Therapy

I was quite unwell and when the nurse asked how much tegretol I took I groggily told her 500mg when I take a daily intake of 1000mg. I’ve rung the pathology co. to advise them of the mistake, but the nurse, who was terribly vague & didn’t seem to understand what I was saying, wouldn’t take my info. Is there anyone out there who can tell me whether the results of my tests will be effected by not providing the correct dosage or do serum levels just show whether the drug is within therapeutic ranges? I need to know whether I should pursue this with the pathologists or just speak to my GP. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.

The blood test measures for the therapeutic range of the medication. Your serum levels will be measured to make sure they fall in a range between the minimal effective level and the maximum level without causing toxicity. This can be easily measured without knowing your prescribed dose, as this is a set range. Relax, the lab will still be able to accurately run the test. You can discuss the results with your doctor when the results are available.

FDA is taking action against companies marketing injectable colchicine, which is an unapproved form of the drug. Colchicine is an anti-inflammatory used in the treatment of gout. Colchicine tablets, which are less hazardous, are not affected by FDA’s action at this time.

The injectable form of colchicine is especially hazardous because the therapeutic index, which is the margin between an effective dose and a toxic dose, is very narrow. Also, certain side effects that might alert the clinician that the dose is too high do not appear until the patient has already reached toxic levels, which adds to the problem.

Because of its toxicity and the availability of safer therapies, injectable colchicine is rarely used to treat gout anymore. But some practitioners are using this product to treat back pain. FDA believes that the risks of this treatment outweigh the benefits.

FDA is also cautioning pharmacies against compounding injectable colchicine products. Because the drug is so toxic, and because the therapeutic index is so narrow, any errors that occur during compounding can have potentially fatal consequences.

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I am confused on what statment is true or false. Can some one help me with this tutorial questions?
Concerning first order kinetics:

A constant amount of a substance is excreted per hour?
A constant amount of a substance is excreted during each half-life?
A constant proportion is excreted per hour?
It occurs when metabolising enzymes are saturated?
It may describe phenytoin elimination at low therapeutic doses?

true, false, false, true, false, false

is assessed to predict the potential for toxic drug reactions. This is called the

a. Kirby-Bauer
b. antibiogram
c. E-test
d. MIC
e. therapeutic index(TI)

The answer is:

e. therapeutic index

Def: The ratio between the toxic dose and the therapeutic dose of a drug, used as a measure of the relative safety of the drug for a particular treatment.

Good Luck

Dave
http://freewowgoldguide.blogspot.com/

http://www.takebackyourhealth.com

Long term use of the standard drugs for fighting inflammation, i.e. cortico steroids and Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) are worse than the inflammation they are trying to stop.

Guaranteeing an earlier death. New research findings have stopped the use of cortico steroids against brain inflammation in head injury patients due to the fact that such patients treated with the cortisone die at a faster rate than those not treated with the drug! (6). Besides, the long term side effects of steroid use, the water gain, moon face, thinning/tearing skin, osteoporosis, bursa tissue death etc. make these drugs unsuitable for daily long term use.

And as to the NSAID drugs these already kill 18,000 to 22,000 a year from their kidney failure, intestinal hemorrhage and liver failure side effects just from regular use. (7). The Cox 2 NSAID Vioxx itself killed 39,000 people and gave another 159,000 heart attacks and strokes!

The other Cox 2 drugs have been shown to have the same potential for creating heart and vascular inflammation, yes inflammation. Imagine an anti-inflammatory drug that causes inflammation – and the egg head chemists and MDs in these drug companies promised the Cox 2 drugs would be completely side effect free when the drugs were first introduced.

That claim lasted all of 3 weeks as Celebrx had killed 11 patients from side effects in its first 21 days of use! (8). So the NSAID drugs are not the way to go either as here again the regular even low dose use of these drugs can have lift threatening side effects.

http://www.takebackyourhealth.com/blog/

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I have very persistent depression and have just read about people using Ritalin and other adhd meds for relief. Please don’t answer this if you have ABUSED Ritalin.I only want to know if it and similar meds are addictive at therapeutic doses (eg less than 60mg)Thanx

I took Ritalin for like a month and didn’t find it addictive. I was taking a fairly low dose, though, and under the supervision of a psychiatrist. My understanding is that it can be somewhat addicitve, and you should be careful.

