FDA RECOMMENDS THAT CONSUMERS STOP USING TRUE METRIX BLOOD GLUCOSE MONITORING SYSTEMS
View all alerts
Worst Pills, Best Pills

An expert, independent second opinion on more than 1,800 prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, and supplements

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

About WorstPills.org

  1. What is WorstPills.org?
  2. What are the sources for the information on WorstPills.org?
  3. How frequently is WorstPills.org updated?

Using WorstPills.org

  1. My drug is listed as Do Not Use, Limited Use or Do Not Use for Seven Years. What does that mean?
  2. My drug is NOT listed as Do Not Use, Do Not Use for Seven Years or Limited Use. What does that mean?
  3. If my drug is not listed on WorstPills.org, does that mean it is safe?
  4. I think I am suffering from an adverse drug reaction, but I do not see any information about this reaction on WorstPills.org. What should I do?
  5. Can I obtain a list of all the Do Not Use drugs?
  6. I have a website or blog. How can I share WorstPills.org content with my readers?

Subscription Information

  1. How do I subscribe to WorstPills.org?
  2. How do I subscribe to the print version of the newsletter Worst Pills, Best Pills News?
  3. I’m a Worst Pills, Best Pills News print subscriber. Can I add an online subscription to WorstPills.org?
  4. How do I renew my online subscription?
  5. How can I cancel my online subscription, and can I obtain a refund?
  6. Can I make copies of articles for distribution?
  7. I received information about the print newsletter Worst Pills, Best Pills News in the mail. How can I sign up for a subscription to the newsletter?

Technical Questions

  1. Why am I not receiving my monthly updates via email and/or other email messages from WorstPills.org?
  2. I have forgotten my password. Can I still log into WorstPills.org?
  3. How do I change the email address associated with my account?

About WorstPills.org

  1. What is WorstPills.org?

WorstPills.org is an online database written by a staff of experts at Public Citizen’s Health Research Group. It is searchable by drug name; by family of drugs; by disease or condition; and by drug-induced disease or condition. In this central source of information, you can find recommendations on drugs and dietary supplements based on unbiased, expert evaluations of medical literature and the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) data.

WorstPills.org includes in-depth information about the safety and efficacy of several hundred top-selling drugs — including many that we recommend you not use. We also provide recommendations on safer alternatives to harmful drugs and email alerts about newly discovered drug dangers.

The information on this website is not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Consult your doctor before changing or discontinuing any medication.

A subscription to WorstPills.org also includes access to the monthly online issues of Worst Pills, Best Pills News as well as access to every article we've published in Worst Pills, Best Pills News since 2004.

WorstPills.org is from the Health Research Group at Public Citizen, a national, a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization.

To maintain our independent status, we do not accept funding from corporations, government agencies or professional associations, and we do not accept outside advertising.

  1. What are the sources for the information on WorstPills.org?

Our reviews of drugs and supplements are based on several major sources, including:

  • FDA drug reviews
  • FDA-approved labeling for pharmaceutical products
  • The medical literature
  1. How frequently is WorstPills.org updated?

The drug profiles on WorstPills.org are regularly reviewed based on a literature search, a review of FDA labeling changes and relevant reports identified from the medical literature.

Using WorstPills.org

  1. My drug is listed as Do Not Use, Limited Use or Do Not Use for Seven Years. What does that mean?

Do Not Use

After careful review, Public Citizen’s Health Research Group's staff of experts have recommended that this drug not be used and sometimes have suggested an alternative treatment.

If you discover that you are taking a Do Not Use drug, do not stop taking the drug without first consulting your physician. Suddenly stopping any medication may cause serious withdrawal symptoms or adverse effects.

Drugs are designated as Do Not Use based on one or more of the following criteria:

  • Published references that explicitly state not to use the drug in certain populations
  • Public Citizen’s opinion that the drug is not as safe as an alternative drug or other treatment
  • Public Citizen’s opinion that the drug lacks evidence of effectiveness
  • Public Citizens opinion that the drug, a combination drug, does not meet scientific criteria justifying its use. Fixed combinations of drugs should be used only when their use is well-studied and logical.
  • It is a “smoke and mirrors” drug, meaning the drug company has passed off as “new” a drug that is nearly chemically identical to an existing drug and received a new patent, thus allowing the company to rake in millions of dollars after the expiration of the patent on one of their top-selling drugs.

Do Not Use for Seven Years

This designation is applied only after a thorough analysis of the drug, and for the following reasons:

  • Serious adverse effects or life-threatening drug interactions may not be detected until a new drug has been taken by many people and for many years.
  • New drugs are tested in a relatively small number of people before they are approved. At the time of approval, it is rarely known whether a new drug is more or less effective than older drugs.
  • Most serious safety concerns about new drugs emerge within seven years of FDA approval. Only unusual “breakthrough drugs” offer a documented therapeutic benefit over older, proven drugs.

Limited Use

We designate drugs as Limited Use based on our assessment that these drugs offer limited benefit or benefit only certain people or conditions.

Drugs are designated as Limited Use based on one or more of the following criteria:

  • Published studies state that the drug should be used only if another drug does not work.
  • Published studies show that the drug is more dangerous than another preferable drug, but not to the extent that it merits being listed as Do Not Use.
  • Published evidence indicates that the drug, although effective and safe enough for treatment of certain conditions, is widely used for inappropriate and therefore unnecessarily unsafe purposes.
  • The drug is a combination drug that should be reserved for second-choice use.
  1. My drug is NOT listed as Do Not Use, Do Not Use for Seven Years or Limited Use. What does that mean?

For drugs not designated as Do Not Use, Limited Use or Do Not Use for Seven Years, we have assessed tfhe drug’s safety and effectiveness with respect to the FDA-approved condition the drug treats (but not necessarily other uses) and have found the drug's use in that context acceptable in light of the risks of the drug for that condition only.

