Drug Shortages-I have seen patients cry over this

Working in a community pharmacy, drug shortages usually affect a small number of people because the medications are usually beneficial to a few. My pharmacy caters to college students where the ADHD medications Adderall and Ritalin are very popular. This year, there have been shortages of both medications. A couple of weeks ago, a patient wanted to fill her Adderall prescription. I had to tell her about the national drug shortage. She could not keep herself together and cried in the floor in the waiting area. As a pharmacist, it breaks my heart for patients not to receive the medication that improves their quality of life. Yesterday, the Obama Adminstration released information about a detailed plan to combat drug shortages.

 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/10/31/fact-sheet-obama-administration-takes-action-reduce-prescription-drug-sh

 

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

October 31, 2011

Fact Sheet: Obama Administration Takes Action to Reduce Prescription Drug Shortages in the U.S.

While the Food and Drug Administration has successfully prevented 137 drug shortages since the beginning of 2010, drug shortages have been increasing in frequency and severity in recent years and adversely affecting patient care.  A small number of drugs in the U.S. experience a shortage in any given year, but the number of reported prescription drug shortages in the United States nearly tripled between 2005 and 2010, going from 61 to 178. There are many causes and potential solutions to this challenge and addressing this significant public health problem will require the urgent attention of industry, other stakeholders, and government.
Today, President Obama will issue an Executive Order directing the FDA and Department of Justice to take action to help further reduce and prevent drug shortages, protect consumers, and prevent price gouging. These additional steps for early notification will help achieve some of the goals of bipartisan legislation in Congress, which the President supports, that will strengthen the FDA’s ability to prevent prescription drug shortages in the future.
The Executive Order is one in a series of steps that will help address the shortage of prescription drugs and ensure patients have access to the lifesaving medicines they need. Today, the Obama Administration will also:

• Send a letter to drug manufacturers reminding them of their legal responsibility to report the discontinuation of certain drugs to the FDA. The letter also encourages companies to voluntarily notify FDA about potential prescription drug shortages in cases where notification is not currently required.
• Increase staffing resources for the FDA’s Drug Shortages Program to address the increased workload that will result from additional early notification of potential shortages by manufacturers.
• Release a report from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) that assesses the underlying factors that lead to drug shortages, and an FDA report on its role in monitoring, preventing, and responding to these shortages.

President Obama’s Executive Order
Early notification of potential drug shortages can help FDA work with drug manufacturers, hospitals, doctors, and patients to prevent or mitigate a shortage before it becomes a crisis. Currently, Federal law requires drug manufacturers to notify FDA when production of critical drugs provided by only one manufacturer is being discontinued. The President’s order directs FDA to broaden reporting of potential shortages of certain prescription drugs. Additionally, the Executive Order requires FDA to expand its current efforts to expedite review of new manufacturing sites, drug suppliers, and manufacturing changes to help prevent shortages.
While additional manufacturing capacity is necessary to fully address the drug shortage problem, early disclosure can have a significant, positive impact on the incidence and duration of drug shortages. This year alone, voluntary early notification by manufacturers allowed FDA to successfully prevent 99 drug shortages. Once FDA is notified of an existing shortage, the agency has multiple options to prevent or mitigate the drug shortage, and in many cases, takes more than one action.  In the shortages studied, the agency’s three most common actions were:

• Asking other firms to increase production (31%),
• Working with manufacturers to identify ways to mitigate quality issues, i.e. flexibility through regulatory discretion (28%), and
• Expediting review of regulatory submissions (26%).

