In these uncertain economic times, the number of people unable to afford their medications is getting higher and higher.
Many fixed- and low-income people find it an increasingly difficult task to pay for the medications they need to stay healthy. In many cases, it’s a choice between medicine and other necessities, such as food and heat.
The post “Financial Help with Prescription Medications,” written on July 7, 2008, has received a thorough rewriting with important new information. Since it was originally written, I have found several very helpful online sites that give information and application help for low- or no-cost medication programs sponsored by the pharmaceutical companies.
The post gives the details that you need to help you or a person you know to find programs that will help pay for medications. The topics discussed are:
- Eligibility for prescription help
- Online assistance with prescription medications from the pharmaceutical companies
- Assistance with prescription medications from the pharmaceutical companies by telephone
- Medicare Rx extra help
- The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)
- Samples from your doctor
- Reducing the cost: Mail-order and online medications
- Reducing the cost: Comparisons of pharmacy costs
Tagged as:
Drug Costs,
Low-Income,
Mail-Order,
Medications,
Pharmacy
Antidepressants are often the medication of choice for addressing Anxiety Disorders.
Antidepressants all work because they affect serotonin, an important neurotransmitter in the brain that acts as a chemical messenger. They were first developed for depression, and later were found to be effective for treating most types of Anxiety Disorders, too.
Those taking antidepressants for the first time and even those who have been taking them a while often have many questions about them. These questions may not be answered fully by their doctor or by the information on the prescription bottle.
This post answers the most common questions that people have. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to ask them in the comments or in a personal message using the “Contact” tab. Please note that this post does not cover the antidepressant medications in detail — there is another post entitled “Medications for Anxiety, Panic and Phobias” that does that.
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Anxiety Disorder,
Medications
by Mike Nichols on September 24, 2008 · 6 comments
Drugs are commonly used in conjunction with therapy to reduce the effects of Anxiety Disorders.
One of the purposes of psychiatric medications is to relieve a person’s symptoms enough to allow therapy to be effective. This has been a standard approach for years.
A radical new approach to drugs and therapy has been proposed by researchers and published in the June 15, 2008, issue of Biological Psychiatry.
Instead of using drugs to relieve symptoms, they propose using certain drugs to enhance learning during therapy sessions, improving the effectiveness of behavioral therapy treatment for Anxiety Disorders.
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Anxiety Disorder,
Exposure Therapy,
Medications,
OCD - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder,
Panic Disorder,
PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,
Therapy
Do you treat your mental health issue with medication only?
If you do, you are part of a growing trend among mental health care providers.
This shift to the sole use of medication to treat mental health problems is detailed in a study released this month in the Archives of General Psychology. The authors find that market forces, primarily insurance reimbursements, are forcing psychiatrists to limit their time with patients to 15-minute medication maintenance visits rather than also providing psychotherapy.
The percentage of patients who received both medication and psychotherapy from their psychiatrists fell to 28.9 percent in 2004-05, from 44.4 percent in 1996-97.
The findings are expected to intensify a debate over the increased medicalization of psychiatric care. The debate is about the shifting emphasis on the biology of mental illness, as opposed to the processes of the mind addressed in psychotherapy. This debate is seen in the mental health stances of the two Presidential candidates. McCain’s plan emphasizes the use of medications over psychotherapy, while Obama’s seeks a balance between the two.
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Anxiety Disorder,
Medications,
Mental Health Professionals,
Panic Disorder,
Psychiatrist,
PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,
SAD - Social Phobia,
Specific Phobias
Medications are an essential part of treatment for mental disorders. But medications have uncomfortable side effects and can interact badly with other drugs.
Your doctor doesn’t always know of these right off the top of his head. It’s up to you to take charge of your medications to make sure that your medications aren’t making you sicker!
You need to know everything you can about your medications, including what their common and dangerous side effects are, and if you take more than one drug, whether they interact negatively.
If you see more than one doctor, and it’s probable that you do, each one can prescribe medications without taking into account what the others have prescribed if you do not make it your responsibility to ask questions.
And each drug has side effects that indicate that something is going wrong. If you take multiple medications, what is a dangerous side effect for one may be a normal side effect for another. You need to know this information!
In this post I’m going to show you how to:
- Find online information about your medications
- Note each medication’s side effects and drug interactions
- Build a data sheet to take with you to your doctor’s appointments
- Talk to your doctor about your medications
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
drug interactions,
Drugs,
General Practitioner,
Medications,
Psychiatrist,
side effects
The cost of prescription medications is sky high and going higher. Many fixed- and low-income people find it an increasingly difficult task to pay for the medications they need to stay healthy. In many cases, it’s a choice between medicine and other necessities, such as food and heat.
If you find yourself or someone you know in this situation, there is help available to provide medications at no cost or low cost. This article discusses the following topics:
- Eligibility for prescription help
- Online assistance with prescription medications from the pharmaceutical companies
- Assistance with prescription medications from the pharmaceutical companies by telephone
- Medicare Rx extra help
- The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)
- Samples from your doctor
- Reducing the cost: Mail-order and online medications
- Reducing the cost: Comparisons of pharmacy costs
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Drug Costs,
Low-Income,
Mail-Order,
Medications,
Pharmacy
