[리더스 다이제스트] 처방약 부작용 : 지시한 대로 복용해라 2

Prescription Drug Side Effects: Take As Directed 2

"I Didn't Like the Side Effects"
College student Jenny Bullough had always hated the fatigue and painful periods that came with her epilepsy medication. So after two years without a seizure, she quit taking the drug. "In my youthful arrogance and ignorance," she says, "I decided that the side effects weren't worth it."

But within a week, she had two episodes, one a grand mal seizure on the day of a final exam. "I missed the exam entirely," she says. "Luckily, my professor took pity on me and let me make it up." Now 36 and living in Toronto, Bullough takes an anticonvulsant that has fewer side effects-and she knows she'll be on it for good.

Bottom line - You don't have to stop medication to get rid of annoying side effects. A lower dose or a switch to another drug can help. See Chart: The Dangers of Stopping Suddenly

 

"I Didn't Want to Get Addicted"
Sonya Carr, 27, a sales manager in San Jose, California, had been taking Paxil, an antidepressant, for about six months. But "having heard and seen stories about withdrawal," she says, "I was worried about physical dependence." Carr quit the drug cold turkey. "I didn't eat or sleep for three days. And I had the shocks, a tingly feeling, especially in my hands." Moody and irritable for two weeks, she even thought of suicide.

Bottom line - Stopping SSRIs (the most commonly prescribed type of antidepressant) may cause withdrawal symptoms, but addiction isn't to blame. "Addiction is a specific condition," says Nada Stotland, MD, president of the American Psychiatric Association. "An addict craves the drug and has serious withdrawal symptoms without it. You don't get addicted to prescription medications unless you overuse or abuse pain or anxiety medications-and only certain ones." SSRI withdrawal symptoms can be avoided by tapering off.

 

"It Was Too Expensive"
LuzMarina Rico, a 44-year-old mother of three in Ossining, New York, was hospitalized earlier this year for severe headaches. After a battery of tests, she was discharged with a handful of prescriptions, one for anti-migraine pills that cost $30 apiece at her local pharmacy. Her family was able to fill the first prescription, but $540 for a bottle of pills is close to the amount of her husband's weekly paycheck. Without insurance, "there is no way we can afford it," says her daughter Cristina.


출처 : http://www.rd.com/living-healthy/prescription-drug-side-effects-take-as-directed/article92679-1.html


단어 모음

arrogance           [U] 오만
crave                  1. 갈망[열망]하다  2. [타동사][VN] (英 옛글투) …을 간절히 청하다
withdrawal symptom  (의학) [보통 pl.] (마약의) 금단 증상 ((욕지기·발한·허탈 등))

리뷰

"부작용이 싫었어요"
첫번째 문단에는 어떤 간질환자가 2년 동안 발작이 없었기에 어린 마음으로 약을 갑자기 끊고 난 뒤 1주도 되지 않아 마지막 시험에서 대발작이 온 이야기를 하고 있다. 부작용을 없애고 싶을 때는 무조건 약을 끊을 필요가 있는 것이 아니라 적은 양이나 다른 약으로 바꾸는 것이 도움이 될 수 있다고 말하고 있다. 저번 글에서도 나왔던 갑자기 끊을 경우에 큰일 날 수 있는 약을 또 링크해놓았다.

"중독되고 싶지 않았어요"
신체적 의존이 두려워서 항우울제를 갑자기 끊은 사람의 경우를 말했다. 특히 SSRI(Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, 선택적 세로토닌 재흡수 억제제)를 멈추는 것은 금단증상을 유발할 수 있다. 중독은 약을 많이 쓰거나 특수한 상황에 제한된다. SSRI 금단증상은 서서히 끊는 것에 의해서 극복 될 수 있다.

"너무 비쌌어요"
약이 너무 비쌌기 때문에 돈을 낼 수 없어서 끊게 되었다는데 안타깝다.