FDA has also exercised regulatory discretion regarding controlled importation of similar products approved abroad but not approved in the United States in 5 percent of cases.
Fighting Price Gouging
The President’s Executive Order also directs FDA to work with the Department of Justice to examine whether any secondary drug wholesalers or other market participants have responded to potential drug shortages by illegally hoarding medications or raising prices to gouge consumers.  For example, the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reforms, when announcing his investigation into so-called gray markets, expressed concerns about a report that a leukemia drug whose typical contract price is about $12 per vial was being sold at $990 per vial – 80 times higher.  A Premier healthcare alliance report released in August estimated that the typical gray market vendor marks up prices by an averaged 650 percent.  At the extreme, a drug used to treat high blood pressure that was normally priced at $25.90 was being sold at $1,200 due to a shortage.
Pending Legislation
These additional steps for early notification will help achieve some of the goals of bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senator Amy Klobuchar (S. 296) and Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO) (H.R. 2245). Backed by the President, this legislation would require all prescription drug shortages to be disclosed and give the Food and Drug Administration new authority to enforce these requirements.  In the meantime, to complement the broadened notification and consistent with the goals of this legislation, the FDA will establish a voluntary notification process that will encourage manufacturers to disclose more potential shortages.
Increased Staffing Resources for the FDA Drug Shortages Program
Over the coming weeks, the FDA will tap six to eight members of a surge team with critical skills from across the Department to work in the Drug Shortage Program to enhance the Agency’s ability to prevent and mitigate drug shortages as a result of increased early notification by manufacturers.   When FDA becomes aware of a potential drug shortage, this Program works collaboratively with the affected firms to return the product to its usual market availability as quickly and as safely as possible while helping prevent any harm to patients.  It also encourages other firms that make the drug to ramp up production if they are willing to do so, expedites the review of submissions from manufacturers which may include requests to extend the expiration date of products, increase capacity, use a new raw material source, license new manufacturers, and permit changes in product specifications.  And, for manufacturing and quality problems, FDA works with the firm to address the issues.
New Analyses from the Department of Health and Human Services
The HHS Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation conducted an assessment of the underlying economic factors that lead to prescription drug shortages, particularly market factors that have contributed to shortages of sterile injectable oncology drugs.  The report finds that over the last several years,  growth in demand has occurred while the capacity of manufacturing facilities has remained stable, unable to keep up with demand.  Although sterile injectable drugs are a small percentage of the overall prescription drug market, they make up a disproportionate share of drugs in shortage and include critical drugs, such as oncology drugs.  Their report concludes that over time, entry of additional manufacturing facilities, and expansions in capacity should reduce the frequency of shortages due to supply disruptions.  The Administration plans on further outreach the industry, oncologists, and people with cancer to identify additional ideas on actions.
In addition, to better understand drug shortages, the FDA conducted a review of medical product shortage activities in its four medical product Centers, with an emphasis on reviewing what the agency has already done and is currently doing to address drug shortages.  FDA also spoke with external stakeholders to understand their perspectives on the current drug shortage problem.  Based on these conversations, a review of published and unpublished information on drug shortages, and analyses of databases either available or created for the report, the reports find that the shortage problem is complex and stems from economic, legal, regulatory, policy, and clinical decisions that are deeply interconnected.  FDA continues to work with manufacturers to help prevent and mitigate these shortages, but many potential solutions to drug shortages will require collaborative efforts among all relevant stakeholders.
Key Facts about Drug Shortages

• The number of reported drug shortages annually has tripled from 61 in 2005 to 178 in 2010.
• Of the 127 studied shortages in 2010-11, 80 percent involved drugs delivered to patients by sterile injection, including oncology drugs, antibiotics, and electrolyte/nutrition drugs.
• The leading reasons for the reported shortages were problems at the manufacturing facility (43%), delays in manufacturing or shipping (15%), and active pharmaceutical ingredient shortages (10%). 
• Manufacturing quality problems that have resulted in shortages can be serious, including findings of glass shards, metal filings, and fungal or other contamination in products meant for injection into patients.
• Sterile injectable drugs have unique manufacturing and market features which make shortages of these products more likely to occur and harder to prevent or mitigate,including:
  • Manufacturing them is complex and can more easily lead to problems that affect safety,
  • Dedicated manufacturing lines are often required,
  • The top three generic injectable manufacturers hold 71% of the market by volume,
  • Most sterile injectables have one manufacturer that produces at least 90% of the drug, and
  • “Just in time” manufacturing and inventorying practices leave little margin for error.

 

National Drug Facts Week starts Oct 31st

Today, I'm joining teens, parents, teachers, and scientists across America to kick off National Drug Facts Week by offering up my own shoutout for educating teens about drug abuse.

Sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Drug Facts Week is an official health observance designed to shatter the myths and spread the facts about drug abuse and addiction.


 National Drug Facts Week 2011 which runs October 31-November 6, 2011. Go to http://drugfactsweek.drugabuse.gov/ to see who is having an event.

