In the past I’ve written what I believe to be fairly serious articles on the dangers of medication, whether prescribed or over the counter. It’s a subject that I believe needs continuous exploration in Guyana and I will continue looking at it from whatever serious angle I can come up with.

For example, suppose you are prescribed one medication. Very often, you might get a small print document with specific drugs to avoid. The problem is, you might already be on some other medication that contains the active ingredient you’ve been warned to avoid.

Suppose you take an antibiotic for a stomach infection. You are warned to avoid a certain drug but you don’t know that it is one of the active ingredients in the medication you’re taking for foot fungus. The next thing you know, your toes start growing long flowing hair.

Or something like that. As far-fetched as that sounds, anyone playing close attention the drug ads on television could recall that last part at the bit that they read through quickly in as upbeat a voice as possible against a backdrop of happy people and inspirational music.

For example, there is this ad I once saw for an anti-depressant medication enhancer called Abilify. After 20 seconds of trying to convince you that the drug can help you feel better, the ad then goes on to talk about the side effects for almost a minute. These include mood swings, depression (remember this is an anti-depressant), and thoughts of suicide in younger people. Additionally, you are warned to look out for high fever, stiff muscles and confusion since they could indicate a ‘life-threatening’ reaction, and old people are especially at risk of dying.

“If you are the sort of person who has taken Viagra for one lasting shorter than four minutes, this might be a side effect you’d learn to live with.”

The medication that is perhaps made most fun of however is the ‘miracle’ weight loss brand, alli. Currently, the side effects page of the company’s website has the relatively mild disclaimer that reads in part:

“You’ve probably heard about alli’s diet-related side effects that some users experience.  They are bowel-related changes that can happen, especially during the first few weeks that you use alli.”

However, the original was slightly more graphic, but honest on those changes.

“The fat which remains undigested from your diet can cause changes in your bowel habit, resulting in wind, loose stools and oily spotting from your back passage. Reducing the amount of fat you eat in your meals will reduce the likelihood of these harmless, but unpleasant side-effects.”

Also, it warned that: “Undigested fat cannot be absorbed and passes through the body naturally. The excess fat is not harmful. In fact, you may recognise it in the toilet as something that looks like the oil on top of a pizza.”

After reading that I don’t think I want to ever eat pizza again. Basically the drug gives you the choice of being overweight and unhappy with yourself, or taking it and risk being the butt, no pun intended, of family, friends and office jokes from now till the end of your life, or send you into further depression which might lead you to take some Abilify.

That said, not all side effects might be unwanted. Every man knows that as he gets older, not everything works as well as it once did. Sometimes you need to get a little boost and that is where drugs like Viagra and Cialis come in, well handy. The problem is that even these have their side effects. Viagra for example warns you that you can get headache, nausea, shortness of breath (some men might argue that those are regular side effects of marriage) as well as in a small number of cases, blindness. The one side effect however is the one that I’m sure has actually served to sell more of the drugs than it has prevent the sale of, where the company warns about what to do if experiencing an erection lasting longer than four hours. If you are the sort of person who has taken Viagra for one lasting shorter than four minutes, this might be a side effect you’d learn to live with.

I want to wish you a happy and prosperous new year.

Disclaimer
I am no longer working in the health sector and what I write is not official.

(By Keith Burrowes)