multi-drugs, side effects diagnosis impossible?

[stephenT2]

Like many diabetics, I am on more than one medication. I do occassionally suffer from 'side effects' which range from tummy upsets, un-explained pains (cramps), dizziness etc. BUT the problem with being on multiple medication is trying to diagnose the cause. It could be one of the drugs, then again, it could just be an ordinary tummy upset that many people get!

Here is a list of my current daily medication: I should also mention, I don't smoke, don't drink, and have a BMI of 24.9 (normal)

Metformin 500Mg x 4
Bisoprolol 2.5Mg x 1
Isosorbide (elantine) 25Mg x 1
Byetta 10Mg x 2
Simvastatin 40Mg x 1
Aspirin 75Mg x 1
Fenofibrate (Lipantil) 200Mg x 1
Ramipril 5Mg x 1
Pioglitazone (actos) 45Mg x 1
Ezetimibe 10Mg x 1

Every one of them come with a comprehensive list of potential side effects - I was bored enough one day to make a spreadsheet of them, and came to the conclusion that any 'side effects' I encountered, I could live with. For example, nearly all could cause tummy upsets - what should I cut out?? Like I said, maybe I just ate something that disagreed with me?

In addition, I'm sure that the combination of all these are bound to cause the odd 'spike' in their treatment as I can be pretty sure they have not been tested in the specific combination I am taking.

I am always asking to be cut down on the amount of medication I am taking, however, on Monday I was actually given an additional one of Ezetimbe as they want to cut down my cholesteral LDL level even further pending my upcoming heart bypass surgery - honestly, my genes are really cr*p and I could have chosen my parents so much better

Anyway, back to the point - side effects for me are truly difficult to diagnose, am I alone?

 

[croftmanor]

Hi Stephen
speaking on a purely personal level i was lucky enough to work out what caused my symptoms
and with my doctors approval have carried out some investigations,
it transpires that the main culprit for my leg cramps and ache was the simvastatin
from having almost nightly cramps to bad pains when walking a distance to only 1 cramp in the past 2 months since stopping them, it was clear that was the cause of those "effects",
so will review this with my doc when i see him in 2 weeks time,
also my stomach upsets and windiness always match with the times i take my metformin, even more noticable over the past year since my dosage was increased, (if i need to increase in the future i will look to having the slow release version.

I would also consult your Dr about the aspirin, mine say that unless you have a history of heart probs then the general consensus is that there are no benefits to taking them
(doh!! your waiting bypass surgery, how did i mis that !!)

hope that gives you an idea of where to start from, all should of course be discussed with your Dr first
Crofty

 

[stephenT2]

I would also consult your Dr about the aspirin, mine say that unless you have a history of heart probs then the general concensus is that there are no benefits to taking them

I guess my pending quadruple heart bypass, along with a replacement aerortic valve would give credance to the aspirin. Also, I use to get severe leg cramp when I was first prescribed Levimir insulin, this decreased dramatically when I stopped it and used Byetta instead.

I also was on another drug for Cholesteral lowering - Niaspan 1000Mg, this was horrible and I couldn't get to sleep due to a heavy flushing sensation, almost like pins & needles in my face, I stopped this drug myself and informed my doctor later.

If the side-effect is severe, I can usually narrow the cause down, but for everyday run of the mill stuff, I tend to just accept it as a consequence of fore mentioned poor genes

 

[cugila]

There are many people who get side effects from all types of drugs.

I have taken some drugs and had no side effects at all despite tham having a list as long as your arm of POSSIBLE side effects ! Whilst I was anti-Cancer drugs recently I had horrendous side effects. The thing was those drugs were doing me good, so although the effects were not good.....I had to 'grin and bear it'.....those drugs were saving my life.

Like you, for me it was difficult, if not impossible to pin down which was causing the problems.....I would have had to omit individual drugs one at a time and then probably have got 'withdrawal' symptoms as well !

So, I just go with it basically. If symptoms of any drug are unbearable then that needs to be discussed with the HCP's for them to offer an alternative drug or suggest another way without the drugs.

What does seem odd to me is that people look at a list of POSSIBLE side effects then immediately decide ......I'm not taking that. You are not guaranteed to get ANY.........try it for a little while and see how you go seems more logical to me. I'm lucky, I must have a constitution like an Ox.......most medication doesn't have any side effects on me. :wink:

Ken