There are some basic things to consider about any medications you may be taking and things you should do to use them effectively:

1. Make sure you tell all your doctors about any vitamins, supplements, herbals, prescription or non-prescription medications you may be taking.  Any of these may cause an interaction with certain prescribed medicines.
2. When prescribing any medication for you, your physician should explain a few things to you.  He should tell you how the medicine is going to help you and how often you should take it.  He’ll explain whether you should take it with food or without?  Be sure to take them as prescribed.
3. You’ll need to know whether it is a medicine that you should take for only a certain length of time or indefinitely to control a certain condition.  Be sure to take it as long as your doctor wants you to.  This is worth further explanation:

Antibiotics that treat infections are usually taken for a specific number of days.  Antibiotics truly cure infections.  The doctor gives you the number of doses that need to be taken to completely cure the infection.  Stopping the antibiotic too soon can lead to a recurrence of the same infection that may be more difficult to treat.  Pain medication is another class of medications that needs only be taken while you are having pain.  They are often given to relieve the pain after surgery while the tissues heal.

Other drugs that control conditions such as high blood pressure or cholesterol need to be taken indefinitely.  If you have high blood pressure and are taking a medication that lowers your blood pressure to normal levels, the medicine has not cured your hypertension.  It is controlling it, and will do so only as long as you are taking it.  When taking medications that control a condition, you should not stop them without discussing it with your doctor first.  Abruptly stopping some medications may cause a worsening of the condition they were controlling.  In the case of blood pressure, stopping a medication suddenly may result in the blood pressure reaching dangerous levels.

4. Your doctor should warn you about potential side effects the medication may cause.  Notify him if you notice any new or worsening symptoms after you start the medicine.
5. Because some drugs may affect other systems of your body without causing symptoms you would notice, your physician may want to check some blood tests after you have been taking the medication for awhile.  Make sure you get the recommended tests.

If you have any questions about any of your medications, ask your doctor or pharmacist.  Next time I’ll talk a little bit more about using your medications effectively and controlling your costs.

For Your Health – Dr. Bob