Medications Review

Botulinum Toxin (Botox) works by blocking the nerve impulses to the muscles right where the nerves meet the muscles. But it doesn’t only block nerves to muscles, it blocks all nervous signals that are mediated by a chemical called acetyl choline.

Acetyl choline is the key to how and why Botox works. Acetyl choline is the chemical which is released by the nerve endings and serves to carry the impulse from the nerve across the tiny gap between the nerve ending and the target of the nerve ending. Acetyl choline nerve receptors exist on all voluntary muscles (that is, all the muscles that we have voluntary control over, like in our faces, arms and legs, as opposed to those muscles that we don’t have voluntary control over like the ones in our guts).

Our sweat glands are stimulated by the sympathetic nervous system. Although they are not under voluntary control, acetyl choline receptors also exist on our sweat glands. This means that Botox can be used to block sweat production, and is a very effective treatment for hyperhidrosis (excessive sweat production).

Botox has been found very useful to help some of the victims of strokes (cardiovascular accidents). After people have had a stroke they often find that some of their muscles are very strongly contracted and spastic. This can severely limit their function even if some nerve control remains. Botox can reduce this spasm and for some carefully selected patients be a useful adjunct to physical therapy in helping them to recover from their stroke. In the same way, Botox has been used to help children with cerebral palsy. It can help allow children with cerebral palsy who have been thoroughly assessed and found suitable for Botox therapy to walk in a more normal kind of way.

Dystonia is a condition characterized by involuntary muscle contractions. It can affect any voluntary muscle, quite often the neck (causing wry neck, torticollis or cervical dystonia, CD) or limbs, and more rarely the vocal cords. This produces painful contortions that can severely limit physical ability. Vocal dystonia can cause severe difficulties with speech production. Botox can be a very effective treatment for dystonia.

Migraine affects many people. Some people have such severe and frequent attacks that their lives are severely affected. For this group Botox has been found to be helpful. One clinical trial found that after one year of treatment with Botox, nearly 70% of those treated with Botox had a 50% reduction in the number of migraines compared with before the trial.

Bruxism is a condition where people grind their teeth, usually during the night. This can be disturbing for partners, and cause health problems such a wearing down of teeth, temporomandibular joint pain and dysfunction. Injection of Botox into the masseter (jaw) muscles is an effective treatment.

Blepharospam is a condition where people get involuntary spasm of their eyelids. This can cause problems with vision as well as being socially embarrassing. Careful injection of Botox into the eyelid muscles is an effective treatment.

Botox has also been found helpful for selected cases of severe chronic back pain where the pain is caused by muscle spasms. Data from small scale trials has been very encouraging. Because the treatment can be so carefully targeted only the affected muscles are treated and side effects or complications of botox treatment in expert hands is extremely rare.

Cosopt is a drug mainly used my medical experts to cure or treat patients who are experiencing high pressure around and inside the eye. In scientific terms, if the person is experiencing high pressure inside the eye which is affecting the eyesight, the person is having a disease known as glaucoma. A glaucoma is where the optic nerve is damaged which leads to the degradation or deterioration of the eye visions. Therefore the Cosopt is given to minimize the pressure the person is experiencing inside his or her eye. From the scientific perspective, the Cosopt drug is known as the Dorzolamid/timolol eyedrops. But in terms of business and marketing, the drug is being marketed as Cosopt.

As stated earlier, the two main chemical ingredient that the Cosopt posses are Dorzolamid and timolol. By consuming Cosopt, the drug helps to reduce the amount of fluid that is populated around the eye, which automatically reduces the pressure inside the eye. Basically, the pressure within the human eyeballs is preserved or maintained by continuous flow of liquid known as aqueous humour. It’s produced by the ciliary body, which resides in the eyeballs. If the amount of liquid (aqueous humour) increases gradually, then the pressure within the eyeball will increase as well. Therefore, the Cosopt drug helps the patient’s eyes by clearing out all the liquid and decreasing the pressure inside the eye. The timolol chemical of the drug blocks the beta receptors which produces the aqueous humour. (Timolol is known as the “beta-blocker”) while the Dorzolamid chemical of the drug blocks the action of an enzyme known as carbonic anhydrase in the human’s body (the carbonic anhydrase is responsible for creating a salt called bicarbonate which is important to create the aqueous humour liquid)

As with most drugs, before providing the Cosopt drug, certain important safety precautions must be taken in consideration. Patients who have diabetes or any heart-related disease are not allowed to consume this drug. The same also applies for patients who have kidney and liver-related disease as well. Patients who have allergies to either timolol or Dorzolamid are also not allowed to consume this drug. When using or consuming this drug, the patient must ensure that the Cosopt dropper must not touch in any surface such as the eyes or hands. It’s because if the Cosopt dropper is contaminated, then it could cause an infection of the human eye. Also, the drug can cause blurred vision, therefore the user is advised not to consume drug before driving and performing any activities that need clear vision.

