Beware of unsuspected side effects from meds

First, I thought my case of the flu would never go away.

Then I thought the same thing about the lingering cough that is lasting longer than the flu itself.

Perhaps I should call it "diet control" as well as cough, because when I try to eat a meal, I cough so much I choke.

My doctor prescribed a strong cough medicine with codeine. That stopped the cough, but it also stopped me in my tracks.

I am really susceptible to meds, and the codeine-laced cough medicine was reducing me to a catatonic stupor. True, I didn't cough. But I couldn't function, either.

My friend Jeanne recommended what she said was "the best over-the-counter medicine" on the market.

I thought I would be a lot safer just taking the over-the-counter medicine. After all, there was no codeine in it. It did stop the cough and allow me to sleep.

But I had a strange, scary episode during the night when I got up to go to the bathroom. I couldn't find my way out of the dark bathroom. The room is only the size of a walk-in closet. But I was so disoriented I had no idea where the door was.

With a bathroom that small, I figured if I kept feeling the wall, I would find the door. It seemed like a really long time before I got out of there - and that was only after I banged my head against the granite sink.

The next morning, I was still shaken by the night's dizziness and disorientation. What was going on here?

Then I looked at the kitchen counter and saw the prescription meds I was taking for the flu, along with the new over-the-counter cough medicine my friend recommended.

I went to Dr. Google and called up the known side effects from the cough medicine. There it was - might cause dizziness and disorientation. Do not combine with other meds with the same ingredients.

Did you ever notice when you try to read the directions, recommended dosage and ingredients of any over-the-counter medicine you need a magnifying glass? Even then it's hard to read.

I had better luck asking Dr. Google to list all the ingredients in the cough medicine. I learned the same thing was in the other med my doctor had ordered. At least now I knew why I experienced disorientation.

I was laughing about it when I told my friend Jeanne I couldn't find my way out of the bathroom. She wasn't laughing because she said the same thing happened to her sister-in-law and it was no laughing matter.

She said Sylvia also got disoriented during the night and couldn't find her way out of the bathroom. Worse yet, when she tried to fold towels the next day, she forgot how. She starting thinking Alzheimer's had hit her.

Jeanne took the three prescription medications Sylvia was taking and found the cause of the disorientation. Disorientation was listed as a side effect of two of the medications Sylvia was taking.

"But it's prescription medication the doctor ordered. How can that harm me?" Sylvia asked.

Like so many others, she figured if a doctor ordered it, it had to be OK for her.

For several reasons, that is often not the case.

In this age of specialized medicine, many of us see multiple doctors. Although each doctor asks us to list all medication we are taking, a busy doctor doesn't always review it all before prescribing something else.

My family doctor told me he has 1,500 patients. My internist has 1,400. No way they can keep track of every prescription each patient is taking, especially if a different doctor prescribed it.

You know what that means? It's up to each of us to be responsible for our health. We need to be familiar with each medicine we are taking and we need to be aware of potential side effects. I've learned to read up on all the side effects and possible counter-indications before I take a new drug.

It's good I did that because my internist prescribed a new medicine for me that clearly said it should not be taken with a beta-blocker. When I reminded him I was on a beta-blocker, he agreed I couldn't take what he had intended to prescribe.

That's just one example of how doctors don't always read the list of what we are taking.

It's truly up to each of us to do that.

Today's newspaper had a story about one widely prescribed drug that's been known to cause uncontrollable body movements that can interfere with speech, swallowing and breathing. It may only adversely affect one in thousands. But what if you're the one?

If you're having strange symptoms of any kind, ask yourself if it could be the drugs you are taking.

The mother of one of my friends had increasingly irrational behavior. When her mother was found a block from her house with no clothes on, my friend took her for an evaluation, thinking her mother would have to be put in a nursing home.

Instead, the doctor tried something by taking the mother off most of her medication. Voilà! The irrational behavior disappeared.

Remember to never underestimate the side effects of prescription or over-the-counter medication.

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.