8 Important Questions to Ask Your Doctor

When your doctor prescribes a drug, ask her or him the right questions and don’t leave before you have the answers.

* How long has this drug been on the market?

As we have seen, many of the problems of drugs and their side effects are with the newer drugs that have been recently licensed, and that are being aggressively marketed by the drug company’s salesmen. If your doctor takes you off a particular drug, and tries another drug that he says will work better, be very suspicious. You may be an unwitting guinea pig in a drugs trial.

* Is drug therapy really needed for this problem?

Many conditions, such as premenstrual tension or depression after bereavement, can be treated by diet or the loving attention of friends and relatives. A new study finds that people suffering from major depression can be helped just as well by help in facing up to and solving their problems as by taking antidepressants. Unless you can be persuaded that your condition will definitely worsen, why introduce a substance that could also introduce a whole new set of problems?

*What will happen if I don’t take the drug?

*What is this drug supposed to do for me? How will it do that? How are you going to monitor the use of the drug? Do your instructions differ for those of the data sheet?

*What sorts of drugs or substances (including non-prescription drugs, food or alcohol) should I avoid when taking this drug?

*With what other drugs does this drug dangerously react?

Although one drug used alone might carry a small risk, when combined with another drug, that risk can be multiplied several times over, as can the strength of the toxicity.

*What are the known side effects of this drug, as reported by the manufacturer?

*What are the latest reports in the medical literature about this drug’s side effects?

Magazines like The Lancet publish new studies… Most large science libraries will have the American Physician’s Desk Reference or the Data Sheet Compendium on the shelf. The British Library’s medical section holds both. Another possibility is to do a Medline Search, a computerised version of the Cumulated Index Medicus, a summary of most scientific studies performed on most treatments. If your library doesn’t have Medline, they probably have the Index Medicus itself, an unwieldy volume that will fill most of a shelf.

By Bryan Hubbard, Ode Magazine

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Rosie L.

9:50AM PST on Feb 1, 2012

thanks for sharing!

send a green star

jayasri a.

6:26PM PST on Jan 20, 2012

Great article, thank you

Danuta W.

1:20AM PST on Jan 20, 2012

Gordana R.

6:24AM PDT on Mar 23, 2011

great article...people always need more such education to improve their health...

Chavonne H.

4:12PM PST on Feb 23, 2011

thanks, good article

Ian D.

11:12AM PST on Feb 22, 2011

After those ask these:
What drug companies give you compensation?
How much money and gifts do you receive in a given year?
Do you consider all the options or do you usually have one that stands out because of the personal drive behind it?

Monique D.

12:07PM PST on Feb 10, 2011

Thanks I always remember to ask about interactions, I'd rather be paranoid then sorry about this

11:59AM PST on Jan 5, 2011

thanks, realized I actually never ask any of these, I usually read the 'manual'

Past Member .

11:06PM PDT on Mar 31, 2010

thank you very much

JE L.

7:24PM PST on Feb 11, 2010

Thanks.