Are you taking too much anti-inflammatory medication?
Follow me on Twitter @RobShmerling
You might call them pain relievers. You might take them for back pain, headache, or arthritis. Your doctor calls them “NSAIDs,” which stands for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Whatever you call them and for whatever reason you take them, NSAIDs are among the most popular medications worldwide. In fact, estimates suggest that about 15% of the US population takes an NSAID regularly (including those that are over the counter and prescription strength). Along with sporadic users, more than 30 billion doses are taken each year.
Some of the most common NSAIDs include ibuprofen (as in...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - April 2, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Arthritis Back Pain Drugs and Supplements Headache Health Injuries Pain Management Source Type: blogs
5 things that can help you take a pass on kidney stones
If you’ve ever passed a kidney stone, you probably would not wish it on your worst enemy, and you’ll do anything to avoid it again. “Kidney stones are more common in men than in women, and in about half of people who have had one, kidney stones strike again within 10 to 15 years without preventive measures,” says Dr. Brian Eisner, co-director of the Kidney Stone Program at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.
Where do kidney stones come from?
Kidney stones form develop when certain substances, such as calcium, oxalate, and uric acid, become concentrated enough to form crystals in your kidneys. The cry...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - March 8, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Matthew Solan Tags: Health Kidney and urinary tract Source Type: blogs
Medical marijuana
There are few subjects that can stir up stronger emotions among doctors, scientists, researchers, policy makers, and the public than medical marijuana. Is it safe? Should it be legal? Decriminalized? Has its effectiveness been proven? What conditions is it useful for? Is it addictive? How do we keep it out of the hands of teenagers? Is it really the “wonder drug” that people claim it is? Is medical marijuana just a ploy to legalize marijuana in general?
These are just a few of the excellent questions around this subject, questions that I am going to studiously avoid so we can focus on two specific areas: why do patient...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - January 15, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Peter Grinspoon, MD Tags: Complementary and alternative medicine Drugs and Supplements Health Pain Management Source Type: blogs
Is it safe to take ibuprofen for the aches and pains of exercise?
Follow me on Twitter @RobShmerling
Not long ago, I took ibuprofen after a dental procedure and was amazed at how well it worked. Millions of people have had similar experiences with ibuprofen and related medications (called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs) when used for a number of conditions, including arthritis, back pain, and headache. That’s why NSAIDs are among the most commonly prescribed drugs worldwide.
More than a dozen different NSAIDs are available, including naproxen (as in Naprosyn or Aleve), celecoxib (Celebrex), diclofenac (Voltaren) and indomethacin (Indocin). Aspirin is also an NSAID, th...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - August 9, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Drugs and Supplements Exercise and Fitness Health Kidney and urinary tract Source Type: blogs
Are there any good doctors?
Are doctors who follow “consensus guidelines,” rank high on quality standards set by hospitals, and adhere to rules set by the drug and medical device industries really providing “health”? Would you call a regimen of Lipitor, hydrochlorothiazide, aspirin, metoprolol, Prilosec, and Naprosyn “healthy” because it was prescribed by a “good” doctor?
Health is not provided by doctors; revenue-generating healthcare is provided by doctors–there’s a difference, a big difference.
Health is something you achieve on your own with results that are SUPERIOR to the results doc...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - June 1, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Undoctored Wheat Belly Lifestyle diy healthcare prescriptions sick care Source Type: blogs
Some medications don ’ t help back pain as much as we thought
This study found that NSAIDs don’t work as well for back pain as many people think. However, it is not true (as stated by some headlines about this study) that NSAIDs were not effective at all. Some people did improve with these medications. The trick is figuring out in advance who is most likely to get better with NSAID therapy. We can’t yet do that very well.
Here’s my suggestion: if you take an NSAID for spinal pain (or just about any other pain), keep track of how you’re feeling. A “pain diary” is one way to do this. If you aren’t clearly better in a week or two, talk to your doctor about adjusting the do...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - March 2, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Back Pain Drugs and Supplements Pain Management Source Type: blogs
The Future of Work Part I
Have you ever taken some time to think about what work will look like 5, 10 or even 20 years from now? If you haven’t, it is probably worth the effort because a changing work environment may have dramatic implications for how you are employed in the future. In these two posts, I want to talk about some of the trends I’m seeing and how they may play out in the coming years.
Outsourcing
Companies are getting better and better at spinning off specific business functions and letting them be handled by others. For example, many businesses can’t justify running payroll in-house. It is cheaper to hire a company...
Source: Productivity501 - September 20, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Mark Shead Tags: Misc Source Type: blogs
Bayer Unveils Aleve Direct Therapy TENS Back Pain Relief System
Bayer is releasing a new consumer TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) system marketed using a familiar name, Aleve Direct Therapy. Designed specifically to help treat back pain, it sticks to the skin using double-sided gel pads and is operated via an accompanying wireless remote control.
Once activated, the system begins delivering electric pulses to the back, going through a series of three stages that are intended to optimize the blocking of nerve signals moving up the spine and to motivate the release of endorphins. There’s a plus and minus buttons on the remote to control the overall level of the...
