You are currently browsing all posts tagged with 'medication'

Can ginseng be used like people use pot and cocaine to get high? Or is it strictly for medication?

  • Posted on September 2, 2010 at 1:21 pm

My daughter is dateing a man who likes to chew on the root of ginseng, is this commly how you use it or is it stronger that way than you would normally buy?

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My spouse is addicted to pain medication but won’t get help how do help him, but help myself and daughter deal

  • Posted on July 26, 2010 at 10:22 am

My spouse is addicted to pain medication but doesn’t think it’s a problem, We have an 81/2 month old daughter and one on the way. I worry about him but also are kid’s growing up with a father who won’t get help for his problem. What should i do leave or stay?

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Mysteries of the Medicine Cabinet-How and when to properly dispose of old medication

  • Posted on January 6, 2010 at 1:21 am

Medicine cabinets tend to bring out the packrat in most of us. Once we’ve gone to the trouble and expense of a doctor’s appointment or a trip to the pharmacy, we find it hard to part with anything remaining in the bottle when we feel better.

Is there anything wrong with keeping those three Hydrocodone tablets left over from your root canal last year? How about the cough syrup your daughter’s pediatrician prescribed this winter? Even if you don’t need it, how should you dispose of it? Dealing with it seems like so much trouble, we’d rather just close the door and forget it.

Location, Location, Location

Real estate isn’t the only business where location matters. Whether you’re dealing with prescription or over-the-counter medication, storage location is important. According to Heidi Kallivayalil, PharmD., Ambulatory and In-Hospital Practitioner, one of the worst places to store medications is the bathroom medicine cabinet. The steam and humidity from the sink and shower produce moisture that can seep in and cause drugs to degrade.

Unless special storage instructions are given, medications should be kept in a cool, dry place. Consider using the linen closet or a kitchen cabinet that’s located away from the stove and sink. You should also avoid storing medications in the refrigerator unless instructions specifically say so. Refrigerated air is too damp for most medications. If refrigeration is required, placing the bottle in an opaque plastic container on a high shelf helps to keep it out-of-sight.

A cabinet or box with a lock on it is a good idea for homes that have young children or teenagers. According to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, 64 percent of kids between the age of 12 and 17 who have abused pain relievers say they got them from friends or relatives, typically without their knowledge. Even over-the-counter and non-narcotic medication can be dangerous when mixed or in the hands of children. Locking up medication doesn’t mean we don’t trust our kids; it’s just one more way of keeping them safe.

Also, be sure to store medication in the original container with the name and expiration date on the label. “Some medication can be affected by light,” says Kallivayalil, “that’s why prescription medication comes in amber-colored bottles.” Resist the urge to transfer pills to a smaller bottle or to combine even the same medication into one bottle. If you end up with multiple medications in the same container, they can be difficult to identify and risky to take.

Ann Greene, a pharmacist at O’Steen’s Pharmacy in Jacksonville, says she is occasionally asked to play detective by identifying medication that has been transferred from a prescription bottle to a daily or weekly pill reminder case. “Usually, it’s a family member that transfers the pills,” says Greene. “When you’re dealing with generic medications, the color is sometimes changed. Clients will be used to taking a pink pill and then the color is changed to orange. We note this on the bottle, but if a pill has been transferred to another container, it can cause confusion. I have seen cases where it leads to double dosing. The client actually takes the pill in the reminder case and also the familiar pink pill from the bottle.”

Take or Toss?

Most of us have ended up with small amounts of medication left over from various illnesses. When this happens, it’s a good idea to get rid of it. Although most expired drugs aren’t necessarily harmful, they can lose their potency. It may be tempting to hang on to them to avoid a future trip to the doctor, but there are reasons why you shouldn’t.

Unless medication is prescribed on an as needed basis (which is common for pain killers and other medications needed intermittently) it’s important to take every dose. Not doing so can lead to complications. For instance, small doses of antibiotics may not destroy an infection, and eventually could cause bacteria to develop a resistance to that particular antibiotic, making it difficult to treat in the future. Dosage amounts are different for every medication, so it’s important to follow instructions closely.

