If you’re over 50, then your medicine cabinet might look like a candy store from the 1980s. As we age and strain our bodies, we want to do everything we can to stabilize our health and ward off sickness — but could it actually be your medications making you sick?

Making sure that all your medications play well together is crucial for long-term health and avoiding serious health emergencies. However, we can’t all be pharmacologists, and sometimes the list of side effects and interactions can be a doozy. Maybe you have been taking the same prescriptions for a while, or maybe you have added something new.

Either way, you just aren’t feeling your best. Could it be your medicines making you sick?

Check With Your Doctor First

First and foremost, you start your research with your doctor to cross-check your medical history and the list of your regular medications, both prescription and over-the-counter. Next, double-check with your pharmacist; that’s what they’re here for! When you pick up a prescription, read through the accompanying forms to see if there’s anything else you missed or side effects that corroborate what you’re feeling.

Always be cautious about consulting with Dr.

Google, but if you have checked with everyone you are supposed to, why not check with the internet? There are even websites that compile all the possible interactions between various drugs, ranking them from minor to major.

Before you scare yourself into thinking that all your medications are making you sick, make another appointment with your doctor. You can even get a second opinion from another doctor. Sometimes just the stress of taking the medication can make you sick, while sometimes it is the medication after all.

Never let that gut feeling go unheard. Everyone is different, and you have the right for your concerns to be heard and resolved.

Are Medications Making You Sick?

Food and Alcohol Interactions

Another thing that can affect your medications is interaction with food and alcohol. For over 5 years, I had to carry an epi-pen because nuts were making me sick — so sick that my throat would close, and I had a hard time breathing. Then one day nuts were fine. I wasn’t allergic to them anymore!

Was it a misdiagnosis, possibly, or maybe it was an interaction with one of the drugs I was taking at the time the episode happened?

After an extensive allergy test, it was found that I was not allergic to nuts. However, I still carry that epi-pen, just in case.

Other types of food can interact with medications, like milk, orange juice, and even gluten. In some cases, this means nausea and other reactions. For others, lactose may even harm the way you metabolize the medication, weakening its overall effect.

Another thing you need to be especially careful with is alcohol. I have one prescription for which I cannot drink any alcohol within 48 hours of taking it. Luckily, I only take it once a week and can plan it out if I have a weekend with the gals coming up.

Sun Protection

Strangely enough, sunshine is another risk factor. Certain medications can make your skin far more sensitive, leading to sunburns.

Be sure to check with your doctor if you are planning a family vacation to the beach, or if you are an active person like me who likes to be outside.

Could it Be Slow Metabolism?

As we get older, our metabolism changes. This can also be a cause of not feeling great with your medications. Your ability to metabolize a drug can change over time. If you have been taking a prescription for years, it could change as you age and start to make you sick.

This happened to me with an antibiotic I had taken for years.

All of a sudden, my body rejected it, and the prescription started to give me horrible migraines and an upset stomach.

Hopefully, after taking all these factors into consideration and talking with your doctor, you are able to determine whether it’s your medications making you sick. There are all kinds of chemical breakdowns involved with medication, as well as other foods and drugs. Overall, it is important to keep track of the things you are intaking regularly and monitor your health. Who knows whether you’re not metabolizing that pill properly or if that glass of milk didn’t mix well with your medicine?

Read More:

Be Wary of Harmful Food and Drug Interactions

12 Medical Tests for Women Over 50

5 Things to Know About “The Long Goodbye” of Alzheimer’s Disease