Drug Interaction Questions

[SteveSS]

Hi. I'm a newbie. Sorta. I've been reading posts for about 6mo. Haven't really found much to help yet. This PN is driving me nuts. Good days, bad days, etc, etc. I wish I know what I did wrong to make my nerves start dying. I wish I could make it stop from progressing. I wish I knew what was going to happen next.
Anyway I finally have a question. (Doctors don't seem to know much)
I searched but didn't find anything.
Is there a list of drugs which can be detrimental? I know about statins, but are there others? Like Avodart or Flomax or BP meds.
How about flu shots. Will that trigger something?
Oh oh, been sitting too long. Here it comes. Gotta go for a walk.
Bye. SteveS

[Silverlady]

Some of the others will be checking in later. Most of us stay at Braintalk2 which is here: *******************************.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=20. But we do check in here to see if there is someone who needs help.

There isn't a list as far as I know but there are lists of Medications and you can search that list for any medications you are interested in and read the
SIDE EFFECTS of that medication. You want to watch for peripheral Neuropathy there as well as some other terms. I'm hoping some one will come along and tell you what those terms are.

Here is one of the sites I use for medication: www.nlm.hih.gov/medlineplus/
druginformation.html

Billye

[joy]

Hi Steve and welcome. Sorry you need to be here but you are among a good group of people here. Silverlady was right in using the computer to search everything you can about medications. I myself hate for anyone to have to be on statins but my husband is one because the alternative for him could be worse than having peripheral neuropathy. My doctor strongly suggests that I get a flu shot each year. In fact the year there was a shortage I was one of the few that did get one from his office. I myself have never felt that it made my pn worse.

Stick around and get to know us and keep asking questions.

[jjano]

Joy,
While tons of folks are on "STATINS" , be sure your husband and any of your friends closely monitor how they feel while on ANY Cholesterol drug. While many people have irrritating leg , body and trunk pain, which can come and go, one can get a terrible case of ""Rhabdomyolysis"". In Nanc's case it struck one week-end. It was like coming down with the flu, but with no barfs or trotts. We stopped the meds and by Tuesday, all the damage was done. She had lost 95% of her strength and it has NEVER returned. That was over two years ago. So now the walk from her livingroom chair to the bathroom is the activity of the day and that also often requires help getting out of the chair.

We all react differently to med, but as you can see, "Rabdo" can make you an invalid almost over night, and there goes your life, dreams, and all of your basic abilities.

Stay healthy!!!!!!!!!!AND WARN ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS WHO ARE ON ANY STATIN DRUG

Jim

[JLW]

Hi, Steve. I"m fairly new at this stuff as well.

But don't be misled. Yes, there is a Braintalk2 forum. Yes, there are PN'ers who post there.

But BrainTalk2 is NOT affiliated with this BrainTalk forum. Only some of the members go to both. It is not run with or legally connected with the original here.

I'm not saying BT2 is bad, I just wanted to let you know. Many people are misled by the name similarities and just assume it is a branch of this Original BrainTalk community.

(Personally, I prefer the original one here.)


I also wonder about drug interactions sometimes myself with things. I have a really good relationship with my pharmacist, so I usually check with him on everything even if I find stuff on the internet.

Welcome aboard the "PN Train".......... but sorry to see you have to be along for the ride.

[nide44]

BT2 was developed when this site was down for a long while,
as an alternative site in the interim.
It is now called Neuro Talk and is used by many PN'ers.
It is not associated with 'hastypastry' in any way.
Politics and controversy are currently a lively topic at both.

Back to PN.
I stay away from statins. For cholesterol control, I've been using Zetia
(non-statin) for over 3 yrs.
I also stay away from artificial sweeteners of any type in any 'diet' foods or drinks. No 'Splenda' or saccharin or 'Sweet & Low' in my coffee.
They all make my feet hurt - BADLY !
Oh, BTW - no alcohol (or at least in very moderate portions).
That's what was a contributting factor to start my PN, 7 yrs ago.

[mrsdoubtfyre]

Besides statins--which damage tissue directly.

