Bad Medicine

The scientific name is syncope. Syncope is a temporary loss of consciousness usually related to insufficient blood flow to the brain. It's also called fainting or "passing out." It most often occurs when blood pressure is too low (hypotension) and the heart doesn't pump enough oxygen to the brain….and that’s precisely what happened to me on Monday afternoon.

My GP had supplemented my blood pressure tablets with the lowest dose of Doxazosin, an alpha-blocker.  It did work but too well and my BP was too low, much too low.  Fortunately, I had an appointment with my GP the next day and we stopped using the tablets immediately and are looking at an alternative solution.

Coincidentally I have been reading Temple Grandin (Thinking in Pictures – very good) and how autistic bodies react with drugs.  In some cases it has been reported that they need 1/3 to ¼ the normal dose that would be expected.  This ties in with me seeming to come out of the “fug” (the only way I can describe) over the last day or so (it possibly explains why I’ve been less active over the last week on this forum!)

But this has happened before to me with medicine and I know that I can suffer the side effects – the ones that are described as rare or very rare are, unfortunately, all too common.  The “fug” is a kind of malaise hanging over me preventing me from doing anything to the best of my ability.

The incident prompts me to ask if others have had similar sorts of problems with medicine – the rare side-effects, prescription dose too high – and whether this is something, like me, that has been an issue throughout your life?

Parents
  • I have Familial Hyperlipidaemia (FH - high cholesterol),Type II diabetes and mild hypertension.  I'm used to drugs and usually have no problems with them. 

    However, a few years ago, a new group of diabetes meds was starting to be used so my GP put me on one.  After a few days I noticed my ankles were very swollen and my heart was 'throwing' ectopic beats.  I read through the leaflet, researched on-line and found this was an unusual side-effect.  I stopped the med and contacted the GP the following day.  His comment was "all medications are an experiment with the user and we found this one doesn't work for you", which is perfectly reasonable.  The drug was withdrawn a few months later.

    It hasn't put me off taking new drugs - I was one of the first in my area to get a PCSK-9 inhibitor for cholesterol, and I've never had any side effects from statins (I've worked up through them all from the weakest to the strongest).

Reply
  • I have Familial Hyperlipidaemia (FH - high cholesterol),Type II diabetes and mild hypertension.  I'm used to drugs and usually have no problems with them. 

    However, a few years ago, a new group of diabetes meds was starting to be used so my GP put me on one.  After a few days I noticed my ankles were very swollen and my heart was 'throwing' ectopic beats.  I read through the leaflet, researched on-line and found this was an unusual side-effect.  I stopped the med and contacted the GP the following day.  His comment was "all medications are an experiment with the user and we found this one doesn't work for you", which is perfectly reasonable.  The drug was withdrawn a few months later.

    It hasn't put me off taking new drugs - I was one of the first in my area to get a PCSK-9 inhibitor for cholesterol, and I've never had any side effects from statins (I've worked up through them all from the weakest to the strongest).

Children
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