February 8, 2012

How to Handle Side Effects

Medical physics involves using knowledge of medicine to alter the way one’s body works. There are no prescription medications without some side effects. The issue for patients is how to handle those side effects. Some side effects, such as muscle weakness, require that patients stop taking medications because they can be harmful. Other side effects, like dry mouth or nausea, are more annoyances than anything. If you are going to continue with the medicine despite these side effects, then you will need to learn how to manage them.

First try to chart when you take your prescription medication and how you felt to see if you notice any patterns. Perhaps you do better take certain medications before bed, or you may find that you need to have a full stomach to avoid nausea. Medical physics is different for every person, so make sure you know what works best with your body.

The second thing you need to do is find out if there is a way to deal with the side effects easily. For example, if you have problems with your medication making you feel sleep, try eating protein-heavy lunches to help out. You could begin keeping bottled water with you if you get dry mouth. Eat crackers if you have problems with nausea immediately after taking your medication. Having a solid plan to get around these side effects is the best way that you can help yourself move beyond them.

Finally you will want to record your side effects so that you know if the frequency or pattern changes. If so, you will need to contact your doctor immediately. Your doctor will need to determine if the change means that you need to switch medications or dosages or if your body is simply adjusting to the medicine after a long period of time.

Filed Under: General Health Tagged With: , ,

Beware Overseas and Offshore Pharmacies

see filename
Image via Wikipedia

I had never thought about the dangers of ordering drugs online until recently when a friend of mine purchased a bottle of blood pressure medication from an overseas pharmacy. She doesn’t have insurance, so she thought that she could save some money by purchasing the drugs from an offshore pharmacy that got them cheaply from countries like Canada and England. It turns out that this is a bad idea.

My friend spent about $200 on her medication, which is about half of what it was going to cost her here in the States. That’s a great deal, right? Well, it would have been had she ever received the drugs. Instead, all she got was the nightmare of credit card fraud. Not only did the company charge her for the pills that she never got, but they also used her account to make a bunch of random purchases. She says that they bought TapouT T-shirts, books, exercise DVDs and even some kind of colon cleanse drink.

Credit card fraud is a big problem, but the more that I thought about it, the more convinced I became that she had evaded an even bigger problem.

Although my friend had a prescription for her drugs, the offshore pharmacy did not require one. They said that they had a doctor on staff who would write her a prescription, making everything legal. What kind of doctor would write a prescription for blood pressure medication without ever consulting the patient? Probably the same kind that would send you expired drugs or perhaps the wrong medication altogether.

There probably never was a doctor. Still, the possibility that she could have taken dangerous drugs is very scary. She learned her lesson and I’ve learned mine too. Only buy drugs from a pharmacy that you can trust. You never know what you’ll get otherwise.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Medical Care Technology Tagged With: , , ,

5 Reasons Teens Abuse Prescription Drugs

Teen drug abuse is on the rise, but it’s not necessarily a rise in street drugs that’s the main problem. Teens are digging into the medicine cabinet and finding prescription medication that belongs to aunts, uncles, grandparents and even parents. Some teens even swap drugs with each other to experience a high that’s a surprise, because they don’t know what medication they’re taking.

1.    They seem like a safe alternative to street drugs. Because they’re regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, many teens thinks it’s safer to take prescription medication than it is to take street drugs. However, prescription drugs can have serious side effects, including damage to the heart, kidneys, liver. When pills, such as Oxycontin, are crushed to boost the high, it can cause a lethal overdose.
2.    They want to fit in. A teenager can swipe one or two pills from the medicine cabinet and it will probably go unnoticed. If swapping or giving away medicine will make the teenager think he or she will become more popular, they may be willing to take the chance.
3.    They want to experience the feeling of getting high. The same reasons that someone would use street drugs cross over for prescription medication. Teenagers may feel anxious, depressed, emotionally distraught or socially lost, which can create a desire to “check out” for periods of time.
4.    They want to earn money. Stolen prescription pills can be sold to their peers for cold hard cash. Some teens need the money for necessities and others want the money for luxuries, but money is definitely a factor.
5.    They think it’s the cool thing to do. When a celebrity is discovered under the influence or having overdosed on a substance, teenagers many times believe the celebrity was taking the drug because it’s a cool trend. Many teenagers like to emulate celebrities, so they use the same drug of choice as their favorite star.

Filed Under: Medical Care Research Tagged With: , , ,

Don’t Believe Drug Advertising

A medical student checking blood pressure usin...
Image via Wikipedia

Advertising is a powerful tool. It makes us crazy for cars, clothes, vacations, homes, and food. Companies spend millions of dollars on making sure the consumer is enticed by their product. The pharmaceutical industry is no different than the big name food chain. They spend a lot of money to get you to take your existing medication and replace it with the new flashy medication. Certainly you do not want to be hasty in your decision to go with a medication or not but what you do want to do is to make sure that you think about everything before you waltz into your doctor’s office and demand that he give you the new medication.

You have to keep in mind that if something isn’t broke then there is no reason to fix it. If your doctor puts you on a heart medication and it seems to be working there is a danger in taking you off that heart medication and going with something else. Changing for the sake of changing doesn’t do anyone any good. Your doctor knows that so don’t be surprised if you ask and he flat out tells you he will not make the change.

You also need to ask yourself why you think you need to change medications. For instance if you are on a heart medicine and a blood pressure medicine but then you see a combination drug on tv, does that mean that you need to be on that combination drug? Are the two medications that you are taking not working for you? Would this combo drug work better? You might find that going to a combo drug will help with the one drug that wasn’t working well but then hurt you by not taking the drug that was working well in the first place. It might be better not to rock the apple cart.

If you really believe a medication can be helpful you should bring it up to your doctor at your next visit but don’t be fooled by the advertising, not everything makes sense for you.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Medical Care Supplies Tagged With: , , ,

Rules for Taking Medication

WENZHOU, CHINA - AUGUST 20: American students...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Getting into the doctors office and getting the attention you need is just one piece of the puzzle in the quest to get healthy and stay healthy. The second piece is getting the necessary medication you need filled and in your possession. This is without question the easier of the two but it is by no means the easiest thing to do. What makes it harder is that when you get it home you have to take it…and take it right. This is a problem for a lot of people who are either absent minded or under the assumption that medication stops being important once the symptoms fade. If you want to get better then you have to take your medication seriously and follow these rules for taking your medication.

1. Rule Number 1 – Take all medication until finished. If you are on a maintenance medication for something like high blood pressure then this is probably not an issue as you could be on this medication for the rest of your life. However, when you are taking a shorter term medication such as a nasal spray or antibiotic then it is important to take the medication until it is finished. Just because you start feeling better doesn’t mean the medication is finished being effective. As a matter of fact those last few days might be just what your body needs to rid itself of a harmful virus or infection.

2. Rule Number 2 – Take all medication as instructed. This seems a lot like rule number 1 but the sentiment is a bit different. Often times the doctor will tell you to take the medication at a certain time. This is so important for people to remember. If you are taking an acid reflux medication then it’s best to take it before your first meal of the day and if you don’t then you might render the medicine less effective and where is the help in that? Make sure you are very watchful over when you take the medication. The doctor does this for your benefit so follow it.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: General Health Tagged With: , , ,