Herbal Supplements That Can Interact Negatively With Your Prescription Medication

Robie, thanks for pointing out this problem. Drug interactions can be deadly, and herbs and drugs are not all that different.

However, the bigger problems is prescription drugs -- not herbs. Doctors prescribe too many of them and pretend that a person on those drugs can lead a normal life, when the ability to use herbal supplements is greatly curtailed by the prescribed drug.

Quite interesting my friend and some info I did not know. I'll be sharing this with my better half for sure. Great hub!

Very thorough and very important information. Had no idea, for example, that ginko was a blood thinner too; makes sense, but not something you think about.

I really agree with Aya's comment. Either way, it's super important to know this info, especially since people eat foods and drink drinks with herbs and may not even be aware of what they are doing to themselves because these herbs are not taken in supplement form necessarily.

Great hub. I didn't know most of this. I don't take many supplements (except fish oil and vitamin D, because fish in the midwest...uh, no), but it does bother me sometimes how everybody is a doctor these days. I've learned to keep my own counsel and find doctors I trust, not pill pushers. That way when I do really need a med, it's between me and a trusted professional, not me and a commercial on TV or advice online. I also totally agree that the older you get, the more this matters. Thanks, robie. Voted up!

Although I agree that some herbs do interact with prescription medications, unless you are taking the herbs in a abnormally high quantity, you should be ok. St Johns Wort does however have relatively serious interactions with meds such as Warfarin & antidepressants - so with that one its best to check in with the pharmacist if you are on other meds...

Robie, you are so right about people taking bumper doses of herbal extracts - whenever I sell herbal or natural remedies, I enquire about any other medications they may be taking because once or twice I had patients buying St Johns wort and taking it whilst they were on Warfarin tabs and their anti coagulant nurses couldn't figure out why the INR levels were fluctuating so much...

voted up and interesting - definitely looking forward to reading more of your hubs... would love to hear your take on some of mine too so drop by when you get a minute :)

I didn't realize there were so many herbal treatments that could interact with prescriptions. Excellent and important information!

Great hub - I have always heard that herbal supplements can negatively impact prescription medications. This is a super guide. Best, Steph

This is an excellent article about common herbal supplements. Because we're exposed to so much hype about the miracles certain supplements are credited with and too little reality, your article takes a needed cautionary view.

Any time my mother has had to undergo general anaesthesia, her surgery prep begins two weeks in advance with eliminating all vitamins and supplements (she takes quite a few) from her body. Although this requirement for surgery always made sense to her and to me - remove anything that can impact the effects of the aneaesthetic or interfere with monitoring vital signs - I didn't realize just how important this requirement was until reading the information here.

My mother's vitamin and supplement regimen is monitored by her physician, but I wonder when the two of them last sat down for a review. I'll definitely share this info (and the resources it points to) with her.

Up, interesting, useful, and IMPORTANT!

robie, you already know where I stand on the current over-medication of America. So my take on the information in this hub is when there's an herbal extract/capsule that produces the same result as a prescription drug doctors and BigPharma are pushing to fund their new Beemers - except in specific cases such as your friend with RA - drop the drug AND the doctor and take the supplement instead.

I do have to wonder, though, why anyone who's even semi-mobile and not totally bed-ridden is taking Coumadin on a daily basis. I was on it while in the hospital for 5 weeks with a shattered elbow and broken pelvis, but was not instructed to stop taking it when I went home. Concerned I could conceivably bleed to death from a slip of the razor while shaving my legs, I called my doctor, who said there was no need to take it once I was out of the hospital. Coumadin, or any blood thinner for that matter, is beneficial ONLY in specific situations, but outside those parameters is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening drug.

Very well-written and informative. I don't think many people realize how herbs & some foods can have interactions with the medicinal drugs they take. Thanks for writing this and making people aware. :) Voted up, useful, and awesome.

Hi, great informative hub, and definitely bookmarked. I have Asthma inhalers, and thyroid med, so this is really helpful, thanks nell

I am on several prescriptions and I take vitamins, but have been wary about many herbal supplement. Your article has excellent information on the most common supplements and is very helpful. Voted up and useful.

Great information, Robie. It's very important that we tell our doctor every supplement and herb we take no matter how insignificant we think it is. It's also a good idea to do our own research on each and every herb because unfortunately many physicians aren't educated on the side effects or interaction.

