Welcoming Hadi our Pharmacist Consultant

Hadi Charbine has over 10 years experience as a pharmacist with qualifications which include:

• Bachelor of Medical Science UNSW

• Masters in Pharmacy UON

Hadi's goals are to maximise the level of patient care and to promote the proper use of prescription, complementary and alternative medicines in a consulting setting. He is passionate about providing patient-focused services in order to improve health outcomes for patients.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do I need to stay on these medications forever? I.E.Cholesterol - Blood Pressure- Reflux medications?

There are a number of factors which contribute to having a medical condition such as those mentioned above. One of these is lifestyle factors which we can fully control and change in order to be less reliant on these medications. For some people changing diet and exercise habits is enough to reduce and sometimes remove use of these medicines, but we must also understand that there are hereditary factors contributing to these conditions which are out of our control. Having a history of high blood pressure in your family means you are more likely to experience it regardless of how you live your life and as such, the answer to this question is different for each patient. It is only through analysis of a complete family and medical history that we can determine what is a suitable recommendation for each individual.

2. If I take my cholesterol medication second daily will this still have the same effect?

It is recommended that we take our cholesterol medicine on a daily basis. A patient will be put onto such a medicine in order to reduce the risk of stroke, heart attacks, or other related blood vessel conditions. On the odd occasion missing a dose will not likely cause any harm to the individual, but taking it on alternate days is effectively reducing the dose by half and consequently increasing the chance of the aforementioned conditions. This should never be done without first consulting your doctor.

3. What supplements can I take to assist with my heart condition?

Coenzyme Q10 is a supplement which assists in many functions in the body, one of which is to improve heart health and is shown to be at lower levels in people with a heart condition.
Omega 3 Fatty Acids also help with heart health and reduce incidence of cardiovascular disease. One of the ways they do this is by reducing triglyceride levels and increasing “good cholesterol” levels.

4. How will we know if the medication or diet is more effective?

A healthy diet and lifestyle is always promoted first in patients who have any sort of health condition. It should only be when this approach fails to achieve any significant results that the individual then turns to medicine in order to treat whatever condition they have. Unfortunately though, too many people neglect the lifestyle changes they need to make and end up on a series of medicines instead which they don’t fully understand. In cases such as this, it is near impossible to tell which is the more effective for the condition. Both can be successful treatments, but they must be used correctly in order to achieve the best result.

5. Is there a problem with taking all my medication at once?

Some medicines can interact with each other and should be used separately. When this happens, we don’t get the full effectiveness from the medicines we are using. This can lead to increasing dosage regimens and sometimes, more medication being prescribed. Furthermore, some medicines should be used at different times of the day in order to work at their best, for example, some cholesterol medications are best taken at night before bed, and others can be taken at anytime. Every medicine is different and needs to be used correctly for us to obtain the full benefit of it’s use.

Hadi will be consulting on Fridays at Nutrition Solutions Sydney.

To enquire about booking a consultation please call us on 0408 957 957.