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Are Your Prescriptions Killing You?: How to Prevent Dangerous Interactions, Avoid Deadly Side Effects, and Be Healthier with Fewer Drugs
An award-winning pharmacist and an investigative journalist team up to uncover the dangers behind prescription drugs, showing how and why the elderly are at high risk, and explain what you can do to protect yourself and your loved ones.
In an epidemic of overmedication, who can you turn to for help?
You most certainly know someone whose life depends on the prescription drugs they it may be your husband, who takes sleeping pills to counteract the anxiety his heart medications cause him, or it may be your aging father, who takes upwards of twenty pills a day for everything from arthritis to high blood pressure. But we’ve all read the prescription drugs can kill you. If that’s the case, why are so many Americans, particularly those sixty and older, given so many pills, with no regard to how they interact with one another?
Fifth-generation pharmacist Armon B. Neel, Jr., is on a mission to help patients understand how the medications they take can affect them—for better or worse. As a consulting pharmacist, he visits hospitals and nursing homes daily and counsels patients on how their prescriptions may be interacting dangerously with one another, and how they can reduce the number of medications they’re taking. Armon’s recommendations have been estimated to save $2.5 million a year in health-care costs, and more important, he’s saved thousands of lives. In 2010, the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists gave Armon its annual achievement award. The organization then announced that Neel so personified excellence in the field that the award would be renamed for him.
In Are Your Prescriptions Killing You? , Armon reveals what you and your loved ones need to know about the risks, dangers, and benefits of prescription drugs. He explains what needs to be taken into account when prescribing medication to older patients and the catastrophic results that can occur when they’re not. Writing with veteran journalist Bill Hogan, Armon gives you the information you need to be certain that you’re getting the right dosage of the right medicine, and he arms you with the most effective questions to ask doctors.
Armon also provides his own prescription for changing what he sees as the broken health-care system in the United States. Rich with real-life case studies, this groundbreaking book offers older people, who are most at risk—and the boomers who often care for them—a road map to better health. This gripping narrative provides essential information for anyone who depends on prescription medications, and reading it may save a loved one’s life.
In an epidemic of overmedication, who can you turn to for help?
You most certainly know someone whose life depends on the prescription drugs they it may be your husband, who takes sleeping pills to counteract the anxiety his heart medications cause him, or it may be your aging father, who takes upwards of twenty pills a day for everything from arthritis to high blood pressure. But we’ve all read the prescription drugs can kill you. If that’s the case, why are so many Americans, particularly those sixty and older, given so many pills, with no regard to how they interact with one another?
Fifth-generation pharmacist Armon B. Neel, Jr., is on a mission to help patients understand how the medications they take can affect them—for better or worse. As a consulting pharmacist, he visits hospitals and nursing homes daily and counsels patients on how their prescriptions may be interacting dangerously with one another, and how they can reduce the number of medications they’re taking. Armon’s recommendations have been estimated to save $2.5 million a year in health-care costs, and more important, he’s saved thousands of lives. In 2010, the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists gave Armon its annual achievement award. The organization then announced that Neel so personified excellence in the field that the award would be renamed for him.
In Are Your Prescriptions Killing You? , Armon reveals what you and your loved ones need to know about the risks, dangers, and benefits of prescription drugs. He explains what needs to be taken into account when prescribing medication to older patients and the catastrophic results that can occur when they’re not. Writing with veteran journalist Bill Hogan, Armon gives you the information you need to be certain that you’re getting the right dosage of the right medicine, and he arms you with the most effective questions to ask doctors.
Armon also provides his own prescription for changing what he sees as the broken health-care system in the United States. Rich with real-life case studies, this groundbreaking book offers older people, who are most at risk—and the boomers who often care for them—a road map to better health. This gripping narrative provides essential information for anyone who depends on prescription medications, and reading it may save a loved one’s life.
- GenresNonfictionHealth
304 pages, Hardcover
First published July 3, 2012
16 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 6, 2013
Definitely required reading for everyone, especially if you are over 60. Sounds true to me, and this is a respected author. Please do not
pass this over if you are taking ANY medications. and share it with
your friends. I do think doctors will just tell you they are not
interested in learning anything you read in a book, but it is your
life, not theirs, so don't let them make you feel like they know it all.
pass this over if you are taking ANY medications. and share it with
your friends. I do think doctors will just tell you they are not
interested in learning anything you read in a book, but it is your
life, not theirs, so don't let them make you feel like they know it all.
