Good drug information websites?

[mustangsally65]

I'm pre-med so please excuse me if I've overlooked a pertinent thread. I have been looking for good reading material on a few different drugs, and have been frustrated at what Google searches produce.

Where can I find information about metformin/glucophage? I was prescribed this drug in November and am interested in learning more about it. Thanks for your help!

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[Shmy2008]

For some basic information, I like rxlist.com - it's essentially a more informative version of a bag insert that you would get with a prescription at a retail pharmacy. If you want detailed, healthcare provider information, you can usually download the package insert for the drug at the manufacturer's website. Hope that helps

 

[sdn1977]

I use lots of different websites....Micromedex has one, I also like NIH.gov, Mayo clinic, medicineNet.com, etc. Sometimes, if you search for your diagnosis, then you will get your link to the drug used with the research links also. For example, if you are being prescribed metformin for polycystic ovaries (an off label use...), you might not find info in the traditional places. But, you will find the research links for metformin if you search for polycystic ovarian disease. Hope that helps. If you're looking for diabetes or side effects, precautions, kinetics, etc.....all that is in the traditional package inserts or other standard drug info sites.

 

[Sosumi]

That's an offlabel used of metformin? Thanks for pointing that out. I have a classmate who has polycystic ovary syndrome and is having problems finding a doctor who can figure out how to help her with the condition and the constant pain.

As to the OP, you can use the resources that previous posters suggested, but since you're a med student, you might also have access to useful drug information resources on campus such as Micromedex, Lexi-Comp, and eFacts (Facts and Comparisons online). If you want to learn more about your condition, medlineplus.gov and webmd.com are good consumer health sites while UpToDate is a great disease state site (www.utdol.com) for health professionals if your school gives you access to it.

 

[mustangsally65]

Thanks for the websites, I checked them out and found a lot of useful information.

I was prescribed Metformin for polycystic ovaries, because I'm insulin resistant. My main interest was why this drug causes gastrointestinal symptoms, because I couldn't find any information about that aspect of it. Most of the things I'd read also didn't mention any alternate or off-label uses for it, so I wondered if the information I was reading really pertained to me.

I'm pre-med, applying this year, so I'm not in med school yet. So no access to the resources you mentioned, Sosumi! But thanks for your input, I'll definitely check them out when someone accepts me.

 

[mistakeprone]

I'm not a professional either, but I found this free article on Metformin for treatment of the polycystic ovary syndrome on http://www.utdol.com/:
http://www.utdol.com/application/topic/marketing/topic.asp?file=r_endo_f/20044

 

[mustangsally65]

Thanks for the article!

 

[USCPharmD09]

you can also try drugs.com and epocrates.com