In 2010, nearly 1 in 12 high school seniors reported abusing Vicodin. I'm shouting out to let people know how dangerous this is. In 2007, the number of overdose deaths from prescription pain medicines outnumbered those involving heroin and cocaine combined.

Among 12th graders, past year non-medical use of Vicodin went down from 9.7% to 8%. I'm shouting out so more seniors get the message that Vicodin is dangerous.

Nearly 1.9 million youth, age 12 to 17, abused prescription drugs last year and that is too many.

Sign the Petition to Get Drug Prevention on President Obama’s Radar Screen | CADCA

Sign the Petition to Get Drug Prevention on President Obama’s Radar Screen CADCA

Red Ribbon Week

Red Ribbon Week is October 23rd to October 31st. It is celebrated in over 120,000 schools across the country. Red Ribbon Week is the oldest and largest drug prevention program started in the 1980s.

You may commit to the pledge at http://redribbon.org/pledge/
Take the Red Ribbon Pledge:
****Do not need to be a parent but pledge to encourage youth to commit to staying drug-free****

1. As parents, we will talk to our children about the dangers of drug abuse.
2. We will set clear rules for our children about not using drugs.
3. We will set a good example for our children by not using illegal drugs or medicine without a prescription.
4. We will monitor our children's behavior and enforce appropriate consequences, so that our rules are respected.
5. We will encourage family and friends to follow the same guidelines to keep children safe from substance abuse.

I pledge to set guidelines to help children grow up safe, healthy and drug-free.

 

 

National Prescription Take Back Day Oct 29th 10 am - 2 pm Drop-off Locations in Washington Metro

