The 6 Most Unsettling Medication Side Effects

I had originally typed out a lengthy post to go along with this link, however I forgot to put a subject, and by the time I got the ATS error message, all that hard work was wasted...

so I apologize for not retyping my huge post, and instead I'll just recap:

www.cracked.com...

Alli = loose stools
requip = unusual sexual urges?
propecia = gynecomastia (man boobs)
accutane (acne medication) = crying spells, rectal bleeding and bone fractures
zoloft = persistent, painful erections
Levaquin = inability to handle sunlight (pictures @ link)


So to recap - the side effects of meds sometimes outweight the original conditions they were made to treat. Why!? And why do people still use them?

What's worse - acne, or rectal bleeding?

It right on par with antidepressants that have major depression as a side effect.

Go figure.

ya i was watching some ad the other night, for anti-depressants..

one of the side effects was "suicidal thoughts and suicidal tendencies"

umm... what!?

and with most medications, they can actually heighten your symptoms that you are already trying to get rid of

so many factors play into this though


everyone is different, i have patients here in my clinic who hallucinate with PCN (penicillin) and others who just vomit and those like me who can handle

this subject is just so subjective its hard to really pinpoint anything dead on

propecia kills off some testosterone (DHL hormone, if i remember thats the name)and its not like you grow tits like a dd cup, its just additional fatty deposit tissue, there is breast bud tissue and adipose (fat) tissue deposits

so many chemicals to mess with our chemistry something is bound to happen

science is not perfect

some meds are very helpful and people deal with the side effects in realtion to their actual problem

pros and cons just like life

reply to post by scientist


I know people using Alli that stuff is actually sort of interesting.

It separates the fats/grease from your food and you pass it without absorbing it that is why you get a loose stool.
If I ever need to lose weight or go on a diet (yet still eat certain foods) I would use the stuff. From what I can tell it does not affect your ability to hold your stool in. I would imagine though that your stool is somewhat closer to diarrhea though.

Now I would guess that people could just eat foods better for them but most still have fats in them, Alli just allows it to pass without being absorbed.
On a side note though it sounds like something I do not want painful erections and rectal bleeding are funny sounding side effects.

Raist

Originally posted by scientist
So to recap - the side effects of meds sometimes outweight the original conditions they were made to treat. Why!? And why do people still use them?

this is one of the most puzzling things to me. A few years ago there was a study released about the hormone replacement drug premarin. it seems that all the things the manufacturer said it did, as side effects of the drug, were not only untrue (no to increased bone density etc) the drug also seemed to raise the risk of heart attacks or strokes or both and also increased the risk of cancer in genetically predisposed patients or some other medical mumbo jumbo.
well, women around the world stopped taking the drug. a 60 year old drug and absolutely everyone went off it.

now, only a few years later the drug is back to where it was before the report came out. why? the women chose lack of hot flashes over possible death.

Originally posted by scientist
What's worse - acne, or rectal bleeding?

um, let's see, I'm 16 and covered in pimples and worried that girls won't date me or...a little easily hidden rectal bleeding? hmmm, how long will I bleed for?

our superficial, shallow world dictates it's better to look good than to feel good so they take the acne meds.
sad sad world.



excellent topic

reply to post by Crakeur


yup, I agree. I mean, just look at all the health risks associated with plastic surgery, liposuction, botox, etc. Yet, business is still booming.

At what point did we stop evolving?

Tizanidine - Pronounced, unexpected sleeping without warning (you can be talking one minute, and dead to the world the next and NOTHING will rouse you unless the tablet wears off, generally seen in those taking a fair amount, around 6mg or more a day). Its like giving yourself narcolepsy. Oh yeah, and it breaks your liver causing fatty deposits which alter blood chemistry (stops you clotting easier so you bleed longer) and causes blood pressure changes because of the thinner blood. Some people have feinted just standing up.

None of this was explained to me before I took them and I was told they were 'safe'. I have to have regular blood pressure checks and LFT (liver function) and the occasional ultrasound to check my poor liver's OK in there. Mind you, taking this doesn't help it (and maybe I have the odd beer):

Paracetamol (Acetominophen for you US folks) - long term (6 years or more) alters liver chemistry causing thinner blood and can cause liver problems particularly in those who even occasionally drink or whilst combined with medication that also alters liver function. You do need to take at least 6 500mg tablets a day but a lot of people take them thinking they're harmless unless you overdose.

