DISCLAIMER: THIS PAGE CONTAINS A GENERAL EDUCATIONAL DISCUSSION ON THE ABOVE TOPIC. IT IS NOT HEALTH ADVICE AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS SUCH. YOU SHOULD NEVER RELY UPON THE INFORMATION GIVEN HERE. YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES MAY WELL REQUIRE AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT APPROACH. YOU SHOULD NOT MAKE ANY CHANGES IN YOUR MEDICATIONS, DIET, ACTIVITY, LIFESTYLE, ETC. WITHOUT FIRST CONSULTING A LICENSED PHYSICIAN IN YOUR AREA.
When prescribed a medicine for the first time, everyone always wants to know if there are any side effects.
The answer is always yes. Every medicine in existence has potential side effects. If you read the package insert, you will often find a very large number of possible side effects, many of which may sound quite frightening.
Side effects are not guaranteed to occur. In fact, for most medications, side effects occur in only a small minority of patients. Most side effects will resolve fully after discontinuation of the medicine. So, many medications can be taken without any side effects at all. If a side effect does occur, one can simply stop taking the medicine (possibly substituting a different one in its place) and the side effect will go away.
The risk of a side effect must be balanced against the risk and discomfort of not treating the disease. A few example can help illustrate this.
Verapamil is a medication used to treat high blood pressure. Left untreated, high blood pressure can lead to strokes, heart failure and death. Like all other medications, verapamil may have side effects, the most common of which is constipation. This occurs in less than 8% of patients taking verapamil. Most people feel that the benefit of treating high blood pressure outweighs the small risk of becoming constipated. If that side effect does occur, another blood pressure medication can be substituted.
Some people suffer from a benign condition where their heart occasionally skips a beat. There are medicines that can suppress these skipped beats but they can have serious side effects, such as causing the heart to develop a life threatening abnormal heart rhythm without any warning. Thus, most physicians feel that the risks of the medicines are too high to justify their use for this harmless condition.
A person with a painful middle ear infection may well be willing to take a chance of developing diarrhea as a side effect of the antibiotic.
People suffering from metastatic cancer are often willing to suffer the side effects of chemotherapy. These side effects are almost certain to occur and often quite severe. However, many people feel it's worth it to help fight an otherwise fatal condition.
With the assistance of your physician, you can determine the benefits and risks of taking a medication.
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