Medication Toxicity - too much of a good thing?

What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘toxic’? A tune by Britney Spears that won’t leave your ears (sorry about that!), hazardous warning signs of poisonous substances or relationships that may have turned sour? Or something completely different? We usually associate toxicity with negativity – which is why medication toxicity is often overlooked as something that doesn’t apply to us. When in fact it can happen to anyone at any time.  Meds are there to make you feel better and improve your health. But what happens when they have the opposite effect? When too much of a good thing is actually the worst thing for you?

Whether accidental or intentional, medication toxicity is when there’s too much of a certain drug in the body, beyond the prescribed dose. It can also be caused by other meds having an impact on one another. This causes a ‘safe’ substance to have an adverse effect. The liver and kidneys can’t reduce too high a dose in the bloodstream, so the medication becomes poisonous. That all seems self-explanatory but how can you spot the signs of this happening to you or someone you know

Although this can be a common problem, medication toxicity often goes undetected. Why? You don’t need us to tell you how the body’s ability to metabolise a drug can change over time. Which means a prescribed dosage may become too high. There are a few symptoms you can look out for, including:

• Blurred vision
• Dizziness
• Fainting or falling
• Feeling tired or sleepy
• Headache
• Memory loss
• Mental disorientation
• Stomach upset
• Unsteady walking

Medication toxicity could happen to anyone. It’s more common in older people but can still affect the young. So, although it’s not something you may have experienced before, it’s important to know what it is. Regardless of age, the greater your dosage of a specific drug and the more dependant your body is on it, the higher the risk. However, this is rarely a permanent problem and the greatest damage is caused by the side effects, like falling, rather than the toxicity itself. As a young person with epilepsy, regular meds reviews with your epilepsy doctor are standard practice. You can be confident your team of epilepsy specialists are monitoring your AEDs to make sure they support your body at all times.

If you notice any of the symptoms of medication toxicity, contact your epilepsy doctor immediately. They can review your daily dose of AEDs with you. This may result in changing the time of day you take your meds or reducing your dose. It may mean changing your meds completely. But monitoring your medication as often as possible will reduce the likelihood of medication toxicity.

In severe cases, toxicity may be treated by stomach pumping. This reduces the meds that haven’t yet been absorbed into the bloodstream. Other meds may be given as an antidote. Wearing medical ID or storing your AED information on your phone allows friends, family and medical professionals to help you as quickly as possible in an emergency. It also helps if you’re alone and feel too unwell to describe your meds when needed.

If you’ve experienced medication toxicity and are happy to share how you spotted it and what happened to you, head to The Hub. Your story may flag the warning signs that could help others.