Archive for ◊ September, 2010 ◊

Viagra ‘Fails to Work for Half The Men Who Use It’
Author:
• Thursday, September 30th, 2010

Not working: Doctors have warned that Viagra doesn’t work for more than half the men who take it

In demand: The NHS spends around 58 million pound sterling a year on handing out more than 17 million repeat prescriptions for Viagra
Viagra doesn’t work for more than half the men who take it, leading doctors warn. They say the Health Service is wasting tens of millions of pounds every year on tablets which don’t treat the cause of the problem.

Many of the men handed prescriptions by their GP are actually suffering from low testosterone levels, which cannot be treated by Viagra alone. This is because the impotence pill depends on those using it having sufficient levels of the sex hormone for it to work.

Instead, doctors recommend that men should have a blood test to determine their levels of testosterone. If found to be low, it can be easily treated with testosterone pills, patches and gels, which are all relatively inexpensive.

The NHS spends around £58million a year on handing out more than 17million repeat prescriptions for Viagra and other impotence drugs. Low testosterone affects 40 per cent of the one in five men who suffer some form of impotence.

Although levels of the hormone start to decline with age, some are affected much earlier than others. It can also be a symptom of an underlying health condition such as diabetes and heart disease, so experts say it is crucial that it is properly diagnosed.

Typical symptoms include tiredness, mood swings, insomnia – as well as low sex drive, the reason

most will visit their doctor. But sexual health experts warn that many GPs are prescribing Viagra by default rather than diagnosing the root cause of the problem.

Dr Geoffrey Hackett, a consultant urologist at Good Hope Hospital in Birmingham, and former chairman of the British Society for Sexual Medicine, said that more than half of men taking Viagra found it did not solve their problems adequately.

Men with sexual problems could be ‘wasting hundreds of pounds on tablets’ when their real problem is low testosterone.

‘Viagra will only work if there are sufficient levels of testosterone,’ said Dr Hackett. ‘Everybody thinks that Viagra is the panacea for all sexual problems, it’s not.

‘If low testosterone is the problem then Viagra won’t be the answer on its own. There is a lot being wasted on this in the NHS, particularly in diabetes patients.

He said that by contrast, drugs to replace levels of testosterone ‘can change the lives of patients’. Most

men who use Viagra buy it themselves from a pharmacy – at a cost of £55 for four tablets – although they have first to pay for a private prescription from their GP.

But men can get it on the NHS if they suffer from conditions including diabetes, kidney failure, multiple sclerosis Parkinson’s disease, polio and prostate cancer, or if they are able to show that their impotence is causing them severe psychological distress.

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Chronic Pain Treatment With Ultram
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• Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

Everybody knows what migraine headaches are, or know someone that suffers from them. The fact is that while we may have a general idea on just how debilitating this condition can be, we don’t know the actual facts. Would you believe that one in four Americans, mostly women, are suffering from a migraine headache right now? The effects of migraines are not just seen in your quality of life, the entire country is feeling it. Migraines cost this country 112 million work days a year, and employers over $13 billion dollars annually in sick days and work health care costs. This is because the average migraine sufferer experiences 35 attacks annually, and it just knocks them right out. So if you can’t afford to miss any more work because of those nasty headaches, read on to find out more about your headache, and how to treat it effectively.

Most migraine sufferers know of what they refer to as a “trigger”. This could be anything from an extreme weather change, to red wine, chocolate, fatigue, stress, or any number of factors. What happens when you come across one of your headache triggers is a change in circulation in your brain. A migraine is caused by the enlarging of the blood vessels in your head whenever you have one of those trigger moments. When your blood vessels enlarge, your brain will release neurochemicals that will then coil around the larger arteries in your brain. The end result is inflammation, pain, increased artery size, and a big ol’ headache. If you are a migraine sufferer, staying away from your trigger points will be a key element in prevention. But if one of those trigger points is extreme weather or a lifestyle factor, more often than not you just won’t be able to avoid it.

