When on medication, be mind ful of your diet

The average drug user hardly thinks that there are certain combinations that don’t go together when taking drugs.

It’s not even unusual for people to down their drugs with sugary soft drinks or sports drinks for that matter; while in some bizarre scenarios, individuals have been known to use alcoholic beverages to swallow their drugs!

Medication and alcohol

Such was the case of Mr. Ayodele Oshodi, a 56-year-old bricklayer who claims that the nature of his job as a bricklayer makes him feel pain all the time.

“To counter the pain, I regularly take Alabukun soaked in local gin,” Oshodi narrates.

Pharmacists describe Alabukun as powdery pain killer in the family of salicylates. It works by reducing substances in the body that cause pain and inflammation, while it also reduces fever. The curious thing about this drug, though, is that it is hardly stocked by reputable pharmacies, nor is it prescribed by doctors in conventional hospitals.

As for Oshodi, this unbeatable combination nearly killed him, as his body — including his hands, scrotum, legs, stomach, etc. — started to swell up. When it was obvious that he might die, his relations took him to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, on November 28, 2013, where he was attended to as an emergency case.

He was lucky to have survived, his physicians say; otherwise, he would have died of non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema — a complication of medication side effects, including aspirin overdose.

General Practitioner, Dr. Grace Asiedu, explains: “Edema results whenever small blood vessels become ‘leaky’ and release fluid into nearby tissues. The extra fluid accumulates, causing the tissue to swell.

“In the case of medication abuse such as Oshodi’s, remember that on its own, alcohol causes the blood vessels to dilate, resulting in blood flow to the surface of the skin where nerve endings respond to changes in temperature. And by the time you now combine it with aspirin-containing drug, it becomes double whammy.

“This is because aspirin overdose or allergy can result in swelling of the face, tongue, lips, throat, etc. When that happens, your now dilated blood vessels would only have served as ‘fuel’ for the nerve endings, resulting in edema (swelling).

“And because aspiring is present in many over-the-counter and prescription medications, who knows, Oshodi might be using other drugs at the same time, hence his life-threatening condition!”

Possible liver damage

Pharmacist/Owner, Victoria Medical Pharmacy, Ontario, Canada, Mr. Jay Asindi, states that when a painkiller such as Paracetamol and alcohol are taken together, both of them will be competing for the same enzyme in the liver. The alcohol will therefore cause the Paracetamol to act like poison to the liver, causing liver damage.

“The damage caused by alcohol-Paracetamol interaction is more likely to occur when Paracetamol is taken after, rather than before, the alcohol has been consumed. And it doesn’t matter whether you are a heavy drinker or not.

“This type of interaction is very significant because Paracetamol is the most purchased and consumed over-the-counter painkiller in the world without pescription,” the Nigerian-born Canada resident notes.

Food-drug interaction

Asindi warns that food-drug interaction occurs when the types of foods we eat affect the way the ingredients in a medicine we are taking work. When that happens, the pharmacist says, the medicine cannot work the way it should.

Take, for instance, using milk to take antibiotics! Many of us have this unorthodox belief that when we use dairy products such as milk or yoghurt to take our drugs, it ameliorates what would have been a harsh effect. But that’s a wrong assumption, Asindi says.

“Some antibiotics such as Tetracycline, Ofloxacin and Ciprofloxacin may not produce the maximum effects when taken with dairy products such as milk, yogurts or cheese; or when taken together with multivitamins that contain calcium and other similar elements,” says Asindi, a member of the Canadian Pharmacists Association.

He explains, “If Tetracycline is taken together with milk or calcium-rich multivitamins, the calcium in the milk will quickly form a complex (huge chemical structure) and the body is unable to absorb the Tetracycline. This may lead to antibiotic failure.”

He counsels that in order to avoid this, milk and antibiotics should be taken two-six hours apart.

This rule does not apply to Ibuprofen, though. Asindi says Ibuprofen belongs to a class of drugs called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. “Drugs under this class MUST be taken on a full stomach (that is, after you have eaten) or with a full glass of milk,” he advises.

However, taking Ibuprofen with alcohol can cause stomach irritations, he submits.

Asiedu adds that if you suspect that a drug is irritating your stomach lining, instead of taking it with milk or allied foods, it’s advisable to see the doctor who prescribed the drug in the first instance, and he would know the next steps to take.

Grapefruit juice and cholesterol-lowering drugs

Experts say if you’re taking Lipitor (cholesterol-lowering medication) or similar drugs, you don’t have to completely avoid grapefruit juice; just take your medication two hours or more before or after drinking your grapefruit juice.

Grapefruit juice can also cause the body to break down drugs abnormally, experts warn, resulting in lower or higher than normal blood levels of the drug.

“Many medications are affected in this way, including antihistamines, blood pressure drugs, thyroid replacement drugs, birth control, stomach acid-blocking drugs, and the cough suppressant dextromethorphan. It’s best to avoid or significantly reduce intake of grapefruit juice when taking these medications,” Asindu warns.

The bottom line: Follow your physician or pharmacist’s instructions strictly. Your life depends on it!