The pharmaceutical industry prefers researchers not to look in detail at the postmarketing situation. Once a drug is on the market, we are all supposed to be interested in something else. We should just assume the drug has solved whatever the problem was. There’s no need to follow up by measuring how well the drug is actually performing. Except that’s the kind of thinking that delayed the recall of the Cox-2 Inhibitors when there should have been better safety monitoring to show this class of drugs caused heart problems. Worse, this type of resistance to research runs through most different industries as the delayed recall of Toyotas aptly demonstrates. Which brings us to 2010 Sleep in America, a poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation. This is a regular snapshot of sleeping habits across America. It’s good this research is done, but it’s on the margin with only a thousand or so participants. There should be significantly more participants if the scaling up of the numbers across the general population is to be reliable. As it is, we should not generalize too much from the results. The first finding is that, on average, we seem to be sleeping about two hours less than we did forty years ago. For some reason not properly explained, the study assumes we should all aim for about eight-and-a-half hours of sleep every night. The current crop of respondents reports sleeping between six and seven hours a night. To keep the accuracy of this report in perspective, there’s good medical evidence that lack of sleep undermines the body’s immune system making us more prone to illness, encourages obesity, increases blood pressure, and raises the risk of heart disease. What is less clear is the point at which these adverse health consequences kick in. It could be between six and seven hours a night, but there is no evidence to support this proposition. About a quarter of the respondents admit to missing work or appointments because they felt too tired. The same percentage admitted they were too tired to have regular sex. When asked to explain why sleep was more difficult, many referred to increased financial worries during the recession. Personal stress levels were higher with relationship problems. There were also lifestyle choices like watching TV in bed which delayed or disturbed sleep. In racial terms, Asians have the longest sleep patterns and blacks sleep less than whites and Hispanics. Overall, the report makes interesting reading but, until more people are included in the poll, it is difficult to generalize to the population at large. That said, some of the conclusions are intuitively correct. If about 25% of people are finding their lives adversely affected by insomnia, it helps explain why ambien is such a popular drug. As the sleeping pill with the best reputation for safety and effectiveness, it seems to be the drug of choice to get enough sleep. But it does remain something of a mystery why people make it difficult for themselves. About three-quarters of the respondents watched TV immediately before attempting sleep and then expressed surprise they did not immediately fall asleep. The reality is that, unless you resort to ambien, it’s better to relax the mind, say, by listening to gentle music. Moving the TV out of the bedroom and avoiding exciting late-night programs is basic common sense. Going to sleep at the same time every night is a good habit. Living your life around the TV schedule is a bad habit.
Pharmaceutical IndustryTag Archives
Ambien is being overprescribed
When the xanax kicks in, go for cognitive behavioral therapy
Putting aside all the arguments about whether people should get so anxious, the practical reality is that they do. If this seriously disrupts their ability to lead normal lives, then something should be done. Common humanity requires that society makes reasonable provision for their treatment. The pharmaceutical industry would have us believe drugs are the best answer to all our problems and, when it comes to dealing with anxiety disorders, our doctors have a big choise of them. We start of with antidepressants. Yes, the name apparently suggests their function is limited to treating depression, but they can be just as useful in treating anxiety disorders. So now your doctor decides which medication to try out on you. There are the SSRIs and the tricyclics, and do not forget the MAOIs. Then we get into the anti-anxiety drugs, most often derived from the benzodiazepines. If those do not take your fancy, there are always the beta-blockers. The cabinet in your bathroom can be filled to overflowing (subject to deciding whether all these options are covered by your health plan). But, there is one inconvenient truth. All the independent research evidence (that’s the research not paid for by the pharmaceutical industry) shows psychotherapy to be more effective than medication. The problem with trying to treat an emotional problem with a pill is there cannot be a conversation about why you are feeling the emotion and how you are going to deal with its consequences. Talking through the problems with a mental health specialist has the best success record in restoring quality of life and avoiding a relapse into an anxiety state. For a start, it treats you as a human being. You become the focus of attention. People listen to you and advise you on how to improve the quality of your life. In the current healthcare market, you see your doctor for a few minutes, collect a prescription and pick up the bill on the way out. People respond well when they believe their interests are being taken seriously. Their treatment is progressed rapidly if the advice they receive is seen to be useful. There is no point in advising people out of books. This has to be a hands-on approach to changing each person’s attitudes and habits. The best form of psychotherapy is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). “Cognitive” because you want people to understand their emotional responses to different situations. Only if they understand why they feel anxious can they begin the process of changing their responses. “Behavioral” because the therapist will train people to change the way they behave. This means forcing people to confront the situations in which they feel anxious or fearful, and teaching them how to react more positively. CBT usually lasts over a period of about twelve weeks. For most people, it works best on a one-to-one basis but, in cases of social phobia, part of the training can be in groups to help people become more used to social gatherings. Before starting on the course, it is useful for people to take xanax. This brings the anxiety levels down and provides a window of opportunity when they may learn new habits. But, for the majority of people, the use of xanax should be quickly tapered off. The aim is to enable people to respond more confidently without having to rely on a drug. Only then can people actually begin to feel confident about their own abilities rather than as people propped up by pills.
