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Category	Prescription Drug	Strength	Quantity	Cost
Lifestyle	Propecia (hair loss) Xenical (diet help) Zyban (quit smoking)	1 mg 120 mg 150 mg	30 tablets 30 capsules 30 tablets	$109 $90 $75

Propecia (stop hair loss, male pattern baldness)

Propecia is a tablet used for the treatment of male pattern hair loss on the vertex (top of head) and anterior mid-scalp area (middle front of head). Propecia is listed under Men's Health in the Discount Meds USA Pharmacy.

Xenical (diet pill, weight control, lose weight)

Xenical is used to help people lose weight and then maintain the weight loss. Xenical works in the intestines, where it blocks fat from being absorbed. This undigested fat is then eliminated through your regular bowel movements. Use Xenical together with a reduced-calorie diet and other weight loss measures.

Zyban (stop smoking, quit nicotine habit)

Zyban is helpful in smoking cessation treatment programs. Zyban comes as a tablet and is usually taken twice a day. It is important to swallow Zyban tablets whole without crushing.

For More Information Click:    [Hair Loss]    [Weight Control]    [Quit Smoking]

Hair loss usually develops gradually and may be patchy or diffuse. Roughly 100 hairs are lost from your head every day. The average scalp contains about 100,000 hairs. Each individual hair survives for an average of 4-1/2 years, during which time it grows about half an inch a month. Usually in its 5th year, the hair falls out and is replaced within 6 months by a new one. Genetic baldness is caused by the body's failure to produce new hairs and not by excessive hair loss. Both men and women tend to lose hair thickness and amount as they age. Inherited or "pattern baldness" affects many more men than women. About 25% of men begin to bald by the time they are 30 years old, and about two-thirds are either bald or have a balding pattern by age 60.

Typical male pattern baldness involves a receding hairline and thinning around the crown with eventual bald spots. Ultimately, you may have only a horseshoe ring of hair around the sides. In addition to genes, male-pattern baldness seems to require the presence of the male hormone testosterone. Men who do not produce testosterone (because of genetic abnormalities or castration) do not develop this pattern of baldness.

Some women also develop a particular pattern of hair loss due to genetics, age, and male hormones that tend to increase in women after menopause. The pattern is different from that of men. Female pattern baldness involves a thinning throughout the scalp while the frontal hairline generally remains intact.

Common Causes

Baldness is not usually caused by a disease, but is related to aging, heredity, and testosterone. In addition to the common male and female patterns from a combination of these factors, other possible causes of hair loss, especially if in an unusual pattern, include:

Hormonal changes (thyroid disease, childbirth, or use of the birth control pill)
A serious illness (like a tumor of the ovary or adrenal glands) or fever
Medication such as cancer chemotherapy
Excessive shampooing and blow-drying
Emotional or physical stress
Nervous habits such as continual hair pulling or scalp rubbing
Burns or radiation therapy
Alopecia areata (bald patches that develop on the scalp, beard, eyebrows, eyelashes)
Tinea capitis (ringworm of the scalp)

Treatment

Some hair loss is temporary and requires no treatment. For instance, hair loss from menopause or childbirth often returns to normal 6 months to 2 years later. For hair loss caused by illness (such as fever), radiation therapy or medication use, again no treatment is necessary. The hair will usually grow back when the illness has ended or the therapy is finished. A wig, hat, or other covering may be desired until the hair grows back.

For hair loss due to heredity, age, and hormones, the topical medication Rogaine (minoxidil) can be helpful for both male and female pattern baldness. Expect to wait 6 months before you see results. The oral medication Propecia (finasteride) is effective in some men. This medicine can decrease sex drive. When either medication is stopped, the former baldness pattern returns.

Hair transplants performed by a physician is a surgical approach to transferring growing hair from one part of the head to another. It is somewhat painful and expensive, but usually permanent.

Hair weaves, hair pieces, or changes of hair style may disguise hair loss. This is generally the least expensive and safest approach to hair loss. Hair pieces should not be sutured to the scalp because of the risk of scars and infection.

