#it is sometimes caused by undiagnosed heart disease

[kghospital]

Not long ago, heart attacks were primarily a problem faced by the elderly. Heart attacks are rare in people under the age of 40. Now 1 in 5 heart attack patients are under the age of 40. Many people in their 30s and 40s are at increased risk of life-threatening heart disease and sudden heart attacks. It is important to understand the cause of heart attacks in young adults. When sudden death occurs in adolescents and young adults, it is sometimes caused by undiagnosed heart disease, such as genetic heart disease. An undiagnosed heart problem can cause sudden death in a young person during physical exertion. However, sometimes sudden cardiac death can occur without exertion. Coronavirus, now the leading cause of heart problems, can directly affect and damage the muscle tissue of the heart, as can other viral infections, including some strains of influenza. The heart can be damaged and indirectly inflamed by the reaction of the body's own immune system. Dr.Nitthiyan MD, DNB Interventional Cardiologist, KG Hospital, Coimbatore, explains heart attack at a young age: how to avoid it, common risk factors, how coronavirus causes heart problems, and how to prevent it.

[lucygraysboy]

“thank you, doll. both you and my ma are to blame for that.” for who he is today. “yeah, ‘cause we take playwriting classes together and there’s only eighteen people in our group so it’s impossible to avoid blair the grinch. but i guess that’s life, right? you sometimes have to spend time with people you don’t particularly like.” comes an honest answer, followed by a sweet smile and a shrug. it’s no big deal. “alright, glad we’ve got that settled early on and that we agree on three,” he laughs, melting into a puddle the longer he dwells on the possibility of a future like that — just them and their babies. “do we want them to be close in age?” they’ve had this conversation before, countless times while playing house, but he can’t help himself. it’s his favorite thing in the world. daydreaming with her. “hey, no… froot loops are my friends. they don’t rot my insides. if they’re so bad, why don’t they hurt my belly, huh?” huffing as he turns into a froot loops’ defense attorney, billy picks up the familiar red box again and turns it over to scan the list of ingredients. “mmm, maltodextrin! don’t know what it is, but it sounds absolutely delicious,” he muses, sarcasm heavy in his voice, pale blue eyes widening the longer they linger on the small text on the side. “red 40, yellow 5 and 6, blue 1. it’s a wonder i don’t glow in the dark.” which could be a possible side effect of having this radioactive mix for breakfast almost every single day. “but look, here it says, vitamins and minerals.” he points his finger to the bolded letters, brows furrowing in confusion. how can it have both?

“and didn’t god also create froot loops?” he inquires seriously, struggling to keep his composure when lucy gray goes on a rant about god’s creations and fake food, it takes him back in time to when he was just a little boy and she’d lecture him like this at least once a day. his heart soaring sky-high, ocean hues brimming with nothing but sheer admiration, he even finds himself nodding absently in agreement. she’s so cute when she’s all worked up like this. “well, yeah, but also back in the day, a lot of diseases went undiagnosed due to the lack of resources. not enough doctors with proper training. if you were infertile, it was god’s will. if you had cancer, it probably went undiagnosed until it was too late. and i don’t think they even knew what adhd or autism were. they labeled those people as crazy, put them in institutions and went on with their lives.” he wouldn’t be himself if he simply agreed with her. he has to try and rile her up, coax another rant out of her. 

“i don’t think i’ve ever had organic froot loops.” thinking out loud, he finds himself nodding along to her little lecture. after all, there are things that even he can’t argue with. he inspects the box that she’s holding, doesn’t spot any strange ingredients and figures he’ll have to remember to only buy this kind in the future. “cocaine and bad food equal each other? does that mean we’re skippin’ mcdonald’s tomorrow and findin’ ourselves a local dealer instead?” he teases with a laugh, loving how passionate she is about eating healthy, impressed by how much she knows on the subject. “the blue one,” he repeats, but this time doesn’t argue, couldn’t when she’s smiling at him so sweetly. he simply puts the jar of jif’s peanut butter back on the shelf and reaches for the one called richard’s. 100% peanuts. sounds promising, he thinks, handing it to lucy gray before pushing the cart farther down the aisle. candy. he’ll make sure to find organic gummy bears so she doesn’t take them away. “i mean, since you want to have my babies, guess i need to make sure they don’t grow up fatherless and crippled,” he deadpans, struggling to remain serious for a second longer. “you’re the cutest, pajarita. you know that, right? an actual angel.” even when she tells him to save the pie for tomorrow. “hey, what’s that? did i spot a paparazzo?” laughing when she pulls out her phone and takes a picture of him, he makes sure to beam at the camera. it’s followed by a series of goofy faces, his tongue out, eyes crossed, beanie pulled halfway down his face, to give her some extra footage. “aww, look at yourself! my new lock screen.” and he does just that, sets the photo of lucy gray with the biggest smile on her lips, hands forming a heart, as his brand new lock screen, then shows it to her, seeking approval.

“well, i am proud you are that guy.” she replies honestly, not afraid to admit that part. “you have to spend more time with them?” lucy gray wonders, after catching how he said that part. “that works too.” the brunette amusingly smiles, she wouldn’t mind that either. “i don’t care if they’re delicious, they’re rotting your insides. especially if your eatin’ them everyday.” she shook her head, she was very big on eating from the earth and growing her own things. when she couldn’t eat her own garden in the winter or at inconvenient times like now, she always tried to eat whatever is the healthiest at the store.

