0 Information about Amaryl

What is Amaryl?

Amaryl (glimepiride) is an oral diabetes medicine that helps control blood sugar levels. This medication helps your body respond better to insulin produced by your pancreas.

Amaryl is used together with diet and exercise to treat type 2 (non-insulin dependent) diabetes. Insulin or other diabetes medicines are sometimes used in combination with this medicine if needed.

Amaryl may also be used for purposes not listed in this medication guide.

Important information about Amaryl

Do not use Amaryl if you are allergic to glimepiride, or if you are in a state of diabetic ketoacidosis (call your doctor for treatment with insulin).

Before taking Amaryl, tell your doctor if you are allergic to sulfa drugs, or if you have heart disease, liver disease, kidney disease, an enzyme deficiency (G6PD), adrenal or pituitary gland problems, or if you are under-nourished.

Take care not to let your blood sugar get too low. Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) can occur if you skip a meal, exercise too long, drink alcohol, or are under stress. Symptoms include headache, hunger, weakness, sweating, tremor, irritability, or trouble concentrating. Carry hard candy or glucose tablets with you in case you have low blood sugar. Other sugar sources include orange juice and milk. Be sure your family and close friends know how to help you in an emergency.

Amaryl is only part of a complete program of treatment that also includes diet, exercise, and weight control. Follow your diet, medication, and exercise routines very closely. Changing any of these factors can affect your blood sugar levels.

0 Side Effects of Lisinopril

Side effects, some or all of which are serious and require immediate medical attention, include:

• Chills, infection
• Dark urine, decreased urination (oliguria)
• Difficulty swallowing or breathing (signs of angioedema), allergic reaction (anaphylaxis)
• Hoarseness
• Itching
• Rapid weight gain, stomach pain
• Yellowing of skin or eyes (jaundice)
• Abdominal pain, bloating, vomiting
• Chest pain or tightness, dizziness, lightheadedness, fainting (syncope)
• Dry cough
• Fever
• Joint pain
• Rash
• Diarrhea, loss of taste, nausea
• Drowsiness, headache, tiredness
• Change in mood/irrational behaviour
• Blurred vision
• Muscle cramps
• Fainting/blackouts
• Increased insulin sensitivity
• Sexual dysfunction
• Serious (possibly fatal) liver problems

Lisinopril causes the kidneys to retain potassium, which may lead to hyperkalemia. From a study of more than 1,000 patients who have hyperkalemia when using Lisinopril, the condition may happen more on older male users.

A rare but severe allergic reaction can occur that affects the bowel wall and secondarily causes abdominal pain. This "anaphylactic" reaction is very rare and must be given immediate medical attention.

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisinopril

0 Information about Lisinopril

Lisinopril (pronounced /laɪˈsɪnəprɪl/ ly-SIN-ə-pril) is a drug of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor class that is primarily used in treatment ofhypertension, congestive heart failure, and heart attacks and also in preventing renal and retinal complications of diabetes. It has been compared with omapatrilat, which is of similar function.

Historically, lisinopril was the third ACE inhibitor (after captopril and enalapril) and was introduced into therapy in the early 1990s. Lisinopril has a number of properties that distinguish it from other ACE inhibitors: It is hydrophilic, has a long half-life and tissue penetration, and is not metabolized by the liver.

Lisinopril was developed by Merck & Co. and is marketed worldwide as Prinivil or Tensopril and byAstraZeneca as Zestril. In India it is marketed byMicro Labs as Hipril. In the United States, a generic version is available. Like other ACE inhibitors, it is derived from the venom of the jararaca, a Brazilian pit viper (Bothrops jararaca). Lisinopril can also be used in conjunction with the diuretic Hydrochlorothiazide and drugs which combine these two medications are available under the brand namesPrinzide and Zestoretic.

