Online Pharmacy Medicine Blog

Federal Advisory panel will vote today on whether Avandia, a popular drug for Type 2 diabetes, is safe enough to stay on the market. Avandia is one of many diabetes medications like Metformin, Actos, Glucotrol, Byetta, and Januvia used to treat type 2 diabetes.

Conflicting study results from the drugs maker GlaxoSmithKline along with other problems due to feuding scientist have made it hard for reviewers to get a bead on what should be done about the diabetes medication.

According to the New York Times,

On Tuesday, panel members heard evidence that patients in a crucial trial of Avandia who suffered heart attacks did not have their problems included in the trial’s final tally. And internal company documents made public in recent days show that the company hid from the public crucial information about Avandia’s safety woes.

Some reviewers within the F.D.A. said Tuesday that studies demonstrate conclusively that Avandia is far more dangerous to the heart than a similar medicine, Actos, made by Takeda. But other reviewers said that the trials are far more equivocal and provide little evidence that Avandia is dangerous. Scientists at GlaxoSmithKline argued that Avandia is a safe and important option in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes.

I am surprised that the FDA has let this drag on as long as it has. Hopefully a decision will be made one way or the other so people can stop living in fear of there diabetes medication.

Today Israel drug maker Teva stated that it has received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration to go ahead with production of generic antidepressant drug Effexor XR.

The drug originally produced by Wyeth has finally ran out of its exclusivity period, which means we will see a cheaper alternative on shelves beginning July 1.

Teva had sought approval for its generic drug in 2006, but under a patent settlement with Wyeth, the company agreed to hold off on selling the drug until now.

This is great news for those that pay for there prescriptions out of pocket. Generic versions will be drastically cheaper than there brand name counterparts. You can also expect to see the brand versions price drop due to the added competition.

Don’t wait any longer to save on your prescription medications sign up to ePharmacies.com today.

According to a report released today, U.S. employers can expect to see their health care costs rise by around 9 percent next year.
The South Florida Business Journal reports that

PricewaterhouseCoopers report predicted the continuation of several relevant trends in health care, namely the shifting of costs from employer to employee. As the premiums continue to increase and the effects of the recession drain businesses, more employers are requiring their employees to pay more for their benefits.

The PricewaterhouseCoopers report said that 42 percent of the employers surveyed plan to increase employee contributions for health insurance.

The PricewaterhouseCoopers report also found that:

* Sixty-seven percent of employers plan to expand or improve wellness programs
* More employers are dropping health benefits for retirees
* For the first time, the majority of U.S. workers are expected to have a deductible of $400 or more next year

Employers blame shifting of Medicare costs for much of the anticipated increase in their health care costs, the report found. It is yet to be seen how this will affect prescription medication coverage, but odds are it is not going to make it any cheaper.

If you are struggling to pay for your prescription drugs like Actos, Lexapro, Singulair, or Zocor, don’t wait around for the government or your employers help, take matters into your own hands today.

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Today AstraZeneca encountered a major setback in trying to extend the patent life of it blockbuster acid reflux drug Nexium. The patent was denied a patent extension by US regulators who did not see what the wanted when Astra tried to combine the drug with aspirin.

Loss of patent for Nexium and its 5 billion in yearly sales would be a big problem for AstraZeneca, who is trying to develop new drugs to fill the shoes of those who have lost patent protection in key markets.

According to ABC news,

The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said it got a Complete Response Letter (CRL) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its application to market Axanum, which combines aspirin with esomeprazole, the active ingredient in Nexium.

The delay for Axanum follows success with another Nexium line extension product, Vimovo, which won a green light from the FDA at the end of April. Vimovo, developed with Pozen, combines the anti-inflammatory drug naproxen and esomeprazole.

AstraZeneca faces another regulatory hurdle on Wednesday when an FDA expert panel meets to consider whether to approve its new infant lung drug motavizumab.

Winning over the panel may be tough, after FDA staff reported in briefing documents released last week that the drug carried a higher risk of causing severe allergic reactions than the company’s older product Synagis.

The loss of Nexium’s patent would definitely lower prices, as generic competition would not be far behind. One way or another, there is no reason sweat it’s approval, buy your drugs here at ePharmacies.com to save now!

Today the FDA reported that it was examining data from several different studies to determine if the risks with commonly used Hormone treatment for prostate cancer Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone. Recent findings hint that certain hormone treatments for men with prostate cancer pose greater risk for diabetes or heart trouble.

Products under investigation are: Lupron, Zoladex, Trelstar, Vantas, Eligard and Synarel.

According to Reuters, the agency said it has not made any conclusions about GnRH agonists but that patients should be monitored for potential onset of diabetes or cardiovascular disease that can result in heart attacks, stroke and sudden cardiac death.

Thousands of young children are accidentally poisoned by tobacco products each year in the U.S., and according to researchers, new dissolvable tobacco products that resemble candy might pose an even greater risk.

A new study of the reports from the United States poison control centers between 2006 and 2008 show that 13,705 children younger than 6 were accidentally poisoned by tobacco products. Cigarettes and smokeless tobacco were to blame for most of the incidents.

Babies and small children are extremely susceptible to nicotine, even as little as 1 milligram can cause nausea and vomiting. Larger doses could lead to weakness, convulsions or potentially fatal respiratory arrest.

According to the researchers, there is a new concern that a new dissolvable melt-in-your-mouth candy flavored nicotine pellets may pose an even greater risk.

he products are too new to have been behind any of the poisonings in the current study. However, Connolly and his colleagues did do a chemical analysis of one — Camel Orbs, tobacco pellets with a Tic-Tac-like appearance introduced last year by R.J. Reynolds.

