Side effects can be brutal

Doctors are overdosing patients because drug companies market products in one-size-fits-all dosages, says researcher and author Dr. Jay Cohen of the University of California, San Diego.

That can lead to nasty, sometimes fatal side effects.

Doctors shouldn't expect drug company representatives to tell them that half doses, quarter doses and even smaller amounts work for many patients with many drugs, Cohen said. That includes anti-depressants, the cholesterol-lowering drugs Lipitor and Zocor, and Celebrex for arthritis.

Cohen started researching dosages because of a professional experience when Prozac was new. One of his patients, a 35-year-old woman, became acutely psychotic after three days on the antidepressant. He got so fascinated by the subject that he eventually wrote a book, ``Over Dose: The Case Against the Drug Companies'' (Tarcher/Putnam, 2001).

His web site -- www.MedicationSense.com -- is a great place to start for consumers who want to approach their doctors with the topic.

And for another doctor’s personal experience with side effects of bupropion(Wellbutrin), read this essay in Sunday’s New York Times.