What if you had the chance to change your medicine or physician –  and it would change the course of your life? Would you do it? My blog this week was inspired by a fan I met at a book signing who hugged me with gratitude for saving his life with a column I wrote warning people about a side effect, and what to do. He changed his medicine and his doctor and he thrives today. He made me promise to write another outspoken column with current tips and warnings, so Chris, this one’s for you and a million others reading this piece.

Antibiotics: A few popular antibiotics affect DNA similar to some chemotherapy agents. If you’re sensitive to them, you could pay a neurological price that causes sudden and serious neuropathy and degrees of brain damage. The drugs that the FDA is concerned about belong to the fluoroquinolone class, and already have a black box warning for increasing the risk of tendon ruptures. But I’m telling you that more reports have come in with accusations of neurological damage. Personally, I would only use these for life-threatening infections that were unresponsive to older regular antibiotics. I wouldn’t take them if I had a regular old urinary tract or sinus infection.

Acid blocking drugs: The “proton pump inhibitors” sold over the counter and by prescription are such strong drug muggers of magnesium that they can cause fatal heart arrhythmias over time. Even the FDA agrees and issued a black box warning regarding this. Magnesium deficiency causes muscle pain too. If you take this class of acid suppressors on a daily basis, I highly recommend you supplement with a high-quality magnesium formula to minimize your risks. The supplement is taken 4 to 6 hours away from the drug. Mineral deficiencies from these types of drugs can weaken your bones. Do you love me for telling you this, or think I’m crazy? Doesn’t matter, the studies back me: Long-term or chronic daily use has been linked to increased fractures of the spine, hip and wrists.

Thyroid medicine: Drugs that are known generically as “levothyroxine” don’t work until your body activates them. Some of you do that easily, but some of you don’t and need supportive minerals and vitamins, or another drug.  Speaking of thyroid, I should also tell you that conventional TSH blood tests are incapable of detecting thyroid disease until you’re very sick. Better tests include Free T3, Reverse T3, the ratio of these thyroid hormones, as well as a complete antibody panel.

Pain relievers and autoimmune drugs: If you live in chronic pain of any sort, or take autoimmune disease drugs, then you should test yourself for Lyme disease.  This tick-borne infection causes a spinning dial of symptoms that confuses the best practitioners. You may be misdiagnosed with lupus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, hypothyroidism, bipolar, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia or others. Testing is key to uncovering this infection which mimics about 300 diseases. If positive, you’ll need antibiotics. I’m passionate about this because my sweet husband was misdiagnosed by 30+ doctors who didn’t know how to test correctly!

A licensed pharmacist for over 22 years, Suzy Cohen shares the pros and cons of medication use as well as natural substitutions for most any of your health concerns. Visit Suzy’s website at www.dearpharmacist.com.

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