Does Medicare cover prescription semaglutide in pill form?
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
an hour ago
- Times
As the Beatles said, maybe all you do need is love
Perhaps more so than any other band the Beatles devoted much of their wordsmithery to questions of close affection. 'All you need is love,' was one Lennon-McCartney recommendation. 'Love me do' was their first such plea on vinyl, and the Fab Four's epitaph was famously 'the love you take is equal to the love you make'. For some, the lyrics summed up the band's message of peace and harmony; for others, they were hippy dippy smush. Now it turns out that Liverpool's finest may have had a point. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University have been tracking 52 individuals for a month, quizzing them six times every day via their smartphones on whether they had expressed amore, or had received some in return. In this context, the researchers interpreted 'love' broadly: spending time with someone close, gift giving, or expressing affection through words. The conclusion was one Messrs Lennon and McCartney would welcome: when people expressed love to others, they tended to feel more loved in return. However, the study found the reverse was not necessarily true: receiving affection from others did not automatically make people more generous with their love. The researchers admit they expected a two-way relationship: 'It was somewhat surprising to find that increases in feelings of being loved didn't increase expressions of love over time.' Their conclusion is that some individuals are better at receiving affection than giving it. • Why small acts of affection may be the key to feeling more loved yourself The power of love goes deeper than self-fulfilment. Participants in the study reported other psychological benefits. Those who felt more loved scored better on average when it came to mental health and feelings of loneliness. Such studies should always be treated with caution, given their observational nature. But at its heart is a timeless truth: saying 'I love you' costs nothing but can mean everything.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Soon you'll get fat jabs for free at the local shopping centre, as per new NHS plan - amid growing alarm over lethal side effects
Patients could soon get their weight-loss jabs for free via shopping centres, according to the new 10-year-plan for the NHS. It comes as the Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the injections were the 'talk of the House of Commons tea rooms'. The 10-year plan for the health service says there is a need to expand access to weight-loss services and treatments and bring them closer to where patients live and work. It says the Government will work with industry 'to test innovative models of delivering weight loss services and treatments to patients effectively and safely' in convenient locations, which may include 'on the high street, or at any out-of-town shopping centre'. Digital-only models, where everything is done and managed online, may also be put in place, the plan says. Furthermore, companies will not just paid if people lose weight, 'but if that also translates into outcomes that really matter for patients, such as fewer heart attacks, strokes or cancer diagnoses'. Earlier, Mr Streeting said weight-loss jabs should be available according to need, not the ability to pay. At the moment, people with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or more, or 30 but with a linked health condition, can be prescribed jabs on the NHS through specialist weight-management services. Other people are paying hundreds of pounds a month to get the jabs privately. Mr Streeting told LBC radio: 'Weight-loss jabs are the talk of the House of Commons tea rooms, half my colleagues are on them and are judging the rest of us saying 'you lot should be on them'. 'And the thing is, if you can afford these weight loss jabs, which can be over 200 quid a month, well that's all right for you. 'But most people in this country haven't got a spare two and a half grand a year and often the people who have the worst and most challenging obesity also have the lowest income. 'So I'm bringing to weight loss jabs the principle of fairness which has underpinned the NHS. 'It should be available based on need and not the ability to pay. 'And that's what we're going to do on weight-loss jabs, as well as a number of other things, including people getting more fit, more active, supporting people on diet and nutrition….that's the bit of the weight-loss jab debate that sometimes gets lost. He said obesity cost the NHS billions a year, adding that taxes have been going 'up and up' to pay for the health service. But the plans for a greater roll-out of the jabs come amid concerns about rare but potentially deadly side effects. Last month, the UK medicines regulator launched a probe into the safety of fat jabs after hundreds of users developed pancreatitis, leaving ten dead. