TELL DOCTORS EVERYTHING
To avoid dangerous interactions or side effects, don't hold back information
Up to one third of all hospitalizations in the U.S. are the result of drug interactions or side effects-a statistic of particular import to people living with diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer and other diseases that often require both multiple medications and health-care providers. "Drug interaction can be very dangerous, even fatal," says Margaret Tomecki, PharmD, of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA). "The more medications a patient is taking, the greater the risk if things are not monitored carefully."
According to a recent study at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, for example, people taking the blood thinner warfarin—usually prescribed to prevent strokes due to blood clots—need to be wary of mixing it with prednisone and other steroids often given to cancer patients, as well as with myriad antibiotics given for other conditions.
"[Warfarin] interacts with everything, even things you eat," says oncologist Monika Krzyzankowska, MD, senior author of the study. "If you are seeing multiple care providers and they're all changing your medications, you should always be aware of everything you're on so that you can tell them, ‘I'm on this medication and I'm on that medication.'"
Even over-the-counter meds like acetaminophen need to be closely monitored for potential interactive impact, Tomecki notes, as do alternative medications and supplements such as garlic, ginger, ginko biloba, feverfew, dong quai, St. John's wort and ginseng. Here, Tomecki offers some tips for mitigating risk:
Keep with you an updated list of all the medications being taken by you or the person in your care, including nonprescription and alternative remedies like herbal supplements, and present it at visits to each doctor and pharmacist
Make sure you understand the instructions you've been given for taking all medications. Always ask questions if you don't understand something—including what the medication is for
Make sure you are taking the right dose of the correct medication
Inform your doctor and pharmacist of any unexplained symptoms or changes after taking a medication