Blogs - WEGO Health

Sickle Cell Crises

People with sickle cell disease experience a build-up of red blood cells (due to their long, thin, sickle shape) that can block capillaries, disabling them from carrying oxygen to tissues (hypoxia) causing tissue cells to become damaged and die. This painful process is what's known as "Sickle Cell Crisis," which is also another name for sickle cell disease due to its frequency. It's Sickle Cell Crisis that makes living with Sickle Cell Disease so difficult for patients. In this blog post… Continue

Added by amanda on November 11, 2009 at 3:30pm — No Comments

Weighing the Options: Taking Prescription Medications During Pregnancy

It seems to be common knowledge that most medications are off limits for women during pregnancy. Yet, it is also quite apparent that there are often medical conditions that need attention during a pregnancy that may require a woman to asses the risks vs. the benefits and sometimes make the decision to take a prescription medication despite any potential risks. How do we go about doing this? How does a woman put her mind at ease when confronted with these scenarios? What kinds of chances are we t… Continue

Added by Amy K on November 7, 2009 at 9:00pm — 1 Comment

New medicines to relieve opioid induced constipation

For those on chronic opioid therapy, constipation is often much more than an annoyance - it can radically change their lives. Today there are at least 3 drugs being studied, in trial, or in use that can help this problem, without stimulating the bowel. Relistor is an injectable drug I blogged about a while back (see Treating Opioid side-effects with a new/old drug) that was recently put on the ma… Continue

Added by Ellen S on November 2, 2009 at 9:30am — No Comments

Caffeine, Migraine and disordered sleep - cumulative effects and Little Red Riding Hood

Do you know what caffeine actually does inside your body? inside your brain? You know that it helps you to stay awake, but did you know that the effects inside your brain is actually cumulative? Those with sleep trouble and Migraine are especially at risk. My analogy is the children's tale of Little Red Riding Hood - Adorable little red-caped girl skips thru the woods to visit dear old grandma, only to find that a nasty, hungry wolf has beat her there. The wolf dresses in grandma's clot… Continue

Added by Ellen S on October 30, 2009 at 4:00pm — 2 Comments

Depression during pregnancy

Amanda started a discussion in the pregnancy group about Depression during pregnancy. I thought this was a wonderful topic! Much has been covered about postpardem depression, but you don't hear too much about depression during pregnancy. Do you still take your medication? Will the medication hurt the baby? Will not taking the medication hurt you? Does the depression get better… Continue

Added by Janeen on October 9, 2009 at 8:30pm — No Comments

Remember your medicines - 3 steps to sTweet Reminders

Read Part One of this post here Before a recent vacation I hit on an idea I was sure someone else much more tech-savvy had discovered first, but apparently not. I wanted to share it, in hopes that Health Activists find it worthy enough to pass along to others who might benefit by using it, or even using it as a jump-off point for finding something else that might work for them. (And hopefully… Continue

Added by Ellen S on October 8, 2009 at 9:00am — No Comments

Tips for Health Activists: sTweet Reminders for Medication

Do you or someone you know need help remembering to take medicines at the right times each day? Those with chronic medical conditions often find this a very difficult part of their life. On a personal level, some medicines make me very forgetful, so remembering when and what or how much to take can be a huge obstacle in my life because forgetting something can mean an emergency run to the hospital. I was saving to invest in an expensive reminder watch to keep me on schedule, until the da… Continue

Added by Ellen S on October 7, 2009 at 9:30pm — 2 Comments

Microchips in pills - when your medicine phones/texts to remind you

I had heard this was coming, but never dreamed it would be so quickly. A groundbreaking new technology is being developed and tested by Novartis, and Pfizer has developed a similar system. Yes, it's true. Soon our pills may be texting or phoning us to remind us it's time to take another, as well as when we should call for our next refill. What do you think of this technology? At first glan… Continue

Added by Ellen S on September 22, 2009 at 4:00pm — 1 Comment

Just a little bit of help

I just wanted to share for anyone who suffers from osteoarthritis as well as diabetes type 2: these two diseases combined have made me clumsy, particularly handling small pills like Elavil. I have found when refilling my weekly pillbox, I pour the tablets on the table to put 3 pills in each night's slot, and by using a smaller type of spoon like a demitasse spoon, rather than a teaspoon, the spoon can help to prevent tossing your medications around the table or floor. It was one of those acciden… Continue

Added by Snowbird on September 6, 2009 at 9:27pm — No Comments

Tonabersat - new drug may prevent Migraine aura with and without headache

A Danish study was just released in the journal The Lancet Neurology that showed the drug Tonabersat was effective in preventing the aura portion of a Migraine attack. This was part of the phase II clinical (patient) trials on its use in Migraine. The drug is the first in a brand new selective class of drugs called… Continue

Added by Ellen S on September 3, 2009 at 1:05pm — No Comments

Antidepressant Use Doubles - Is Our Love of Excess To Blame?

