Drug-Induced Side Effects in Clinical Practice 1999.2.3

Drug-Induced Side Effects in Clinical Practice 1999.2.3

Drug-induced side effects in clinical practice are numerous. When clinicians lack experience, they may mistakenly believe that the condition has worsened or that new complications have arisen, leading them to add more medication—only to make the situation worse, leaving them at a loss! In the spring of the Year of the Ox, I developed coronary heart disease with persistently high blood viscosity. An ECT scan at the provincial hospital showed widespread ischemia in the anterior, lateral, and septal walls. In addition to traditional Chinese medicine, I took Xinmai Ning orally, three times a day, three tablets each time. This medication contains anticoagulant, a renowned lipid-lowering agent. However, after taking it for three months, I began experiencing occasional chest muscle spasms and unbearable shoulder pain. Assuming the disease had relapsed, I tried expanding coronary vessels with Western medicine and a bile-pancreas combination formula (I had previously suffered from chronic pancreatitis), but to no avail. After reviewing all the information on Anticoagulant, I discovered that its side effects could lead to increased muscle and nerve tension, even pain! Once I stopped taking it, the pain subsided immediately. At the end of the Year of the Tiger, patient Wang repeatedly experienced high fever despite continuous antibiotic use, but the fever only worsened. After stopping the antibiotics, the fever finally subsided! My cousin Beili had liver disease with ascites, hematemesis, and melena, followed by persistent epigastric distension. She took Xiangsha Liujunzi Tang, and her epigastric discomfort returned to normal. However, about three hours after taking the medicine, she suddenly experienced severe abdominal pain. This case demonstrates that compound traditional Chinese medicine is very effective in treating epigastric distension, but once it reaches the duodenum, it stimulates pre-existing ulcerated areas on the mucosa, causing gastric spasms and severe pain. Everything has a dual nature: medicine can cure, but it can also cause harm!