Neato asked
What cold medications are safe to take while on the following: Saphris, Seroquel, lorazepam, lithium and Depakote.
Answer
You want to stay away from several medications because they have a risk of increasing the severity of a few side effects that are seen in your chronic medications.
Cold Medications With Saphris And Seroquel
Saphris and Seroquel are both antipsychotics that modulate neurotransmitters, mainly dopamine to exert their effect. They are used to treat a number of different conditions. These medications do have a number of side effects which is why some cold medications cannot be used because of the risk of increasing side effect risk.
For instance, these medications can cause an irregular heartbeat and the addition of additional medications with this same side effect can place you at risk for more serious heart conditions. Benadryl (diphenhydramine) is one of these medications that can produce a similar irregular heartbeat and they should be avoided.
Cold Medications With Lithium
Lithium is released in the brain and works on a number of neurotransmitters to exert its effect. The exact mechanism is unknown. This drug can have a number of drug interactions. For instance, this medication cannot be taken with NSAIDs (Advil, Aleve, etc) because those medications can increase your concentration of lithium.
Cold Medications With Lorazepam
Lorazepam is a benzodiazepine that works by affecting the GABA receptors to cause sedation and relaxation. These medications are typically used for anxiety. This medications main side effect is sedation and it can cause respiratory depression in large quantities. You therefore want to avoid medications like Benadryl with lorazepam.
Additional Cold Medications To Avoid
Many of your medications also cannot be taken with dextromethorphan, a common cough suppressant, because this can cause a cluster of side effects known as serotonin syndrome which can be life-threatening.
Cold Medications Safe With Saphris, Seroquel, Lorazepam, Lithium and Depakote
Tylenol (acetaminophen) is a fairly benign drug and it can help with aches and pains as well as fever. You can take 1,000mg four times a day during your cold (do not exceed 4,000mg in a 24 hour period).
You can also take Mucinex (guaifenesin), which can help loosen mucus and secretions.
For congestion, you are able to take Sudafed (pseudoephedrine).
Summary
- I would recommend taking a regimen of Tylenol, Mucinex (guaifenesin), and Sudafed (pseudoephedrine), which will hopefully cover the majority of your cold symptoms.
- It is important to read the ingredients of common combination products because more times than not they will contain diphenhydramine which I would not recommend taking with your chronic medications.
