My 25 year old son has finally gotten on accutane for 2 months after waiting until he was willing to not drink. Now his girlfriend of 3 years has just broken up with him. He is very upset, having trouble focusing at work. I wonder if he could get on an anti […]

My doctor put me on Calan a few months ago because I have been diagnosed with Right Ventricular Ectopy and Mitral Valve Prolapse. The pharmacy gave me the generic form called Verapamil. Since I began taking this medication I have gained weight and I have had problems with constipation and upper abdominal discomfort. […]

My mom has had a heart attack 20 yrs ago , heart surgery 15 years ago and three strokes 10 years ago,6years ago and 2 years ago. Her doctor told her today that she had had a mini stroke the day before. He said she would have more and needs to go […]

Recently, 2-3 month ago I heard about a new pill, that suppose to help quitting smoking?
Whats the name and do you know of any results.
Dr. Joshua’s Answer
The pill in question is called bupropion, which is marketed by the trade name Zyban. In clinical studies, it has been found to approximately double your chances of quitting […]

Why is one not supposed to have grapefruit or grapefruit juice when on Lipitor?
Dr. Joshua’s Answer:
Because they compete against each other in the liver - meaning that grapefruit juice will cause the liver to metabolize (eliminate) less Lipitor, possibly leading to increased and even toxic levels of the drug in the body.
Lipitor (atorvastatin) levels have […]

Can overuse or abuse of percocet cause abscesses?
Dr. Joshua’s Answer:
While the drug itself will not directly cause abscesses, overuse of Percocet or any other drug containing acetaminophen can cause liver damage, which in turn can result in various problems including lowered immune system response, and that may put you at risk for infections, including abscesses.

This is all new to me so if anyone can help it can’t be worse than the 14 doctors I have been to. When I was 18 i would become shaky inside and out at work maybe every couple months. As the years went on the shakiness became much more. I now […]

Can the erectile
dysfunction
medication Cialis
(tadalafil) be taken
when one is taking
any of the following
medications and
supplements? 
 
Pantoprazole
Sodium
Sesquihydrate 
Domperidone 
Tidzole 
Multi-Vitamin

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If you are considering Cialis or any other medication, be sure to inform yourself to the risks and benefits. Prescription drugs are not the only forms of therapy. Research prescription drug information before taking anything.

Dr. Joshua’s Answer
Interactions between Cialis, Tizole (Tinidazole) and Pantoprazole […]

My 11 year old girl has selective mutism, a social anxiety condition and has been on Zoloft, Seroquel, Wellbutrin, Lexapro, and counseling over the last 6 years with no improvement. Looking up anti anxiety meds on the Internet listed none of these meds, but listed benzodiazepines as the medication of choice for extreme anxiety and […]

I am a 32 year old female who has suffered from Insomnia most of my life (on and off). I’ve had doctors prescribe Ambien as well as other RX sleep meds over the years. They worked, but I hated the groggy feeling in the morning and didn’t want to get addicted. About […]

My husband was injured in a work comp accident 17 years ago. He spent 5 years on comp and was found to have a tilted pelvis which has also laterally rotated causing his hip bones to be turned down and on center where they should of been by about 1/2 inch. It took years of […]

I have been taking prednisolone for 10 years but i couldn’t get rid of my illness. My illness started from age of 15, where i soon found out that my body is swelling and urination is difficult for me. The doctor said i was taking too much proteins and ate too much salty […]

I was told it could be deadly to take Ibuprofen while taking coumadin. I
understand ibuprofen is a blood thinner as is coumadin but is it truly
deadly or just a bad idea?
Dr. Joshua’s Answer:
It’s generally a bad idea and it might even be deadly. The lowdown: continued use of NSAIDs such as ibuprofen increases the […]

I teach ESL in China, so I cannot easily get to a doctor. I have always been in good health, just turned 40, no problems in the past, no history of diseases in my family, and in good shape.
My hair was thinning so I started using minoxidil 5%. After four months I began […]

Dear Dr. Joshua:
Over the last six months or so I have been experiencing quite a bit of swelling in both of my legs, from the knee up, and in both of my arms, from the elbow up. At first it was just uncomfortable but now, in the last month to two months, it has […]

Dr my adult son is currently taking the following medications. Should he be taking ALL these medications at the same time. He has been diagnosed as being Bipolar, also having high blood pressure and diabetes.
Atorvastatin,- Zestril,- Lorazepam,- Divalproex,- Eskalith CR, - Zyprexa, - Glucotrol, - Levoxyl, - Folic Acid.
Please let me know if this is […]

Why does my family doctor not want to prescibe sleep medications to me to help me sleep, when I use the sleep breathing machine? She told me that was dangerous? I don’t understand why? I wake up often because of the apperatus, as it is uncomfortable and noisy. I have tried different masks, but […]

I suffer from depression and I am an alcoholic, I was in rehab for 28 day. After the 12th day I needed to go to my doctor for a medical condition. On returning from the doctor they did a urine test. Which I had no problem with…..but it come up positive for pot and of […]

Today’s news (March 13th, 2006) in the associated press - there is a
story about plavix and aspirin. It also stated in the article that patients
who do not have coronary heart disease should not take plavix at all. Several years ago (possibly 3) I had problems with my feet turning purple. They checked the arteries for blockage […]

For the past several weeks I have been having slight to severe headaches and nothing I have been taking has been working. Sometimes it will start in either side of my temples and go up to the top and front of my head. I will also get pressure behind my eyes. Every once and a […]