Cosopt is a well known drug and at the same time it is widely considered as the best option for most of the strange diseases that you might come along. It is always advised to buy these drugs at a reputed Canadian pharmacy, as you can save a lot of time and money. You can click here to buy Generic Cosopt.

In the USA, online pharmacy has become very popular because of its convenience and low prices. The competition in the pharmacy industry is increased and the competitors are trying to attract customers online by offering high quality medications at low prices.
Mexican online pharmacy
Considering the fact that more and more people prefer to purchase drugs online instead of visiting the local drug-store, it is extremely important to inform them about the numerous illegitimate online pharmacies that offer medications and prescriptions.

There are hundreds websites that sell medications and prescriptions online, as well as other different health care products. Usually, when you purchase drugs from an online pharmacy you will be asked to fill in some forms about your medical history. These familiar online pharmacies are trusty and reliable, they sell high quality medications and offer prescriptions issued by certified doctors. However, there are many unapproved online drug-stores that may sell illegal drugs, may not have permission to sell or don’t provide medical consultation.

Internet offers easy solution of many problems, but it also makes it very easy to not observe law and other legal requirements necessary for legitimate online business. Thus, many companies decide to sell medications online without meeting the legal requirements. They will ask you to fill in an online form when you place an order but this doesn’t mean the prescriptions is safe. Actually, you risk getting a drug that is not appropriate for your medical condition, and this may threaten your health.

The FDA works to stop these illegal and dangerous online pharmacies by investigating them for selling medications that are not approved and licensed, and prescriptions that are invalid.

The FDA has also started a public campaign to inform the people about the risks and advantages of online pharmacy. For this purpose, the FDA uses newspaper and press releases, radio and TV broadcasts, brochures and announcements in official websites.

It is recommended that you conduct a proper research before you choose a trusted and legal online pharmacy to buy from. This will help you avoid any illegal drug-stores and dangerous medications. As a customer, you need to be familiar with all the risks involved in order to stay safe.

Therefore bringing a few such cases before the public will send a powerful message that these illegal sites is not passable.

No doubt, if some cases about illegal websites are brought before the public, the people will be aware that there are many fraudulent online pharmacies and they will be much more careful when purchasing drugs online.

The drug that is most commonly used for treatment of obesity is sibutramine.

It is the drug of class appetite suppressants, also called serotonin-nor epinephrine reuptake inhibitors, that works by acting on control centers in the brain that controls the appetite. The drug decreases appetite by blocking the reuptake of neurotransmitters that is dopamine, nor epinephrine and serotonin. This alters their balance within the nerve cells thereby affecting the nerve function and interaction.

Capsules, 5mg (blue and yellow), 10mg (blue and white), 15mg (white and yellow). BRAND NAMEs, Reductil, Meridia, Sibutrex. STORAGE CONDITIONS, Capsules should be stored at 25°C (77°F), A tight, light-resistant container should be used for their storage. The capsules should be protected from heat and moisture.

This drug is used for losing weight along with a well balanced and low caloric diet. It is indicated for people with an initial body mass index of more than 30 kg/m2 or if they also have other risk factors such as diabetes mellitus, high cholesterol or hypertension than it is 27 mg/m2.

Sibutramine is taken once daily, generally in the morning. Initially the therapy is started with one 10mg tablet per day. The dose may be increased to achieve the desired effect upto 15mg by the physician after several weeks. Sibutramine may be taken with or without food.

In the liver Sibutramine is converted to its active form.
This conversion is inhibited by, Ketoconazole (Nizoral), Cimetidine (Tagamet), Erythromycin (Erytab, Eryc, Ilosone), clarithromycin (Biaxin), danazol (Danocrine), diltiazem (Cardizem, Tiazac, Dilacor), fluconazole (Diflucan), fluoxetine (Prozac), itraconazole (Sporanox), propoxyphene (Darvon), troleandomycin (Tao) verapamil (Verelan, Covera, Calan, Isoptin).