From dea.gov: PARTICIPANTS NAME	COLLECTION SITE	ADDRESS	CITY	STATE, ZIP	~DISTANCE
WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPT	THIRD POLICE DISTRIST	1620 V STREET, NW	WASHINGTON	DC, 20009	1 mi.	Map
WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPT	THIRD DISTRICT SUBSTATION	750 PARK ROAD, N.W.	WASHINGTON	DC, 20010	2 mi.	Map
U.S. CAPITOL POLICE	U.S. CAPITOL POLICE HEADQUARTERS COLLECTION BOX LOCATED JUST OUTSIDE D STREET DOOR	119 D STREET, NE	WASHINGTON	DC, 20510	2 mi.	Map
WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPT	FOURTH POLICE DISTRICT	6001 GEORGIA AVENUE, NW	WASHINGTON	DC, 20011	3 mi.	Map
WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPT	FIFTH POLICE DISTRICT	1805 BLADENSBURG ROAD, NE	WASHINGTON	DC, 20002	2 mi.	Map
WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPT	FIRST POLICE DISTRICT	101 M STREET, SW	WASHINGTON	DC, 20024	3 mi.	Map
WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPT	FIRST DISTRICT SUBSTATION	500 E STREET,, SE	WASHINGTON	DC, 20003	3 mi.	Map
UNIVERSITY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA	UNIVERSITY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, VAN NESS COME TO DRIVEWAY OFF OF VAN NESS STREET UNDER THE BREEZEWAY	4200 CONNECTICUT AVE NW, BUILDING 39/ROOM C-04	WASHINGTON	DC, 20008	3 mi.	Map
MOUNT RAINER POLICE DEPARTMENT	MOUNT RAINER POLICE DEPARTMENT POC: PFC T. S. CARPENTER #131	FRONT LOBBY 3249 RHODE ISLAND AVENUE	MOUNT RAINIER	MD, 20712	4 mi.	Map
FORT MEYER	HENDERSON HALL MCX	1555 SOUTHGATE ROAD	FORT MYER	VA, 22211	4 mi.	Map
FORT MEYER	FORT MYER PX	210 MCNAIR ROAD	FORT MYER	VA, 22211	4 mi.	Map
BOLLING AIR FORCE BASE	BOLLING AFB EXCHANGE	195 CHAPPIE JAMES BLVD	WASHINGTON	DC, 20032	6 mi.	Map
WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPT	SEVENTH POLICE DISTRICT	2455 ALABAMA AVENUE, SE	WASHINGTON	DC, 20020	4 mi.	Map
WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPT	SIXTH POLICE DISTRICT	100 42ND STREET, NE	WASHINGTON	DC, 20019	5 mi.	Map
WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPT	SECOND POLICE DISTRICT	3320 IDAHO AVENUE, NW	WASHINGTON	DC, 20016	5 mi.	Map
ARLINGTON COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT	ARLINGTON FIRE STATIONS #8	4845 LEE HIGHWAY	ARLINGTON	VA, 22207	6 mi.	Map
ARLINGTON COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT	ARLINGTON FIRE STATIONS #1	500 SOUTH GLEBE ROAD	ARLINGTON	VA, 22207	6 mi.	Map
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT	SOUTHERN COLLECTION SITE DISTRICT IV, PGPD	5135 INDIAN HEAD HIGHWAY	OXON HILL	MD, 20745	8 mi.	Map
ARLINGTON COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT	ARLINGTON FIRE STATIONS #9	1900 SOUTH WALTER REED DRIVE	ARLINGTON	VA, 22204	6 mi.	Map
ARMY NATIONAL GUARD READINESS CENTER	CHIEF OF STAFF SUPPORT OFFICE ***HELD ON OCTOBER 27-28, 2011 FROM 9:00 A.M. - 2:00 P.M.***	111 SOUTH GEORGE MASON DRIVE	ARLINGTON	VA, 22204	6 mi.	Map
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT	CENTRAL COLLECTION SITE HEADQUARTERS, PGPD	7600 BARLOWE ROAD	PALMER PARK	MD, 20785	8 mi.	Map
UNIVERSITY OF MD POLICE DEPT OF PUBLIC SAFETY	UNIVERSITY OF MD POLICE DEPT OF PUBLIC SAFETY POC: SGT. AUGUST D. KENNER #162	POLICE HEADQUARTERS BLDG #003 US ROUTE 1 @ ROSSBOROUGH LANE	COLLEGE PARK	MD, 20742	7 mi.	Map
NAVAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE SERVICE	NCISRA BETHESDA POC: S/A ERIN HANSEN	8901 WISCONSIN AVEBLDG 17, STE B2	BETHESDA	MD, 20889	7 mi.	Map
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT	NORTHERN COLLECTION SITE DISTRICT I, PGPD	5000 RHODE ISLAND AVENUE	HYATTSVILLE	MD, 20784	8 mi.	Map
MONTGOMERY COUNTY PD	MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE 2ND DISTRICT	7359 WISCONSIN AVENUE	BETHESDA	MD, 20814	9 mi.	Map
FALLS CHURCH POLICE DEPARTMENT	CITY OF FALLS CHURCH RECYCLING CENTER NEAR LOADING DOCK	217 GORDON ROAD	FALLS CHURCH	VA, 22046	10 mi.	Map
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE SECURITY FORCES	ARMY & AIR FORCE EXCHANGE SERVICE BUILDING	ARMY & AIR FORCE EXCHANGE SERVICE BLDG 1811	ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE	MD, 20762	11 mi.	Map

From StopMedAbuse.org

Cough Medicine Abuse: A Checklist for Parents

Teen abuse of over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold medicines is a widespread and serious issue. But as a parent, you may not have any idea how you can help prevent it. Here’s a list of hands-on advice for what you should do, starting right now.

Know which drugs are being abused. If you are not aware of cough and cold medicine abuse, it’s time to get informed. The biggest problem is with medicines that contain dextromethorphan (often abbreviated as DXM), which is found in more than 125 over-the-counter medicines sold to treat the symptoms of cough and colds.

Learn the slang. Find out what teens are calling these drugs. DXM goes by many names – tussin, skittles, robo, CCC, triple C, dex syrup, and red devils to name a few. If you didn’t know the terminology, you could be missing it when your kids are talking about cough medicine abuse in code.

Look in your medicine cabinet. No parent wants to be a drug supplier for his or her children. Treat your medicine cabinet like your liquor cabinet: track what is in it and how much is used. Just like you did when your child was a baby, it is always advisable to store medications in a place where your kids won’t be able to get them.

Get rid of medicines you don’t use. Don’t keep them around just in case – many are probably expired anyway. If you’re sick and need a cough or combination cold medicine, get only what you need and safely dispose of what’s left when you’re feeling better.

