Pharmaceutical Side Effects
Possible Drug and Prescription Side Effects

Pharmaceutical side effects are an unfortunate risk that exists when taking many common medicines and drugs. While there have been many advances and tremendous discoveries in recent years that help alleviate or prevent health problems, many of the drugs also have the risk for undesired side effects for some folks.

We are all familiar with the emotional, movie-level tv commercials for prescriptions for cholesterol drugs, sleep aid drugs and drugs for assisting in seniors love life. These commercials go over the top to touch on an emotional nerve, showing attractive people "just like you" that are enjoying life SO much more because they use the prescription being advertised. Then, we get the list of almost commical side effects at the very end of the commercial. Although these drugs do help many people and the side effects may sound funny, side effects are an important aspect for people to understand when taking any prescription medication.

Of course if you are a pharmacy technician, it will be helpful to have a familiarity with some of the side effects for common prescriptions so that you may have educated conversations with customers whom may ask questions. Obviously the most authoritative answer should come from a patients doctor but it will be helpful to be able to discuss the effects at a basic level.

Here are some of the possible pharmaceutical side effects for widely used prescriptions (information summarized from RxList.com - founded by and maintained by pharmacists)

• Abilify - sudden numbness or weakness, headache, confusion, or problems with vision, speech, or balance; urinating less than usual or not at all; fever, stiff muscles, confusion, sweating, fast or uneven heartbeats


• Allegra - muscle or back pain;drowsiness, tired feeling;nausea, diarrhea, upset stomach;


• Ambien - anxiety, aggression, feeling restless or agitated; decreased inhibitions, no fear of danger; daytime drowsiness, dizziness, weakness, feeling "drugged" or light-headed;nausea, constipation;


• Amoxicillin - nausea, stomach pain, low fever, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools;fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms; swollen, black, or "hairy" tongue; headache;


• Benadryl - difficulty urinating or an enlarged prostate; sleepiness, fatigue, or dizziness; dry mouth;


• Buspar - lack of balance or coordination; fast or uneven heart rate; nausea, upset stomach; drowsiness, dizziness, blurred vision; nausea, upset stomach;


• Cialis - swelling in your hands, ankles, or feet; sudden vision loss; irregular heartbeat; penis erection that is painful or lasts 4 hours or longer; diarrhea, upset stomach; warmth or redness in your face, neck, or chest;


• Claritin - nervousness; dry mouth, sore throat hoarseness; feeling tired or drowsy; eye redness, blurred vision;


• Crestor - urinating more or less than usual, or not at all; muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness with fever or flu symptoms; sore throat, runny or stuffy nose; pain or burning when you urinate; weakness, dizziness;


• Cymbalta - easy bruising or bleeding, nosebleeds; headache, trouble concentrating, memory problems, confusion, hallucinations; painful or difficult urination; mild nausea, constipation, gas; decreased sex drive, impotence;


• Flomax - severe dizziness; sleep problems (insomnia); abnormal ejaculation, decreased sex drive;


• Klonopin - hyperactivity, agitation, hostility; chest tightness, fast or pounding heartbeats; new or worsening seizures; drowsiness, dizziness, spinning sensation; loss of appetite, nausea, diarrhea, constipation; drooling or dry mouth, sore gums;


• Levitra - feeling light-headed, fainting; ringing in your ears, or sudden hearing loss; warmth or redness in your face, neck, or chest; upset stomach; headache;


• Lunesta - hallucinations; aggression, agitation, changes in behavior; nausea, stomach pain, loss of appetite, constipation; unusual or unpleasant taste in your mouth; day-time drowsiness, dizziness, "hangover" feeling;


• Oxycontin - shallow breathing, slow heartbeat; cold, clammy skin; severe weakness or dizziness; nausea, vomiting, constipation, loss of appetite; dry mouth;


• Paxil - nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, feeling unsteady, loss of coordination; very stiff (rigid) muscles, high fever, sweating, fast or uneven heartbeats, tremors; feeling nervous; mild nausea, constipation; dry mouth, yawning, or ringing in your ears


• Prevacid - diarrhea; nausea, stomach pain; constipation


• Prozac - nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, feeling unsteady, loss of coordination; headache, trouble concentrating, memory problems, weakness, confusion, hallucinations, fainting, seizure, shallow breathing; cold symptoms such as stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat; mild nausea, upset stomach, constipation;


• Singulair - mood or behavior changes, anxiety, depression, or thoughts about suicide; severe sinus pain, swelling, or irritation; severe tingling, numbness, pain, muscle weakness; stomach pain, heartburn, upset stomach, nausea, diarrhea; tooth pain;

NOTE: This information is from RxList.com, a webMD.com site. This is not a complete list of pharmaceutical side effects and others may occur. Always consult with your doctor for medical advice about side effects.

Obviously while some of these symptoms are inconvenient, others are extremely serious and life-threatening. The pharmaceutical industry conducts tests and has to jump through many hoops to get new drugs to market for sale. But, ultimately, new medicines help many people and at some point decisions are made to allow them for sale to the public with the requirement of notifying folks of the possible side effects.

Hopefully this is a useful list of pharmaceutical side effects