No, it's not a horror film or short lived TV series. It's a serious suggestion. I just switched to a new doctor who was appalled that I had been placed, at eight years old, on a prescription allergy medication with a laundry list of side effects. The side effects were never disclosed to my family, and the bottle only listed the warning that it may cause drowsyness. While my new doctor can't guarantee that the allergy medication is the cause of many medical issues I have, he said the conditions for some of the following may drastically improve by going off the medicine: depression, anxiety, mood swings, uncontrolled weight gain, isomnia, blurred vision, dizzyness, muscle spasms, and migraines, among others. Which does add up. My weight didn't really start to go up until I was put on the allergy medication. Same with the trouble sleeping, the migraines, the depression, the anxiety, the mood swings, and vision problems. The muscle spasms and dizzyness were added to the side effects list with the new formula (still not listed on the packaging) and began appearing when I was forced by my insurance company to switch over. More damning evidence of a connection? When I first moved to NYC for school, I went off of the allergy medication since the city had so little plant life where I was living. I lost forty pounds in six months without really changing my lifestyle too much. I wasn't depressed, or anxious. I didn't require a new prescription for my contacts/glasses at my next eye exam, etc. When I went back on the medication because I had to spend more time in NJ as a sophomore, my weight started to go back up, I was depressed again, wound up in the emergency room a few times because of anxiety attacks, and my contact/glasses prescription needed a huge correction at the next exam. I didn't even think of a connection between the medication and these changes because they only side effect I was ever informed of was drowsiness. Ironically, that was never a problem for me. The new doctor really does expect to see a pretty significant change before I see him again near the end of December. We're testing out some natural alternatives for the allergies that are working all right. I'm not quite into the swing of it yet. It's a bit more complicated than one pill every day. So, my midnight rec is this: ask questions of your doctor before allowing him or her to recommend a prescription medication for you or a loved one. Read up on the potential issues with the medication and speak to your doctor if you think something might be up. Otherwise, you might not know until fifteen years later when for years no one could figure out the cause of the problems you were having.

Labels: Midnight Rec