FDA warns consumers who purchase Diazepam online of potentially serious counterfeiting issue[/size]

• SHARE
• [url=https://twitter.com/intent/tweet/?text=FDA warns consumers who purchase Diazepam online of potentially serious counterfeiting issue&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.fda.gov%2fDrugs%2fDrugSafety%2fucm453671.htm]TWEET[/url]
• [url=https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.fda.gov%2fDrugs%2fDrugSafety%2fucm453671.htm&title=FDA warns consumers who purchase Diazepam online of potentially serious counterfeiting issue&source=FDA]LINKEDIN[/url]
• [url=https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.fda.gov%2fDrugs%2fDrugSafety%2fucm453671.htm&description=FDA warns consumers who purchase Diazepam online of potentially serious counterfeiting issue]PIN IT[/url]
• [email=?subject=FDA%20warns%20consumers%20who%20purchase%20Diazepam%20online%20of%20potentially%20serious%20counterfeiting%20issue&body=http%3a%2f%2fwww.fda.gov%2fDrugs%2fDrugSafety%2fucm453671.htm]EMAIL[/email]
• PRINT

The FDA is warning consumers who purchase Diazepam, an anti-anxiety medication, on the internet of the potential risk that this drug may be counterfeit. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported 700 adverse events from patients in Central Africa taking mislabeled Diazepam that was actually the anti-psychotic drug, Haloperidol. The patients who mistakenly took Haloperidol suffered acute contractions of the muscles of the face, neck and tongue (dystonia).
While it has not been confirmed that the counterfeit Diazepam in Africa was purchased online and FDA has no confirmed reports that these counterfeit products have entered the United States, FDA advises consumers who purchased Diazepam online to check if the pills they received are authentic. The counterfeit tablets are light yellow in color, scored across the center of the tablet on one side and bear the letters AGOG on the other side.

If you purchased Diazepam and it fits this tablet description, do not use it. FDA recommends consumers go towww.fda.gov/BeSafeRx to learn about the risks of buying prescription drugs online, the signs of a fake or illegal online pharmacy, and how to buy prescription drugs safely online.  Beware of online pharmacies that:

• Allow you to buy drugs without a prescription from your doctor
• Offer deep discounts or cheap prices that seem too good to be true
• Send spam or unsolicited email offering cheap drugs
• Are located outside of the United States
• Are not licensed in the United States

Health care professionals and patients are encouraged to report adverse events or side effects related to the use of these products and from where they were purchased to the FDA’s MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program:

• Complete and submit the report Online: www.fda.gov/MedWatch/report
• Download form or call 1-800-332-1088 FREE to request a reporting form, then complete and return to the address on the pre-addressed form, or submit by fax to 1-800-FDA-0178

Get the facts:

Your options:
Take medicines for panic disorder.
Don’t take medicines. Try home treatment and counselling to deal with your symptoms.
Key points to remember

Two types of medicines work well for treating panic attacks. Benzodiazepines can help you feel better right away. You can take antidepressants for long-term treatment.

Counselling may work just as well as medicines.
If you take medicines, follow your doctor’s directions with care. You may have side effects such as headaches or trouble sleeping. Some medicines can treat both depression and panic attacks.

For some people, taking medicines along with getting counselling works best.
Don’t feel bad about taking medicines. Panic disorder is a medical problem, not a weakness. The medicines won’t change your personality.

Compare your options:
Compare
Take medicines for panic disorder Don’t take medicines

What is usually involved?
For antidepressants, you take pills or liquids every day or on certain days of the month, for months or years.

For benzodiazepines, you take pills or liquids as needed.
You may also try counselling along with taking medicine.
You try counselling, such as cognitive-behaviour therapy, to control your symptoms.

What are the benefits?
Medicines for panic disorder work well.
Counselling works as well as medicine for many people who have panic disorder.
You don’t have side effects from taking medicine.

What are the risks and side effects?
Medicine may cause side effects such as:
Nausea.
Headaches.
Nervousness.
Tiredness.
Trouble sleeping.

Benzodiazepines can lead to addiction. (Antidepressants do NOT lead to addiction.)
Your panic disorder may get worse if you have no treatment.
Personal stories about people deciding whether to take medicine to treat panic disorder

These stories are based on information gathered from health professionals and consumers. They may be helpful as you make important health decisions.