Talk to other parents. Share what you know about cough medicine abuse with other parents, particularly the parents of your teen’s friends. Coordinate your efforts. If you’re cleaning out your medicine cabinet, get the parents of your teen’s friends to do the same. By making it a community effort, you’ll help keep everyone safer.

Model good behavior. You may be careless with how you use medication yourself. If your headache is really bad, you may double the recommended dose. If your back goes out, you might borrow a few narcotic painkillers from a friend who had them left over after dental surgery. All medications are serious and have risks when not taken appropriately. What’s more, your kids are watching. If you don’t treat these medicines with respect – and only use them as recommended – why should you assume your teens will?

Monitor your child’s use of the Internet. Know what your child is looking at on the Internet. There are websites out there that present, in astonishing detail, information about cough medicine abuse with tips on specific dosages and brands.

Think about your community. Even if your children are too young for drug abuse, what about your nieces and nephews? Or babysitters? By clearing your house of unnecessary medication, you’re helping them too.

Talk to your teen. When parents talk to their children about the risks of drugs, it reduces the risk that they will use drugs by 50%. So don’t beat around the bush. Talk to your kids directly about the risks of drug abuse, and mention cough medicine abuse specifically. Just because medicines come from a drugstore or a pharmacist doesn’t mean that they cannot be misused.

Copyright © 2011 StopMedicineAbuse.org, All rights reserved.

Shopping for a doctor

Shopping for a doctor for most people is finding the right doctor to fit their needs. For a prescription drug abuser shopping for a doctor takes on a whole new meaning. Doctor shopping is when a patient seeks multiple doctors to treat the same condition. A patient may have a legitimate condition but usually the urge to doctor shop comes from needing more of the same medication from building up a tolerance leading to addiction.

 A few weeks ago, I caught a patient doctor shopping. Looking back, the patient was always anxious. This patient had all of the signs of a doctor shopper-using multiple pharmacies, always paying cash, and if there was a problem with a prescription just wanting to take the prescription back instead of allowing me to call the doctor to question the prescription. The patient used multiple pharmacies in the same chain; she used other chain pharmacies and some independent pharmacies. When she used pharmacies in the same chain, she knew she had to wait 30 days to fill the controlled medications like Klonpin, Vicodin or Ambien. She tried to always use the same doctor since she knew my chain pharmacy would allow me to look in the computer to see when she last filled the medication and which doctor wrote the prescription.

The laws about waiting for your previous supply of controlled medication is to deter abuse. This patient alerted me when she came to transfer her prescription from other pharmacies. She bought in bottles filled within days of one another of the same medication. When I called the other pharmacies, the pharmacists were shocked that this patient was using multiple pharmacies and multiple doctors. When I spoke to the doctors, one had no idea about the other. The patient had told one doctor not to contact her previous doctor because of a bad relationship. This patient committing a crime but really she needs to admit her problem and get treatment. The amount of medications she is taking will seriously harm her. As a pharmacist, I do not want to get this patient arrested but I was her to get help.

Everything I needed to know I learned in

Wow. We used this tidbit "everything I needed to know I learned in kindergarten" is so true. I just finished reading an article on how prescription drug abuse leads to injectable drugs. The article can be found at http://www.drugfree.org/join-together/addiction/prescription-drug-abuse-gateway-to-injected-drugs-study-suggests. Another important point in this study is how prescription drug abusers also learned at home from other family members abusing prescriptions. This is not new information, but its shocking that parents have the power to truly influence their children and must use this power in the right way. Your parents were your first teachers. What are we teaching our kids?
Prevention is so important. Parents I encourage you to teach your kids starting young about the right way to take medicine. Use your daily vitamins or when your child is sick and needs a pain reliever. Kindergarten is the great age to learn medicine makes you feel better but can also harm you when used incorrectly. This teaching and learning in kindergarten will surely influence this child for the rest of their life.

