Product Description

Did You Know?

Eating too much broccoli could be deadly if you also take the popluar blood thinner called Coumadin (warfarin)?

Grapefruit juice, when used to wash down certain atihistamines, immune suppressors, or blood pressure drugs, can cause blood levels of these powerful drugs to soar? The result: serious side effects.

Birth control pills might be rendered ineffective by the following substances: barbituates, antibiotics, anti-fungal drugs, tuberculosis drugs, certain anticonvulsants?

Is Your Life In Danger?

Everyone has taken more than one pill simultaneously. Yet every time you combine drugs with prescription medicines, foods, vitamins, minerals, herbs or alcohol you explose yourself to the risk of a potentially dangerous interaction.

Deadly Drug Interactions Can Help You.

Over 200 easy-to-understand charts with information on medications for pain relief, allergies, asthma, arthritis, heart problems, depression, diabetes, contraception, ulcers and much more.

Descriptions of the symptoms of interactions.

Specific concerns of women, children and older people.

Vital information of Lanoxin, Cardizem, Prozac, Mevacor, Ortho-Novum, Tagamet, Coumadin, Dilatin, Cipro, Synthroid, Procardia, and scores of other commonly prescribed medicines.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #277478 in Books
• Published on: 1997-04-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 447 pages

Amazon.com Review
Who would've thought grapefruit juice, licorice, and cheddar cheese could be so dangerous? Well, they are, when combined with certain medications. This book continues the People's Pharmacy franchise with an eye-opening guide to the unexpected, dangerous, and sometimes deadly ways foods, vitamins, minerals, herbs, and alcohol can interact with prescription and over-the-counter drugs, and how those drugs can interact with each other. Obviously, the more medications you take, the more there is to learn from this book. Still, there's something for almost everyone to worry about here.

From Library Journal
Warning readers of the sometimes lethal consequences of prescription drug interactions with other substances, the authors of the best-selling "The People's Pharmacy" series and Graedon's Best Medicine (LJ 2/1/91) explain how those interactions can intensify, diminish, or negate the intended effect of the prescribed medication. The Graedons have selected the drugs that, in their opinion, cause the most common and serious reactions and have placed them in an easy-to-use format with accompanying brief descriptions of the drugs and usage instructions. Warnings are given about stopping or starting any drug without a doctor's supervision, and patients are advised to consult a pharmacist for drug information. There are chapters on drug interaction with foods, vitamins and minerals, alcohol, and over-the-counter products. Although this can be a frightening book for the nervous, it has a valid place in all health collections.?Janet M. Schneider, James A. Haley Veterans Hosp., Tampa, Fla.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Eating aged cheese while taking MAO inhibitors can cause fatal hypertension. Calcium interferes with the action of some antibiotics. Barbiturates inhibit oral contraceptives. Taking medication is such a routine process that people do not think about the food or other drugs that they consume with it. This could be dangerous or fatal. This new book by pharmacologist Joe Graedon and medical anthropologist Teresa Graedon addresses the subject of drug interactions in an easy-to-understand format.

After explaining the different types of drug interactions and telling readers how to protect themselves, the authors present several chapters with detailed information: drug-drug interactions, drug-food interactions, drug-vitamin and drug-mineral interactions, prescription drug^-over-the-counter drug interactions, drug-alcohol interactions, and drug interactions affecting women, children, and older people. The second half of the book consists of charts arranged alphabetically by drug class (antianxiety drugs, diabetes drugs, etc.). These charts are color coded to show the level of severity--life-threatening, dangerous, or troublesome--of the interaction of these drugs with other drugs. Readers are cautioned to consult a physician or pharmacist for detailed information pertaining to their individual situation. They are also told to be sure that all physicians consulted know about every drug, including over-the-counter medicines, vitamin supplements, and herbs, that they are taking.

This book fills a genuine need in consumer-health collections. It provides detailed information in lay language about a subject neglected in most drug-information sources. It is reasonably priced, so purchasing both reference and circulating copies is highly recommended.

Customer Reviews

If you are taking medications you MUST read this book...
Perhaps one of the most enlightening books I have read this year is this one. Writen by the authors of the multi-million copy seller The People's Pharmacy, this book goes into great details about not only drug-drug reactions, but contains charts, case studies and information about what foods, vitamins and minerals can cause deadly interactions in people. Reading this book not only gave me a renewed horror for the power of the drugs our society has created (prescription AND non-prescription can be just as deadly) but also a renewed respect for these drugs. In this book you find that foods as simple as oatmeal can cause death if you are taking certain drugs, and that a page long list of foods could be fatal to anyone taking MAO inhibitors. Herbs are not mentioned except for licorice, but there is enough information given (in a chart as well) about what vitamins, minerals and other factors effect the medication, that if you had access to information on the content of your herbs (many books will tell you the nutrient content of herbs) then you could cross-reference quite efficiently. If you are taking any medication -prescription or non and are also consuming any food, vitamins, or herbs you MUST read this book. This book review is in the JAN 1999 issue of Herb'n Home newsletter. The editor of the newsletter , Kristie Burns, did an article on combining drugs with herbs and found this book an invaluable reference.

Disappointed because book did not list many of my drugs.
I am Diabetic and take Insulin and was taking Rezulin, which were not even listed in book. I also take Immodium AD and Lomotil for bowel problems and these were also omitted. A drug prescribed for sleep - Visteril - was also not listed. Since I also take Prozac, Lasix and was taking Prinivil, information about these drugs was in the book and was helpful. The layout and presentation were better than most in conveying the results of the drug interactions.