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MEDICATIONS
DRUGS, MEDICATIONS, AND NATURAL PRODUCTS
Information on over 24,000 prescription and over the counter medicines. Learn about side effects, drug interactions, and warnings.
SAFE MEDICATION
The drug information in this online database is based on the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Consumer Medication Information. Pharmacists are drug experts. They can help you use your medicines safely and effectively. Can you name all the medicines you’re taking? Do you know what they’re for? Have ou ever wondered how to use eye drops or your inhaler properly? This site can help you keep track of your medications, answer questions about administering them, and give you advice and experiences.
SPOONING UP THE WRONG DOSE
By Tara Parker-Pope
Many people still use kitchen spoons to measure a dose of liquid medication. Now new research shows that the size of the spoon influences our ability to estimate the right dose — and most of the time, we get it wrong.
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PREVENTION, TREATMENT
SUPPRESSING TINNITUS WITH MUSIC THERAPY
By Henry Fountain
Published: January 4, 2010
Subjective tinnitus, the ringing or other noise that often accompanies noise-related hearing loss, is a tough problem to treat. But researchers in Germany have come up with a novel approach, a kind of music therapy in which the music is custom-tailored to the person with tinnitus.
A Guided Tour of Your Body
Changes in our health are inevitable as we get older. But while doctors tell us to focus on the basics — eat right, exercise and keep cholesterol and blood pressure in check— is there more that we need to know about staying well as we age?
In this special section, you’ll be able to learn the best that science and medicine can offer for taking care of yourself. You can also test your knowledge and read more health news at the Well blog.
PROSTATE: FOR MEN, RELIEF IN SIGHT
By GERALD SECOR COUZENS
MEN, the joke goes, spend the first half of their lives making money and the second making water. That is because after age 50 many men face an embarrassing problem called B.P.H., for benign prostatic hyperplasia. This slowly progressive enlargement of the prostate can make urination difficult or painful and send men trudging to the bathroom many times during the day and night.
Though bothersome, B.P.H. is not life threatening. Nor does it lead to cancer. When left untreated, however, B.P.H. can lead to serious health problems for some.
BRAIN: FOR A SHARP BRAIN, STIMULATION
By RONI CARYN RABIN
AMERICANS may worry about heart disease, stroke and diabetes, but they downright dread Alzheimer’s disease, a recent survey found. For good reason. One in eight adults over 65 is affected by the disease. Those who are spared know they may end up with the burden of caring for a parent or a spouse who is affected. Even though the number of older adults with dementias is rising rapidly, only a few drugs that have been approved to treat symptoms are on the market, and they slow down the disease but do not cure it.
Researchers, however, are more optimistic than ever about the potential of the aging brain, because recent evidence has challenged long-held beliefs by demonstrating that the brain can grow new nerve cells.
EYES: CARE OF THE EYES DEMANDS DILIGENCE
By NICHOLAS BAKALAR
READING in poor light, sitting too close to the TV, wearing the wrong prescription glasses and crossing your eyes — things your mother warned you would ruin your vision — are actually generally harmless. But a truly dangerous false belief is that there is nothing you can do to prevent the loss of vision.
HEART: EATING YOUR WAY TO A STURDY HEART
By TARA PARKER-POPE
MOST people think heart-healthy living involves sacrifice. Give up your favorite foods. Break a sweat. Lose weight. But some of the best things you can do for your heart do not involve deprivation or medication. Simple and even pleasurable changes in the foods you eat can rival medication in terms of the benefit to your heart.
BREASTS: REDUCING YOUR RISK FOR BREAST CANCER
By RONI CARYN RABIN
GO for regular checkups, do breast self-exams and get your mammograms on time, and chances are you’ll detect breast cancer early on, when it is most treatable. But what about prevention? Short of radical surgery, are there steps you can take to reduce the risk?
Turns out there are.
True, immutable factors like genetics, a family’s medical baggage and just being born female determine much of the risk of breast cancer. And, as with all cancers, that risk increases with age: a 30-year-old woman’s chances of developing breast cancer over a 10-year period are less than half of 1 percent, or 1 in 234, while a 60-year-old has a 3.5 percent risk, or 1 in 28. (The often-heard “one in eight” figure refers to the lifetime risk that women face.)
But there is now solid evidence that lifestyle can play a role as well. Choices that have an effect include how much alcohol a woman drinks (none is best), the amount of physical activity she gets (the more the better) and whether she takes hormones (the less the better). Doctors also urge women to keep their weight down, as obesity increases the risk of developing breast cancer during the postmenopausal years.