Parents occasionally give medication prescribed for one child to another child. Sharing may be a good thing most of the time, but in this case it isn’t recommended. Even if children have the same illness, that doesn’t necessarily mean they should be given the same medication or the same dosage. Drug allergies are common, particularly with antibiotics. It’s best to let your physician determine what medication is appropriate for each illness.

Is This Still Good?

The shelf-life is the period of time the manufacturer has determined to be the safest and most effective for that particular medication. All medications should have an expiration date. Most prescription bottles have the date typed clearly on the label. Over-the-counter medications sometimes have the date stamped on the outside box. If you remove the tube or bottle from the box, check for a date. If you don’t see one, be sure to write the expiration date on the container with a permanent marker.

Many prescription medications expire one year from the date they were filled, but don’t just assume. According to Kallivayalil, some medications expire more quickly than others. Liquid medications often have a shorter shelf-life, some as little as 14 days.

Even supplies like adhesive bandages and hydrogen peroxide come with expiration dates. For example, Vaseline® recommends keeping their products, like petroleum jelly and moisturizers, at room temperature for up to two years.

A Closer Look

Always make sure to examine medication before taking it. Even if you’ve used the same prescription every night for the past decade, it pays to be alert. Take time to double check the name and appearance of the medication.

Be aware of anything that doesn’t look right. Capsules that are stuck together or pills that have changed color could indicate moisture has seeped into the container and they should be tossed. The same goes for any medication that is crumbled, has spots or has changed in consistency or appearance.

Leaving medication in the car can also lead to problems, especially during the summer months in Florida. “Most medication should be kept at room temperature and is stable up to about 78 degrees,” says Greene. Higher temperatures can be damaging, “If capsules are left in the glove compartment on a warm day, temperatures can climb high enough to actually melt them.” When that happens, most pharmacies are willing to exchange the damaged medication but only at the patient’s expense.

Safe Disposal

Pouring old medications down the drain or flushing them in the toilet used to be an acceptable way to dispose of them. In Florida, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Health both advise against it. What’s the big deal? This method of disposal leads to a risk of contamination of Florida’s drinking water and water bodies. Most wastewater treatment systems aren’t equipped to remove medications, which means they will eventually make their way into water sources. It’s unlikely such small traces are enough to be harmful to humans, but the Florida DEP says research has shown there can be an effect on aquatic organisms like fish and frogs.

According to Eulinda Smith, spokesperson for the Florida DEP, there are a number of steps you can take to protect both humans and animals from risk when disposing of medications:

Pills and Capsules

A)Keep medication in its original container with the prescription name. This helps to identify it if it is accidentally ingested by a person or animal.
B)Mark out your name and the prescription number before tossing.
C)Add a small amount of liquid such as water or soda to the bottle to help dissolve medication.
D)Tape the lid securely with duct tape or packing tape.
E)Place the taped bottle inside a coffee can or opaque plastic container like an empty laundry detergent bottle. Tape the lid on the outer container, too.
F)Hide the container in the trash…don’t recycle it.

Liquid medications

A)Add cat litter or dirt to the remaining liquid. Anything that makes the liquid less palatable to animals or humans, such as cayenne pepper, could also be used.
B)Follow the same instructions for taping the lid and placing in an outer container.

If you come across other non-medication items while cleaning out your medicine cabinet, don’t just assume it’s okay to toss them in your regular trash either. Certain items such as thermometers also have specific disposal requirements. Mercury filled thermometers should be taken to a hazardous waste facility and digital thermometers containing a button cell battery should be recycled in the same manner as other batteries.

Once you’ve organized your home medications and supplies, an occasional check is all that’s necessary. Dispose of left-over prescription medications as soon as you’re finished with them, and periodically check the expiration date on over-the-counter medicines. Maintaining proper storage and disposal procedures will help to keep your family and the environment safe.