I was put on Prozac a month ago for depression and anxiety. I am feeling better and doing counseling and reading self help books. However, I really want my serotonin naturally and have ordered and received some pure L-Tryptophan (5htp never worked for me.) How long do I need to be off the Prozac before […]

I am a 31 year old female who was Diagnosed about 5 years ago with Ulcerative Colitis. I have terrible acne and have tried everything on the market I could possibly find that claimed to help. I have heard a lot about Accutane and I wanted to know if there are any other choices maybe […]

I have been feeling bad for a while now, my symptoms are: calfs burning, light headed and also really stressed out. Feel depressed, scared to get back on a anti-depressent as it made me gain weight and I had the worst time getting off of them. I really cant afford to go to the doctors […]

After starting the above mentioned dose from 03/12/04 , Serum & LFT test was taken on 06/12/04 and the results are:
Serum carbamazepine - 12.770 ug/ml
valproic acid - 82.420 ug/ml
On the basis of the above report , Doctor reduced the amount of Tegral (carbamazepine) to 1 tablet morning and 1/4 tablet night time.Kindly advise.
Referring to earlier […]

Was wonder if you knew anything about cq-10, Serveral people at my work place are taking it and just rave about it’s results and they suggested that I might try it. Well I went to buy some, but after reading the label about checking with your doctor if you had any medical condtions. So […]

My 16-year old daughter’s seizure / epilepsy medication 
My daughter aged 16yrs , had first seizure in school in October,2000 at the age of 12 yrs.Carried out EEG and MRI.The result of MRI was normal.The result of EEG showed paroxysmal activity i.e epileptiform .Doctors advised that they do not prescribe any medicines after first seizure and […]

Heavy Period
I am a 40 year old female. I am in good physical condition, and healthy.
I am having difficulty with my period each month. It seems to have gotten worse in the past year to 2 years. It is very heavy, irregular and lasts a full 7 days. There is very heavy flow with large […]

Anxiety or Depression?
My fiance has been diagnosed as having clinical depression. He went on Wellbutrin without any success or improvement. In trying to makethis brief and to the point, I felt when he went on Wellbutrin that it wasn’t the proper medication.
My fiance is a worrier and when he gets upset he has signs of […]

Hearing Loss and Naproxen
See Chronic Pain Syndrome - Tired of Pain - Jean asks an additional question:
I do have one further question if you’re able. I’ve always had a mild hearing loss due to massive infections as a child. Though recently my last hearing test showed an increase to a moderate loss, i’m wondering if […]

is it safe to take the weight loss and mood enhancing drug relacore and paxil cr at the same time?
Dr. Joshua’s Answer:
Unfortunately there is no way of knowing what Relacore actually contains. It is not regulated, and therefore no documentation of the substances is required. Therefore I do not recommend taking Relacore for weight loss […]

I am a 34-year-old woman and I don’t care to eat vegetables much. I know that they are vital to my health, so I began taking some vitamin supplement that claim to give all the nutients that fruits and vegatable provide. After about 2 weeks of taking them, I noticed that my eye lids got […]

I have been prescribed Levaquin (500mg pill once a day) for an ear infection. I am also a recreational marijuana user. Is it problematic to use marijuana while on Levaquin (other than the normal risks of each substantance individually)?
 
Dr. Joshua’s Answer:
I don’t know of any direct interactions between levofloxacin and marijuana, but I recommend that […]

Hello I am a 48 year old male. I am taking several medications to include, Toprol, Lyprica, Vytorin, Previcid, and Reglan. I also take Coq10, and omega 3. I suffer from severe pain in my chest from surgeries. I had a Nisson wrap twice. Since the last one the pain has been horrible. I have […]

Hi,
My last period started on May 20 th 2005- It’s been 43 days since my last cycle now. My periods have always been about 5 weeks apart. I have taken 4 pregnancy tests- all negative. I have been nauseated on and off through out the day for the past week- I am on Percocet for […]

My friend was taking an anti-obesity drug,Reductil, for about a week when she found out she is pregnant. Now, she is extremely worried if the drug she took had an adverse effect on her unborn baby. Does the anti-obesity drug have an effect on her baby?

Dr. Joshua’s Answer:
Reductil (sibutramine) is contraindicated (must not be used) […]

Follow-up question from J.

Dear Doctor,
Thanks for ur reply and valuable advice. I had consulted another neurophysician who advised only one type of medicine instead of three.He advised to stop Phenobarbitone and Epival and increased the dose of Tegral to one tablet in the morning and one at night for one week and then 3 tablets […]

What have you been smoking? A marihuana question from D.

If i took one hit of a bong 2 weeks ago would i pass a drug test? even if i drank alot of water?

Dr. Joshua’s answer:
The most common test for cannabinoid use is the urine test. Casual use may be detected after two weeks. Drinking a […]

J. asks a question about insulin:
In all the CME’s I read I get the underlying feeling that insulin should be reduced to the lowest amount possible. I have not read that insulin has any side effects except for weight gain.
Is this the only side effect?
Dr Joshua’s answer:
Insulin treatment is tailored to the individual - the […]

Chronic Pain
Jean asks about her chronic pain, meds and procedures.
Thanks for writing in such great detail Jean (nickname), it makes my job a lot easier - although in your case, there’s no such thing as easy, as you have found out. Here’s your question (edited by DrJ):
1. My GP was prescribing my chronic pain meds. […]