Drug & supplement interaction

Berberine + Ketorolac Tromethamine

Ketorolac Tromethamine brand names: Toradol, Acuvail.

No Known Interaction

Medically reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS · Updated July 2026 · Pair last verified Sep 13, 2026

The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Berberine and Ketorolac Tromethamine in our sources. Absence of a documented interaction is not the same as proven safety, and does not guarantee one does not exist. Do not start, stop, or change a medication or supplement based on this page; confirm with your pharmacist or doctor first. Additionally, although there is no interaction, the two are separately associated with some of the same side effects, which would make a new symptom harder to attribute to one or the other.

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Interaction report

Berberine and Ketorolac Tromethamine

We checked these two against our interaction database. Here is what we found.

No Known Interaction Found

We did not find a documented interaction between Ketorolac Tromethamine and Berberine in our sources. This does not guarantee that the combination is completely free of risk — there is often limited research on supplements and herbal products, especially around drug interactions.

If you decide to take both, the practical routine is simple: add one new thing at a time and note the date you started it. If the combination is going to disagree with you, it usually shows in the first days to a couple of weeks — and a start date turns “I’ve been feeling off” into something a pharmacist can actually work with. Do not stop a prescribed medicine on your own.

Always talk with your pharmacist or doctor before making changes to your medications or supplements, particularly if you take several medications or have an ongoing health condition.

Berberine safety at a glance

Berberine overall Use caution Generally tolerated short-term but can cause digestive side effects and interacts with many medicines.

Pregnancy Likely Unsafe When used orally. Berberine is thought to cross the placenta and may cause harm to the fetus. Kernicterus has developed in newborn infants exposed to berberine.... Read the full pregnancy detail

Breastfeeding Likely Unsafe When used orally. Berberine can be transferred to the infant through breast milk. Read the full breastfeeding detail

Pregnancy & breastfeeding ratings are from Natural Medicines (Therapeutic Research Center) — the full detail is in the Special populations card below. Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

Still wondering about combining Ketorolac Tromethamine and Berberine? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›

How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Ketorolac Tromethamine

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Ketorolac Tromethamine is filed under 6 classifications — including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (nsaids), organic anion transporter 3 (oat3) substrates, organic anion transporter 1 (oat1) substrates. Berberine has documented interactions with 15 drug classes — the most serious being cyclosporine (neoral, sandimmune) (major), anticoagulant/antiplatelet drugs (moderate) and antidiabetes drugs (moderate) — and none of Ketorolac Tromethamine’s classifications are among them.

Classification data comes from our licensed Natural Medicines dataset. A medication can belong to classes beyond those recorded there, so this describes how the check was run — it is not a safety guarantee.

Keep it in perspective

Berberine Does Interact With Other Medications

Berberine has 1 major, 1,159 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Ketorolac Tromethamine isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Major 1 Moderate 1,159 No known interaction 1,670 (incl. Ketorolac Tromethamine)

Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Berberine

Covers the 2,830 medications we’ve checked against Berberine. Pick one to open its full report.

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Berberine and Ketorolac Tromethamine May Share Several of the Same Side Effects

This is not an interaction. Neither one changes how your body handles the other, and nothing here says they react together. What our sources do show is that each has separately been linked to the effects below — so taking both can make those effects more likely to turn up, and harder to pin on one or the other if they do. One of them is worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

Heart failure Worth acting on Additional detail
Berberine
“In four of 12 patients with refractory congestive heart failure, intravenous infusion of berberine at a rate of 0.2 mg/kg per minute caused ventricular tachycardia consistent with torsades de pointes.”

Berberine · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in congestive heart failure (chf).
1 source cited

33642. Marin-Neto, J. A., Maciel, B. C., Secches, A. L., and Gallo, Junior L. Cardiovascular effects of berberine in patients with severe congestive heart failure. Clin.Cardiol. 1988;11(4):253-260. PubMed
Ketorolac Tromethamine

Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Ketorolac Tromethamine. Read the label on DailyMed ›
Swelling Additional detail
Berberine
“When administered intravenously, berberine can cause painful swelling at the injection site or facial flushing. In three of 12 people injected subcutaneously with berberine, permanent hyperpigmentation at the injection site occurred.

Orally, berberine may cause rash, but this event appears to be rare.”

Berberine · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in niacin-induced flushing.
4 sources cited

34330. Saksena HC, Tomar VN, and Soangra MR. Efficacy of a new salt of Berberine Uni-Berberine in oriental sore. Current Medical Practice 1970;14:247-252.