The most common is the diuretic family.
Diuretics are now first line choices for blood pressure.
They deplete thiamine (B1), potassium and magnesium.

Thiamine has always been a TREATMENT for PN..and it unlike drugs we have today actually helps to heal. There is no reason not to try it. It is inexpensive, no side effects, and readily available. Start at 200mg a day and work up to 500mg if necessary.
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsDepletions/DiureticsLoopDiureticscl.html

Low magnesium levels lead to muscle cramps, heart beat irregularities, increased pain, and poor sleep.

If one HAS to be on statins, then a quality CoQ-10 supplement may help prevent some of the terrible side effects. Statins suppress the body's enzymes that normally make CoQ-10... which is a critical nutrient for the mitochondrial functions (in every cell of the body) and esp. the HEART which has the greatest need for it.
http://www.naturaldatabase.com/(S(gjd4fi55rysori55qlbjfa55))/ce/ceCourse.aspx?s=ND&cs=&st=0&li=0&pm=5&pc=05-22
information above for CoQ-10 and Thiamine.

[rose]

Oops. I spelled it wrong before. No wonder I couldn't find it. :o

Any reason a calcium channel blocker might be better for some? Or is that just the last drug being pushed by the pharm rep? ;) We've eliminated everything else he tried to give her, so he's probably dreading this week's visit already. :eek:

By the way, my aunt probably weighs 100 lb soaking wet and is 83 years old. Dose?

Thanks,

rose

[jjano]

Hi Rose,
I don't know you aunts situation, but I can tell you my wife was on Norvasc**5mg and suffered 130 Angina attacks in Sept. of 05. The Dr raised the dosage to 10mg and the Angina attacks disappeared. For her at least, it worked miracles and for once , she had no side effects.

Jim

[mrsdoubtfyre]

Is a calcium channel antagonist. It dilates blood vessels.
It is not a new drug, as a matter of fact it is going off patent in a year or
so depending on how vigorous Pfizer fights the change.

It can cause dependent edema (of the legs) in some people. (that happened to
me-- so I use Cardizem CD now instead).

It is commonly used in the elderly. But attention needs to be paid to dosing.
Some elderly cannot handle high doses, as it may cause orthostatic
hypotension when standing suddenly.

Calcium channel blockers are not recommeded for people with heart failure.
Taking high doses of calcium for osteoporosis may lower the BP effects of Norvasc. However, some people get leg cramps from calcium channel blockers, and calcium is usually a remedy for that. It is only extremes in dosing that
should be monitored.

[rose]

My aunt hasn't any heart symptoms.

I'm not sure of the dose (new since I got the doc to stop the caduet---blood pressure and statin combined--ack!). I will be going to her appointments with her tomorrow and will find out the dose. If it isn't the lowest possible, I plan on changing that.

The nurse found a couple of days ago that my aunt does now have some orthostatic hypotension (noted with testing---my aunt has not complained of it). Does that indicate that this is not the drug for her, or that the dose is too high?

rose

[Richard Williamson]

Read a you can find about Lipoic Acid and B-12. Lipoic acid 600 mg a day help lower my pain level down from 8 to 2. I can live with this. Richard

[mrsdoubtfyre]

most blood pressure meds cause orthostatic hypotension in the elderly.

It is really hard to avoid it. You sort of have to expect it, and adjust for it.

Blood pressure often falls when anyone stands.. especially the systolic.
So when any drug is used to lower BP, this just accentuates it.

I don't think you can deal with BP without some. However, diuretics (which I really hate because of the neuropathy issues and electrolyte issues), do not cause as much. Also ACE inhibitors cause less.

[rose]

We were getting her blood pressure down with diet, and since then I have her improving the diet even more. So I hope we will be able to eliminate the drug eventually.

Any thoughts on what BP level really does make medication necessary?

Thanks for the reminder on the ALA. I had planned to try a higher dose of that. Maybe that or the increase in B1 will help her. And of course I (the B12 "nut" :) ) have had her taking lots of B12 and a B complex for a very long time.

rose