Typically migraine headaches last up to 72 hours, and even longer for some people. Typically treatment involves with migraine medication that will target those blood vessels and allow for constriction to relieve the pressure in your head. Unfortunately some meds will work and some won’t, and they can be very expensive. Very often the treatment of choice for migraine sufferers is pain management medication with over the counter migraine medication, narcotic pain medication, or treatments such as Ultram. Those that don’t find too much disruption in life with their headaches will be able to use over the counter analgesics and anti-inflammatories to target the blood vessels in their brain. When quality of life is impacted severely, the stronger prescriptions are recommended in order to get you back to work and life as soon as possible.

For millions of Americans narcotic pain medication has become the treatment of choice for migraine headaches. This method is effectively treating the condition, but is not doing much for the work force statistics, and is also creating another epidemic – addiction. If you are looking for a well tolerated, non addictive medication for your migraines, you will find treatment such as Ultram extremely effective in maintaining the quality of life you need, that is pain free.

You may also want to examine alternative methods or non medicinal routes of treatment in conjunction with your migraine medication or Ultram treatment. Relaxation methods such as yoga or meditation are very effective while you are resting on medication, lighting a calming scented candle, and using hot or cold packs (depending on your preference) will also be an additional soothing resource when you are suffering from migraines. No matter what treatment method you choose, what you need to know is that your life does not need to be put on hold. Migraine relief is closer than you think!

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Carisoprodol safety precautions
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• Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

Before using Carisoprodol you should check with your pharmacist or doctor to make sure you will not be harmed by any allergies you might have to the drug itself, to any other drugs, to meprobamate (Miltown or Equanil), or if you suffer from porphyria. You should also seek your doctor’s advice if you have one of the following conditions:

  • Liver disease
  • Kidney disease
  • Epilepsy or any other seizure condition

If any of the above applies to you, your dose may need to be adjusted or you may need to do some tests to make sure this drug is safe for you.

This medication may be habit-forming. It is thus suggested to seek doctor’s approval to take it and not give it to anyone else, especially to persons who have a history of drug addiction.

Administration of this medication should not be discontinued and the dosage should not be changed without doctor’s advice as you may experience withdrawal symptoms. These may include sleeping problems, stomachache, headache, nausea and convulsions (seizure). Never stop taking this medication suddenly. You may need to wind off the dosage slowly before you completely stop using it.

This medication may harm a fetus and possibly a nursing infant, although it has not been explicitly shown that this medication passes on to breast milk. Please consult your doctor if you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant or have just had a baby.

Interactions

Before taking Carisoprodol you should be aware of its interactions with several drugs, including:
CNS Depressants – combined with other depressants like alcohol, opioids, benzodiazepines and tricyclic antidepressants, this medication can have an additive sedative effect. Using this medication concomitantly with meprobamate is also not recommended.

CYP2C19 Inhibitors and inducers – because this medication is metabolized in the liver through CYP2C19 and forms a meprobamate, a simultaneous administration of CYP2C19 inhibitors (fluvoxamine or omeprazole) can lead to a reduced exposure of meprobamate and an enhanced exposure of Carisoprodol. Aspirin in low dosage has also showed some induction effect on CYP2C19, although the pharmacological effect of these has not been fully studied.

Other drugs can interact with Carisoprodol as well. It is best to talk to your doctor and mention all the medication you are taking before taking this drug. Interactions with herbal products, minerals and vitamins, and any other drugs may be possible.

Overdose

The most common overdose effect from this medication is a CNS depression. Other problems, such as hypotension, respiratory depression, seizures, hallucinations, delirium, nystagmus, dystonic reactions, mydriasis, blurred vision, poor muscular coordination, headaches, coma and death have been reported as a result of overdose. Many cases of overdose were related to multiple drug overdose, when Carisoprodol has been used in excess dosage together with illegal drugs or alcohol. Because of its interaction with other CNS depressants, a simultaneous use of these with an excessive dose of Carisoprodol can lead to overdose.

If you miss a dose

If you happen to miss a dose you should take it as soon as you can. However, if you remember about it close to the time when your next dose is due, you should skip the missed dose and only take the one due. You should not double the dose in order to catch up.

