slowly!
It has taken the medical profession a very long time to acknowledge that many of the most popular drugs in the pharmacy can cause a kind of dependence. By that we mean such drugs can precipitate serio…
How To Stop Tramadol Without Withdrawal Symptoms…
We have heard from hundreds of visitors to this website about the serious side effects of tramadol (Ultram). They include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, constipation, headache, drowsiness, dizzin…
Don’t Forget Your Medications When You Tra…
We are in the middle of travel season. Getting out the door on vacation can be a stressful time. In all the fuss, people may forget to pack crucial medications. What can you do if you arrive at your d…
Why Is Antidepressant Withdrawal So Hard?
A few years ago it was estimated that one out of eight Americans took an antidepressant medication (JAMA Internal Medicine, Feb. 2017) daily. According to my current calculations, 46 million people no…
Stopping Antihistamine Leads to Unbelievable Itc…
Every so often, doctors discover something from their own experience as patients that they didn't learn in medical school and haven't heard from their colleagues. Often, the symptoms of withdrawal fr…
Duloxetine (Cymbalta) Side Effects & Withdr…
We have received so many complaints about duloxetine (Cymbalta) side effects that we have lost count. Far more disturbing are the number of people who tell us how hard it is to discontinue this drug. …
Prolia for Osteoporosis Can Cause Low Calcium an…
The CDC estimates that over 10 million Americans have osteoporosis. Another 43 million have “low bone mass.” Bones can become weak because of illness, nutritional deficiencies, low levels of estro…
Does Your Medicine Have a Boxed Warning? Why You…
When people are poised to participate in risky activities, they are supposed to follow safety protocols. For example, sky divers exercise proper precautions and procedures before each jump. No commerc…
Show 1389: Getting Off the Medication Treadmill
This week, Joe and Terry Graedon welcome your questions and stories about difficulties in stopping medicines, whether prescription or OTC. Dr. Richard Friedman, an expert on drugs to treat anxiety and…
Intense Itching From Stopping Zyrtec (Cetirizine…
When do you need to keep taking a medication? If you have a chronic health problem, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, you probably need to keep taking the medicine that controls it. Sometimes, …
Tramadol Side Effects and Withdrawal are Dauntin…
Doctors love tramadol (Ultram, Ultracet) because it is perceived as far safer than narcotics like hydrocodone (Lortab, Norco, Vicodin, etc.) or oxycodone (Oxycontin, Percocet, etc). Many doctors are a…
Legalization of Cannabis Resulted in Problems fo…
In 2020, Canada legalized the sale of edible cannabis products. Researchers wondered about the impact of legalization on older adults. Legalization and Emergency Department Visits: To find out they an…
Show 1315: Are We Medicating Normal Emotions? (A…
This week on our nationally syndicated radio show, we examine the consequences of prescriptions for anxiety or grief. All of us, at some point in our lives, will experience some of these emotions. If …
Do Doctors Know How to Help Patients Stop Medica…
Imagine for a moment that you are the CEO of a major drug company. What is the ideal product? Sadly, it’s all about money. In other words, what would be a highly profitable medication that doctors w…
Multiple Strategies May Be Needed to Get Off Nex…
Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) have gone from doctors' darlings when they were first introduced to having a much darker side acknowledged. These medications were originally intended to treat serious d…
The Love-Hate Relationship with Anti-Anxiety Ben…
Throughout recorded history, there have been huge challenges: famines, floods, fires, earthquakes, pandemics and wars. People have been complaining about anxiety and stress for hundreds, if not thousa…
Multiple Strategies Are Needed for Stopping Hear…
When your doctor hands you a prescription, do you ask about the exit strategy? Most people don't, but perhaps you should. Some drugs are very difficult to quit once you have been taking them for a whi…
Benzodiazepine Dependence | A Hard Habit to Kick
When most people hear the words “drug abuse” they think of opioids like oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl or heroin. Other contenders include stimulants like cocaine and methamphetamine (“meth”…
How Long Will Dizziness Last After Stopping Lexa…
It is always smart to have an exit strategy. That is just as true when you begin taking a prescription medication as when you take a new job that might or might not be quite suitable. Doctors and phar…
Why Popular Heartburn Drugs PPIs Are Linked to P…
Millions of people take proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) to suppress the secretion of stomach acid. The last time we checked, doctors wrote over 100 million prescriptions for drugs like dexlansoprazole (…
Clonidine (Catapres) Side Effects & Complic…
Clonidine is an old drug by any standard. It was developed by Boehringer Ingelheim in the early 1960s to treat nasal congestion. The idea was to administer clonidine as nose drops. But the medication …
Are You “Addicted” to Your Prescription Medi…
Before you read another word, rethink the term addiction! It is loaded with emotional baggage and is a terrible description of drug dependence. It often implies character flaws or vulnerability and fr…
Getting Off Omeprazole Can Be Challenging!
Most people assume that over-the-counter heartburn medicines are completely safe. Why else would the FDA allow them to be sold without a prescription? The trouble is that proton pump inhibitors (PPIs)…
Why Is Pharmacy Pushing to Refill Prescriptions?
Sometimes the decisions a business makes appear obvious, but at other times you wonder why they make particular choices. We are all familiar with pharmacies as the place to fill a prescription that th…
How to Beat Nose Spray Dependence One Nostril at…
Decongestant nose spray is fabulous when your nasal passages are so congested you can't breathe. Just a spritz can open clogged sinuses. However, such nasal sprays have a big downside: nose spray addi…
What Pharmacists Don’t Tell You
This critical perspective is from retired pharmacist, Dennis Miller. There’s a huge amount of important information about drugs that pharmacists rarely discuss with customers. Chances are you feel y…
Stopping Zolpidem (Ambien) for Insomnia Can Be C…
Tens of millions of Americans have a hard time getting a good night’s sleep. They are caught in a terrible double bind. On one hand, they know that their health may suffer if they don't get enough s…
Can You Get Off a PPI Without Suffering Heartbur…
Have you ever tried to get off a PPI like esomeprazole (Nexium) or lansoprazole (Prevacid)? If so, you might have experienced rebound heartburn. People who encounter this problem–and many do–may f…
People in Pain Need Access to Suicide Hotline Nu…
When a reader calls us on an important omission, we try to correct our error. That happened recently when we wrote about the CDC guidelines for opioid use. We were so focused on access to adequate pai…
Are People In Pain Committing Suicide For Lack o…
The opioid epidemic has been with us for decades. It has resulted in untold misery and death. The pandemic only made matters worse. Overdose deaths spiked, in part because the synthetic opioid fentany…
What’s Up with Paxlovid COVID Rebound Infectio…
When Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir + ritonavir) was given emergency use authorization (EUA) on December 22, 2021, by the FDA, there was a lot of excitement. At long last, there was an oral anti-viral medicin…