Call your doctor if:

You are losing hair in an atypical pattern.
You are losing hair rapidly or at an early age (for example, teens or twenties).
You have any pain or itching associated with the hair loss.
The skin on your scalp under the involved area is red, scaly, or otherwise abnormal.
You have acne, facial hair, or menstrual irregularities.
You are a woman and have male pattern baldness.
You have bald spots on your beard or eyebrows.
You have weight gain plus muscle weakness, intolerance to cold temperatures or fatigue.

It's easy to spend a lot of time worrying about what to eat. But how much you eat puts an even greater stamp on your long-term health than picking the right kind of fats or choosing exactly the right mix of vitamins. How much you weigh (in relation to your height), your waist size, and how much weight you've gained since your mid-20s strongly influence your chances of: dying early, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, gallstones, infertility, asthma, sleep apnea and even cataracts.

If your weight is in the healthy range and isn't more than 10 pounds over what you weighed when you turned 21, great. Keeping it there-and keeping it steady-by watching what you eat and exercising will limit your risk of developing one or more of these chronic conditions noted above. If you are overweight, doing whatever you can to prevent gaining more weight is a critical first step. Then, when you're ready, shedding some pounds and keeping them off will be important steps to better health.

An Epidemic of Obesity

In 1991, obese adults made up less than 15 percent of the population in most U.S. states. Ten years later, only one state could claim that distinction. During this span, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's annual Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System recorded a 61 percent increase in obesity. Today, an estimated 108 million adult Americans weigh more than is healthy.

Even more alarming, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents is on the rise, and children are becoming overweight and obese at earlier ages. An estimated 13-14 percent of children aged 6 to 19 years are considered overweight or obese. Early obesity not only increases the likelihood of adult obesity, it also increases the prevalence of weight-related risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as hypertension, elevated serum cholesterol and insulin resistance. Overweight is at least partly responsible for the dramatic increase in diagnoses of type 2 diabetes mellitus (formerly called adult-onset diabetes) among children. In some parts of the United States, more than 30 percent of new cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus are in children, and most of these are attributable to obesity.

Healthy Weight

Although nutrition experts still debate the precise limits of what constitutes a healthy weight, there's a good working definition based on the ratio of weight to height. This ratio, called the body mass index (or BMI for short), takes into account the fact that taller people have more tissue than shorter people, and so tend to weigh more.

Dozens of studies that have included more than a million adults have shown that a body mass index above 25 increases the chances of dying early, mainly from heart disease or cancer, and that a body mass index above 30 dramatically increases the chances. Based on this consistent body of research, a healthy weight is one that equates with a body mass index less than 25. By convention, overweight is defined as a body mass index of 25 to 29.9, and obesity is defined as a body mass index of 30 or higher. Nothing magical happens when you cross from 24.9 to 25 or from 29.9 to 30. These are just convenient reference points. Instead, the chances of developing a weight-related health problem increases across the range of weights. The BMI formula is a constant times your weight divided by your height squared.

BMI = 703 x [ (Weight in Pounds) / (Height in inches) x (Height in inches) ]

As an example, assume a weight of 160 pounds and height of 5 feet and 7 inches. First you have to convert feet and inches to just inches. Since there are 12 inches to a foot, 5 feet would be 5 times 12 or 60 inches. Adding the extra 7 inches gets us to a total height of 67 inches. Then plugging into the formula,

BMI = 703 x [ 160 / (67 x 67) ] = 25

Muscle and bone are more dense than fat, so an athlete or muscular person may have a high body mass index, but not be fat. It's this very thing that makes weight gain during adulthood such an important determinant of weight-related health--few adults add muscle and bone after their early twenties, so nearly all that added weight is fat.

Waist Size Matters

Some research suggests that not all fat is created equal. Fat that accumulates around the waist and chest (what's called abdominal adiposity) may be more dangerous for long-term health than fat that accumulates elsewhere. Some studies suggest that abdominal fat plays a role in the development of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, and heart disease. It's also possible, of course, that abdominal fat isn't worse than fat around the hips or thighs, but instead is a signal of overall body-fat accumulation that weight alone just doesn't capture.

