Top 8 Medicines With Severe Side Effects

An estimated 4.5 million Americans visit a doctor or emergency room because of side effects related to their prescription medications every year. And the same was narrated by a recent study by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Whereas, the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine reports that severe drug reactions occur more than 2 million times a year. Besides, it stated that in-hospital patients are the fourth leading cause of hospital deaths, heart disease, cancer, and stroke.

Common Side Effects of Medicines

Side effects are undesired symptoms caused by medications. All medicines can cause side effects, mainly if they are not used as prescribed by the doctor. These include prescription medications, supplements, complementary medicines, or natural drugs.

However, these side effects can vary from mild, such as tiredness or sickness (nausea), to life-threatening conditions. This includes hallucinations, memory loss, priapism, blood clots, compulsive behaviors, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, congenital disabilities, suicidal tendencies, addiction, sexual problems, and so on. 

Side effects do not appear in every person. Sometimes its intensity can also differ depending on condition, age, weight, gender, ethnicity, and general health.

So what are the medicines causing these worst side effects? Let’s find out.

1. Benzodiazepines

Prescribed for: Anxiety and panic

Side effects

Benzodiazepines can cause physical dependence. It may affect physical coordination and balance, increasing the risk of falls and other accidents. It also can defect memory or the ability to learn and retain new information. Suddenly stopping therapy after a few months of daily treatment may be associated with withdrawal symptoms. These withdrawal symptoms include a feeling of loss of self-worth, agitation, and insomnia.

How to deal with them?

Naloxone is also an effective drug against the side effects of benzodiazepines because it reverses the effect of these types of drugs. It prevents benzodiazepine receptor function, blocking the action of benzodiazepines. To avoid the consequences of withdrawal, you should consume the doses of benzodiazepine steadily. In some cases, it is given in cases of benzodiazepine overdose.

Interactions

Alcohol, barbiturates, narcotics, and tranquilizers.

2. Metformin 

Prescribed for: Prediabetes

Side effects

Metformin causes nausea and gastric distress, such as stomach pain, gas, bloating, and diarrhea. These are common among people starting up on metformin. However, these symptoms settle down after a while. For some but not for all.

Hence, some might suffer from more severe side effects, though they are rare. The most serious of them is building up lactic acid in the blood.  Too much metformin accumulating in the blood may cause kidney problems, severe acute heart failure, or severe liver failure.

How to deal with them?

Patients should take metformin with a meal and switch to extended-release (ER) metformin. Be careful with dietary changes and supplements. Ensure you’ve eaten something or at least had a few bites of food before taking your dose. The food serves as a bit of a buffer while the drug is being digested and broken down.

Interactions

Procainamide, digoxin, quinidine, trimethoprim, and vancomycin.

3. Plavix

Prescribed for: Treat of symptoms of acute coronary syndrome

Side effects

A sudden feeling of numbness or weakness, particularly on one side of the body. Moreover, suddenly feeling headache, vision problems, confusion, speech, or imbalance. Furthermore, pale skin, weakness, fever, or jaundice (yellowing of the skin eyes). Some people may have symptoms of an allergic reaction to Plavix. These symptoms include hives, trouble breathing, swelling of the ears, lips, tongue, or throat.

Plavix also increases the risk of bleeding, which may be life-threatening.

How to deal with them?

Stop consuming grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice when taking this drug. But the exception is if your doctor or pharmacist recommends you a safe way to do that. The reason grapefruit is avoided because it increases the risk of side effects with this medication. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Note: If you have non-stop bleeding, blood in urine, black or bloody stools, or vomiting that looks like coffee. Please call your doctor or seek emergency medical treatment immediately.

Interactions

Aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

 4. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) 

Prescribed for: Headaches, fever, muscle aches, menstrual periods, colds, and sore throats

Side effects

Tylenol’s side effects include nausea, stomach pain, lack of appetite, itch, rash, gritty stools, or jaundice (yellowing of the skin eyes). Heavy use of acetaminophen is associated with renal dysfunction and bleeding in the digestive tract. The drug also raises the risk of heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure.

How to deal with them?

Get medical help right away if you notice symptoms of a rare severe allergic reaction to Tylenol. This includes rash, itching/swelling (especially of the face/tongue/throat), severe dizziness, or trouble breathing. Don’t take acetaminophen if you do have a history of liver disease. Shake liquid acetaminophen before each use to mix the medication evenly.