Liver problems CAN cause penis and testicle shrinkage due to hormone depletion (not sure how, I just found it out in a medical dictionary). Something for us men to consider aye.

Nexium- you know "the purple pill" designed to cure your heartburn by turning off the "pumps" that make stomach acid- therefore you dont digest things properly, had one of the most disgusting side effects EVER.
EXPLOSIVE OILY DISCHARGE
hmm- lets see I can toss down 4 spicy burritos- with no heartburn!- But wait a second- I feel a little fart wanting out-maybe I'll just let a little toot slip out-no one will notice....KER POW!!! Oh my god I crapped my pants!

Oh man that sounds like an Olestra problem.

zoloft has never given me an erection. just sayin'


Cyclobenzaprine - dead blob to the world. It is a muscle relaxant given to me for a back problem. I had to quit after a couple days cause I basically didn't/couldn't do anything. I have talked with others who have had more serious side effects from this drug.

I thought this was appropriate.
Progenitorivox (The Drugs I Need)

almost all drugs are made so that you take them, they treat your symptoms and then you get a different sickness from them, in this way you have to buy more drugs

for more info you could look at my natural cures thread - www.abovetopsecret.com...

This one takes the cake. I hear the commercials for "Requip" on TV all the time and if you listen, one of the side effects is the sudden urge to gamble. I can't help but think that a person who otherwise would not do so, would just jump up, run to the store, and buy a lottery ticket:

Requip side effect

Some patients taking ropinirole have shown urges to behave in a way unusual for them. Examples of this are an unusual urge to gamble or increased sexual urges and/or behaviors.

Thats funny- has anyone checked to see if , in addition to flouride and tenderizing agent, the water supplies in Vegas, Atlantic City and every indian casino are laced with this. And , if not, what company makes this fantastical drug? I think I could rack up some pretty impressive sales figures for them.....

Subject x, that video is off the wall funny!

It's funny, but the situation is sad. A portion of society has been made "ignorant." I "don't" mean "ignorant" as in "not intellegent," I mean "ignorant," as in ignorance caused by a hypnotic daze, and not thinking clearly. A clear thinking person would say, "Hey wait a minute, what's with that side effect? That doesn't sound right."

No, it's not like that with some people, they will defend these drugs like they are miracle pills. "My doc told me to take it, so it must be OK." TV and the media can make some people eat lead paint chips, if it is backed by a doctor or some other such authority. "Lead may be toxic, but it has been shown to decrease apetite and facilitate weight loss," says Doctor Johnson.

If I pee pee rust colored pee pee after I eat a box of cereal. Something should tell me that this isn't right. Maybe I shouldn't be eating the cereal. Rust colored pee pee might mean blood.

I swear, it's like we are being exterminated and/or controlled with these drugs.

Something isn't right.

Troy

[edit on 25-1-2008 by cybertroy]

Not to mention all the 'recycled' pharms we ingest from munincipal water supplies.

True, that stuff could find its way into the water supply. I swear our bodies and this world is so polluted by all this extra stuff.

I hope my water filter is taking care of this.

Troy

I've been on anti anxiety on and off for years....most likely "trying to become a rockstar in hollywood from about 1988-1995....) i.e MANY drugs....I dont take anything now, as it seems i've learned how to deal with the onset of an attack myself. I took lexapro etc etc....

The initial side effects as explained by my doctor can be MORE anxiety until the meds start kicking in........WEIRD, but is it?

It's the same as any serum, lets say against snake poison....Its made of the same "thing"

I dont know....


It helped me...for awhile

Until I realized i rather have UPS and DOWNS that being "kinda" zombified all the time.

reply to post by scientist



Is "not getting better" listed as one of them? Because wow are there a lot of useless medicines on the market in the US.

All of those are nothing.....somebody check Ketek...I believe that is the right spelling. That stuff is the most BRUTAL crap I have ever taken. A doc told me it was damn near as bad as a drug could be and still have a positive outcome.