By: Joe Graedon April 28, 2025 2 Comments
    MAO Inhibitors Are Oldies but Goodies for Stubbo…

    Psychiatrists estimate that depression affects as many as 1 out of 10 Americans. Teenagers and young adults are even more vulnerable, with as many as 17% impacted. There are ongoing questions about th…

    By: Joe Graedon April 7, 2025 7 Comments
    Do Antidepressants Prevent Pain Relief After Sur…

    Surgery can be quite painful. Thank goodness for anesthesia! Imagine what it would be like if you had to have an appendectomy or knee replacement surgery while wide awake. Ouch! Fortunately, you can s…

    By: Terry Graedon April 3, 2025 2 Comments
    Show 1425: How Can You Combine Supplements, Herb…

    This week, two pharmacists describe why you should check with a pharmacist about possible problems when you combine supplements, herbs and medicines. In some cases, a supplement might interfere with y…

    By: Joe Graedon March 24, 2025 15 Comments
    Purple Peril? Grape Juice Interaction Differs fr…

    Have you ever been warned about a grape juice interaction with the heartburn medicine omeprazole (Prilosec)? I didn't think so. If you were to poll most pharmacists and physicians and ask them about s…

    By: Joe Graedon February 23, 2025 26 Comments
    Potassium Interaction with Blood Pressure Pills:…

    Do you know how your diet relates to your medication? Prescribers don't always mention dietary precautions when they hand out a prescription. But often they should discuss this to avoid a potential pr…

    By: Joe Graedon February 17, 2025 9 Comments
    Beware Coffee and Cipro and Other Drug Interacti…

    Most of us have learned how much coffee we can handle before getting into trouble with jitters, insomnia or heart palpitations. But some drugs may interact with caffeine to give us more of a java jolt…

    By: Terry Graedon January 27, 2025 34 Comments
    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…

    By: Joe Graedon January 23, 2025 28 Comments
    Antidepressant Reacts Badly With Cold Medicine: …

    When you reach for an over-the-counter medicine, do you think about whether it is compatible with other drugs you may be taking? Few people do, but that could be a big mistake. Something as seemingly …

    By: Joe Graedon November 25, 2024 10 Comments
    Cough Remedy Plus Antidepressant Spark Scary Ser…

    Chances are good that you’ve heard of serotonin. It is a neurotransmitter in the brain that has been linked to mood. Fluoxetine (Prozac) and its antidepressant chemical cousins (citalopram or Celexa…

    By: Joe Graedon November 20, 2024 14 Comments
    Beware Mixing Xarelto or Eliquis and OTC Pain Re…

    Anticoagulant medications are frequently prescribed to people with atrial fibrillation (AFib). This arrhythmia can cause blood clots that might lead to a stroke. AFib used to be treated primarily with…

    By: Dennis Miller, RPh October 31, 2024 15 Comments
    Validating Your Suspicions About Pills—You’r…

    Do you often feel that there’s much in the world of pills that doesn’t make sense? Does it sometimes cause you to question your sanity? You’re not alone. It had that effect on retired pharmacist…

    By: Terry Graedon October 21, 2024 27 Comments
    Taking Synthroid in the Middle of the Night

    An underactive thyroid gland is a surprisingly common condition, affecting up to 5 percent of adult Americans. More people experience subclinical hypothyroidism than overt hypothyroidism. Nonetheless,…

    By: Terry Graedon September 9, 2024 17 Comments
    Will Soy Interfere with Thyroid?

    People managing a chronic condition like hypothyroidism want to avoid simple activities that might interfere with the best outcome. They may have heard that you have to take your thyroid medication ea…

    By: Karen Berger, PharmD, RPh July 25, 2024 39 Comments
    Why Pharmacists Can’t Just Slap a Label on…

    “Don’t you just have to slap a label on it?” Pharmacists around the country hear the same thing, all day, every day. I know this because I am in several pharmacist groups on Facebook, each with …

    By: Joe Graedon July 10, 2024 17 Comments
    Polypharmacy and Premature Deaths Especially in …

    Have you been to a doctor’s office or a clinic lately? Chances are very good that a med tech weighed you, measured your blood pressure and took your temperature. This information was entered into a …

    By: Terry Graedon July 7, 2024 129 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 June 19, 2024 5 Comments
    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…

    By: Joe Graedon June 3, 2024 20 Comments
    Tylenol & Alcohol: Acetaminophen Side Effec…

    We keep getting questions from readers who want to know about taking Tylenol & alcohol together. You might think that this question would be easily resolved. The various Tylenol labels are a bit c…

    By: Joe Graedon May 20, 2024 12 Comments
    Medical Mistakes and Deadly Drug Interactions

    No one likes to make mistakes. It is a humbling experience. Even when lives are not at stake, errors can open you up to ridicule or sanctions. That's why many people try to deny or cover up their erro…

    By: Terry Graedon May 16, 2024 2 Comments
    Show 1385: The Dangers of Overdosing on OTC Meds

    This week, Joe and Terry Graedon welcome your questions and stories about the dangers of overdosing on OTC meds. Dr. Lisa Sanders, an acknowledged expert on medical diagnosis, starts us off with a sto…

    By: Joe Graedon May 13, 2024 10 Comments
    Will Food and Drink Affect Your Drug?