“god didn’t give us wholesome foods to fill our bodies with fake food. yes it does affect our bodies. what we eat is important. does a flower blossom and grow if you feed it bad stuff? it don’t, right? it doesn’t flourish at all. our bodies work the same way. food dyes and the same ingredients they put in bleach does affect our health and future children— why do you think things like cancer, infertility, adhd and autism were lower back in the old days? oh, cause there wasn’t all this processed food dye crap.” her brow perks, giving him a knowingly look.

“besides that…organic food is tastier anyway.” so she doesn’t see what the big deal is. she takes this box of cereal he chooses and stands up in the cart to throw it back on the shelf, getting down the organic version of froot loops. switching the back over. “colored pretty with natural things AND made with real sugar. and with a total of eight ingredients opposed to that box…” the kelloggs she points at, “that has like FIFTY ingredients just for cereal. mmhm.” smiling triumphantly, sitting back down and placing the organic cereal in their cart. “oh, cocaine and bad food probably equal each other.” cocaine probably is safer at this point. grinning at the kiss beneath her eye, her heart picking up every time he comes close to her like that, hands that placed on his cheeks slip away when he pulls back to grab peanut butter.

“no…not that one darlin’. go with the natural one, that’s called richards. in the blue jar.” she sweetly smiles, at least he’s trying. she appreciates that. “oh, but when you listen to me about eatin’ healthy— you’ll have the strength of hulk to build one hundred bird feeders. you can get pie, but save it for tomorrow.” so his system doesn’t overload on so much sugar in one sitting. when he takes a picture of her, lucy gray smiles for it and holds a heart shaped sign up. once it snaps, she gets the idea to get the other point of view for her instagram and camera roll so she takes out her phone and turns it on her camera app to get a picture of him rolling the cart like a mom.

[bmcmedical]

Is Sleep Apnea Reversible With Weight Loss (How To Do That)

Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing and shallow breaths during sleep. This results in poor sleep quality and daytime fatigue. Fortunately, there are effective treatments available, and for some people, significant weight loss can reverse their sleep apnea entirely. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll look at the connection between weight loss and sleep apnea reversal.

To start, let’s review what exactly sleep apnea is, why it matters, and how weight factors into the condition.

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea occurs when a person's airway becomes blocked during sleep, causing breathing to repeatedly stop and start. There are two main types of sleep apnea:

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) - The more common form, caused by airway blockage when the soft tissue at the back of the throat collapses during sleep.

Central sleep apnea - Occurs when the brain fails to properly signal the muscles that control breathing.

People with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly throughout the night, often for a minute or longer and sometimes hundreds of times per night. This disrupts the sleep cycle, depriving the body of oxygen and resulting in:

Excessive daytime sleepiness

Morning headaches

Difficulty concentrating

Irritability

Depression

Increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, obesity, and diabetes

Estimates suggest over 22 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea. Unfortunately, as many as 80% of cases go undiagnosed.

The importance of addressing sleep apnea comes down to improving symptoms of daytime fatigue and irritability while reducing long-term health consequences and risks.

There are several effective medical treatment options for sleep apnea which will be covered later in this article. However, an intriguing area of research suggests that weight loss alone could reverse sleep apnea in some obese patients.

How Might Weight Loss Reverse Sleep Apnea?

Multiple studies have shown a correlation between obesity and sleep apnea. It's estimated that over half of those with moderate to severe sleep apnea are obese.

Carrying excess weight, especially around the neck and throat region, can narrow the airway and contribute to airway collapse during sleep. Even a 10% weight loss has been shown to widen the airway and reduce obstructions that block breathing at night.

Losing weight when you have sleep apnea is beneficial for several reasons:

Reduces fat deposits around the neck that constrict the airway.

Decreases inflammation caused by obesity that narrows airways.

Improves sleep quality, giving you more energy to exercise and shed pounds.

Boosts oxygen levels, making weight loss and daily activities easier.

Resolves other obesity-related conditions like high blood pressure.

Let's look closely at the types of sleep apnea and their main causes to understand the role obesity plays.

Understanding Sleep Apnea: Types and Causes

The two main types of sleep apnea work slightly differently but both share a strong link to being overweight.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Causes

Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the muscles supporting the soft tissues in the throat relax during sleep, causing the airway to narrow or collapse. Common causes include:

Excess weight - Fat deposits around the neck that obstruct breathing. A large belly can also impede lung expansion.

Large tonsils/adenoids - Enlarged tissues block airflow.

Structural abnormalities - Facial bone structure, enlarged tongue, or uvula that crowds the airway.

Smoking and alcohol - Relaxes throat muscles, exacerbating obstructions.

Central Sleep Apnea Causes

Central sleep apnea is less common and involves the brain's impaired ability to regulate breathing. Contributing factors include:

Heart disorders - Heart failure can cause fluid buildup in the lungs making breathing difficult.

Stroke - Stroke damages areas of the brain affecting breathing signals.

