Author: Emma Yasinski

Emma Yasinski

I am a freelance science and medical journalist, fascinated by how the scientific process leads to incredible discoveries, but also can lead to publication bias leaning toward positive findings and minimizing negatives. With a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Lafayette College and a Master’s in Science and Medical Journalism from Boston University, I’ve written about clinical trial transparency, organ donation, and basic molecular biology for publications like The Scientist, The Atlantic, Undark.org, Kaiser Health News, and more. At MedShadow, I research and write about the sometimes unexpected ways that medicines can affect us, and what we can do if and when it does.

Regular MedShadow readers are likely familiar with the idea of deprescribing—the process of reducing the number or dose of drugs a person is taking. MedShadow has written about the phenomenon before. But, while the idea of taking fewer medications is simple, the real world process of deprescribing while balancing risks versus benefits is complicated. Some medications have withdrawal symptoms, and tapering may take time. The Therapeutics Initiative at the University of British Columbia (UBC) is hosting a series of webinars with healthcare professionals sharing real-life stories about their own patients whose medications they were able to reduce, and what happened…

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Mental health is a description of your psychological and emotional wellbeing. Your mental health can impact everything from your productivity at work or school, to your relationships to your risk for long term conditions like heart disease. Making sure you get regular exercise, eat a healthy diet, socialize and take time to relax are all crucial to maintaining your mental health. But sometimes, mental health conditions, also known as mental illnesses, strike anyway. A mental illness is any condition, such as depression or schizophrenia, that impacts your thinking, behavior, or mood. While they often emerge on their own, they can…

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Read through MedShadow’s coverage of the side effects of drugs and you’ll see many of the same side effects mentioned over and over. For example, patients report nausea after taking a whole host of drugs, such as those for Lupus, HIV prevention, cancer and more. It’s crucial to differentiate side effects from symptoms, explains Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, founder of the Pharmacist Moms Group, so that you and your healthcare provider can work together to improve your care. She says, when she works with patients who are experiencing new symptoms or side effects, the first step is for her to take…

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Shalamar suffered from chronic insomnia. She couldn’t fall asleep after her late-night shifts as a server at a New York City bar. To address the insomnia, she sought advice from a psychiatrist who prescribed pills and told her to take them both at night and in the morning. She thought it was odd that she would need to take a pill to help her sleep during the day, but her doctor said that is how the medicine worked. She followed the doctor’s recommendations, though. “It did help me to sleep. I slept like a rock,” she says.  What her doctor…

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Taking too many medications raises your risk of adverse events. Deprescribing—the thoughtful process of identifying problematic medications and reducing the dose or stopping those medications in a safe, effective manner that  helps people maximize their well-being—is often easier said than done, explains Cynthia Boyd, MD, MPH, director of geriatric medicine and gerontology at Johns Hopkins University.  This is especially critical, if you have dementia or multiple chronic conditions. “There is relatively little research about how we actually deprescribe,” she says. “That speaks to the issue of how people end up on a whole bunch of medicines. It often is much…

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When Mel was first prescribed hormones in 2009, he wasn’t sure he planned to complete the transition to becoming a trans man. “My goal was to explore the gender spectrum through hormones. I wasn’t yet totally clear that I wanted to transition and make a full gender transition, but I definitely felt the need to move away from my identity as a woman,” he says. Working with his physician, he started by taking medicines to end his menstrual cycle and then began with  very low doses of testosterone, gradually increasing them over time. “As I started taking testosterone in small…

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In 2018, two young men were found dead in their respective bathrooms in Texas after using a concentrated powder form of tianeptine.  Tianeptine is an antidepressant prescribed in Europe, Asia and South America. It’s banned in the US, but it’s found its way here. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning about the drug’s risks in 2018. Then in February 2022, the agency put out a new warning after scientists found a large increase in calls to poison control centers related to tianeptine poisoning. What is Tianeptine? Tianeptine, sold under the brand names of Coaxil and Stablon, is…

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Caffeine can have side effects of its own. Worse yet, caffeine can create new or worsen current medication side effects. It is necessary to understand how caffeine interacts with your drugs. Caffeine’s Impact on Medication A cup or two of caffeine is unlikely to be dangerous Larger servings can interact with many common medications, like antidepressants and antibiotics Some drugs can enhance the effects of caffeine You’ve probably seen someone holding a mug or wearing a T-shirt that reads “Don’t talk to me until I’ve had my coffee.” Though lighthearted, the statement refers to something that many of us may…

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Does a person’s higher weight impact how effective a recommended drug dosage may be? Researchers found, for example, that common versions of Plan B (levonorgestrel), the morning after emergency contraceptive pill, was less effective in women who weighed more than 165 pounds, and not effective at all for those over 175. Last year, that fact caught a wave on social media after TikToker @anadelrey.xo shared a video suggesting that anyone over 150 to 155 pounds should take two pills instead of one. Note: Specialists do not recommend taking two pills. Instead, they suggest the alternative medicine Ella (ulipristal).  @anadelrey.xo Reply…

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High blood pressure is often called a “silent killer,” because, unless you’re having changes in your blood pressure measured regularly, you probably won’t know you have it. It is critical to make sure you don’t have high blood pressure, because it raises your risk for heart attack and stroke.  Nearly half of all US adults have high blood pressure To counter this  trend, health professionals often advise us to eat healthier and exercise more frequently. Sometimes, though, high blood pressure has little to do with our habits and more to do with the prescription pad. Changes in blood pressure—both higher…

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