As an executive, I have to travel a lot for my job. A few months ago, I was boarding a plane for a business trip, and I began to feel very apprehensive. I felt trapped and got off the plane because I was shaking and sweating and my heart was pounding. I wasn’t sure exactly what was wrong, but I felt like I was dying. I had a drink at the bar and was still shaky but took a later flight. After that I began to feel nervous if I even thought about flying, and I had several more similar attacks. Then I had an attack on the subway. I felt like everyone was watching me and there was no escape. I didn’t even want to go to the office after that because I was afraid I could have an attack at any moment. My doctor says I have panic disorder and agoraphobia. I can hardly function, so I am going to take antidepressants and try exposure therapy. My doctor says a benzodiazepine would make the symptoms go away sooner. But I am worried they will make me too drowsy and they may be too hard for me to quit.
Manuel, age 43

I was having lunch with some friends and suddenly began to feel strange—like I couldn’t breathe and my heart was pounding. I didn’t know what was happening; I thought I was having a heart attack. Although the symptoms began to go away after about 10 minutes, I went to the emergency room, where they did some tests and didn’t find anything wrong. A week later, the same thing happened in the middle of the night. I went to see my doctor, and she suggested I may have had a panic attack. Since then, the attacks have been occurring at least once a week, and I have been diagnosed with panic disorder. Although each attack is still a horrible experience, I now know what is happening and that I will get through it. I have been going to therapy for several weeks and am learning how to deal with the symptoms of panic attacks. They are less frequent now and less intense. I think I can get through this without taking any medicine.
Annie, age 32

When I divorced my wife, Celia, I began to feel down and very anxious. As a contractor, I have to deal with people every day, and it seemed very hard to do my job when I felt so stressed out and depressed. I had my first panic attack when my dog got lost at a job. I knew he was probably fine and would soon come back, but with the stress of everything else it just seemed like more than I could handle. I felt awful; I was choking and had bad stomach cramps. Since then, I have had attacks like this nearly every day and a lot of the time I feel down in the dumps. I have been diagnosed with panic disorder and depression. I am going to therapy, and it seems to help a little, but I still have panic attacks and often feel like life is not worth living, and I feel anxious about interacting with people at all. At first I didn’t want to take any medicine. But after reading about it and talking it over with my doctor, I decided to start taking an antidepressant.
Louis, age 28

WHAT MATTERS MOST TO YOU:
What matters most to you?
Your personal feelings are just as important as the medical facts. Think about what matters most to you in this decision, and show how you feel about the following statements.
Reasons to take medicines for panic disorderReasons not to take medicines for panic disorder

I am willing to take medicine for at least several months, or longer if I need to.I don’t want to take medicines if at all possible.

More importantEqually important More important
My panic disorder is not improving enough with counselling alone.I want to continue counselling, without medicine, at least for a while.

More importantEqually important More important
I think my symptoms may be worse than the possible side effects of the medicine.I think the side effects of the medicine would be worse than my symptoms.

More importantEqually important More important
My other important reasons:My other important reasons:

YOUR DECISION:
Where are you leaning now?
Now that you’ve thought about the facts and your feelings, you may have a general idea of where you stand on this decision. Show which way you are leaning right now.
Taking medicines NOT taking medicines
Leaning toward Undecided Leaning toward.

WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED TO MAKE YOUR DECISION:
Check the facts
1. Taking medicine is the only way I can treat my panic disorder.
True
False
I’m not sure
2. There are two different kinds of medicines that I can take to help my panic disorder.
True

False
I’m not sure
Decide what’s next
1.
Do you understand the options available to you?
Yes No
2.
Are you clear about which benefits and side effects matter most to you?
Yes No
3.
Do you have enough support and advice from others to make a choice?
Yes No

Certainty
1. How sure do you feel right now about your decision?
Not sure at allSomewhat sure Very sure

2. Check what you need to do before you make this decision.
I’m ready to take action.
I want to discuss the options with others.
I want to learn more about my options.

3. Use the following space to list questions, concerns, and next steps.
Your Summary:

Here’s a record of your answers. You can use it to talk with your doctor or loved ones about your decision.
Your decision

Next steps
Finishing all the steps will help you make the best decision. You can skip steps if you want, but your summary page won’t be complete. Answer question >

Which way you’re leaning
Finishing all the steps will help you make the best decision. You can skip steps if you want, but your summary page won’t be complete. Answer question >

How sure you are
Finishing all the steps will help you make the best decision. You can skip steps if you want, but your summary page won’t be complete. Answer question >

Your knowledge of the facts
Getting ready to act
What matters to you…

To understand how bipolar disorder and Failure to Launch Syndrome are connected, one must first understand them separately.
Bipolar Disorder is classified as a manic-depressive illness. It causes intense mood shifts in one’s everyday life. This is different than commonly experienced highs and lows.

