Official Drug Information Online

There are many sources of prescription drug information online. Although the least biased information is probably going to be found outside of the official drug websites, those official sites often offer the most extensive detail about a drug. We recommend that you *start* at general drug information websites, review the official corporate sites, and then branch off to forums and other general information specific to your needs. Often you'll be able to find others who have used the medications or have knowledge of them, though use caution and generally you'll want to carefully follow the advice of your own physician regarding any prescription medications.

Prescription Report is a good source but there are many others including:

www.WebMD.com
Medicine Net
Drugs.com
Rxlist.com

Drug ads on TV - beware of overmedicating yourself!

Pharma TV advertising has exploded over the past decade, and a recent study at UCLA indicates that the advertising has little educational value and may influence people to overmedicate themselves.

Medical News Today reports that:

The findings also show that nearly all ads (95 per cent) used emotional appeal to influence viewers and none of them showed lifestyle and behaviour change as viable alternatives, except for 19 per cent of them that showed this as an adjunct to taking the drug.

Dr Frosch, author of the UCLA study, said:

"We're seeing a dramatization of health problems that many people used to manage without prescription drugs," ... "ads send the message that you need drugs to manage these problems and that without medication your life will be less enjoyable, more painful and maybe even out of control." Frosche said the US should consider banning direct to consumer tv advertising of prescription drugs. Only the US and New Zealand currently allow these ads and New Zealand may ban them soon.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/61985.php

Prescription Drugs in US Water Supplies?

CNN is reporting that presscription drugs in trace amounts are increasingly turning up in water systems across the country. Although the article suggests some are alarmed by this is seems to me this would fall in the category of "too little to matter at all".

Prescription Drug Vending Machines to include legal marijuana

A medication center in Los Angeles will be the first in the world to offer marijuana and other prescription drugs via a vending machine. CNN Video Report The company insists that a fingerprinting photo processing will make this a safer form of drug dispensing than normal venues.

"Best Buy" Drugs listed by Consumer Reports

Trusted consumer magazine Consumer Reports has an excellent list of "best buy" drugs with other drug related information. Click HERE for the Consumer Reports list which includes reports listed via health condition as well as reports on hundreds of drugs including the following drugs (these link to the Consumer Reports pages).

Ambien
Atenolol
Fluoxetine
Glipizide
Lexapro
Lipitor

Lisinopril
Metformin
Metoprolol
Nexium
Prilosec OTC
Simvastatin

Iron and Prescription Medications

I did some quick internet research trying to find connections of the following medications to Iron deficiency (Anemia). This was not a thorough study by any means, but might be a helpful starting point for other queries about the complex topic of drug interactions and health with respect to Iron deficiency:

Procardia XL
nothing alarming found re: Anemia

Atenolol
Nothing alarming found about iron, efficacy study challenges Atenolol's usefulness: http://www.theheart.org/article/355985.do

Imdur
Nothing alarming but ...
http://www.rxcarecanada.com/Imdur.asp?prodid=2551 (nice summary of precautions)
"Caution should be exercised in patients with arterial hypoxemia due to anemia"

Lipitor
Anecdotal reports by two people that parents on Lipitor got anemia at RXlist.com but it does not appear that anemia was found in the clinical trials.

Tricor
Nothing alarming

Nitrostat
Nothing alarming

Allegra
Nothing alarming

Flonase
With chronic use at doses of 3-4 g/day, iron deficiency anemia may result.

Amitriptyline
Nothing alarming

Celebrex
Anemia is sometimes seen in patients receiving CELEBREX. In controlled. FDA clinical trials the incidence of anemia was 0.6% (from FDA.gov). This is fewer than 1 in 150 Celebrex users.

Nexium
If you are taking ... iron supplements, vitamins that contain iron, or ketoconazole (Nizoral), you should take these medications at least 2 hours before taking (Nexium).

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More notes about Medicines and IRON:
Iron may interfere with the absorption of many different medications. For this reason, it is best to take iron supplements at least two hours before or two hours after taking medications. This is particularly true for the medications listed below:

The following medications may reduce the absorption of iron:
* Cholestyramine and Colestipol: These are two cholesterol-lowering medications known as bile acid sequestrants.

* Medications used to treat ulcers or other stomach problems: Examples of anti-ulcer medications include cimetidine, ranitidine, famotidine, and nizatidine. These medications belong to a class of drugs known as H2 receptor blockers. They change the pH in the stomach and subsequently alter the absorption of iron. It is possible that this effect could occur with other antiulcer medications including antacids and proton pump inhibitors (such as omeprazole and lansoprazole).

Iron decreases the absorption of the following medications:
* Tetracyclines: These are a class of antibiotics that include doxycycline, minocycline, and tetracycline.

* Quinolones: These are a class of antibiotics that include ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, ofloxacin, and levofloxacin.

* ACE inhibitors: These are a class of medications used to treat high blood pressure. Examples include captopril, enalapril, and lisinopril.

See the following large list of drugs that can possibly cause Anemia and drug interactions. Coumadin is mentioned as a potential cause of anemia in conjunction with other drugs:
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/a/anemia/medic.htm


NOTE: Nothing in this blog is to be taken as medical advice.
Prescription Report is here only to provide some insight, links, and information about Prescription Medications and Medications in general. Always consult your physician about anything related to your health and prescriptioon medications.

Hydrocodone commonly called "Vicodin"

Hydrocodone is one of the most prescribed painkillers and is often commonly prescribed after dental surgury such as a tooth extraction.

Hydrocodone was invented in Germany in 1920 and is a powerful opioid derived from codeine and thebaine. It is taken orally and can act as a pain reliever and as a cough medicine. As a narcotic Hydrocodone binds to pain receptors in the brain and spinal cord. This powerful narcotic effect makes this a potentially addictive medication.

The drug is often combined with other, less powerful drugs like ibuprofin to help limit the dosage while providing powerful analgesic relief to the patient.

Hydrocodone is marketed using many brand names including: Anexsia, Dicodid, Hycodan, Hydromet, Hycomine, Lorcet, Lortab, Norco, Novahistex, Hydroco, Tussionex, Vicoprofen, Xodol. Bekadid, Calmodid, Codinovo, Duodin, Kolikodol,Orthoxycol, Mercodinone, Synkonin, Norgan,Hydrokon, Vicodin.

Drugs.com info

Wikipedia on Hydrocodone

Cymbalta

Cymbalta is an anti-depressant medication manufactured by Eli Lily. Cymbalta's generic drug name is Duloxetine.

More about Cymbalta

Company website for Cymbalta