But two brief research letters published in the Feb. 12 edition of the British medical journal The Lancet indicate that St. John’s Wort is not safe for those taking two types of prescription medication and raise concerns about possible interactions with other prescription drugs online.

One of the drugs examined, indinavir, is a type of drug called a protease inhibitor, which helps suppress HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md., gave indinavir to eight healthy volunteers in a regimen similar to that used by people who are HIV positive. They measured the drug’s appearance in and disappearance from the subjects’ blood, a procedure that helps determine how often and how much of a drug must be taken to reach an effective level. For two weeks after these procedures, the subjects took regular doses of St. John’s Wort. Then, they were given indinavir again, and its level in their blood was assessed.

The NIH investigators found that two weeks of St. John’s Wort treatment resulted in indinavir levels that were significantly lower than they had been before subjects took the herbal remedy. “Drug interactions with [herbal] supplements do occur, and might have profound clinical consequences,” the authors stated. For example, they noted that in HIV-infected people, “[drug] resistance may quickly develop in the presence of antiviral concentrations.”

In another research letter, investigators from the University Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, reported that two heart transplant patients had lower than expected levels of cyclosporine in their blood when they were taking St. John’s Wort. Cyclosporine levels returned to normal when the patients stopped taking the herbal preparation.

Cyclosporine is a drug taken by people who have had organ transplants. It suppresses their immune systems so they do not reject the transplanted organs. If the levels of cyclosporine are not kept within a particular therapeutic range, transplanted organs may be damaged or totally rejected.

The concern about St. John’s Wort and interactions with other medications is not limited to indinavir and cyclosporine. St. John’s Wort contains compounds that activate the body’s system for metabolizing drugs, according to the Swiss investigators. This means the dose of medication, such as cyclosporine or indinavir, that is usually effective might well be too low if St. John’s Wort is used at the same time. St. John’s Wort may also affect other medications that are metabolized by the same body system.

Neither St. John’s Wort, nor most other preparations sold as dietary supplements in the United States, have been tested as thoroughly as regulated, approved pharmaceuticals. Much remains to be learned about their purity, safety and effectiveness. Consumers who are taking medications on a regular basis should check with their physicians or pharmacists before adding herbal products to their personal pharmacies.

Cheap drugs are nice, but getting drugs without paying a red cent is nicer; hold on a minute, this statement is a prank about generic drugs. You should have seen a bit of sarcasm in the joke that is difficult to miss. That is not what this article is about. But the reality continues to be that, generics and cheap drugs are becoming cheaper daily when online drug stores are selling them rather than offline drug stores. That is going to be the focus of this article.

First of all, it is required that generic drugs be analyzed and verified the same way as name brand drugs to establish their similarities in all areas such as side effects, safety issues and level of risk just as their name brand equivalents. These tests are done under statutory surveillance. The required scientifically established testing sequences are used in progressive stages. Testing begins at laboratories and later, before approval, it is continued at clinics for extended periods.

While it is true that this is a time consuming process and there is a high potential for failure, it is also true that there is no research involved so the extra time required for research is also eliminated. This cuts the cost of developing generic drugs by as much as 60-70%. This is one of the most likely reasons generics are called cheap drugs, but it is not the only reason.

Patent protected brand name drugs have a 20-year exclusive price monopoly. No one can imagine ordinary patients being able to afford these drugs on a sustained basis. Insurance and social security support systems make feeble attempts to improve the situation. India and other countries with the same social and economic status, make billions of dollars selling cheap drugs. Drugs that are made here are cheap in reality and they are available for sale at online pharmacies.

For what reasons do generic drugs cost less at online stores than they cost at offline stores? Well, let’s look at how generic drugs are more inexpensive if online pharmacies sell them instead of offline stores. Generic drugs can be bought anytime, day or night, since they are dispensed automatically in distant locations of generic manufacturing countries and they can do this without inventory fees and making investments. The drugs that you order online are sent directly from the most cost efficient producer that supplies the store, after your order is processed. This is a benefit for both the online store and the manufacture of the cheap drug of the actual cost of offline pharmacies. Brick and mortar drug stores lack the major advantage of their online counterparts. This is mostly due to the vast differences in business paradigms.

