8 DRUGS THAT DOCTORS WON'T TAKE! | Arthritis Information

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24777955/page/2/

8 DRUGS THAT DOCTORS WON'T TAKE

I've stopped both Celebrex and Prilosec. Lindy

Nothing beats a PPI (Prilosec, nexium, etc) to help heal stomach erosion (esp. from NSAIDs); GI bleeding can also kill you. They shouldn't be used for first-line treatment of acid indigestion, though. The H2 blockers (tagamet, etc) also dramatically raise stomach pH and can cause problems when used long-term.

Celebrex is just another NSAID; they all have various risks.

I am a big neti pot advocate, but sometimes I've just got to use pseudoephedrine to clear my sinuses in order to prevent a secondary bacterial infection. Again, it's not without risks. To me (and my doctor), the risk of a stubborn sinus infection is worse than the small (but real) risk of an adverse cardiac event.

I'm sure this is just the beginning of the list of drugs a doctor would not take. If you really want to know.....ask a pharmacist to provide a list of drugs they would not take. Jas, I use a neti pot also and still take the occ. pseudoephedrine. I don't want a sinus infection and I feel the sinus inf. is worse than the possible risk from PE. I was on a PPI for awhile a couple of years ago and my GP suggested going off them to see if I could do without them and he was right.

The GERD tie-in with being overweight is fascinating.
lorster you are so right about pharmacists not taking drugs. My father is a retired pharm and is always playing devils advocate with the drs if they want to put him on something new. He hated me taking cortisone a few years ago.

Then he got polymyalgia for a few months and thought cortisone was the bees knees Mab, how do you treat your indigestion. Sometimes I just feel that nothing else but nexium works for me. Is there anything that works super well other than a pill? [QUOTE=lorster]Mab, how do you treat your indigestion. Sometimes I just feel that nothing else but nexium works for me. Is there anything that works super well other than a pill?[/QUOTE]

Small meals (5 or 6 a day); drink water; eat Rolaids (calcium + magnesium); don't eat within 2 hours of bed; keep a food log and see what aggravates your belly the most. For short-term relief, an H2 antagonist can be a great help... but long-term daily use can cause some of the same problems as PPI's.
If I have more than a cup of coffee a day, or more than a few drinks (beer, wine) a week, I'm askin' for a bellyachin'. I thought this was a pretty irresponsible article, actually.

The first drug listed is Advair, and I've researched that one a fair bit because I take it. They were way off base. The risk of death with Advair *isn't* any higher, it just isn't any lower. However, it's a quality of life thing -- it might not reduce your chances at dying from asthma, but it sure makes you feel better while you're on it.

[QUOTE=Cygnet]I thought this was a pretty irresponsible article, actually.

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I agree. The title alone is pure sensationalism. This is exactly the kind of article that causes people like my stepmom to abruptly stop a prescribed treatment - as if the article's author knows more about medicine in general and her issues in particular than her own doctor, whom she's been seeing for years. [QUOTE=mab52] The article didn't say to stop taking drugs, it said that there are often better choices.
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Agreed... but the headline doesn't really match the article.That may be true, but people don't stop their meds because of a headline or a tagline. I certainly don't expect anyone will stop any of their meds cold turkey because of this article. I would hope that people will stop and think about the meds that they're on and why they are still taking them. Some people take meds out of habit. They've been on them for so long they don't question the reasons why they're continuing. People take a new drug and don't ask their doctors about an alternative Rx with less side effects. This is a real problem in the geriatric population. LindyLin, you haven't met my mother, LOL! She makes decisions on medications based on things she reads in The National Enquirer! [QUOTE=Hillhoney]Lin, you haven't met my mother, LOL! She makes decisions on medications based on things she reads in The National Enquirer![/QUOTE]

Yep... and headlines like this get picked up by the nightly news as a 30-second health crisis news report, where they give even less detail about the issues at hand and make it even more sensationalistic.
Irregardless of responsible or irresponsible there is some good information in the article. I happen to think it's not irresponsible and this is coming from an RN. Maybe I just read beyond the sensationalism and looked closely at the content. I'm not going to discuss the merits of the article any longer. I posted it for the content and didn't realize that people would see it as being irresponsible. PLEASE DON'T ANYONE STOP YOUR MEDICINE BASED ON THIS ARTICLE. TALK WITH YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE ACTING. LindyWhenever there is a news article or report on TV about some drug doing anything besides what it was presribed to do, we (the ER where I work) is bombarded with patients wanting to know that they are OK. When you get down to it medications are just a bunch of chemicals, sometimes molecules can form into something that is bad for us. We'd all l;ike to think that the FDA does a great job in protecting us but you have to realize who is paying for the drug studies... the folks that are making the drug and a HUGE profit on them. Doing what I do for a living I get to see the actions that some of these drugs can have on the human body. I can't tell you how many elderly people I've taken care of with bleeding ulcers from Celebrex or for that matter how many young folks I've had with perforated ulcers from throwing their heads back and poring Goody's or Stanback down their throat. There are always side effects from drugs, it doesn't matter how benign they may seem because they are over the counter medications. As LinB says do NOT stop your meds without consulting your MD or PA, or NP.

I read that article and wondered how many would just "stop" things. Dr's prescribe things knowing that there may be risks. Look at all the RA drugs for heaven's sake!!! They take the risks and benefits into consideration and apply it appropriately to every pt. You shouldn't stop medications until you consult your physician. EVERY drug has it risks. NO drug is 100% safe for every person. CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN.

One of the drugs that the article mentioned, if I'm not mistaken, was given the heave ho and they recommended another one which happens to have an ingredient that's in the drug they were giving the thumbs down. If I were the editor, I'd have a few words with the writer before I ditched them. I like having the opportunity to read medical articles I would have otherwise missed, and this is one of them. It's up to me to decide on its merits, but I can't do that if I haven't seen it. Shame on me if I just blindly believe and act on everything I read.