Bipolar Disorder moods range from mania, evidenced by extreme happiness, hyperactivity, and over-excitement to extreme irritability and explosiveness to depression, evidenced by extreme sadness and/or hopelessness and often accompanied by suicidal ideations. Symptoms of a manic episode may include feeling “high,” being overly happy and outgoing, and/or being extremely irritable. A manic episode may exhibit with behaviors such as rapid talking, distractability, being restless, taking in little sleep, jumping from one idea/activity to the next, and being impulsive. Symptoms of a depressive episode may include a longer than normal period of sadness and anhedonia, or a loss of interest in activities one used to enjoy. A depressive episode may exhibit behaviors such as feeling tired or slow, inability to concentrate, irritability, restlessness, and/or thinking of death or suicide.

Failure to Launch Syndrome is classified as the inability to transition from childhood to adulthood successfully. Members of this group are unable to manage the challenges associated with transitioning to adulthood. Symptoms might include having an unclear purpose in life, little ambition, lack of motivation, intense procrastination, not caring about money or earning it, and/or social isolation. Adults categorized as having Failure to

Launch Syndrome seemingly have ideas but fail to act on them or give up easily. They appear to be satisfied with the status quo, though might verbalize a want for change.

Case Study:
Lora, a 25 year old Middle Eastern woman, was a college graduate who came to therapy for help “figuring out [her] life.” She was a web designer by default, but had her hand in many artistic fields – making crafts, cooking, drawing. Lora lived with her parents and had never been in a romantic relationship. She quit her job as a website designer because it was “boring,” and there was no room for growth. She decided to become a chef instead and took an 8-week cooking class.

Upon completion, she was hired as a line cook and decided three weeks into the job that it wasn’t for her. She then decided she wanted to write children’s books. She took meetings with editors and attempted to come up with a story. After a few weeks, she decided it was too difficult and gave up. Lora also decided she wanted to move out of her parents’ home because it was holding her back, yet she couldn’t maintain a job that would help her pay for rent elsewhere. She had difficulty making new friends, and despite being encouraged to find groups with folks who had similar interests, Lora was content to stay home and clean or search for a new job. Lora was classified as suffering from Failure to Launch Syndrome, secondary to her bipolar diagnosis.

So, the question becomes: how are bipolar and failure to launch syndrome connected? There is an obvious overlap between the two – Depression. Depressed individuals have very little motivation, experience sadness and social isolation, and, as such, procrastinate. This can lead a young adult to great difficulty in moving on with their lives and transitioning successfully into adulthood.

When the support group, often parents, try to overcompensate by making the young adult feel comfortable in the home and try to “help,” it often backfires and encourages the young adult to not take initiative, because everything is being done for them. The young adult then falls deeper into their depressive episode and remains in the home. If and when the young adult hits a manic phase, they are so “high” and enthusiastic about everything they are able to do, that they try to meet unrealistic goals – and more than one at that!

This sets them up for failure and, inevitably, they fall back into their depression, and the support group comes to the rescue once again. This only perpetuates the disappointment and failure to move forward in a healthy manner. If their bipolar disorder is not addressed, these actions end up in a vicious cycle and the support group eventually becomes the enemy.

The good news is that with treatment, healthy coping skills, and a solid support group those suffering with bipolar disorder can live a full life while managing their symptoms. Assisting one’s young adult with achieving small successes can help with successfully moving forward into adulthood, which tackles their failure to launch syndrome as well.
By Michelle Dabach, MA MFT

There are several typical concerns that many job seekers have, such as conflict with co-workers or a supervisor and being overworked and underpaid. But for those dealing with a bipolar diagnosis, being able to cope effectively with these concerns, among others, can make the difference as to whether the young adult is able to maintain a job.
While on the job search, we ask our participants to consider a few things before deciding on where to apply. We specifically ask them to consider the work environment, schedule, and potential stress level of the position and how shifts in mood, energy, behaviors, and thinking will affect his or her ability to cope with these.

Aside from the job being a good fit with interest areas and desired career path, we want each participant to get an idea as to whether the job’s environment will likely be a fit for them as an individual. We often utilize online reviews, word of mouth, and Google searches to find out about work conditions at the companies they are considering.

We use this information to help determine whether the environment will be potentially supportive or harmful. It is important for each participant to know how they work best. Is it a busy, fast-paced environment or something more quiet and relaxed? To determine a participant’s best environment fit, we offer in-office career assessments and recommend volunteering as the step prior to obtaining a job. One-time commitments, recurring commitments, and community service all serve to test different environments and structures. The participant then has information to work with in order to make a Wise Mind decision about pursuing a particular job.

For scheduling, we want participants to secure positions that will have set, structured schedules as opposed to those that have call-in shifts. Schedules that do not change weekly and that do not require staff to stay after hours without advance notice are recommended. This will help with decreasing stress that can trigger a manic episode and negatively impact job performance.