High altitude - Low oxygen levels impair breathing signals from the brain.

Obesity - While less direct, excess weight stresses the cardiovascular system.

As you can see, poor breathing mechanisms are primarily to blame for both types of sleep apnea. However, excess weight clearly exacerbates airway obstructions and can indirectly tax the cardiovascular system.

This explains why weight loss is commonly recommended as an early intervention for sleep apnea, often before trying more invasive treatments. Even losing just 10-15 pounds can open up the airway and provide a major benefit.

Sleep Apnea Symptoms

Being aware of the signs and symptoms is key to getting diagnosed and treated for sleep apnea sooner. Symptoms may include:

Loud, irregular snoring - A major warning sign caused by air turbulence in the restricted airway.

Gasping or choking during sleep - The body reacts to apneic events and hypoxia.

Restless sleep and frequent waking - The body rouses itself during breathing disturbances.

Morning headaches - Caused by oxygen deprivation and sleep fragmentation.

Daytime grogginess - Lack of restorative deeper sleep stages leads to fatigue.

Irritability and mood swings - Due to poor sleep quality and drowsiness.

Difficulty concentrating - Sleep deprivation impairs focus, memory, and thinking.

Frequent urination at night - The kidneys release hormones to regulate oxygen and CO2 levels.

If you experience clusters of these symptoms, especially loud snoring, it's advisable to discuss sleep apnea screening with your doctor.

Now that we've reviewed the basics of sleep apnea and its link to being overweight, let's analyze the research on weight loss providing a reversal of this condition for some patients.

The Relationship Between Weight Loss and Sleep Apnea Reversal

Numerous studies have explored and demonstrated the effectiveness of weight loss for reducing the severity of sleep apnea, and in some cases reversing it entirely through significant weight loss.

Here is an overview of key research on this strategy:

A 2017 analysis of 12 studies found that weight loss led to a decrease in AHI (apnea-hypopnea index) score and oxygen desaturation. These are two important metrics used to assess sleep apnea severity.

A 2011 clinical trial took severely obese patients (BMI >40) with severe OSA who lost 20% of their body weight through diet and exercise. Their AHI scores dropped from a median of 16.2 events/hour at baseline to a median of just 2.2 events/hour after sustained weight loss.

A 2009 study followed bariatric surgery patients who lost an average of 70 pounds. They reduced their AHI by 31 events per hour on average and 62% no longer met the criteria for OSA diagnosis after weight loss.

A 2013 study found that obese patients with OSA who lost just 5-10% of body weight reduced their AHI score by 20 events per hour and significantly improved oxygen blood saturation during sleep.

These and other studies confirm that losing excess body weight, especially around the neck, throat, and abdomen areas, can reduce the frequency of apneic events during sleep and improve respiratory function.

For those overweight individuals where obesity is a main driver of their sleep apnea, substantial weight loss may provide a long-term cure and eliminate the need for ongoing CPAP or other treatments.

How Does Excess Weight Contribute to Sleep Apnea?

To understand how losing pounds can reverse sleep apnea symptoms, let's look at how carrying excess weight negatively impacts breathing during sleep.

Here are three of the main ways obesity contributes to airway collapse and apnea events:

Fat deposits around the neck constrict the airway - Fat accumulation around the neck forms bulky tissues that protrude into the throat and physically narrow breathing passages, especially when throat muscles relax during sleep. Even slim people can have excess throat fat that encroaches on the airway.

Obesity promotes inflammation - Adipose fat cells secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines that damage tissues, including those around the breathing passages. This swelling narrows the airways.

Weight stresses respiratory function - A large belly makes it harder for the diaphragm and lungs to fully expand and contract during breathing. Carrying extra pounds also increases oxygen needs.

As you can see, addressing excess weight directly reduces anatomical and inflammatory factors that promote airway collapse during sleep. This is why substantial weight loss can reverse sleep apnea in people with obesity-related OSA.

How Much Weight Loss is Needed to Treat Sleep Apnea?

Studies show a direct correlation between the amount of weight loss and a reduction in sleep apnea severity. In general, more weight loss equals greater improvements but even losing 10-15 pounds can have a noticeable impact.

Here are some general weight loss guidelines based on research:

Losing 10% body weight - Improves AHI score by 50% on average based on multiple studies.

15% weight loss - Reduces the number of apneic events by about 40%.

20% weight loss - Shown to nearly resolve OSA entirely in obese patients as in the 2011 study above.

Based on these benchmarks, an effective Weight Loss Strategies for Sleep Apnea Patients

Losing weight is challenging for anyone, and people with sleep apnea face the added hurdle of extreme fatigue and low energy. However, several strategies can help you successfully shed excess pounds to treat sleep apnea:

Focus on dietary changes - Reduce calories by filling up on fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, and healthy fats. Avoid added sugars and trans fats.

Increase daily activity - Start slow and work up to 30-60 minutes of moderate exercise like walking 4-5 days a week.

Incorporate strength training - Building muscle boosts metabolism to burn more calories. Shoot for 2-3 strength sessions per week.

Consider weight loss medication - Medications like Phentermine or Qsymia combined with lifestyle changes can aid weight loss. Consult your doctor.