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Heal Back Pain With Supplements, Medication and Nutrition: Secrets From Co-Founder of the Back Pain Institute

  • Posted on January 3, 2010 at 10:20 am

This interview is an excerpt from Kevin Gianni’s Fountain of Youth Summit, which can be found at http://fountainofyouthworldsummit.com. In this excerpt, Jesse Connone shares on supplements, medication and nutrition for back pain.

The Fountain of Youth World Summit with Jesse Connone co-founder of the Healthy Back Institute.

Kevin: What kinds of supplement are good for back pain or joints or anything that’s muscular like that?

Jesse: In the case of internal inflammation or systematic inflammation. Again the body is in this constant state of inflammation and is preventing the body from healing. A recent study on heart disease found that. I believe that is almost 50% just shy of 50% of people who died from heart attach didn’t have clogged arteries. And what they found is, these people did have systematic inflammation. So they have this inflammation in their blood and what in the case of heart attack what they found is the nflammation that they caused a little piece of plague that they did have in their arteries to kind of pop like popcorn. And basically they found that higher level of inflammation in the body the more this tends to happen. And this inflammation causes to plague the pop and basically the damages the artery. And in a split second you are gone.

And the way to kind of offset that and try to reduce this information in your body is making sure that you are eating healthy. So avoiding food that trigger inflammation, avoiding chemicals and pesticides and toxins and also supplementation. So there is herbs, enzymes that go into the body. And counter balance that if your will. And you know there is lots of different herbs. Many that have been used for thousands of years in another countries like India and Asia that go into the body and have this counter balancing effect.

Kevin: Is there anything specific that most people could benefit from regardless of their back pain or anything?

Jesse: Yeah! Absolutely there is whole list of nutritional supplements but what we found is people typically get better results. It’s easier if they just take a single formula that has multiple ingredients in it.

Kevin: O.k.

Jesse: Because there is lots of ingredients that have you know these positive effects on this inflammation. And pain you know naturally which is great. But to take four five six of these things and experiment to find the ones that work for you can be expensive and time consuming and difficult.

Kevin: Sure

Jesse: Yeah! Actually we use several different brands over the years. In working with so many different people what we have found is. What we have done actually is. Is that we take in something that we knew would help people or might thought might help people. So we tested it with our people. And so we would test all these different brands and supplements of all these different brands of equipment, all these different types of treatments over the year. And find what works the best. So we spend almost the last two almost three years testing different types of testing formula for people with pain. And we found numerous different ones that worked. But we typically had again a little bit of combining that I talked about.

Kevin: Right!

Jesse: Take this one and this one this time of day. And this one on empty stomach. So it was a bit confusing so we actually finally created our own.

Kevin: Oh Really! O.k.

Jesse: Just this past year. And it’s called lifeline plus and again it’s a combination of herbs and enzymes that worked naturally to reduce inflammation and pain. And on the what, were on the subject of inflammation one of the real big dangers that’s so common among people who have back pain. Is that they are taking prescriptions and fakes Non steroid or anti inflammatory.

Kevin: Right!

Jesse: And you probably heard in many of different people and probably heard that lots of the drugs are dangerous and many of them are pulled off the market. Because they have killed so many people. And they finally, government put enough pressure on them to finally pull the drug. The problem is a lot of these people are in so much pain; again they are not getting what we have talked about tonight. They are not getting the thorough evaluation; nobody is talking to them about physical dysfunction and muscle imbalances. They are not doing these specific targeted exercises, stretches and various treatments based on their situation so they are constantly in pain. And they need to take something, or they feel they need to take something rightfully so they are taking muscle relaxants both prescription and over the counter and fakes. That’s the problem because you shouldn’t take them ever. I personally doesn’t take them anymore. I took them 10 years ago before I knew anything really about health. And I would take them whenever I would have flair of back pain or shoulder pain or knee pain you know. I use to be into you know heavy duty weight lifting and body building so you know what comes with that is lots of injuries.

