The Essential Guide to Prescription Drugs 2003: Everything You Need to Know for Safe Drug Use

By James Joseph Rybacki and James W. Long

Book Overview

The Essential Guide to Prescription Drugs has been used for more than twenty-five years by informed consumers interested in obtaining full information about the drugs they take. Revised annually to help readers stay abreast of continual innovations in drug therapy, each edition continues to provide the detailed profiles of prescription drug information that families have come to expect and rely on. The organization of the entries offers great depth of information in each drug profile. Different medical conditions as well as other drugs taken concurrently often require dosing adjustments, a factor addressed in all of the drug profiles. If you or a family member suffers a liver or kidney ailment, for instance, you'll learn how medication dose or frequency may need to be adjusted to help avoid dangerous and unnecessary toxic drug reactions. Each of the nearly 400 drug profiles opens with an informational box outlining the benefits and risks of the drug, followed by information on available dosage forms and strengths, the principal use of the drug when prescribed as a single ingredient and as a component of a combination drug, the advisability of use during pregnancy or when nursing, adverse effects and common side effects, and much more. Ongoing research helps expand and shape our understanding of how diseases happen and often leads to the development of new medicines. In "The Leading Edge," Dr. Rybacki makes readers aware of promising new medications awaiting FDA approval, and in "True Breakthroughs," he describes novel drugs recently approved by the FDA as well as new uses that have been discovered for older medicines. A unique feature called "Typical Treatment Goals and Measurements" explains what your doctor is usually trying to accomplish with drug therapy.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060508892
• ISBN13: 9780060508890
• Release Date: December 2002
• Publisher: Collins Reference
• Length: 1376 Pages
• Weight: 3.49 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 2.5" x 6.1"

Customer Reviews

Important addition to the home library

Have recommended this to friends as a "must have" since the information contained is important to read prior to taking any prescription medication. This is as complete and thorough a guide as you'll find other than using the much more cumbersome and scientific/technical PDR. This is the fourth update I've purchased, during the past ten years, and know you will find it as much of a necessary reference as I have.

Fabulous

I have been using and buying this book since it was 1st published. I love it! I'm an RN. I train non-professionals and family members on medications. This is an invaluable tool! The fact that it is in English (not technical words), explains medical jargon,uses,side effects, etc and catagories of real life situations, many people can relate. I use it frequently. Thank you for demystifing medications. Mecrn

The best drug reference around!

I've been buying the yearly updates of this book for years and wouldn't even consider anything else for a drug reference. This book tells you not only dosages and side effects but what herbal and vitamin supplements can and can't be taken safely with the drug and how the chosen drug interacts with other prescription drugs.

Almost Complete

This is (by far) the best Prescription Drug guide I've seen. The pros: I do agree with the other customers who said it was easier to read than the PDR. More comprehensive than the PDR. More organized than the PDR, etc. The con: I am a patient who takes many, many drugs. Unfortunately some of them are rare drugs which aren't used for many people such as "Trental" or "Clindamycin." These drugs are listed, but they note that: "This profile has been shortened to make room for more widely used medicines." I understand the book is well over a 1000 pages, but having shortened reviews of meds wasn't the most pleasing thing.--I do need complete info for these particular drugs and was not able to get it from this guide. I did not see this problem with the PDR. On the Whole: What I do like about this book the most is that everything about it is very logical. The saving space bit is understandable, but if you're taking many rare drugs and need complete info. on them, I'd reccommend browsing the book before buying it/or buying the PDR instead.

best book of its sort that I've seen

I've looked at more than a dozen of these prescription drug reference books. All of them had shortcomings except for this one. It is thorough, well-organized, and (this is its best quality) isn't overly simple or overly complex in its language -- it speaks perfectly to any curious, intelligent reader. Can't recommend it highly enough. Buy it. (I have the 1996 edition.)