Measuring your waist is easy, if you know exactly where your waist really is. Wrap a flexible measuring tape around your midsection where the sides of your waist are the narrowest. This is usually even with your navel. Make sure you keep the tape parallel to the floor. An expert panel convened by the National Institutes of Health concluded that a waist larger than 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women increases the chances of developing heart disease, cancer, or other chronic diseases. Although these are a bit generous they are useful benchmarks.

What Causes Weight Gain

If you burn as many calories as you take in each day, there's nothing left over for storage in fat cells and weight remains the same. Eat more than you burn, though, and you end up adding fat and pounds. Many things influence what and when you eat and how many calories you burn. These turn what seems to be a straightforward pathway to excess weight into a complex journey that may start very early in life.

Genes: Some people are genetically predisposed to gain weight more easily than others or to store fat around the abdomen and chest. It's also possible that humans have a genetic drive to eat more than they need for the present in order to store energy for future. This is called the thrifty gene hypothesis. It suggests that eating extra food whenever possible helped early humans survive feast-or-famine conditions. If such thrifty genes still exist, they aren't doing us much good in an environment in which food is constantly available.

Diet: At the risk of stating the obvious, the quantity of food in your diet has a strong impact on weight. The composition of your diet, though, seems to play little role in weight-a calorie is a calorie, regardless of its source.

Physical activity: The "calories burned" part of the weight-change equation often get short shrift. The more active you are, the more calories you burn, which means that less energy will be available for storage as fat. Exercising more also reduces the chances of developing heart disease, some types of cancer, and other chronic diseases. In other words, physical activity is a key element of weight control and health.

Low-Fat Weight Loss Strategies Don't Work For Most People

Low-fat diets are routinely promoted as a path to good health. But they haven't fulfilled their promise. One reason is that many people have interpreted the term "low-fat" to mean "it's OK to eat as much low-fat food as you want." For most people, eating less fat has meant eating more carbohydrates. To the body, calories from carbohydrates are just as effective for increasing weight as calories from fat.

In the United States, obesity has become increasingly common even as the percentage of fat in the American diet has declined from 45 percent in the 1960s to about 33 percent today. In South Africa, nearly 60 percent of people are overweight even though the average diet contains about 22 percent of calories from fat. Finally, experimental studies lasting one year or longer have not shown a link between dietary fat and weight.

Low-Carbohydrate, High-Protein Diets

Another increasingly common approach to weight loss is eating more protein and less carbohydrates. One widely publicized high-protein diet entails loading up on meat, cheese, fish, and eggs while dramatically cutting down or even eliminating carbohydrates. This may help you drop some pounds. But the long-term effects of this eating strategy--on weight as well as overall health--aren't yet clear.

Limiting carbohydrates can help avoid sharp spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels, and equally sharp declines in blood sugar. Keeping blood sugar at a relatively steady level may dampen the appetite. However, many high-protein, low carbohydrate diets are full of saturated and trans fats. These could significantly increase the risk of heart disease regardless of any actual weight loss. A restrictive high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet may also limit the consumption of important vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients found in banned carbohydrates such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Lessons from Losers

Since 1993, nearly 3,000 women and men have joined the National Weight Control Registry. This select "club" includes only people who lost more than 30 pounds and kept them off for at least a year. What was their secret?

1. They exercised. Registry participants burn an average of 400 calories per day in physical activity. That's the equivalent of about an hour of brisk walking.

2. They ate fewer calories. On average, registry volunteers consume about 1,400 calories a day. That's significantly less than the calories consumed by the average American. This doesn't mean, however, that you should aim for 1,400 calories a day. What's right for you is based on your weight, height, and activity level.

3. They switched to lower-fat diets, cut back on sugars and sweets, and ate more fruits and vegetables.

These findings are echoed in a survey of more than 32,000 dieters reported in the June 2002 issue of Consumer Reports. Nearly one-quarter had lost at least 10 percent of their starting body weight and kept it off for at least a year. Most chalked up their success to eating less and exercising more. The vast majority did it on their own, without utlizing commercial weight-loss programs or resorting to weight-loss drugs. Interestingly, the successful losers in the Consumer Reports survey tended to adopt low-carbohydrate/high-protein diets rather than low-fat diets.

