8 drugs doctors wouldn't take

[RedEarth]

Of course, plenty of M.D.'s do know which prescription and over-the-counter drugs are duds, dangers, or both. So we asked them, "Which medications would you skip?" Their list is your second opinion. If you're on any of these meds, talk to your doctor. Maybe he or she will finally open that big red book with all the dust on it.

Advair
It's asthma medicine ... that could make your asthma deadly. Advair contains the long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) salmeterol. A 2006 analysis of 19 trials, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that regular use of LABAs can increase the severity of an asthma attack. Because salmeterol is more widely prescribed than other LABAs, the danger is greater — the researchers estimate that salmeterol may contribute to as many as 5,000 asthma-related deaths in the United States each year. In 2006, similarly disturbing findings from an earlier salmeterol study prompted the FDA to tag Advair with a "black box" warning — the agency's highest caution level.


Avandia
Diabetes is destructive enough on its own, but if you try to control it with rosiglitazone — better known by the brand name Avandia — you could be headed for a heart attack. Last September, a Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) study found that people who took rosiglitazone for at least a year increased their risk of heart failure or a heart attack by 109 percent and 42 percent, respectively, compared with those who took other oral diabetes medications or a placebo.

Celebrex

Ketek
Most bacteria in the lungs and sinuses don't stand a chance against Ketek, but you might not either. This antibiotic, which has traditionally been prescribed for respiratory-tract infections, carries a higher risk of severe liver side effects than similar antibiotics do. "Ketek can cause heart-rhythm problems, can lead to liver disease, and could interact poorly with other medications you may be taking," says Dr. Rodgers.

Prilosec and Nexium
Heartburn can be uncomfortable, but heart attacks can be fatal, which is why the FDA has investigated a suspected link between cardiac trouble and the acid-reflux remedies Prilosec and Nexium.

Visine Original
What possible harm to your peepers could come from these seemingly innocuous eyedrops? "Visine gets the red out, but it does so by shrinking blood vessels, just like Afrin shrinks the vessels in your nose," says Thomas Steinemann, M.D., a spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Overuse of the active ingredient tetrahydrozoline can perpetuate the vessel dilating-and-constricting cycle and may cause even more redness.

Pseudoephedrine
Forget that this decongestant can be turned into methamphetamine. People with heart disease or hypertension should watch out for any legitimate drug that contains pseudoephedrine. See, pseudoephedrine doesn't just constrict the blood vessels in your nose and sinuses; it can also raise blood pressure and heart rate, setting the stage for vascular catastrophe. Over the years, pseudoephedrine has been linked to heart attacks and strokes. "Pseudoephedrine can also worsen symptoms of benign prostate disease and glaucoma," says Dr. Rodgers.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24777955

[PetrusMonsFormicarum]

1. Add Chantix to that list

Any drug that has "suicidal urges" listed among its side effects only got through FDA via wheelbarrows full of dirty money.

[nosmokes]

6. Momma! I suck on an Advair discus 2X a day...

I think I'll be calling my Doc now. Thanks for the post.

[Horse with no Name]

18. You couldn't pry my Advair from my cold, dead hands

:D
It is the only thing that works for me...so I risk death from an asthma attack or risk from the medication.
Right now...the odds of an asthma attack killing me are greater.:shrug:

[chicagomd]

24. Amen.

I love Advair, although I have to say I do not use it that much in my practice. Like a lot of new medications it got marketed to hell and was over perscribed, but it makes an amazing difference in symptom control in the right patients.

[TZ]

12. Yes, lets just forget the thousands of people for whom Chantix

is a wonder drug--including my two pack a day for 40 year stepfather who hasn't had a cigarette in a year thanks to it.
People need to actually do research on these drugs...not just listen to media hype/hysteria.
Everybody reacts differently but by far the majority of people have very mild issues.

[SharonRB]

2. Lovely

I take Advair, but I haven't had an asthma attack since I started taking it (or since I started previously taking Serevent, one of its ingredients, before it came out). I used to have to walk around with an inhaler with me all the time.

