How to Shut Your Spouse Up While Sleeping

Do you frequently wake up to what seems to be the sound of a novice clown learning to tie animal balloons?  Or perhaps its the sound of an angry flatulent pig?  Your spouses snoring is not only disturbing your sleep, but may also be harmful, even dangerous to your spouse.  Sleep apnea and other sleep disorders are becoming increasingly common.  Below are some common problems associated with sleep apnea:

Hypertension

• According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, obstructive sleep apnea may be key in the development of essential hypertension (high blood pressure).   Nearly half of all people with high blood pressure have sleep apnea.
• High blood pressure is a major risk factor, especially if left untreated for having a heart attack or stroke.

Daytime Fatigue

• Sleep apnea causes people to stop breathing many times during the night, which prevents the blood from being fully oxygenated during sleep.  Each time the person stops breathing, they wake up momentarily and start breathing again.  This frequent waking prevents the person from getting deep, restorative sleep.
• As a result of poor sleep, daytime fatigue is a hallmark symptom of sleep apnea.  This can become dangerous when the person is at work or driving and they begin to doze off.  People with sleep apnea may also be more irritable, and may also experience more headaches (due to low oxygen).

Acid Reflux

• Acid reflux is also very prevalent in people with sleep apnea.  Researchers are not sure whether sleep apnea causes the reflux, or if the reflux is causing sleep apnea.  
• Acid reflux disease that is untreated can lead to esophageal cancer.  Symptoms of acid reflux do not always correlate to the severity of the disease.  People may have relatively severe esophageal erosion, but experience only mild symptoms. 

What Can Be Done?

Talk to your physician about getting screened for sleep apnea.  People who snore, have a large neck circumference, and those with high blood pressure and/or diabetes are at the greatest risk.  If you or your spouse is diagnosed with sleep apnea or other sleep disorder, there are machines that can assist breathing throughout the night.

• Contact Wheelock Pharmacy's Respiratory Therapist  Christina through email: christina@wheelockrx.com or call 517-263-7175  if you have additional questions or concerns.

Waiting for your prescription?

Have you ever asked yourself, "why does it take so long to have a prescription filled?"

From start to finish, it takes about 2 minutes to fill one prescription....that is, if there are no other factors slowing down the process.

One of those factors is the pharmacy benefits manager (PBM).  These are entities that manage the prescription benefit for your insurance company (examples are Medco, Caremark, Express Scripts).  All of your demographic and insurance information must be correctly entered into the system.  This processing information changes periodically, so the pharmacy must submit the claim with the updated information.  The prescription must also be submitted in a way that meets the safety and formulary requirements of the insurance company.  So if a drug is not covered, or the insurance does not allow for the amount the doctor has prescribed, changes must be made to the prescription and the reprocessed to the insurance company.  Sometimes these issues require the pharmacy staff to call the PBM or the physician's office to get the issue resolved.  This takes the pharmacy staff away from what you want them to be doing...filling the prescription.

Other factors that slow down the prescription filling process are clinical, such as allergies, drug or disease interactions.  Sometimes medications are not completely appropriate for the patient because a drug interaction exists or the drug prescribed may exacerbate a disease the patient has.  The pharmacy must call the physician's office to resolve these issues as well.

These are the most common reasons that filling the prescription may take a while.    Couple these factors with increasing number of prescriptions that are being written overall and it can become quite a task to provide medications in a reasonable amount of time.  If you or the patient(s) ahead of you have any of these issues with a prescription it can mean longer wait times.   And that is how a 2 minute process turns into a 15 to 30 minute process.

You might be asking, "what can I do to reduce the wait time for myself and the other patients at the pharmacy?"  First, call the pharmacy with all changes in your demographic or insurance information as soon as you are aware of them.  Making a 2 minute phone call can save you several minutes later.  Second, call your refills in ahead of time and let the staff know when you will be picking them up.  Doing so allows the pharmacy staff to prioritize their work.  If your prescription requires extra attention, that attention can be given during non-busy times and will allow the staff to provide faster service to the patients that are waiting in the store.  

Are you getting enough fiber?

Have you ever asked yourself, "what is fiber and why do I need it so much of it?"  Fiber is the part of plants that the body cannot digest.  There are two types of fiber, soluble and insoluble.  Insoluble fiber cannot be dissolved in water.  Soluble fiber dissolves in water to form a gel-like substance.  Insoluble fiber is found in wheat bran, nuts, and many vegetables. Insoluble fiber is especially important for helping keep your digestive system "regular".  Soluble fiber is common in oat bran, citrus fruits, and apples.

One of the most common recommendations I make for patients is to increase the amount of fiber that they take.  A person should ingest 25 to 30 grams of fiber each day.  There are a few main health benefits of increasing fiber intake:

First, fiber helps keep the intestines and colon functioning properly.  Insoluble fibers create bulk in the stool and help to pass food and waste through the digestive tract.  Fiber is also known as a prebiotic, which means it is food for the good bacteria in the intestines.  Feeding this good bacteria is also beneficial for the intestines and colon.

