DearDiary Logo
Public DiariesHomeLogin

Salamander
Fire Walking

Drugs and Ears.
Wed Mar 13 2002

This was going to be an entry on ototoxicity, but I saw while catching up on my diaries that ADM already did this entry, and better than I would have. His entry has a nice link to a site that lists known ototoxins, so make sure you check it out. I can only offer a few additional generalities.

All drugs have potential side effects. All of them: prescription drugs, over the counter drugs, homeopathic medicine, herbs and vitamins. The trick is to be an informed consumer. Those pamphlets that come with your prescriptions from the pharmacist, those folded up pieces of paper inside the box of aspirin you just bought, that fine print at the bottom of the Clariton advertising in the magazines are all there for a reason. Take advantage of this and become an informed consumer. ASK your doctor about potential side effects. READ the information that comes with your medicine. KNOW your own medical history, and that of your immediate blood relatives.

Be suspicious of anything that is "all natural" and "doesn't need to come with a warning label". Even herbs have active ingredients. If the box doesn't tell you what they are, then take the time to look it up and find out what they are. And keep in mind that a "natural" version of a drug is still the drug, with the same benefits and dangers of the purer, more closely inspected commercially produced medicine.

Always tell your doctor/pharmacist what other medications you are on. They ought to ask you, but don't assume it isn't important if they fail to ask. Some medications are fine by themselves but should never be combined with certain other medications. Some drugs are not particularly ototoxic on their own, but when combined with other drugs have far greater potential to do damage.

Finally, weigh the risks of taking the drug against not taking the drug carefully. Yes, the chemotherapy drug Vincristine is ototoxic, but it is also one of the best drugs available for certain types of cancer. Life is not always fair, and sometimes you have to decide which risk is better.

Calcium channel blockers and Lasix are not a great combination. I knew that, but I also knew my heart wasn't working and that those two drugs were giving us the best results in the hospital. I grumble about it some days, but, if given the chance to do it over again, I'd probably make the same choice. At least I'm still here to grumble.

17 Comments
  • From:
    Slipperman (Legacy)
    On:
    Wed Mar 13 2002
    internet radio stations, eh? i'll have to check that out when i go home.

    thanks for linking to the site! i hadn't yet looked for it since i've been twirling around in washoe's world. hehe.
  • From:
    Shay4l (Legacy)
    On:
    Wed Mar 13 2002
    OOH OOH OOH I wanna do it *shameless copycat*
  • From:
    Jade (Legacy)
    On:
    Wed Mar 13 2002
    Sounds like a good night. I like listening to internet radio too - you never know what you'll hear, and like you I hate the way commercial radio playes the same songs day after day, hour after hour.
  • From:
    Franny (Legacy)
    On:
    Wed Mar 13 2002
    i agree about the radio stations here. sometimes i go looking for college radio stations... i just bookmarked live365. very cool!
    dang, i'd love to go on one of those vacations...
    does birdwatching count? :-P
  • From:
    AQuietEvening (Legacy)
    On:
    Wed Mar 13 2002
    I have to go check out earth watch but I'm all for taking a vacation by yourself or with friends once in a while. I've been lucky enough to go on a girl trip every year for about the past five years. I go, I laugh, I have fun, I leave cute little gifts and notes at the house, send dorky postcards and come home eager to see my family!

    Go for it!!!!

    ~QE
  • From:
    Trebora (Legacy)
    On:
    Wed Mar 13 2002
    Go for the earthwatch. I was just looking that up and that looks like something fun and exciting to do.
  • From:
    Lbrcsod (Legacy)
    On:
    Wed Mar 13 2002
    an earth watch expedition sounds cool!..hope you can do it..yeah sometimes music sucks and you just need to find the right station.
  • From:
    Writergirl (Legacy)
    On:
    Wed Mar 13 2002
    Haha, check out my latest entry, I think that'll clear up the whole, "unofficial" thing for ya!! haha

    ~*Jordan*~
  • From:
    Allimom (Legacy)
    On:
    Wed Mar 13 2002
    I am on a med that warns of photosensitivity. I am always careful to wear sunglasses due to this. Last summer it didn't dawn on me to use a more powerful sunscreen until after I got the worst sunburn of my life! (I'm not out in the sun for prolonged times usually, so it just didn't dawn on me).
    Alli
  • From:
    Allimom (Legacy)
    On:
    Wed Mar 13 2002
    Yes, Oscar is my little Bro.
    We have fun with each other and various practical jokes we come across.
    What is it they say, Families that play together, stay together?
    LOL
    Alli
  • From:
    Shay4l (Legacy)
    On:
    Wed Mar 13 2002
    I'm glad you're still here to grumble :o)
  • From:
    Slipperman (Legacy)
    On:
    Wed Mar 13 2002
    i'm glad you're still here to gruuuuuuumble, too.

    but,

    i have to admit, i kept hearing that woman's voice that does those zyban and other promising yet full-of-dangerous-side-effects-so-consult-your-doctor drug commercials.
  • From:
    Allimom (Legacy)
    On:
    Wed Mar 13 2002
    Ah, to be in the mile high club with Hugh......thoughts enough to cause the need for a very long cold shower.....
    Seriously though, I think I would pass. One of the things about him that I so admire is his total devotion to his wife and child. That in itself makes him even sexier than anything else.
    Alli
  • From:
    AussieDeafMan (Legacy)
    On:
    Wed Mar 13 2002
    Exactly!
    Everyone should be informed, and if there is a non-ototoxic alternative - use it.
    If not, then at least you know what can happen.
    It's all about informed decisions.
    :)
    _|m/ ADM
  • From:
    RaQuEliNa (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Mar 14 2002
    thanx for ur comment.. i love ur journal!!
    it's soo creative and different.. ttyl
    *~- R a c h e -~*
  • From:
    TraumaMama911 (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Mar 14 2002
    I looked up calicum channel blockers in my A & P book as I was curious. If you take a calicum channel blocker, how do you keep calicum in your bones/blood stream? What happens to the calicum that you take thru nutrition if it gets blocked? Or does it only get blocked by cardiac cells/muscles?
  • From:
    TaoJones (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Mar 14 2002
    i use Live365 all the time. The pop-ups really started to kill me though. Do they still do that?

    Take that vacation. i just check out some of the expeditions... sounds beyond fascinating. i would LOVE to do that someday.