Does your regularly consumed medication cause important nutrient depletion?

Musallam Abukhalil is a medical doctor and a freelance medical writer interested in medical education and medical content marketing and communication. He can be reached @MabukhalilMD

You are almost leaving the doctor’s office and you are handed a prescription for your local pharmacist to dispense as a treatment regimen for your specific medical condition. You might be wondering what possible adverse effect the “chemical” drug has on normal functioning of with the organ systems of your body. Immediately after a small bubble of concern starts to grow in your mind, you quickly burst it by telling yourself not to think about it too much, and it’s a considerably rare occurrence to even consider in the first chance.

You are probably right. But what happens when your body begins to show symptoms after you’re on a certain drug for a significant portion of time, and has an urgent need to know whether the symptoms were related to your medical condition or an undesirable effect of the prescription drug before your next appointment with your physician.

In this brief article, I’ve selected a number of familiar drugs belonging to five common medication categories that are associated with specific health problems as a result of an unwanted drug interaction.

1) Antacids

You’ve been long suffering from heartburn (“indigestion”) and you use antacids to relieve some of the discomfort. If your antacid contains Magnesium Hydroxide or Aluminum Hydroxide, consider the following essential adverse effect profile:

What your body may be losing: Calcium, Phosphate or Vitamin B9 (folic acid)

How your body is telling you: high blood pressure, muscle cramps and pain, insomnia, low levels of energy, tiredness, weakness and even hair loss.

2) Anti-anxiety medications

After a full psychiatric evaluation, a precious member of your family or a close friend was prescribed an anti-anxiety drug to reduce the frequency of panic attacks or improve mental health constrained by extreme worry and fear.

If your drug regimen contains either Diazepam (Valium) or Alprazolam (Xanax), consider the essential adverse effect profile:

What your body may be losing: Melatonin (hormone secreted by an important gland to regulate sleep, mood, and menstrual cycles)

How your body is telling you: Insomnia, depression, fluctuating blood sugar levels.

3) Anti-convulsants

Your child is diagnosed with epilepsy and you’re the main care provider who coordinates her scheduled drug intake. I’ll make a sperate discussion of three of the most commonly prescribed anti-seizure medications:

a. Phenytoin (Dilantin)

What her body may be losing: Vitamin B1, Vitamin B7, Vitamin B9, Vitamin B12; Vitamin D, E, K or Calcium.

How her body is telling you: depression, memory loss, muscle weakness, irritability, skin problems, excessive bleeding, memory loss, nerve problems.

b. Carbamazepine (Tegretol)

What her body may be losing: Vitamin B7, Vitamin B9, Vitamin D, E.

How her body is telling you: hair loss, depression, cardiovascular disease, skin problems.

c. Valproic Acid (Depakene/Depacon), Divalproex sodium (Depakote)

What her body may be losing: Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), Vitamin B9 (folic acid), Vitamin E, Carnitine, Copper, Selenium, Zinc.

How her body is telling you: Depression, insomnia, anemia (tiredness, weakness), fatigue, muscle cramps/weakness and memory loss.

4) Antidiabetic medications

Your elderly parent is complying quite nicely with her multi-drug regimen for her decade-long diabetes. If she takes Metformin (Glucophage) to bring her blood sugar level under control, consider the following essential adverse effect profile:

What her body may be losing: Coenzyme Q10, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B9

How your body is telling you: tiredness, weakness, increased lipid levels

5) Antihistamine

You take an antihistamine for your irritating nasal discharge, bouts of sneezing or general common cold signs. If you’re taking Hydroxyzine (Atarax, Vistaril) on a chronic basis, consider the essential adverse effect profile:

What your body may be losing: Melatonin

How your body is telling you: insomnia, depression, fluctuating blood sugar levels.

The list can stretch out longer, but whenever there are new or unusual signs or symptoms you’re developing after a regular intake of a certain medication, you are now relatively familiar with what might be causing the concerning developments.

Important take-home lessons:

When the doctor prescribes a new medication for chronic use, make sure you ask her or ask your pharmacist about specific adverse events to expect, what are normal, and what is concerning and must prompt a doctor’s visit.

To solve the nutrient depletion your chronic medication use is causing, the doctor has the choice to either switch medication to a more favorable choice, discontinue or prescribes a supplement to compensate for the nutrient loss—it all depends on your individual clinical situation and other factors.

Share in the comments below what you think might be a good follow-up article idea, or any questions or comments you have—I might use them to brainstorm the next article focusing on general health education.

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Disclaimer: all health information provided on this platform represent my opinion only and are for educational purposes only. Reading my blog is not intended to be a substitute for a visit to your local pharmacist, physician, dietitian, and other healthcare providers. Be sure to seek proper care from your nutritionist, family doctors or specialists when needed.