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Key to losing weight – Diet and NOT Exercise
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• Monday, September 20th, 2010

Getting on the treadmill wont help shift those pounds as much as better eating habits.

It will give couch potatoes more reason to put their feet up and disappoint those who hit the gym to try to shed the extra pounds. Apparently, exercising is not the best way to lose weight. Research shows that, contrary to popular belief, we are not less active than we were 20 years ago.

This means that the growing obesity problem is down to people eating too much, not a lack of exercise, according to Professor John Speakman. Working with a Dutch colleague, Professor Speakman, of Aberdeen University, analysed two decades of studies on energy expenditure.

The data, from the U.S. and the Netherlands, showed that despite a growing reliance on time-saving technology, people today are not any less active than those of 20 years ago.

Factors such as decline in the number of children walking to school and a rise in TV watching do not necessarily equate to weight gain, the International Journal of Obesity reports.

For example, children driven to school have more time to spend running around in the playground, while evening TV watching has replaced other sedentary activities such as reading and listening to the radio.

Professor Speakman told the British Science Festival: ‘In the 1950s no one would have bought an exercise bike and sat on it in their garage but now people will do that.’

The researcher, however, stressed that physical activity is good for the body in other ways and should be part of a ‘healthy, balanced lifestyle’.

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Pain is the great equalizer
Author:
• Monday, September 20th, 2010

To get a clear understanding of pain, we need to go back into time. For those of a strictly literal mind, this is somewhere between 6 and 10 thousand years to when God made the world. For the rest of us, that’s just a wee bit more than 4 billion years. But we can agree to disagree about a few years. Anyway, with the first animals swimming around and later crawling out on to land, the big drive was to establish each new generation stronger than the last. Survival was the key to the door of time. So with the world divided into eaters and the eaten, a nervous system designed to tell the potential victim that it was about to become lunch was indispensable. And so pain was born into the world. Nothing runs as fast or fights as fiercely as an animal in pain. In this, humans are the same. Except we developed a gender-based system of roles.

Whereas most other species have the sexes more or less equally exposed to danger, human men hid their mates away in caves while they went out into the world to hunt and gather. With the males therefore cast as the hunters and warriors, their status and prestige depended on their fighting ability to kill the prey animals and defend the tribe. In part, this defines men through the ages. Even though we left the caves and moved into ever more elaborate buildings, machismo depends on the men living up to their image as the powerful sex. Put the other way round, it’s bad for the image to admit weakness – which includes admitting to injury and pain.

Now that we have this thin veneer of civilization wrapped around our lives, we tend to count things. For our purposes, this includes a count of the number of prescriptions written every year. This shows a remarkably consistent phenomenon. In every possible category of <A HRef=”http://www.newpharmweb.com/more/tramadol-and-the-politics-of-pain.html”>painkiller</A>, women outnumber men. It seems women are always willing to admit to pain and, more importantly, seek help. Men’s reluctance means that, apart from the ability to die, they are less commonly diagnosed as having any of the more common diseases and disorders. States make policy decisions based on statistics like this. So, when it comes to allocating resources to hospitals, clinics and and staff to run them, everything gives preferences to the expectation that they will be treating more women than men.

In most cases, this does not matter because the pharmaceutical industry recognized a vital fact early on. The basic biology of men and women is the same when it comes to how they react to drugs. Because men tend to be physically larger, they get larger doses. But if you have a pain, you get Tramadol no matter what your shade of sexual orientation. The drug works on brain chemistry to block the message from the site of the injury. <A HRef=”http://www.newpharmweb.com/”>Tramadol</A> and the other analgesic drugs are one of the very few examples of exactly equal and non-discriminatory treatment between the sexes.

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Overcoming the Psychological Effects of Hair Loss
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• Thursday, September 16th, 2010

If you are suffering from male pattern baldness or hair loss, then you already know that the effects can be psychologically damaging. You may be, or are suffering from low self-esteem, decreased confidence, and are emotionally sensitive to your hair loss and having the appearance of premature aging. And these are just a few of the psychological issues you may be facing. You may be experiencing decreased libido because of your insecurities and confidence concerns, or be struggling with depression and anxiety issues. The list of psychological effects of hair loss or male pattern baldness is overwhelming. If you are struggling with the emotional effects of hair loss, read here to find out why early treatment is necessary, before the emotional effects of hair loss severely disrupt your quality of life.

