Moving Blog

Hello fellow readers,

Our blog has been moved. We will be updating on our new blog every week. Here is the link: https://dirtypills.wordpress.com/

Thank you.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Belated 4th of July from Woodland Hills Pharmacy!

Diabetic neuropathy—the agony of da feet

Diabetes accounts for about 70,000 lower-limb amputations in the United States each year. People tend to think of diabetes as a silent, painless condition.  Millions of diabetic patients may have tingling toes or painful feet. This problem is called diabetic neuropathy which can range from merely aggravating to disabling or even life threatening. High blood sugar, the hallmark of diabetes, injures nerves and blood vessels throughout the body. The first nerves to be affected tend to be the smallest ones furthest from the spinal cord—the feet. Diabetic neuropathy can cause a constant burning feeling in the feet; sharp pain that may be worse at night. When sensory nerves in the feet become damaged, a blister, cut, or sore can go unnoticed, allowing time for the wound to become infected.

While there is no cure for diabetic neuropathy, there are ways to cope with it:

1) Stay active- exercise improves blood flow to the feet.

2) Slim down- this improves blood sugar and takes extra weight off the feet.

3) Prescription creams can be compounded to relieve the pain and increase blood flow to the area.

Do you have diabetic neuropathy? How do you deal with it? We want to hear from you. 

Cheryl-Pharmacist

Men Have Menopause Too

Have you ever overheard an individual saying to their male spouse, "Are you going through menopause"? Usually it is followed by a laugh. While many will laugh about male menopause, it is real.  Many doctors refer to male menopause as andropause, which is a decline of testosterone. Men often experience fatigue, depression, and sexual problems. It is known that the male menopause is quite different than women, as the testosterone slowly decreases. It is surprising to hear that an 80 year old male can still make sperm. The male menopause is a slow process, which begins to occur in their mid-40's. There is a main treatment used and symptoms that come with male menopause.

Symptoms of Andropause:

• Depression
• Fatigue
• Weight Gain
• Memory Less
• Thinning Hair
• Weakness
• Sexual Problems
• Thinning Hair

Treatment of Andropause

• Hormone Replacement Therapy: helps relieve symptoms including lack of sexual interest, depression and fatigue
• If Testosterone is low, testosterone replacement therapy helps balance and relieve several symptoms

We've Learned Three Things:

• Male menopause is known as androgen which is the decline of testosterone.
• Symptoms of andropause include depression, fatigue, thinning hair, memory loss, and weight gain to name a few.
• A treatment of andropause consists of hormone replacement therapy which helps relive many of the symptoms. 

Everyone experiences different symptoms from andropause. Tells us how you deal with andropause and what symptoms you get. We want to hear from you.

Jennie-Your Undercover Everything Pharmacy

PMS: I love you. Actually I really hate you.

Have you ever had intense or strange food cravings? Have you ever cried for no reason and then minutes later realized you could be perfectly happy again? We have all been there. All men have seen first hand their wife/mother/girlfriend go through this awful stage every month. It's called PMS: Premenstrual Syndrome. 8-20% of women have moderate to severe symptoms one to two weeks before their menstrual cycle. We often feel symptoms of PMS before our menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and during menopause. There is even a disorder called PMDD: Premenstraul dysphoric disorder which is a severe form of PMS symptoms which can be debilitating. PMDD can cause extreme mood swings that can interfere with work and relationships. Next time your spouse flips out over something minor it's probably PMS. We have all had moments before our period when we crave random, out-of-place things like that tasty, juicy, giant steak. Who could blame you anyways steak is delicious.

Symptoms of PMS:

• Anxiety
• Cramps
• Acne
• Depression
• Crying
• Mood swings
• Insomnia
• Muscle Pain
• Headache
• Weight Gain
• Breast Tenderness
• Diarrhea

PMS relief:

• Heating Pad
• Tylenol
• Red Meat: Helps Boost Iron
• Chocolate: Contains Magnesium and Releases Serotonin
• Fruit: 
• Bananas
• Kale
• Spinach
• Eggs
• Whole Grains

Ways to deal with PMS during Menopause:

• HRT: Hormone Replacement Therapy replaces the hormones that your body is not able to make once you start menopause
• Why do you need Estrogen? Estrogen controls how your body absorbs calcium and raises good/bad cholesterol 
• Why do you need Progesterone? If you take Estrogen without progesterone, you risk developing cancer of the lining of the uterus
• Often people with menopause use HRT to balance out their hormone

We've Learned Three Things:

• PMS occurs during pregnancy, before period, and menopause which includes symptoms such as stomach pain, headache insomnia, and diarrhea just to name a few
• There are specific foods that can help lessen PMS symptoms such as chocolate, red meat, kale, and bananas
• You can balance out the hormones from menopausal symptoms using HRT medications such as estrogen and progesterone

Every person's symptoms are different and there are a hundred ways to sooth them. We would love to hear your stories, tips and tricks. From grandma's cramp-relief parsley tea to your prescription Tylenol, how do you manage your symptoms of PMS?

