4 Things You Should Always Find Out About Your Prescriptions

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When your doctor prescribes a new medication it is natural to assume that it is safe for you and that your doctor has given you all the information that you need about taking the medication. However, according to Prevention magazine, a study done by researchers at the University of California exposed that doctors don't always give the full story to their patients.

The study involved 44 doctors who wrote prescriptions for 184 patients. 65% of the time the doctors did not provide information on possible side effects from the medication, 66% of the time they did not tell their patients how long they should take the drug and 42% of the time they neglected to inform patients of how frequently they should take their medication.

Not knowing how prescription medications may affect you, how long you should take them or how often you should take them can cause many problems including overdoses, serious health consequences, accidents caused by drowsiness as well as other problems. Logic would say that the instructions for taking your medications are printed on the side of the prescription bottle; however, these instructions may not give you the complete picture.

To be on the safe side you should always ask your doctor how long you should take the medication, how often you should take it, what the potential side effects are and whether there are any foods or supplements you should avoid taking while you are on the medication. Having a full understanding of how the medication could affect you will keep you alert to any problems or symptoms that may arise and keep you from taking too much medicine and accidentally overdosing.

If for some reason you forget to ask your doctor these questions your pharmacist can also answer them for you. Most pharmacies also print up a data sheet on the drug that they include in the bag with your prescription that has information on possible side effects as well as other tidbits like whether the drug should be taken with food or not.

Prescription drugs are nothing to mess around with and it is important to be as informed as possible before starting a new prescription. By taking the time to learn as much as you can about your prescription medications you will help to safeguard yourself from harmful side effects, drug interaction and accidental overdose. Always talk to your doctor or pharmacist about any questions or concerns you have before you begin taking a new medication.