New research conducted on this very topic indicates that hair loss and/or male pattern baldness is not only about aesthetics and the need to feel attractive in a beauty and youth driven culture. It is intrinsically linked to our physical sense of wellbeing. A survey on the psychological effects of balding was conducted in 1998, on a total of 850 men between the ages of 18 and 40. The results were alarming. The most common psychological effects reported on hair loss and/or male pattern baldness was as follows: 25% of balding men reported feeling less confident, 20% of balding men felt more unattractive, and 16% felt inferior to those with no hair loss.

In addition to these factors, leading psychologists report that men who obsess about their hair loss may be also masking more serious psychological concerns such as depression, chronic anxiety, or OCD, (obsessive compulsive disorder) in extreme cases. If you are dealing with baldness, you probably found yourself nodding to a lot of these statistics. The evidence is overwhelming, male pattern baldness is not just an issue of beauty, it could lead to some serious psychological problems.

And it is not uncommon at all for hair loss or male pattern baldness to become more noticeable during the more stressful periods of life. This indicates to psychologists and researchers that stress does in fact play a crucial role in increasing the effects of the condition. Thus, while it is true that hair loss and <A HRef=”http://www.hairmeds.net/articles/psychological-effects-of-baldness.html”>male pattern baldness</A> can be a sensitive subject, it can be far more psychologically damaging to the sufferer than can be imagined by those who have never experienced the condition. And the bottom line? Anxiety and stressing about the condition will only make it worse!

When it comes to male pattern baldness, there are more layers to the problem than just hair loss. You also have to keep in mind that the earlier you get treatment, the easier it will be to maintain as much hair as you want to maintain. You can try over the counter treatments and shampoos, or talk to your doctor about prescriptions such as propecia. Propecia and other prescription medication for baldness is being used by millions of men all over America with significant results. You may even want to try treatment such as <A HRef=”http://www.hairmeds.net/”>Propecia</A> in conjunction with over the counter shampoos or treatments to maximize your results. Tailor your hair loss treatment according to your own needs and lifestyle, and you will find yourself styling your hair again sooner than you think.

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Why keeping up your potency is important
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• Tuesday, September 07th, 2010

Thousands on men all around the world seek for the treatment. They need to know the right cure. Yes, erectile dysfunction is what men fear most of all in life. It is not that bad, women may think, but believe, there is nothing worse for a man than to realize he can function properly as a man. Some men shut out and don’t tell anyone. They suffer in silence because they are ashamed to tell anybody about what bothers them. We agree that it is not easy to make that step and admit you are an impotent. They don’t want to take it as a temporary problem. This is a big hole you can fall into because it is hard to explain to people that you can get help and say goodbye to your problems. Erectile dysfunction won’t be cured in one go but we can make sure you totally forget about it while in bed with your partner.

Erectile dysfunction problems are caused by the lack of health and symptoms are so various that you don’t always know it is what it is. If you find the strengths to go to a specialist and if you take the prescription from your healthcare person, you are most likely to be prescribed a pill. Unfortunately, men only function well sexually until the certain age. Don’t expect you to turn 90 years old and still satisfy women the same way. It is just not programmed to be so.

Don’t be upset with yourself. This is not something you can control. Of course, if your lifestyle is perfect and you try to keep your body in a good condition, you have a better chance to stay “untouched “by impotency rather than that person who smokes, drinks and does drugs.

The first thing that you need to think when you find out you have the erectile dysfunction problem is – what did I do wrong? The diseases don’t usually appear from nowhere, unless you are 90 years old as we previously mentioned.

So, let’s say you decided to follow doctor’s advice and start the treatment. You have to have a 100% dedication if you want to be successful. Before you start your treatment make sure this is what you want. You should have right reasons for taking drugs. Please carefully study the drugs you were prescribed. You can find all the information you need on the Internet. You need to go through reviews from people that used the drugs before you. It may be very helpful to you.

