I didn't know this ~ ~ emphasis/bolding below is mine ~ Sooz

Researchers warn mixing grapefruit with drugs can kill you
By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, November 27, 2012 14:55 EST

The number of drugs when mixed with grapefruit that can lead to serious health problems, including sudden death, has skyrocketed, warns a Canadian researcher who first discovered the toxic link.

In an article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, David Bailey, a scientist at the Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Ontario, said more than 85 drugs, many of them highly prescribed for common medical conditions, are known to interact with the pink fruit.

He first made the link 20 years ago.

But the number of medications with the potential to interact with grapefruit and cause serious adverse health effects has jumped from 17 to 43 in the last four years, as new drugs have been rolled out, Bailey said.

“How big a problem are such interactions? Unless health care professionals are aware of the possibility that the adverse event they are seeing might have an origin in the recent addition of grapefruit to the patient’s diet, it is very unlikely that they will investigate it,” Bailey said.

Generally patients don’t say they eat grapefruit and doctors don’t ask, he lamented in the article.

Grapefruit poses a risk when mixed with certain drugs because it inhibits an enzyme that metabolizes ingested drugs, resulting in the drugs entering the bloodstream at full force, which can lead to overdosing.

Some of the drugs known to interact with grapefruit include anti-cancer agents, heart drugs, pain medications and drugs to treat schizophrenia. All of them are administered orally.

It doesn’t take much grapefruit to have an effect. Drinking a single glass of grapefruit juice with medication can lead to serious side effects, including gastrointestinal bleeding, kidney failure, breathing problems and sudden death.

Other citrus fruits such as Seville oranges and limes can have similar effects. But they have been studied less.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/11/27/researchers-warn-mixing-grapefruit-with-drugs-can-kill-you/

Eat the fruit and trash the drugs. It's probably less dangerous.

I have known that lots of drugs interact with grapefruit juice for about a decade.

Drugs That Interact With Grapefruit Juice

Here are some drugs that interact with grapefruit juice. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you're concerned about any of your medications.Anxiety: Xanax, Buspar, Versed, Halcion


Depression: Luvox, Zoloft


Allergies: Allegra


Abnormal heart rhythm: Cordarone, quinidine


Heart disease/stroke/blood clots: Coumadin


Epilepsy: Tegretol


Cancer: Cyclophosphamide, etoposide, ifosfamide,
tamoxifen, vinblastine, vincristine


Cough: Dextromethorphan (found in many over-the-counter cold
medicines)


HIV: Agenerase, Crixivan, Viracept, Norvir, Fortovase


Prostate enlargement: Proscar


Heart disease/High blood pressure: Coreg, Cardizem, Plendil, Cardene, Adalat, Procardia, Nimotop, Sular, Covera, Calan, Verelan


Erectile dysfunction: Viagra, Cialis


Asthma/Emphysema: Theophylline


High cholesterol: Lipitor, Lescol, Mevacor, Zocor


Pain: Alfenta, Duragesic, Actiq, Sufenta


Infection: Biaxin, Sporanox, erythromycin, troleandomycin
Patients should check with their doctors about specific interactions between grapefruit juice and medication.

This list comes from 2004 and includes most drugs that people over 80 years old take.

Wow, that's interesting. A lot of people eat grapefruit to lose weight.

Good thing I don't like grapefruit. lol

I do. I love all citrus fruits. Limes, lemons, grapefruit, oranges.

The warnings with a coupple of the heart drugs I take, especially the blood thinners, warn against eating grapefuits. In fact, it was the first thing my cardiologist warned me about. It's too bad because I love grapefruit.

I love grapefruit too. here is a more complete list of drug interaction

It has long been known that grapefruit juice can pose dangerous — and even deadly — risks when taken along with certain medications. Now, experts warn the list of medications that can result in these interactions is longer than many may have believed.

In a new report released Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers at the University of Western Ontario said that while 17 drugs were identified in 2008 as having the potential to cause serious problems when taken with grapefruit, this number has now grown to 43.

“The frequency of these reactions may be small, but the risks are not worth it, especially for drugs which could cause sudden death,” said lead study author David Bailey, a professor of pharmacology and one of the first to report the interactions between grapefruit juice and certain medications 20 years ago. “Physicians need to know that this affects a number of new drugs and apply this information to their practice and patients.”

So how does a common breakfast fruit cause these problems? Grapefruits contain chemicals called furanocoumarins that interfere with how your body breaks down drugs before they enter the bloodstream. By preventing this normal breakdown of a drug, these chemicals in grapefruit can effectively cause a drug overdose and more severe side-effects.

Among the side effects sometimes seen with grapefruit-induced overdoses are heart rhythm problems, kidney failure, muscle breakdown, difficulty with breathing and blood clots. Atorvastatin — commonly known by the brand name Lipitor and taken by millions of Americans — is one of the drugs that have been linked to serious cases of drug toxicity when combined with grapefruit products. Other common heart medications — including verapamil and amiodarone — have also led to serious interactions when consumed with grapefruit or grapefruit juice. While there have been many reported cases of serious side effects attributable to this problem, the total number of Americans who have been affected is not known.

As little as one grapefruit or one 8-ounce glass of grapefruit juice can cause an effect that may last more than 24 hours. Other fruits including Seville oranges, limes, and pomelos can have the same effect, although sweet orange varieties do not produce this interaction. “People know that drugs react with drugs, but fewer are aware of drug-food interactions,” said Professor Paul Doering of the University of Florida Pharmacy Department. “Health professionals need to learn as much as they can about this. Undetected there are very serious adverse effects.”

For consumers, the best advice may be to ask a doctor or pharmacist when they are prescribed a new drug whether there are foods or other medicines that they should avoid.

The list of medications:

Alfentanil (oral)
Amiodarone
Apixaban
Atorvastatin
Buspirone
Clopidogrel
Crizotinib
Cyclosporine
Darifenacin
Dasatinib
Dextromethorphan
Domperidone
Dronedarone
Eplerenone
Erlotinib
Erythromycin
Everolimus
Felodipine
Fentanyl (oral)
Fesoterodine
Halofantrine
Ketamine (oral)
Latatinib
Lovastatin
Lurasidone
Maraviroc
Nifedipine
Nilotinib
Oxycodone
Pazopanib
Pimozide
Primaquine
Quinine
Quetiapine
Quinidine
Rilpivirine
Rivaroxaban
Silodosin
Simvastatin
Sirolimus
Solifenacin
Sunitinib
Tacrolimus
Tamsulosin
Ticagrelor
Triazolam
Vandetanib
Venurafenib
Verapamil
Ziprasidone

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Read more: http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showth ... z2DWaxvpmK

I hate grapefruit.

I've been taking Zocor for 10 years.

I love grapefruit but I don't eat/drink it anymore since I was put on blood thinners years ago. Plus, I'm also on a statin now.

Researchers warn mixing grapefruit with drugs can kill you

I think it's ok, as long as you don't try to swallow two of them with a glass of water or something like that

Now that would probably be a problem grampatom.

So I tried mixing grapefruit with drugs.
It worked well but that grapefruit/vodka mix gives a headache the next day.