Does anyone else have the issue where many drugs have adverse effects on you?

I'm not talking illegal drugs. I have taken sleep aids and become overly energetic, muscle relaxers and it made the pain more intense, antidepressants and it depressed me when I was in a good mood priorly. Even when it comes to alcohol, it gives me energy and puts me in a fantastic mood and doesn't give me hangovers even when I drink a lot, just have a slight buzz for the entire following day. I'm not sure if this is a condition, or just some genetic thing. I know only one other person like this.

It's called a "paradoxical reaction." It's pretty rare, and I don't know that I've heard of anyone who has opposite reactions to all kinds of meds.

Make sure your physician knows about your reaction -- it may make an important difference in the future (for instance, if you ever get high blood pressure, and experience a paradoxical reaction to a med intended to lower you BP, that would be a Bad Thing).

about 10% of people of northern european decent have a gene expression that causes them to not produce something called cytochrome P450. This causes drugs to have all sorts of strange effects. It is a well enough established phenomena that the first few pages of the Physicians Desk Reference list the drugs metabolized by cytochrome P450.

Google it - you'll be wow-ed.

I know 2 people like that.

My Mom (died 2 years ago at 80) lived most of her life where she could not even take an aspirin. But the last 4 years of her life, the doctors had her on 35 prescriptions. She was loony as a bird.

I am now 54 and only take a prescription due to thyroid surgery. When I was in my 20's I used to go out drinking and never had a hangover. Now married (and on the wagon for) 20+ years, cannot have a drink without having a buzz and should not drive.

If I have to taken a prescription for a cold, I have to be careful or my nose starts bleeding.

It reminds me of a story about President George Washington. His attending Doctor wrote that George had died even though the Doctor had drained several pints of "bad blood" from him. Which was the latest medical method to cleanse the body. If the Doctor had left George alone, he might have, lived longer.

To me, these days Doctors prescribe a lot of medication for a quick fix, but in another 20-30 years, I think it will be realized that this can sometimes cause more harm.