    Everyone is in a hurry these days. This is especially true when it comes to prescriptions. Many doctors don't even hand you a paper prescription; they just transmit it electronically from their comput…

    By: Joe Graedon April 28, 2024 10 Comments
    Why Potassium Chloride Is Not Always a Safe Salt…

    People have been warned that salt (sodium chloride) is dangerous, especially for people with high blood pressure. But most people love the taste of standard salt. That's why potato and tortilla chips …

    By: Joe Graedon April 14, 2024 17 Comments
    Preventing Deadly Drug Interactions Harder Than …

    If I told you that over 2 million people were harmed while flying on an airplane and 100,000 people died each year in airplane crashes you would be astounded. You might be reluctant to get on an airpl…

    By: Terry Graedon April 1, 2024 12 Comments
    Do Doctors Ignore Dangerous Drug Interactions?

    In the United States most law-abiding citizens don't run red lights. They know that the traffic rules are there to protect everyone from accidents. There's also the fear factor. If a policeman catches…

    By: Terry Graedon March 11, 2024 28 Comments
    Beware of Biotin Interfering With Thyroid Tests

    It's alarming to get a laboratory test result that shows a serious problem. Learning later that the test might have given a false reading is also frustrating. One reader discovered that you should bew…

    By: Joe Graedon February 11, 2024 17 Comments
    Taking Lisinopril | Avoid POTASSIUM but ZINC Cou…

    Lisinopril is about the most popular drug in the pharmacy. This ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitor is swallowed by over 20 million hypertensive Americans every day. Over 110,000,000 bottles…

    By: Joe Graedon January 18, 2024 898 Comments
    Surprising Gabapentin Side Effects

    The Food and Drug Administration first approved Neurontin (gabapentin) in 1993 to treat epilepsy. Anticonvulsants are not normally blockbuster drugs. Perhaps that is why the original manufacturer, Par…

    By: Joe Graedon January 8, 2024 4 Comments
    Should You Be Driving While Taking Medicine?

    Has your physician or pharmacist ever told you not to drive a car while taking a medication? About the only time patients are warned not to drive is after a medical procedure that requires anesthesia …

    By: Joe Graedon December 24, 2023 30 Comments
    Is the Oral Pill Paxlovid an Answer to COVID-19?

    Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir + ritonavir) and Legevrio (molnupiravir) got a green light from the FDA two years ago.  Like everything surrounding COVID-19, there is controversy about the benefits and risks …

    By: Joe Graedon November 6, 2023 7 Comments
    Can You Trust Your Electronic Prescriptions?

    There was a time when a visit to the doctor's office often resulted in a paper prescription that you would take to the pharmacy. Nowadays there is a strong likelihood that if you need a medication you…

    By: Joe Graedon July 10, 2023 15 Comments
    Interactions May Have Deadly Results

    Ask any sixth grader what 1+1 equals and you will be told the answer is 2. Ask a pharmacist, though, and you might get a very different answer. In the Alice-in-Wonderland world of pharmaceuticals, som…

    By: Terry Graedon June 8, 2023 8 Comments
    Show 1343: Hidden Harms of Herb and Drug Interac…

    Millions of Americans take dietary supplements, and most of us assume that they are safe. While that is probably a reasonable rule of thumb, there are some situations that require more vigilance. In p…

    By: Joe Graedon April 3, 2023 27 Comments
    If You Take Paxlovid, Will You Get Over COVID Mo…

    It appears that most people have put COVID out of mind. That’s because 99% of people shopping, traveling and attending events are no longer wearing masks. We get it. DONE with COVID seems to be the …

    By: Joe Graedon March 27, 2023 15 Comments
    How Can You Stop PM Sleeping Pills?

    People with insomnia are caught between two hard rocks. On the one hand, they are told that lack of sleep can lead to all sorts of health problems including high blood pressure, forgetfulness, diabete…

    By: Joe Graedon February 27, 2023 8 Comments
    Is it Risky to Take Atorvastatin with Grapefruit…

    Physicians and pharmacists are super busy these days. Some pharmacists have confided to us that they feel like they are in an I love Lucy skit like this one where Lucy and Ethel wrap chocolates. Patie…

    By: Dennis Miller, RPh February 16, 2023 11 Comments
    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…

    By: Joe Graedon January 12, 2023 26 Comments
    Will the Kraken XBB.1.5 COVID Subvariant Get You…

    So many variants: Alpha (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), Delta (B.1.617.2) and Omicron (with lots of subvariants including BA.5, BQ.1 and BQ.1.1). Now we are faced with the Kraken XBB.1.5. It is spreading l…

    By: Terry Graedon December 5, 2022 17 Comments
    Thyroid Medicine You Can Take with Breakfast

    Many people don't realize that coffee and several other foods may partially block absorption of the thyroid medicine Synthroid (Benvenga et al, Thyroid, March 2008). Over-the-counter medicines such as…

    By: Joe Graedon November 28, 2022 10 Comments
    Beware of Serotonin Syndrome from Cough Remedy I…

    Chances are good that you’ve heard of serotonin. Scientists have linked this neurotransmitter in the brain to mood. Fluoxetine (Prozac) and its antidepressant chemical cousins (citalopram or Celexa,…

    By: Terry Graedon November 21, 2022 96 Comments
    Drinking Coffee with Synthroid Means the Morning…

    How do you take your Synthroid, the levothyroxine medication used to treat an underactive thyroid gland? Usually, people are urged to take it first thing in the morning. Ideally, it is taken at least …