Healthy happy you.
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1 Top 10 Most Medicated States
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2 Do You Pay Attention to Drug Interactions?
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3 Do You Share Prescription Drugs?
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4 FDA Lists Drugs Under Investigation
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5 What Do You Use For Birth Control?
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6 Are Prescription Drug Ads More Harm Than Help?
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7 Prescription Drugs' Expiration Dates, Explained
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8 5 Things: EpiPens
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9 Don't Let These Meds Dampen Your Sex Drive
Sometimes we're just not in the mood for sex, but a persistent lack of sexual desire is a bigger issue. Numerous factors can contribute to low libido, including common prescription drugs. If you've been battling a weak libido, maybe your meds are to blame. To see which drugs can decrease a woman's sex drive, read more Read more
I have a friend who is allergic to peanuts, so she carries an EpiPen wherever she goes. When people catch a glimpse of the injection, it prompts inevitable Pulp Fiction jokes, but there's nothing fun about having to use an EpiPen. Commonly known by its brand name, this epinephrine autoinjection is used to treat anaphylaxis, a sudden and severe allergic reaction that can be life-threatening. Read more
I've always wondered what exactly an expiration date means on a drug. Does it become less effective? Could it poison me? Obviously, there's a big difference in those two things, so I was glad to see this NPR story that sheds some light on drug expiration dates. Just because a drug is past its expiration date doesn't necessarily mean you should toss it. Many states require drug labels to carry an Read more
Feeling anxious? You are not alone. Antianxiety drug Xanax is the top-popped pill among psychiatric drugs in the US, according to IMS Health's list of the 25 most prescribed psychiatric medications in 2009. Antianxiety drug Ativan jumped from the number five spot in 2005 to number three last year. Interestingly, Xanax and Ativan prescriptions were up 29 and 36 percent since 2005, while Prozac and Read more
Chances are you've seen more prescription drug commercials than you can count — Viagra, Cymbalta, Celebrex, and Yaz are just a few that I can name from memory. The ads are pervasive and influential and pharmaceutical companies know that. From 1997 to 2005, drug companies tripled their spending in television ad campaigns from $1.3 billion to $4.2 billion. In 2006 that number bumped up even Read more
It might seem like I have sex birth control on the brain. Last week I asked you about your experience or lack thereof with the female condom. Although it's most often talked about in intimate settings, birth control is in the news. Concerns are being raised about the safety of the Yaz birth control pill, the top selling pill in the US, according to the New York Times. Women taking Yaz might have Read more
“I could have killed myself. . . . Withdrawal — it's the worst thing. I was freezing cold, then sweating hot, then chattering and in so much pain, it was excruciating. But at my very core, I did not like existing the way I had been." — Paula Abdul, in the upcoming issue of Ladies' Home Journal, on overcoming her addiction to painkillers last Thanksgiving. Source Read more
College students and other concentration seekers know it's not hard to score a 'script for ADHD drugs. Fidgety, disorganized, forgetful. They know the symptoms and they work the system. But while using Ritalin and Adderall to edge out competition in school and life is nothing new (though the science journal Nature disagrees), a vocal group of scientists supporting it is. They argue that Read more
Ever been prescribed a drug by your doctor and wondered how safe or unsafe it is? The FDA has recently begun posting a list of prescription drugs under investigation for safety problems on its site. Currently there are only about 20 meds on the list, but the FDA will continue to update it each quarter. If a medication you're currently taking is classified as under investigation, don't freak out. Read more
If you pass the occasional pill to your friends, you are not alone. According to a recent study published in The Journal of Women’s Health, sharing prescription drugs is common among young adults, especially 18- to 44-year-old women. The recent survey of 25,000 people found that more than one-third of the women polled shared prescription drugs with friends or took pills from their pals. The Read more
