Ok... so I'm watching TV and on comes an ad for the asthma medication Advair. They tell me how great their medication is. People with asthma will be able to run and play again. Those who suffer from COPD will have a new leash on life. Everything about this medication is amazing and wonderful. Life is grand! Then they nonchalantly slip in the line "Advair contains salmeterol, which increases the risk of asthma-related death." Ahem... what? It took me a moment to realize what they were actually saying. "We have a drug to sell you that will treat your symptoms of asthma, but will ultimately increase your risk of dying from the very condition we're treating you for!"
This got me looking at some other common medications, and wondering, are the side effects worse than the symptoms you're treating?. The allergy medication, Zyrtec, lists the following "common" side effects: Dizziness, headaches, abdominal pain, nosebleeds, diarrhea, among others. Pretty harsh for a drug that is only trying to treat a runny nose and watery eyes. It also lists the following "serious" side effects: High blood pressure, rapid heart rate, confusion, anxiety and breathing problems. As well as the following "less common" (but still possible) side effects: hair loss, arthritis, ear infection, bladder infection, hemorrhoids, vertigo, migraines, loss of appetite and weight gain. I'm not even sure what to think about a medication that causes loss of appetite and weight gain. Doesn't this all seem a little heavy for medication who's main purpose is to un-stuff your sinuses?
Viagra can actually turn your vision blue. True story! Temporarily, of course, but whoa... I don't want my vision to be blue even for a little while. The popular stop-smoking drug Chantix causes severe, intense, vivid dreams in a large number of users. The hair-loss drug Propecia can cause "gynecomastia". This is an affliction that causes men to develop fully functional mammary glands and even lactate! You think losing your hair makes you look less manly? How do you think you'll look with a nice set of Double D's? The medication Requip, used to treat Restless Leg Syndrome, lists an uncanny side effect - unusual and irresistible sexual and gambling-related urges. I have no idea why these two are related or why they're the only two urges affected by the medication. The antibiotic, Levaquin can cause phototoxicity, making you the equivalent of a vampire where sunlight is concerned. Exposed skin will sunburn almost instantly. The weight loss drug Alli has an interesting set of side effects, and it starts with uncontrollable bowel movements. Hey, if there's one thing I'd rather keep control of, it's my bowels. Also on the list for Alli side effects are loose stools and "oily spotting", accompanied by flatulence. In other words... greasy farts. The Alli website describes this oily spotting as such: "You may recognize it as something that looks like the oil on top of a pizza." Well, I guess that about does it for my appetite for Domino's.
So at what point do we step back and ask "are the side effects worse than the symptoms?" Where do we draw the line? If the treatment for a hangnail causes gangrene, is that too much? If your dry skin treatment causes sudden blindness, have you gone too far? Just something to think about, I guess.
