By Robin GOLDSWORTHY

It’s an anxious time right now in America. Uncertainty surrounds things that we previously took for granted. Unfortunately, some people may turn to outside coping mechanisms, which could include “self medication” with drugs that weren’t prescribed to them.

Allison Chacon, assistant professor of clinical pharmacy at USC Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, warned that taking someone else’s medication can be extremely dangerous. 

“Depending on what the medication is, some can cause a life-threatening overdose that could result in a hospitalization and, in the extreme, death,” she said. “Sometimes we think that a medication is harmless since our friends take it and have no issues, but everyone’s body is different and could respond differently. Especially if you are taking other medications, there are a lot of drug-drug interactions that can happen and can result in other problems besides the various anxieties they may be trying to self-medicate with.”

Then there are people who “go off their meds;” that is, stop taking needed medication – many times because they’re feeling better and don’t think they need it anymore.

According to the American Medical Association, medication non-adherence – when patients don’t take their medications as prescribed – is unfortunately fairly common with research showing that patients about half the time don’t take their medications as prescribed.

Chacon said that the severity in a person’s response can vary.

“[It] is heavily dependent on the type of medication a person is taking. There are some medications that you can just stop taking and won’t necessarily feel any effects, but it would show up in blood work that your provider may do,” she said. “Cholesterol medication is a good example of this one. But for a majority of medications, there is an important, medically necessary reason that it is prescribed and it is never recommended to discontinue without talking to your provider. 

“For medications that may help with mood disorders, such as depression or anxiety, these can’t be discontinued without a lowering of the dose over a couple of weeks or else a patient may have a worsening of their symptoms. For medications that treat high blood pressure, stopping those without close follow-up could lead to a spike in blood pressure, which would increase the [patient’s] risk for a heart attack or stroke. Having a provider that you can have open communication with about your medications is always important, so you can discuss any concerns you may have before self-managing.”

Ultimately, prescription education may be key to curbing these issues.

“The best way to educate patients is typically in the pharmacy when they are picking up their prescriptions or with their provider,” Chacon said. “Pharmacists are highly educated on each of these medications and can ask about your medical history and other medications to make an assessment on what you need to look out for, in terms of drug-drug interactions or side effects. You can also walk into any pharmacy and ask to speak to a pharmacist about medications, whether or not you’re a patient there. Pharmacists are one of the most accessible health care providers so you can always take advantage of that availability. We definitely recommend staying off Dr. Google because that tends to scare patients more since they fixate on the extremely rare side effects or random experiences from people on message boards that you never really know if its true or not.”

Finally, honesty is the best policy – especially when talking to a doctor or pharmacist.

“Drug-drug interactions are always on the forefront of my mind, and I would assume everyone else’s too,” said Chacon. “We are always on the lookout for the major ones when checking prescriptions. We also benefit from technology and the pharmacy systems that also help check for interactions in case something is missed. It is always up to the pharmacist to assess each drug interaction and follow up with the patient or provider regarding anything that is concerning.”