Try intermittent fasting - Restricting eating to set hours like 8 am-6 pm helps reduce calorie intake.

Get support - Having an accountability partner, sleep specialist or registered dietitian helps you stay motivated.

Focus on sleep hygiene - Sticking to a schedule, limiting screens before bed, and creating a restful sleep environment will give you the energy to keep losing weight.

Join a program - Structured programs like Weight Watchers provide guidance, resources, and community support.

Limit alcohol - Alcohol is high in empty calories and disrupts sleep, sabotaging weight loss efforts.

Stay patient and consistent - Losing 1-2 pounds per week in a healthy, sustainable way leads to better long-term results.

Making dietary changes should be the foundation of any weight loss approach for sleep apnea. Combining this with some added activity, following an intermittent fasting protocol, or joining a structured program can help the pounds come off safely and effectively.

Other Treatment Options for Sleep Apnea

If you have mild to moderate OSA, focusing on weight loss first makes sense. However, for more severe cases, other treatment options should be considered concurrently and not delayed. Common medical treatments include:

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)

CPAP is the most effective and common treatment for moderate and severe sleep apnea. It uses a bedside machine and face mask to deliver constant airflow that keeps airways open during sleep. It can immediately resolve apnea events and daytime fatigue. Weight loss can sometimes allow patients to lower CPAP settings or stop use altogether if they lose enough weight.

Oral Appliances

Custom-made oral devices are an option for mild OSA cases or when CPAP machine is not tolerated. These appliances hold the lower jaw and tongue slightly forward to open up the airway. They are less consistently effective than CPAP but work for some patients. Weight loss and oral appliances can be used together.

Surgery

For those with an anatomical obstruction like enlarged tonsils, deviated septum, or small lower jaw, surgery may be recommended to remove or correct these issues enlarging the air passage. Weight loss after surgery helps prevent the recurrence of obstructions.

Other conservative treatments like positional therapy to avoid sleeping on your back or certain medications have also been used as adjunct treatments to help manage mild OSA.

The bottom line is that CPAP and oral appliances provide the fastest relief of apnea symptoms. However, for obese patients, combining these with ongoing weight management provides long-term resolution of the root issue.

Putting It All Together: Takeaways for Reversing Sleep Apnea Through Weight Loss

Let's review the key points:

Sleep apnea is correlated strongly with obesity - Excess weight promotes airway collapse and breathing disturbances during sleep. Even modest weight loss can open up airways.

Research confirms weight loss reduces sleep apnea severity - Notably, those who lost 20% or more of body weight saw the greatest improvements in sleep study results.

Dietary changes combined with added activity/exercise - This is the healthiest approach for sustainable weight loss over months and years.

Conventional medical treatments - CPAP, oral appliances, and surgery help manage sleep apnea faster as you work on losing weight.

Gradual, moderate weight loss is best - Aim to lose 10% of body weight as an initial goal which can significantly decrease the severity of sleep apnea. Even small amounts of weight loss improve symptoms.

Consistency and patience are key - Steady, modest weight loss each week leads to optimal long-term results.

Seek support and sleep hygiene - Getting help from professionals and prioritizing healthy sleep makes weight loss more feasible.

While not a cure-all, intentional weight management paired with standard medical therapies provides the best odds of reversing sleep apnea or putting it into remission for obese patients. As always, it’s critical to work with your physicians throughout the process.

Conclusion

Sleep apnea is a highly treatable condition with various effective options available based on severity. For overweight and obese individuals, targeted weight loss should be part of the treatment plan whenever possible.

Research clearly demonstrates that even losing a modest amount of excess weight can reduce apneic events, improve oxygenation at night, enhance sleep quality, and ultimately reverse sleep apnea in many cases.

While it requires commitment and perseverance, incorporating healthy dietary strategies, activity, sleep hygiene, and ongoing medical care can set you on the path to potentially resolving your sleep apnea through weight loss and a healthier lifestyle.

[manipalhospital1]

Hypertension: How To Avoid, Treatments, Effects On Other Organs - Manipal Hospitals

Hypertension, most often known as high blood pressure, is sometimes undiagnosed until it results in a considerable amount of damage to the arteries. This is the reason it is also termed a silent killer. Hypertension is the condition when blood pressure remains consistently higher than 140 mm Hg over 90 mm Hg. Around 15 million people in India suffer from hypertension. Hypertension can be controlled with medication and lifestyle modifications.

Heart disease, stroke, renal disease, and other significant health issues may occur due to hypertension. Hence, this blog will implicate the understanding of the basic aspects of managing hypertension to prevent any further health risks.

Effects of Hypertension on Other Organs

According to the top general physician in Vijayawada, persistent high blood pressure destroys the blood vessels and leads to the build-up of LDL (bad) cholesterol along arterial wall tears. This causes the arteries to constrict and makes the circulatory system work harder while performing less effectively. Hence, having high blood pressure increases the chance of getting serious illnesses that could endanger an individual's life.