33698. Seery TM and Bieter RN. A contribution to the pharmacology of berberine. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 1940;69:64-67. DOI

34285. Meng, S., Wang, L. S., Huang, Z. Q., Zhou, Q., Sun, Y. G., Cao, J. T., Li, Y. G., and Wang, C. Q. Berberine ameliorates inflammation in patients with acute coronary syndrome following percutaneous coronary intervention. Clin Exp.Pharmacol Physiol 2012;39 PubMed

110106. Zhang J, Wang Y, Jiang H, et al. Preventive effect of berberine on postoperative atrial fibrillation. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol 2022;15(10):e011160. PubMed
Ketorolac Tromethamine

Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Ketorolac Tromethamine. Read the label on DailyMed ›
A skin rash Additional detail

Berberine

Recorded for Berberine in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Swelling above.

Ketorolac Tromethamine

Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Ketorolac Tromethamine. Read the label on DailyMed ›

Reported for Berberine but not commonly for Ketorolac Tromethamine: heartburn, an irregular heartbeat, flushing and muscle weakness.

Effects for Ketorolac Tromethamine come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Berberine come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 5,598 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Ketorolac Tromethamine that mention that effect — a reporting proportion, not an incidence rate and not evidence the drug caused it. Wording is matched across sources by our own clinical vocabulary, so treat this as a prompt to pay attention, not a diagnosis.

Special populations

Berberine in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy Likely Unsafe

When used orally. Berberine is thought to cross the placenta and may cause harm to the fetus. Kernicterus has developed in newborn infants exposed to berberine. Also, berberine may stimulate uterine contractions.

Lactation Likely Unsafe

When used orally. Berberine can be transferred to the infant through breast milk.

DISCLAIMER: This tool is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be interpreted as specific medical advice. Patients should consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making decisions about therapies and/or health conditions.© 2026 Therapeutic Research Center

From our Q&A

Questions About Berberine or Ketorolac Tromethamine

These are real questions from readers, answered by the pharmacists at HelloPharmacist — written by a person, not generated from a database. Each one covers Berberine or Ketorolac Tromethamine, not necessarily both, but if one is close to what you were about to ask it will usually go further than a database entry can:

Not quite your question? Ask our pharmacists directly — it is free, there is no account required, and answers usually come back within 24 hours.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Ketorolac Tromethamine

This page covers Berberine only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Ketorolac Tromethamine page lists 35 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Asarabacca (major), Beer (major), Siberian Cocklebur (major) and Wine (major).

By severity: 5 major · 18 moderate · 12 minor.

Open the Ketorolac Tromethamine interaction page

One more smart check

Taking Berberine as Part of a Dietary Supplement Product? Check It for Interactions

We hold 908 real supplement products containing Berberine, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Berberine. Even though Berberine itself has no known interaction with Ketorolac Tromethamine, another ingredient on your label might. Find your product and we’ll check every ingredient on its label:

How much people look this up

Where Berberine and Ketorolac Tromethamine Sit Against Everything Else

Out of every supplement and medication people look up on HelloPharmacist, here is where these two land this week — and which way each has been moving.

Supplement Berberine

Top 10%

#113 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today

Medication Ketorolac Tromethamine

Top 25%

#424 of 2,830 medications looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today

Position among everything looked up on this site, not a measure of how commonly either one is used or how important it is. A supplement can climb this list because of a news story. It counts every request to the page, automated ones included, and nothing here identifies anyone.

Where does our data come from?

Source: the Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) clinical database — the evidence-graded professional reference for herb & supplement interactions.
Citation library: 103,510 references behind our interaction content, 65,311 of them resolved to verified PubMed/DOI sources. See every Berberine reference on this page ↓
Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 13, 2026. The Berberine and Ketorolac Tromethamine records this page draws on were last updated July 11, 2026.
What “no known interaction” means: no documented interaction in the sources above — not a guarantee of safety. Supplements are studied far less than prescription drugs, so we say exactly what the evidence supports, and nothing more.

Data structure & sourcing designed and verified by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS.

Supplement

About Berberine

What is Berberine?

Blood sugar control
High cholesterol
Heart and metabolic health
Digestive upset
Antimicrobial support
Weight management

Berberine is a yellow plant compound that has shown promise for lowering blood sugar and cholesterol in some studies, but the quality of research varies and it is not a replacement for prescribed medicine. It can cause stomach upset and should be avoided during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Always check with your pharmacist or doctor before starting it, especially if you take other medications.

