Search results below include Worst Pills, Best Pills Newsletter Articles where your
selected drug is a secondary subject of discussion.
April 2023
Learn why Public Citizen’s Health Research Group has designated the new heart drug mavacamten as Do Not Use for Seven Years.
April 2022
Learn about the serious adverse effects caused by the gastrointestinal drug metoclopramide, which we have designated as a Limited Use drug.
February 2022
It is estimated that more than a quarter of adult Americans take a magnesium supplement. However, preference should be given to relying on dietary sources of this critical mineral whenever possible to avoid adverse effects.
March 2021
In this month’s Question & Answer feature, we respond to a reader’s question about whether the stomach-acid–suppressing drug esomeprazole (NEXIUM, NEXIUM 24HR, VIMOVO) has the same drug interactions as the closely related drug omeprazole (PRILOSEC, PRILOSEC OTC, ZEGERID).
September 2020
Medications are the mainstay of treatment for most patients with seizure disorders, and more than two dozen such drugs have been approved by the FDA. We review one of the oldest seizure drugs, phe¬nytoin (DILANTIN, PHENYTEK). Patients using the drug need to be aware of its many potentially serious adverse effects.
June 2014
Clopidogrel is a widely used drug for reducing the risk of a new heart attack or stroke or cardiovascular death in patients who have had a recent heart attack, stroke or established pe-ripheral vascular disease. This article provides a detailed overview of the drug, including potential serious side effects and important precautions to follow when taking the drug.
January 2012
Find out how to prevent emergency hospitalizations from two commonly used drugs, warfarin (COUMADIN) and clopidogrel (PLAVIX). There are approximately 33,000 emergency hospitalizations a year from warfarin alone. This article includes a list of more than 50 drugs that can have harmful interactions with warfarin and/or clopidogrel.
June 2011
This article lists 355 drugs with names that are often confused with similar-sounding drug names. Find out what you can do to prevent getting the wrong drug.
March 2009
This article describes how and why people using both PLAVIX, a drug that prevents blood clotting, and heartburn drugs such as NEXIUM had a 27 percent increased risk of heart attacks compared with people using PLAVIX alone.
November 2007
This month marks the beginning of an important addition to every issue of Worst Pills, Best Pills News concerning drug interactions. The articles are being written by one of the world’s top authorities on interactions, Dr. Philip Hansten of the University of Washington. This introductory article explains how to understand different types of interactions and every month, starting now, there will be a specific article on the adverse interaction of the month.
March 2005
If you are now taking clopidogrel and do not have a severe allergy to aspirin, contact your doctor and discuss switching from clopidogrel to low dose aspirin plus a PPI.
February 2005
This article will look at the potential savings for the individual consumer if the alternative treatments recommended in Worst Pills, Best Pills were used for six DO NOT USE drugs. All six are listed in the Drug Topics Magazine Top 200 selling drugs in U.S. in 2003. The drugs are: celecoxib (CELEBREX) used for arthritis and pain; the Alzheimer’s disease drug donepezil (ARICEPT); drospirenone with ethinyl estradiol (YASMIN 28), an oral contraceptive; esomeprazole (NEXIUM) the “new purple pill” for heartburn; montelukast (SINGULAIR), a drug approved for both asthma and hay fever; and valdecoxib (BEXTRA), an arthritis drug very similar to celecoxib.The combined sales of these six DO NOT USE drugs was $8.1 billion with more that 75 million prescriptions dispensed in 2003.
May 2003
The jackals selling unregulated dietary and herbal supplements have been hard at it bombarding the public with preposterous, unsubstantiated claims about the superiority of their particular miracle natural calcium products. Some disreputable companies have gone beyond just claiming a better calcium product and are now declaring that “coral calcium,” for example if it is from Okinawa, is the secret to good health and a long life.
November 2001
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved esomeprazole (NEXIUM) on February 20, 2001 as the fifth member of the “proton pump inhibitor,” or PPI, family of drugs. These drugs work by blocking the final step in the secretion of stomach acid for the treatment of various forms of ulcer and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) often manifested as nighttime heartburn. If you are currently taking omeprazole and your symptoms are being adequately controlled, there is no medical reason for you to switch to esomeprazole. Keep an eye out for the release of generic omeprazole, it may save you from 40 to 60 percent at the pharmacy.
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