WHEN A LOWER DOSE WILL DO

If you take a prescription drug, there’s a chance you may not be getting enough of your medicine. Or, on the flip side, you may be getting too much.  In a new report about drug dosing, Consumer Reports Health explains how consumers can make sure they get the right dose when their doctor recommends a prescription drug.  Tailoring the right dose to a patient’s physique— based on height and weight—can be challenging and time consuming for doctors. 

While drugmakers often recommend different drug doses for children, based on height and weight, it’s less common with adults. And even when drugs do have such recommendations, research suggests that doctors often don’t take them into account. In its report, “One size does not fit all,” Consumer Reports Health notes that large people, especially those who are also overweight, may need higher drug doses, in part because body size and composition affect metabolism.  

Consumer Reports Health notes that women may be especially at risk because of their smaller size. Meanwhile, for men—particularly larger men taking relatively new medications that may have been tested in mixed-gender trials—the standard starting doses of some drugs may be too low.   To make sure you’re getting the right dose, ask your doctor if your size was considered when determining the dose.  Especially if you’re thin or small, ask if you can start with a lower dose.  If you’re hefty, ask if you might need a larger one.  Consumer Reports Health lists several drugs to treat arthritis, cholesterol, depression, high blood pressure, insomnia, as well as heartburn and ulcers that can be effective at lower doses than the manufacturer recommends.   The report is available on request.
 
TIPS FOR STAYING HEALTHY AT 30,000 FEET

If you’re summer plans include airplane travel, there’s plenty of things you can do to stay healthy at 30,000 feet.  For example, when booking your flight, opt for a seat by the wings, where you’ll feel the least movement, making motion sickness less likely.  If you’re at high risk for thrombophlebitis—blood clots in the leg that can break loose and travel to the lungs—ask about self-injectible enoxaparin (Lovenox) which may help prevent them.  When going through airport security, ask for a pat-down inspection if you have a pacemaker, insulin pump, or other implanted device.  If you anticipate motion sickness, take steps while waiting at the terminal, such as taking the over-the-counter drug dimenhydrinate (Dramamine and generic) or meclizine (Bonine and generic) at least 30 minutes before boarding.  For more tips, log on to www.ConsumerReportsHealth.org and click on the blog.

IF YOU’RE THINKING OF TAKING THE STATIN CRESTOR…THINK AGAIN 

You’ve probably heard an unusual amount of buzz in the news lately about the cholesterol-lowering drug Crestor.  That’s because earlier this year, on the basis of one large clinical trial, the FDA granted rosuvastatin (Crestor) approval for use even in some people who have normal levels of LDL, known as the bad cholesterol, and recent criticisms about that study were published in June.  It turns out that Crestor (and probably other statins), appears to lower levels of C-reactive protein, a protein found in the blood that can help indicate inflamed coronary arteries.  Such inflammation can contribute to heart disease by damaging the arteries and encouraging the growth of clot-forming plaque deposits.

However, does this mean it’s  time to get your CRP measured and possibly take a statin if that level is high, even if your LDL isn’t? Probably not.   In a new report about statins, Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs describes the benefits to taking Crestor as “modest,” while the risks can be significant.  Bottom line, in people with a normal LDL and an elevated CRP, the benefits of taking Crestor don’t clearly outweigh the risks. Most people with a normal LDL and just one other risk factor probably don’t need to get their CRP level measured. The same is also true of people at substantial risk of heart attack.  That’s because those individuals usually need to take a stain regardless of their CRP level.  Read more to see if you’re a good candidate for a statin at www.ConsumerReportsHealth.org.