Roots, bark, and stems of berberine-containing plants (such as goldenseal, barberry, goldthread, and Oregon grape) · Capsules, tablets, powders, and tinctures

An interaction check asks whether these two react with each other — it does not ask whether Berberine is a good idea for someone in your situation. Here is what our Berberine record says about it on its own.

Berberine: dosing

There is no official, standardized dose of berberine, and the right amount can depend on the product and the reason it is being used. They can help you decide whether berberine is appropriate for you and review it against your other medicines and health conditions.

From our Berberine monograph — the full record covers uses, side effects and every documented interaction.

Read the full Berberine monograph & all interactions

Medication

About Ketorolac

What Is Ketorolac Used For?

Brand names: Toradol, Acuvail

Ketorolac is used for short-term management of moderately severe acute pain — the kind that would otherwise require an opioid-level painkiller. It is most commonly used in a postoperative (after surgery) setting.

Treatment is always started with an injection (IV or IM), and oral tablets are only used as a follow-up if needed. The total treatment time — shots plus pills combined — must never exceed 5 days. It is not meant for minor aches or long-term pain conditions.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Ketorolac Tromethamine

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (5,598 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Drug hypersensitivity 329 reports

Nausea 295 reports

Headache 284 reports

Fatigue 254 reports

Dyspnea 245 reports

See full Ketorolac drug information

Keep checking

Other Drugs & Berberine

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against Berberine — both the ones with a known interaction and the ones without. Select any drug for the full detail.

1Major

1,159Moderate

0Minor

1,669No known interaction

1 Major 1,159 Moderate 1,669 No interaction

Major

1 interaction

Cyclosporine ›

Moderate

1,159 interactions

Showing 60 of 1,159 moderate interactions — see all 1,159 on the Berberine page.

No interaction 1,669 drugs checked — show the list

We also checked Berberine against these medications and found no known interaction in our sources. Open any page to confirm.

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 1,669 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Berberine list.

See the full Berberine interactions page

See every supplement checked against Ketorolac Tromethamine, ranked by severity

Evidence & sources

Berberine References

The 41 references that drive our Berberine monograph and interaction data, from the evidence-graded Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) database. Citations with a link open the study on PubMed or the publisher’s site.

