The older I get the more conditions I develop and the more medications I seem to need. My latest affliction is heartburn which I self-diagnosed. I was able to find relief with an over-the-counter medication. What I didn’t know about the O-T-C medication was that it not only blocks the acidity in my system, it also blocks the absorption of one of my prescription medications. I had told my doctor about both the medication and the O-T-C, but she didn’t warn me about any contraindications. I wasn’t buying them both through the same pharmacy so there wasn’t anyone to counsel me there. I found out there could be a problem when I used an on-line tool called Drugs Interaction Checker provided on the WebMD site. I had originally wanted to see if any of my husband’s meds were a problem but when he came out all okay, I decided to try for myself. I am so glad I did.

The first thing I found on this site was a tool where I could list all of our medications and do a quick check for any known interactions. It is relatively easy and only takes about 5 minutes once you have entered the list of medications and supplements you take. Looking at my husband’s medications gave me a clearer picture of what might be a problem. Then, entering my list gave me questions to take to my next check-up. The site also has information about potential food interactions. It was very helpful.

The WebMD tool is not the only one out there. I found it by searching for “drug interaction tools”. I would never recommend changing medications or supplements based on what anyone might learn from the internet. What I am saying is that this is a good tool to start a conversation with doctors. In this day and age when we get prescriptions from a mail order service, a local pharmacy and buy so many things over-the-counter, it is good to know that there is a tool where I can get information on everything all in one place. It gives me a sense of peace to know that I can look for potential problems with medications before they arise rather than deal with them after they happen.

My husband referred to these on-line tools as “artificial intelligence at its finest.” They are built on a database that can compare and contrast medications and even supplements for us. They are not human so they cannot take any special situations into consideration. That is why I recommend using them as a resource to gather information, but not as a tool to decide which meds to take. Those decisions should only be made in conjunction with a professional.