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1 day ago | 
charlotteobserver.com | Joe Graedon |Teresa Graedon
Sometimes it takes the Food and Drug Administration a very long time to spring into action. We have been badgering the agency for years to warn doctors, pharmacists and patients that sudden discontinuation of some popular antihistamines can lead to unbearable itching that can last for weeks. At long last the FDA has agreed.
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3 days ago | 
seattletimes.com | Teresa Graedon
Q: After trying several nasal sprays and prescription medications for severe seasonal allergies, I was thrilled to find that levocetirizine worked wonders. In January, I started taking one tablet per day. In February, I developed severe knee pain, along with stiffness and soreness throughout my entire body. As a very healthy individual, the thought of developing severe arthritis scared me.
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6 days ago | 
charlotteobserver.com | Joe Graedon |Teresa Graedon
Q. My doctor prescribed raloxifene when I was in my 50s because my mother had died of breast cancer. She believed this drug would block estrogen from harming the breasts. It must have worked, as I took it for 15 years without side effects and no bone problems. I stopped taking it then, on the grounds that there couldn't be much estrogen left in my system. Eighteen months later I had a lumpectomy for an early tumor that was estrogen receptor positive. Get those mammograms!A.
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1 week ago | 
newsobserver.com | Joe Graedon |Teresa Graedon
Last week, we answered a reader's comment about using witch hazel to ease the itch of a poison ivy rash. We suggested a few other products that might also be useful. In response, we received this detailed correction. "Every year you write a column about poison ivy, and you do not have your facts straight. As the author of Itchy Business: How to Treat the Poison Ivy and Poison Oak Rash, Prevent Exposure and Eradicate the Plant, I would like to offer a few clarifications.
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1 week ago | 
spokesman.com | Joe Graedon |Teresa Graedon
Last week, we answered a reader’s comment about using witch hazel to ease the itch of a poison ivy rash. We suggested a few other products that might also be useful. In response, we received this detailed correction. “Every year, you write a column about poison ivy, and you do not have your facts straight. As the author of ‘Itchy Business: How to Treat the Poison Ivy and Poison Oak Rash, Prevent Exposure and Eradicate the Plant,’ I would like to offer a few clarifications.
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1 week ago | 
seattletimes.com | Joe Graedon |Teresa Graedon
Q: Turmeric and rosemary are two ingredients among 10 in an over-the-counter supplement I take. In lab studies, the supplement was found to inhibit the COX-2 enzyme and other inflammatory products of the arachidonic pathway. Celebrex is a prescription arthritis drug that works as a COX-2 inhibitor. I started taking the supplement in 2006 to deal with prostate cancer.
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1 week ago | 
charlotteobserver.com | Joe Graedon |Teresa Graedon
Q. I have been trying to take good care of my health. I exercise, eat well and was taking a multi-vitamin for 50+ women. Last winter I noticed that my toes were becoming tingly, especially when I was in bed. At times my toes ached when I was walking. Then I read a comment in one of your columns about vitamins where a woman mentioned tingling toes and that her doctor told her to quit taking her multi-vitamin because it contained a high dose of vitamin B6, much more than the DV.
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1 week ago | 
charlotteobserver.com | Joe Graedon |Teresa Graedon
Q. Years ago, I wrote to you reporting that my snoring improved while I took Vascepa. That was what my wife said, and I'd like to follow up. That effect continued as long as I took Vascepa. Mucus in my throat and nasal passages also seemed less viscous when I took both Vascepa and an EPA supplement. When I stopped them, the mucus became thicker within a few weeks. Since I seem to breathe easier, I resumed taking EPA. I am avoiding Vascepa since I feel it worsens constipation. A.
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2 weeks ago | 
charlotteobserver.com | Joe Graedon |Teresa Graedon
Pharmaceuticals are among the most tested, analyzed and scrutinized consumer products in the world. Initial laboratory research and preclinical investigations lead to clinical trials and Food and Drug Administration review. The cost for developing a new medication can range from hundreds of millions to several billion dollars.
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2 weeks ago | 
seattletimes.com | Teresa Graedon
Q: I have been trying to take good care of my health. I exercise, eat well and was taking a multivitamin for women ages 50 and older. Last winter, I noticed that my toes were becoming tingly, especially when I was in bed. At times, my toes ached when I was walking. Then I read a comment in one of your columns about vitamins where a woman mentioned tingling toes and that her doctor told her to quit taking her multivitamin because it contained a high dose of vitamin B6, much more than the DV.
