Check out my video below to find out! 

Just a little disclaimer to go with the clip: this is not my best video to date.  Don’t know what happened!

So, those potassium-sparing diuretics I mentioned that do not contain sulfa are amiloride, triamterene, and spironolactone. 

The additional diuretic that does not contain sulfa, but is not a potassium-sparing diuretic is ethacrynic acid. 

Just wanted to provide those medication names in case you absolutely cannot take a sulfa-containing diuretic!

Whoa, that was a little rough, but at least you’ve got some info to start with, and if you need some clarification on the matter, definitely get in touch with me at Cate@getpharmacyadvice.com.

Thanks for checking in!

Save some greenbacks -90 Ways to Save Money on Your Prescription Medications *FREE*!

First off, a couple of  disclaimers -the studies that were done including coenzyme Q10 often contradict each other.  CoQ10 supplements can interact with some medications- so be sure to check with your physician or pharmacist before starting CoQ10.

CoQ10 is used in our body at the cellular level.  Signs of low CoQ10 include muscle pain, high blood pressure, angina and even periodontal disease.

1. Statins:  Statin medications help treat high cholesterol.  They can also block the body from making CoQ10.  It is thought that taking CoQ10 supplements can help prevent muscle aches that can occur with statins.  100 -200mg/day.

2.  High Blood Pressure:  CoQ10 100-120mg/day is thought to help control blood pressure.  The supplement should be used along with your regular high blood pressure (not instead).

3.  Diabetes: CoQ10 100-200mg/day has been shown in some studies to help decrease A1C.

4.  Migraines: CoQ10 100mg three times a day can help decrease migraine frequency.

As I mentioned earlier, studies have shown contradictory results.  Less than 300mg/day is considered safe.  Diarrhea and nausea are the main side effects of CoQ10. 

Have you taken CoQ10?  Please tell us about your experience -leave a comment

The best way to add omega-3 to your life?  Eat fatty fish at least twice weekly.  Fatty fish include salmon, tuna, halibut and herring.

If the idea of eating fatty fish twice a week doesn’t float your boat -there are other options…fish oil supplements, flax seed and nuts.  But then the question arises -are they all equal in delivery omega 3s?  The answer is….wait for it….no!

Flaxseed oil is plant based whereas fish oil is fish based  -different omega-3 fatty acids. 

Flaxseed and other nuts contain ALA (alpha-linolenic acid); fish contains EPA and DHA (eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid). EPA and DHA are way more beneficial then ALA. 

Flaxseed oil doesn’t lower triglycerides nor has it been proven to reduce cardiovascular risk.  So to get the best bang for your buck -take fish oil supplements! 

A few of notes here ….

1)Ground flaxseed can decrease LDL (bad cholesterol) 

2) Walnuts, soybean oil and canola oil also provide ALA but almonds don’t!

3) Your body can change some of the ALA to the highly desirable DHA and EPA.

If your doc says to add some omega-3s to your diet for your cholesterol and cardiohealth -then fish oil is the way to go.       
Want to get even more bang for your buck?  Watch our FREE video series 90 Ways to Save Money on Your Prescription Medications.      ]]> http://www.getpharmacyadvice.com/omega-3-flaxseed-versus-fish-oil/feed/ 0 http://www.getpharmacyadvice.com/bayer-crystals-versus-aspirin-for-prevention-of/ http://www.getpharmacyadvice.com/bayer-crystals-versus-aspirin-for-prevention-of/#comments Sun, 28 Mar 2010 20:20:22 +0000 Nova Simpson, Pharm.D. http://www.getpharmacyadvice.com/?p=1019 Studies have shown that if a person that is having a heart attack chews a tablet of aspirin 325mg (or 4 tablets of aspirin 81mg), it can limit damage that happens during a heart attack (of course, you still call 9-1-1!).

Now there is a new rumor out there on the world wide web about taking Bayer Crystals instead of aspirin for the prevention of heart attacks.

I am sure you are now holding your breath to see if the rumor is true or false…..it is….FALSE!

The Bayer Crystals do not work better to prevent heart attacks.  In addition, the Bayer Crystals could be harmful in a person having a heart attack for a couple of reasons:

1.  The Crystals contain 65mg of caffeine and

2. The Crystals contain 850mg of aspirin – much more than the recommended 325mg! (no, more is not better)

***Take care- most aspirin powders (like Goodys and BC) also have high levels of aspirin and caffeine***

If you would like to learn more about aspirin please see …Baby Aspirin Decoded,  Baby Aspirin for the Prevention of Heart Attack and Stroke.

