Herbal Dietary Supplements and Anesthesia
If you’re taking herbal dietary supplements such as echinacea, ginkgo, garlic, St. John’s wort and others, or even Vitamin E supplements, and you’ll be undergoing a medical procedure that will require the administration of anesthetics, be sure to let your doctor know what supplements you are taking. A lot of herbal supplements have side effects and drug interactions. Have a look at this flyer from the American Society of Anesthesiologists: What You Should Know About Herbal and Dietary Supplement Use and Anesthesia.
Hat Tip: Help My Hurt
Although nutritional supplements are not doctor prescribed, you should always check with your doctor before starting a supplement program especially when taking other medications or undergoing medical procedures. Like the post says, supplements can have side-effects on medications or treatments rendering them less effective or possibly ineffective at all. This is not always the case, but it is best to check with a doctor first.
With all the news about Vitamin D popping up recently, it’s good to find one place that can help you sort through the supplement maze.
A non-profit group whose goal is to educate the public regarding vitamins and herbs based on objective scientific research (they sell NO products) is:
http://www.supplementinfo.org
You can also look up medical issues and find out what research has shown about herbs/vitamins and that condition. Scroll through the site. Look under RESOURCES and you will find “The Field Guide to Herbs” and other helpful free information. Under HEALTH INFO, there is a tab for Vitamin Basics A-Z.
Hope this helps.