Recently I have had people come into the clinic who started on a new medication months prior and persevered with very difficult adverse effects of nausea, fatigue, and headache that were affecting their quality of life. Although most of our medications have a very low incidence of these adverse effects, when you do find that a medication doesn’t agree with you, it is essential that you consult your healthcare professional about ways to manage the adverse effects and to verify if what you’re experiencing is likely due to the medication. In many cases, disease modifying treatments for autoimmune inflammatory conditions are prescribed and then assessed for their full effectiveness three months later. It is important to not suffer for three months if you are experiencing unpleasant side effects but rather call for guidance as a new medication could be ordered to replace the one you are taking or dosage adjustments made.
Carolyn Whiskin is the Pharmacy Manager for Charlton Health. Carolyn specializes in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, pharmaceutical compounding, women’s health, pain and smoking cessation. Carolyn has won provincial and national awards for her commitment to patient care and public service.
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