Losing Weight Can Kill You
When you pick up your vitamins or dietary supplements, do you decide on your choice based on if it says "Natural?"
According to the United States Federal Drug Administration, "natural" doesn't always mean safe. Take weight loss products for example. Many of these products use the word "natural," but what you need to know is that some of these products have ingredients that can interact with medications and may be dangerous for people with certain medical conditions.
Your dietary supplement has the potential to challenge the absorption rate, metabolism, or excretion of a medication. These dietary supplements can include ingredients such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and botanicals and can have an adverse effect on certain medications.
Mixing Prescriptions, Nonprescriptions, and Dietary Supplements
According to the CDC, each year almost 1.3 million visits to the emergency room are due to adverse drug effects and some individuals may have to be hospitalized. Older adults (65 and older) visit emergency rooms nearly 450,000 times each year and are more likely to be hospitalized than younger people. But do keep in mind that many hospitalizations are due to some medications that should be carefully monitored to prevent problems.
When we are in pain or discomfort we usually without hesitation take an over-the-counter medication to ease the pain. What is prevalent in our minds at the time is that we are in pain and for some, that persistent discomfort turned into an indescribable and intolerable pain that can bring even the strongest of persons to their knees. There is little time to think, you just want relief. This sort of thing transcends age barriers and is a problem for us all.
In Harms Way
Be careful with what you take or you could inadvertently put yourself in harm's way. This is especially the cause for older adults. According to the CDC, older are seven times more likely to be hospitalized due to an adverse drug event (ADE).
An adverse drug event is not only caused by mishandling medications or missing a doctor's appointment for needed blood testing. Sometimes it could be because you took too much of the same thing. For example, two common drugs that should not be mixed together are the prescription drug Warfarin and the over-the-counter drug Asprin. When mixed together, patients are at a much greater risk of serious bleeding. A safer solution would be a doctor-recommended regimen of Warfarin and Acetametiphen. But safer does not get anyone out of the woods, I will explain later.
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Beware of what you are taking, because interactions between prescription and nonprescription medications can cause the effects of the drugs to intensify, or lower their effectiveness. Millions of people in the US take some kind of dietary supplement along with a prescription drug. Increasing the potential for life-threatening effects.
Remember what I said earlier about Warfrin and consulting your doctor if you are combining it with Acetaminophen? Here is the reason why. According to the FDA, if you combine Warfrin (prescription blood thinner), Ginkgo Biloba (an herbal supplement), Asprin, and Vitamin E (a supplement) this can increase the potential for internal bleeding or stroke.
Tips for proper medication control
Resources:
Retrieved from FDA website June 16, 2022.https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/mixing-medications-and-dietary-supplements-can-endanger-your-health#:~:text=Certain%20dietary%20supplements%20can%20change,of%20the%20medication%20you%20need.
Retrieved from CDC website June 17, 2022.https://www.cdc.gov/medicationsafety/adult_adversedrugevents.html