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisinopril

0 Side Effects of Propecia

Side effects of finasteride include impotence (1.1% to 18.5%), abnormal ejaculation (7.2%), decreased ejaculatory volume (0.9% to 2.8%), abnormal sexual function (2.5%), gynecomastia (2.2%), erectile dysfunction (1.3%), ejaculation disorder (1.2%) and testicular pain. According to the product package insert, resolution occurred in men who discontinued therapy with finasteride due to these side effects and in most men who continued therapy. In December 2010, Merck acknowledged that depression is a side effect of Finasteride.

In December 2008, the Swedish Medical Products agency concluded a safety investigation of Propecia and subsequently advised that the use of Propecia may result in irreversible sexual dysfunction. The Agency's updated safety information lists difficulty in obtaining an erection that persists indefinitely, even after the discontinuation of Propecia, as a possible side effect of the drug. The UK's Medical and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) say that erectile dysfunction that persists once use of Propecia has stopped has been reported to them. Similar labeling changes have been made by the Italian government. While European product warnings have been updated to warn of the possibility for permanent sexual dysfunction, the warnings remain unchanged in North America and currently state that sexual side effects are reversible.

Thousands of former finasteride users have reported permanent sexual side effects as a consequence of taking finasteride, despite discontinuing treatment with the drug. A recent literature review was published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine that states "clearly the sexual side adverse events do not resolve in all patients who discontinue use of finasteride." A 2003 double-blind, placebo controlled experiment for treatment of BPH showed that sexual side effects were more common with drug than placebo in the first year of treatment. Four percent of patients on finasteride and two percent of patients on placebo withdrew from treatment due to sexual adverse events. 50 percent of the patients on finasteride that withdrew and 59 percent of the patients on placebo that withdrew demonstrated persistent sexual side effects despite discontinuation of the treatment.

Finasteride is in the FDA pregnancy category X. This means that it is known to cause birth defectsin an unborn baby. Women who are or who may become pregnant must not handle crushed or broken finasteride tablets, because the medication could be absorbed through the skin. Finasteride is known to cause birth defects in a developing male baby. Exposure to whole tablets should be avoided whenever possible, however exposure to whole tablets is not expected to be harmful as long as the tablets are not swallowed.

It is not known whether finasteride passes into breast milk, and thus should not be taken by breastfeeding women. Finasteride may pass into the semen of men, but Merck states that a pregnant woman's contact with the semen of a man taking finasteride is not an issue for concern.

Finasteride is known to affect blood donations, and potential donors are typically restricted for at least a month after their most recent dose.

Many sports organizations have banned finasteride because it can be used to mask steroid abuse. Since 2005, finasteride has been on the World Anti-Doping Agency's list of banned substances. However, it was removed from the list in 2009. Notable athletes who used finasteride for hair loss and were banned from international competition include skeleton racer Zach Lund,bobsledder Sebastien Gattuso, footballer Romário and ice hockey goaltender José Théodore.

In December 2009, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in the UK announced new drug safety advice on finasteride and the potential risk of male breast cancer. The agency concluded that, although overall incidence of male breast cancer in clinical trials for finasteride 5 mg was not significantly increased, a higher risk of male breast cancer with finasteride use cannot be excluded. A warning on this risk will be included in the product information.

0 Information about Propecia

Finasteride (marketed by Merck under the trademark names Proscar and Propecia, also available under several generic names) is a synthetic antiandrogen that inhibits type II 5-alpha reductase, the enzyme that converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Finasteride was initially approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1992 under the brand name Proscar, as treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). In 1997, the FDA approved finasteride to treat male pattern baldness (MPB) under the brand name Propecia.


Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finasteride

0 Side Effects of Soma

The usual dose of 350 mg is unlikely to engender prominent side effects other than somnolence, and possibly mild euphoria or dysphoria. The medication is well tolerated and without adverse effects in the majority of patients for which it is indicated. In some patients however, and/or early in therapy, carisoprodol can have the full spectrum of sedative side effects and can impair the patient's ability to operate a firearm, motorcycle, and other machinery of various types especially when taken with medications containing alcohol, in which case an alternative medication would be considered. The intensity of the side effects of carisoprodol tends to lessen as therapy continues, as is the case with many other drugs.

