July 28 - August 1

Simple Tips To Recession-proof Your Health
Paul Reyes, RPh
NAPSA

There are ways to safeguard your health care-and health-against economic downturns. Still, people often look to cut prescription costs first when trying to trim health care spending-and they often take dangerous steps to do so. Sharing medications or skipping doses can be dangerous-and, unless told to do so by a doctor, taking half tablets may cause side effects or the tablets to lose potency.

Instead, try the following money-saving tips:
•  Choose Generics: Ask your doctor if there is a generic medication available to treat your condition, even if you've taken the same medication for a period of time. Generics can save up to 80 percent for each prescription.
•  Check Online: Do some online cost-comparison shopping. Check your health plan or pharmacy plan's site. Sites such as My Rx Choices on medco.com have cost-comparison tools that show you potential savings when you choose lower-cost options such as a generic instead of a brand medication or order through the mail rather than your pharmacy. The Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs Web site (consumerreports.org/health) recommends the best medications based on effectiveness and cost.
•  Discount Programs: Check for discount programs. For example, the Medco Rx Discount Program, while not an insurance program, provides enrollees an opportunity to save an average of 14 to 45 percent off prescription medications and receive advanced pharmacy care from specialist pharmacists.
•  Try Mail: Check with your pharmacy program for discounts on getting medications through their mail-order service. Mail order may provide up to a three-month supply of medication, which may carry a lower co-pay than ordering three one-month supplies at a pharmacy.
•  Shop Around: If you do not have prescription insurance, shop around. Different pharmacies may have different prices for medications.
The most important thing is to always take medications as prescribed and talk to your doctor and pharmacist to find out about other possible ways to save.

For more information, visit www.medco.com.
 
Paul Reyes, RPh, is a pharmacist manager for Medco Health Solutions, Inc. and co-host of the national radio program "Ask the Pharmacist."


Seniors Fight Age-Related Eye Disease With Breakthrough Treatment
NAPSA

When Bonnie Conway began to experience vision loss due to an eye disease known as wet age-related macular degeneration, or wet AMD, she worried that she might have to leave her job. As Borough Manager of her local community, Conway relies heavily on her sight to complete her bookkeeping, filing and letter writing duties. More than 15 million American seniors live with some form of AMD, a leading cause of blindness in people over 60. There are two forms of AMD, dry and wet. While all cases begin as the dry form, it is the wet form that accounts for about 90 percent of all AMD-related blindness.
 
Wet AMD can result in sudden and severe loss of a person's central vision, and can worsen rapidly without treatment. Like many of the 1.7 million people with the advanced form of the disease, Conway had difficulty reading and the faces of her friends and loved ones became blurry.

"I was a big reader. The most frustrating thing for me was losing the ability to read without a magnifying glass," said Conway.

"I started to accept that my wet AMD would eventually get so bad that I'd have to give up my job."

But in August of 2006, Conway's eye doctor, a retina specialist, began treating her with monthly injections of Lucentis(r) (ranibizumab injection), which is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of wet AMD. Since starting treatment, Conway's vision has improved from 20/80 to 20/40 on the eye chart.

"Bonnie was one of the first patients in our practice to receive Lucentis, and because she's continued to come for treatment every month, her vision has improved and she's been able to continue her normal activities," said Dr. Miguel Busquets of Associates in Ophthalmology.

In clinical studies of Lucentis, nearly all patients (90 percent) treated once a month maintained their vision for up to two years. About 40 percent of patients' vision actually improved by three lines or more on the study eye chart at two years, though a few patients have experienced some vision loss. Because AMD advances so quickly, and can cause sudden and irreversible loss of vision, early diagnosis and treatment are critical. The National Eye Institute recommends that people aged 60 or older schedule eye exams every two years, and anyone who notices changes in vision should receive an eye exam right away.
 
Lucentis is a prescription medication given by injection into the eye. Lucentis has been associated with detached retina and serious eye infection and should not be used in patients who have an infection in or around the eye. Increases in eye pressure have been seen within one hour of an injection. Although uncommon, conditions associated with eye- and non-eye-related blood clots (arterial thromboembolic events) may occur. Serious side effects included inflammation inside the eye and, rarely, effects related to the injection procedure such as cataract. The most common non-eye-related side effects were nose and throat infection, headache, and respiratory and urinary tract infections. The most common eye-related side effects were the feeling that something is in your eye, and increased tears.
 