What these two groups have in common is a focus on exercise and daily calories. In other words, they've learned to balance energy in and energy out in a way that leads to weight loss or weight maintenance.

General Strategies for Weight Control

Set a realistic goal. Many people pick weight goals they'll have a hard time achieving, like fitting into a size 8 dress or a wedding tuxedo from 20 years ago. A better initial goal is 5-10 percent of your current weight. This may not put you in league with the "beautiful people" profiled in popular magazines, but it can lead to important improvements in weight-related conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes. You don't have to stop there, of course. You can keep aiming for another 5-10 percent until you're happy with your weight. By breaking weight loss into more manageable chunks, you'll be more likely to reach your goal.

Slow and steady wins the race. Dieting implies privation and hunger. You don't need either to lose weight if you're willing to take the time to do it right. If you cut out just 100 calories a day, the equivalent of a single can of soda or a bedtime snack, you would weigh 10 pounds less after a year. If, at the same time, you added a brisk 30-minute walk 5 days a week, you could be at least 20 pounds lighter.

Exercise more. The amount of energy the body uses to breathe, pump blood, keep muscles ready for action, and other mundane but vital tasks is called resting metabolism. It accounts for two-thirds of your daily energy expenditure. The more you work muscles, especially with strength training exercises, the more blood sugar they sponge from the blood and the more calories they burn even when you aren't active. If you don't exercise, try a walking program. Start out with something simple. Get off your bus a stop early and walk the rest of the way to work, park your car at the far end of the company or mall parking lot, or take a brisk walk at lunch or when you come home. Gradually increase the amount of time you walk each day until you do 30 or more minutes a day. A pedometer can help you keep track of your daily activity. These watch-like devices hang from a belt and record how many steps you take. A good goal is 10,000 steps a day. If you already exercise, try to increase its intensity or duration.

Keep track. It's easy to eat more than you plan to. A daily food diary can make you more aware of exactly how much you are eating. Include everything, no matter how small or insignificant it seems. Small noshes and drinks of juice add up to real calories.

Tame your blood sugar. Eating foods that make your blood sugar and insulin levels shoot up and then crash may contribute to weight gain. Such foods include white bread, white rice, and other highly processed grain products. As an alternative, choose foods that have a gentler effect on blood sugar (what's called a lower glycemic index). These include whole grains such as wheat berries, steel-cut oats, and whole-grain breads and pasta, as well as beans, nuts, fruits, and vegetables.

Don't be afraid of good fats. Fat in a meal or in snacks such as nuts or corn chips helps you feel full. Good fats such as olive or canola oil can also help improve your cholesterol levels when you eat them in place of saturated or trans fats or highly processed carbohydrates.

Bring on the water. When you are thirsty, reach for water. Drinking juice or sugared soda can give you several hundred calories a day without even realizing it.

Defensive Eating

In our society, food is everywhere--the mall and gas station, the ballpark and drug store. Super size meals in fast food restaurants are almost too good a bargain to pass up, and servings in all but the most trendy restaurants are often enough to feed two. In the face of such plenty, it's important to learn how to avoid overeating. Here are some strategies that help defend against eating too much:

1. Stop before you are stuffed. Learn your body's signals and practice stopping before you feel full.

2. Be selective. It's easy to eat food just because it's put in front of you. Be mindful of what you are eating, and make sure that you are choosing what to eat.

3. Select small portions. Portions in most restaurants are over-sized. If you are eating with someone else, try sharing an entrée, or order two appetizers instead of an entree. If you're eating alone, eat half and take the rest home for another meal.

4. Beware of desserts. A single slice of The Cheesecake Factory's Original Cheesecake packs almost 800 calories and an incredible 49 grams of fat (28 of them saturated, or 50 percent more than is recommended per day). Either share such a rich dessert several ways or skip it altogether and finish your meal with a piece of fruit or other lower-calorie option.

5. Slow down. Eating fast short-circuits the clues that your digestive system generates to signal that it's getting full. Slowing down gives your stomach and intestines time to send these messages to your brain.