The researchers found that the pellets contained a greater proportion of “free” nicotine than the norm for cigarettes or dipping tobacco.

Free nicotine is more quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, raising the possibility that it could more toxic to a child than other tobacco products are.

The Camel Orb packaging is said to be child-resistant; however, Connolly noted that the packaging is tricky enough that many users might prefer to dispense a number of pellets at a time, leaving some lying around.

He cautioned against doing that in any area where a young child might see them. One pellet contains about 1 mg of nicotine, so might cause nausea, Connolly said. “But if a child gets a few of them,” he added, “that could be very serious.”

In my opinion, parents should not be smoking around their children, and should definitely be responsible enough to make sure to keep it out of the reach of their children. My advice would be to talk with your doctor about your need to quit and see if he can prescribe you a drug such as Chantix or Zyban to help you kick the habit. You could also try a nicotine replacement option like: Commit lozenges, Nicorette patches, or Nicorette gum.

The Food and Drug Administration decided today to change the name of Kapidex in order to avoid confusion of the drug with several other drugs that have simular names.

Kapidex, a heartburn drug, has a similar name to the prostate cancer drug Casodex and the pain medication Kadian. The FDA said the confusion has resulted in multiple “dispensing errors” since the drug was approved early 2009.

The FDA Director of Surveillance and Epidemiology Dr. Gerald Dal Pan said, “Today’s near miss, today’s medication error that doesn’t cause harm to somebody could cause harm to someone tomorrow.”

The new name for Kapidex will be Dexilant, and is the first in a list of drugs the FDA plans to rename in order to remove any confusion and remedy dispensing errors.

A report from ABC.com talked about a woman from Canton, NC who had experienced a similar problem first hand. She was supposed to get a prescription of a anti-depressant prescribed as a sleeping aid, Trazodone, for her foster daughter. Instead, the pharmacy gave her something with the same first three letters – Tramadol, a pain killer.

Hopefully the renaming will cut down on the amount of prescribing errors. Remember to always double check your prescriptions to make sure that you are taking the correct medication and avoid a potential disaster.

Nicorrette has helped many smokers kick the habit. Revia (Naltrexone) has helped many alcoholics relieve their dependency. Sabril (vigabatrin) reduces cocaine cravings and has helped many kick the addiction.

What’s next, a drug to help users kick their Facebook addiction? Not likely…but, you never know.

The New York Times recently reported that many teens, the majority girls, are forming Facebook support groups to deal with their addiction.

“It’s like any other addiction,” psychologist Kimberly Young, the director of the Center for Internet Addiction Recovery in Bradford, Penn., told The Times. “Its hard to wean yourself.”

According to the article, one boy even said that “Facebook wasn’t merely a distraction, but it was really confusing him about who he was,” and he decided to spend his senior year away from the service. He was apparently burned out trying to live up to his own descriptions of himself.

Facebook also doesn’t let you quit so easily, teens that wish to give the axe to Facebook must check off six reasons why they want to quit. And if they have a weak moment and decide to reactivate their account, all they have to due is simply sign in with their original login and password information and pick up right where they left off.

Last week, Sen. Byron Dorgan a Democrat from North Dakota introduced a piece of legislation that would save consumers over a $100 billion dollars by allowing them to order their drugs from several other countries.

According to the Bangor Daily News

a North Dakota Democrat, introduced legislation to allow consumers to buy drugs from several other countries. As a safeguard, only medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and produced in facilities approved by the FDA could be purchased by U.S. residents. The measure was co-sponsored by Sen. Olympia Snowe.

Sen. Dorgan estimated the legislation would save consumers about $100 billion over the next decade.

The article goes on to say the only thing stopping the legislation is the FDA and PhRMA. The FDA won’t support the importation of drugs because they are protecting the pockets of the big pharmaceutical companies, and PhRMA is the pharmaceutical companies lobbying group.

Senators have verified that the drugs are safe, the only hold up is they don’t want YOU to save money on your prescriptions. The good news is you don’t have to wait on them. You can order the medications you need like Actos and Lexapro right now.

Don’t let lobbyists and bureaucrats to decide when you can save money on your prescription medication, join ePharmacies.com today.

Depending on what your body needs and the problems you are experiencing will determine what type of cholesterol medication your doctor will prescribe for you. These medications will help by:

• Lowering your LDL (bad) cholesterol
• Decreasing your triglycerides, a type of fat in the blood that also increases the risk of heart disease
• increasing your HDL (good) cholesterol which helps protect against heart disease.

One of the most common classes of cholesterol medication are statins. Statins decrease LDL and triglycerides and slightly increase HDL. Altoprev, Crestor, Lescol, Lipitor, Mevacor, Pravachol, and Zocor can all be found in this class.

Some of the side affects that you should look out for when using any of these statins are constipation, nausea, diarrhea, stomach pain, cramps, and muscle soreness.

According to the Mayo clinic

most cholesterol medications are well tolerated, but effectiveness varies from person to person. If you decide to take cholesterol medication, your doctor may recommend periodic liver function tests to monitor the medication’s effect on your liver. Also remember the importance of healthy lifestyle choices. Medication can help control your cholesterol — but lifestyle matters, too.

I think the main thing to remember when taking cholesterol medication is that it is not an end- all cure- all, and should be used in conjunction with a healthy diet. Often times once the user changes his diet, the medication can be decreased or is no longer needed.