The very first thing my 89 year old Mother does when I pick up her meds is read the side effects from front to back . Except for the BP pill for my vacarus the side effects for the rest are increased appetite , dry mouth and possible red eyes?
There's the whole correlation/causation thing, coupled with the cost of the bad press you get by fighting it is more than just settling Class Action en masse. So who knows what the truth is or if it will ever be found out. Then you wonder what the point of funding the FDA is.
I'm the exact same way. I used to have a copy of the PDR (Physician's Desk Reference) around. These days I read about the med on at least 2 websites. I recently got an antibiotic from Walmart and was annoyed that they no longer give you the info in writing...you gotta go to their website. Not everyone in this rural area has internet. And even though I do, I found it off-putting.
The FDA is largely funded by the people they are supposed to regulate, so the agency is largely worthless. This was certainly obvious during the recent pandemic, but it has been pretty apparent prior to that to those who looked. It is run on a system of bribery, so it really isn't much good.
I only skim or reading those,unless it is new medicine. But you can find out all you need to know online. When hubby accidentally took his meds twice few months ago, oi was online reading waht to look for incase something did happen. For every drug we take the trade off is the possibility of something else happening when taken long term. Even with OTC meds and or vitamins. After almost 5 years of being on my few meds and no problems ,I see no reason to change now. Have had doctorst ell me they hate all those commericals as it just casuses them more problems with patients.
And only Losartan made by certain factories/labs were recalled. I've taken Losartan for years and was reassured (and shown) by my pharmacy that there was no recall for my manufacturer.
My SIL tells me all the time," stop reading those side effects" all drugs have them but some more dangerous. Hubby says, you read the side effects then won't take it. I do take half of one of my BP meds if it gets high, but not every day like doc told me to do. And I take aspirin which has side effects too. All those other drugs they prescribed past 20 years to take like statins, Metformin, Lisinopril I refuse to take. Yet my SIL never seen a drug she didn't like and she is doing ok, hubbys mother same thing she lived to be 86 but also passed from medication liver poisoning.
Another pharmaceutical company is recalling a blood pressure medication that could increase the risk of cancer if taken in large amounts. On Wednesday, Lupin Pharmaceuticals recalled four lots of Quinapril Tablets because the medication has too much of the nitrosamine impurity N-Nitroso-Quinapril, the FDA announced. The medication in question is marked as: ▪ Quinapril Tablets USP, 20mg | lot No. G102929 | expiration date of April 2023 ▪ Quinapril Tablets USP, 40mg | lot Nos. G100533, G100534, G203071 | expiration dates of December 2022 and March 2024
I take an older BP med, Atenolol and a fairly old one Amlodpine and both work just fine for me. I believe all BP mes mostly likely cause some fatigue but it may llessen with time. Years ago I was conideing Celebrex amd at about that timeframe Vioxx was new and was recalled...so I'm not wandering into the world of pharma anti inflammatories. All drugs come with a list of possible/probable S/E and I won't entertain them. I manage good with my supplements....and no S/E. Good to see the BP med is being recalled. There are so many BP meds, often the old ones do good for patients.
A lot of drugs from China contain NDMA or other carcinogens. I don't know if it is deliberate or just sloppy manufacturing practices.
Before the days of the internet, I used to keep a Physician's Desk Reference (PDR) in my bookcase. Sure, I'd read what came with the meds, but the PDR gave lots more info.
Some use the PDR and some use the Merck Manual. Both are good, but the PDR is better, I think, for drug info.
I agree with this. Doctors and other qualified people need to make decisions about drug administration. Citizens need to be made aware of benefit/risk but a drug company advertising to the public on TV is simply pushing a product to an inappropriate audience. So many times I see an ad on TV and it escapes me what it is even supposed to be treating. Never mind, just go ask your doctor to prescribe Metaxilfabulin ASAP.
But someone like me does a lot of his own research because--at best--doctors simply cannot be on top of everything. So while I agree that these commercials might be inappropriate, when it comes to my own healthcare no one but me has a vested interest, and I need the information. That being said, I don't think that these things should be available OTC (there are some people arguing that status for antibiotics.) But I think we've all had enough bad experiences with the medical community to not delegate our beings to it...and even the best doctors are imperfect.