"Man robs pharmacy"

This past weekend on Father's Day, a man robbed a Melford, NY pharmacy at gunpoint. Police believe his motive was to steal narcotic painkillers. The robber killed two pharmacy employees and two pharmacy customers. This was an extremely brutal crime over some pills. Some pills. Really. I find this terrifying. A man probably addicted to prescription drugs or a street supplier to those addicted to prescription drugs had the audacity to not only rob a pharmacy at gunpoint but to also make sure that there were not witnesses to his crime.
This one story disturbs me but I found something more alarming. I did a google search of "man robs a pharmacy" . 431,000 results were found. The entire first page was filled with stories of men robbing pharmacies with guns, knives, and other deadly weapons all in the past year. To be fair, I also did a search of "woman robs pharmacy". Nearly 400,000 results.
Prescription drug abuse is not hiding. Its out in the open putting innocent people in harms way.

It makes you go hmmm.

I have been a practicing pharmacist in DC for almost two years. I love helping my patients feel better with their medications. I want to believe that everyone is good and always has the best intentions. I also want to think the majority of patients' issues are with not paying attention to their medications and they truely believe that medications are only used when they need them. I know this is not always true; I have been working with drug abuse education and awareness for years now.

I have seen forged prescriptions before but one incident happened where the patient thought I as a pharmacist doing my job was out to get her. Yes, with the rise of people addicted to painkillers and other medications-I am on guard. But as a pharmacist notifying a physician about a patient overusing a medication and talking with a patient about their medication is in fact helping the patient realizing they may potientially have a problem, Painkiller abuse can destory your body. I am worried about your health. Medications are meant to help you feel better and not put you in greater danger.

Depending on the circumstances and counts in DC:
forged prescriptions have a maximum fine of $5,000 and/orimprisonment for up to 5 years

I do not want to see my patients go to jail or destroy their bodies.

Prescription Drugs Receive Top $ on the Streets

Today on CNNMoney.com there was an article about street sales of prescription drugs. Purchasing painkillers or anti-anxiety medications in a pharmacy could maybe cost you $20. There are patients who need these medications to have a decent quality of life. On the streets, these same medications can go for $100. This is appalling. Prescription drug abuse is driving this black market business into a billion dollar industry. According to the DEA, seven million people were abusing prescription medications in 2009. These seven million people are getting their drugs from somewhere. Education and awareness of prescription drug abuse can curb this problem. We have a war on drugs-prescription drugs are included. One can obtain prescription medications legally from a doctor's prescription and a pharmacy. But the supply does not stop there-abusers are forging prescriptions or they may steal from friends or family members. Those abusers who have exhausted other means are going to the black market. Black market dealers are stealing from legitimate shipments, getting supplies from pharmacies, or the biggest shocker-patients are selling their medications for cash. This black market business is scary as a pharmacist. Pharmacies are actually robbed in order for dealers to get supplies. We have got to focus just as much attention on stopping prescription drug abuse as stopping other illegal drug trafficking in the US. 

National Prescription Take Back Day-April 30th

Do you have medications that you do not want or expired and need to get rid of them? You do not have to pay for their disposal. April 30th is Prescription Take Back Day. You can drop off your unwanted medications at over 5,300 sites nationwide.

Some of the DC sites:
Drop Off between 10 am to 2 pm

US Capitol Police Headquarters-119 D Street NE
Walter Reed General Hospital -6900 Georgia Ave NW
First Police District- 101 M Street SW
Third Police District- 1620 V Street NW
UDC-come to driveway off of Van Ness St under the breezeway

For a site near you go to dea.gov

Getting rid of unused medications is one of the best ways to prevent unintentional misuse. According to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health-more Americans abuse prescription drug than illegal substances combined. Parents and grandparents: teens can go through your medicine cabinet and obtain medications you are not using. Medications that are no longer needed especially those narcotic painkillers are a must to take to Take Back Day. Simply throwing drugs away and flushing them down the toilet is not the right thing to do.

You've heard "Don't Drink and Drive" but have you heard about . . .