If a particular use for the drug is not discussed on WorstPills.org, do not assume that the use is either appropriate or inappropriate. Discuss the drug's use with your physician and weigh its risks and benefits in light of your personal medical history.

  1. If my drug is not listed on WorstPills.org, does that mean it is safe?

If a product is not listed on WorstPills.org, this does not mean that we endorse or reject it — it simply means that we have not researched or written about it.

We select drugs to write in-depth profiles about based partly on data regarding how frequently they are prescribed. We focus on the most commonly prescribed drugs. Not included are drugs used primarily to treat hospitalized patients, such as certain antibiotics and general anesthesia drugs. In addition, drugs for cancer and other less-common diseases generally are not included.

  1. I think I am suffering from an adverse drug reaction, but I do not see any information about this reaction on WorstPills.org. What should I do?

We seek to include all major drug-induced adverse effects, diseases and conditions for all drugs discussed in profiles on WorstPills.org. However, we do not include every possible drug-induced condition on WorstPills.org, even for the drugs that we review.

If you are experiencing a disease or condition that you believe may be caused by a drug you are taking, regardless of whether it is mentioned on WorstPills.org, discuss your concern with your physician. When starting a new drug, assume that any new symptoms you develop may be caused by the drug.

Consider reporting all drug-related adverse events to the FDA’s MedWatch medical product safety reporting program by visiting www.fda.gov/MedWatch or by calling 800-FDA-1088.

  1. Can I obtain a list of all the Do Not Use drugs?

Public Citizen does not offer a list of all Do Not Use drugs. Consumers and physicians should have all the information available on the reasons why a drug is designated Do Not Use when they make a decision about whether or not to use a particular drug.

You can find information about the designation of a particular drug by searching for it in our online database.

  1. I have a website or blog. How can I share WorstPills.org content with my readers?

We would be delighted to see you link to WorstPills.org pages from your website or blog. However, our work is copyrighted, and, subject to fair use, you may not reproduce or republish our work on your website or blog or anywhere else without our written permission.

Subscription Information

  1. How do I subscribe to WorstPills.org?

To subscribe to WorstPills.org, click here. A subscription is only available online and cannot be paid for via phone or mail.

  1. How do I subscribe to the print version of the newsletter WorstPills, Best Pills News?

If you prefer to receive our monthly print newsletter, click here.

  1. I’m a Worst Pills, Best Pills News print subscriber. Can I add an online subscription to WorstPills.org?

Yes, you may add an online subscription or purchase a combination subscription. Click here.

  1. How do I renew my online subscription?

When your subscription is due to expire, your credit card will be charged the annual subscription rate. Worstpills.org will send you email reminders 30 days and 15 days before this renewal charge is made.

  1. How can I cancel my online subscription, and can I obtain a refund?

WorstPills.org subscribers receive continuous access to WorstPills.org until their subscriptions expire. If you don’t want to renew your subscription, click on the “Cancel Subscription” button on the “Manage Your Subscription” webpage and then click “OK” in the pop-up message box. Your subscription will remain active until your current expiration date; after that date, your subscription will be inactivated, and your credit card will not be charged again.

If you are not satisfied with your WorstPills.org subscription, you can request a full refund of your most recent payment by clicking here and filling in the requested information. In the “Subject” line, state “Request to cancel subscription and obtain a refund.” In the Feedback box, indicate that you wish to cancel your subscription and obtain a refund. You will receive a confirmation email indicating that we have received your request. We also will notify you by email when the refund has been fully processed and the card used to establish the account has been properly credited. Please allow four weeks for this process to be completed. After the refund is provided, you will no longer have access to WorstPills.org content that is behind the paywall.

  1. Can I make copies of content for distribution?

Portions of WorstPills.org may be printed out for personal use or to share with your doctor, but not for distribution. To obtain permission to reprint content from WorstPills.org, please email hrg1@citizen.org with the subject line “WPBP reprint request.”

Alternatively, send a letter to the address below. Please include the title of the content you wish to reprint, the purpose for which you would like to reprint the content, the venue that will be used to distribute it, and the number of copies you would like to distribute:

Worst Pills, Best Pills News
1600 20th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
  1. I received information in the mail about the print newsletter Worst Pills, Best Pills News. How can I sign up for a subscription to the newsletter?

Worst Pills, Best Pills News print subscriptions can be renewed online or by mail.

P.O. Box 96978
Washington, DC 20090-6978

Contact Us
wpbpsupport@citizen.org
202-588-1000

 

Technical Questions

  1. Why am I not receiving my monthly updates via email and/or other email messages from WorstPills.org?

When subscribers with a current subscription do not receive our monthly updates, the culprit is usually a spam filter.

To make sure that messages from WorstPills.org and Public Citizen arrive in your inbox, add the email address wpbpsupport@citizen.org to your contact list or address book.

  1. I have forgotten my password or email address used to access my subscription to WorstPills.org. How do I regain access to WorstPills.org?

If you have forgotten your password, please click here. You will be asked to provide your email address, and we will send an email with a link that will allow you to reset your password.

If you have forgotten the email address you used to register your account, please send an email to wpbpsupport@citizen.org with the full name you used when you first subscribed.

  1. How do I change the email address associated with my account?

Follow these simple steps to change the email address for your account:

  1. Log into your account with your old email address and password.
  2. Click the "Manage Subscription" link at the top of any WorstPills.org webpage.
  3. On the “Manage Your Subscription” webpage, click on the "Update Email Address" button. On the next page, enter your new email address in both fields and click the “Save” button.

Disclaimer

The information on this website is not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Consult your doctor before changing or discontinuing any medication.