Second, fiber is beneficial for reducing cholesterol.  Soluble fibers found in oats, beans or in fiber supplements like psyllium, can help to reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol.  

Third, dietary fiber also helps slow the absorption of foods, particularly glucose, which may be helpful in reducing blood glucose in people with diabetes.  Fiber also helps you feel more full, helping you eat less.  Eating less can also help reduce blood glucose and aid in weight loss.

As you can see, fiber is very important for everyone's diet.  If you have questions about fiber or fiber supplements ask one of the pharmacists at Wheelock Pharmacy.  We carry a variety of fiber products that can help you. Keep your body healthy and increase your fiber intake today.  

What's My Copay?

So how do pharmacies know what to charge each patient when they come to get their prescriptions filled?  Well, despite the comments I've heard patients make over the years, the co-pay is not dependent on whether the pharmacist has a vacation coming up or if the pharmacist forgot his lunch and needs lunch money.  The truth is, the pharmacy doesn't know what the co-pay will be until the claim is processed to a Pharmacy Benefits Manager (PBM).

A PBM is a company hired by the insurance company to manage and administer the prescription benefits for your insurance company.  Some examples of PBMs are Express Scripts, Medco, and CVSCaremark.  The pharmacy submits the prescription information to the PBM and then receives an authorization or a rejection.  When the claim is authorized, the amount of the co-payment is sent electronically to the pharmacy and is printed on the receipt.  The co-pay generally will be the same at every pharmacy that accepts your insurance. Occasionally, if you have an insurance that pays a flat percentage of your prescription cost, there may be a small difference from pharmacy to pharmacy, as the amount submitted by the pharmacy to insurance may be slightly different.

If you ever have discrepancies regarding the amount of your co-pay, it is best to contact your insurance company.  Your co-pay amount is determined by what is loaded into the PBM's computer database by your insurance company.  The pharmacy has no ability whatsoever to change an insurance co-pay, and it is not legal for the pharmacy to discount prescription co-pays.

Information on Vitamin D

Vitamin D plays an important role in the body.  It is needed for the absorption of calcium. Vitamin D produced in the skin and then converted in the liver and kidneys to its active form.  Vitamin D deficiency can cause health problems such as muscle weakness, fractures, falls (in the elderly), and rickets.

Sun exposure is a natural trigger for Vitamin D production in the body.  In colder climates where people do not get much sun exposure, Vitamin D supplementation may be necessary.  Patients taking corticosteroids should also consider vitamin D supplementation.

The current recommendations for vitamin D according to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) is 600 to 800 IU per day (1.).  Higher doses of vitamin D are used for treating known deficiencies.   According to the IOM report the upper limit for supplementation is 4000 IU per day.

Vitamin D is found in foods such as fish and dairy products.  Wheelock Pharmacy carries a variety of vitamin D supplements available in multiple vitamin preparations, vitamin D tablets or capsules, and liquids.  Mention this blog post before December 27, 2011 and you will receive 15% off any vitamin D supplement purchase.



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1. Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Dietary reference intakes for calcium and vitamin D. November 2010. www.iom.edu/vitaminD

Being Prepared at the Pharmacy

Have you ever had to wait 15 minutes or longer at the pharmacy?  Chances are you probably have no matter what pharmacy you have visited.  One of the ways you can avoid waiting in line at the pharmacy is by being prepared in a couple of areas.

First, call in refills ahead of time, 3 to 5 days before you run out of medication.  This allows you to pick up your medications when it is convenient for you.  It will also help ensure that you will not run out of medication.  Sometimes the pharmacy may run out of a medication.  Calling in refills in advance will give the pharmacy time to reorder your medication if necessary.  If your pharmacy offers pre-filling of maintenance medications, try to take advantage of that program.  This allows the pharmacy to fill orders during non-busy times, so you don't have to wait.

Another advantage of calling your refills in early is in case of insurance issues.  Insurance plans may change what is covered at least once or twice per year.  If for some reason a claim for one of your medications is rejected, it will be less stressful at the pharmacy if you are not completely out of medication.  This will allow the pharmacy time to call your physician and possibly get the medication switched to one that is covered.

The second way you can help being prepared at the pharmacy is by informing the pharmacy of any changes in your name, address, phone number, or insurance coverage as soon as you are aware of the changes.  Many times these changes can slow the filling process and cause you and other customers to wait unnecessarily.  

Welcome to Wheelock Pharmacy

Thank you for visiting the new Wheelock Pharmacy blog.  This blog will provide health and drug related information, as well as information that will be helpful at the pharmacy.  Look for updated posts on this blog each week.

Wheelock Pharmacy is an independently owned two store chain in Adrian, MI.  Wheelock Pharmacy has been serving the area for over 65 years.  We provide pharmacy services as well as durable medical equipment and sleep systems.

We look forward to this blog as being yet another way that Wheelock Pharmacy is "helping you feel better".