A decreased conversion and effectiveness of sibutramine can result if these are used with sibutramine.
Serotonin syndrome may appear in people who take sibutramine along with a) Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as, fluoxetine (Prozac), fluvoxamine (Luvox), paroxetine (Paxil), sertraline (Zoloft)b) monoamine oxidase inhibitor drugs (MAO inhibitors) such as, Selegiline (Deprenyl, Eldepryl, Emsam), Hydralazine (Apresoline)Isoniazid (Laniazid, Nydrazid)

The serotonin syndrome may include these symptoms anxiety, dizziness, confusion, excessive sweating, shivering, fast heart rate, tremor, disorientation, vomiting, excitement, fever, loss of coordination, loss of consciousness, and weakness. Serotonin syndrome can also be caused if sibutramine is used with medications used for migraines such as sumatriptan (Imitrex), zolmitriptan (Zomig) and dihydroergotamine (DHE), dextromethorphan in many cough medications such as Robitussin-DM, meperidine (Demerol), pentazocine (Talwin) and fentanyl (Duragesic), or lithium (Eskalith).

These drugs should not be used with sibutramine as they can cause life threatening problems. So it is better not to use sibutramine and drugs from any of these classes of drugs. If required the minimum interval between takings the drugs from either class or sibutramine should be at least 2 weeks.

As there is no evidence that sibutramine can cause any harm to the fetus, thus the use is not recommended. Women should use contraception if there is any chance of becoming pregnant.
It is not known whether sibutramine or its active products accumulate in breast milk. Sibutramine, therefore, is also not recommended for nursing mothers.

Sibutramine is well-tolerated but it can cause some unwanted effects. Blood pressure and pulse may be measured and laboratory tests performed to monitor side effects. The most common side effects have been constipation, insomnia, headache, and dry mouth. Other less common side effects include abdominal pain, acne, rash, chest pain, anxiety, joint pain, back pain, excitation, depression, sweating, dizziness, drowsiness, changes in taste, irregular or painful menstrual periods, flu-like syndrome, increased cough, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, and neck pain, nervousness, tingling of the extremities, sore throat, and sinus congestion.

Abnormal liver tests have also been reported.
Depression, psychosis, mania, suicidal thoughts and suicide have been rarely reported during treatment however, sibutramine as the cause has not been established. Sibutramine probably should be discontinued in case of any of these events occur during treatment.

Symptoms of overdose may include fast heartbeat. If it is suspected contact your local poison control center or emergency room immediately. In case of a missed dose, the dose should be taken as soon as you remember. But if it is near the second dose skip the missed dose and take the regular dosing schedule. Remember that it is not a good choice to double the dose if dose is missed.

Loss of kidney function, related to age, often starts in your 30s, and gets worse with each passing decade, according to findings from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. This makes you more prone to drug toxicity.

There is a true story about an attorney who was 61 years old. She was shopping in a grocery store when she became very disoriented. For about an hour she wandered the aisles in a haze, and she filled her shopping cart with frozen tamales and chocolate cupcakes.

When she returned home, she babbled continually and was verbally abusive to her roommate. Then she yanked a fire extinguisher off the wall, and being convinced that she had found a better way to clean the apartment, sprayed the kitchen and bathroom with the thick white foam.

Her mental clarity did eventually return, but she was embarrassed and confused by her strange behavior. When she visited her doctor the next morning, the physician suspected drug toxicity.

She had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis six years earlier and had been prescribed baclofen. It controlled the muscle spasms in her legs. She had begun a low-carb diet and had shed fifteen pounds. Because of her weight loss, the baclofen had built up to toxic levels in her body.

Symptoms of drug toxicity include:

Drug toxicity is usually mistaken as some other malady by physicians and patients. This condition can occur when the medication dose is too high. It can also be caused by the body’s inability to metabolize the drug properly.

Sometimes a physician may fail to equate the patients symptoms with a drug toxicity issue, and end up giving them another medication on top of the ones they are taking. Soon the level of toxicity makes them feel similar to what they may feel with a viral illness or worse.

Another dilemma is when a patient is seeing several different doctors, and getting medications from each of them. The more medications that a patient takes, the more likely they are to have drug interaction and toxicity issues.

To avoid drug toxicity:

Although the safety inserts that come with medications are long, it is best to read through the insert before you take it. It may have information (usually in fine print) regarding the drug’s possible size effects.

There are a few drugs that have been identified as those with the highest potential for harm:

Anticoagulants:

Antidiabetic agents:

Narrow Therapeutic Agents:

The above drugs account for almost half of emergency room visits for drug reactions in older patients.

Other medications that have been proven to be toxic in the elderly are:

If you have been experiencing unexplained conditions, and have been on a medication for a prolonged period of time, you can see your doctor to see if they can test for drug toxicity.