SIDE EFFECTS

ILLNESS INSIGHTS BY DR. JIM RYBACKI

Side Effects – The good the bad and the ugly!!!

When I mention side effects, most people think of problems. In reality, side effects such as growing hair from the high blood pressure medicine minoxidil (Rogaine) are a good thing. Sleepiness from the antihistamine Benadryl (diphenhydramine) helps many people get a good night’s sleep. Still, the bad side effects can cause mild, moderate, and serious problems. Some side effects like going to the bathroom more often when taking a water pill are a nuisance. Others like impaired breathing from morphine when it is being used for pain can be life-threatening. Severely lowered white blood cell counts from chemotherapy may actually limit treatment and prevent remission.

When you or a loved one have been given any diagnosis and a prescription, you are now a PATIENT and it’s important to learn about your medicines and possible side effects. Take a deep breath, and I’ll help you navigate through the conflicting medical news, the latest possible interactions and side effects and help you make sense of the true risk versus a nuisance!

I am Dr. James Rybacki, author of Medicines and Your Family, the first edition of The Essential Guide to Medical News and The Essential Guide to Prescription Drugs. I’ll be your personal advocate and guide through the changing guidelines and potentially dangerous world of prescription drugs, illness, over-the-counter (OTC) treatments, herbs, and herbal supplements! Did you know that more than 100,000 people die each year from misusing medicines or from the medicines themselves? It’s a startling fact. My videos, information packets, newsletters, and books will explain the medical terminology, treatment options, and drug use/safety in clear, easy-to-understand language.

While other sites provide limited information based on package inserts, I go far beyond the basics and concentrate on more than 40 categories of crucial information such as serious potential side effects, effects of associations with diseases versus causing disease, drug interactions, safety in pregnant or nursing women, benefits versus risks, guidelines that your doctor may be using and even helpful web sites that don’t want to sell you a product. I give you the information you and your family NEED to take control of your health and be at the center of patient and family-centered care!

Your involvement in your own treatment and recovery and anticipating side effects and talking with your doctor about them WILL make a huge difference in the results you get! Don’t let someone else drive the healthcare information bus—take the wheel. Become an informed, educated patient and family!

I’ll show you how!

James J. Rybacki, Pharm.D.

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