Drugs for the Drug Rep

As part of the hospitalization after my recent stroke (or CVA--cerebrovascular accident), my cholesterol levels (LDL-180, HDL-39, TGs-116) and blood pressure were found to be high. I was also checked for diabetes, and although my HbA1c (6.1) didn't classify me as a full-blown diabetic, it wasn't low enough to let me follow any diet I wanted.

Part of my discharge paperwork included prescriptions for Toprol XL 50mg/day for blood pressure, Lipitor 20mg/day for cholesterol, and Aggrenox 25mg/200mg/day to prevent blood clots. In the space of one week, I had gone from taking Prilosec OTC for occasional heartburn, along with the intermittent aspirin or allergy med, to becoming a walking advertisement for the pharmaceutical industry.

Everything was proceeding without fanfare until I developed an allergic reaction to the Aggrenox. Being the type of guy who can't follow convention, I didn't get the common side affect of headache. Instead, I broke out in hives, my lips swelled, and I got short of breath. For a moment, I marvelled at the irony of surviving a brain injury only to die from a medication reaction. After the episode passed, I called my doctor and ended up on the cutting-edge medicine called aspirin. Why didn't they think of that the first go-round?

As a drug rep, part of my job is to explain to physicians why the meds I represent are important, what type of conditions they treat, and provide infomation re side affects. It always bothered me that doctors would be reluctant to prescribe a drug a patient really needed because of concerns about side affects. In my mind, the benefit of preventing a heart attack (or stroke), far outweighed worries about a headache or upset tummy. Now that I was on the other side of the debate, I better understood the impact adverse events have on patients.

Lots of people end up on lots of medications, and every additional agent adds another risk of reaction, not to mention interaction with other meds. Patients who suffer a severe reaction may end up stopping all their teatments, especially when it plays to the human desire to ignore health problems in the hope they'll go away on thir own.

In my case, my numb left side, and limp left arm and leg were constant reminders of what had happened to me, and were ominous indications of what lay ahead if I didn't change my ways. So I'm taking my meds, praying they'll do their job, and thanking God someone was smart enough to invent them and give me the chance to avoid another event.

As for the HbA1c level, I was going to have to improve my diet to keep from progressing on to full-blown diabetes. But that's a whole story unto itself.