Treating depression with stimulants strikes me as somewhat odd because stimulants like Ritalin work by increasing the levels of epinephrine and norepinephrine in the brain, and many antidepressants increase the levels of those neurotransmitters as well as several others. Is this something you’ve been discussing with a psychiatrist, or something you’ve come up with through your own research? If your psychiatrist recommends it, then I’d have to say you should go for it. However, if it’s just something you’ve read on the internet, well, there’s a lot of BS information on the internet.

PS. The "zombie" side-effects only occur if you’re taking too high a dose

Excerpts from “The Mind – Benders: Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and the Hallucinogens”. This film explores the history of hallucinogenic drugs, and specifically the effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Combining graphics that suggest a hallucinogenic experience, snippets of interviews with users (who explain their reasons for taking the drug) and doctors, and taped sessions of research with volunteers, the film delves into the destructive uses of the drug. Producer: National Archives and Records Administration. Creative Commons license: Public Domain

Chemist Albert Hofmann, working at the Sandoz Corporation pharmaceutical laboratory in Switzerland, first synthesized LSD in 1938. He was conducting research on possible medical applications of various lysergic acid compounds derived from ergot, a fungus that develops on rye grass. Searching for compounds with therapeutic value, Hofmann created more than two dozen ergot-derived synthetic molecules.

LSD is sold on the street in tablets, capsules, and occasionally in liquid form. It is an odorless and colorless substance with a slightly bitter taste that is usually ingested orally. It is often added to absorbent paper, such as blotter paper, and divided into small decorated squares, with each square representing one dose.

CONTROL STATUS

LSD is a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I drugs, which include heroin and MDMA, have a high potential for abuse and serve no legitimate medical purpose. Its two precursors lysergic acid and lysergic acid amide are both in Schedule III of the CSA. The LSD precursors ergotamine and ergonovine are List I chemicals.

STREET TERMS

Acid, blotter acid, window pane, dots, mellow yellow

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS

The short-term effects of LSD are unpredictable. They depend on the amount of the drug taken; the user’s personality, mood, and expectations; and the surroundings in which the drug is used. Usually, the user feels the first effects of the drug within 30 to 90 minutes of ingestion. These experiences last for extended periods of time and typically begin to clear after about 12 hours. The physical effects include dilated pupils, higher body temperature, increased heart rate and blood pressure, sweating, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, dry mouth, and tremors. Sensations may seem to “cross over” for the user, giving the feeling of hearing colors and seeing sounds. If taken in a large enough dose, the drug produces delusions and visual hallucinations.

LONG-TERM EFFECTS

LSD users often have flashbacks, during which certain aspects of their LSD experience recur even though they have stopped taking the drug. In addition, LSD users may develop long-lasting psychoses, such as schizophrenia or severe depression. LSD is not considered an addictive drug – that is, it does not produce compulsive drug-seeking behavior as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine do. However, LSD users may develop tolerance to the drug, meaning that they must consume progressively larger doses of the drug in order to continue to experience the hallucinogenic effects that they seek.

TRAFFICKING TRENDS

LSD trafficking and abuse have decreased sharply since 2000, and a resurgence does not appear likely in the near term. National-level data regarding LSD availability (such as LSD seizures and LSD-related arrests) show a sharp decrease since 2000. LSD seizures, for example, decreased 100 percent from 2000 through 2005, and LSD-related arrests decreased 84.9 percent from 2000 through 2004 (see 2006 National Drug Threat Assessment Appendix B, Table 4 and Table 5). Demand for LSD also has decreased sharply since 2000, as reflected in national-level prevalence studies. In fact, Monitoring the Future (MTF) and National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data show that rates of past year use for LSD have decreased significantly for nearly every sampled age group (see 2006 National Drug Threat Assessment Appendix B, Table 1 and Table 2). Production of the drug also appears to be limited–with no reported laboratory seizures in 2004–and controlled by a relatively small number of experienced chemists. Moreover, LSD distribution appears to be very limited in most areas of the country. As such, resurgence in widespread LSD distribution is unlikely in the near term.