Viagra is the drug the world knows about very well. Its name has become a brand long time ago and lots of people are familiar with what it helps to do. Viagra may be the number one pick when it comes to erectile dysfunction treatment. There are many reasons for that. First of all, it works, second of all it works well and the third reason – you know it works as it worked on millions of men before you.

You sex life doesn’t have to be in danger. With the help of Viagra you can experience joy and happiness from sexual intercourse and give please to both of you – yourself and your beloved partner. Don’t be afraid to admit you have a problem. Tomorrow it may seem “so yesterday”. Give yourself a shot of love. Your sex will last as long as it has to last with the help of the right medication.

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What is GERD and what causes it?
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• Tuesday, September 07th, 2010

GERD, gastroesophageal reflux disease, is a problem occurring when a muscle at the bottom of the esophagus fails to close correctly and leaks stomach contents back up. This includes acid, which causes the burning in the chest and throat that gives us the term “heartburn”. If you suffer from this more than once every week, it may be a sign that you have GERD. What are Ulcers and what causes them? Peptic ulcers are sores or lesions that form on the duodenum or stomach lining. Ulcers are caused by a type of bacterial infection, but stress and overuse of anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen, aspirin, etc are known contributors. Are there any home remedies for GERD or Ulcers? Changing your eating habits and lifestyle is the best home remedy. The other best advice is to not try tons of crazy things that might make it worse. No milk!!! Lose weight, cut out dairy and meat as much as you can, only lie down 3 hours after eating, and elevate your upper body when going to bed. Great herbal remedies are gingeroot, catnip and fennel tea, and drinking 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar diluted in a glass of water with your meal. Is there any way to heal the stomach lining? Yes, in fact. First, avoid these things: * Smoking * Anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen and acetaminophen * Alcohol * Caffeine * Spicy foods and drinks Then, take supplements of zinc-carnosine and MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane). These naturally occurring compounds help the stomach lining to heal after acid damage caused by ulcers. This essentially works for the throat and esophagus as well (so for Ulcers and GERD), because when you stop burning the tissue, the body is able to heal it naturally. How do you treat GERD? Doctors first recommend changes in your lifestyle. Try to lose weight, drink less alcohol, quit smoking, etc, and treat the symptoms using over-the-counter medicines like Alka-Seltzer and Pepto. If you have GERD, these probably won’t cut it and you should talk to a doctor about a group of prescription medications called Proton Pump Inhibitors (PIPs), such as AcipHex. What are PIPs? Protein Pump Inhibitors are a class of drugs that directly stop hydrogen ions (acid) from being released into the stomach. They are currently the most effective treatment for reducing stomach acid around, which makes them the #1 prescription drug for sufferers of ulcers and GERD. They are intended for short-term use, but are often recommended by doctors for longer use. They very rarely come with any side effects. Patients using Aciphex, for example, only experience headaches, the most common side effect, at a rate of less than 1%!!! Over the Counter Drugs aren’t working. Should I try PIPs? Only a medical professional can tell you this, but if you have changed your diet, lost weight, and tried all the over-the-counters, it is definitely the next step. Remember, even with PIPs like AcipHex, which take some time to really help, you can still take other OTC meds such as Pepcid. These drugs often combine very well to help.

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Facts About Panic Disorder
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• Thursday, September 02nd, 2010

Anxiety is a part of life today, and getting through the day without at least a little bit of stress is fairly normal. But for almost two and a half million Americans, anxiety comes in an extreme form known as Panic Disorder. Panic Disorder is experienced largely by a repeated case of panic attacks. During a panic attack, an individual will feel intense feelings of impending doom, experiences shortness of breath, and is overcome with an experience of anxiety that is so intense, that the ability to function adequately with life becomes seriously debilitated. If you or someone you love is suffering from extreme anxiety that may be Panic Disorder, read here to find out facts about panic disorder, and take comfort in the fact that you can start to do something about it today.