BACK: BACK PAIN ELUDES PERFECT SOLUTIONS
By LESLIE BERGER
BACK pain is one of the most common physical complaints, so it’s no surprise that treatments for it have multiplied over the years. That ought to be good; instead, many patients find that sudden back pain opens the door to a world of medical confusion.
BONES: HOW WELL WILL YOUR BONES HOLD UP?
By TARA PARKER-POPE
ARE the bones of America about to crumble?
Given the money Americans spend on bone-protecting drugs, you might think so. Spending on these drugs has surged to $5 billion annually, a 50 percent increase compared with five years ago.
While osteoporosis and hip fractures are major health concerns for some people, the challenge is finding out who is at risk and who is not. Most of us have normal aging bones that are not going to break — about 85 percent of women will never fracture a hip.
But an estimated 329,000 hip fractures occur annually in the United States. Hip fractures often lead to declining health. Women with such fractures face a 15 to 20 percent increased risk of dying the year after the break. Although men are also at risk for fracture, fragile bones are more common in women.
Our bodies build bone at a frenzied pace in childhood, but that slows as we get older. After about age 30, we lose bone faster than we can replace it, and bone density starts to wane. Most people have enough bone to start with, so the bone loss of aging is not a big problem. But for some, the decline in density is rapid, as their bones become porous and fracture risk increases.
Most doctors use bone density scans to identify women who are at risk for fractures. Based on the results, a woman may receive a diagnosis of osteoporosis. However, many women receive diagnoses of osteopenia — a scary-sounding term to describe early bone loss that often occurs with normal aging.
Despite the medical community’s heavy reliance on bone density scans, there is growing evidence that bone density is not the most reliable indicator of bone health. A poor score on a scan doesn’t mean you’re in trouble, and a normal score doesn’t mean you’re not at risk. Most people who suffer hip fractures have normal bone density, but their bones have weakened in ways not detected by bone scans.
“We’ve convinced people that you’ve got to have a certain bone density or you’ll have fractures and horrible things will happen to you,” said Dr. Susan Love, clinical professor of surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. “But bone density is only one aspect of bone health. It just happens to be the one we can measure.”
So how does a woman know if her bones are at risk? The answers to a few simple questions can give you a better sense of the state of bone health.
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NUTRITION
The 11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating
By TARA PARKER-POPE
(This post was originally published on June 30, 2008, and recently appeared on The New York Times’s list of most-viewed stories for 2008.)
Nutritionist and author Jonny Bowden has created several lists of healthful foods people should be eating but aren’t. But some of his favorites, like purslane, guava and goji berries, aren’t always available at regular grocery stores. I asked Dr. Bowden, author of “The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth,” to update his list with some favorite foods that are easy to find but don’t always find their way into our shopping carts. Here’s his advice.
Thank all of you very, very much for your comments! i was ‘at it ‘for hours yesterday, doing as many suggested – questions, demands, etc. I discovered a lot. unfortunately, mom’s insurance script max HAD run out for the year (unbeknownst to us, the doctor had changed mom’s anti-nausea pill from PRN – she only really needs it just after she has what we call a full day ‘shut down’) so it was THAT med that drove her plan over the limit this year. I’m dealing with that one now, as they should have notified me of the change – it was a year ago!) i’m also now researching to change Mom’s Part D, as I found that her plan, which WAS better than Part D when Part D began, is now inferior. So instead of the ‘doughnut hole’, mom gets no relief on the ‘other side’ of reaching a max.) HOWEVER, once I called the pharmacy and basically said verbally what I wrote to y’all (and said I would take mom’s business elsewhere as they did not notify me until 2 months later that mom’s meds had gone up like that) they actually volunteered to give mom ALL of her meds for November free of charge (($1208 worth!) and to bring her December prices way down.
So of course I’m relieved, yet it saddens me to think of all the folks out there who have no family or friend to ‘fight the fight’ for them. He said the insurance company automatically tells them what to charge. I said that may be true, however if they cared about their customers they would have notified the family so we could get the expensive stuff elsewhere until the first of the year, etc.
I like that the Medicare.com website now has a very good Part D benefit/price comparison page where I was able to enter all of mom’s meds and they gave me multiple competitive plans to look at, sorted according to the lowest annual out of pocket cost. I feel i’m well on my way to ‘recovery’ from this and to getting mom a much better plan for next year.
The pharmacist I worked with is either afraid, or is a truly good person (he FELT to be kind and sincere) and he has said he will also independently look at a site he has access to and give me the top 3 Part D plans he sees based on mom’s meds and he will also keep his eye on mom’s med prices every month to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.
