Are Your Prescriptions Killing You?: How to Prevent Dangerous Interactions, Avoid Deadly Side Effects, and Be Healthier with Fewer Drugs

Anyone taking multiple prescription drugs or even only one should read this book. It is a great reference and will help anyone make better informed choices.

Simply the best single book about prescription drugs I've ever read. Why isn't there more outrage about how many people are dying every year from taking their prescriptions as directed? It's so obvious that the FDA isn't doing it's job of protecting Americans from harm. Well, perhaps that's not true. For the FDA is certainly protecting the big drug companies from harm -- so maybe they're doing their job, after all.But then, who will protect us from the FDA?I'm so glad that Neel's book isn't even controversial. There's so much controversy in the field of medicine, especially where big money is involved. The FDA says, "No, you can't do that. It's quackery, and we're here to protect you from snake oil salesmen." And wherever there's controversy, there are tons of folks who tell us that we should believe in the FDA.So it's absolutely wonderful when a book like this proves that the FDA is encouraging the drug companies to kill people right and left. And the book isn't even controversial.It's hard to believe the FDA's propaganda when you've personally met lots of people who have died by taking prescription drugs as directed. So if our government and our drug companies are killing so many people unnecessarily, why isn't there more outrage? Especially because there's not even any controversy about the fact that these deaths are so unnecessary?

As a retired physician, and now a person who is on many medications, I read with extreme interest, the book "Are your Prescriptions Killing You?" I feel that Dr. Armon B. Neel, Jr. has performed an invaluable service to elderly patients and their physicians.I strongly feel that this book should be in the possession of any patient who is on three or more medications, and physicians who treat these patients.It is very common today that older patients take many medications , most often prescribed by more than one physician.Although most doctors have a list of these medications, Dr. Neel points out that side effects and interactions of these medications are often overlooked. If a patient is having a reaction or reactions to these medicines, he will never get better until one or more medications is stopped.Discovering this can be quite time consuming.The book is very well organized.Dr. Neel discusses how elderly patients don't excrete or metabolize these drugs as well as they used to, due to the aging process. He then gives many examples of drug side effects and, most importantly, has a list of medications that are contra-indicated in the elderly. At the end of the book, Dr. Neel gives a well-organized guide to help patients evaluate their medications and their effects.

I read about this book in the NY Times and was concerned about my mother who had been taking several medications which over time had turned her into a person I did not recognize. The main culprit was Amiodorone and it was a drug that was #1 on Armon Neel's list of dangerous drugs for seniors. My mother already has a mild case of COPD and was put on this strong, severe and dangerous medication for a minor heart episode, although Mr. Neel says that it should only be used under dire circumstances and under strict supervision, neither of which described my mother. Not only was it making her COPD worse, as Mr. Need states so emphatically, it was also making her dizzy, unsure of herself, depressed and in a type of a daze. This book gave her the confidence to stop taking it and seek a new doctor. Just 3 months after discontinuing its use (along with stopping a few other drugs she apparently did not need), she is really on the road back to being herself and so much better, it's amazing. The overmedication is seniors is a crime and this is a life saving and enlightening book.

This important book shines a spotlight on an important issue that is not well understood by prescribers or patients. Older adults respond to medicines differently from younger adults. Physicians and other prescribers too often assume that treating diabetes or hypertension (or many other conditions) in an elderly person can be done the same as in younger adults. The consequences of this misperception can be very hazardous to the patient.Most health professionals are trained with a curriculum that focuses on learning about diseases or learning about drugs, rather than learning how to manage the total patient. The United States has fewer than 7,000 physicians who specialize in geriatrics and the number is declining. With the number of older adults increasing rapidly, there is a tremendous need for education of prescribers about how to use medications in the elderly. This concise and easy to read book makes a major contribution toward increasing awareness and providing basic education about principles of using (not overusing!) medications in older adults.Thomas R. Clark, RPh, CGP

I found the book very useful.Contained a lot of good information that I can use to query my Dr. about medications that I am taking.I am currently re-reading the book to ensure that I understand as much as possible in regard to both my prescriptions and prescriptions that family members take.The book also contains useful referred sources. Such as 'The Beers Criteria,' the NNT (Numbers Needed to Treat) website, Consulting Pharmacists, and research papers that provided me with a vast wealth of information regarding prescriptions that I take and how they can adversely impact my body as I grow older.I found the book to be worth more than its purchase price in terms of the wealth of knowledge that it provided to me.I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking to know how medications interact with your body, especially as you grow older, and that the medications can and do have adverse impacts upon your well-being.

This book saved my fathers life

Arrived a little late, could be the area o am in, very informative, a bit of a dry read, but my health is worth it