[grasswire]

3. I do take prilosec sometimes

I would guess there's a tradeoff between the inflammation caused by reflux and the negative aspect of a proton pump inhibitor.

I would NEVER take pseudoephedrine. I had it once in my life and thought I was going to die.

I don't use any of that other stuff.

[HockeyMom]

4. Cipro

I had an intestional virus and the gave me that for it. Injections and 500 milligrams twice a day. Yes, it cured the virus, but I got double vision which lasted over a month and is just now going away. No, they would not admit it was a result of the meds.

I did my own research and found they give Cipro to those exposed to ANTHRAX! Excuse me? For a simple stomach virus??????

[CountAllVotes]

8. Levaquin

This is similar to Cipro. I took this last year. It killed the infection alright but it also killed almost everything else in my body, i.e. my immune system.

I would NEVER take it again. It is one of these "new" antibiotics. BEWARE!

[Horse with no Name]

16. Levaquin has kept me out of the hospital and off of IV antibiotics more times than I care to count

I am so thankful it is out there as an alternative because Cipro...which is in the same family and has also saved me from several hospitalizations...caused my liver enzymes to skyrocket and gave me a pseudo-hepatitis.
Levaquin doesn't do that...thankfully.

[Warpy]

9. Cipro wouldn't do a damned thing for a virus

so they must have suspected bacterial food poisoning.

The full list of side effects is at http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/cipro_ad.htm and blurred/double vision is one of them, although it is rare.

[HockeyMom]

11. Maybe I had salmonella poisioning

I had this right before they reported all those cases from the tainted tomatoes. I do live in Florida and eat a lot of salads. It is possible. I was very sick.

Anyway, I had been taking the meds for about 7 days when very suddenly I got double vision while driving home from work -- just like that. It took about a month for it to go away.

[hvn_nbr_2]

10. Cipro for a virus?

That's weird. Cipro is an antibiotic, which doesn't do anything to viruses.

I once got a prescription for cipro, and when I read the drug insert's list of side effects, I wondered why anyone would ever prescribe that for anything. One potential side effect I remember: ruptured tendons!!! From an antibiotic?! A friend who has a Ph.D. in biology could do better googles than I on the subject and found out that, besides attacking bacteria, cipro attacks tendon cells. So you could end up with a ruptured Achilles tendon (the most commonly affected tendon), trying to get rid of an infection.

If a doctor ever wants to prescribe cipro for me again, I think I'll ask him which brand of crack he likes.

[TZ]

13. a question

If you had a drug resistant MRSA (life threatening) wouldn't you want to have the most potent fighter on your side?
Cipro is over prescribed IMHO..but it is definitely a lifesaver for certain people.

[hvn_nbr_2]

15. Oh yeah.

Is cipro more potent than others or more successful with certain bugs (or certain people, for that matter)? I guess what I'm saying is that, given what I know now, I would have asked the doctor if there was some particular reason for choosing cipro over others with less "interesting" side effects. If he had a reason for cipro, then I'd take cipro.

In the case of MRSA, I'd take whatever they had; and on the side, I'd ask the local witchdoctor to shake a rattle for me too. Well, to be honest, I'd shake a rattle for myself too.

[Celebration]

14. Cipro--HORRIBLE REACTIONS

This stuff can be bad, bad, bad. My daughter took it for a sinus infection and she had some sort of adrenal crisis on it. Most people can handle it but it truly made her allergic to EVERYTHING. Fortunately we found NAET and her allergies are under control now. The initial reaction almost put her in ER.

So, no more antibiotic medication for sinus infections--just acupuncture, and the herbs the acupuncturists give. It works better and seems a lot safer than calling the ambulance.

[Horse with no Name]

17. Be careful

The brain is right behind your sinuses and if left unchecked...a severe sinus infection can lead to meningitis or a brain abscess...leading to death.
I'm sorry about your daughters reaction to it...but be careful about banning all antibiotics because of one.

[Celebration]

23. she now reacts a little bit to all antibiotics

She has taken some since then, and none are as debilitating as Cipro, obviously, but the one or two times she had to take them there were some consequences.