So thanks so much everyone!! I have learned so much! I still think it is criminal that prices vary so much and will still look to spread the word to the government (good luck, huh?!) on the price variance and non-notification to folks on their plans when they are maxed out, especially to folks in nursing homes where the meds happen automatically.
Blessings to all.
Dorothy T
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Oh Dorothy, I am SO happy for you! It’s good that your Mom has you to fight for her & I agree with you about what others do that have no one to take up the battle flag for them! All I can do is just picture in my mind some of those poor, old meek souls who don’t want to make waves & basically lets the “system” just screw them over.
I do hope that is a pharmacist with a heart. They need to realize that they ARE dealing with human beings & not just filling pill bottles!
My Mom used to go to CVS but they never had her medicine ready or they’d say she was out of refills when she wasn’t or the prices would keep changing. She finally switched to a small, locally owned drug store. The owner is a pharmacist that had worked at a drug store that I worked at years ago (although he couldn’t remember me). He was a good, compassionate pharmacist back then & still is. Plus he makes sure that his prices are competitive! Hey, I just thought of something…we are supporting a SMALL BUSINESS!!! Ha-ha!
Keep us informed & as I mentioned yesterday, if you want to contact a good Senator, contact Sherrod Brown of Ohio. Many people have commented how Senator Ted Kennedy took him under his wing on health care issues & we know how Senator Kennedy felt about health care & insurance companies!
Take care & good luck,
Denise H
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Thanks Denise and Jean, and others who pointed me in the right direction. I’ve made my request to enroll mom in the AARP prescription plan, which was #2 on the list medicare.gov came up with (based on mom’s particular meds). It’s about $100 more out of pocket per year than the #1 – yet I trust the consistency and intention of AARP more than the ‘brand name’ company.
One more note for those who do NOT have any kind of insurance. I know I mentioned this subject in my first post on this (subject being comparison pricing), however since that time I took the 4 most (and very) expensive medications my mom takes and I ‘shopped around’, primarily calling local pharmacies, but also checked Costco online, and this is what I found in MOM’s case: for ONE month, WITHOUT insurance, her 4 meds would cost $682 at Costco Online; $690 at a Wal-Mart store; $716 at Rite-Aid; and then jumps to a whopping $971/month at CVS! I get my own scripts from CVS and am going to do this same price comparisons after the holidays. I DO have some coverage, yet, as I found, sometimes it is better to buy WITHOUT the coverage than WITH it. What’s wrong with THAT picture?! Anyway, I’m imagining that’s about it for me on this (unless I learn something really new and informative). As Jean and I have both said on the site: anyone on Medicare will do themselves a great favor by going to medicare.gov and putting in EVERY SINGLE medication, with dosage and frequency. It is so incredible how informative and easy it is to see exactly what the choices are – sorted by out of pocket costs. (A note though: medicare is having lots of issues with the MYmedicare.gov area. The med list we put into medicare.gov is supposed to automatically go over the MYmedicare.gov, but doesn’t. They said it may be quite sometime before they get that all worked out.]
I will continue the fight wherever I can, to both enlighten our dear government and also to help seniors who do not have someone fighting for them (like at my mom’s nursing home.) Thanks again to all! ‘ll be ‘sitting’ with a bunch of you early morning Thursday.
AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY TO DEB J!!!!!!
Dorothy T
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Oops! Deb’s BD was yesterday, the 13th!
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Dorothy, thanks for sharing your research with us and showing us the price differences – I’m going to share this with my father. ~ Jean
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Thank you so much, Dorothy. I’ll be checking on my Mom’s medications too. I pretty much trust her pharmacist. Her blood pressure medicines are reasonable & he has advised her to have her doctor change her mood elevator prescription to another one that does the same thing but is MUCH less expensive. He even says that her current one is just way too expensive!
I’ll be joining the crowd tomorrow morning too, however it will be in my car driving home from work. I guess that I’d better pick up one of those battery operated votive candles to sit on my dashboard…MUCH less dangerous that putting a REAL candle there, ha-ha!!!
Take care & stay warm.
Denise H.
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Dorothy, You are fighting the fight and thank you for keeping us informed. It is so difficult to care for loved ones and deal with the medication red tape and restrictions. So time consuming and stress producing when money is involved. As if caregiving is not hard enough….
I’ll be looking for your updates and anything I can do to help keep the government aware of families and their challenges. Best wishes, Joyce
PS Are you the Dorothy who I spent time with in Peoria?
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Yes, Dorothy thank you for all your hard work, and for keeping us informed. Paperwork, phone calls, rejected insurance claims; these are a few of my least favorite things….fa, la, la, la, la,…. Have a wonderful holiday season, and a healthy 2011.
