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The combination of certain foods and your medication(s) can affect how the drug is broken down, absorbed or metabolized in your liver. Whether you have just started on a new medication or you suddenly find your medication isn’t working as effectively, I suggest checking to make sure your prescriptions are consumed away from the most common offending food interactions. More
Dieting or liposuction were once the only ways to vanquish the dreaded double chin, but a crazy new drug under development could do the trick by breaking up fat cells in the chin and neck area. More
This morning, a PsychCentral article titled “What Prevents People From Seeking Mental Health Treatment?” caught my eye. The author cites a range of reasons, from the continuing stigma surrounding mental illness to the cost of therapy to well-meaning loved ones who discourage mental health care. In other words: Just about everything involved in getting proper mental health care is a possible deterrent. And as someone who’s recently been struggling to maintain my own mental health care, I vehemently agree. More
Taking anti-depressants while pregnant won’t increase a woman’s chances of stillbirth, according to a large new study. After looking at nearly 30,000 Nordic women who had taken selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) anti-depressants while pregnant, Swedish researchers concluded that there was no significant association between use of these medications and risk of stillbirth, neonatal death or infant death. More
he first-ever drug developed to treat chronic fatigue syndrome was rejected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, HealthDay reports. Though things like exercise, nutrition, yoga and relaxation can help treat chronic fatigue — a health issue that disproportionately affects women, by the way — there is no known cure for CFS, nor any drug treatments. More
Grapefruit juice fits squarely in the category of “health food,” so it might surprise you to know that a new study says grapefruit can cause seriously unhealthy side effects–including sudden death, hallucinations, acute kidney failure, muscle damage, respiratory failure, gastrointestinal bleeding and bone marrow suppression in people with weakened immune systems–when combined with many prescription drugs. More
Meningitis is quickly becoming fall’s freaky health scare, but the cause–custom mixed drugs sold by compound pharmacies–isn’t a temporary anomaly. In this case, a custom mix of steroids used to treat patient back pain appears to have been contaminated with a fungus that, so far, has caused at least 35 cases of meningitis and five deaths. The meningitis is scary, but even more shocking to me was the fact that these pharmacies mixing up custom drug combos are legal–because even if they are using real, approved drugs, compound pharmacies don’t sound all that far off from the woman who was sent to jail for injecting cement and tire sealant into patients’ buttocks. More
You probably already knew this, but Facebook wants to sell you stuff. Despite the fact that the site itself is free to use, the social media giant is all about making money by targeting consumers. Their latest plan? Well, it looks like Facebook might mine the data from your CVS ExtraCare card to sell you more prescription drugs. Can we get an “unlike” for that? More
In the last year, in the scramble to treat America’s growing obesity problem (without, you know, telling Americans what to do or cutting ties with unhealthy lobbies), the FDA did something it hadn’t done in 13 years: Approved two new weight loss supplements, Belviq and Qsymia. Today, Qsymia is making its official debut. But it’s not a miracle pill. Here’s what you need to know. More
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Are we ‘overmedicating’ today’s youth with Ritalin and Prozac? The issue routinely gets dredged up by parents and media outlets, but it’s hardly a new concern. In the 1980s and 1990s, kids and teens who in a previous generation may have received therapy (or gone untreated) began to routinely be prescribed psychotropic drugs–antidepressants, antipsychotics, stimulants, mood stabilizers. It’s not uncommon for 20- and 30-somethings today to have spent the better part of their lives on such medications. Meanwhile, the consequences of their long-term use is virtually unknown. More
It’s “Transhuman Week” this week at the Wired UK website, with writers exploring “the ethical, medical and social issues associated with using technology to enhance the human body and mind.” You should probably go to Wired and check out the whole series (do you really want to be left behind when we all start becoming “limitless” superhumans? I didn’t think so) but to get you started, here’s a little primer on one of my favorite forms of The Future Is Now: Nootropics, aka “smart drugs.” More
Yesterday, I paid $69 for the privilege of not getting pregnant for one month. I know; much less than what a baby would cost (thanks, poster in my high school nurse’s office!). But way more than I can afford in my current financial situation. I use the NuvaRing, the notoriously expensive form of birth control, and I’m seriously considering trying to buy my birth control on the black market, sketchy as it may sound. Â And I’m not the only one. More
The FDA just approved Belviq, the first weight loss drug to get their green light in 13 years. The agency claims that its safety standards were set high (because of weight loss drugs’ sketchy history), but it’s hard to shake the feeling that their approval was made in the best interest of public health. In the war on obesity, the FDA just helped business score big time, but it’s hard to believe that consumers will benefit nearly so much. More
Everyone agrees that a pregnant woman shouldn’t smoke crack or snort meth, right? And the consensus that they shouldn’t smoke cigarettes or throw back a six-back every night is fairly ironclad, as well. Beyond obviously harmful behaviors like alcohol and drug use, however, things get more complicated. And with good reason: Mothers’ own needs and health must be carefully balanced with the needs and health of potential children they’re carrying. After all, pregnant women aren’t simply baby incubating machines. But try telling that to the state of Alabama. More
