In a previous post Are Generic Medicines Just as Good?, I made the point that I thought in general, generic drugs are just a good as the brand name drug. I still believe this, however, the key phrase here is “in general.” I have seen a few medications that result in different side effects when […]
Driving Deemed Safe with Ambien
A recent literature review showed that people who take Ambien at night for sleep are able to drive 5-6 hours later. J. Jason Buckland, D.O. and associates reviewed 10 studies that involved driving tests after the administration of Ambien. These studies showed that there is no residual impairments in the morning, approxminately 5-6 hours later. […]
Provigil May Help Chemo-Brain
Researchers at Rochester Medical Center have seen good results in Provigil (brand name for modafinil) improving the negative side effects of chemotherapy that impact cognitive function. Chemo-brain is a term used to describe the foggy, fuzzy thinking and poor memory experienced by some patients after they have undergone chemotherapy. The research group based their findings […]
Multiple Medications Common in Bipolar Disorder
At the International Conference on Bipolar Disorder, Dr. Rasmus Licht of Denmark reported on a study of 155 adult patients with bipolar disorder. The patients were treated with lithium and lamotragine (lamictal). They found lamictal tended to be more effective in patients whose index episode was depression and lithium was better for patients whose index […]
Hoodia Can Feel Good or Bad
Hoodia is a cactus-type plant from Africa that has many uses, however the native populations of South Africa have used it for indigestion or infection. The plant Hoodia gordonii has been recognized as an appetite suppressant since the late 1970’s in Africa, but in the US there have been no definitive studies establishing it as […]
Electric Shocks When Stopping Medication
Medication discontinuation syndrome can happen when a person stops their medication abruptly. In general, medication should be tapered off slowly with medical supervision. But since we don’t know precisely how slow is slow enough for each individual, sometimes tapering off the medication can still result in some withdrawal symptoms. Usual withdrawal symptoms are things like […]