Wellness

[sfnative]

Due to what I've learned recently and within the past year with regard to two meds I've been taking, I thought I'd pass this along as food for thought.

During and subsequent to WWII, great strides were made in medicine, including pharmacology. The number of new drugs developed since then is astounding. For the most part, millions of people worldwide have benefited from short or long term use of a drug.

I've needed to take a drug to prevent epileptic seizures since I was 19 (I'm 66 now). I've been very fortunate in this regard, as the drug at a 160 mg amount per day before bed, has kept me seizure free and functioning at a high level. However, having moved to a new city and a new state recently, I just had labs run, one of which indicated that I have liver damage due to this drug. None of my previous internists had requested this test.

Add to this the permanent kidney damage at a level 3 out of 5 incurred as a result of taking an NSAID for nearly 13 years for chronic migraine. I'm now in kidney failure.

My advice to you, if you've been taking a drug from some time: establish a dialog with your internist and demand twice yearly labs to determine if organ damage has occurred. Also, take a look at the drug on the internet and keep yourself informed.