Speaking of their business paradigms, the brick and mortar drug stores are further disadvantaged by the tax structure of their respective countries which generally removes any benefits the social security and medical insurance would have otherwise provided.

What I believe is simple, if a generic drug can do the job just as well, then why shouldn’t I save hundreds of dollars ordering from an online pharmacy.

First, ask your doctor if he or she has any samples of the medication they can give you, especially if you only need to take the medicine for a short time. A lot of these are given to doctors as free samples by pharmaceutical representatives; your doctor will most likely be happy to give some to you. You may need to ask your doctor about samples, as they might not otherwise think of it because of other things on their minds.

If you have a prescription drug plan and you are prescribed a medication for a long period of time, it’s important to ensure that you have a good understanding of your benefits. Your drug plan may have a formulary, which is a listing of preferred medications. Medication that is on the formulary is likely to be more affordable than similar drugs that are not on it. If your medicine isn’t listed on the formulary, ask your doctor if there is another drug on the list which you could take.

If generic drugs are available, they can be your best option. If you must pay for your medications yourself, you can save a significant amount of money this way. Your co-pay will be lower for generic drugs with many prescription drug plans. Again, ask your doctor if a generic medication would be effective for your treatment.

Mail-order programs are available for a wide range of prescription drug plans. This can be a convenient and cost saving way to get your medications. For about the same price as a one-month supply from your local pharmacy, you can obtain a three-month supply of the same medication.

If you shop at your local pharmacy, using your insurance isn’t always the cheapest method to purchase your medicine. For example, if your insurance charges a flat fee of $15 for generic drugs, but the cost of the drug is only $10, make sure to ask the pharmacy to process your prescription without insurance.

Many grocery stores or mass merchandisers publish coupons in the newspapers that can be used for prescriptions. A number of pharmacies are so keen to have your business, that they will offer you a gift certificate of $10 or $25 if you start filling your prescriptions with them. Transferring a prescription is easy — it usually only takes a phone call to give the new pharmacy information about the prescription.

If you still have trouble paying for your medication, you should ask your doctor about drug manufacturers who offer programs to help. You can often get the necessary paperwork to apply for these programs at your doctor’s office.

This article is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical condition. It is merely meant to compare the advantages and disadvantages of each drug. The information contained was gained by the author’s personal use and research of each drug. This article should not replace or supersede the advice of a medical professional. Take all drugs as they are prescribed, and do not take pills that are not prescribed to you.

There are some clinical terms you’ll need to understand before discussing sleep aids. Half-life is the amount of time that your body takes to eliminate half of the drug from your system. Sleep aids have shorter half-lives than most drugs. This is how the drug is able to act only on during sleeping hours. Some sleep aids have a very short half-life (Sonata), while others span a full night of sleep (Lunesta).

Another term to understand is the non-benzodiazepine class of drugs. Abien, Lunesta, and Sonata all fall into this drug class. These are sedatives, and are chemically-distant relatives of more powerful anti-anxiety drugs like Valium and Xanax. Like their powerful cousins, non-benzodiazepines can be addictive if used daily for long periods or in high doses. One of the side effects of non-benzodiazepine drugs is a non-harmful type of memory loss. Generally, users will have little or no memory retention during the time the drug was having an effect. With sleep aids, this is not usually a problem since the user goes to bed immediately after taking a pill. However, people who take the drug may do things they don’t remember, such as binge eating or talking on the phone. Sometimes this can lead to dangerous situations like driving or cooking, so sleep aid users should take precautions to avoid such situations.

There are some health insurance issues surrounding sleep aids. Insurers dislike paying for brand-name drugs, particularly “voluntary” pills like sleep aids. Many insurers limit the number of pills they will pay for each year. Some cut-rate insurers won’t cover them at all. If an insurer refuses payment, the primary care provider may be able to override this refusal by certifying the patient requires the drug frequently.

Rozerem
Rozerem (or Ramelteon) is the only non-sedative sleep aid available on the market. Introduced in early 2006, it has zero ability to cause addiction. This makes Rozerem an attractive option for people who have prior substance abuse. Rozerem should be tried by individuals who do not respond to other sleep aids.