Do doctor's and physician's assistants just ignore reading about side effects of medications?

I quit Amitriptyline 2 weeks ago because the side effects of it were seriously irritating me, and the fact that it quit working.

I got an Rx for Ambien on monday. I specifically asked the PA if it had the same side effects as the Amitriptyline. She said, "no, it doesnt have side effects..."

I'm sure she had one hand behind her back with her fingers crossed.

I'm sitting here, starting to feel the exact same side effects that were bugging me from the Amitriptyline. (water retention...frequent urination!)

So, I looked up the side effects, and guess what was listed in the side effects?

I think I'm going to try to sleep without the Ambien tonight.

Wow, that really sucks.

Why would they hold back on side effects? I'd be livid.

The ENTIRE reason we take medications is FOR the side effects most of the time. Ellavil (amitrypilline) sp? was used predominatly as an anti depressant. in the last few decades, we have found that it does great for those in constant pain, headaches, insomnia, and so forth. Since you got it FOR sleep, it was a SIDE EFFECT that was sought as the whole reason you were given the med in the first place. I HATE when MDs/nurses wont follow the rules of common decency to tell the patients they are giving these meds to that TONS of side effects CAN and frequently do occur. Off label prescriptions are rampant today.

Botox is given OFF label FOR its side effects. it can be injected into a muscle to force it to relax. Whether that muscle is spastic and preventing you from walking, or in your face and full of wrinkles doesnt matter.

Im sorry that your MD office is so blaize about such a serious event. If you have urinary retention you have to be very careful to not over tax your kidneys. Perhaps you can try more natural remedies. melatonin, valerian, warm milk, remove all the lights from your room. NO stimulation for 3 hours before bed. no TV, no computer. read, take a warm bath, have some warm milk. Take a warm bath. Make sure your room is cool. NOT cold. cool. and so on. I bet you have tried many already.

I hope you feel better. not sleeping is miserable.

There are way too many "potential" side-effects from EVERY drug to list them all off . . . and even if they covered off the more common ones, I (personally) would get the 1 in a million side-effect that they didn't mention.

There are many drugs I can't take due to side-effects, allergies, sensitivities, but it is trial and error for each of them. I couldn't take even birth control, yet can take the sulfa drugs no problem.

Then there are those people who "imagine" every side-effect (or symptom) they hear about . . . so I'm sure they consider this when they rx the drug too.

I will only take one NEW drug (or supplement) at a time, and wait weeks to months before I introduce something new. When it comes to urinary issues, bear in mind they can happen on their own (I am currently on my third rx for a UTI), and many of the symptoms we get can occur simply because of the disease, i.e. numbness, tingling, etc.

The only way to KNOW for sure is to stop taking all these drugs unless you ABSOLUTELY can't find natural ways to manage without them, like antibiotics.

Cherie

I'm similar to Cherie. Only take one new drug at a time. I've had so many rare and weird reactions in my life, the docs all agree only one new player at a time.

Before I take any drug, I research the patient info for listed side effects. I've never had anyone tell me all the potential side effects to stuff, so have learned to be my own best knowledge keeper. Generally stuff like dizzyness I know I should wait a week or two to see if it goes down once my bod is used to it. I check for any drug interreactions. I've had only a couple of experiences where docs and/or pharmacy missed something.

But doing the one new drug at a time does help when things start going wacky. It's easier to stop the med and find out if it was that one causing stuff.

Hope things get better soon!

I fell asleep last night without too many problems. Didnt go to bed till nearly 3am (was talking to my boyfriend on Skype), but managed to not lay there, staring into the dark trying to sleep.

I'm going to keep the Ambien Rx, but I think I wont be taking it every night. I'm saving it for sleep emergencies. I'm going to try to concentrate on keeping my sleeping schedule as normal as I can. I think if I take it every night, that's when the problems will probably crop up, but hopefully occasional use wont cause me problems.

I'm trying to get my sleeping schedule to where I'll wake up at least between 8 and 9am. So that hopefully I'll be able to have a normal bedtime that I'll attempt to go to keep to every night.

It'll probably be a good thing if I can re-teach myself to fall asleep normally, instead of with chemical help.

I also stick to BRAND name only! there are too many generics being made in unprotected, unwatched places. The binders and fillers are full of crap and garbage. Look how many people recently said that their cholesterol drugs dont work when switched to generic. Same for thyroid stuff. I have good insurance, so I can get the good stuff at little cost. I do see a change when I switch.