Kevin: Sure!

Jesse: So I was always taking stuff prescription and over the counter.

Kevin: Really? O.k.

Jesse: And now that I have spent the last ten years in the health and fitness field I found that the things are dangerous, they kill people. And even if it doesn’t kill you, it will be causing internal damage that you can’t see. You know if you are taking something like Tylenol. And slowly it is beating up your inside then you start to bleed internally. You can’t see that.

Kevin: Or you can’t feel it. What do you say to them?

Jesse: I say you can but it may take some changes in what you are doing.

Kevin: Yeah!

Jesse: And here’s the thing with the medication. It’s easier to take this super powerful drug then it is to eat healthy, to drink water, to do these exercises and stretches and to take it under personal supplement maybe not as strong as a drug. And you know just like everything in life people want easy, the easy pill.

Kevin: Yeah!

Jesse: Just like if you have seen in Staples. Here in the United States we got this staple office supplies. You got the easy button. Well people want thing easy, like people will take pills to lose weight, pills to get rid of their pain, pills to grow this, pills to do that. It is a problem and it is a challenge and some people we just can’t get through. They’ll keep taking the drugs and eventually they are out of problems. I sent an email recently about the dangers of insides and other than the couple of dozen attach emails I got from doctors questioning my story and my fax about the dangers of these drugs. We got dozens of emails who have personally lost friends and family members because of them.

Kevin: Wow!

Jesse: Yeah! One lady lost a 7-year old daughter who is on anti-inflammatory prescription drugs.

Kevin: Wow!

Jesse: Another person, another lady lost her husband. I mean literally, I mean probably about a dozen emails from our email list of people who have lost family members and friends. You know physically killed by the drug. And again that’s just a very small sample of the billions of people that are out in the world and the millions of millions of people who have taken this drug.

Kevin: Right!

Jesse: And so again you can’t get pain relief with drugs it is more work. But what do you want. So what do you want? Do you want to do the safe way? That may take a little bit more effort. But it will keep you alive. And it will keep you healthy. Do you want a quick fix drug that will slowly kill or maybe quickly kill you?

Kevin: You may never know.

Jesse: Right! Well in some cases that’s a big challenge.

Kevin : I think it is a fantastic thing that you have such a great client database that you could do some of these test and what other sort of there is one or two other different studies that you had done that were pretty telling that about back that you would like to share.

Jesse: Yeah we have a lot of surveys of our customers and our non-customers. We just have over 400,000 people that are currently on our email list. And round around 40,000 customers. And both of those people we have done lot and lots of research. Lots of surveys and resolve. And also done some of the informal studies. I would say the biggest one or most surprising was one that I mentioned earlier about nutrition and the impact it has on people and their pain.

Kevin: Right!

Jesse: I knew nutrition was important but I didn’t think it was something that would jump out on the survey results. I thought it was something that would really identify but I knew it was important in my gut.

Kevin: Sure, It was something like maybe you can identify but there will be other factors that will be involved as you said.

Jesse: Right! Right! Yeah exactly, yeah we were able to physically see that there was a distinct correlation between the number of people who ate unhealthy fast food and big infrequent meals and their pain level being more intense and being more frequent bouts of pain and longer duration. You know suffering from pain for longer time. . . versus the people who ate, who tended to eat healthier more frequent meals of smaller meals.

Kevin: Wow!

Jesse: So it was very interesting to see, it just goes to show you that as for everything there was never one factor .

Kevin: Right!

Jesse: And so in the case of back pain there is never going to be one thing that does it all for you. There will be one thing that will get you to the 90% pain free and right for instance I will give you, realize the example here. Most of the people who use or use our back pain system. They do the physical part. They do the evaluation, they find their physical dysfunction. They find their muscle imbalances. And they work on those. And within just days took a lot of time but usually couple of weeks. You know they are 90% pain free. And for them that is such an improvement. That they stopped there.

Kevin: Yeah!

Jesse: They don’t do the mental and emotional part that we talked about and that we teach them. They don’t do the internal part, the nutrition, the water and then you know the supplementation and inevitably what happens is they also stopped the physical part. They do the program long enough to make them feel better. And once they feel better they say “oh yeah this is great, Back to my life.” So then the pain comes back. And that’s why we created the concept of dimension before and pretty healing formula. And that is to educate people that there is these three distinct areas. Internal, External and Mental emotional that you need to be aware of that you need to attention to that you need to address, if you really want to get relief. You wanted to stay away. If you want to stay pain free.

Kevin: Wow! That sounds like you have a good holistic package and we are running out of time now and I want to thank you for coming on board.

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College Student and ADHD Medication Abuse Facts to Ponder

  • Posted on January 2, 2010 at 4:20 pm

A study done in 2007 shows that misuse and abuse of medication prescribed by ADHD is fast becoming a nationwide problem. This study had participations of nearly 11000 4th year students from colleges all over the US. These students we promised that their identity will be concealed to ensure honest and open answer.

Results included the following:

- The percentage of students that have used the stimulants during their life time is about 6.9%. 4.1% reported that they have used such stimulants in the past year and 2.1% in the past month

- It was also found that there are twice as much as male than female students who abuse these stimulants. Compared to African American, Caucasians uses them at a significantly higher level.

- Sorority and fraternity members used at a rate of more than double than nonmembers.

- Use was higher among students with a GPA of B or below.

- A collage with a more competitive admission criteria have higher number of students that abuses stimulants compared to colleges with lower admission criteria.

Also of interest is the fact that non-medical use of stimulants is often associated with other substance use. Consider the following percentages of those who used stimulants versus those who didn’t:

- Use of cigarettes: 67% vs. 24%
- Frequent binge drinking: 69% vs. 21%
- Use of ecstasy: 19% vs. 1%
- Use of cocaine: 17% vs. 1%
- Driving after binge drinking: 35% vs. 9%
- Being the passenger of a drunk driver: 66% vs. 21%

What are the reasons for using stimulants? The most common motive is to enhance academic performance especially when studying outside of class. This does not mean that using stimulants is never used for recreational purposes, but the findings are not that significant.

There is also reason to believe that students who uses these stimulants have undiagnosed ADD but then again, what are the reasons for students who do not have ADD yet still feel the need to stimulate concentration? Many who claims they have no problem with paying attention confesses that they find later that it is becoming increasingly hard for them to pay attention.

What actually is this findings trying to convey to parents who are concerned about the possibility of their children being involved with abuse of stimulant?

Parents should be on the look out for the following symptoms in their children :

1. Is your child under a lot of academic pressure, either to get in, or to excel, at his particular university? You may notice that he seems obsessed with getting into a school, or once in, worries constantly about keeping up and doing well.

2. How are his grades? If he seems horribly stressed and yet his grades are not reflective of his efforts, check with him.

3. Has your daughter lost a good bit of weight? Is she irritable and does she complain of having no appetite? Is this normal for her?

4. Is there other substance abuse that you are aware of?

5. Is your child complaining of problems with attention?

6. Does your child seem depressed?

Whatever the answers you may find from as a result of these questions, you should not neglect them. Whether they prove that your child is engaging in abuse of stimulants or not, as parents you will find it valuable enough as they make you understand what your children is experiencing.

The most important findings of this study shows that college students should be educated more about stimulants abuse. We should be looking out for accurate information on ADD as well as methods of treatment. We should also learn about other factors that can contribute to attention difficulties and why it is important to seek professional help rather than prescribing one’s own medicine. It is then also important for us to be aware of other methods be it medical or non medical that can assist people with ADD.

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what can i do with a 31 year old daughter who is heavily addicted to pain medication and is paranoid schizo?

  • Posted on January 1, 2010 at 7:01 pm

She has already been Baker Acted 3 or 4 times and always released to me. I don’t have the tools to deal with her. She continues to use hydrocodone, somas, percaset, anti anxiety meds. Doctors continue to write perscription after perscription she claims she has back pain. Pain clinics will give her whatever she wants. Living is impossible. She is becomming more insane everyday.

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How do you use a nebulizer

  • Posted on July 3, 2009 at 3:42 am

1. Hands should be washed thoroughly before using a nebulizer and make a thorough check that the nebulizer is absolutely clean.

2. If you are using a multi-dose bottle, a dropper should be used to give the correct dosage of medication into the cup with saline solution.

3. Then, connect the mouthpiece or mask to the T-shaped elbow. The unit should be then fastened to the cup. For children older than 2, using a mouthpiece is recommended as it will deliver more medication than a mask.

4. Connect the tube of the nebulizer to the port on the compressor.

5. Turn on the device and check the nebulizer for misting.

6. If you want to correctly use a nebulizer, it should be held up in an upright position. This will prevent spillage. However, in case you are using a handheld portable nebulizer, you can use it!it can be used in any position.

7. Check the mouthpiece is placed between your teeth and your lips are closed around it. Do not allow the mist into your eyes during the operation.

8. Breathe out at first gently and then inhale. After that, as the mist starts, it should be inhaled slowly through the mouth. The subject should hold his/her breath for up to about 10 seconds. In this way the medication has time to settle down in the airway.

9. Check to tap the side of the nebulizer to allow the medication to drop down to where it can be misted.

10. Continue to breathe from the mouthpiece until when the nebulizer starts to sputter, which will mean that it is finishing.

If you follow the above suggestions when you use a nebulizer. It will give you an effective therapy .

David Massey is an expert author for a variety of subject matters including health and medical equipment. He writes independent consumer research reports and also owns an online business. If you would like to know more about portable nebulizers and blood pressure monitors check out: => http://nebulizer-store.com/

Article Source: How do you use a nebulizer

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Tips that work to Stop Drinking Alcohol

  • Posted on July 2, 2009 at 3:35 pm

There are quite a lot of different treatments that deal with the problems related with alcohol dependence. The treatments available for this problems can be put into the following categories…medication to reduce withdrawal symptoms and stop alcohol cravings, professional counseling to support relationship issues and education and support to stop drinking.

The previously mentioned methods are normally the ones that are recommended although a new drug has just come onto the market called chemical Revia [formerly Trexan], Vivitrolnaltrexone. This drug is normally administered by the form of an injection about once a month , but it is also available now as a pill.

The way Naltrexone works is by confusing the part of the brain that is responsible for making us feel good while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. It basically numbs the pleasure effect that alcohol gives us and can be either taken on its own or as a combination drug with other alcohol dependence drugs.

Recent studies have shown though that Naltrexone is most effective when its use is combined with counseling. It has also been proved that Naltrexone drastically reduces the risk of relapse after having managed to quit drinking.

When it comes to men who have a long track record of alcohol dependence this treatment is not so effective. As with the majority drugs there are possible side effects and Naltrexone may cause dizziness, nausea and fatigue as well as headaches and the tendency to feel sleepy, anxious, or nervous.

These treatments need professional backing and you may be interested in hearing what other people have to say on the subject. You will be amazed at just how many people share their experiences at the stopdrinkingadvice blog, so head on over and see how the blog can help you.

Discover just how easy it is to stop drinking alcohol through the support of people who have been there before and who understand the real hardships involved.

Discover How to Quit Drinking Alcohol On This Alcoholics Support Blog
http://www.stopdrinkingadvice.org/guide written by Ed Philips and Receive Expert Advice to Help you Quit
Alcohol Today.

Article Source: Tips that work to Stop Drinking Alcohol

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What Drugs Are Prescribed For Panic Attacks?

  • Posted on July 1, 2009 at 9:04 pm

If you are a person who has anxiety or panic attacks then you understand that panic attack medication is a way to use drugs to minimize or eliminate your anxiety symptoms. Of course we will assume you have already saw your doctor or have made arrangements to do so. The purpose of this article is to educate you on the available medications before your visit.

