I was on 16 medications and, besides feeling horrible, I also was mentally going downhill. I sat down and made an Excel spreadsheet, listed every drug, then tediously looked up interactions, reactions and allergies. It took,some looking and digging. It was so important to search every medication deeply, because there are interactions or reactions that occurred during trials and testing that were of such a low percentage that they weren’t listed on the basic medication leaflets, and some the pharmacist didn’t even know about.... I took him a copy and he spent a week going over it for me as well. That led to some changes in meds. Today I am on fewer prescriptions and feel better because of this little exercise. But any time a specialist tries to put me on something new, I know what questions to ask first, how to research side effects on my own, and have been able to be more involved in my healthcare.

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