Worst Pills, Best Pills

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

Insulins


DISEASE AND DRUG FAMILY INFORMATION
Diabetes Prevention and Treatment
Diets that are very complicated or very different from what you are used to are hard to follow. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) diet is a highly structured plan based on exchange lists. Although it serves its purpose of regulating calorie and sugar intake quite well, the ADA diet may be difficult for older people to use. Successful use of this diet requires considerable time spent planning meal patterns and food portions. Older people often have trouble with this diet because the food lists are long and complicated and require considerable memorization.

DRUG AND DIETARY SUPPLEMENT PROFILES

A comprehensive review of the safety and effectiveness of this drug. If the drug is not a Do Not Use product, information on adverse effects, drug interactions and how to use the medication are included.


WORST PILLS, BEST PILLS NEWSLETTER ARTICLES
Concentrated Insulin Glargine, TOUJEO: Limited Use for Diabetes
April 2023
As seven years have passed since Toujeo’s approval without new major safety concerns being identified, Public Citizen’s Health Research Group has now designated it as Limited Use — a treatment for diabetes that should be used only if treatment with less concentrated and cheaper forms of insulin have first been tried and found to be inadequate.
Drug and Food Interactions for the Thyroid Medication Levothyroxine
March 2023
Patients taking the widely prescribed hypothyroidism drug levothyroxine should be aware that it has clinically important interactions with many other prescription and over-the-counter medications, dietary supplements and even certain foods.
Pharma's Price Gouging on Insulin Is Literally Killing Patients
April 2019
Many diabetes patients, including some with health insurance, can no longer afford to take the dosage of life-saving insulin prescribed by their doctors because of price gouging by the pharmaceutical industry. For some of these patients, the rationing of unaffordable insulin has proved to be fatal.
Potentially Dangerous Digoxin Drug Interactions
November 2018
Read about the numerous medications that can interact with digoxin, a drug commonly prescribed for heart failure and atrial fibrillation. These interactions can result in either digoxin toxicity or decreased digoxin effectiveness depending on the other drug being used concomitantly.
Drugs That Cause Weight Gain
December 2017
Weight gain is an adverse event associated with many widely used medications and may lead to significant overweight and obesity, especially in susceptible individuals. Find out which drugs have this adverse effect.
Drugs That Are Most Likely to Land Patients in the Emergency Room
June 2017
Many adverse drug reactions are severe enough to cause serious injury, hospitalization and even death. Find out which outpatient medications are most likely to cause adverse events that necessitate a visit to the emergency room.
Insulin Glargine (TOUJEO): Do Not Use for Seven Years
November 2016
TOUJEO is a newer, long-acting, once-daily insulin approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in adults. Learn why you should avoid using this drug until at least 2022.
Insulin Pumps Need More Scrutiny, Say American and European Diabetes Groups
November 2015
Insulin pumps have been promoted as an important technological advancement in diabetes care. Find out why Public Citizen’s Health Research Group considers these devices too dangerous to use.
Diabetes Drugs Linked to Pancreas Disease
August 2013
Six recently approved diabetes drugs have been linked to an increased risk of pancreatitis and possibly pancreatic cancer.
A Review of the ‘Gliptin’ Diabetes Drugs
March 2012
Find out why you should not use any of the three recently-approved diabetes drugs known as "gliptins".
Insulin Glargine (LANTUS) and Cancer: Is There a Link?
October 2009
We review recent studies potentially implicating one form of insulin in cancer and conclude that there is insufficient evidence to link the drug to cancer at present.
Review of Adverse Effects and Contraindications of Various Dietary Supplements Used for Weight Loss
December 2002
Ephedra, or ma huang, the natural form of the stimulant ephedrine, the most infamous and dangerous drug found in dietary supplements sold for weight loss, is at last beginning to receive the negative notoriety it deserves. Ephedra causes heart attacks and strokes because of its ability to raise blood pressure and heart rate. Article discusses the risk of other dietary supplements.