Jim was a patient of mine years back. He had come to me for holistic advice on heart health. His doctors were recommending statins to control his cholesterol. When Jim came to see me later in the year, I was struck by his decline. That’s when we discussed easing him off drugs and starting a recovery program…

Say you start taking a new blood pressure medication and suddenly feel nauseous and dizziness all the time. What would you do? Probably call your doctor. But if you’re suddenly feeling down or anxious, you may not immediately connect it to your blood pressure medication. Especially, if no one warned you…

With the season’s falling temperatures comes an increased risk for upper respiratory infections… If you find yourself coughing, sneezing or wheezing anytime soon and your doctor places an antibiotic prescription in your hands, make sure you’re not trading an infection for a heart problem…

Tramadol is far less addictive than some “big gun” drugs. In fact, when it was first released, it wasn’t even classified as an opioid (but that’s changed). Tramadol also has fewer side effects than other painkillers. Or so we thought… As more people turn to this “safe” pain reliever, risks are bubbling to the surface…

Thyroid hormone balancing is confusing for mainstream doctors including endocrinologists (but they may not admit it). That’s because they use only lab tests. The problem with that is there are many medications that affect your thyroid hormone and confound the interpretation of standard thyroid tests…

You’ve probably never heard the term “Ambien zombie” before. So, let me explain this growing problem… When you take Ambien or other sleep aids, they do two things that can get you in trouble: They give you Teflon brain, meaning new memories won’t stick. They also release your inhibitions…

Been told you need a statin and questioning whether it’s the right step for you? You’re not alone: According to the Mayo Clinic Proceedings every man over 65 and every woman over 70 qualifies to be on statin drugs. But should everyone take a drug just because they reach a certain age? This doc says no…

Polypharmacy is the result of a complex medical system. It’s defined as taking multiple prescribed medications with the possibility that they all may not be clinically necessary, and may, in fact, cause harm. And what you don’t know about this common “affliction” can hurt you or someone you care about…

Recently, I read an online article about 7 common myths surrounding the cholesterol-lowering medication Atorvastatin, also known as Lipitor. The author minimized well-reported adverse side effects to the degree I might expect from a pharmaceutical representative. Let me set the record straight…

There’s probably been a point in your life where you took a Z-pack from your doctor without second guessing it. Maybe your throat was ablaze with strep bacteria or any other number of nasty infections. At those times, a Z-pack feels like a life-saver. But this common antibiotic can also be a life-ender…

In the U.S. it’s not uncommon to find a medication you’ve been prescribed costs as much as a decent car payment. What’s crazy is that people in other areas of the world don’t pay even close to what we’re charged. So why are Americans charged more and how do our costs compare to the rest of the world?

Insomnia stinks. But, sometimes, you’d do almost anything for sleep, right? However, if you do turn to prescription sleep aids to get some zzz’s on occasion, there’s something you should know… They threaten lives more often than those commercials with the calming, sleep-inducing butterfly lead you to believe.