If you would like to learn about how to save some serious dough -please see our *FREE* video course with manual 90 Ways to Save Money on Your Prescription Medications

I am asked on a regular basis if alcohol is good for the body.  I actually have one older gentleman that asks me every month if he can drink a fifth of scotch with his medicine…but that is a different story.

Why red wine?

Most studies have shown that red wine is the most cardioprotective.  Red wine contains phenolic and flavonoids that have antithrombotic and antioxidants properties.  These properties help protect the heart by increasing good cholesterol (HDL), decreasing bad cholesterol (LDL) and decreasing the risk of clotting (that can lead to heart attacks and stroke).

The dryer (less sweet) red wines have the most phenolic and flavonoid properties.

How much?

Moderation!  Which means….No more than one drink daily for women and two for men.  It is best to drink with a meal. 

Can I drink more than that?

I do heart red wine!  However, when we drink more than the recommended amount -alcohol can quickly go from friend to foe.   It can lead to an increase in mortality by causing high blood pressure, increased fat in blood (triglycerides), alcoholism, stroke, breast cancer, etc.

Should I drink red wine?

Talk with your pharmacist or physician, there are groups of people that should just avoid alcohol all together but for the rest of us…

If you already drink alcoholic beverages -then go ahead and switch over to red wine (remembering moderation ). 

If you do not drink, then most likely you should not start.

Most of the benefits of alcohol can be found with lifestyle changes, exercise and aspirin.

Just a note:  Many people “take” alcohol to help them sleep.  Alcohol often helps people fall asleep -however, it usually leads to a fitful and all over poor quality of sleep.  The adverse effects of sleep deprivation the following day are still seen in people that “drink to sleep.” 

So, we have health benefits from red wine, chocolate and coffee…all my faves!  Now, if only cupcakes were healthy

Do you have any questions or comments?  Please holla at us!

Want to save money (so you can use it to buy that vino)?  Please see our FREE video series 90 Ways to Save Money on Your Prescription Drugs.

Now, there is some debate over who should use aspirin as prevention -which I review in this video.  As you  can see from the video, the pups are super interested in this topic too!

We would love to hear about your experiences!  Would you like to learn how to Save Money on Your Prescription Drugs?  Please click here

We’re back from our trip to Asia, and we’ll share some photos with you soon, but first I’m going to share with you a question we received from a reader.

Here’s the question:

Is there any diuretic that does not have sulfa in it?

With a question comes an answer – here ya go!

“Thanks for submitting a question!  Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner – I’m out traveling around.  It’s a nice vacation from the pharmacy, and what’s great is that I can take GetPharmacyAdvice.com along. 

To answer your question, there is one diuretic that does not have sulfa in it – ethacrynic acid. 

The brand name would be Edecrin, but to be honest, I’ve never seen the brand version dispensed in the pharmacy and I’m not sure we even have it on the shelves (I’ll look into that when I get back to work). 

Ethacrynic acid is a great alternative to all the sulfa-containing diuretics.  Even if you’ve had a severe reaction to the other diuretics, you will not have that reaction to ethacrynic acid (there is no chance of what’s called cross-reactivity)! 

However, if you cannot get your hands on ethacrynic acid for whatever reason (there was a shortage on it at one point), it would be very rare that you would have an allergic reaction to the sulfa-containing diuretics even if you have an allergy to sulfa.  This is true even if you experienced an allergic reaction to a sulfa-containing antibiotic. 

If you have had an allergic reaction to diuretics and you can’t get your hands on ethacrynic acid, a physician may be willing to do what’s called a dose-graded challenge. 

In this situation, your doctor would start at a very low dose of the offending diuretic and increase the dose over a certain time interval (i.e. every 15 minutes).  They would increase the dose until the target dose is reached, you would be monitored closely, and they would be well prepared for a possible severe reaction (epinephrine injection and antihistamines on hand!). 

If by chance you truly have an allergic reaction, physicians could also try to make your body less sensitive to the sulfa-containing diuretic by using a similar method as the abovementioned dose-graded challenge.

I think that’s it for now.  I hope this was helpful to you and not too confusing!”

Whoop, there it is!

Any questions, any questions at all?  If so, e-mail me at cate@getpharmacyadvice.com or comment on this post! 

And no worries, our FREE video course on how to save the moolah on your prescription drugs is still available.  Get it instantly by going to http://www.getpharmacyadvice.com/freegift.html! 

Happy savings!