Medical Profession & Supplements

[pocketplayer]

This might not be a new topic here…I am new so I wanted to get feedback on my experience today.

I take med’s for something unrelated to bodybuilding or athletics and was wondering if any supplement interfered with my medication. All the websites for my specific med said check with your doctor or pharmacist.

I called my pharmacist and told him I was interested in taking Stimulant X (2.0 new version) and read all the ingredients (that was a challenge pronouncing some of those bad boys). He asked if I had trouble sleeping after trying a does or two. I told him Stim X did not do much for me so I doubled the dosage and still didn’t experience much energy.

He then told me it will take a week before the supplement got into my system. I quickly added that many of the testimonies in forums such as this related an immediate effect in their systems, usually within an hour or two. He then said the forums are not reliable. I shot back by saying that those in the forums are not those working for any company, but real people sharing real life experience and reviews of specific products. Therefore, they would seem reliable sources to see how a product works on several individuals to get an idea before purchase.

I hung up frustrated thinking this trained pharmacist (I know the guy and he is great) but he seemed ignorant of supplements. My Dx also seems pretty clueless as well. They seem to lump them all into one batch of ‘bogus over the counter products’ with a subtle non-verbal message of, “If you want REAL effects, you need prescribed medications.”

Anyone else out there relate?

[Dr.Dave1]

Coming from the medical world I can say that supps can be quite the headache. There are lotsa new supps out there with all kinds of new poorly studied compounds in them. That makes it very hard to know whether a supp is going to have an effect on the metabolism or effectiveness of your meds or not.

Don't get me wrong, I love the supp industry and use plenty of supps myself and, at least for now, prefer the hands off approach the FDA is taking but there could be real danger there. Fortunately, we don't see many 70 years olds on 10 different meds asking what effect supp A is going to have on their meds.

Drugs are easy b/c there is tons of background research on drug categories and individual drugs including enzymatic systems involved so it's pretty easy to predict (from the pathways) and observe (from trials and case reports) the interactions between drug a and drug b . . .the computer can check automatically. Not quite the case for supps . . .

[icetrauma]

Another reason I believe some are not educated in what each supp does as they are meds. Thanks Dr. Dave. Also, one of the biggest reasons IMO is a doc or pharmacist does not want the liability/risk of approving supps for people to take for fear of legal action if any interactions/adverse reactions occur. In conclusion I believe it is a combination of both lack of education and liability to your health.

[Spartan]

Another reason I believe some are not educated in what each supp does as they are meds. Thanks Dr. Dave. Also, one of the biggest reasons IMO is a doc or pharmacist does not want the liability/risk of approving supps for people to take for fear of legal action if any interactions/adverse reactions occur. In conclusion I believe it is a combination of both lack of education and liability to your health.

In conclusion? Wtf, is this a thesis now?

Like was said, no doctor is going to want to put his neck out on possible interactions with Supps. However, you have the internet, and Border's has books containing all drug information you'd need as well to do self-research. Sounds like you just wanted an answer the doc wasn't going to give you so you hung up and cried about it. If you want to take the stuff, take it. But follow the guidelines and recommendations. That's why they're called "recommended servings".

[jiritt0]

SIDE NOTE:


If you could think of anything you don't know which relates exercise or sport to the brain, please post it.

..& I mean anyything.

I need ideas for future research @ grad school.

I only have 1 or 2 well thought out ideas now, and I don't even know if they've been looked into before or not.

[Dr.Dave1]

SIDE NOTE:


If you could think of anything you don't know which relates exercise or sport to the brain, please post it.

..& I mean anyything.

I need ideas for future research @ grad school.

I only have 1 or 2 well thought out ideas now, and I don't even know if they've been looked into before or not.

adrenaline and memories . . . I heard a report on the radio yesterday that researchers think adrenaline somehow solidifies memories . . . first studied in PTSD. They found if you give some one propranolol ( a beta blocker) shortly after a traumatic event they were less likely to develop PTSD, if you had someone remember a past event that triggered PTSD and then gave them propranolol the effects were dulled. It also worked in rats and training them to find a clear pedestal in a tank of water. give them propranolol and they are less likely to remember

[Spartan]

adrenaline and memories . . . I heard a report on the radio yesterday that researchers think adrenaline somehow solidifies memories . . . first studied in PTSD. They found if you give some one propranolol ( a beta blocker) shortly after a traumatic event they were less likely to develop PTSD, if you had someone remember a past event that triggered PTSD and then gave them propranolol the effects were dulled. It also worked in rats and training them to find a clear pedestal in a tank of water. give them propranolol and they are less likely to remember

Odd how that works. No wonder when an event scares the shit out of you, you remember it always. Or how it was to bust your first nut, WITH A REAL WOMAN!


Ah, science....

[jiritt0]

ve4ry interesting indeed.