Medications Archive

Physical therapy and weight loss can relieve knee pain and protect your mobility.

Q. I am scheduled to have my prostate removed and am concerned about the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) after the surgery. I've heard that taking an ED drug daily during my recovery could help. Do you recommend this?

A. About half of men lose some erectile function after radical prostatectomy, which removes the entire prostate gland. ED drugs help men to have erections after surgery, but so far research has not shown that taking it daily produces better results than taking the medication as-needed—when you anticipate sexual activity.

Maintaining a healthy weight is the best way to rein in gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), or chronic heartburn, according to a study in The American Journal of Gastroenterology. Researchers found that GERD symptoms increased for every incremental rise in body mass index (BMI), which measures the ratio of weight to height.

In GERD, the acidic contents of the stomach back up into the lower esophagus, causing burning pain. The most effective treatment for GERD is taking an acid-reducing proton-pump inhibitor medication, such as omeprazole (Prilosec). People who are overweight are much more likely to develop GERD.

People with high blood pressure could benefit from a B vitamin known as folate if they are not getting enough from their diets, according to a study in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The study included more than 20,000 adults in China with high blood pressure who had never had a stroke or heart attack. Participants who took folate supplements along with a blood pressure medication had fewer strokes over the four-and-one-half-year trial than those who only took the medication.

Many different medications can potentially harm the liver, so doctors sometimes do liver function tests to ensure safety. The worst-case scenario is liver failure, but when this happens, the cause is usually not prescription medications, but rather the over-the-counter painkiller acetaminophen (Tylenol) or herbal supplements, according to a study in Gastroenterology.

Researchers scrutinized 5.4 million records of patients in the Kaiser Permanente Northern California system from 2004 to 2010. They identified only 62 cases of liver failure, 32 of which were linked to medications. This may not precisely reflect national rates, but it does suggest that liver failure from medications is relatively uncommon.

After a small study hinted that taking acetaminophen (Tylenol) might increase blood pressure, some doctors worried that this popular painkiller might not be as safe as once assumed, particularly for people with heart disease. But those fears now appear unfounded, according to a March 2015 report in Hypertension.

Using records from a U.K. health database, researchers identified nearly 25,000 people ages 65 and older with high blood pressure. They then compared people who took acetaminophen with people who didn't take the drug over a 10-year period. After adjusting for possible confounding factors, they found no elevated risk of heart attack, stroke, or any cardiovascular events among people who used acetaminophen—even among those who took the painkiller frequently. Despite this reassurance, be aware that high doses of acetaminophen can damage your liver. Don't take more than 3,000 milligrams (mg) a day. Over-the-counter pills (including some cold and flu drugs) may contain up to 650 mg of the drug, so check labels carefully. 

It may boost the effect of your current medication.

It appears that people with high blood pressure who take folate along with the blood pressure medicine enalapril (Vasotec) may be less likely to have a stroke than people who take enalapril alone.

Relaxation, meditation, positive thinking, and other mind-body techniques can help reduce your need for pain medication.

Drugs are very good at getting rid of pain, but they often have unpleasant, and even serious, side effects when used for a long time. If you have backache, fibromyalgia, arthritis, or other chronic pain that interferes with your daily life, you may be looking for a way to relieve discomfort that doesn't involve drugs. Some age-old techniques—including meditation and yoga—as well as newer variations may help reduce your need for pain medication.

By Anne Fabiny, M.D., Editor in Chief

President Barack Obama recently announced the Precision Medicine Initiative, a new program to speed up discoveries based on information and technology stemming from the Human Genome Project. "Precision medicine" and "personalized medicine" are terms that describe health care tailored to an individual patient's genetic makeup, using information about a patient's genome to diagnose illness and design therapies to treat and cure disease. This approach has been described as "the medicine of the future."

However, it may be reassuring to know that although your doctor doesn't have your genome at hand, he or she is likely to be giving you personalized care as we understand it today.