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.