Side Effects

In every box of tablets

You'll find extensive notes

There's loads of information

Full of do's and don't's

I have this personal theory

That with a lot of folks

They wouldn't get any side effects

If they hadn't read those notes.

[Hacienda]

So True Don, if you can understand the jargon. x

[HungryHufflepuff]

So true Don, and it's why I never used to read the notes because I know I'd be imagining every side effect on the list. But since my bad experience with Fostair last year I do try to make myself read the notes as I could have saved myself months of ill health had I read the notes about Fostair.

[Hidden in reply to HungryHufflepuff]

Exactly, we are now having to do the doctors job for them, it's their job to see that you are given the right medication.

[HungryHufflepuff in reply to Hidden]

Sadly sometimes doctors think it's their job to give us medication, whether it's the right medication is besides the point.

[Pantani in reply to HungryHufflepuff]

I agree, I was prescribed codeine and after he had sent the prescription electronically to the chemist he said " if you get breathless when you take these call an ambulance ". I told him to read my notes and that I could get breathless without the help of medicines.

[Hidden in reply to Pantani]

Sounds like a bit of friendly banter that, at least I hope it was.😉

[sassy59]

Very true Don. Xxx💕💖😘

[Badbessie]

Lol... I think in many ways very true. I had a period where I was very anxious. I still am in some ways and would read of possible side affects and wait for them to happen. Now If starting a new medication I just take them. If there is a problem then I read the notes. I find I have a lot less problems. Anxiety is horrible and reading of what can go wrong just fuels the fire.

[Ergendl in reply to Badbessie]

Me too.

[Hidden]

I remember the days when you opened the box and all that was in there were pills. The doctor's instructions on the front were personal to you, not to you and the rest of the world. 🙂

[SquirrelsHolt]

Good morning Mr.D and I have to agree with HungryHufflepuff in that if I read through the "possible side effects" long,long section,then I usually can find a handful of pains/upsets that I'm having etc etc. I've not got the time nowadays (well that's a big,fat,lie,lol) nor the desire to learn of any extra problems for my poor body. Its near to breaking point just thinking about it!! Good rhyme though!!

[Izb1]

Another good one Don, and you are right it used to be the doctors job, alas not all doctors are competant now. I read everything and then decide and just watch out for any problems x

[Whitechinchilla]

Oh Wise one. How very true 🤣🤣

[Hidden]

Ha ha Don, that's great xox Happy day to you and all here

[Alice70]

So true Don ,my Chemist once told me that the companies supplying the tablet ,put every side effect down on leaflet ,because of compensation claims today

[wheezyof]

I never used to read the notes in medication until my brother-in-law nearly died. He was projectile vomiting and had sudden and urgent diarrhoea, it was so bad he was hospitalised. It seemed to clear, he went home, it started again. This went on for months. He lost a dramatic amount of weight and became weak. I think some of the doctors were beginning to suspect my sister of trying to bump him off.

Then one of the doctors asked him what he ate/drank. He mentioned grapefruit. Problem solved. It had recently been discovered that his medication reacted badly with grapefruit.

The next prescription he collected had revised notes including instructions not to eat grapefruit.

[Hidden in reply to wheezyof]

That warning is always give on the label of one of my tablets and I wondered what the effect would be if I tried some. Grapefruit was my favourite breakfast drink at one time.😱

[wheezyof in reply to Hidden]

Well you can thank my late brother-in-law and all the other poor souls who found out the hard way. I'm glad the warning is so prominent now. I wonder what sort of rhyme you would have written if you had drunk some grapefruit? Yuk! xxxxx

[Hidden in reply to wheezyof]

It would have entitled ‘Bye, Bye’ I suspect. 🙄

[hypercat54]

So true Don. x

[SORRELHIPPO]

Very true. I have an excellent Gastro Consultant, who wanted to give me an immune system supressant, and I asked him about the side effects (as, for the first 3months I would have to have fortnightly blood tests, so presumed it could be dangerous!!)

This gent reached for a collection of laminated pages of graph paper (shrunk to a quarter size) there were about 10 of them. What he had done, was take the true warning, eg you will have a 10% increased chance of getting a specific cancer/skin problem/ nausea +vomiting etc than the general population, then he had used dots to fill in the squares, to show what a normal member of the population's risk was (often only 2% let us say) then he had filled in the extra squares required for the extra 10% of the initial 2%, in another colour. I was left looking at a sheet of graph paper, where only the bottom 2 and 1/2 squares were filled in. Seeing the %ages set out in such a visual format, with so many empty squares, I was properly able to give informed consent and try the meds. I do agree that some of the leafletts read as if taking the med. will be fatal, hardly condusive to any form of informed consent.

[JANET127]

Ha! That is the truth! Great one Mr Don!

[kpm346]

Yes so true I always wait and see what happens before I actually read the pamphlet.

[Shirleyj]

Hahaha very true 😄x

[watergazer]

So true Don

[MoyB]

A good point well made, Don! xx Moy