How Hypertension affect the Heart

Our heart needs blood since it is a muscle. Individuals may experience an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), chest discomfort (angina), and a heart attack when its supply channels are not appropriate. The heart has to pump more forcefully in order to move blood through congested or tight arteries. An overworked heart can enlarge beyond what is normal. The heart's muscle loses strength and its ability to pump blood efficiently. It may result in a heart attack or heart failure. If someone already has cardiac issues, their chances of heart failure are higher. Read the blog hypertension-induced heart diseases to gain detailed knowledge.

How Hypertension Affects the Brain

Hypertension is the major risk factor for stroke. A brain artery that ruptures, leaks, or becomes blocked might prevent blood from reaching brain cells. Individuals may experience issues with language, vision, movement, or everything else that the brain regulates, depending on whatever area of the brain loses blood and what happens to it. If the blood supply is restored or if the cells die, the harm might only be transient. Also, decreased blood flow to the brain can impair the ability to remember and think effectively, which may lead to vascular dementia.

How Hypertension Affects the Kidneys

The prevalence of kidney disease among those with hypertension is quite high. Kidneys are supported by a network of minuscule blood vessels to receive oxygen and nutrients and filter waste from the body. Kidneys cannot function properly when the vessels become blocked. Blood pressure is regulated in part by healthy kidneys, so when they are compromised, blood pressure may rise, which may lead to more kidney problems.

How Hypertension Affects the Eyes

Persistent hypertension can restrict blood flow and harm the eyes' tiny blood vessels. The retina, a specific area of the eye where images are focused, may get clogged with fluid. These factors may cause issues such as blurry, distorted, or missing vision. Also, if the optic nerve does not receive enough blood, an individual could lose their sight.

How Hypertension Affects the Bones

Hypertension may lead to bone loss or osteoporosis.

How Hypertension Affects the Sexual Organs

Hypertension results in decreased blood flow

[parulsevashramhospital]

What Is Heart Failure? Let’s Understand!

When the heart becomes unable to pump sufficient blood and oxygen to support the body's other organs, heart failure results. Although heart failure is a serious ailment, the heart is still beating when it occurs. Heart failure is not a death sentence, despite the fact that it can be a serious disease, and treatment is more effective than ever.

As a result, congestive heart failure may occur, which causes blood and fluid to back up into the lungs and prevents various body areas from receiving enough oxygen-rich blood to function normally. The signs of heart failure are caused by these issues.

The heart muscle weakens or loses its capacity to pump regularly as heart failure develops. The Ejection Fraction (EF), which ranges between 57% and 70% normally, tells us how the heart is contracting. You start having heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction (EF 40%) if your heart isn't "squeezing" well enough to supply enough blood to your body. You have heart failure with intact ejection fraction (EF > 50%) if the heart cannot "relax" to fill with adequate blood in between contractions. Cardiomyopathy, or "heart muscle disease," is the term used frequently to describe the weakening and destruction of the heart muscle.

It is essential for people facing these symptoms to check with the best heart hospital in Vadodara or elsewhere in India to get an early diagnosis and improve their heart function, lessen the symptoms, and prolong their lifespan. 

Causes-

Most frequently, other illnesses like atherosclerosis or Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), heart attacks, high blood pressure, issues with the heart valves, heredity, and alcohol or drug addiction are what cause heart failure. Sometimes the harm happens for no apparent reason. Idiopathic cardiomyopathy, which means "no recognised cause," is what this condition is known for, and many people with it discover that heart failure runs in their family. 

Heart Failure Risk Factors- 

Undiagnosed or untreated medical issues raise a person's lifelong chance of developing heart failure. These conditions include:

Heart attacks and coronary artery disease, the most prevalent kind of heart disease

Elevated blood pressure

Diabetes/Obesity

Chronic Stress 

Bad habits can also raise your risk of developing heart failure, particularly if you already have one of the conditions mentioned above. Unhealthy habits consist of:

Tobacco use or smoking

Using illicit substances, such as methamphetamines, or drinking too much alcohol

Consuming foods that are heavy in salt, cholesterol, and fat

Sedentary lifestyle

Treating Heart Failure- 

Lifestyle modifications: Making changes to one's lifestyle can help manage heart failure symptoms. This includes following a low-sodium diet, exercising regularly, curbing smoking, restricting alcohol intake, and managing stress.

Medications: There are several types of medications used to treat heart failure, including ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, diuretics, and aldosterone antagonists. These medications help to reduce blood pressure, decrease fluid retention, and improve heart function. 

Implantable devices: In some cases, doctors may recommend implantable devices such as pacemakers or implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) to help regulate the heart's rhythm and improve its function.

Surgery: In certain situations, surgery may be recommended to treat heart failure. Procedures, including coronary artery bypass surgery or heart valve repair or replacement, can help improve heart function and reduce symptoms.

Heart transplant: For severe cases of heart failure where other treatments have been unsuccessful, a heart transplant may be necessary.

The bottom line is that it's significant to work in close moderation with a healthcare professional in order to develop a customised treatment plan that meets specific needs and helps manage the condition effectively. With the right treatment approach and ongoing care, it is possible to live with heart failure and maintain a good quality of life. 

In case you can’t afford expensive heart treatment, you can check with Parul Sevashram Hospital, as they ensure unbiased treatment to everyone since they’re an MAA card hospital too. 

Check them out now! They’re also known to be the most efficient and the best multispeciality hospital in Vadodara and the whole of India. 