Chan E. Displacement of bilirubin from albumin by berberine. Biol Neonate 1993;63:201-8. PubMed
Janbaz KH, Gilani AH. Studies on preventive and curative effects of berberine on chemical-induced hepatotoxicity in rodents. Fitoterapia 2000;71:25-33.. PubMed
Wu X, Li Q, Xin H, Yu A, Zhong M. Effects of berberine on the blood concentration of cyclosporin A in renal transplanted recipients: clinical and pharmacokinetic study. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 2005;61:567-72. PubMed
Zhang Y, Li X, Zou D, et al. Treatment of type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia with the natural plant alkaloid berberine. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2008;93:2559-65. PubMed
Huang XS, Yang GF, Pan YC. Effect of berberin hydrochloride on blood concentration of cyclosporine A in cardiac transplanted patients. Zhongguo Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi 2008;28:702-4.
Budzinski JW, Foster BC, Vandenhoek S, Arnason JT. An in vitro evaluation of human cytochrome P450 3A4 inhibition by selected commercial herbal extracts and tinctures. Phytomedicine 2000;7:273-82. PubMed
Chatterjee P, Franklin MR. Human cytochrome p450 inhibition and metabolic-intermediate complex formation by goldenseal extract and its methylenedioxyphenyl components. Drug Metab Dispos 2003;31:1391-7. PubMed
Marin-Neto, J. A., Maciel, B. C., Secches, A. L., and Gallo, Junior L. Cardiovascular effects of berberine in patients with severe congestive heart failure. Clin.Cardiol. 1988;11(4):253-260. PubMed
Choudhry, V. P., Sabir, M., and Bhide, V. N. Berberine in giardiasis. Indian Pediatr. 1972;9(3):143-146.
Shanbhag, S. M., Kulkarni, H. J., and Gaitonde, B. B. Pharmacological actions of berberine on the central nervous system. Jpn.J Pharmacol 1970;20(4):482-487. PubMed
Wu, J. F. and Liu, T. P. [Effects of berberine on platelet aggregation and plasma levels of TXB2 and 6-keto-PGF1 alpha in rats with reversible middle cerebral artery occlusion]. Yao Xue.Xue.Bao. 1995;30(2):98-102.
Peng, W. H., Hsieh, M. T., and Wu, C. R. Effect of long-term administration of berberine on scopolamine-induced amnesia in rats. Jpn J Pharmacol 1997;74(3):261-266. DOI
Sharda DC. Berberine in the treatment of diarrhoea of infancy and childhood. J Indian M A 1970;54(1):22-24.
Sabir M and Bhide NK. Study of some pharmacological actions of berberine. Ind J Physiol & Pharmac 1971;15(3):111-132.
Tripathi YB and Shukla SD. Berberis artistata inhibits PAF induced aggregation of rabbit platelets. Phytotherapy Research 1996;10:628-630.
Seery TM and Bieter RN. A contribution to the pharmacology of berberine. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 1940;69:64-67. DOI
Xin, H. W., Wu, X. C., Li, Q., Yu, A. R., Zhong, M. Y., and Liu, Y. Y. The effects of berberine on the pharmacokinetics of cyclosporin A in healthy volunteers. Methods Find.Exp.Clin Pharmacol 2006;28(1):25-29.
Zhang, Y., Li, X., Zou, D., Liu, W., Yang, J., Zhu, N., Huo, L., Wang, M., Hong, J., Wu, P., Ren, G., and Ning, G. Treatment of type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia with the natural plant alkaloid berberine. J Clin Endocrinol.Metab 2008;93(7):2559-2565. PubMed
Yin, J., Xing, H., and Ye, J. Efficacy of berberine in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Metabolism 2008;57(5):712-717. PubMed
Zhang, H., Wei, J., Xue, R., Wu, J. D., Zhao, W., Wang, Z. Z., Wang, S. K., Zhou, Z. X., Song, D. Q., Wang, Y. M., Pan, H. N., Kong, W. J., and Jiang, J. D. Berberine lowers blood glucose in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients through increasing insulin re
Guo, Y., Chen, Y., Tan, Z. R., Klaassen, C. D., and Zhou, H. H. Repeated administration of berberine inhibits cytochromes P450 in humans. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 2012;68(2):213-217. PubMed
Wei, W., Zhao, H., Wang, A., Sui, M., Liang, K., Deng, H., Ma, Y., Zhang, Y., Zhang, H., and Guan, Y. A clinical study on the short-term effect of berberine in comparison to metformin on the metabolic characteristics of women with polycystic ovary syndro
Marazzi, G., Cacciotti, L., Pelliccia, F., Iaia, L., Volterrani, M., Caminiti, G., Sposato, B., Massaro, R., Grieco, F., and Rosano, G. Long-term effects of nutraceuticals (berberine, red yeast rice, policosanol) in elderly hypercholesterolemic patients. PubMed
Meng, S., Wang, L. S., Huang, Z. Q., Zhou, Q., Sun, Y. G., Cao, J. T., Li, Y. G., and Wang, C. Q. Berberine ameliorates inflammation in patients with acute coronary syndrome following percutaneous coronary intervention. Clin Exp.Pharmacol Physiol 2012;39 PubMed
Hermann, R. and von, Richter O. Clinical evidence of herbal drugs as perpetrators of pharmacokinetic drug interactions. Planta Med 2012;78(13):1458-1477. PubMed
Chun YT, Yip TT, Lau KL, and et al. A biochemical study on the hypotensive effect of berberine in rats. Gen Pharmac 1979;10:177-182. PubMed
Saksena HC, Tomar VN, and Soangra MR. Efficacy of a new salt of Berberine Uni-Berberine in oriental sore. Current Medical Practice 1970;14:247-252.
Abascal K, Yarnell E. Recent clinical advances with berberine. Altern Complement Ther 2010;16(5):281-7. DOI
Dong H, Zhao Y, Zhao L, Lu F. The effects of berberine on blood lipids: a systemic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Planta Med 2013;79(6):437-46. PubMed
Hou Q, Han W, Fu X. Pharmacokinetic interaction between tacrolimus and berberine in a child with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 2013;69(10):1861-2. PubMed
Lan J, Zhao Y, Dong F, et al. Meta-analysis of the effect and safety of berberine in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus, hyperlipemia and hypertension. J Ethnopharmacol. 2015;161:69-81. PubMed
Li G, Zhao M, Qiu F, Sun Y, Zhao L. Pharmacokinetic interactions and tolerability of berberine chloride with simvastatin and fenofibrate: an open-label, randomized, parallel study in healthy Chinese subjects. Drug Des Devel Ther. 2018;13:129-139. PubMed
Ju J, Li J, Lin Q, Xu H. Efficacy and safety of berberine for dyslipidaemias: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Phytomedicine. 2018;50:25-34. PubMed
Xu L, Zhang Y, Xue X, et al. A phase I trial of berberine in Chinese with ulcerative colitis. Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2020;13(1):117-26. PubMed
Lyu Y, Zhang Y, Yang M, et al. Pharmacokinetic interactions between metformin and berberine in rats: Role of oral administration sequences and microbiota. Life Sci. 2019;235:116818. PubMed
Chen YX, Gao QY, Zou TH, et al. Berberine versus placebo for the prevention of recurrence of colorectal adenoma: a multicentre, double-blinded, randomised controlled study. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020;5(3):267-75. PubMed
Zhang J, Wang Y, Jiang H, et al. Preventive effect of berberine on postoperative atrial fibrillation. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol 2022;15(10):e011160. PubMed
Blais JE, Huang X, Zhao JV. Overall and Sex-Specific Effect of Berberine for the Treatment of Dyslipidemia in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trials. Drugs 2023;83(5):403-427. PubMed
Panigrahi A, Mohanty S. Efficacy and safety of HIMABERB® Berberine on glycemic control in patients with prediabetes: double-blind, placebo-controlled, and randomized pilot trial. BMC Endocr Disord 2023;23(1):190. PubMed
Nie Q, Li M, Huang C, et al. The clinical efficacy and safety of berberine in the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a meta-analysis and systematic review. J Transl Med 2024;22(1):225. PubMed
Koperska A, Moszak M, Seraszek-Jaros A, Bogdanski P, Szulinska M. Does berberine impact anthropometric, hepatic, and metabolic parameters in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease? Randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled tr