Source: Medgadget - July 18, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Editors Tags: Neurology Neurosurgery Orthopedic Surgery Pain Source Type: blogs
Listening to our patients
Around 30 years ago, LRZ taught me a most important lesson. LRZ, one of my most fondly remembered patients, was a classic blue collar guy. He had a wonderful gregarious personality. He had significant systolic dysfunction, yet still worked hard for the city. Amongst other things he did, he shoveled the salt into trucks on snow and ice days. He functioned well most days.
One day he came to see me. In those days, prior to ACE inhibitors or the use of beta blockers, we focused on digoxin and diuretics. As I picked up his chart I noted that he had gained 3 pounds. From past experience, I knew that he would soon...
Source: DB's Medical Rants - June 21, 2016 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: rcentor Tags: Medical Rants Source Type: blogs
Don’t forget the power of over the counter remedies
I recently had an enormous kidney stone. Well OK, it seemed enormous to me. But in terms of kidney stones, it was reasonably large; 9 mm, in fact. Large enough that I had to have lithotripsy (the use of sound waves to break up the stone) performed by my friend and most excellent urologist, Dr. Robert McAlpine in Seneca, SC.
As uncomfortable as the whole experience was (and it wasn’t my first rodeo either), I was reminded of something very important, which is that prescription drugs aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. In fact, the best pain relief I had from my kidney stone involved the little blue wonder pill (for w...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - May 3, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Edwin Leap, MD Tags: Meds Medications Primary care Source Type: blogs
Lots More Whining
Just can ' t get enough of it!Last Wednesday ' s visit to Mayo Clinic marked the end of the every-week 200-mile round trips, but the results didn ' t shed much light on my medical condition. Is the " flare " in my vertebrae due to the myeloma itself, or is it inflammation caused by my immune system attacking the myeloma? We ' re hoping for the latter, of course, and sticking with the current medication study, but this does require more than a little faith.Here is the whining: Last night I was quite uncomfortable for much of the night. The neuropathic pain on the right side of my back became much w...
Source: Myeloma Hope - February 20, 2016 Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: blogs
Lots More Whining
Just can't get enough of it!
Last Wednesday's visit to Mayo Clinic marked the end of the every-week 200-mile round trips, but the results didn't shed much light on my medical condition. Is the "flare" in my vertebrae due to the myeloma itself, or is it inflammation caused by my immune system attacking the myeloma? We're hoping for the latter, of course, and sticking with the current medication study, but this does require more than a little faith.
Here is the whining:
Last night I was quite uncomfortable for much of the night. The neuropathic pain on the right side of my back became much wo...
Source: Myeloma Hope - February 20, 2016 Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: blogs
Know the signs of diverticulitis!
Diverticulosis is a condition that describes small pouches in the wall of the digestive tract that occur when the inner layer of the digestive tract bulges through weak spots in the outer layer. When these diverticula become inflamed, that is called diverticulitis. Diagnosis of diverticulosis/diverticulitis is made over several methods, including a physical exam which includes a digital rectal examination, blood tests, x-rays or CT scans of organs in the abdomen, a colonoscopy or a flexible sigmoidoscopy. Treatment for diverticulosis includes a diet high in fiber, fiber supplementation if needed, plenty of fluids and exerc...
Source: Nursing Comments - November 8, 2015 Category: Nursing Authors: Stephanie Jewett, RN Tags: Advice/Education Caregiving General Public Nursing/Nursing Students Patients/Specific Diseases abdominal pain bloating diverticulitis diverticulosis fever and chills gas nausea painfule urination rectal bleeding vomting Source Type: blogs
How a Simple Little Pill Ended Up Costing 99 Percent More Than Its Ingredients
By DEVON HERRICK
A recent New York Times article profiled a pair of ultra-expensive pain medications designed to go easy on the stomach. Common pain relievers, like aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen are prone to irritate the stomach if taken repeatedly throughout the day. A newer class of pain medication, called cox-2 inhibitors, are the preferred pain relievers for those who cannot take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on a long term basis. Celecoxib, the generic version of Celebrex, is now available at a cost of about $2 per tablet, but that can add up to about $700 to $1000 per year.
More than a decade ago...
Source: The Health Care Blog - November 4, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Simon Nath Tags: THCB aspirin Devon Herrick Duexis Ibuprofen Naproxen New York Times Vimovo Source Type: blogs
How a Simple Little Pill Ended Up Costing 1000 Percent More Than Its Ingredients
By DEVON HERRICK
A recent New York Times article profiled a pair of ultra-expensive pain medications designed to go easy on the stomach. Common pain relievers, like aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen are prone to irritate the stomach if taken repeatedly throughout the day. A newer class of pain medication, called cox-2 inhibitors, are the preferred pain relievers for those who cannot take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on a long term basis. Celecoxib, the generic version of Celebrex, is now available at a cost of about $2 per tablet, but that can add up to about $700 to $1000 per year.
More than a decade ago...
Source: The Health Care Blog - November 4, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Simon Nath Tags: THCB aspirin Devon Herrick Duexis Ibuprofen Naproxen New York Times Vimovo Source Type: blogs
