Chemical compositions of various medications

[alivenwell]

Ever wonder what's in that medication that you take? Like, how much sodium is in it relative to the maximum daily intake as documented by the FDA?

I've come across some documentation on one of my drugs under Wikipedia. I'm thinking it might be interesting to start a thread on how much sodium is in one pill or 1mg of a drug (we can multiply that number by the total mgs in a tablet).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysoline

C12H14N2O2 is the chemical breakdown of Primidone.

Obviously there's some sodium in this stuff. How much for example would be in a 100mg pill?

I wish I had a stronger background in chemistry to figure out this information.

I looked at 3 different food products and found at least 3 different figures for the % daily intake. How do they determine this?

[Bernard]

I'm guessing you'll find quite a bit in Depakote/Epilim (sodium valproate).

Interesting question. I guess sodium levels might be different depending upon formulations/fillers. I wouldn't think they would be substancial doses or someone (FDA?) would have made an issue of it.

[RobinN]

I know they had to take a certain mg of Gabapentin off the market since it had a filler in it that it wasn't suppose to have. Made in India I believe.

[BuckeyeFan]

C12H14N2O2 is the chemical breakdown of Primidone.

Good question. I am taking 2000 mg of Keppra per day plus 500/600 of Phenytek. The Phenytek (Dilantin) is actually Phenytoin Sodium. I never thought about it in that way.

Plus, I am sure Bernard has a good point on the fillers.

The chemical breakdown above for the Primidone does not have any sodium if I am reading it right. It does look like it "might" be on the acidic side.

C = carbon
H = hydrogen
N = nitrogen
O = oxygen

That doesn't mean it doesn't have sodium as a filler or delivery mechanism.

Interesting, just how many mg am I taking each day?

[skillefer]

I was prescribed pseudovent (?) for congestion. I also developed ringing in the ears. When I actually stopped to read what was in the pseudovent (?) I found that one of the 2 drugs in it can cause ringing in the ears.....*sigh* So I quit taking it last night. I switched back over to Sudafed. At least I know for certain that it's not an ototoxin.

[Zoe]

Anticonvulsants also can interfere with metabolism of numerous nutrients. This, in turn, may lower the seizure threshold. A google search on any vitamin, mineral, or amino acid and anticonvulsants is a good place to start. The link below gives information on nutrients depleted by the use of anticonvulsants.
Zoe
http://www.healingwithnutrition.com/...epsydrugs.html

[RobinN]

Hi Zoe!
Welcome Home!!!

[Zoe]

Hi Robin! Nice to see you are still here. I hope Rebecca is still improving with the neurofeedback.

[hawke86]

alivenwell,
Interesting topic. I don't even know what's in all my medicine.

[alivenwell]

alivenwell,
Interesting topic. I don't even know what's in all my medicine.

Well, this just got my curiosity going and I asked a nutritionist. Here's what I was told:

The % daily value of sodium in any food is based upon a 2000 calorie diet. That's stuff they put on food packages in REALLY TINY print. The amount of sodium for a 2000 calorie diet should be less than 2,400 mg. Since we're not taking pure salt (yuck!), we'd have to find out how much sodium would be in one pill, multiply that by the number of pills (obviously excluding fillers), and we'd be able to see whether we exceed 2400 mg.

I just had to ask. I realized after putting that chemical formula for mysoline (primidone), that Na is sodium, not N (whoops!). We ought to find out how much we're taking to see if we're exceeding an upper limit. I'm wondering if the sodium is helping our system retain fluid, and consequently, extending the life of the medication in our system. Just a theory.