Home > Media > Books > Aarp - The AARP Guide to Pills: Essential Information on More Than 1,200 Prescription and Nonprescription Medications, Including Generics, Side Effects & Drug Interactions
Aarp - The AARP Guide to Pills: Essential Information on More Than 1,200 Prescription and Nonprescription Medications, Including Generics, Side Effects & Drug Interactions
cmaw63's Full Review: Aarp - The AARP Guide to Pills: Essential Informat...
You just visited your doctor for acid reflux. He hands you a prescription for Ranitidine tablets to help control the reflux. You trust your doctor, so you get the script filled. You trust your pharmacist and start taking the pills. Doctors and pharmacists are highly educated people who don't make mistakes. Wrong...that assumption can end up with you being mildly ill to a lengthy hospital stay or worse.
What You Should Do
Before taking any medication, including over-the-counter(OTC) medicines, you should consult your doctor, pharmacist and The Aarp Guide to Pills. You know why to ask your doctor and pharmacist questions...but why the book? Because this book could possibly save your life.
Back to Ranitidine...do you know what they are supposed to look like? How about what other medications it interacts with? Did you know Ranitidine is Zantac? Yep, it's the generic name for the popular heartburn pills that can be bought without a prescription at most pharmacies and big stores. (Talk to your doctor before buying Zantac over the counter. He may have a reason he wants you to take the prescription, such as a higher dosage)
What the Book Teaches You
There are over 1200 pills listed in The Aarp Guide to Pills and each has these sections:
Title: A yellowish area that tops each pill's section with pictures of the pill/capsule. (Ranitidine has a tan pill shaped like a Superman emblem (150 mg) and brown capsules (150 mg). It, also, has the pharmaceutical company that makes the medication listed.
What are (name of Pill) tablets or capsules?:
A brief description of what the pill is prescribed for and whether generic is available or not.
What should my health care professional know before I take (name of pill)?: This section lists the items your doctor should know before he prescribes a med. i.e.: How much alcohol you drink, what other meds you take, kidney or liver disease and more.
How should I take this medicine?: This tells you if you should take the pill before or after meals, with water or milk and other facts on taking your medication.
What if I miss a dose?: A section that tells you what to do in case of a forgotten pill time...whether or not you should go ahead and take it and a warning about taking a double dose to make up for it.
What may interact with (name of pill): This area lists the most common things that may cause an unwanted side effect if taken with the medicine has been prescribed. This list includes other prescribed medications, over the counter meds and alcohol.
What should I watch for while taking (name of med)?: The answers here include telling your doctor if a condition gets worse. How cigarettes/alcohol may affect your medication. It, also, includes severe reactions that mean you should get a hold of your health care provider immediately.
What side effects may I notice from taking (name of med)?: You will find a list of the most common side effects here, with a warning to contact your health care professional if any of these occur.
Where can I keep my medicine?: Knowing how to store your medicine can help it perform better for you. This section tells the appropriate way to keep your medication correctly. It gives optimum temperature minimum and maximum and whether or not light and/or moisture will harm your pills.
In the back of the book you can find two indexes. You can locate a pill by looking under the disease & disorder index or the index of generic and brand-name drugs. Both are alphabetized A to Z with the corresponding page number located next to the pill's name.
Why I Use The Aarp Guide to Pills
I use The Aarp Guide to Pills for my work. My job is at a twelve bed facility for adults with developmental disabilities. I check in medications (new & old) for the consumers that live here. With the aid of this book I have caught doctor and pharmacy errors. A wrong pill....wrong dosage...but the worst...I caught a new pill that was prescribed to a client that had an interaction with two of the drugs he was already taking. The possible outcome? Death.
In my work I have come across many pill books. The Aarp Guide to Pills is the best by far. There isn't any hunting through the middle of the book to find the corresponding picture (that may or not be there) in the middle of the book. The photos are with the name of the pill at the start of each pill section. This book is easy to read in a language that is written for the consumer, not the medical profession.
I recommend this book for anyone that takes more than one medication. Whether or not the meds are prescribed or over the counter...this book could, at the least, help you speak to your health care provider about options (from the disease & disorder index) that may help you and at the most, save your life.
This book retails for $19.95 USA or $25.95 CAN.
*Over the counter (OTC) meds are anything you take to help your overall health. Aspirin, allergy meds, cough syrup and even vitamins are a few samples.*
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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