USE/USER POPULATION

LSD is abused by teenagers and young adults in connection with raves, nightclubs and concert settings.

Approximately 1.9% of eighth graders, 2.5% of tenth graders, and 3.5% of twelfth graders surveyed as part of the 2005 Monitoring the Future study reported lifetime use of LSD. Approximately 44% of eighth graders, 60.8% of tenth graders, and 69.9% of twelfth graders surveyed in 2005 reported that taking LSD regularly was a “great risk.” Additional survey results indicate that 5.6% of college students and 13.4% of young adults reported lifetime use of LSD.

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I have bilateral achilles tendenosis. Orthopedic surgeon put the worse leg in a walking splint 3 mos. Went to physical therapy. Got as strong and flexible as I could be. Still in pain. Back to orthopedic surgeon. He had no answers. Said it would either get better or rupture. Tried Egoscue book techniques. Tried ultrasound. Got orthodics. New shoes. Now using a night splint. Nothing is helping me. I’m an incredibly active person, from hiking to tennis to hauling rocks around my garden and this is ruining my life. Now I can hardly just walk through the day. Forget any kind of what I would call normal physical activity for me. Therapeutic doses of ibuprofen help, but how long can I keep taking that? Am about to try chiropractic. If that doesn’t work, acupuncture. My understanding is that an operation to scrape the tendon doesn’t help that much and actually makes the tendon more liable to breakage. Does anyone have any answers? I’m one miserable person.

Achilles tendinosis is a chronic condition associated with gradual degeneration of the Achilles tendon. All tendons require good blood circulation to repair microscopic tears caused throughout the day. However, the Achilles tendon tends to be poorly circulated and is unable to repair these micro tears as quickly as they occur. Eventually the tendon will thicken and become weak, resulting in the pain you are experiencing. Damage usually occurs about 6 cm above the heel.

Typical treatment includes stretching of the tendon/calf, wearing a boot to immobilize and rest the tendon (in order to stop the micro damage from occurring), and physical therapy to decrease pain, increase mobility and eventually, strengthen.

From: http://footandankle.mdmercy.com/conditions/achilles_tendon_probs/achilles_tendinosis.html
"If pain and weakness continue after prolonged boot treatment, then surgery is necessary to repair and reconstruct the degenerated Achilles tendon. Full and successful treatment is unfortunately not always successful without surgery.

The surgery is not always predictable, since the tendon has deteriorated, and it may not be possible to get it to heal again. The deteriorated portion of the tendon is removed (debrided), and the healthy sides of the tendon are stitched together. If the extent of the degeneration is severe, a tendon transfer is performed. The tendon transfer is done much like the repair for chronic Achilles rupture as described above."

My friend is abusing an inhaler, and I would like to know how much she would have to consume to overdose.
If this is any help, ‘B’ weighs about 110 lbs (50 kg) and is a frequent user of pot and DXM, neither of which was used within 12 hours of acquiring the inhaler.

Substance: Microcrystalline suspension of albuterol, USP in propellants (trichloromonofluromethane and dichlorodifloromethane) with oleic acid
Dose: Several puffs (each puff=90mcg albuterol)
Side effects: (medical usage, at therapeutic dose: ) source: http://www.medicinenet.com/albuterol/article.htm
palpitations
fast heart rate
elevated blood pressure
tremor (very evident)
nausea
nervousness (also evident)
dizziness
heart burn

MUGS do DRUGS – they don’t call them dope for no reason DOPE for DOPES

KCRA 3’s Walt Gray introduces viewers to a therapeutic mule in Placerville.

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