August 25, 2012
Wow. This book should be required reading for anyone 60 or older and anyone with family members 60+. I am going to make a comprehensive review of my parents' meds and perhaps hire a consulting pharmacist to review them. This book is an eye opener and incredibly valuable.
September 9, 2021
This book was such an eye-opener to me as I was on numerous prescriptions. I did not know about the interactions between them and when I listed them on RXrisk it gave me readout about how potentially dangerous they were. Not just bad potentially dangerous. I found out more than one drug I was prescribed was given to me to counteract the effects of another drug. That makes no sense?
Please remember to ask your pharmacist about new drugs you've been prescribed and how they interact with what you're currently taking. Also review the drugs you're on to see if you even need to take them!! I know too many people on a polypharmacy who feel poorly and I have to wonder what part of that is due to the drugs?
Please remember to ask your pharmacist about new drugs you've been prescribed and how they interact with what you're currently taking. Also review the drugs you're on to see if you even need to take them!! I know too many people on a polypharmacy who feel poorly and I have to wonder what part of that is due to the drugs?
February 10, 2020
Do you, your spouse, or elderly parents use blood pressure medicine, statins, drugs to "strengthen your bones," or even over-the-counter pain killers or allergy pills? If any of you are over 60, you should definitely read this book--and read it again every few years. Armon Neel is a geriatric pharmacologist who specializes in consulting with patients who are incorrectly and/or over-medicated. He describes the Beers Criteria (Google it, to get your own copy), which lists drugs that should NOT be used with people over 60, because as we age, our bodies are no longer able to process them. Doctors who listen only to drug reps and are unfamiliar with the list might prescribe a drug for a particular symptom. Then, when it doesn't work, or causes additional symptoms, prescribe still more drugs, until some of these patients might be taking a dozen or more conflicting medications. Not all doctors take kindly to a "mere" pharmacist telling them what to do, but the author's generous anecdotal evidence of people he's helped back to an active life by cutting back on their meds makes a lot of sense. Neel ends by providing a self-assessment quiz and advice on how to manage your medications instead of letting them manage you. Highly recommended.
March 25, 2013
I read this because my dad is currently prescribed a pharmacy from the VA for maladies he doesn't even have...after recent news he is suffering from End Stage Liver Disease, one of the doctors took a look at my father's medicine list and was disgusted. Several unnecessary medications were dropped, and the confusion, lethargy and falls have begun to clear up. I highly recommend this book for anyone that regularly gets pills thrown their way by doctors, and especially the aging population! It contains good information and goes takes a more conservative approach to medication-definitely a good read & resource!
January 11, 2013
Easy reading and very informative! The book devotes entire chapters to some of the most popular and widely prescribed drugs, and problems associated with them. Although great for those of all ages it is especially revelant to those who are 60 years old and older. This is a real eye opener with the potential of saving lives! I have to give this book a 5 star rating and encourage everyone to read!
August 13, 2012
An eye opener.....When reading the first chapter I thought he was describing ME. Aches, pains and tiredness with bunches of pills. Stopped most of them and scheduled an appointment to see my doctor. Meantime I'm feeling much better. Just hope this guy knows what he's talking about. Don't know any way of checking the accuracy of what he's saying except that I certainly feel better.
September 9, 2013
After reading the risks and benefits of various drugs, I am going to have a conversation with my primary care doctor over my need for a statin. Since I am being more careful about processed foods, maybe diet alone can take care of my cholesterol issues. Also, when my ibuprofen bottle is empty I am going to switch to acetaminophen as my OVC pain killer.
November 2, 2014
Drug interventions are increasingly putting our health at risk (Google iatrogenesis). As we get older, we inevitably take more drugs with unpredictable interactions in a body that is less and less forgiving (Google ADME). This is a great reference for culling the medicine cabinet. I put it on my Kindle for easy searching.
June 24, 2015
This pharmacist gets people off their meds and healthy in this age of overmedication. It was really a book meant for older people, but I found the tips about medication interactions incredibly useful.
November 22, 2013
Everyone should own a copy of this book. The information is presented in a clear and concise manner. While medication can save lives, it can also destroy them. There are medications that the elderly should not take. I wish the book had been written before my mother became ill.
February 21, 2013
If you're over 50 you need to read this book. It could save your life.
April 25, 2014
This book is very helpful, especially for older people. There are many interactions and side effects of meds that either I am on or my husband is on that we were not aware of.
June 26, 2018
As a pharmacist, I applaud this sensibly written, informative advocacy.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews