MedicationSense.Com

Your independent, respected source for information about medications and natural therapies.

Medication side effects are the #4 leading cause of death in the U.S. annually (JAMA 1998). Yet, few people receive adequate information when medication is prescribed. This website is dedicated to providing information to help you and your doctor make informed, intelligent choices about medications and natural alternatives to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of treatment. Note: This website is free of drug company or government influence. Jay S. Cohen M.D.

Dr. Jay S. Cohen, M.D.

DR. COHEN’S PUBLICATIONS

BOOKS

Prostate Cancer Breakthroughs: New Tests, New Treatments, Better Options. A Step-by-Step Guide to Coming Edge Diagnostic Tests and 8 Medically-Proven Treatments Oceansong Publishers, San Diego, 2013.

15 Proven-Effective Natural Remedies for Migraine Headaches in Adults and Children. Square One Publishers, New York: 2012.

Natural Alternatives to Statin Drugs. Square One Publishers, New York: 2007.

What You Must Know about Statin Drugs and Their Natural Alternatives: The Precision Method For Reducing Cholesterol and C-Reactive Protein Safely. Published by Square One Publishers, New York: 2005; 199 pages.

The Magnesium Solution for High Blood Pressure:How to Use Magnesium to Help Prevent and Relieve Hyptertension Naturally. Published by Square One Publishers, New York: 2004; 83 pages.

The Magnesium Solution for Migraine Headaches: How to Use Magnesium to Prevent and Relieve Migraine & Cluster Headaches Naturally. Published by Square One Publishers, New York: 2004; 78 pages.

Over Dose: The Case Against The Drug Companies.  Prescription Drugs, Side Effects, and Your Health. Tarcher/Putnam, New York: October 2001.

Make Your Medicine Safe: How To Prevent Side Effects From The Drugs You Take. New York: Avon Books, 1998, 604 pages.

CONSUMER PUBLICATIONS

Newsweek. One-Size-Fits-All Medications Do Not Fit All: Doctors and Patients Need to look beyond cookbook guidelines from the drug industry. Dec. 6, 1999, page 92.

Life Extension Magazine. Medication Side Effects: Why They Occur and How You Can Prevent Them. March 2003;9(3):46-68.

Bottom Line Health and Bottom Line Personal Newsletters. Multiple articles and interviews on preventing medication side effects. 2002 through present.

Special from Bottom Line’s Daily Health News. Four More Drugs with Serious Health Risks. February 28, 2005.

Newsweek.MSNBC.com. The Cholesterol Drug Baycol Is Pulled after 31 People Died — Why Did This Happen? Aug. 10, 2001.

Life Extension Magazine. Tylenol: More Risky Than You Realize. Dec. 2007.

Optimal Wellness Center. Statins — Lipitor, Zocor, Mevacor — Is the Danger in the Dose? Aug. 25, 2001.

Life Extension Magazine. The Problem with Maximum-Dose Lipitor. Over-Medicating Patients and Its Consequences. Aug. 2007.

Life Extension Magazine. Why You Should Be Concerned about High Blood Pressure Whether You Have It (Yet) or Not. Sept. 2004;10(9):40-48.

MEDICAL JOURNAL ARTICLES

Annals of Pharmacotherapy. Antidepressants: An avoidable and solvable controversy. 2004;38:1743.

JAMWA (The Journal of the American Medical Women’s Association). Do Standard Doses of Frequently Prescribed Drugs Cause Preventable Adverse Effects in Women? 2002;57:105-110. The first in-depth article to examine why women sustain more side effects than men.

Medscape. Preventing Adverse Drug Reactions Before They Occur. Expert Pharmacology Column. Dec. 1999: www.Medscape.com.

Postgraduate Medicine. Ways To Minimize Adverse Drug Reactions: Individualized Doses and Common Sense Are Key. Sept. 1999;106:163-72.

Geriatrics. Adverse Drug Reactions: Effective Low-Dose Therapies for Older Patients. Feb. 2000;55(2):54-64.

Annals of Pharmacotherapy. Peripheral Neuropathy with Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics. Dec. 2001;35(12):1540-47. This article was published during the anthrax scare of autumn 2001 and triggered a national debate about the safety of the antibiotic Cipro.

Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Erythromelalgia: New Theories and New Therapies. Nov. 2000; 43:841-7.

Annals of Pharmacotherapy. High-Dose, Oral Magnesium in the Treatment of Chronic, Intractable Erythromelalgia. Feb. 2002;36:255-60.

Italian Journal of Pediatrics Magnesium and erythromelalgia: a clinically important vasoactive mineral and a rare disorder. 2004;30:69-72.

Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. Provide fluoxetine (Prozac) information vital to clinicians. Dec. 1995.

Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. Is Alprazolam (Xanax) the Best Treatment for Panic Attacks? Aug. 1988.

Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. Dose titration issues with fluoxetine [Prozac]. Jan 1996.

Annals of Pharmacotherapy. How celecoxib [Celebrex] could be safer; how valdecoxib [Bextra] might have been. Sept. 2005;39:1542-1545.

Archives of Internal Medicine. Dose Discrepancies between the Physicians’ Desk Reference and the Medical Literature, and Their Possible Role in the High Incidence of Dose-Related Adverse Drug Events. Apr 9,2001:161:957-64.

Archives of Internal Medicine. Adverse Drug Effects, Compliance, and the Initial Doses of Antihypertensive Drugs Recommended by the Joint National Community vs. the Physicians’ Desk Reference. Mar 26, 2001;161:880-85.

Archives of Internal Medicine. Clinical and Ethical Problems with Switching Patient Treatment to ‘Therapeutically Interchangeable’ Medications. Sept. 24, 2001;161:2153-54.

New England Journal of Medicine. Statin therapy after stroke or transient ischemic attack. 2006;355(22):2368.

Diabetologia. Risks of troglitazone [Rezulin] apparent before approval in USA. 2006;49(6):1454-5.

Lancet. Should rosuvastatin [Crestor] be withdrawn from the market? Oct. 2004;364(9445):1579.

American Journal of Medicine. Statins and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. 2003;115:74-75.

Annals of Pharmacotherapy. Why Aren’t Lower, Effective, Over-the-Counter Doses Available Earlier by Prescription? 2003;37(1):136-142.

Journal of the American Pharmacy Association. Tablet Splitting: Imperfect Perhaps, but Better Than Excessive Dosing. 2002;42(2):160-162.

Archives of Internal Medicine. Pharmaceutical manufacturer sponsorship and drug information. Nov. 26, 2001;161:2625-2626.

Annals of Pharmacotherapy. Comparison of FDA Reports of Patient Deaths Associated with Sildenafil (Viagra) and with Injectable Alprostadil (Caverject). March 2001;35:285-88.

Annals of Pharmacotherapy. Is the Product Information on Sildenafil (Viagra) Adequate to Facilitate Optimal Therapeutics and to Minimize Adverse Events? March 2001;35:337-42.

Drug Safety. Should Patients Be Given a Low Test Dose of Sildenafil (Viagra) Initially? July 2000;23:1-10.

JAMA. Viagra and Nonnitrate Antihypertensive Medications (letter). Jan 12, 2000;283(2):201-2.

Archives of Internal Medicine. The Physicians’ Desk Reference. Problems and possible improvements. 1996;156(13):1375-80.

PRESENTATIONS

National Public Radio, Morning Edition. “Serious, Unrecognized Side Effects of Cipro, and Safer Methods for Treating Anthrax Exposure.” Oct. 2001.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Keynote Speaker, Annual Science Day. “Preventing Medication Side Effects: Safer Methods That Doctors Can Use.” Bethesda, MD, 2002.

Scripps Clinic and Medical Center. Grand Rounds. “Preventing Medication Side Events: Safer Methods Improve Drug Safety and Allow Patients to Remain in Treatment.” La Jolla, CA, 2005.

University of California, San Diego. “Reducing the High Risk of Adverse Drug Reactions in the Elderly.” La Jolla, 2007.

Kaiser Foundation, Positive Choice Wellness Center. “Magnesium in the Prevention and Treatment of Migraine Headaches.” San Diego, CA, 2005.

Thomas Jefferson School of Law. “Medications, Side Effects, and the Failure to Provide Patients with Informed Consent.” San Diego, CA, 2003.

American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Annual Conference. Featured debate on medication safety between Dr. Cohen and Dr. Robert Temple, the top drug expert at the FDA. This was the fourth Cohen-Temple debate. Miami, FL, 2004.

Joint Meeting of Biomedical Librarian Groups of California, Arizona, and Nevada. “Better Information, Safer Medications.” Long Beach, CA, 2005.

American College for the Advancement of Medicine (ACAM), America’s largest organization of alternative physicians. “Medication Safety, Natural Alternatives, and the Importance of Creating a Truly Integrative Medical System.” Las Vegas, NV, 2003.

Drug Information Association, Annual Conference. The third debate between Dr. Cohen and the FDA’s top medication expert, Dr. Robert Temple. San Antonio, TX, 2003.

Kaiser Foundation, Positive Choice Wellness Center. “Magnesium in the Prevention and Treatment of High Blood Pressure.” San Diego, CA, 2003.

Congress of California Seniors. Featured speakers included Dr. Cohen, the Governor of California, and the Attorney General. San Diego, CA, 2002.

“Direct-To-Consumer” Pharmaceutical Industry Conference. “Improved the Safety of Medications: Benefits for Patients, Doctors, Healthcare — and the Pharmaceutical Industry.” Boston, MA, 2003.