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| ... As many of you no doubt know, I’ve been writing medical columns for Peoples Drug Mart for, well, to be honest, I can’t really remember how long it’s been mostly because these days, I can’t even remember what I had for breakfast, but trust me, it’s |
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been marketed, and nearly every week, a new study confirms that suspicion.
For example, take proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), those very widely-prescribed drugs for lowering stomach acid output for such common conditions as gastric acid reflux and ulcers, and the reason |
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pneumonia), and that PPIs raise the risk of hip fracture and osteoporosis within a year or two of starting on these drugs.
... Before, however, everyone out there instantly throws their PPI into the toilet after reading this, please bear in mind that 1) you should never throw |
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| been a long time, and the reason I’ve hung in there for so long is not because I love seeing my name in print (although hey, that never hurts) and not because I love to collect a fee (double ditto), but rather, mostly because these columns give me an opportunity to share what I believe is important common-sense, practical information about current medical topics, and which is why I never simply rehas hmedical and wellness stuff |
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unwanted pills down the toilet, and 2) PPIs are very useful for many people.
... If you have bad reflux, for example, as I do, PPIs can be a God-send because it’s really hard to over-emphasize just how uncomfortable reflux can be – both for the person with the reflux, and their wife who has to listen to the endless whining.
. ... The lesson is, though, that as with all drugs, PPIs carry significant potential downsides, and we’ve only |
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that you can easily pick up on your own from a good web site....
... Thus, for example, in these columns, I rarely discuss specific medications, especially new ones, because common sense tells me that we won’t really know the best way to use most drugs and their real value and safety for several years after those drugs have |
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they’re so commonly prescribed is that they’re very effective; plus, they’ve always been considered to be very safe.
Two recent reports, however, concluded that PPIs raise the risk of pneumonia in elderly patients admitted to hospital (and remember that many, perhaps most, PPI users are elderly and thus already more prone to both hospitalization and |
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learned about some of those after those drugs were available for several years, so if you are on a medication, or if you’re newly-prescribed one, it’s really a good idea to talk to – and to stay in touch with - your
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