To read the tribute to SFC Marcus Muralles, please click here
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Wonder Drugs
Some drugs are life-saving... chemo for cancer patients, insulin for diabetics, blood pressure meds for those with high blood pressure... some are not quite as consequential, but important none-the-less... antihistimines for those with allergies (ok- those can be life-saving for some), pain meds to name a couple. Then there are... quality-of-life meds, which are a little iffy on their necessity- Viagra and Botox, for example. Then there are the drugs that you don't really think about unless you know someone who needs them. Technically, they're not "necessary"- you won't die without them. You'll just be miserable.
When I was growing up, my mom had horrible migraines. Imitrex was introduced in the early 70s, but because of some other medical problems, she couldn't take it until much later. I can remember her trying to get to sleep in her darkened bedroom, wincing at every noise. Tylenol wouldn't even put a dent in those headaches, and there was nothing we could do to help her except close the door and whisper.
When Imitrex was finally available for her to use, she cringed at the cost. It came out to $10 a pill, more or less. She said, "no way." As Dad tells the story, he went back, and picked up the prescription, anyway. When the next migraine hit, he showed the Imitrex to her and asked her if it was worth $10 now. Well, duh.
Fast forward to just after the boys were born. I started having migraines, but they weren't diagnosed, because they were so far apart. I just took a couple of Excedrin and tried to sleep through it. Four or five years ago, I had a migraine that ended up lasting for over a week (I thought it was just a bad sinus infection). I finally went to the doctor, and they introduced me to a wonder drug- Zomig. The early migraine meds (Imitrex, etc.) had to be taken as soon as the migraine began (during the aura, if the patient has them). Zomig, on the other hand, is effective even if the migraine has progressed to full-grown misery.
Where did all of this come from? A 2-Zomig migraine last night. And yes, they're definitely worth the $20+ per pill. Definitely.
When I was growing up, my mom had horrible migraines. Imitrex was introduced in the early 70s, but because of some other medical problems, she couldn't take it until much later. I can remember her trying to get to sleep in her darkened bedroom, wincing at every noise. Tylenol wouldn't even put a dent in those headaches, and there was nothing we could do to help her except close the door and whisper.
When Imitrex was finally available for her to use, she cringed at the cost. It came out to $10 a pill, more or less. She said, "no way." As Dad tells the story, he went back, and picked up the prescription, anyway. When the next migraine hit, he showed the Imitrex to her and asked her if it was worth $10 now. Well, duh.
Fast forward to just after the boys were born. I started having migraines, but they weren't diagnosed, because they were so far apart. I just took a couple of Excedrin and tried to sleep through it. Four or five years ago, I had a migraine that ended up lasting for over a week (I thought it was just a bad sinus infection). I finally went to the doctor, and they introduced me to a wonder drug- Zomig. The early migraine meds (Imitrex, etc.) had to be taken as soon as the migraine began (during the aura, if the patient has them). Zomig, on the other hand, is effective even if the migraine has progressed to full-grown misery.
Where did all of this come from? A 2-Zomig migraine last night. And yes, they're definitely worth the $20+ per pill. Definitely.
