Learn What Others Say About Your Medication?

Good Afternoon Everyone!

      Excuse me for the late article this week.  I got back from a small vacation on Tuesday and have had to play some catch-up this week.  So for this week, I have a short but important message for everyone.  That is, to treat your medication(s) the way that most people treat anything that they spend money on these days.  First, you look for reviews on the Internet, and then you make an educated purchase or decision.  This is done for restaurants, retail, vacations & doctors, but not for medications (or not as much as it should be).
      To find reviews on the medications that you have been prescribed to take, please take a look at this website:  http://www.askapatient.com/  .  You can browse around the medications or directly search for the type or name of medication in question.  Some medications have 100's of reviews while others only have about 10.  No matter the number of reviews that a medication has, it is very valuable to see what others are feeling/experiencing by using the same medication that you are taking or about to take.
      Lastly, it's far too common to be on a medication for longer than needed, or to be on a medication that is just not needed.  I have many patients that tell me about how they questioned their doctor on the medications they are taking, and as a result, the doctor saw that one or more of the medications were no longer necessary!  If they had not questioned, they would probably still be taking the medications and putting a lot of unnecessary stress on their bodies.

     Your goal for medications should be:   
1)  Make sure you know what medication you are taking? 
2) Why you are taking it? 
3) What are others experiencing while take that medication? (use www.askapatient.com for this)
4) Please make sure to only take the minimum of what is ABSOLUTELY NEEDED.


Yours in Health,

Dr. Jeff
Any medical information provided in Doctor Jeff's Blog is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her health professional. Any information provided is not meant to diagnose, treat or manage any specific disease/condition.Doctor Jeff's Blog respects the confidentiality of individual patients and site visitors. All clinical anecdotes are compliant with HIPAA regulations.