[pccstwale]

Kids Heart Disease | Pediatric Cardiology Consultants of South Texas

Many people probably think of heart disease and heart attacks as ailments of the elderly. We believe they are the result of years of sedentary living, smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, or diabetes.

However, the heartbreaking reality is that heart issues and heart attacks can strike anyone, at any age, including kids and teens who appear to be in good health.

Heart problems can sometimes go unnoticed until they cause problems. We’ve all heard heartbreaking stories about young athletes dying from an undiagnosed heart condition in their prime. These can sometimes be fatal. For example, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the “most common cause of death in young athletes.”

Heart Failure In Young

The American Heart Association says that “sometimes the heart of a child may not function normally. The term ‘heart failure’ refers to a heart that isn’t working properly. It does not imply that the heart has stopped working, but rather that it is not working as well as it should.”

Here is the list of some possible symptoms of heart disease experienced by children:

Trouble breathing

Poor feeding or growth

Excessive sweating

Low blood pressure

Heart Disease in the United States

In the United States, heart disease is still the leading cause of death. Doctors are also noticing an increase in the number of teenagers being diagnosed with high blood pressure and high cholesterol, both of which are known risk factors for heart disease. That’s why it’s critical for everyone to understand the risk factors for heart attacks and heart disease, another risk factor for heart disease is not getting enough sleep.

According to Dr. Olabiyi san Antonio “Over the past 10 years, the amount of sleep has decreased significantly. Only about one/third of them regularly get more than seven hours of sleep, with older teens sleeping less than younger ones — which, given that the recommended amount is eight to 10 hours, is a serious concern .”

Pediatric Cardiology Center of San Antonio

As a pediatric cardiologist in San Antonio, Dr. Olawale Olabiyi is well-equipped to handle the most basic to the most complex heart issues, beginning with a general cardiac exam and progressing to coordinating with other fields of medicine, such as cardiac surgery, infectious disease, and molecular genetics, to successfully manage your child’s cardiac problem.

He advises that even if a child has no risk factors for cardiac disease, an annual workup is always recommended to rule out any hidden or asymptomatic conditions that may affect a child’s growth and well being in the future.

We provide comprehensive pediatric cardiology care at the Pediatric Cardiology Consultants of South Texas (PCCST). an NGO based in Atlanta, Georgia dedicated to improving and providing comprehensive pediatric cardiac care in West Africa. He established the first pediatric cardiology telemedicine clinic between West African and American pediatric cardiologists.

[silverlab101]

Extra Copd Resources

Therefore, treating tobacco use and dependence must be thought to be a major and particular intervention. Smoking ought to be routinely evaluated whenever a affected person presents to a healthcare facility and all smokers must be supplied one of the best chance to treat this disorder. COPD runs an insidious course, measured over years, with an usually undiagnosed preliminary part.

This is the quantity of air you can breathe out of the lungs in the first second of a forced expiration. It takes extra energy to breathe when you have COPD, so you may need to soak up more energy. But if you’re obese, your lungs and heart might have to work tougher. Limit caffeinated beverages as a result of they'll interfere with drugs. If you've heart problems, you could must drink less, so talk to your doctor. The long-acting bronchodilator can relax the airway muscle to assist the airways stay wider.

Inhaled corticosteroids are sometimes utilized in mixture with LABAs and LAMAs to decrease inflammation. A mixture of ICS and LABA has been proven to be more helpful than both of the drugs when used alone. Physicians and patients should respiratory disease treatment pay attention to an increased danger of growing pneumonia when handled with an ICS. Oral glucocorticoids usually are not indicated for long-term use and can have a number of unwanted effects.

Both are extra probably if you breathe secondhand smoke, or are exposed to chemicals or other fumes within the office. In bronchial asthma, the airway obstruction is reversible with inhaled medicines, however in COPD it's mostly fixed. The most common signs of COPD are breathlessness or a necessity for air, sputum manufacturing and a continual cough. Based on the area, the worldwide COPD treatment market segmentation is into Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. According to a persistent obstructive pulmonary disease treatment trade analysis, North America accounted for the biggest revenue share of the worldwide market in 2021.

COPD can lead to symptoms similar to; fatigue and shortness of breath . Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease can be used to describe a person with emphysema, persistent bronchitis, or a combination of the two. Infections are among the most typical causes of acute higher respiratory tract disease and occur most frequently through the fall and winter. Young children respiratory disease treatment might have as a lot as ten respiratory tract infections in a yr. Infections are usually triggered by respiratory viruses or, not often, micro organism. This can additionally be the explanation why antibiotics – which only work against micro organism – are often ineffective in treating acute upper respiratory tract infections and at worst can even be harmful.

Together, COPD and asthma ranked fourth in expenditures by situation, following heart conditions, trauma-related issues, and mental problems. Using the 2000 census inhabitants, this translates to an annual cost of almost $120 per individual respiratory disease treatment residing within the United States. It is projected that these prices will increase by 90% by the year 2020 . Antibiotics are an essential part of COPD treatment when infectious exacerbations occur, but are not recommended for long-term use.

