Drug Interactions? Wonder if your prescription drugs are messing with each other? Check.

I found a great drug-drug interaction resource site today while in clinic. There is no reason why you cannot use the same reference. So many times people are on drugs which are interacting with each other in not so good ways.

This drug interaction resources the following types of drug interactions:

• Vitamin-Drug Interaction
• Herb-Drug Interaction
• Drug-Drug Interaction
  

If you find something suspicious or not sounding that good, do not adjust your own medications. If you think you can, you cannot. If you change some prescription drugs too quickly, a serious side effect can occur causing death or a serious medical condition.

So - use this site as a reference - not to self-medicate and adjust your meds.

Drug Digest is an awesome easy to use tool that allows one to check two or more possible drug interactions. Simply search for a drug, vitamin or herb, add it to the drug interaction list and search for another. Keep doing this as needed. Once all drugs, herbs and vitamins are added to the drug interaction list, simply hit the button 'check interactions'

The drug interaction database will think for a moment and then spit out the possible interactions with explanations.

Again - do not self adjust your medications. Ever.

I discovered in clinic today that a patient's aspirin was altering his blood pressure medications. Aspirin works by limiting prostaglandin release and some blood pressure meds work by prostaglandins. Prostaglandins allow blood vessels to relax which is also what inflammation does. As aspirin decreases inflammation, this specific blood pressure med got affected. The outcome: he still had very high blood pressure.

Did I say don't adjust your meds? Good.

To give an example - if this patient did, he would be dead or suffer a large heart attack.

Here is the drug interaction website: Drug Digest

Enjoy the database. Tell your physician about it. They will love it.

In health,
Ben