Unintended consequences of drugs

My husband had been suffering with sciatica, so I urged him to take Advil (ibuprofen), which he did—although not regularly. Then he came down with colitis (the collagenous variety), which is an inflammation of the large intestines (colon). He’d had it once before. The gastroenterologist informed him that Advil likely triggered this new flare-up. My bad. To make matters worse, he's now developed muscle pain and weakness, a side effect of the colitis medication, which he's stopped taking.

As for me, I'm convinced that mega doses of Advil resulted in my getting a bad cold--a rare occurrence for me (I get a cold maybe once every five or ten years). An orthopedic surgeon had recommended that I take four Advil morning and night to alleviate bursitis in my hip. After about five days of this regimen, I came down with the cold. At this point, I quit the Advil regimen and began researching its side effects. I discovered that ibuprofen and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatories definitely suppress the immune system. It looks like even the most benign-seeming medications have side effects.

I just read about a woman whose blood pressure kept fluctuating dangerously between high and low. It turns out that the inhaler she’d been using for asthma contained a steroid called fluticasone, which imitates cortisol, an essential “fight or flight” hormone. Because of this, her adrenal gland shut down, such that her body wasn’t responding properly to stressful situations.

More than 6 percent of all hospital admissions are because of adverse reactions to medications. For people over 65, it’s more like 12 percent who are admitted because of a medication-linked problem

I’m not saying we should never take drugs when we’re sick. They can be lifesaving. We just need to be aware of their unintended consequences. I’m learning to live without Advil.

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