Top 10 Strangest Side Effects of Prescribed Medications – Or, What Pharmacy Techs Must Know to Tell

As a pharmacy technician, it can be very important to keep track of drug side effect information to advise patients who are picking up prescriptions!

Most drugs list generally mild side effects such as nausea or drowsiness. But not all drugs and patients are alike. Some medications work miraculously and with no problems for some people, but for others, the same drugs can result in some very strange side effects. Here are the top 10 most bizarre side effects documented for commonly prescribed medications:

10. Sleep Activity – On sleep aid drugs such as Ambien or Lunesta, patients have been known to do all sorts of crazy things in their sleep. Strange side effects of these sleep drugs range from night terrors and strange dreams to sleepwalking and even sleep-driving. And it is certainly advised not to try to stay awake after taking these drugs – it can induce hallucinations!

9. Losing Your Senses – There are numerous medications that can cause temporary or permanent loss of one’s senses. For example, Vasotec, a medication for high blood pressure and congestive heart failure, can cause you to suddenly lose all your senses, especially taste. Erectile dysfunction drug Viagra has been known to cause blurred vision, blue vision and colorblindness.

8. Amnesia/Short-Term Memory Loss – What if you woke up one day and did not remember who your spouse was or what you did yesterday? That is one crazy side effect of drugs such as Mirapex – used to treat symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and restless legs syndrome. The same can happen with statins for lowering cholesterol.

7. Behavioral Problems – What? Mirapex again? Well, this time it can cause extreme compulsive behaviors such as addictive gambling, drinking, shopping, sex or eating by increasing dopamine in the brain.

6. Eyes Changing Colors – Glaucoma drug Latisse now doubles as a cosmetic “eyelash extension” drug. It has been known to cause darkening of the skin around the eyes, and even permanently change eye color.

6. Missing Fingerprints – One oral chemotherapy drug used to treat cancer, Xeloda, causes such severe blistering of the hands and feet that patients taking it could lose their fingerprints. That might make it hard to travel out of the country!

5. Rainbow Urine – A number of different medications can cause people taking them to pee funny colors. Phenazopyridine (used to treat symptoms of urinary tract infections) turns it red, certain antibiotics turn it black, some laxatives turn it purple, a handful of muscle relaxants cause it to turn green and some diuretics turn it blue!

4. Side Effect Cocktail – Intense acne medication Accutane (or isotretinoin) can cause a number of strange side effects in rare cases, such as crying spells, rectal bleeding, bone fractures, hepatitis, psychosis, hirsutism (excessive hair) and herpes.

3. Hallucinations – One of the most disturbing side effects of some medications is hallucination. Our old friend Mirapex is back again, and it has caused hallucinations such as creatures crawling the walls and people hiding in closets. This is also a rare side effect of Lariam, a drug used to treat malaria, which afflicts mostly soldiers and travelers.

2. Loss of Bowel Control – One of the most embarrassing side effects of a very popular new weight loss drug, Alli may cause you to lose control of your bowel movements if you eat more than the recommended fat grams in a meal.

1. Men Growing Lactating Breasts – You read right. The number one weirdest side effect of a prescribed medication is “gynecomastia.” One hair loss prevention medication, Propecia, changes testosterone levels in men just enough to prevent baldness. In rare cases, though, it can result in men growing breasts that produce milk.

Becoming a pharmacy technician is so much more than just stocking medications and preparing doseages. It’s knowing about the small print in those lists of drug precautions. Gain experience as a pharmacy tech and become more familiar with drug interactions and side effects to help advise patients!

Learn more about the pharmacy technician training in Shreveport at Ayers Career College!