No real threat to eyesight
This takes us back a few years to a time when stories began to surface about adverse side effects to the use of drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction. Men had begun to report changes to their eyesight. One or two men apparently lost their sight for short periods of time. On many occasions when side effects are reported under the Postmarketing Surveillance Program, the FDA does not react immediately. Sometimes, it does not react at all. Without going into the politics of its role, some critics suggest the FDA is in the pocket of the pharmaceutical industry and would never react to reports of side effects unless the evidence is too public and overwhelming to ignore. That’s what made it all the more surprising when the FDA decided to apply a watered down version of the precautionary principle to erectile dysfunction drugs. Just so we all understand, the precautionary principle says you pull a product off the market until it is proved safe. Since proving the negative is difficult, this can mean the product is off the market for a long time. With erectile dysfunction drugs, we are talking about retail sales in excess of one billion dollars in 2008. You do not mess with this market by shutting it down. The most you can do is change the label to warn users of potential dangers.
In July, 2005, the FDA issued a notice acknowledging rare reports of eye problems. The notice did not accept there was evidence of a link between the drugs and the vision problems. It simply advised men affected to seek emergency aid if the rare event affected them. From a scientific point of view, there is a strong likelihood of a link. These drugs target PDE5 in the body. The relevant arteries in the eye are controlled by PDE6. The drug may not be completely specific in all bodies and the effect on PDE5 may shade into PDE6. That said, the pharmaceutical industry had a marketing problem. Even though everyone acknowledged these were extraordinarily rare events, the release of the notice by the FDA did cause some alarm. The industry therefore commissioned some research which was published this year in the Archives of Ophthalmology. It’s good news. Some 250 men men with good eyesight and erectile dysfunction were recruited and given various dosages of the drugs, one pill per day for six months. Their vision was routinely monitored throughout the trial period. There were no significant differences found between their sight before and after the period. There was no measurable effect of any kind in any of the men (except their erections, of course).
One word of caution. To be able to generalize from one sample to the population at large, there should be more men included in the trial. Only 250 men is not statistically significant. That said, this is a detailed study and the results are encouraging. Viagra has not been given an absolutely clean bill of health, but this comes close. If the industry can be persuaded to recruit a sufficient number for the next trial, we can arrive at a definitive result. While we wait, buy viagra online with complete confidence. There is no evidence anyone has ever lost their sight because of this drug.
More about pain management
Let’s assume we could talk the health insurance industry into paying for treatment focussed on the patient and not on the profitability of the hospitals and the pharmaceutical industry. What would a pain management department look like and how would it treat its patients? First off, it would concentrate all its energies on two quite different functions. Before you can identify the best treatment for a patient, you must diagnose the underlying cause of the pain. The most experienced diagnosticians in the hospital or clinic must therefore work on each patient, using whatever reasonable tests are necessary to reach a reliable diagnosis. The second function is to switch the emphasis on the types of treatment made available. At present, hospitals are run for profit and so base all their treatment decisions on what generates the most profit. In other countries, there is an evidence-based approach. Researchers identify which treatments are the most cost-effective for relieving the patient’s problem and only those treatments are used regardless of the level of profitability.