~Char
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Dorothy, thank you so much for sharing what you found out, and what you did to resolve the problem. This is so informative, and I’m sure we’ll be pointing others to your post in the future. Well done. Your mother is lucky to have a daughter like you. ~ Jean
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Re: Prescription Medication Prices. How do I find a ‘reasonable’ way to get the best prices for my Mother?
My current upset: When I saw today that my 84 year old mother’s medication bill last MONTH was $1200 i was shocked. She has both Medicare and supposedly a very good (and expensive) Anthem supplemental plan. I set out to investigate.
When we first had to move Mom from home to her care facility “apartment” (as we call it. It’s a single private room) I allowed them to change her medication provider from CVS, the one we used, to an ‘in-house’ pharmacy in one of their ‘sister’ organizations. This in-house pharmacy is used by most all patients and the pills show up in a very organized way, making it easy and safe for the nurses to dispense.
At the time I asked our CURRENT pharmacy, CVS, if they would help me figure out the comparison in cost and they said that since Mom had insurance, the prices would be the same no matter where we went. I accepted that.
Today, when I saw this huge bill, I called Wal-Mart (i’m in a rural area and we just got our first Wal-Mart this summer.) I asked them if I could fax them a list of Mom’s meds and what we pay, etc. and the woman put me on hold and came back and said what CVS had said 2 years ago, that since it’s insurance, the price will be the same.
So I took one medication, Ondansetron (generic for Zofran) which mom is charged $223(for 30 4mg tabs) AFTER INSURANCE, and I started researching it on the web. NOT for web-based pharmacies, but to see what I found about in-store prices. I found an article comparing the GREAT discrepancies in price for this particular drug (http://www.katu.com/news/problemsolver/15497121.html) from major stores (RiteAid, Wal-Mart, Costco, etc.) The differences are amazing. So I called my Wal-Mart back and didn’t say I was the same person, and simply asked what the cost of this generic med would be with no insurance. It is $74!! (a difference of $149 for 30 pills.) So a) bring on the Pepto-Bismol haha that’s a joke and b) how do I truly figure out what’s best to do here? Via confronting the pharmacy that is ripping mom off? the insurance company who is supposed to be HELPING with prescription prices?? or WHAT? I feel like fighting to be reimbursed for all the rip-offs I learn about over the next week or so.
of course, i’m sure i’ll do ALL OF THE ABOVE since that’s just who I am. yet if anyone can shine some light on the best way to go I’d sure appreciate it!
Thanks! Dorothy T
ps i apologize if this issue has been addressed here before. I drop in when i can, and read here and there, etc. but have not covered it all.
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No Dorothy, we haven’t covered this, and it would be really good to know. The price discrepancy between $223 after insurance and $74 with NO insurance is outrageous. And the fact that the person at WalMart supported the whole thing is terrible! Your mother is already paying for her insurance – to be charged more for her drugs on top of her insurance payments is such a ripoff! Hopefully someone will hop in here with some answers. Did you call Rite Aid and Costco too, to compare their prices as well? At this point it seems like the best thing to do would be to buy from WalMart without using your mother’s insurance, but I’m wondering if that would adversely affect something else? Anyone know? ~ Jean
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That is absolutely amazing AND disgusting! My Mom is 76 & in basically good health but she takes a couple of blood pressure pills & she has a “mood elevator” (I call it her “happy pill”) that she takes, I can’t remember the name of it. Her “happy pill” is so expensive that she can’t afford to pay for a month’s worth at a time. Her pharmacist fills her prescription for one week at a time (@ $30 a week).
I wonder if it would do you any good to contact the White House or someone in the national government who is known to be strong on Health Care reform? Here in Ohio, one of our Senators is very big on health care reform, Senator Sherrod Brown. He has even refused to accept government health insurance for himself until it is available for everyone. His wife is also a journalist for The Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper, Connie Schultz. Maybe even some of the anchors on MSNBC too; at least 4 of them are very hard on the insurance and health industry & they might be interested in your story.
I’m not sure if it will do you any good but it sure can’t hurt! It sounds like they go out of their way to keep this information secret…”buy the insurance & we’ll charge you even more!” I have a feeling that the Sherrod Brown’s of this world would find your story VERY interesting!
Good luck & let us know what happens! I’ve learned in life that if you don’t stand up for yourself & fight, you will be taken advantage of!
Hang in there!!!
Denise H.
PS…if nothing else, just copy & paste your letter that you wrote here & just start shooting it off to assorted politicians & reporters & activists!
