Is it possible something natural, like Mona Vie, can contradict a prescribed medicine?

Question

Okay...my mother is taking the infamous Mona Vie (sp?), because my half sister claims it will cure her of all her ills (because it did just that for her neck pain, apparently.) So my mom has been taking about 3 "shot glass" servings (it comes out to the appropriate ounces) one to two times a day, as my sister told her. And while my mom claims it is helping with the numbness in her foot, she is also claiming that it is counteracting the affect of her pain medications for her back pain - a generic version of Tramadol.

Now, my mom is pretty good at coming to dramatic conclusions about something or other, but I can't feel her pain, or know if her pain has increased over the few weeks she has been taking Mona Vie, so I'm not about to jump to the conclusion that it's all in her head. I would like to know if anyone has heard or knows that a natural juice product, such as Mona Vie, has the ability to dull the effects of certain pain medications? Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

I am a distributor. I am also a pharmacist. I warn people taking Rx meds that they may experience a decreased need for certain medications. We have seen diabetics who had to reduce their insulin or other hypoglycemic meds, and people with high blood pressure who had to reduce their anti- hypertensive medicine. I do not know how it does this. It does seem to improve the general state of health in most people who take it. I have seen a lot of painful conditions that benefit from taking the juice. I don't know how it does this either. But it does seem to help a lot of people for whom other things have not helped.Other than the expense there does not seem to be much down side to it.

Answer 2

I used to drink it as well and although I don't know how it interacts with prescription medication, this is what I found out...

Unfortunately, we do see a number of negatives with the Monavie juices...

The proprietary formula means that customers have no way of knowing how much Acai is in each serving.

Monavie does not state that they purchase their Acai from Sambazon (click here to read our article on why Sambazon Acai is the best).

Monavie does not use 100% freeze dried Acai - they use a blend of acai puree and freeze dried Acai.

Distributors of Monavie have made unsupported health claims for Mona Vie on various websites.

We can not find any documentation proving the Acai in Monavie is Fair Trade.

We feel Independent Distributors of Monavie can abuse the MLM system and try to recruit endless representatives.

At $180 a month, the Monavie is beyond most people's budget.

I was pressured by the distributor I was buying it from which is another negative associated with the juice for me. I hope this helps.

Answer 3

Cici, there is always a possibility that a juice can interfere with meds, and it always a possibility it can be in a persons head.  It can also be a possibility that your Mom is having a flare up and her pain is just happens to be stronger now.  So the only way to know for sure is to stop taking it and see how she feels for a week ...then start it again and see how she feels and then you will just have to go with the results..there is not much else you can do.

In my opinion the juice is good as an antioxidant, but certainly not a cure-all.   A simple fruit can't do everything they say it does.  If it did major companies would be marketing the heck out of it.  And they aren't.

Answer 4

there is a mistaken notion that because a remedy is"natural"meaning it grows somewhere, that is perfectly safe and harmless. Nothing could be further from the truth.  Think digitalis and the plant it comes from.  Same with deadly nightshade.   All things taken internally have a action and reaction.  Sometimes the reaction doesn't mix well with something else being taken at the same time.  What she is drinking might be causing her pain meds to not be absorbed as they should be.  Regular drugs from the pharmacy have the same problem.  You can't take certain antibiotics with certain stomach medicine because the antibiotics won't work then.  it makes sense that some of what your mom is taking is causing the other to not work.