FDA orders stronger warnings about risk of using opioid painkillers with certain antidepressants
The Food& Drug Administration is issuing strong new warnings that the combined use of opioid medications and benzodiazepines, a class of anti-anxiety medications better known by such commercial names as Xanax and Ativan, can dangerously suppress breathing and cause coma or death.The drug safety... (Source: Los Angeles Times - Science)
Source: Los Angeles Times - Science - August 31, 2016 Category: Science Authors: Melissa Healy Source Type: news
Sedation at the end of life - a nation-wide study in palliative care units in Austria
Conclusion: This study provides insights into the practice of end-of-life sedation in Austria. Critical appraisal of these data will serve as a starting point for the development of nation-wide guidelines for palliative sedation in Austria. (Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH))
Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH) - May 16, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Nausea and Vomiting Can Be Avoided During...
If you are experiencing nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy sessions, your doctor may prescribe Ativan, a anti-anxiety medication that also helps with nausea/vomiting. (Source: About.com Cervical Cancer)
Source: About.com Cervical Cancer - March 24, 2016 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: cervicalcancer.guide at about.com Tags: health Source Type: news
Holy Screw-Up, Batman... This Could Happen to You!
Let's call this an ALERT BLOG. One that could save a life! "Am I A Health Advocate"? was the title of a previous blog I posted highlighting the responsibilities associated with being an effective health advocate for the loved one in your care. These responsibilities included: • Familiarizing yourself with your loved one's current health condition • Understanding your loved one's physical and emotional needs • Ensuring the doctor's recommendations are being followed • Reviewing the list of medications and possible side effects Given what I just experienced, I now realize I left out two important responsibilities...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - March 23, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
What You Should Know if Your Doctor Prescribes...
Learn more about the benzodiazepine Ativan, also known as lorazepam, including what health conditions its used for, precautions, and side effects. (Source: About.com Bipolar Disorder)
Source: About.com Bipolar Disorder - March 21, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: bipolar.guide at about.com Tags: health Source Type: news
Medications May Cause Dementia, But It Could Be Untreated Sleep Apnea
By Brandon R. Peters, M.D. The news was enough to give you indigestion: Some of the over-the-counter and prescription medications most widely used to treat heartburn and acid reflux are linked to the development of dementia. The research suggesting a possible association is the latest in a string of implicated drugs over the past few years, including medications taken to treat anxiety, seizures, insomnia, and allergies. What is going on? Before emptying out the medicine cabinet, take a moment to consider the role of untreated obstructive sleep apnea. Scientific research can be difficulty to contextualize, especially when...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - February 27, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Fatal Overdoses Rising From Sedatives Like Valium, Xanax
THURSDAY, Feb. 18, 2016 -- While deaths from overdoses of heroin and narcotic painkillers like Oxycontin have surged in recent years, a new report finds the same thing is happening with widely used sedatives such as Xanax, Valium and Ativan.
In... (Source: Drugs.com - Daily MedNews)
Source: Drugs.com - Daily MedNews - February 18, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Source Type: news
Anxiety Meds Valium, Xanax And Ativan May Not Lead To Dementia After All
Benzodiazepines have been linked to dementia in the past. A new study raises some doubts. (Source: Forbes.com Healthcare News)
Source: Forbes.com Healthcare News - February 4, 2016 Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Alice G. Walton Source Type: news
Ativan Injection (Lorazepam Injection) - updated on RxList
(Source: RxList - New and Updated Drug Monographs)
Source: RxList - New and Updated Drug Monographs - December 16, 2015 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news
Combo Anxiety Tx Has Mixed Results in Alcohol Use Disorder
(MedPage Today) -- Lorazepam plus disulfiram deemed effective, but adherence low (Source: MedPage Today Primary Care)
Source: MedPage Today Primary Care - December 8, 2015 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news
Kalev’s story: Advances in medical management of pediatric heart failure
In recent years, the Boston Children’s Hospital Heart Failure team has made significant strides in slowing the progress of heart failure in children. In some cases, disease progression has been slowed enough for the patient to be taken off of the heart transplant list for being “too well.”
The following is part three of a four-part series featuring Heart Center patients who were once listed for transplant but were removed thanks to successful medical management of his or her heart disease.
Searching for answers
Thirty weeks into her second pregnancy, Katie Rosenthal just felt like something was wrong. She asked her o...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - November 30, 2015 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Erin Horan Tags: Our patients’ stories congenital heart disease Dr. Leslie Smoot Dr. Pedro del Nido Dr. Sitiram Emani Dr. Wayne Tworetsky heart failure heart transplant Heart transplant program Source Type: news
Red Meat for the Cancer Survivor's Soul
After reading my essay written this past winter entitled The Precarious Space Between Chemotherapy and Work, a friend and supporter of mine who is of my parent's generation, and whose wife was battling a third occurrence of cancer at that time, empathetically, yet cautiously, wrote to me expressing concern. He had noticed a "thread of anger" in my writing. He professed amazement at "how many judgments and putdowns I could fit into one blog." He admitted to having to step away from my blog as he and his wife fought her battle. And he repeated an axiom now all too familiar to me--his wife's struggles were teaching him how to...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - November 4, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Celebrating My Cancerversary
It's my cancerversary. 8 years ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My sister sent me a message this morning reminding me of this fact. This took my by surprise. I don't automatically recognize the date as being significant anymore. I took a moment when I saw the message from her to reflect. I thought about how different my life is now than it was before my diagnosis. Before my diagnosis I was sure that I had to do everything myself. I knew that people were unreliable; if I trusted anyone I was sure I would be let down. Cancer forced me to re-examine this principle. First of all, hospitals don't let patients go to ch...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - October 23, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Treating status epilepticus through direct brain stimulation
Status epilepticus, a state of prolonged seizures, is a life-threatening medical emergency. The average mortality rate is 20 percent, and people who survive sustain lasting neurologic damage. Aborting the seizures is of the essence, but about 30 to 40 percent of patients don’t respond to lorazepam, the first-line drug usually given, and the drug itself can cause respiratory depression.
A study in rat model of status epilepticus, led by Alexander Rotenberg, MD, PhD, of Boston Children’s Hospital’sDepartment of Neurology, is the first to test an emerging approach known as transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS)...
Source: Mass Device - October 21, 2015 Category: Medical Equipment Authors: MassDevice Tags: Blog Vector Blog Source Type: news
My insomnia pills worked, why can't I still have them? in ASK THE DOCTOR
Earlier this year a patient was in India where they were prescribed Lorazepam. It worked wonderfully with no side-effects. But the medicine is banned here. Dr Scurr advises. (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - August 31, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