Other life-style adjustments might embrace removing lung irritants from the house and workplace, in addition to learning how to save vitality throughout day by day activities. The patient may also have jerky actions because of buildup of carbon dioxide within the blood. It is not but understood what the function of air air pollution is in inflicting COPD. But working round giant amounts of assorted chemical fumes, similar to welding fumes, or numerous dusts, corresponding to mineral mud, might put you at higher greater threat of growing COPD. Protection from flu differs from all different vaccine-preventable diseases in that the organism changes from year-to-year, and due to this fact so should the vaccine .

[dentistburpengary]

Why Should You Visit Dentist Caboolture?

You may believe that dental checkups consist solely of having your teeth polished, but your dentist does much more than that when you visit. Regular dental checkups are crucial because they enable your dentist to:

 Find cavities early on. Your dentist examines your teeth to detect cavities at an early stage. Cavities are less expensive to treat the earlier they are detected. You may believe that a dentist only works on your teeth, but other aspects of dental health should be considered. Regular dental visits can allow the dentist to detect issues that could develop into more significant problems in the future. For instance, if your dentist sees a small cavity or notices that your gums are unhealthy, you can receive treatment immediately. Many people experience plaque buildup and gum diseases that go undiagnosed because they failed to see a specialist promptly. A dentist Caboolture can also perform screenings for oral cancer and other serious illnesses.

 Examine your dental hygiene. Your dentist and hygienist can assist you in developing and maintaining healthy dental hygiene practices. There are a large number of individuals who are uninformed about proper dental hygiene practices. The majority of individuals brush their teeth daily but never floss. It may not seem significant, but it can lead to larger problems in the long run. As simple as brushing your teeth after meals and flossing at least once a day, you can combat bacteria in your mouth and promote overall dental health. If you require a more customized dental hygiene regimen, you may wish to maintain regular dental checkups so that professionals from dentist Caboolture can monitor your oral health.

 Protect Your Teeth. Sometimes a tooth becomes so severely decayed and rotten that it must be extracted. You only have one set of permanent adult teeth, so losing any permanently can be detrimental to your oral health. When you lose teeth, various things may occur in your mouth, such as teeth shifting on their own. It may cause discomfort and drastically alter your smile. Because it prevents something irreversible, saving your teeth is an advantage of regular dental visits to dentist Caboolture.

 Protect your health in general. Gum disease has been linked by research to heart disease and diabetes. There are issues related to your dental health that you may not have even considered, such as sleep disturbances or headaches caused by teeth grinding. Targeting and treating these issues is another advantage of routine dental visits to dentist Caboolture. Even if the dentist cannot solve the problem, they can refer you to the proper specialist.

 Eliminate bad breath. Chronic bad breath is not the result of morning breath or onion consumption. A condition known as halitosis can result from persistently poor oral hygiene practices. It is not something to ignore or attempt to resolve on your own. Ensure you visit the dentist to determine the exact cause of the odor and how to eliminate it. Occasionally, it may be a medical condition that requires immediate attention.

 Have a pleasant smile. It may appear to be one of the superficial benefits of regular dental visits, but it has more profound advantages. Everyone would probably agree that a friendly smile would be desirable. Well, regular dental visits to dentist Caboolture can help achieve this goal. Regular cleanings and adherence to the dentist's recommendations for dental care are necessary for attaining pearly whites. It may result from orthodontic treatment or dental surgery. Regardless of the situation, a dental professional can guide you in the right direction to improve your smile and boost your self-esteem.

[lupinepublishers]

Lupine publishers|COVID-19-Stress Increases Risk of Addiction Development and Relapse

COVID-19-Stress Increases Risk of Addiction Development and Relapse

Abstract COVID-19 nowadays has a devastating effect on almost every aspect of human life. Alongside the COVID-19 pandemia, other maladaptive behaviors develop and affect human life, such as substance abuse. Stress will cause adverse effects both behaviorally and immunologically. These adverse effects will make individuals susceptible to addiction development. Social isolation makes the present situation worse. Keywords: COVID-19; Addiction; Relapse; Stress and Immune system

