Ranitidine (Zantac) is used to block acid production in the stomach, for indigestion, acid reflux. heartburn, ulcer treatment and treatment of Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.  Ranitidine works by blocking histamine H2 receptors in the gut (similar to Cimetidine).

Side effects from Ranitidine are unusual but can include diarrhoea, dizziness or rashes which usually do not last.  Slight enlargement of the breasts in men has been reported in Ranitidine users but usually stops when treatment ends.

Cimetidine (Tagamet) is used to block acid production in the stomach, for indigestion, acid reflux. heartburn, ulcer treatment and treatment of Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.  Cimetidine works by blocking histamine H2 receptors in the gut (similar to Ranitidine).

Side effects from Cimetidine are unusual but can include diarrhoea, dizziness or rashes which usually do not last.  Slight enlargement of the breasts in men using Cimetidine has been reported but usually stops when treatment ends.

Take care with Warfarin. Warfarin is an oral anticoagulant - in other words Warfarin is a drug taken by mouth used to prevent blood clotting.  It used to be known as a rat poison - give rats a lot of Warfarin and they suffer death from internal bleeding.

So did Donald Dewar, the most senior government figure in Scotland and member of the Labour Cabinet, who die on 11 October 2000, mourned across Briatin.  He suffered a fatal brain haemorrhage following a fall,  after recent surgery to replace an aortic heart valve.  The Warfarin successfully prevented clots on the valve, but the Warfarin also thinned his blood,  probably made the bleed worse and made it even more difficult for surgeons to operate.

Living wills may be damaged by legislation

As a doctor who has specialised in the care of the dying I have often thought about how I would like to be treated when close to death. Should I write down my thoughts now just in case I am too weak to speak one day - and if I did, should my "living will" be legally binding on all who read it ?

The main reason why euthanasia and living wills are so much in the news is because of bad medicine. It is a scandal that people are still dying in terrible pain because of ignorance or obsession with cure at all costs. Many so-called technological advances are simply medicine gone stark raving mad.