Have you ever wondered why the bigwigs in the pharmaceutical industry are making a lot of money? Well, this is most probably because they manage to sell their products at high prices and people patronize them. Why are they still being bought by the public? It is basically because a lot of people are deceived not only by their marketing tactics, but also with what they are fed with professionals in the medical field, such as with what they are given in their prescriptions.
Without any disrespect to doctors, while many medicines can indeed prove to be effective, the problem is that they are expensive. More so, the bigger problem is that even if they treat you for a specific condition, it is inevitable that side effects will emanate in one way or another. With such being said, the rest of this article will tackle briefly some of the most common and harmful side effects of commercial medications.
- Death. Although not the most common, this is obviously the most serious harmful side effect of commercial medications. Medicines are supposedly given in order to treat a specific health condition. Unfortunately, there are some of them that can do you more harm than good, such as in the case of death. This often happens in the case of overdose, which can likely occur because some people fail to consider instructions from their doctors or they simply develop dependence towards a specific drug. Crestor, for instance, which is a drug meant to lower the bad cholesterol in the body, is said to have resulted into different cases of kidney failure; eleven of which resulted into death, based on a study of Public Citizens Health Research Group.y
- Cancer. This is one of the most life-threatening diseases all over the world today. People often take medications because of the belief it will provide them with a healthier body, and hence, being able to prevent the growth of cancer cells. Sadly, some medicines are also the culprit of cancer. Propecia, for instance, a commercial treatment for hair loss, has a warning on its label indicating how it can possibly lead to high risk prostate cancer. Actos, on the other hand, a drug that is used for diabetes, can also lead to bladder cancer. This has been proven by the move of the FDA in 2011 adding such indication to the label in order to warn its users.
- Stroke. AngroGel, is a prescribed drug that is used as a hormone replacement. However, based on tests that have been conducted by the National Institutes of Health, it has been linked to various cardiovascular diseases and stroke. In fact, many of its users who have suffered from stroke have already filed lawsuits against the drug manufacturer for what happened to them. More so, Yaz and Yasmin, which are popular birth control pills, have been also linked to stroke by some of its users who were not happy with how their health condition has been negatively affected.
- Hallucination. In most common instances, this is a bad thing for your health. People who suffer from hallucination as a side effect are those who take medications for anxiety and depression, among other conditions. Visual and auditory hallucinations have been reported by people who used Lariam, which is a generic name given to a drug that is supposed to treat malaria outbreak. Because of this, the FDA has imposed rules in the early 2000s to first screen anyone who will be given such drug in order to minimize such side effect.
- Heart Attacks. Medicines that supplement the body with testosterone are amongst the most common to have heart attacks as side effects. There were also many people who have taken Pradaxa, a drug for thinning the blood, have filed lawsuits against the manufacturer because of suffering from heart attacks and other cardiovascular diseases. Avandia, a drug for Type 2 diabetes, is said to have resulted into 83,000 cases of heart attacks from 1999 to 2007, which prompted the FDA to significantly restrict its use and prescription.