Once the hospital has a reliable diagnosis, it moves to the treatment phase. This may be an interventional procedure to repair damage or relieve the cause of pain. In the case of surgery, there are new less invasive methods. Where surgeons have the experience and the evidence shows good outcomes are likely, they should be used. If invasive procedures are not recommended or require follow-up, we move into the area of physical therapy, psychological counseling, cognitive behavioral therapy and general support services. Here the team aims to teach each patient how to cope with the new physical limitations and the reality of persistent pain. All the research both in the US and in the rest of the world shows these services are the most likely to improve the patient’s quality of life. pain management is as much about the patient’s attitude and emotions as it is about the treatment given. Then we get into all the alternative therapies. Again there is excellent research evidence showing that acupuncture and some homeopathic therapies produce excellent results. If there is such evidence available, the hospital or clinic should supply it. Finally, the doctors need to give detailed advice to patients about what drugs to use and when to use them.
In all this, the pain management department is aiming at a simple target. It wants the best long-term result for the patient without relying on the use of drugs. Although there will be some reliance on painkillers like tramadol during the early part of the treatment program, pain management assumes dependence on drugs is a bad thing. People should learn how to make the best of life without relying on pills. So you can buy tramadol online for use in the early stages but be prepared to learn how to management and control your pain without its help. In the long term, this saves you from the continuing cost of having to buy the drugs and it also makes you a stronger person. Ignoring all the stereotypes about the stoic people who live with pain, people with the strength of mind to manage their own feelings and emotions generally make better lives for themselves. People who see a pill bottle as the only solution are weak, passive and rarely make anything of their lives.
9 Simple but Effective Tips to Prevent Heartburn
Heartburn is a common problem for more than 60 million Americans. This is why it is such a tremendous money spinner for the pharmaceutical industry, which produces huge quantities of medication for a demanding market.
However, as the saying goes “prevention is better than cure” and there is a lot you can do to help prevent heartburn that does not require any medication. So, here we shall briefly consider some simple tips to prevent heartburn that have been well proven to produce effective relief for millions of heartburn sufferers.
Firstly, what causes the condition? Well very simply, heartburn is caused when the acidic stomach contents flow back into the esophagus (the tube which transports food from the mouth to the stomach). These acids cause inflammation of the delicate lining of the esophagus and this produces the characteristic “burning”. The main reasons for this occurring are either too much pressure on the stomach, a weakening of the muscular valve whose function is to prevent the stomach contents from flowing back, or a combination of the two.
So, how can you prevent this happening?
• Avoid those specific foods and drink that trigger your heartburn
• Eat smaller meals more frequently during the day. This helps to prevent the stomach becoming overloaded. Chewing your food well also helps by aiding its transport through the digestive system
• Don’t eat within three hours of your bedtime.
• After eating, don’t lie down to watch TV.
• Don’t wear tight fitting clothing or belts that can put pressure on your stomach.
• Elevate the head of your bed by placing blocks or using a wedge pillow. This helps gravity do its work.
• Lose weight – if you are significantly overweight then you are putting extra pressure on your stomach which can result in the acidic stomach contents being forced back into the esophagus.
• Avoid or reduce alcohol intake as alcohol causes a relaxation of the muscular valve that prevents the acidic stomach contents from flowing back into the esophagus.
• STOP SMOKING – apart from all the many reasons to stop smoking, nicotine, like alcohol, causes the muscular valve to relax.
So, there you have it, some very simple yet highly effective ways in which you can significantly prevent heartburn and gain some welcome relief without the need to take any medication.
Of course this will not cure your heartburn but if you do require medication why not consider taking some form of natural medication which can be equally as effective but will not produce any of the adverse side effects which conventional medications are known to do.
Finally, while the pharmaceutical industry has been unable to produce a cure, then if you are open minded enough, you might want to investigate the astonishing results that a revolutionary new, completely natural program of treatment has achieved. Thousands of former sufferers are now enjoying a totally heartburn-free life. Wouldn’t you like to be one of them?