If your eye becomes red, sensitive to light, painful or has a change in vision, you should seek immediate care from your eye doctor.
For full prescribing information, talk to your doctor or call 866-LUCENTIS (866-582-3684) or visit www.LUCENTIS.com.


A New Treatment For A Common Side Effect Of Opioid Pain Management
NAPSA

Each year, more than 1.5 million Americans receive palliative care due to an advanced illness, such as incurable cancer, end-stage heart and lung disease, or AIDS. Many of these patients are prescribed opioids to manage their pain. In fact, opioids were the fourth-largest category of prescription drugs on the market in 2006, accounting for almost 6 percent of the total prescription drug industry. While opioids are considered to be effective at reducing pain, they are often accompanied by side effects that can interfere with pain management. One of the most common and potentially distressing of these side effects is opioid-induced constipation (OIC). OIC can be difficult to manage and may be severe enough to limit opioid use.

"Opioid analgesics are the mainstay therapy for pain management in advanced-illness patients receiving palliative care," says Jay Thomas, M.D., Ph.D., Clinical Medical Director of San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine.

"When we use opioids for severe symptoms, we commonly counsel about many side effects, but the most common that doesn't go away with time typically is opioid-induced constipation."

Managing Pain
Opioids provide pain relief by interacting with a specific type of opioid receptor within the brain and spinal cord. However, when opioids interact with specific receptors within the gut, bowel function is inhibited, resulting in constipation. Patients suffering from OIC may experience dry hard stools, straining during evacuation, incomplete evacuation, bloating, and abdominal distention. Other associated symptoms of OIC include vomiting and abdominal discomfort or pain. Judy Lentz, RN, MSN, NHA, Chief Executive Officer of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association, says that controlling side effects such as constipation is necessary for pain management.

"It is critical that we manage physical symptoms, like OIC, to help patients focus on what's important at this time in their lives," says Lentz.

A New Treatment Option
There's now a new treatment option for this condition. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Relistor(tm) (methylnaltrexone bromide), a subcutaneous injection for the treatment of constipation that is caused by prescription pain medicines, called opioids, in patients receiving supportive care for their advanced illness, when other medicines for constipation, called laxatives, have not worked well enough. The most common side effects of Relistor in clinical studies were abdominal pain, gas, and nausea. Relistor works on the underlying cause of the condition to decrease the constipating effects of opioids on the gut without interfering with centrally mediated pain relief.

"I'm so pleased that we now have a new treatment option to provide relief to advanced-illness patients with OIC," says Dr. Thomas, who was an investigator in the drug's clinical trials.

For more information about this treatment, visit www.RELISTOR.com.


Keeping Loved Ones' Legacies Alive
NAPSA

Throughout history, people have sought ways to honor lost loved ones. People who lose a loved one often find solace in attending memorial services where they can share their grief-as well as stories and experiences-with fellow mourners. Today, however, an increasing number of people are also finding fellowship and emotional comfort on the Internet, where online memorials are proving a popular new way to commemorate and remember those who have passed.

While travel time and costs can make it difficult for everyone to attend a funeral service, online memorials enable survivors to honor their loved ones in completely customized, highly personal ways and to share these legacies instantly with friends and family around the world. Borrowing from the interactive appeal of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, Web-based memorialization portals such as Legacy.com enable users to combine biographical information with cherished photographs, and even video and audio clips, in unique ways to honor and remember those who have passed.


Such sites allow visitors to log condolences, thoughts and memories into online Guest Books. The sites provide a place where people going through one of life's most difficult experiences can come to celebrate the lives of their loved ones, share their thoughts, find comfort and begin to heal. Toward that end, some sites feature a rich assortment of expert advice from leading educators, authors, grief counselors and psychologists on topics related to grief and loss. Visitors can also share experiences or seek and offer support through community discussions and message boards.

Other features of the top online memorialization sites include:
•  Searchable obituaries enabling people to find news of lost loved ones via online databases of recorded deaths.
•  Customized e-mail alerts that automatically notify users of the deaths of former friends, colleagues and associates.
•  Links to funeral home Web sites, charities and organizations where visitors can easily make memorial donations.
•  Celebrity tributes including timely information about the deaths of movie and TV stars, public officials, and business, philanthropic and civic leaders.
•  Special memorials honoring the lives of those lost during events that affected the entire country, such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 9/11 and the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University.

For more information, visit www.Legacy.com.