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12:00 AM CDT on Tuesday, June 5, 2007
They say that men are from Mars and women are from Venus. That's because they have such different approaches to life. If that's true, then perhaps doctors are from Oz and patients are still in Kansas. They, too, have difficulty communicating. can be painful Question: I have had great trouble stopping the antidepressant Effexor. I tapered off this medicine as instructed, but I still have a feeling like electrical shocks going through my brain. Getting off this drug has been a nightmare. If, for some reason, a person had to stop suddenly, he might go crazy with the withdrawal. Before stopping, I forgot to take my medicine with me on a short trip, and the symptoms were excruciating. Answer: Many readers report difficulty stopping antidepressants such as Effexor or Paxil suddenly. The electric-shock sensation is a common symptom. Discontinuing such drugs requires medical supervision. to remove skin tags Question: Some time ago, I read in your column about someone who had success removing skin tags with a liquid bandage. I would appreciate hearing about this remedy. I have several of these growths around my neck where the chain of my necklace rests. I have been considering having them removed by a dermatologist, but I would like to try this remedy first. Answer: We have heard from many readers who tell us New-Skin Liquid Bandage works: "I used it twice a day for three days, and the skin tags came off!" Others tell us it may take a few weeks. Another approach some readers have tried involves a wart remedy: "I found Compound W works just as well for getting rid of skin tags." There is also an old-fashioned approach to skin-tag removal: "I had a rather large one on the side of my neck. My dermatologist said to just ignore it. Soon after, I mentioned to a friend (an orthopedic doctor) how much I hated it, and he promptly tied and knotted a piece of thread around it and cut the ends off real close. You couldn't even see it. He said that would shut off the blood supply to the tag and it would fall off very quickly. It was gone in three days." cause constipation Question: I have suffered with constipation for more than a year and have had little success finding relief. Someone suggested that I eat an entire red pepper daily. This certainly does not appeal to me, but I am feeling desperate and would try it if you say it would help. I take Bentyl, digoxin, Norpace, Tegretol, Coumadin and prochlorperazine. Is there any way to alleviate this problem? Answer: Some of the medicines you are taking could be contributing to your constipation. Although your doctor may not be able to substitute alternatives, you should discuss this problem with him or her before trying to counteract this drug-induced complication. It is unlikely that a red pepper would solve your constipation. Chewing sugarless gum may help. control blood pressure Question: I have spent more than a year trying one kind of blood pressure medicine after another. I have suffered from all sorts of side effects, including heart palpitations and dizziness, but the worst was depression. All I wanted to do was hide from the world, and I couldn't do that because I had to work. I finally told my doctor that I would rather die than take any more medicine. I seem to have weird body chemistry. I develop side effects or allergies to most medications. What kinds of natural approaches are there for controlling blood pressure? Answer: You may be surprised to learn how many nondrug approaches can help with hypertension. Learning to breathe more slowly – for example, with the help of a feedback machine called RESPeRATE – can lower blood pressure. The DASH diet (rich in calcium, magnesium and potassium) also can help. Dark chocolate and grape juice make blood vessels flexible to adjust blood pressure. Write to King Features Syndicate, 888 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10019, or e-mail . Doctors scrutinize numbers such as cholesterol or blood pressure. When they see something they don't like, they frequently prescribe a medication to nudge it back to normal. They may see side effects as minor bumps on the yellow brick road to better health. Sometimes, though, the cure can be worse than the disease. Pursuing numbers rather than quality of life can lead to unintended consequences. One reader shared the following tale of woe: "My doctor put me on Lipitor a couple of years ago. At first, I thought it was great because my cholesterol came down fast. But, within the past six months, I have become extremely weak, especially in my legs. I told my doctor, but she did not seem to hear me. I stayed on the medicine because she never told me to stop. "In the past few months, I have fallen four times. The last time, I really hurt myself and now can't go to work. My job requires me to be on my feet all the time. "I am getting around the best I can with a walker. I do feel that I was wronged by taking this medicine. I hope you can get the word out so other patients will not end up like me." Lowering cholesterol with statin-type medicine can be beneficial, but not if a patient becomes an invalid. Other readers have shared a range of complications including nerve damage (peripheral neuropathy or incapacitating pain). According to one reader: "I am unable to take Lipitor, Zocor, Pravachol or Crestor. I develop the same problems every time: muscle and body aches that affect my hips, arms, legs and neck." Another reader reports: "I had gotten to the place where I could not go up steps. I kept telling my doctor that my legs were not working. I was also having trouble remembering names, common nouns and descriptive words. Finally, my doctor said I should stop the Lipitor because my muscle enzymes were too high. She said my memory loss should be better soon." Memory problems are a repeating theme: "I lost my job due to memory problems, but my doctor and pharmacist said this wasn't a side effect of Lipitor. A psychiatrist I consulted said it is a well-known complication." Perhaps the psychiatrist was familiar with memory-related side effects because that is his area of expertise. Doctors may sometimes think patients are exaggerating the problems they are having. Or perhaps they believe an inability to climb stairs or remember the neighbor's name pales in comparison to avoiding a heart attack or stroke. Some patients may agree. Others would not trade their quality of life for longer survival. The trouble is, most of the time, doctors and patients don't discuss such trade-offs. Whether it's controlling cholesterol, blood sugar or hypertension, patients need to evaluate the pros and cons of the treatment.
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