IF YOU USE THIS

DO NOT USE THIS

BECAUSE...

Alprazolam, Valium, Buspar, anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants, anti-psychotic drugs, Levodopa (for Parkinson’s), or any drug that affects your liver.

Kava Kava

Kava Kava can interact with any of these drugs, and intensify their effects as well. Kava Kava can also aggravate liver problems.

Sleep aids, barbiturates, or antihistamines.

Valerian

Valerian is a sleep aid itself, and it can intensify the affects of drugs that have similar effects.

Warfarin, Heparin, or other blood thinners, aspirin, ibuprofen, Imitrex or other drugs for migraines.

Feverfew

Feverfew acts as a blood thinner, and should not be taken with blood thinning drugs. It can also cause dangerous interactions with other migraine drugs, such as spikes in blood pressure and heart rate.

Coumadin, Warfarin, Phenelzine, antipsychotic drugs.

Ginseng

(Ginseng Cont’d.)

Ginseng can cause bleeding problems when used with Coumadin, and may possibly block the effects of Warfarin. It can also interfere with the effects of some antidepressants (especially MAOIs such as Phenelzine) and antipsychotic drugs.

Digoxin and other heart medications, corticosteroids and other immunosuppress-ive drugs, blood pressure medications.

Licorice

Licorice can intensify the effects of Digoxin, can nullify the effects of corticosteroids, and can actually reverse the effects of hypertension medicine by increasing blood pressure.

Warfarin and other blood thinners, diabetes medications

Garlic

Garlic is a natural anti-coagulant, so it can intensify blood thinners; If you are taking any drug for diabetes, be careful of garlic as it can significantly lower blood sugar levels.

Anti-seizure medications such as Phenobarbital or carbamazepine, thiazide diuretics (used to help eliminate excess water), blood thinners

Ginkgo Biloba

Ginkgo can reduce the effectiveness of anti-seizure medications; It can also spike the blood pressure if combined with thiazide diuretics that are often prescribed for such conditions as congestive heart failure, kidney disease, edema, or cirrhosis of the liver; Using ginkgo alongside blood thinners can also lead to severe bleeding or even a bleeding stroke.

Any antidepressant drug, such as MAOIs (phenelzine), SSRIs (Prozac or Zoloft), or HIV drugs (such as indinavir), or the cancer drug irinotecan.

St. John’s-wort

St John’s-wort acts as a mild antidepressant, so it can intensify or interfere with some antidepressant drugs. It can cause agitation, headaches, and dizziness when combined with SSRIs; It can also adversely affect some HIV and/or cancer medications by limiting their effectiveness.

Heart medication digoxin (Lanoxin)

Hawthorn

Hawthorn is often recommended for angina and lowering cholesterol, but when combined with digoxin, it can result in dangerous pooling of blood and potential heart failure.

Thyroid cancer drugs, Accutane

Vitamin A

Too much Vitamin A can be toxic, and Accutane (for treating Acne) is very structurally similar to Vitamin A; Combination with thyroid cancer drugs may cause toxicity as well; Vitamin A should be avoided if pregnant.

Decongestants (such as Sudafed), stimulant drugs.

Ephedra (ma huang)

Ephedra by itself is a stimulant that can cause increased blood pressure and heart rate. In combination with many decongestants or stimulant drugs such as those often prescribed for weight loss, these spikes can be dangerous.

Aspirin and other NSAIDs

White Willow Bark

Aspirin is actually a derivative of white willow, so if the two are used together, it can increase the risk for gastrointestinal irritation resulting in stomach ulcers or intestinal bleeding.

Blood thinners, epilepsy drugs, diabetes drugs, asthmatic drugs (theophylline)

Ipriflavone

The major concern of ipriflavone is that this supplement that is used to treat osteoporosis can negatively affect the way many prescription drugs are processed by the liver. This can lead to toxic levels of both the prescription drugs and the ipriflavone.