Most common Drug Interactions

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Aspirin. This common, over-the-counter pain reliever also thins the blood. Aspirin may cause internal bleeding if combined with a prescription blood thinner such as warfarin (Coumadin). It can also decrease the effectiveness of some gout medications and increase the strength of certain diabetes drugs.
Antibiotics. Some forms of these infection-fighting drugs can lose their power if combined with antacids or other products containing calcium. In addition, certain antibiotics can hamper the effectiveness birth control pills and greatly increase the effects of warfarin. Probenecid , a drug used to treat gout, can increase blood levels of several different types of antibiotics. In some cases, doctors may even use this interaction to their advantage: For extra punch against germs, doctors sometimes prescribe this drug along with antibiotics.
Antidepressants. Newer antidepressants known as SSRIs, such as fluoxetine and paroxetine, shouldn't be mixed with older mood-lifters known as MAOIs (such as phenelzine). This combination can send blood pressure soaring. Fluoxetine and similar drugs can also clash with St. John's wort and migraine drugs known as triptans. Potential side effects of such combinations include confusion, fever, high blood pressure, and tremors. Another class of antidepressants called tricyclics (such as Elavil), can also clash with MAOIs, causing confusing dizziness, seizures, and even coma.
Bronchodilators. The popular drug albuterol can cause dangerous spikes in blood pressure if combined with MAOIs or tricyclic antidepressants such as nortriptyline. If albuterol is combined with a beta blocker (used to treat blood pressure), neither drug will work as well as it should.
Diabetes medications. Many drugs can block the effectiveness of glipizide (Glucotrol) and glyburide (Diabeta, Glynase, Micronase). Potential culprits include corticosteroids, hormones, diuretics, and antipsychotics. Several other drugs make the effects of glipizide and glyburide stronger, including blood thinners, insulin, MAOIs, aspirin, and the gout medicine probenecid.
Heart medications. The common heart drug digoxin can lose effectiveness if combined with antacids. On the other hand, its effects can be amplified by several other drugs, including diazepam (Valium) and antiarrhythmia medications. Heart drugs known as nitrates can trigger dangerously low blood pressure if taken with the erectile dysfunction drug sildenafil (Viagra). The combination of the blood pressure medication atenolol (Tenoretic, Tenormin) and reserpine (Serpalan, Serpasil-- another blood pressure medication sometimes prescribed to calm severe agitation) can cause a slow heartbeat and lower than normal blood pressure.

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