Learning

[Tralfamadorian]

Anyone on here have any recommendations for entry-level pharmacology books. I'm down to read a textbook if that's what it comes down to. I read a decent amount of them but just not on anything related to this topic.
I know a little bit about pharmacology, but only from the perspective of a drug user who is fairly interested in what I'm doing/trying not to kill myself.
And I know next to nothing about chemistry beyond high school level.
Thanks.

 

[MedicinalUser247]

One good book I found to read was called " CLINICAL GUIDE TO PSYCHOTROPIC MEDICATIONS " by " STEVEN L. DUBOVSKY M.D. " it's a really good book to read you and should check it out.

 

[MedicinalUser247]

https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/clini...430e4b0cad83e36d#idiq=5857978&edition=3364200

 

[Rectify]

I Don't Know If It Is Still Available, But There Used To Be This Book Called The Physician's Desk Reference That Was Colloquially Referred To As "The Junkie's Bible." It Is Where I Started Memorizing Many Chemical Drug Structures Years Ago.

 

[Skorpio]

Goodman and Gilman “The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics” is a classic for a reason. I think it’s on the 13th edition.

And while not pharmacology specifically, Alberts “Molecular Biology of the Cell” was my favorite textbook. Very well written and has deep explanations of the intracellular aspects of things.

Both of these books do start with basic concepts, and I’ve had a non-scientist friend read Alberts for fun and he picked up on it.

I guess one question I have for you is “what do you want out of this text?” Do you want to read it thoroughly for a broad understanding of the field, do you want a reference guide, or something else?

 

[Tralfamadorian]

I'm hoping for something to read to get a general understanding of the field, although there is probably a world where I would find a reference book interesting/useful so I still would like to know about them.

 

[Skorpio]

I'm hoping for something to read to get a general understanding of the field, although there is probably a world where I would find a reference book interesting/useful so I still would like to know about them.

Ok, then I’d definitely recommend Goodman and Gilman.

Depending on what you are interested in, a used copy would be a good investment (newer copies will have more on the immunotherapy side of things and other recent developments). If you are looking for this to learn about CNS drugs (I am assuming this because you are asking here on bluelight), not too many paradigm shifts have been made.

Also it wouldn’t hurt to bone up on a little organic chemistry (not necessarily synthesis bits but concepts that describe chemical and electrical properties of molecules) as that stuff shows up in pharmacology when talking about how drugs do what they do at a molecular level.