Ideal jobs often include tutoring, office work, after school programs, and certain retail stores and restaurants that hire for specific days and times. We also encourage participants to find work that won’t interfere with sleep routines. Regular sleep routines increase the likelihood of mood stability. For example, working at a movie theater that has late showings and overnight jobs would not be conducive to balanced sleep.

We generally want our participants to lead balanced lives, and stress on the job can negatively impact this balance. We research jobs that have stressors like last minute deadlines, unclear job descriptions, and no consistency. Commission-based jobs in retail or telemarketing or fast paced jobs like busy coffee shops are not typically the best match. We also recommend a part-time job when participants are adjusting to medications and that the young adult has open communication with his or her therapist and psychiatrist about changes in mood. We do weekly check-ins with the option to increase or decrease hours worked to ensure that each participant is getting the needed support.

Once participants have a list of locations to apply to, we talk about the applications and the interview. We recommend that participants not disclose too much personal information about medical history on the application or in the interview to ensure they being hired based on their experiences without judgment. We also encourage participants to read employee handbooks front to back to ensure they know about time-off policies in the event they need to take some self-care days.

We have had success with participants with bipolar and the job search process, even when a young adult has experienced difficulties or failures with the process in the past. Our approach to finding the appropriate fit for the unique needs of the young adult, rather than the first job that comes up, continues to be the key to success.

Living with Bipolar Disorder can often feel like a roller coaster ride with the highs of mania and the lows of depression. In addition, there are also the twists and turns on that ride based on a person’s environment, including stressors, coping skills, support system, and lifestyle. While some people go to amusement parks, ride roller coasters and go home, others are left to ride this intense, often emotionally dysregulating mental health roller coaster throughout their entire lives. The good news is, there interventions that allow young adults with bipolar disorder to experience relief, more balance, and the potential for a more stable and productive life. Let’s begin by looking at the two main types of Bipolar Disorder.
BIPOLAR 1 vs. BIPOLAR 2
For some, the lows feel as though the floor beneath them is falling out, like they are free-falling from 1000ft in the air. Meanwhile, the highs provide a thrill of a lifetime (manic episode) that they never want to end. This is referred to as Bipolar 1.
For others, the ride is relatively smooth with just a couple of peaks and valleys, and this experience is often referred to as Bipolar 2.

REGULATING THE ROLLER COASTER

In my experience working at OPI’s residential treatment program with young adults dealing with Bipolar Disorder, medication provides a huge benefit in helping stabilize mood and creating a smoother ride throughout life.
There are a few difficulties that we see when it comes to medication compliance and this particular disorder, meaning that young adults aren’t always gung-ho about taking a daily medication in order to feel “normal” and regulated. Further, many of them report feeling like “guinea pigs,” having tried numerous medications over the years only to find that the side-effects outweighed the benefits, if any. At OPI, we overcome this issue by offering GeneSight, a painless cotton swab to the inside of the cheek that allows us to perform genetic testing. GeneSight helps take the guesswork out of which medications will likely have the most benefits and least side effects for the young adult in a very individualized way, based on his or her unique DNA.
Another common resistance to taking medication for Bipolar Disorder is that most people are used to taking a medication to treat a symptom or illness and then stop once the condition has resolved. For many people diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, accepting not only the fact that they have this diagnosis but also the fact that they may need to be on medication for the rest of their life is a very difficult pill to swallow (no pun intended). In addition, as I was saying before, many people with Bipolar experience the highs of mania to be a thrill. They feel carefree, invincible, and experience a sense of euphoria. Now, who would want to take a pill that takes that incredible feeling away? The unfortunate part is that along with those feelings there also tends to be reckless behavior, poor impulse control, and poor judgment which can have long-term negative effects on someone’s life including one’s job, relationships, and finances.
And what goes up must come down, which means depression is inevitable for people suffering from Bipolar Disorder. Unfortunately, without medication, those lows get lower. Depression is often associated with a decrease in mood, energy level, and interest. It can also make concentration and decision making difficult. Depression impacts not only mood, but also sleep, appetite, and self-esteem and sometimes even leads to suicidal ideations or attempts. Medication helps lessen the severity of depression and creates more stability in a person’s mood.
At OPI’s residential treatment program, we believe in the benefits of medication in treating Bipolar Disorder, but not in medication alone. Our psychiatrists work collaboratively with our participants to help them understand the benefits of medication and the importance of medication compliance. In addition to psychiatry, we provide therapy to assist young adults with learning and understanding their diagnosis so that they can begin to accept it while building healthy coping skills to manage the highs and lows associated with the disorder. We also have a variety of departments to assist them with finding a life path that will fit with their lifestyle and provide them with a sense of joy and stability. While people with Bipolar Disorder cannot completely get off the roller coaster ride of life, they can definitely find a way to slow it down and create a smoother ride.