It's no secret that we live in a culture of excess. It's probably a side effect of our expression of personal freedom. What better way to prove that we are in-control than by indulging and enjoying our freedom to spend and acquire? Not only are there more options than ever, there is also more access to fulfilling our desires of excess. Even in this economy, we're willingly sacrificing quality in favor of quantity. Due to frantic feelings of not having enough hours in the day - we prefer the quic… Continue

Added by amanda on August 7, 2009 at 3:00pm — 1 Comment

Topiramate and birth defects

The controversial anti-seizure drug Topamax (Topiramate) is widely used off-label as a Migraine preventative, often with great success. However, there are large numbers of hopeful patients who begin preventative therapy using topiramate without all the facts. Additionally, largely as a result of usually reliable sites with a fairly large amount of old (ergo misinformation) available, proactive patients may be going online and assuming they are getting the latest and greatest information availabl… Continue

Added by Ellen S on August 6, 2009 at 1:00pm — 1 Comment

Beta blockers - a Migraine preventative linked to cataract risk

Recently a large, long term Australian study showed a correlation between the use of common beta blocker medications, an increased risk for the formation of cataracts and the subsequent need for surgery. Researchers discovered the link when looking for potential risks of increased cataract formation. 6,700 persons were tracked over 10 years, and the researchers noted a 45% increased risk of cataract formation,… Continue

Added by Ellen S on July 25, 2009 at 3:25pm — 3 Comments

Finding My Way

I’ve gotten quite a few notes from people checking in, to see if all is OK in our neck of the woods. The common thread was “you indicated you were having difficulties, then disappeared”. For that I must apologize. For the most part I came to a grinding halt with my online presence. The… Continue

Added by ADHD Hunter on July 1, 2009 at 5:00am — 1 Comment

Cambia - New Migraine medication is approved

Cambia was approved June 17, 2009 by the FDA for use in the United States for the treatment of Migraine. It does not prevent nor lessen the number of attacks, but is designed to treat one already in progress. Cambia comes as a flavored powder to be mixed with water to form a solution which is drunk by the patient, preferably on an empty stomach. Drugs.com reports that, "In randomized clinical trials, Cambia was shown to be effective not only in mig… Continue

Added by Ellen S on June 25, 2009 at 10:00am — 1 Comment

Your medicine choices - suppositories

Medication can be formulated in many different ways: *pill *capsule *liquid *sublingual *drops *spray *lozenge *sucker *suppository *cream *gel *inhalent This post is going to talk frankly about suppositories and compounded suppositories. What is a suppository? A rectal suppository (or 'rectal rocket' some have dubbed them) is a special pill that is placed in the rectum to be absorbed instead of s… Continue

Added by Ellen S on June 24, 2009 at 11:00am — No Comments

Customize your medicine - easy compounding pharmacy bulletpoints

How would you like to take your medicine as a tasty liquid or sucker, or a patch, capsule, cream or suppository? It's easy when you get your medicine at a compounding pharmacy. Compounding pharmacies customize medicines by hand. Compounding is as much an art as a science. Like the pharmacies of 75, 100 yrs ago or back into biblical times, they follow your prescription and use individual ingredients to: ** provide you with a customized dosage, or special formulation such as a loz… Continue

Added by Ellen S on June 19, 2009 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Sleep: People Aren't Doing It Anymore

One of the most important things that we do is sleep. Daily movement, stress, even eating and thinking puts a strain on our bodies. When we sleep our bodies repair themselves and become strong and ready for the next day. All of our systems (immune, respiratory, digestive) rely upon this resting period. However, more and more people are suffering from sleep disorders and insomnia than ever. One indication that sleep problems are increasing is that the sales of sleep aid medicines have inc… Continue

Added by amanda on April 24, 2009 at 2:35pm — 5 Comments

LDN- Low Dose Naltrexone for Fibromyalgia, Autoimmunity... and Migraine?

I've Tweeted about Low Dose Naltrexone, but I don't think I've written here about it yet. I wanted a very complete post - it's the perfectionist in me. That's not happened yet, but something else has: Research just released from Stanford School of Medicine shows that in a small preliminary study, LDN was found helpful for the pain of Fibromyalgia. This isn't new to those like me who have been fo… Continue

Added by Ellen S on April 23, 2009 at 1:00pm — No Comments

Migraine meds and excess hair

While some medicines used to help migraines can cause hair loss, sometimes some of our medicines can cause unwanted hair growth. Some medications used for migraines that might cause excess hair growth are: Birth control pills Carbamazepine Glucocorticoids Phenytoin (Dilantin) Tegretol Called Hirsutism or Hypertrichosis, excess hair growth is seen as masculine in a man, but in a woman the cheer for the present day seems to be the cry of "No hair, No hair!". Even in places w… Continue

Added by Ellen S on March 28, 2009 at 7:00pm — No Comments

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All Blog Posts Tagged 'medication' (49)