6. Spoil your appetite. Having a snack or appetizer before a meal can dull your hunger and help you eat less at the meal. A good choice is a banana which is filling and quite healthy. Also, bananas contain something called "resistive starch" which is slow to digest and may aid in the conversion of body fat back into useful energy. 

7. Be aware of why you are eating. Sometime we eat when we're bored, anxious, or angry. Try not to soothe your negative feelings with food. Dealing with them in other ways like talking to friends, listening to music, taking a walk, meditating, or working can help you relieve stress without gaining weight.

If you have tried to quit smoking, you know how hard it can be. It is hard because nicotine is a very addictive drug. For some people, it can be as addictive as heroin or cocaine. Usually people make 2 or 3 tries, or more, before finally being able to quit. Each time you try to quit, you can learn about what helps and what hurts. Keep trying, quitting smoking is one of the most important things you will ever do.

You will live longer and live better.
Quitting will lower your chance of having a heart attack, stroke, or cancer.
If you are pregnant, quitting smoking will improve your chances of having a healthy baby.
The people you live with, especially your children, will be healthier.
You will have extra money to spend on things other than cigarettes.

Studies have shown that these five steps will help you quit and quit for good. You have the best chances of quitting if you use them together.

1. Get ready.
2. Get support.
3. Learn new skills and behaviors.
4. Get medication and use it correctly.
5. Be prepared for relapse or difficult situations.

Get Ready

Set a quit date and change your environment. Get rid of ALL cigarettes and ashtrays in your home, car and place of work. Don't let people smoke in your home. Review your past attempts to quit. Think about what worked and what did not. Once you quit, don't smoke, not even a puff.

Get Support and Encouragement

Studies have shown that you have a better chance of being successful if you have help. Tell your family, friends, and co-workers that you are going to quit and want their support. Ask them not to smoke around you or leave cigarettes out. Talk to your health care provider (for example, doctor, dentist, nurse, pharmacist, psychologist, or smoking counselor). Get individual, group, or telephone counseling. The more counseling you have, the better your chances are of quitting. Programs are given at local hospitals and health centers. Call your local health department for information about programs in your area.

Learn New Skills and Behaviors

Try to distract yourself from urges to smoke. Talk to someone, go for a walk, or get busy with a task. When you first try to quit, change your routine. Use a different route to work. Drink tea instead of coffee. Eat breakfast in a different place. Do something to reduce your stress. Take a hot bath, exercise, or read a book. Plan something enjoyable to do every day. Drink a lot of water and other fluids.

Get Medication and Use It Correctly

Medications can help you stop smoking and lessen the urge to smoke. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved five medications to help you quit smoking:

1. Bupropion SR (Zyban)—Available by prescription.
2. Nicotine gum—Available over-the-counter.
3. Nicotine inhaler—Available by prescription.
4. Nicotine nasal spray—Available by prescription.
5. Nicotine patch—Available by prescription and over-the-counter.

All of these medications will more or less double your chances of quitting and quitting for good. Ask your health care provider for advice and carefully read the information on the package.

Be Prepared for Relapse or Difficult Situations

Most relapses occur within the first 3 months after quitting. Don't be discouraged if you start smoking again. Remember, most people try several times before they finally quit. If you have problems with any of the following situations, talk to your doctor or other health care provider.

Alcohol: Avoid drinking alcohol. Drinking lowers your chances of success.
Other Smokers: Being around smoking can make you want to smoke.
Weight Gain: Many smokers will gain weight when they quit, usually less than 10 pounds.
Bad Mood or Depression: There are a lot of ways to improve your mood other than smoking.

Disclaimer

This drug information is for your information purposes only. It is not intended that this information covers all uses, directions, drug interactions, precautions, or adverse effects of your medication. This is only general information, and should not be relied on for any purpose. It should not be construed as containing specific instructions for any particular patient. We disclaim all responsibility for the accuracy and reliability of this information, and/or any consequences arising from the use of this information, including damage or adverse consequences to persons or property, however such damages or consequences arise. No warranty, either expressed or implied, is made in regards to this information.