Pharmacy News Online: The People’s Pharmacy: Breast pain, lumps back down when bra-less

The People’s Pharmacy: Breast pain, lumps back down when bra-less

I have suffered from fibrocystic breasts my entire adult life. At age 52, the lumps in my breasts had become so numerous, large and painful, I no longer could ignore them.

After doing some research online, I stopped wearing a bra. After about a week, the pain and tenderness disappeared, and now, four months later, the lumps have all gone away, with none taking their place. This result has been dramatic and transformational for me. I wanted to share it with other women since this is a very common condition.

Needless to say, this treatment costs nothing and has no side effects.

I wish my doctor had told me about this.

Many women do have lumpy, painful breasts. If not wearing a bra limits your discomfort, it seems like a simple solution.

Doctors at the Mayo Clinic suggest OTC pain relievers such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, oral contraceptives or a drug called danazol (Danocrine) for fibrocystic breast disease. All these options have side effects, however, and going braless is far safer.

You have written about hiccups that will not go away. My husband had hiccups for four days and finally saw the doctor when his ribs started hurting.

His physician told him to use an enema suppository. He did, and the hiccups were gone within 24 hours. I hope this helps someone else.

Persistent hiccups require a medical work-up to rule out any serious underlying cause such as a heart attack, pneumonia, pancreatitis, hepatitis or cancer. When all else fails, doctors have found that massaging the rectum can be surprisingly effective.

More than two decades ago, an article in the Journal of Internal Medicine (February 1990) reported that digital rectal massage resulted in a quick cure for intractable hiccups.

Perhaps that is why your husband’s doctor suggested a suppository. We’re glad this approach worked so well.

RxRights to Congress: Please Use Common Sense When It Comes to Personal Drug Importation

Editor’s Note: Lee Graczyk was quoted on a related topic in a recent article on CNBC.com. Click here for the full story. Graczyk is available for media interviews.

Lee Graczyk, lead organizer of RxRights, issued the following on behalf of U.S. seniors fighting the high cost of pharmaceuticals through drug importation:

“Congress needs to exercise common sense and recognize that personal drug importation from legitimate, licensed pharmacies is a necessity for millions of Americans today.

“From the pending PROTECT IP Act to the Department of Justice’s recent announcement of Google’s pharmacy ad settlement, what’s getting lost in all this legal mumbo jumbo is a common sense approach.

“Drug importation — in this case we’re talking about buying affordable prescription medication from legitimate online pharmacies — has been in practice since the 1990s.

“Even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in its own guidelines on import operations, permits shipments of products that appear to violate FDA statutes to enter the country. More specifically, ‘when quantity and purpose are clearly for personal use, and the product does not present an unreasonable risk to the user.’

“This is the classic glovebox versus mailbox debate. It defies common sense that consumers can drive across the border to Canada to purchase prescription medications and store them in their glove boxes, yet those same consumers — and others — may not be able to have the same brand-name medications delivered to their mailboxes.

“Now that Congress is back in session, I am urging all Americans to contact their representatives to encourage them to use common sense when it comes to the need for drug importation from safe, legitimate online pharmacies.”

Killingly’s Richeeds could have breakout season

Behind every nickname, there’s generally a story. In J.R. Richeeds’ case, there’s more than one.

The Killingly High School senior started out as J.R., but last year on the football team’s roster he changed his name to Jay-R, which is a long way from his real name: Jesse.

“There’s another kid on the team, Jesse Credit, who I’ve been friends with since third grade,” Richeeds said. “When I first moved here, my teacher used to get our names confused because I’m Jesse also, and she just decided one day to call me J.R.”

The initials stuck until eighth grade when a girl suggested that he should spell his new-found name Jay-R. He wasn’t fond of that until Killingly coach Chad Neal started calling him “Junior.”

“Just to get Coach not to call me Junior any more, I began spelling it Jay-R,” Richeeds said.

In a roundabout way, that could pay off down the road. Not only is Richeeds a student and football player, he’s an aspiring rap artist and Jay-R (like the name Jay-Z, to whom Jay-R doesn’t want to be compared) seems more fitting than J.R. in that business.

Another one of his friends, Alex Mitchell, coaxed him into giving music a try when he was a sophomore. Now, he writes his own lyrics and fits them to beats he buys online.

