Examples of common medications that interact with grapefruit juice include certain statin cholesterol drugs such as atorvastatin (Lipitor), lovastatin, simvastatin (Zocor), felodipine (Plendil) and other calcium channel blockers, clarithromycin (Biaxin), and loratadine (Claritin).

Drug and food interactions Do not increase or decrease the amount of grapefruit products in your diet without first talking to your doctor. Orange juice is not expected to interact.

Many drugs are broken down (metabolized) with the help of a vital enzyme called CYP3A4 in the small intestine. Grapefruit juice can block the action of intestinal CYP3A4, so instead of being metabolized, more of the drug enters the blood and stays in the body longer. The result: too much drug in your body.

Calcium channel blockers They’re used as part of the treatment of conditions such as high blood pressure (hypertension) and coronary heart disease. Grapefruit juice interacts with some calcium channel blockers and increases the level of the medicine in your blood.

A number of beta blockers, including atenolol (Tenormin) and metoprolol (Toprol, Lopressor), were designed to block only beta-1 receptors in heart cells. Since they don’t affect beta-2 receptors in blood vessels and the lungs, cardioselective beta blockers are safer for people with lung disorders.

Here are 10 of the top types of offenders.

• Antianxiety drugs (Benzodiazepines)
• Cholesterol-lowering drugs (Statins)
• Antiseizure drugs.
• Antidepressant drugs (Tricyclic antidepressants)
• Narcotic painkillers.
• Parkinson’s drugs (Dopamine agonists)
• Hypertension drugs (Beta-blockers)

Drug interactions can be categorised into 3 groups:

• Interactions of drugs with other drugs (drug-drug interactions),
• Drugs with food (drug-food interactions)
• Drug with disease condition (drug-disease interactions).

A drug-drug reaction is when there’s an interaction between two or more prescription drugs. One example is the interaction between warfarin (Coumadin), an anticoagulant (blood thinner), and fluconazole (Diflucan), an antifungal medication.

pharmacokinetic – defined as an alteration in the absorption, distribution, metabolism or excretion of one drug by another. This is the most common type of drug interaction. pharmacodynamic – where the drug affects the action or effect of the other drug.

This article focuses on 10 prevalent and potentially fatal drug interactions, listed in Table 3.

• Fluoxetine and Phenelzine.
• Digoxin and Quinidine.
• Sildenafil and Isosorbide Mononitrate.
• Potassium Chloride and Spironolactone.
• Clonidine and Propranolol.
• Warfarin and Diflunisal.
• Theophylline and Ciprofloxacin.

Drug interactions may make your drug less effective, cause unexpected side effects, or increase the action of a particular drug….Remember, the drug label will tell you:

• what the drug is used for.
• how to take the drug.
• how to reduce the risk of drug interactions and unwanted side effects.

Most commonly interacting drug combination was aspirin + enalapril (30.2%). Conclusion: A higher incidence of polypharmacy and increased risk of potential DDIs in elderly people with cardiovascular disease are major therapeutic issues at Yekatit 12 hospital.

Drug interactions that are of greatest concern are those that reduce the desired effects or increase the adverse effects of the drugs. Drugs that reduce the absorption or increase the metabolism or elimination of other drugs tend to reduce the effects of the other drugs.

Taking your medications at the proper intervals during the day. Try to divide up your dosing times as evenly as possible throughout the day: for example, every 12 hours for a drug that needs to be taken twice a day, or every 8 hours for a drug that needs to be taken three times a day.

Level 1 consists of the most serious, life-threatening interactions implemented as “hard stop” alerts that require a clinician to either cancel the order he or she is writing or discontinue the pre-existing, interacting medication order.

Your pharmacist will put a sticker on the your bottle to warn you of this interaction. To avoid the interaction you may need to space the timing of your doses, taking each drug 2 hours before or 4 hours after the other drug.

There are several risks when taking multiple medicines. You may be more likely to have side effects. Because most medicines can have side effects, the more medicines you take, the more likely you will have side effects. Taking certain medicines can also increase the risk for falls.

For twice-daily medication schedules, it is best to take both doses on the same day, separated by at least 6 hours. Simply find a convenient schedule that fits with your daily routine and that makes medication taking part of the routine.