Viagra. Cialis. Levitra. These brand names for prescription oral phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors have become increasingly popular with men who suffer from impotence or erectile dysfunction, a condition marked by the ability to achieve and/or maintain an erection suitable for sexual intercourse. These drugs help the penile muscles to relax, thus allowing it to engorge and stay firm for a longer period of time. So with sexual stimulation, impotent patients can achieve erections. However, these so-called wonder drugs are not without side effects. Among the most commonly reported side effects are headache, muscle pains, vision disturbances, change in heartbeat (fast or slow), indigestion, nausea, vomiting, and flushing of the skin especially on the face and upper body.
While most patients are aware that taking nitrate-based drugs or alpha-blockers in combination with PDE5 inhibitors can be fatal, what most are unaware of is that these drugs also interact with certain foods. These drug interactions can be detrimental to the effects of the drug and can possibly cause serious damage to the patient. They can also aggravate the side effects of a drug they interact with. The most alarming part is that the most innocuous food items can be the cause of these drug interactions.
Take grapefruit juice, for example. It has been lauded in the medical community as a nutraceutical, or food that supposedly has health and medicinal benefits such as disease prevention. Some studies have concluded that the juice of a grapefruit contains chemicals that can reduce the risk of cancer and of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. Atherosclerosis has been linked to some cases of sexual impotence, and there are many impotent men who drink grapefruit juice for preventive and/or therapeutic purposes in conjunction with one of the PDE5 drugs. What they don't realize is that the effects of the medication are limited by the juice, and even make the side effects worse. Researchers believe this is because compounds in grapefruit juice called furanocoumarins block the enzymes that normally break down these drugs in the body, and this can last for up to 24 hours after ingestion.
This drug interaction was actually discovered accidentally by researchers when they used grapefruit juice to mask the taste of alcohol for their study, which was to see how an oral calcium-channel blocker called Plendil (felodipine) reacts to alcohol. They were surprised to find that in that particular trial, both the effects and side effects of the drug were amplified by the grapefruit juice because of the increased blood levels of felodipine. With further research, they were able to discover that the culprit was the juice itself and that it not only interacts with that specific drug but also with medications such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra.
By amplifying the blood levels of these PDE5 drugs into toxic levels, grapefruit juice can impair the normal function or cause damage to vital organs. Because of the prolonged effect of the juice on the body, many doctors are now telling their patients to stop drinking it altogether if they are taking these medications daily. Be sure to ask your doctor for more information about drug interactions, because that information may actually save your life.
Friday, January 2, 2009
A Proven Eastern Medication for Infertility
Getting pregnant can be a big problem for a lot of couples. Some of these couples use the latest technology the modern medicine has offered. According to the National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC), five percent of infertility treatments involve in vitro fertilization (IVF) or other kinds of assisted reproductive technologies. It is a method in which a laboratory is used to try to help a couple become pregnant. More than 70,000 babies have been born in the United States using assisted reproductive technologies, including 45,000 born as a result of in vitro fertilization. IVF makes pregnancy possible for more than half of the couples who pursue treatment.
Techniques like IVF have been in use since the 1970s, but they are still something of an inexact or inaccurate science. The success rates for each therapy range from as low as 1% to as high as 50%, and a successful pregnancy depends on a variety of factors. It can include the age of the woman, the cause of infertility, and the skill of the technician performing the procedure.
But there is another procedure for aiding pregnancy that has been in use since the ancient times. Although modern medical science has failed to conclusively explain just how it works, acupuncture is said to be a an effective method for helping a couple to have a baby. Acupuncture is based in the Chinese belief that a balance in the energy flow known as qi and chi through the body is needed in order to stay healthy. When a blockage or imbalance occurs in that flow, one's health is negatively affected. There are 20 major pathways that qi is believed to travel along and these pathways, or meridians, are accessible through 400 different acupuncture points.
Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicines believe that a variety of energy patterns can interfere with becoming pregnant. Acupuncture works in the treatment of infertility by increasing the production of endorphins in the brain, which then helps people de-stress and relax. The traditional treatment can help stabilize hormone levels of a couple trying to have a baby. This can lead to an increase in sperm production for men and the improvement of blood supply in the uterus and the ovaries among women. Doctors believe that integrating acupuncture, at least, helps relieve some stress and anxiety suffered by patients struggling with infertility.
Acupuncture can be used in combination with other Western Medicine treatments for infertility. Acupuncturist Jin Jin Hua claims that the 4,000-year-old practice of using hair-thin needles to penetrate and stimulate organs can work alongside IVF to create a successful pregnancy. It has a surprising success rate of sixty percent among infertile women. And there is some scientific evidence to back this up, said Ms Jin. A German study published in April 2002 showed that 42.5 per cent of women who underwent acupuncture, once before and once after the transfer of the embryos in the uterus, became pregnant.
Moreover acupuncture has helped a lot of women as it has shown promising results in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome in regulating their periods. In another study, almost all women suffering from polycystic ovarian syndrome who undergone acupuncture had their periods regulated.
Acupuncture provides a holistic and a noninvasive approach to reverse infertility, and this traditional method has helped a lot of couples. Soon, getting pregnant will never be a problem, all it takes are some needles with a pinch of a balanced and positive outlook in life.
Techniques like IVF have been in use since the 1970s, but they are still something of an inexact or inaccurate science. The success rates for each therapy range from as low as 1% to as high as 50%, and a successful pregnancy depends on a variety of factors. It can include the age of the woman, the cause of infertility, and the skill of the technician performing the procedure.
But there is another procedure for aiding pregnancy that has been in use since the ancient times. Although modern medical science has failed to conclusively explain just how it works, acupuncture is said to be a an effective method for helping a couple to have a baby. Acupuncture is based in the Chinese belief that a balance in the energy flow known as qi and chi through the body is needed in order to stay healthy. When a blockage or imbalance occurs in that flow, one's health is negatively affected. There are 20 major pathways that qi is believed to travel along and these pathways, or meridians, are accessible through 400 different acupuncture points.
Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicines believe that a variety of energy patterns can interfere with becoming pregnant. Acupuncture works in the treatment of infertility by increasing the production of endorphins in the brain, which then helps people de-stress and relax. The traditional treatment can help stabilize hormone levels of a couple trying to have a baby. This can lead to an increase in sperm production for men and the improvement of blood supply in the uterus and the ovaries among women. Doctors believe that integrating acupuncture, at least, helps relieve some stress and anxiety suffered by patients struggling with infertility.
Acupuncture can be used in combination with other Western Medicine treatments for infertility. Acupuncturist Jin Jin Hua claims that the 4,000-year-old practice of using hair-thin needles to penetrate and stimulate organs can work alongside IVF to create a successful pregnancy. It has a surprising success rate of sixty percent among infertile women. And there is some scientific evidence to back this up, said Ms Jin. A German study published in April 2002 showed that 42.5 per cent of women who underwent acupuncture, once before and once after the transfer of the embryos in the uterus, became pregnant.
Moreover acupuncture has helped a lot of women as it has shown promising results in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome in regulating their periods. In another study, almost all women suffering from polycystic ovarian syndrome who undergone acupuncture had their periods regulated.
Acupuncture provides a holistic and a noninvasive approach to reverse infertility, and this traditional method has helped a lot of couples. Soon, getting pregnant will never be a problem, all it takes are some needles with a pinch of a balanced and positive outlook in life.
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