At six-week intervals, I replenish my supply of omeprazole. Initially, I took it for symptomatic relief of GERD, becoming symptomatic again within a week or two during periodic self-directed suspensions. An esophagogastroduodenoscopy, done for another …
A lot of my patients take proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). They generally work pretty well for their intended use. By limiting the secretion of gastric acid from the stomach, they can effectively blunt uncomfortable symptoms of erosive gastritis, gastroe…
The drug representative had a smug look; she knew she had a winner. She didn’t need to sell anything—the American public had already bought the story. There are very few drugs in history where patients are excited about the conversation and want …
The Moscow mule, a mix of ginger beer, an ounce of vodka, and a squeeze of lemon, has become one of the favorites among cocktail aficionados across the United States. It delivers on all that it promises, namely, an easy-to-make tasty drink, except it h…
You’ve recently been diagnosed with metastatic cancer. You started the recommended first-line therapy, but it isn’t cutting it. There is another available treatment, but your hopes are crushed upon learning that you will have to wait at lea…
Have you heard the news? “Flesh-eating ‘zombie’ drug ‘kills you from the inside out,’” headlines a CNN article. “Tacoma market busted for selling ‘zombie’ drug,” barks out a Seattle-area news affili…
Imagine that you are suffering from chronic pain. The pain keeps you awake at night so you don’t get much sleep. Lack of sleep most nights and the ensuing chronic fatigue causes you some anxiety during the day. Your primary care physician suggests that…
As I’m pre-charting for my primary care clinic, I see Ms. C on the schedule, whom I know well through our nearly monthly follow-up visits over the past two and a half years of residency. We talk in Spanish as it’s her preferred language. Sh…
Fungi have a well-deserved surge in popularity. More mushroom varieties have found their way to grocery store shelves, shopping lists, and food blogs. Mushroom foraging is a trending activity as people endeavor to connect to nature. There is a growing …
In November 2022, revisions to the United States Pharmacopeia’s (USP) General Chapter <797>, a standard for sterile pharmaceutical compounding – defined as the process of “combining, admixing, diluting, pooling, reconstituting, repa…