Herbs are a great help to our health but we have to do our homework to find out all the information about them.

Such a good look at being careful about taking herbal supplements. It is important to keep the fact that they can be harmful if used carelessly. Glad to see this topic highlighted so well!

As an herbalist, I say "Thumbs Up". It is nice to see an article that actually talks about the proper use of herbs. While herbs are natural, they are medicine. Many more that you did not mention can interact with meds. Lemon balm is one that comes to mind. Also, because they are from plants, many people who have allergies should not take a plant from the same plant family. IE; Chamomile. It is from the daisy family.

Great hub. Voted up +

Hi robie2. I liked your hub, especially your emphasis on the fact that everything has side-effects.

There are also food-med interactions. For example, grapefruit affects the liver enzyme CYP3A4, which in turn, affects the rate at which certain medications are cleared from the system.

For anyone who wants to do a 'brown bag review' of all their meds and supplements, I'd recommend making an appointment with your pharmacist outside of his regular working hours, and of course, pay him for his time and expertise.

Pharmacists are usually more knowledgeable about these things than physicians, who typically believe everything that the pharmaceutical companies tell them, and who tend to be less than honest with their patients.

Voted up and shared.

robie2, I think that would be more of a book...lol. Thank you for the complement. Have a great day!

This is a useful and interesting hub (voted up and shared). Here in the UK the herbal supplements industry is big business. We live in a town with a high percentage of elderly people. There is an independent health food shop with a large section of supplements, plus they are available in the drug stores and grocery stores. We know they are popular with the elderly - including those who are our relatives. The funny thing is, prescription medicine is available to those over 60 at no charge (paid for by the taxpayer). Supplements cost significant amounts of money. Some of our relatives spend a lot on supplement, don't tell their doctors, then wonder why their medicine doesn't work.

Your hub gives the clear message to tell your doctor about any supplements you take, and ask if they interfere with prescription meds.

I know Where this picture is taken from, this is morocco :)

OK, so I stopped taking warfarin in favour of daily enteric-coated aspirin to thin my blood, which I need to do because I have chronic atrial fibrillation and could die from clots caused by the heart beating inefficiently and not fully clearing the chambers of blood, but I also have high blood pressure which my Doctor insists I take medication for, even though I try to self-manage it by maintaining an appropriate BMI (body mass index) with daily exercise and a diet of quality foods that also where possible are low GI so I can forestall the diabetes we're told is coming for us all, just because we live in the Western world; I take Omega 3 capsules in high doses to help fight lifetime depression, in preference to prescription anti-depressants which I have at times been forced to take, and also to help ease joint pain and enhance mental acuity, daily garlic capsules to ward off colds nd flu, in conjunction with vitamin C tabs; but now you tell me that garlic and blood thinners are a potentially lethal combination so I'm worried, although I feel confident that the daily dose of milk thistle that I take to help my liver clear the residue of digoxin which my Doctor has prescribed as an essential part of maintaining heart health even though it's a known toxin, (and of course, the almost daily intake of a 'wee dram' of an evening), because God knows, you gotta take care of your own health as you get older - who can afford the cost of fixing the ailments that a preventive attitude and practical self-care could potentially forestall until what's euphemistically called 'old age' takes you?

Other than that, I try and laugh as often as possible, at least once a day. So far, haven't found a pill that makes me feel as good as that.. although it can be difficult on those days that coincide with a trip to the dentist, it's always seemed incongruous to me that the place you go to enhance your smile is the same place that, at bill time, can wipe it right off your face..

Anyway..thanks for this article, Robie, it's certainly helped me to learn more about "Herbal Supplements That Can Interact Negatively With Your Prescription Medication."

Wow! Of all the things on your list, I do take garlic capsules to help fight against mosquito bites. Since taking the garlic capsules, I have been able to win the battle against mosquitoes. But, when I read your notes on how too much garlic can interfere with blood pressure, I was happy I read your hub. I take high blood pressure medicine and your information is a "need to know" fact that should be on the garlic capsule label. Thank you for your enlightening hub.

You've written a very important article here, and I hope it gets read by many people. One thing, though: I thought licorice root lowered blood pressure rather than making it higher? I've read this in several places, unless what I've read is referring strictly to licorice itself. Let me know, will you? Great work here and voted up.