“It’s clean rap, none of that ‘I’ve got my pants real low and I’m smoking,’ because that’s not me,” Richeeds said. “I don’t want to be a hypocrite and say I do things that I don’t do. It’s just fun music to make with my friends. Kevin Ravenelle also does it and wants to be a music engineer, so we’re taking this into the future.”

The duo already has a music video on Facebook produced by H.L. Films titled, “S.M.H.” It simply stands for “Shake My Head,” and deals with high school angst. The song was released June 3 and 600 people downloaded it (it’s a free download). The beat, meanwhile, goes on for Richeeds. He performed live recently in the bandshell at Putnam’s Rotary Park and he has another project in the works.

“Right now, we’re building a $6,000 studio in my friend’s basement,” Richeeds said. “The money’s crazy, but in the end it will all pay out. We’ve got a lot of positive feedback.”

Neal admits he really doesn’t know much about Richeeds’ musical talent.

“I haven’t listened to a lot of his stuff. If it was on the radio I might listen to it,” Neal said. “He’s popular with the kids, not only in our school, but in the community in general.”

Richeeds is a tough kid not to like, especially for a coach.

The 5-foot-6, 175-pound senior is “quick and thick,” Neal said. Richeeds won the 161- to-180-pound state bench press championship when he lifted 315 pounds and came in second in the squat when he hoisted 405 pounds. In track, he captured a Class M state championship in the long jump and was second in the triple jump last spring.

He was an All-Eastern Connecticut Conference selection in football at cornerback as a sophomore and as a wide receiver last year. But his role will change with the Redmen this year.

Neal decided that 10 touches a game was just not enough for Richeeds and the Killingly coach installed him as the feature back this season.

“He’s come a long way,” Neal said. “Coming in, he was real raw, but he’s put the time in the weight room.”

As a result, Neal couldn’t find rib pads to fit him this year.

“I think this year will be a breakout year for him,” Neal added. “Physically and mentally, he’s developed into a leader on and off the field. The kids look up to him.”

Richeeds also had better be in shape, as Neal expects him to also be a defensive leader in the secondary and he also happens to be the team’s best kicker.

“He can’t come off the field,” Neal said. “He’s going to have to carry a big load; he can’t take plays off.”

After high school, Jay-R is getting mentally prepared for his next career, not under the big lights, but over a microscope. Assumption contacted Richeeds to possibly play football for them, but his dream is to become a pharmacist and he hopes to attend either the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy in Boston or the University of Rhode Island.

“I’ve heard from a lot of other students in pharmacology that it’s tough to balance school and sports because it’s a hard course, but I feel like I can do pharmacy in college and keep going with the music thing,” Richeeds said.

Hospital develops e-learning course for alcohol misuse

An online learning course designed to assist medical staff in helping patients avoid alcohol misuse has gone live.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust has spearheaded a new way of teaching which should provide valuable skills to those operating at the front line of primary services in the region, as around 4,000 people are admitted to hospital in the city every year due to alcohol, according to BBC News.

The e-learning course is available for professionals in both primary care and pharmacy settings, and is designed to help learners recognise when substance misuse among patients might be seriously impacting on their health and therefore deliver advice.

It is also now available across the country through the Alcohol Learning Centre, a development which Dr Paul Edmondson-Jones, director of public health and primary care at the trust, said he was “really pleased” to see.

“Other hospital staff around the country will also benefit from this training,” he said.

Dr Edmondson-Jones added that the trust recognised the “impact alcohol misuse has on patients in Portsmouth and [is] keen to do all [it] can to reduce alcohol problems in the future”.

Leanne Doohan, a commentator on online learning initiatives for the public and voluntary sector, claimed that while e-learning was not the answer for training in every topic, the benefits of using virtual learning environments to enhance continual professional development were wide ranging.

Speaking to Guardian Professional, Ms Doohan said that with e-learning “training can be delivered in a much more cost-effective way with both travel expenses and time away from the office reduced”.

She added that virtual learning also allowed companies to give new staff immediate training without having to wait for a physical classroom space to become available.

This aspect, according to International E-learning Association president David Guralnick, is known as the just-in-time online product. Together with the idea of continued performance support and professional development, the concept is still relatively underutilised in companies at present, he added.

Mr Guralnick suggested there is a strong element of growth in the market open to e-learning providers.