What is Mycapssa (octreotide)? Mycapssa is indicated for long-term maintenance treatment in acromegaly patients who have responded to and tolerated treatment with octreotide or lanreotide. Acromegaly is a condition due to the production of too much growth hormone by the pituitary gland after the end of adolescence. When there is secretion of too much growth hormone before the end of...
Lazanda (fentanyl) Cancer Medication Side Effects & Dosage
What is Lazanda (fentanyl) nasal spray, and how does it work? Generic drug: fentanyl Brand name: Lazanda Lazanda is: A strong prescription pain medicine that contains an opioid (narcotic) that is used to manage breakthrough pain in adults (18 years of age and older) with cancer who are already routinely taking other opioid pain medicines around-the-clock for cancer pain. Lazanda is...
Glipizide/Metformin: Diabetes Drug Side Effects & Dosage
What is glipizide/metformin? What is glipizide/metformin used for? Glipizide/metformin is a combination antidiabetic medication that contains two commonly used glucose (sugar) lowering agents, glipizide (Glucotrol) and metformin (Glucophage). These agents work in different, yet complementary ways to improve blood glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes. Glipizide is a second generation oral sulfonylurea that lowers blood glucose by stimulating...
Haldol (haloperidol) vs. Ativan (lorazepam): Uses, Side Effects & Dosage
Haldol (haloperidol) vs. Ativan (lorazepam): What’s the difference? Haloperidol and Ativan (lorazepam) are used to treat different types of psychiatric disorders. Haloperidol is used to treat schizophrenia, acute psychosis, and for tics and vocal utterances of Tourette's syndrome. Ativan is used to manage anxiety disorders, for the short-term relief of symptoms of anxiety or anxiety associated with depression, to treat...
Belsomra (suvorexant): Sleep Aid Warnings, Side Effects & Dosage
What is suvorexant (Belsomra)? What is suvorexant used for? Belsomra belongs to a class of drugs called sedatives or hypnotics. It is used for treating insomnia. Belsomra has a unique mechanism of action different from other sleep medications, for example, from benzodiazepine type of sleep medicines like diazepam (Valium). Belsomra causes sleep by blocking receptors in the brain called orexin...
L-Dopa-carbidopa (Sinemet): Side Effects, Dosage & Uses
What is levodopa-carbidopa, and how does it work (mechanism of action)? Carbidopa-levodopa is a combination of two drugs, levodopa and carbidopa. Carbidopa-levodopa is used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease is believed to be caused by low levels of dopamine in certain parts of the brain. When levodopa is taken orally, it crosses into the brain through the...
Lexapro vs. Effexor Side Effects, Dosage & Pregnancy Safety
Lexapro vs. Effexor Lexapro (escitalopram) and Effexor (venlafaxine) are antidepressants used for treatment of major depression. Lexapro is also used to treat anxiety in adults. The brand name Effexor has been discontinued in the U.S. It is available in generic form. Lexapro belongs to the drug class selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) while Effexor is a selective serotonin and norepinephrine...
Kevzara (sarilumab) for Rheumatoid Arthritis: Dosage, Side Effects & Pregnancy Safety
What is Kevzara (sarilumab) and how is it used? Kevzara is an injectable prescription medicine called an Interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor blocker. Kevzara is used to treat adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) after at least one other medicine called a disease modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) has been used and did not work well or could not be...
Heparin Injection Uses, Side Effects & Dosage
What is heparin, and how does it work (mechanism of action)? Heparin is a widely used injectable anticoagulant (stops the formation of blood clots). The blood coagulation system is composed of various steps and heparin acts at multiple sites in this process. Heparin prevents blood clots by blocking the action of two of the 12 clot-promoting proteins in blood (factors...
Imatinib (Gleevec): Leukemia Drug Side Effects & Dosage
What is imatinib, and how does it work (mechanism of action)? Imatinib is an oral medication used for treating chronic myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. It is classified as a kinase inhibitor. Kinase inhibitors include dasatinib (Sprycel), erlotinib (Tarceva), gefitinib (Iressa), nilotinib (Tasigna), pazopanib (Votrient), sunitinib (Sutent), and vandetanib (Caprelsa). Kinase inhibitors prevent tumors from growing by reducing the...