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it has received more than 560 reports of people developing an inflamed pancreas after taking so-called 'GLP-1' injections since they were first launched. The MHRA is now calling for users who are admitted to hospital with pancreatitis to report the side effect to authorities using the regulator's Yellow Card scheme. Healthcare workers can also submit a report on patients' behalf. Other data collected by the watchdog has linked 107 fatalities linked to blockbuster weight loss jabs such as Mounjaro, Ozempic and Wegovy. As anyone can use the system—patients as well as their medics—a death being linked to a specific drug is not proof it was responsible. The MHRA highlights that some reactions—including fatal ones—may simply be coincidence. For example, a patient taking a weight loss jab may experience a fatal heart attack, but the event may have nothing to do with the drug they were taking at the time. Recent estimates suggest that about 1.5 million people in the UK are taking weight loss jabs, many of which are bought privately due to NHS rationing. Most side effects linked to the jabs are gastrointestinal including nausea, constipation and diarrhoea.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Doctor reveals the common medication he 'hates'... and warns it could cause organ failure
A top doctor has warned that a common medication could cause lasting damage like organ failure and dementia. Dr Ethan Melillo, a pharmacist from Rhode Island, says one of the medications he 'hates' is Tylenol PM, one of America's top-selling nighttime painkillers that grosses nearly $1billion a year. But Dr Melillo warns the 17 cent pills designed to provide relief from headaches and minor aches and pains is 'misused' by many patients. He cautioned that if it is used on a regular basis, it can cause liver damage as it contains acetaminophen. Meanwhile, diphenhydramine, which induces sleepiness, can cause memory loss. When acetaminophen is broken down in the liver, a small amount of a toxic byproduct called NAPQI is produced. Normally, the body's natural antioxidant - glutathione - neutralizes NAPQI. However, when high doses of acetaminophen are taken, or if glutathione levels are low from factors like alcohol use or malnutrition, the liver's capacity to process and eliminate NAPQI becomes overwhelmed. When NAPQI is not properly detoxified, it can accumulate in the liver and bind to essential cellular proteins, leading to cell injury and potentially liver failure. Dr Melillo says the risk of liver damage increases significantly when the dose of acetaminophen exceeds 4,000mg daily in adults. This equates to more than eight Tylenol PM pills. He highlights that acetaminophen is an ingredient in many medicines, not just Tylenol PM, so he recommends checking to see which products contain it and the quantities. He doesn't recommend against acetaminophen completely but says it should be used sparingly and not habitually. He says the prevalence of it is one of the reasons why there is so much liver damage in the US. Liver disease in some form affects one in three Americans, adding up to 100million. In January 2011, the FDA asked manufacturers of combination drugs containing acetaminophen to limit acetaminophen doses to no more than 325 mg in each tablet or capsule. This is because there's no data showing that taking more than 325 mg per dosage unit provides additional benefit while outweighing the increased risk of liver injury. Despite the recommendations, each Tylenol PM tablet contains 500 mg of acetaminophen to relieve pain and 25 mg diphenhydramine to help you go to sleep. Previous research also found that acetaminophen could alter the perception of risk by making certain activities seem less dangerous. Participants in the study ingested two acetaminophen tablets (1,000 mg) of the drug or a placebo and were asked to rate certain activities based on risk. Those under the influence of the of the drug rated activities like bungee jumping, skydiving or starting a new career in your mid-30s as less risky than those who took the placebo. The 2020 study, conducted by The Ohio State University, built on previous work that determined acetaminophen impacts the user's psychosis, as it was found to reduce positive and negative emotions, such as hurt feelings, concern of other's suffering and even their own joy. Dr Melillo also dislikes Tylenol PM for its other main ingredient, diphenhydramine. This is an antihistamine, which means it blocks histamine, a chemical in the body that promotes wakefulness, leading to drowsiness and helping with sleep. Dr Melillo says that most people will be more familiar with the medication by its brand name, Benadryl. Explaining why he isn't a fan of diphenhydramine, he said it could 'possibly cause memory loss.' Diphenhydramine is an anticholinergic medication, meaning it blocks the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is essential for memory and cognitive function. By blocking its action, diphenhydramine can impair these functions, leading to memory loss. One study found that taking an anticholinergic for the equivalent of three years or more on a daily basis was associated with a 54 percent higher dementia risk than taking the same dose for three months or less. The other side effects of diphenhydramine, Dr Melillo says, include dry mouth and urinary retention (an inability to empty the bladder). He says for older patients, these symptoms can prove particularly troublesome as they could trigger other age-related health conditions. If people need help sleeping, the pharmacist advises talking to a doctor about prescription medications that are available instead of turning to Tylenol PM or Benadryl, which they could become dependent upon. He adds: 'If you're someone who takes this on a blue moon, then that's fine, it's not a big deal.
