Adverse effects can be brutal - they can sometimes be worse than the symptoms of the disease.
When you have been on heavy-hitting medications like Prednisone, Methotrexate, Anti-TNF drugs, any anti-depressant or anti-psychotics, not to mention pain medications like gabapentin, you become accustomed to taking the good with the bad.
I have had the fortune of being on medications that had no noticeable adverse effects (like Ondansetron or Ursodiol), but I have also had the misfortune of being on medications with side effects that have lasted long after being removed off the medication itself (like Prednisone, Prochlorazine, Pentasa, and Salofalk). I mean years and years, not just a few days or weeks.
When the adverse effects are the run-of-the-mill lists - such as stomach pain, cramping, diarrhea, change in appetite, headache - we usually dismiss those side effects. Why? We dismiss them because these are on nearly every single medication leaflet you will ever see.
Here is the issue with dismissing it - these side effects can be life-altering. 'Changes in appetite' doesn't sound like a huge deal, especially when we see this risk so often and when you are looking at the side effects of Prednisone, appetite change doesn't seem that bad. However, 3 months into a medication and 50lbs heavier is not a minor side effect. It might be an expected effect, a common effect, and it is mostly just water weight that will fall off after the fact, but nothing about it is minor.
When you get into the more severe side effects, like hallucinations, hormonal changes, mood swings and depression, suicidal thoughts, tremors, vision changes, seizures, hair loss, blood clots, leukemia, stomach bleeds, vomiting, psychosis, navigating this dangerous side of medications can be tricky and frightening. Don't be fooled either, it may appear like these side effects are a risk only with pharmaceutical drugs, but adverse effects - even severe ones - can occur from anything that touches your system.
The Lighter Side of Adverse Effects is that, sometimes, the side effects can actually be positive, AND not all of the listed side effects on medication leaflets are actually scientifically proven side effects.
Many of the adverse effects listed on the leaflets that we receive are 'patient reported' effects - and companies are required to publish every formal complaint. For instance, 'gunshot wound' and 'motor vehicle accident' are listed as potential side effects of the Gardasil vaccine. Every medication will include all reported effects - whether it is valid or not. With words like 'incidence unknown', you can be fairly certain it is a patient reported effect. This doesn't mean they are all to be dismissed though, but when you read a leaflet that has every possible symptom ever recorded listed as a side effect, or when you read about side effects like the two examples listed, common sense should steer you to the correct information.
And if you DO want specifics of a particular side effect - ask a pharmacist! The incidence of any particular effect will be listed (0.1% of patients, 2% of patients, etc...), and it is their career to understand medications, their side effects, and contraindications.
The other lighter side of side effects is that these effects can sometimes be beneficial!
I have been on medications that have thickened my hair - and for that time, my hair was thick and luscious and had great volume. I was on another medication that cleared all of my skin issues and gave me that coveted 'glow' without any effort. I was able to comfortably and confidently go without any makeup at all for months! That was a nice perk, however short-lived (that medication also nearly drove me into the ground from constant vomiting, tremors, and severe weakness). I have been on a medication that have increased my energy as a side effect, another that reduced my migraines, and yet another that reduced my tachycardic heart rate to a more manageable level. These were all side effects; unintended results of taking one medication or another.
Side effects are a part of life. Anything and everything we ingest, digest, rub on our skin, drop in our eyes, diffuse in our homes, put in our water, has unintended effects, even we do not always notice them. The trick is to weed out the overwhelming amount of information produced in leaflets to what is clinically significant, while being aware of the additional possibilities, and then listen to your own body and focus your attention on what is changing. Then, as an added bonus, take stock of the side effects that have been positive or beneficial. These will ultimately be called 'Off-Label Indications' or 'Off-Label Uses' and can prove to be helpful to a variety of other patients - so notice them and report them if they are significant!
Side effects are not all bad.
Side effects are not all clinical.
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