Taking control of our health

I wont take another prescription drug without first researching the side effects. My new cautious attitude was spurred on by a recent Health Canada safety alert related to the drug domperidone. A couple of weeks ago, Canadians were advised that the medication has been linked to causing serious abnormal heart rhythms and even death from sudden heart attack.

Domperidone is approved to treat symptoms caused by some stomach and intestinal problems as well as nausea and vomiting associated with drugs taken to treat Parkinsons disease. Its also commonly taken by nursing mothers to increase milk supply, even though thats not its intended use.

I was prescribed the drug not long ago to help with breastfeeding. I had taken it for several months with my first son and had planned on taking it with my second. Nausea, dizziness, dry mouth and headaches are among the listed potential side effects. As with all drugs, there is the secondary list of more serious symptoms, which supposedly only happen in some cases, and for domperidone this includes irregular heartbeat. In the past, I had never paid too much attention to the listed side effects, particularly to the ones sitting in the in some cases section. I am a healthy young person, so I guess I assumed I was immune to those less common side effects.

However, before taking the pills the second time around, I decided to do some quick online research just to be safe. My short investigation turned up tidbits of information from medical websites and chat groups about the negative impact domperidone can have on the heart as well as people sharing their own experiences related to this serious side effect. In the end, I opted not to take the drug. It turned out to be the right decision given that a few months later, researchers scientifically solidified the link between the medication and the risk of serious abnormal heart rhythms and sudden heart attack.

I am glad I took the extra step of looking up what I could find on the internet about the drug. However, its pure luck that I stumbled upon the information I did. And I know at least a handful of other women who blindly took the drug without knowing the real risks like I did with my first child simply because they trusted it to be a safe solution.

Fortunately, a new website has been established which enables the average person to easily research just how common and how serious the potential side effects to certain drugs actually are. The website RxISK.org is aimed at providing information on the adverse impact of any drug approved for use in Canada or the United States. The website also allows people from across the globe to report side effects they have experienced from taking prescription drugs and this anonymous information is then added to the database.

Once you type in the medication you are researching, the site will provide a list of reported side effects, each colour coded according to the level of severity. It will also indicate how many reports the results are based on. All the information published on the free website is overseen by a team of medical and research professionals.

I am not saying we shouldnt trust our doctors, but rather we should take control of our health by learning about the medications prescribed to us. Having websites like this is one way of helping people determine if the benefits of a prescribed drug outweigh the risk of potential side effects. Or in the case of domperidone, possibly save them from a heart attack.

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Taking control of our health