Do you read the 'side effects' bit on medication?

Yes; metronidazole must be the one. It was on one of the lower shelves in the dispensary so must have been in the latter part of the alphabet!

Yes I always read them, usually medication prescribed for DH I have to date been extremely fortunate and not needed much for myself.
Sadly his health is not so good

I was given that antibiotic Tegan when I had root canal treatment. The dentist who prescribed it said if I drank alcohol whilst on it I would wish I was dead. Frightened the life out of me.

My DH suffered very badly years ago with dizziness(Labrynthitis) and was prescribed tablets for this, the warning on the pack said These tablets may cause dizziness!!!

I sometimes read them. It makes me laugh when you're advised to " contact your doctor immediately if you experience sudden blindness, paralysis, vomiting blood" etc, etc.
I think I might just have worked that out for myself!

I don't look at the contra indications as I would be suffering from them all! I did, however, look at the increased cancer risks from taking HRT and found it was a couple of cases in a thousand for breast cancer offset by the slightly lower risk of ovarian cancer - which is more difficault to spot and is, therefore, a bigger killer.

Thus, I was able to make an informed decision as to whether to take it rather than be influenced by the ill informed, doomy scare stories concerning HRT being peddled by the media.

I like to check common side effects with GP before taking a new drug as I want to assess the value of it. Am currently in discussions with medical practitioners about the value of going on to a regular anticoagulant. I don't want to but am being pressurised as my risk of stroke is higher than average. I have been researching the side effects which is an increased risk of internal bleeding. I think it is important to look at the frequency and ignore the rare ones.

I do or I would not have realised that my muscle aches were caused by my statin , now on a new one that doesn't cause me to have any side effects

Once bitten twice shy - always, always check!

You know your own body better than anyone else too so be vigilant whilst remaining sensible.

A few years ago my hair started falling out and I began to develop a bald patch. I was under a lot of stress at the time and put it down to that. One day in a moment of boredom and feeling too lazy to get up and actually do anything and I started reading the leaflet in a packet of hay fever tablets that I was taking and read that one of the possible side effects was hair loss. I stopped taking them and the hair loss stopped immediately. I still shed a bit more than I would like but I don't think it is more than would be normal at my age. I had developed a bald spot behind my fringe that has almost totally regrown now.
My mother was getting depressed and started talking about euthanasia. Then I spoke to her and she sounded much better and said that she had stopped taking some of the tablets she had been given and felt much better. At 92 I think she probably takes quite a few.
I think people don't automatically think of any tablets they may be taking when their mood changes but it is important to have them reviewed every so often.

I read, then ignore.

phoenix I so sympathise.

I always read the accompanying leaflet , some side effects very low , but need to know .

I am on a cocktail of drugs which have to taken every day I do read the instructions that come with it mainly on how to take the drugs some with food or on an empty stomach the rest of the instructions for general reference

I always read them... just the 1 in 10's and the 1 in 100. Not the lesser statistical ones. And the totally unlikely ones...it's all CYA material.

But the 1 in 10s often are the common side effects that go away with time. So I like to know what to expect. Then I know it's not 'me' and can monitor it. If the side effect does not stop, I go back to the doc and we move on to a substitute. They often are under pressure to prescribe the cheapest, but they can use their own judgment.

I would love to read a warning list which says May cause permanent weight loss, removes wrinkles and increases energy.
Don't think that will ever happen though.

Which stating do you now take,goose 1964?
I am on atorvistatin.i think that is correct spelling.

No never, it is all neurotic. If something strange seems to happen then read. Most of them say the same dry mouth, sickness, diarrhoea, rash, why do I know cos I was a qualified nurse for thirty years. What is said is: no side effects no good effects. Wish drug companies would work harder in getting rid of the worst which is the range of sexual problems they cause.

My husband told me this week that when he went to the toilet, his stools were black. (TMI, I know). He didn't realise the potential significance of this, but of course I did. I asked him to be vigilant and tell me if it happened again. Then It struck me that he had started on Vitamin B 12 injections a couple of days before. I of course resorted to the Internet, and found that, yes, this often happened with this treatment. I had to hand the prescription in to the chemist for them to send med to the surgery, so I never saw the package at all. If I had, I probably would have read the relevant information in the beginning.

I'm relatively new to regular medication so I always read them thoroughly and carefully, as I generally do with any other instructions. With the exception of surreal dreams on Metronidazole I haven't had any side effects at all, which isn't really very consistent with the doctors' view that I'm a "steaming great hypochondriac".

IIRC my mother spent months feeling really ill before she found out that she wasn't supposed to eat things like cheese or broad beans with her meds. That was back in the 1960s when there probably wasn't any information in the packets anyway.

I found out the hard way, when I broke my wrist, I bought some strong pain-killers to help me sleep, and after two nights of dreadful restlessness and frightening dreams, I read the leaflet which came with them, and it said quite clearly not t be taken at the same time as statins, which I take every night. Beware!

No, I tend to read them when it's too late.

Carolpaint it's not neurotic, just sensible if you are on long-term medication to check if you are given an additional drug.
One GP precscribed a short-term medication for me recently over the phone, I took it for a few days then checked online and saw the contra-indication.
Usual GP was adamant I should not take them, could have had very serious side effects.

any prescribed medication should not interact with other medication you are already on as when GP enters new drug into system a warning flashes up to warn them if it will interact in a bad way. I know this because I am on Epilim (Anti-Epilepsy drug) & I cannot take Amatriptylene as it lessens effect of Epilim - my GP actually put it in to show me safety feature.

I don't read leaflets unless I feel unwell on new medication & then I will check to see if I need to contact GP. My previous GP used to say "we give you medication to cure one thing & it gives you something else".

I have to take lots of tablets & am fairly aware of problems, reading these leaflets is like looking up symptoms on internet - you'll think you've got some deadly disease

Crun - with me it's Tramadol - I'm "away with the fairies" so I know to refuse that. Not aware of any others that give me side effects except Statins - severe muscle aches so no statins for me

I do read them but don't worry too much. The one I find particularly amusing is one to relieve travel-sickness which claims it may cause nausea!