Falon asked
Could you tell me if there are interactions between my prescriptions and my naturopathic supplements? I am starting on the last 2 supplements tomorrow. I have high blood pressure, high triglycerides, pre diabetes. My fasting glucose is normal, but insulin is high. I'm 42, 5'5", and 260 lbs. I just started intense personal training at the gym. Hydrochlorothiazide -paxil -fenofibrate -hydroxyzine -Adrecor (4 tabs a day) , Pure Encapsulations brand Glucose Support Formula (4 tabs a day).
Answer
I can certainly give you the best information I can! I always say that it is sometimes difficult when looking for interactions between medications and vitamin/supplements. This is because vitamins/supplements aren't typically tested for interactions and prescription drugs aren't thoroughly tested against them either during clinical trials. Having said that, there typically is some decent information available so I will share what I have.
First we need to look at the ingredients for each of the supplements that you mentioned, Adrecor and Glucose Support by Pure Encapsulations.
Adrecor Ingredients
- Vitamin C (as ascorbic acid) 300 mg 500%
- Niacin (as niacinamide) 6 mg 30%
- Vitamin B6 (as pyridoxal 5'- 12 mg 600% phosphate & pyridoxine HCI)
- Folate (as 5-methyltetrahydrofolate 120 mcg 30% & Folic Acid)
- Vitamin B12 (as Methylcobalamin) 60 mcg 1000%
- Pantothenic Acid (from calcium pantothenate) 300 mcg 3000%
- Magnesium (from magnesium glycinate) 14 mg 4%
- Zinc (from zinc gluconate) 3 mg 20%
- Proprietary Blend 1.253 g † (L-methionine‚ L-histidine‚ L-tyrosine‚ Green Tea leaf extract (70% epigallocatechin gallate)‚ and Rhodiola rosea root extract (standardized to 15% rosavins)
Glucose Support
- Chromium (as chromium polynicotinate)........................................................................ 200 mcg
- Gymnema (gymnema sylvestre) extract (leaf) .................................................................. 75 mg
- Asian ginseng (panax ginseng) extract (root)................................................................. 100 mg
- Eleutherococcus (eleutherococcus senticosus) extract (root).................................... 100 mg
- Alpha lipoic acid (thioctic acid).......................................................................................... 100 mg
- Maitake mushroom (grifola frondosa) extract (whole plant body)............................... 200 mg
Looking at all of these ingredients, I found a few that might have a slight interaction:
Green Tea Leaf Extract
Green tea is a source of caffeine; one cup of tea contains approximately 50mg of caffeine, depending on the strength and size of the cup. It's tough to say exactly how much caffeine is contained in Adrecor, but we can surely assume there is some. Caffeine is to used cautiously in individuals with high blood pressure or those using agents that modify blood pressure, as it can cause increased blood pressure and hypertension.
Rhodiola rosea
Traditional uses of Rhodiola rosea include the prevention of fatigue and the enhancement of physical and mental performance.It is recommended to use cautiously in individuals with cardiovascular disease, based on unsubstantiated reports suggesting that rhodiola might increase blood pressure, heart rate, and heart palpitations when taken in combination with other medications. In animal studies however, rhodiola has been reported to improve several indices of coronary heart disease. It is also thought that rhodiola may cause hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar.
Asian Ginseng
Both hypertension and hypotension, as well as general increases and decreases in blood pressure, have been reported in ginseng users and may be dependent on the dose used.
So, after looking at a lot of these ingredients, it seems there could be some slight drug-disease state interactions. I didn't see any pure drug interactions where you would have an issue with two drugs interacting with each other but it does appear that some ingredients may cause some issues with blood pressure and glucose. Again, it is really tough to tell exactly how these supplements may affect you. Many times practitioners are OK with supplements like these as long as they are aware of what you are taking and are being monitored. Everything this that I found was just reported as a possibility, and not necessarily something that will absolutely happen.
