What is a safe home remedy for severe night sweats and hot flashes? I am burning up.

There are enough alternatives that you should be able to tailor something that will work for you. Keep your bedroom cool. Exercise regularly: Research shows that active women have less trouble with hot flashes. Herb products such as Pycnogenol (pine bark extract), Remifemin (black cohosh extract) or St. John’s wort (hypericum extract) may help (Menopause, February).

I take atenolol for high blood pressure. I would like to take something to help me lose weight, and I have seen that I can buy Meridia online.

I read that it should not be taken if you have high blood pressure. Since I take atenolol, my blood pressure is under control. Does that mean it would be safe for me to take this weight-loss pill?

Meridia (sibutramine) is a prescription diet pill. It should be taken only under careful medical supervision, as there are a number of potentially serious side effects and drug interactions to watch out for.

Although there are websites that offer to sell Meridia without a prescription, this is a dangerous plan. Sites that sell controlled substances without requiring bona fide prescriptions might have few scruples about selling counterfeit drugs.

The Food and Drug Administration notified doctors in November that it is evaluating whether Meridia puts patients at higher risk for heart attacks and strokes. Your doctor will know if your blood pressure is controlled enough for this risk.

*** Joe Graedon is a pharmacologist, and Teresa Graedonis an expert in medical anthropology and nutrition. ***

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