Nasal irrigation works really well for the most part. She now irrigates her sinuses when she gets a cold, and that is a huge help in preventing sinus infections.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

19. HUH?

So, no more antibiotic medication for sinus infections--just acupuncture, and the herbs the acupuncturists give. It works better and seems a lot safer than calling the ambulance.

You called an ambulance for a sinus infection?


David

[Celebration]

22. um, no

The reaction to Cipro was an adrenal crisis of some sort. She was on the floor and almost lost consciousness.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

25. So what was unsafe about calling the ambulance?

[Celebration]

27. nothing

but ultimately it wasn't needed.........she recovered enough to be walking with assistance within about ten minutes. It was scary, though. It was a close call as to whether to call an ambulance, or just assist her.

Cipro is very scary to me. Now nobody in my family takes it.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

28. It sounds like it was scary.

I just didn't understand your comment about the ambulance being unsafe compared to the acupuncturist. It made it seem as if she got the Cipro from an ambulance crew. I'm assuming your family physician gave it to her and you called the ambulance when she had the reaction. Just kind of confused, I've got it now.

David

[Celebration]

29. I skipped steps I think

Getting acupuncture is safer than taking Cipro (for her) or any other antibiotic for sinus infections, and more effective. Calling the ambulance could just be a consequence of taking Cipro. There are very nasty reactions to it by a number of people. This had long term consequences for her, as it left her chemically sensitive, and her allergies got worse.

On the positive side, it turned our whole family towards a large variety of energetic techniques, because they were so effective in helping her overcome the long term consequences of taking Cipro.

[trotsky]

30. "Getting acupuncture is safer... and more effective."

Safer? Not always.

Paraplegia caused by spinal infection after acupuncture

Case report:
A 64-year-old man came to an emergency room because of severe back pain. At 3 days prior to visit, the patient received acupuncture therapy to the low back with a needle about 10 cm in length because of back pain. Pain was aggravated gradually for 3 days. Escherichia coli sepsis developed with altered mentality during admission. At hospital day 9, he regained his consciousness and was found to have paraplegia. Abdominal computerized tomography (CT) and lumbar spine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed abscesses of bilateral psoas muscles and spondylitis with epidural abscess. After conservative management with intravenous administration of antibiotics, infection was controlled but the patient remained paraplegic (ASIA scale C L1 level) without neurological recovery.

Conclusion:
Paraplegia might result from complications of an acupuncture therapy.
http://www.nature.com/sc/journal/v44/n4/abs/3101819a.html

More effective? Totally unproven, and you shouldn't make such careless claims.

[Celebration]

31. well fortunately

Her acupuncturist doesn't use a 10 cm needle in the spine for sinus infections. Sheesh. The needles barely prick the surface.

[trotsky]

32. You're missing the point.

But it wouldn't be the first time.

[tridim]

5. Yet one of the most non-toxic substances on Earth, Cannabis, is illegal.

Last time I checked it still hasn't killed a single human. I challenge anyone to say the same about any other substance on Earth, even water.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

20. This is related to the OP how?

[China_cat]

7. I was prescribed Advair for my COPD

it worked for my breathing but it destroyed my voice, caused severe joint and muscle pain (according to the insert, this happens in less than 10% of users, but I happened to be one of the lucky ones) and ruined my taste buds...everything I ate was tasting like vomit.

I'm now on Symbicort, (backed by Combivent...which won't be made after the first of the year...and an albuterol rescue inhaler) which doesn't work as well for breathing but all the other problems are gone except my voice. It's still changed so drastically that my own family doesn't recognize that it's me when I call.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

21. Combivent is a combination of atrovent and albuterol.

Your doctor can just give you an albuterol metered dose inhaler and an atrovent metered dose inhaler. That will accomplish the same goal.

David

[Summer93]

26. Cipro

I was prescribed Cipro twice. Once the normal dose and then I was told to double the dose. I began to have hallucinations and told the doctor. He wanted me to stay on it a week but, I could not do it. I also had trouble sleeping. Those hallucinations caused problems not only for me but for those I had trouble communicating with. Strange phone calls, dogs attacking me like you see in the movies. I would ask for something else if I have another infection to deal with.