Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
If I think my medication is causing a problem, can I just stop taking it?
Absolutely not. Never stop taking a prescribed medication without first speaking to the doctor who prescribed it. The risks of stopping a medication for a chronic condition like high blood pressure or diabetes are often far greater than the side effects. The goal is to manage the side effects, not abandon the treatment.
Should I just start taking a daily multivitamin to be safe?
While a multivitamin might seem like a simple solution, it may not be the best one. A general multivitamin might not contain enough of the specific nutrient you need (like CoQ10 or B12) and may contain others you don’t, which can sometimes be problematic. Targeted supplementation based on a conversation with your doctor is a much more effective and safer approach.
How long does it take for a drug-induced nutrient deficiency to develop?
This varies greatly depending on the medication, the nutrient, your diet, and your individual body. For some water-soluble vitamins flushed out by diuretics, the effects can be seen relatively quickly. For others, like the depletion of B12 from Metformin, it can be a very gradual process that takes years to result in a clinically significant deficiency. For more information on dietary supplements, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements is an excellent resource.
Is it possible to fix a medication-induced deficiency with diet alone?
Sometimes, yes. For a mild depletion, increasing your intake of nutrient-rich foods can be enough to restore balance. However, in cases of significant malabsorption (like with B12 and PPIs or Metformin), the medication may be preventing absorption from food so effectively that a supplement (often in a specific form, like a sublingual B12) is necessary to bypass the issue.