Benzodiazepine Medication

These drugs are commonly used for the relief of panic attack symptoms. Of course like any drug out there it does more then just one thing. It’s greatest benefit for relieving panic attacks is it’s ability to calm a person down. This in turn leads to minimizing or eliminating anxiety, agitation and ultimately anxiety attacks. Because they work fast they can be utilized to stop a current attack or “wave” of imminent attacks. They are not suited for long term use because they can lead to addiction or physical dependence.

SSRIs

Probably the second most prescribed drug for people suffering from anxiety and depression. Keep in mind that an above normal level of anxiety is what leads to panic attacks. These drugs help lessen anxiety and therefore panic attacks. Most doctors will use citalopram and paroxetine.

Drug Free Alternative

A relatively new therapy coined “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy” (cbt) is commonly referred to as the leading non drug treatment for panic attack sufferers. The idea behind this therapy is that panic attacks are caused by a fear of panic attacks occurring. If you remove the irrational fear then there is nothing left to cause the panic attack.

Cognitive behavioral therapy recognizes this medical concept which is also called a “positive forward feedback loop”. With CBT, you learn how to recognize the very early stages of your anxiety spiraling out of control.

With CBT you can modify your thinking at these early stages and apply rationality and eliminate exaggeration. Over time, your way of thinking is modified to that or a healthy person without panic.

If you’ve enjoyed the information you read here about anxiety attacks GOTO Anxiety Disorder Treatment. Or CLICK here www.anxietynaturalremedyinfo.com

Article Source: What Drugs Are Prescribed For Panic Attacks?

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Good News About Natural Ways To Treat Depression

  • Posted on July 1, 2009 at 7:36 pm

First, some bad news. About 40 million Americans will suffer from depression at some point in their lives. Only about 50% will try to get help, yet 90% of depression cases can easily be treated with medication. It has been found that depression can last from six months to a year but there are are many patients who remain chronically depressed for years. The good news is that besides medication with anti-depressants there are many natural ways to treat depression.

Let us take exercise for example. What could be more natural than that? Any from of exercise that is going to get the ‘feel good’ endorphins going and improving your mood is one of the most effective and natural ways to treat depression. Even half an hour three to five times a week doing power walking, running, aerobics, dancing or just a good brisk walk will cut depression symptoms in half.

Social networking is a great way to keep in touch with real people and I am not including Facebook in this one, which is a sort of virtual networking in front of a computer! By social networking, I mean the real thing! That means having real, face to face contact with people through family, friends, clubs, sports and church. It has been found that the more social networking you do, the less likely you are to suffer from depression. This is another one of the natural ways to treat depression.

Anti depressant medications such as Prozac, Zoloft and Marplan can have serious side effects and I know that many patients had to stop taking them because they could no longer put up with the ‘zombie’ feeling. Whenever and if you decide that these medications are no longer for you, see your doctor as these drugs have to be tapered off as discontinuation syndrome can be quite severe if it is done in a cold turkey way. Doctors of course do not want to call this withdrawal but that is basically what it is. As the brain chemistry has been radically altered for such a long time, you can imagine that withdrawal is going to play havoc with your life. Certainly, if you opt for one of the natural ways to treat depression, discontinuation or withdrawal symptoms will never be a problem.

Natural treatment for depression is gaining momentum now as people are more and more wary of big pharm, their profits and their hype. Herbal remedies for depression have so few side effects and do not represent any risk to your health in the long term. Some of the herbs used such as St. John’s Wort and the Passion Flower aid the mind in dispelling feelings of the blues and supporting a positive mental attitude. Coupled with cognitive behavior therapy which is also a natural treatment for depression, these herbal remedies can transform your life. By looking at some natural ways to treat depression, many people have successfully come through depression, much to the joy of their loved ones.

Want to learn how to treat depression naturally ? Robert Locke has written extensively on Mental Health for many years.

Article Source: Good News About Natural Ways To Treat Depression

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