Okay for years now, we have heard about "Don't Drink and Drive". This is a very important lesson in preventing accidents while intoxicated by alcohol. But did you know that almost 1/5 of fatally injured drivers tested in 2009 were under the influence  of a drug whether legal or illegal. Now consider that almost half of Americans are taking at least one prescription drug according to Health 2004, driving while drugged is an important issue. This is not to encourage you not to take your medications but to alert you that some prescriptions and over-the-counter medications can impair your judgment, perception, and motor skills. Medications that have the possibility of making you sleepy are top of the list to watch out for. Different prescriptions that you should NOT drive while under the influence are pain medications such as Percocet and Vicodin, anti-anxiety medications like Xanax and Valium, and the anti-histamine Benadryl. Pay attention to the warnings on over-the-counter boxes and your prescription labels-anything that states do not operate heavy machinery can impair your driving. More attention needs to be brought Drugged Driving. Law enforcement officers in most states are trained in recognizing drug intoxication. Protect yourself and other drivers by NOT Driving after Drinking and while Texting and Drugged.

Read the directions before USE

Reading the directions before use seems like the most practical step before you attempt to assemble something or operate machinery. But its the thing most of us do not pay attention when taking over-the-counter medication. Yes, I understand you've been taking Ibuprofen or cough syrup as long as you can remember. But do you really remember the exact directions of a drug that you may take once or twice a year.

Last week, my pharmacy tech had a dry cough so she took some cough syrup. For this particular medicine, the dosing is 2 teaspoons every 12 hours. There is a dosing cup that clearly shows the 2 teaspoonfuls. My tech thinking that she knew the directions did not look at the box and just took the medicine. She actually ended up taking 4 teaspoonfuls-double the recommended dose. She because extremely dizzy and drowsy. This was actual unintentional overdose. All because she did not look at the directions before taking the medicine.

Even if you have taken a medication for years, its always important to read and re-read the directions for proper dosing.

For you who are parents or work with teenagers: dextromethorphan in most over-the-counter cough medicines can be abused by teenagers. Signs of abuse could reveal itself by finding many empty bottles of cough syrup in one's possesion. Abuse of dextromethorphan can produce euphoria, visions, and distortions of body preception.

You know what you eat, but do you know your prescriptions?

I was talking to a patient the other day. I was trying to figure out what prescriptions he needed refill. First I must say this gentleman was not the typical health illiterate patient. He was very well spoken and educated. He simply told me to refill 2 of his 5 current medications. I asked him what does he take the meds for. He had no idea. This is not something new; it happens daily in the pharmacy. My question to you is do you eat food that you do not know what it is? Why do we take meds? Is the reason for taking them simply because the doctor said so. You cannot begin to take your medications prescription or over-the-counter correctly unless you know why you're taking it. You are probably wondering what does learning about your prescriptions have to do with abuse. You must know how to take your prescriptions correctly in order not to abuse them. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about your medication. Learn about your medications, do not simple take them because someone told you too. You should know what medications you're putting in your mouth.

Bath Salts

Ivory Dove, red wave, and vanilla sky sound harmless; but these are names of substances marketed as bath salts. When I think of bath salts, I think of nice bubble baths, relaxation, and the scent of lavender. But these bath salts are not for relaxation. They are used for smoking or snorting by mostly teenagers and young adults. Bath salts are easy to obtain in convenience stores, online, etc.  And very legal in most states. Florida and Louisiana have banned bath salts that contain methylenedioxypyrovalerone or MDPV. This substance creates a high similar to cocaine and is highly addictive. A person high from MDPV can experience increased heart rate, nose bleeds, severe hallucinations, paranoia, seizures, psychosis, feelings of superhuman strength, extreme violence and kidney failure. Death is likely and there are stories of suicide and homicide from people under the influence of MDPV. In the future, I'm sure more states will ban this substance. Parents this is something to take notice of.

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog. I hope you enjoy the latest news about me and what I'm doing around DC. Enjoy!

The FDA is making changes. Last week the FDA, announced recommending drug manufactuers to limit the amount of Tylenol in prescription drugs to 325 mg. This does not affect your extra strength Tylenol of 500 mg that you buy over the counter. But you will not be able to find more than 325 mg in prescription products. So your Vicodin which has 500 mg of Tylenol will be reformulated to have a lower amount of Tylenol. This is a good change for the American public. Overuse of Tylenol can lead to liver damage. Your risk increases if you partake in alcohol frequently and also take Tylenol. Also of note during the cold and flu season, many products have multiple drugs in them. You may be taking more than the recommeded dosage of Tylenol without realizing it. This is the reason Tylenol causes so many accidental overdoses. Make sure to read those labels and always follow the recomended amount of drugs.