Definition: Side effects are unwanted reactions to medications. Depending on the medication, some typical side effects include muscle pain, nausea, dizziness, and sexual dysfunction. These effects can happen when you start a new medication, decrease or increase the dose of a medication, or when you stop using a medication.
Also Known As: adverse reaction, adverse drug reaction
Examples: A side effect of some statin drugs (such as Lipitor, used to treat high cholesterol) is muscle pain.
A side effect of some antidepressant medication (such as Zoloft, used to treat depression) is erectile dysfunction.
A side effect of some oral medications, such as Glucotrol (glipizide)and Diabeta (glyburide), used to treat type 2 diabetes is weight gain.
