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April 4, 2008, 2:46 pm
Flag as Inappropriate Missy  

Is there a general rule against this? A friend of mine took a painkiller in the morning and then later in the assumed the effects had worn off and took another product. It has a pretty bad effect on her, she became even more sick, even vomiting.

I have a few important questions to ask but please remember I am not a doctor.

1.) Did she drink any alcoholic beverages that day?

2.) What medications did she take?

But it could have been a number of things like an adverse drug effect, alcohol interaction, overdose or a allergic reaction.

I would also ask if these were prescription drugs or OTCs. Generally speaking I don't think it's a good idea to use different drugs for the same complaint.

This really should go without saying. Before mixing any meds talk to your doctor or pharmacist. They know a great deal more about the possible problems with interactions because they are trained to know. I wouldn't dare mix without asking. Sometimes they may recommend a mix because there may be benefits to doing so I just wouldn't experiment on myself.

People are all different in what they can tolerate and in what combinations. Because of my severe allergies, I won't mix any chemicals prescribed or over-the-counter without talking to my doctor or pharmacist. Because my cholesterol is 652 and triglycerides are over 2,500, my doctor has maxed me out on two different medications to try to lower the numbers. I'm under close observation by my doctor and have to go in once a month for blood work to make sure this particular pharmaceutical cocktail isn't destroying my liver. If my doctor weren't monitoring the process I would've never agreed to taking the medications based on what I've read to be possible side effects.

A new over-the-counter medication for cholesterol (can't remember the name right now) was introduced about six months ago. I'm glad I talked to the pharmacist and my doctor because the drug contains an extract from pine trees. If I had started taking the drug without asking about it, I likely would have killed myself since I'm allergic to pine trees, pine tar and pine sap.

It definitely depends on the medications she took and how long apart she took them, etc. She had a reaction, so it's an obvious no-no for her. There are exceptions for some, though. Like I can take ibuprofen in the morning as a painkiller, and 4 hours later, I can take an aspirin, even though I can't take another ibuprofen for 2-4 more hours. They're both painkillers, but they have different active ingredients and it's okay for me to take them both together.