Jennie-Your Undercover Everything Pharmacy

Migraines:Some pres Ways to lessen the Pain

Have you ever felt like your head just got thrown into a blender and there is nothing you can do to stop it? The room is spinning, nausea is taking over, and everything you try doesn't seem to   help. You finally find some relief from the nausea by throwing up. You lay down to try to soothe the pain and after a short nap everything is back to normal. This is a migraine! The American Migraine Foundation defines a migraine as a "neurological disorder that is characterized by hyperexcitable brain networks that may be triggered by a variety of stimuli (e.g. alcohol, menstruation, fragrances, light glare)." Migraines are triggered by specific characteristics such as stress, specific type of food, menstrual periods, and fatigue. The graph includes several common symptoms of migraines such as nausea, visual problems, vomiting, and dizziness. This month is Migraine & Headache Awareness month in which people all over the world are raising awareness by discussing chronic migraines all over the internet. The American Migraine Foundation reports that thirty six million Americans suffer from migraine headaches. With migraines being common, it is important to discuss migraines and educate others.

When I was a senior in high school, I would have miserable migraine episodes. At the time, I wasn't aware that it was a medical condition I was suffering from.When they came on I was extremely dizzy. It felt as though the room was spinning and I was helpless to stop it. Constant dizzy spells made me nauseous. Some days I could barely move without feeling like I was on a boat. I would get nauseous and rush to the restroom and throw up constantly. After I threw up, my dizziness would lessen. Then, I would sleep for a few hours. After I had slept, I would feel normal and fine. They only happened every other day at first, but it didn't take long for them to be every day aggravation. One day right when I got home, I could tell an episode was coming on strong.  I barely got into the kitchen before I was on the floor from the dizziness. I could not move.
It was obvious I needed to see a neurologist. The following day, I went in and explained my issues. The doctor explained to me that I was having migraine episodes. My migraines were most likely triggered by my diet and stress. I found out that I was eating things like ham, which has nitrates in it, that can trigger migraines. He explained that I would need to take a medication every single day for the rest of my life to prevent the episodes. The upside was, once the medication had been absorbed in my body after a few days, I rarely had migraines. It is no surprise that I am prone to migraines since my father's mother had migraines as well. While I rarely have a migraine, I still get headaches. I use the best home remedies for my headaches that I have been able to figure out. Most of the time my headaches are gone if I take Advil with coffee or a caffeinated drink. My headaches do not come close to how bad my migraines were. The migraine medication made such a difference in my life and gave me the ability to function on a daily basis.

I am NOT my migraines! I believe it is important to educate others about them and the ways to prevent them. There are a surprising number of ways to alleviate or prevent migraines right at home.

• Prescription or over the counter drugs may be a good alternative if there appears to be no help from other options. 
• WebMD explains the importance of caffeine for migraine patients, "Caffeine is a common ingredient in many prescription and over-the-counter headache medications. Caffeine additives make pain relievers 40% more effective in treating headaches." 
• It is important to note that caffeine helps the body absorb migraine and headache drugs quicker which in result brings helps relieves the migraine quicker.

We also offer a medication here at Woodland Hills Pharmacy that might be right for you. Lidocaine  nasal spray is often used to stop migraines and cluster headaches within minutes after they occur. This medication relives the pain of the migraine quickly after used. If you have any questions, feel free to call or e-mail us at Woodland Hills Pharmacy and we would love to relieve your migraines.

Jennie-Your Undercover For Everything Pharmacy

Walk off Your Symptoms of MS

What is MS?

Multiple Sclerosis is a disease that is continual and chronic. It affects the brain as well as the spinal cord by causing scar tissue to be created in several areas due to nerve damage. Depending on where this damage is, it can cause muscular imbalance, loss of control, and speech or visual difficulties.                             

• There are four types of MS: relapsing-remitting, secondary-progressive, primary progressive and progressive relapsing.
• About 85 percent of those who are newly diagnosed have the relapsing-remitting form of MS.
• The disease is unpredictable, and each individual will not experience the same set of symptoms.
• Without disease-modifying therapy, about 50 percent of those diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS will become progressively worse at 10 years after diagnosis.

Living with Multiple Sclerosis isn't the easiest, especially when it begins to affect your mobility.   There are a variety of different symptoms of MS. Often times people who have MS become depressed and emotionally unstable. It is quite common that MS patients have muscle spasms. The bowel symptoms of MS patients includes diarrhea or constipation. Another common symptom of MS is chronic fatigue.   This picture mentions several symptoms of MS.

Though, as of yet, there aren't any permanent solutions for the symptoms of MS, great strides have been made in recent years in the development of new treatment options. Ampyra (dalfampridine) another form of fampridine (4-Aminopyradine) has shown exceedingly good results for those with walking difficulties due to MS. Low-Dose Naltrexone may also be helpful, as the National MS Society reports: 

"The investigators found that LDN significantly improved quality of life (specifically, mental health, pain and self-reported cognitive function), but no impact was observed on aspects of physical quality of life (such as fatigue, bowel and bladder control, sexual satisfaction, and visual function). Vivid dreaming was reported during the first week of treatment by some patients, but no other adverse effects were reported."
(http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Treating-MS/Complementary-Alternative-Medicines/Low-Dose-Naltrexone)

    Karli- Your undercover technician for everything pharmacy

Have you found something that relieves the pain? Help us understand your symptoms and find more answers. Comment below!