Saturday, October 28, 2006
Free prescription drugs
One area retailer is giving away some prescription drugs - free of charge. You may have heard Wal-Mart is selling some generic drugs at $4 per prescription ... you can get some at Meijer without paying a dime. If you fill your prescription at any Meijer ... and get the generic version ... you'll get the drugs free.Meijer announced the deal Monday. The covered drugs are: Amoxicillin, Cephalexin, Smz-Tmp, Ciprofloxacin, Penicillin VK, Ampicillin and Erythromycin. The target drugs are fairly common and typically prescribed to children, but anyone - regardless of insurance or copay - can pick them up, as long as you come in with a prescription. K-Mart also offers 184 generic prescriptions at $15 for a 90 day supply. That deal is at any K-Mart. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Prescription drugs abused for studying
Chicago researchers find college students who use prescription drugs illicitly are three times more likely to choose Adderall than Ritalin. Northeastern University pharmacy professor Christian Teter says that the top motive for use is to increase concentration -- probably due to academic competitiveness, not to get high. More than 75 percent of college students who reported using prescription stimulants illicitly last year chose amphetamine-dextroamphetamine products, like Adderall, over methylphenidate products, like Ritalin, according to the study published in the journal Pharmacotherapy. The study randomly sampled 4,580 undergraduate college students from a large Midwestern university and assessed lifetime and past-year prevalence of prescription drugs. "We also found that students who started illicitly using prescription stimulants during college were motivated primarily by a desire to improve concentration, possibly due to academic competitiveness," says Teter. "However, most pre-college initiators reported using it to get high, lose weight, and for experimentation." Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Viagra: Treatment for Lung Disease?
Viagra may ease blood pressure in the lungs of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). That's according to a small Dutch study presented in Salt Lake City at Chest 2006, held by the American College of Chest Physicians. COPD is the No. 4 cause of death in the U.S. and worldwide, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). COPD is a lung disease in which breathing is difficult. It's usually caused by smoking cigarettes, but it can also be caused by other lung irritants. The disease develops slowly and may take years to show symptoms, which include: Cough Sputum (mucus) production Shortness of breath (especially with exercise) WheezingWheezing Chest tightness Those symptoms may or may not indicate COPD, states the NHLBI's web site. Viagra Study The Viagra study included 12 COPD patients, half of whom had high blood pressurehigh blood pressure in the pulmonary artery, which brings blood to the lungs. The development of pulmonary hypertensionpulmonary hypertension is a complication of COPD, but not everyone with COPD will develop it. The researchers included Sebastiaan Holverda, MSc, of Amsterdam's University Medical Center. They tracked the patients' pulmonary artery blood pressure before and after taking Viagra. Why Viagra? It relaxes (dilates) blood vessels, lowering blood pressure and helping blood to flow. First, the patients rested. Then they pedaled a stationary bike for three minutes at a mild pace. As expected, pulmonary artery blood pressure was higher during exercise, since the lungs were working harder. Next, the patients took a Viagra pill, waited 45 minutes, and repeated the rest and exercise tests. Their pulmonary artery blood pressure during exercise was lower after taking Viagra. "These data suggest that during daily activities some COPD patients may benefit" from drugs that dilate blood vessels, the researchers write. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Monday, October 23, 2006
Clinics prepare for flu season
The Sutter Visiting Nurses Association and Hospice is holding a series of flu clinics throughout October. Flu shots are available for adults and children for a fee of $25. There is no charge with proof of Medicare Part B. Call 1-800-500-2400. Local donation sites and hours include: - Colma, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 30, Drug Barn, 4925 Junipero Serra Blvd. - Menlo Park, noon to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Preuss Pharmacy, 844 Santa Cruz Ave.; 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Menlo Park Pharmacy, 1610 El Camino Real; noon to 3 p.m. Sunday , Draeger's Supermarket, 1010 University Ave. - Pacifica, 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Manor Fire Station, 616 Edgemar Ave., Pacifica - Palo Alto, 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, Andronico's, 500 Stanford Shopping Center. - San Mateo, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, San Mateo Expo Center Drive Thru, 2495 Delaware St.; 9 a.m. to noon Friday, Borel Bank, 160 Bovet Road. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Sunday, October 22, 2006
A Safer Prescription for Menopause?
After a major government study four years ago raised questions about the safety of hormone drugs, many women stopped taking the pills. But that doesn't mean they stopped taking drugs. Today, women are using a litany of drug regimens to cope with many symptoms of menopause that in the past were treated by hormones alone. Antidepressants are prescribed to calm hot flashes and mood changes. Bone drugs are offered to prevent osteoporosis. Sleep aids help with the restless nights that often afflict middle-aged women. Prescription anti-inflammatory pills help ease the aches and pains common in menopause. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Area woman suspected of concealing prescription painkillers
A woman arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated attempted to hide prescription medication inside her body, Cape Girardeau County officers testified Friday. Kathryn G. Drury, 47, was charged with felony possession of marijuana, tampering with physical evidence, and misdemeanor driving while intoxicated and failure to drive on the right side of the road. She was arrested early in September when deputy Todd Stevens saw the vehicle she was driving east on County Road 314 travel into the lane of oncoming traffic and nearly strike a westbound vehicle. Testifying before Judge Gary A. Kamp during a preliminary hearing for Drury Friday, Stevens said that the defendant appeared lethargic and under the influence of medication after he pulled her over. Kamp continued the hearing until Nov. 2, by which time lab reports on the suspected drugs would be returned. Drury admitted to the deputy that she had taken one pill of prescription pain medication. After conducting a field sobriety test, Stevens said he brought Drury back to the sheriff's office for a urine sample. While watching over Drury in the bathroom, communications officer LaTasha Tidwell testified she found pills on the floor which were not there when the defendant was brought in. In the back of Stevens' squad car, where Drury had been, the deputy found a generic Xanax drug. Trooper Aaron Harrison testified that after seeing Drury tamper with a trash can in her cell, he found pills inside. The pills found in both the bathroom and jail cell were hydrocodone, and all were suspected of being concealed in Drury's body cavities, according to a probable-cause statement. The defendant told officers she hid the drugs because, although she a prescription for them, she feared going to jail for not having the pills in a prescription bottle, according to the statement. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
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