Interacts with: 

Carbamazepine, isoniazid, rifampin, alcohol, cholestyramine, and warfarin

5. Rosiglitazone

Prescribed for: Type 2 diabetes

Side effects

Upper respiratory tract infection, this can be due to poor immunity with uncontrolled diabetes. Other side effects include headache, back pain, hyper/hypoglycemia, nausea, sinusitis, diarrhea are the most common side effects. Heart failure, heart attack, liver damage, and bone fracture are some serious side effects. 

How to deal with them?

Take this drug according to your doctor’s instructions. Please do not use it frequently, and do not use it longer than your doctor recommended. Patients can take this drug with or without food. But try to maintain the diet that your doctor recommended.

Interactions

Insulin, metformin, sulfonylurea

6. Benicar

Prescribed for: High blood pressure

Side effects

The most common Benicar side effect is dizziness. Serious and less common side effects include facial edema, high potassium levels, low blood pressure (known as hypotension), and decreased kidney function. Benicar has the potential to cause intestinal problems known as sprue-like enteropathy. Symptoms of drug-induced sprue-like enteropathy include severe, chronic diarrhea, and substantial weight loss within months to years after using the medication.

How to deal with them?

Take Benicar regularly in time. You should not suddenly discontinue it because Benicar can provoke a powerful inflammatory reaction and have dire consequences if not done with caution. For women who are pregnant, this is not advisable. If you face any adverse side-effect, contact your doctor immediately.

Interaction

Aliskiren, lithium, ACE inhibitors, birth control pills

7. Hydroxychloroquine

Prescribed for: to treat malaria

Side effects

Patients may have symptoms of allergic reactions.  This includes hives, trouble breathing, swelling in their face or neck. In some cases, severe skin reactions, fever, sore throat, burning eyes, skin irritation, red or purple skin rash with blistering and peeling. They might also have symptoms of a severe heart problem: fast or pounding heartbeats, fluttering of the chest, shortness of breath, and intense dizziness as they may have passed.

Taking long-term or large doses of hydroxychloroquine can cause permanent damage to the retina of the eye. There may also be blurred vision, trouble focusing, trouble hearing, blurred vision, blind spots, and increased sensitivity to light.

How to deal with them?

People taking hydroxychloroquine should tell their medical providers about all drugs, vitamins, and herbal supplements they take. There have been rare instances of psychiatric incidents, including suicidal tendencies. Avoid those kinds of medicines that interact with hydroxychloroquine. Take this medicine as prescribed by the doctor. Do not use it more; do not use it more often.

Interactions

Amiodarone, Chlorpromazine, clarithromycin

8. Adderall

Prescribed for: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Narcolepsy

Side effects 

Adderall side effects range from common, mild SE, such as loss of appetite, nausea, insomnia, and more severe. But rarely causes seizures, heart attack, and psychiatric disorders. The medicine has a black box warning that there is a high risk for abuse. Any misuse of Adderall can lead to cardiovascular attacks and sudden death.

How to deal with them?

Sudden stopping of Adderall will cause significant side effects. This causes uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms, including sleeping problems, exhaustion, and sluggishness. If patients need to stop taking this medicine, they will have to work closely with their doctor. Eating nutritious foods and having daily exercise will help to relieve symptoms of withdrawal. If the patient has trouble sleeping, the patient can try to keep on a regular sleep schedule. Try to go to bed every night at the same time, and get up every morning at the same time.

Interactions

Ascorbic acid, fruit juice, guanethidine, reserpine, and glutamic acid

How to get help if you have side effects

If you or someone is suffering from a severe allergic reaction, dial 911 and ask for urgent medical assistance.

Please contact your doctor or pharmacist immediately if:

– You find you have a severe side effect mentioned in the patient knowledge leaflet of your medication.

– You’ve got a side effect that you think is extreme.

Final Thoughts

While all of these drugs have unwanted SE, these are merely 8 out of them. There are hundreds more that can provide uncomfortable SE to thousands of people around the world every year.

Although it is important to note that all medications can be harmful if they are not administered correctly. Furthermore, in conjunction with other substances, including prescription drugs, can prove to be undesirable.