- This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Bring us a list of everything you take
Herbs can affect how a medicine works, and a medicine can affect how an herb works. The most useful thing you can do is bring us a list of everything you take, and show your prescriber your formula.
What goes on the list
- Prescription medicines, with the dose if you know it.
- Over-the-counter medicines, including pain relievers and sleep aids.
- Vitamins, minerals and other supplements.
- Teas, tonics and herbs from anywhere else, including another practice.
- Alcohol and anything else you take most days.
Bring the bottles if that is easier. We keep your list with your records and look at it again at every visit.
Tell us first
Say these before you take a formula
You are pregnant, trying or nursing
We avoid some herbs and explain the others. Tell your own doctor too.
You have a surgery or a procedure coming
Tell us and your surgeon. We may pause a formula beforehand.
You take a blood thinner
Some herbs change how blood clots. Your prescriber should know about every herb.
You take a heart, sugar or blood-pressure medicine
These are worth a second look with an herb. Ask your prescriber.
You have a liver or kidney condition
Some herbs are cleared by the liver or kidneys, so we plan around them.
You are giving a formula to a child
Children need their own formula and amount. Do not share yours.
When to call us, and when to see a doctor
Call us the same day for an upset stomach, a rash, a headache or anything that is new since you began a formula. We will change or pause it.
Go to emergency care or call 911 for swelling of the face or lips, trouble breathing, fainting, chest pain, or a rash that spreads fast.
Store herbs away from children and pets, and do not take a formula that has been in a damp place or smells wrong.
Is an herb safe because it is natural?
Not on its own. Many herbs are strong, and a few can harm the liver or react with a medicine. That is why we ask for your list and write each formula for you.
Do I have to stop my medicine?
No. Keep taking what your prescriber gave you, and tell them about every herb. Bring us a list of everything you take.
Can I take herbs from another practice with ours?
Show us the label first. Two formulas can overlap, and we check them together.
What does the label say?
Every herb in the bag, the amounts, how to take it and how long. Show it to your pharmacist.
First visit
Come in for a first visit
Tell us how to reach you and when you are free. Michael at the front desk calls back to find a time.