Possible side effects...

I sometimes 'go off on a tangent' reading medical reports and studies on medicines. I have no desire to be a pharmacist but it intrigues me how pharmaceutical companies get many of their test results. Get this... they often use humans!
Is that funny or what?

People try these medicines and someone evaluates the results. After that, they compile all this information and submit it to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) to get approval to release their product on the market.

Whenever a doctor prescribes a medicine for me, I try to (internet) research it first. There have been times when I refused to spend money having a prescription filled simply because I knew the side effects outweighed the benefits of the medicine. Zocor for example. I took that stuff 20 years ago and got 'sicker than sick'

Reading the Zocor side effects had me shaking my head yes to about 75% of the problems listed. I went back to my doctor telling him how sick I got and his reply was "Why did you take it?" My reply was "You said it was medically necessary as my cholesterol and triglycerides were too high" He told me never to do that again and found another medicine that had fewer side effects.

Sometimes... yes sometimes the side effects for a medicine lists totally opposite effects. For example: drowsiness; insomnia; constipation; diarrhea. Well... what's it going to be?

I'm thinking not to take medicines that cause: muscle aches; nausea; pain; stomach pain; tiredness or weakness; vomiting.

But if I really had to, I would like to combine them with medicines that cause: severe dizziness or lightheadedness; hallucinations; mood or mental changes (eg, confusion, depression, foggy thinking, short-term memory loss)

The combination would result in "Having no clue" how sick I really was.