Consistent panic attacks are the marker of panic disorder, and panic attacks will vary from one individual to the next. In fact, panic attacks are so different that they will even vary from one to the next within the same individual. Many people that have experienced panic attacks in their life time, may not even be sure when they are experiencing one again, that’s how different they are. At the heart of every panic attack however is an extreme sense of fear, a sense of going crazy, or a feeling that one is going out of control completely. Attacks generally peak within the first ten to fifteen minutes, and rarely last longer than half an hour, but can continue for several hours depending on the trigger event. Shortness of breath and chest pains are also common during a panic attack, and many people will seek emergency care during these symptoms, particularly if they are not sure what is happening.

Panic Disorder is a very common disorder, but many people avoid treatment or seeking help because they don’t know much about it, and may feel embarrassed or abnormal for their intense symptoms. It is important to understand the facts about panic disorder, as this information alone will get you the treatment you need, and the quality of life you deserve. In America, 2.4 million people suffer from Panic Disorder, and women are two times more likely than men to suffer. Panic Disorder starts around mid-teens, and sometimes in early or mid-adulthood, and will start depending on when life begins to get more stressful. Research shows us that the earlier Panic Disorder begins, the more severe it has a tendency to be. Research also tells us that early diagnosis and treatment is critical in order to avoid suffering from depression or additional anxiety disorders.

The best news about Panic Disorder is that it is one of the most treatable types of anxiety disorders. Panic Disorder is frequently treated with medication such as Xanax in combination with other therapies such as cognitive or behavioural therapy. In addition, relaxation methods are taught to help individuals cope with their illness and find ways to relax and de-stress on their own. For many people, Panic Disorder is extremely debilitating, but with treatment combinations such as Xanax and cognitive therapy, you can resume a healthy and active high quality of life again.

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First get a diagnosis
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• Thursday, September 02nd, 2010

Thanks to the internet and the growth of the online pharmacies, it’s just so easy to buy your drugs. All it takes is a few clicks and before you can say Jiminy Cricket, Cowabunga, or whatever leaps into your mind when you’re looking for just the right thing to shout when you want to make a point, the padded envelope is on its way to you. But there’s a trap in the speed of this transaction. You’ve been watching all those TV ads. You’re sold on the idea of this drug as the bestest treatment for whatever ails you. No more lurking in the doctor’s waiting room or those shakes of the head when the know-it-all doesn’t think that drug is quite what you need. Those drugs are on their way to you before you have the chance for second thoughts. So what’s the problem? Ah, insomnia. Finding it hard to get too sleep. Waking up too early. Feeling tired all the time. Well, let’s take one step back. There’s a possible cause and effect here. Fewer hours asleep and you feel tired. Except, the feeling of tiredness is not necessarily insomnia. Huh? Everyone tends to lump everything together. You feel tired when you wake up so you must have insomnia. Hmmm. . .

So just why are you finding it hard to sleep through the night? You’re not in pain, are you? Sometimes a physical problem like arthritis can generate just enough pain to disturb you. Or perhaps you have restless leg syndrome. This is a problem linked to high blood pressure, the risk of a stroke and some brain disorders like Parkinson’s disease. Some people find they cannot lie still. And then there’s sleep apnea where you stop breathing and have to wake up to start again. There are a long list of possible reasons why you might be feeling tired. So before you launch off on your own self-medication path and buy Ambien online, get some specialist advice. This probably means getting past your primary caregiver if you’re in a network. You should really go see a sleep specialist. There are centers all over the country that wire you up to a whole batch of machines to monitor this and that, and keep a video record of how much you move around. When the results come in you may find you grind your teeth and the noise wakes you up, so dentistry is the cure.

Although medical science is not as certain as doctors would have you believe (they still have to make their best guess some of the time), they stand a better chance of being right than you. This takes nothing away from Ambien. It does what it says, i.e, knocks you out for seven to eight hours. But it’s not a treatment for any underlying physical cause for you feeling tired every morning. So rather than take the easy line, be prepared to claim on your health insurance policy or spend some money to find out for sure what’s wrong. It’s possible Ambien might be the right answer in the short term, but get expert confirmation first. The worst thing you could do is take a powerful drug to knock you out only to discover you are lining up for a stroke or you have sleep apnea and just don’t wake up then next time you stop breathing.

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