The interaction of carisoprodol with opioids, essentially all opioids and other centrally-acting analgesics, but especially those of the codeine-derived subgroup of the semi-synthetic class (codeine, ethylmorphine, dihydrocodeine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, nicocodeine, benzylmorphine, the various acetylated codeine derivatives including acetyldihydrocodeine, dihydroisocodeine, nicodicodeine and others) which allows the use of a smaller dose of the opioid to have a given effect, is useful in general and especially where injury and/or muscle spasm is a large part of the problem. The potentiation effect is also useful in other pain situations and is also especially useful with opioids of the open-chain class such as methadone, levomethadone, ketobemidone, phenadoxone and others. In recreational drug users, deaths have resulted from carelessly combining overdoses of hydrocodone and carisoprodol.

Meprobamate and other muscle relaxing drugs often were subjects of misuse in the 1950s and1960s. Overdose cases were reported as early as 1957 and have been reported on several occasions since then.

Carisoprodol, meprobamate, and related drugs such as tybamate have the potential to produce physical dependence with prolonged use. Withdrawal of the drug after extensive use may require hospitalization in medically-compromised patients.

Because of potential for more severe side effects, this drug is on the list to avoid in the elderly.

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carisoprodol 

0 Information about SOMA

Carisoprodol is a centrally-acting skeletal muscle relaxant. It is a colorless, crystalline powder, having a mild characteristic odor and a bitter taste. Carisoprodol is slightly soluble in water and freely soluble in alcohol,chloroform and acetone. The drug's solubility is practically independent of pH. Carisoprodol is manufactured and marketed in the United States by Meda Pharmaceuticals Inc. under the brand name SOMA, and in the United Kingdom and other countries under the brand names Sanoma and Carisoma. The drug is available by itself or mixed with aspirin and in one preparation (Soma Compound With Codeine) along with codeine and caffeine as well.

Although reports from Norway have shown that carisoprodol has abuse potential as a prodrug of meprobamate and/or potentiator of hydrocodone, dihydrocodeine, codeine and similar drugs, it continues to be prescribed in North America, alongside orphenadrine and cyclobenzaprine. In Europe, doctors favor cyclobenzaprine. In the United Kingdom, benzodiazepines are preferred instead. All of the above plus chlorzoxazone are used in Canada.

As of November 2007, carisoprodol (Somadril, Somadril comp.) has been taken off the market in Sweden due to problems with dependence and side effects. The agency overseeing pharmaceuticals has considered other drugs used with the same indications as carisoprodol to have the same or better effects without the risks of the drug. In May 2008 it was taken off the market in Norway as well.

In the EU, the European Medicines Agency has issued a release recommending that member states suspend marketing authorization for this product in the treatment of acute (not chronic) back pain.

In the United States, while carisoprodol is not a controlled substance under federal regulations, as of February 2010, carisoprodol is considered to be a schedule IV controlled substance by the states of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas (scheduled using the state's new controlled substance program which requires physicians to obtain, and include, a state "DPS" number as well as a DEA number on all controlled substances prescriptions), Utah, and Washington. It is a Schedule III controlled substance in West Virginia. The rest of the United States, excluding the above named states, falls under the DEA scheduling for the medication, which considers carisoprodol a non-scheduled chemical, meaning that carisoprodol is considered a general prescription medication by the federal government of the United States, with oversight provided solely by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

On March 26, 2010 the DEA issued a Notice of Hearing on proposed rule making in respect to the placement of carisoprodol in schedule IV of the Controlled Substances Act.

Abusers of carisoprodol usually seek its potential dissociative, euphoric, and heavy sedating, relaxant, and anxiolytic effects. Also, because of its potentiating effects on narcotics, it is often abused in conjunction with many opioid drugs.

As with most psychoactive substances, tolerance can form very rapidly. This causes the abuser to continually increase dosage to obtain desired effects. As with any drug, this can be dangerous for a multitude of reasons. For this reason, those with a background of addiction should not be prescribed carisoprodol.

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carisoprodol