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Drug Finder

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Updated: June 6, 2006

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Another good resource is the Drug Finder. Do you want to know about the side effects of ambien? Click on the Drug Finder, and in the search box, type in 'ambien.' You'll be taken to this page: Zolpidem. Zolpidem is another name for ambien. If you click on the link beneath the pill bottles, you'll find pictures of the different types of the pills.

At the top of the Drug Finder, click on Interactions. Type in the medication you're on and you can tell what other drugs or non-drug products interact adversely with the drug you're taking.

This time let's try klonopin. This will take you to this page. Choose which of the items message you're wondering about or choose them all. Click on 'Create Report' and you go to this page.

Try it by adding a second medication on the klonopin page. I added ambien, unchecked all of the other list items, asked for a report and discovered you should never take other sleep or nerve medications with klonopin without talking to your doctor.

The third section of the drug finder allows you to search for pills by either markings or shape and color. Do you have a bottle of pills and you're not sure what they are? Did you find a pill at the bottom of your purse that looks familiar but you can't place it? Here's a good place to search.

Let's say you've just found these pills. They're round, white, and marked with the letters 'MD562.' What are they anyway? Search by shape and color. Or search by markings. I must warn you, however, that this could be a long process unless the pill is very distinctive. Round and white turns up dozens of possibilities.

So, be very careful using the pill identifier. The best thing to do with an unknown pill is to take it to the drugstore for disposal. Never throw medications into the garbage. Even flushing them is not advised because of the danger of drugs in the water supply. We get enough of those with what is passed in our urine.

But the other two resources here - the monographs and the interactions, are good resources. However, remember, whenever you're not sure, talk to your doctor or your druggist.

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