GP Reveals 3 Medications He Avoids Prescribing

​ Paying a visit to the doctor often means you put a lot of trust in the health professional to diagnose and prescribe the right medication. Often you might do your own research before an appointment, but most of the time it’s the doctor’s judgement you’d listen to. Healthcare professionals have a code to follow when prescribing medication, but there are several options to choose from depending on symptoms, or other meds you might be taking. Now one GP based in the UK shared three medicines he’d never prescribe to patients as he revealed his alternatives. In a post on TikTok, doctor Asif Ahmed listed the three medicines and offered other options that he much prefers to try first. He said: “These medications either don’t work very well, have too many side effects, or there’s a better alternative.” Gabapentin is an anticonvulsant medication that is primarily used to treat nerve pain from conditions like shingles and diabetes, as well as to help control seizures in epilepsy by reducing the abnormal electrical activity in the brain. However, Dr Ahmed said he wouldn’t usually prescribe it for pain relief, as he doesn’t believe it’s particularly effective. He did not mention epilepsy, however, and only stated he wouldn’t prescribe it for pain. He said: “The issue I have with gabapentin is there’s no real evidence that it actually works that well for pain, and even when it does work, the doses you need are so high. Most of the time, people stay on it for many years, get the dose increased every few months, and all it does is make them sleepy, cause confusion, and reduce their memory.” According to the NHS, gabapentin can block pain by affecting the pain messages travelling through the brain and down the spine, but it does not mention a lack of evidence into its efficiency. It also states that most people who take gabapentin won’t have any side effects, although it does list tiredness and dizziness as possible side effects which some users may experience. You may be prescribed citalopram if you have depression, as it is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). It can also be prescribed for people who have panic attacks, and the NHS states that it has fewer side effects than some older antidepressants. Dr Ahmed says he doesn’t have an issue with citalopram, but he believes there is another medication that is more effective, so he would always try and prescribe that instead. He said: “I don’t particularly have a huge issue with citalopram. The thing is, there’s a far better alternative called escitalopram, which studies have shown works far better to treat depression, and I have found this in my own clinical practice.” The final medication Dr Ahmed refuses to prescribe to his patients is sumatriptan, which is commonly used to treat migraines and cluster headaches. While it’s not fully understood what causes migraines, it’s believed to be a temporary widening of the blood vessels in your brain, and sumatriptan works by narrowing these blood vessels again. The doctor said: “My choice over sumatriptan for migraines would be something called zolmitriptan, and that’s because you need a lower dose, it’s far more effective, and it can be used for migraines caused during periods.”