Medication overviews come from MedlinePlus (NIH); supplement label data from the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database. Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists — see our data sources and editorial standards.

Related: nutrient depletion

Ketorolac Tromethamine Is Linked to Lower Levels of One Nutrient

Natural Medicines records Ketorolac Tromethamine as a medicine that can lower these. This is not an interaction with Berberine — it is a separate effect of the medicine, and it is a reason some people are advised to supplement rather than to avoid one:

FOLIC ACID›

Read the full Ketorolac Tromethamine nutrient depletion report ›

Depletion records come from the licensed Natural Medicines database. Do not start a supplement on the strength of this page — ask your pharmacist or doctor whether it applies to you.

Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Berberine and Ketorolac Tromethamine Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Berberine with Ketorolac Tromethamine?

We do not list a known interaction between Berberine and Ketorolac Tromethamine. That does not guarantee the combination is risk-free, so confirm with your pharmacist or doctor — especially if you take other medications or have a health condition.

Do Berberine and Ketorolac Tromethamine have any of the same side effects?

Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 3 of the same effects. That is not an interaction: neither changes how your body handles the other. It does mean that if one of those effects turns up, it can be harder to tell which one is behind it. They are listed on this page with the source behind each.

How was the Berberine and Ketorolac Tromethamine combination checked?

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Ketorolac Tromethamine is filed under 6 classifications, and Berberine has documented interactions with 15 drug classes — none of Ketorolac Tromethamine's classifications are among them. A medication can belong to classes beyond those recorded in our dataset, so this describes how the check was run rather than guaranteeing safety.

Does Berberine interact with any other medications?

Yes. Berberine has 1,160 documented drug interactions in our database — Ketorolac Tromethamine is simply not one of them. If you take anything else, it is worth checking each one; they are all listed on this page.

Does Ketorolac Tromethamine interact with any supplements?

Yes. Ketorolac Tromethamine has documented interactions with 35 supplements in our database — Berberine is not one of them. The Ketorolac Tromethamine interaction page linked on this page lists every one, ranked by severity.

Written and reviewed by the HelloPharmacist editorial staff. Our editorial policy

Where next

Keep Exploring

Berberine monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Ketorolac drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Ketorolac Tromethamine supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Ketorolac Tromethamine, ranked by severity Supplement interaction checker Check any supplement or product against your medications Browse medications A–Z Every drug we’ve checked against herbs & supplements References The 41 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Ketorolac Tromethamine and Berberine?

Our pharmacists answer your medication & supplement questions — free.

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This information is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always check with your pharmacist or doctor before starting, stopping, or combining supplements and medications.