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Hello Dorothy,
I spoke briefly w/our pharmacy; the young pharmacist wanted to help, but was not very informed about this issue. She DID mention a Medicare-related issue, referred to as the “doughnut hole” (See link below). However, since your mother has supplemental insurance, I wouldn’t think this would be the issue.
http://www.healthcare.gov/news/blog/donuthole.html
I would suggest contacting other pharmacies to discuss this issue as well, and I would certainly speak to someone at Anthem(BC/BS, correct??). Someone at this insurance company surely has to be able to explain why your mom is being charged so much. My dad is 82 and takes 4 medications. He has a condition, atrial fibrillation, which we did not realize he had until he had a stroke 3 years ago. Fortunately for him, Veterans Administration pays for all of his meds.
My mom has mentioned that a couple of her friends have been happy with Humana’s prescription plan, so it might be worth checking into this company’s insurance policies to see if your mom might want to change plans. (Link below). However, as I previously said, I would really first try to get some answers from your mom’s current supplemental insurance company.
http://www.humana-medicare.com/humana-medicare-plans/medicare-part-d-plans.asp
Good luck, Dorothy, and keep us posted. I never want to hear about the elderly population possibly being taken advantage of.
~Ann
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Hi Dorothy, how about calling your State Attorney General’s Office, and telling them the entire story. I would like to say I never heard of something like this, but after the summer, fall and now winter, I am having with insurance problems, I can relate. I want to write something about all the problems I have had, but it would take up too much space…. The ONE MAIN thing I have learned, is to ASK LOTS AND LOTS OF QUESTIONS, AND IF YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND ASK AGAIN, and get names, first and last and direct connect numbers… Please let us know how you make out. I am in your corner and ready to give em a run for their (our) money!!!
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Good idea, Char. Maybe even calling your state and/or U.S. Senators and members of Congress. I totally agree with Char’s recommendation to never hesitate to ask questions until you are satisfied, Dorothy. I, too, have learned to make sure I get people’s names, phone #’s/extensions. Let us know how things work out!
~Ann
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Oh yes! ABSOLUTELY get names, numbers & even the time of day that you talked to them!
I have basically come to the conclusion that all insurance companies are no good! You pretty much have to have them & pay them outrageous amounts but then when you expect them to follow through on what you paid for…SORRY!
The more noise you make, the better! They are so used to steamrolling people & pocketing their money as bonuses because they think that they can…DON’T LET THEM!!! POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!! Ha-ha!!! Dear Lord, I’m sounding like a throw-back hippie!
Keep us informed because we are with you!
Take care.
Denise H.
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Dear Dorothy;
I am sorry you have had such frustration with your Mother’s med list; does the facility have a social worker on staff that might be able to help you sort it out? As far as her supplemental insurance, check to see if she is covered under the recent Medicare Part D prescription plan. If not, ALL seniors currently have open enrollment (for both supplemental and Medicare part D) through December with the new plan starting in January. You might be able to enroll her or change/upgrade her coverage.
A general thought regarding an “in-house” pharmacy; many times they have ‘arrangements’, are connected, or are financially affiliated with many long-term care facilities. Facilities will order from a pharmacy for convenience and/or financial ‘incentives’. Rarely do they investigate which pharmacy is ‘in-network’ or financially beneficial for their patients. One suggestion is to continue having your loved-one’s prescriptions delivered to your address, via mail-order every three months. Then you may personally deliver them to the facility when you visit. A word of caution; only give them to a charge nurse or the nursing director, and have them sign upon receipt. (Too often medications disappear:(
Good luck and I hope you go after those reimbursements!!!!
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I received this video by e-mail today, and wow, does it ever make a point-without a word spoken. Very poignant….I believe it was done in the UK.
~Ann
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Hi Everyone,
I am posting the most common symptoms of a stroke….the 3rd leading cause of death among US citizens. My dad suffered a stroke in 2007 and is doing quite well, but if I could help even a few people recognize that someone is having a stroke- and get the person to the ER ASAP- that would be great.
Below is a list of symptoms, as well as a brief article about the 3 simple things ANYONE can do to recognize that someone may be having a stroke. tPA, the clot busting drug that can be given to limit disability from strokes, can only be given WITHIN 3 HOURS of the onset of stroke symptoms. So quick detection is crucial!!
Signs of Stroke
With stroke, arteries to the brain become blocked or rupture, causing brain tissue to die. Symptoms include:
Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg, especially if it occurs on one side of the body
Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or understanding speech
Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes, or double vision
Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance, or coordination
Sudden severe headache with no known cause
Drowsiness, nausea, or vomiting
http://www.webmd.com/stroke/news/20030213/got-minute-you-could-diagnose-stroke
Have a great weekend!!
Ann
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Thank you so much Ann. Every bit of information that is passed on and quick response will help save lives. Melisa
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