Introduction Abusing drugs is sometimes is considered as the palliative strategy for the reduction of stress. Stress is a well-known risk factor for the development of addiction. Several animal and human studies have been well documented that stress increases maladaptive behavior [1]. Several studies strongly suggest cognitive function will be greatly impressed by stress [2]. Cognitive dysfunction may predispose individuals for example to develop conspiracy beliefs that will greatly increase the pre-existing stress [3]. In this sense, different factors affect individual beliefs and this makes the scenario more complicated. Social isolation would be a common policy to withdraw the individual from a complicated society [4]. This behavior will be more developed when considering that although COVID-19 infection in some patients is mild however in other people may express as a dangerous disease with symptoms resembling Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome [SARS] and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [MERS]. In severe cases, this disease is more than a common cold and manifest as heart, and respiratory failure, acute respiratory syndrome, or even death [5]. Besides cognitive reduction in a stress state, the immune system is also greatly influenced by stress. Recent studies suggest immune system dysfunction will impose on people the development of addiction and also exacerbation of pre-existing addiction [6]. Certain immune cells in the brain such as astrocytes and microglia cells will be activated in the brain and result in the alternation of the brain environment. The alternation of the brain chemical environment especially in the sensitive brain region such as the prefrontal cortex will disturb decision-making that is very necessary for controlling drug addiction [7]. It is well known that orbit frontal cortex controls and potentiates some behaviors that individuals to better combat against unwanted situations. Also, another important fact is the dysregulation of the immune system by other infection will affect the normal brain function that would, in turn, causes emergence of maladaptive behavior such as depression by individuals that will make people susceptible to addiction [8].On the other hand, the treatment of COVID-19 mandates some necessary rules. Based on the treatment guidelines, COVID-19 patients need to be treated in isolated hospitals. Perhaps due to uneducated knowledge about this disease, some people will not accept social isolation and will tend to remain undiagnosed. Undiagnosed patients will be greatly suffering from stressful conditions and will be uncontrollably wanted to suppress the stress may be by abusing drugs to get more resilience [9]. Coping strategies will play an important role in more tolerating the stressful condition and will not exacerbate preexisting addiction [10]. Maybe some addicts can not reveal the addiction and in these individuals, the addiction treatment along with COVID-19 infection will be more complicated. So it would be reasonable to think to have more insight about the disease and avoiding social isolation, which will be of great importance for addiction control in this COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusion Based on above, it is reasonable to avoid social isolation. Also, suppression of inflammation and strengthening the immune system in different ways such as vitamins, anti-inflammation agents, and other immune potentiating agents will help people to control the side-effects of stress. Conflict of Interest The authors declare no potential issue the may be considered a conflict of interest.

For more information about Scholarly Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences archive page click on below link

https://lupinepublishers.com/psychology-behavioral-science-journal/archive.php

For more information about lupine publishers click on below link

https://lupinepublishers.com/index.php

[mrjat396]

NEWS IN BRIEF

ECONOMICS

EDUCATION

ENVIRONMENT

SOCIAL JUSTICE

FEATURES & INVESTIGATIONS

IDEAS

AUDIO

ABOUT

IMPACT

CONTACT

PITCHING

CAREERS

PARTNERSHIPS

TERMS OF USE

PLATFORM PRIVACY

PRIVACY SETTINGS

HOME

SOCIAL JUSTICE

THE MANY HEALTH BENEFITS OF METH

In low, pharmaceutical-grade doses, methamphetamine may actually repair and protect the brain in certain circumstances. But stigma against the drug could be harming patients and holding back research.

TROY FARAHMAY 15, 2019

D-methamphetamine is what generally appears on the street—although it's often cut with other chemicals—whereas l-meth provides a less addictive, shorter-lived high that is less desirable among drug users.

(Photo: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images)

Ask your doctor about methamphetamine. It's not a phrase you'll ever hear on TV or the radio, but here's a secret: Meth is an incredible medicine. Even the Drug Enforcement Administration admits it, and doctors are known to prescribe it for narcolepsy, obesity, and ADHD. Historically, meth has been used to reverse barbiturate overdoses and even raise blood pressure during surgery. Some preliminary research suggests that meth can be neuroprotective against stroke and traumatic brain injury, even stimulating the growth of brain cells.

Yet we're constantly warned never to try meth—"not even once," goes the refrain—or it will instantly cause addiction and ruin your life. Before fentanyl was the demon drug du jour, meth was seen as the worst, most destructive, most evil chemical you could find on the streets. Even of late, if you ask the New York Times or NBC, you'll learn that meth, "the forgotten killer," is back with a "vengeance." Other outlets, from Rolling Stone to CNN to The Daily Beast, have raised the alarm about meth use in the context of the opioid overdose crisis.

Stimulant-related deaths are indeed on the rise in North America—in some regions, meth is even more prevalent than heroin. Surveying drug overdoses in America from 1979 through 2016, researchers wrote in Science in September of 2018 that "Methamphetamine deaths have increased most dramatically in the western and southwestern United States."

Meth poisonings accounted for an estimated 14,845 hospitalizations in 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and another 15,808 emergency room visits. In 2016, around 7,500 people died from overdosing on stimulants, including meth. If you ask most people, including policymakers, you'll hear that meth is a scourge that can do no good.

But if you've ever used something like Vicks VapoInhaler, you've experienced the healing benefits of meth firsthand. That's because the over-the-counter nasal decongestant contains levomethamphetamine, the levorotary form—or "mirror image"—of the same stuff from Breaking Bad. Procter & Gamble tries to obscure this fact by spelling the active ingredient "levmetamfetamine." Selegiline, a drug for treating Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, also metabolizes into levomethamphetamine.

There is a significant difference between these two opposing molecules. D-methamphetamine is what generally appears on the street—although it's often cut with other chemicals—whereas l-meth provides a less addictive, shorter-lived high that is less desirable among drug users. But people can and do use it recreationally. Abuse is rare, however, in part because the high is shitty, but also because d-meth is so widely available. It's easier to buy a more powerful form of the drug on the street than it is to try to extract it from over-the-counter medications.

Other Americans are prescribed actual, pure meth by their doctors. It happens less frequently these days, but in ADHD, obesity, or narcolepsy cases where nothing else has worked, a drug called Desoxyn (methamphetamine hydrochloride) can sometimes help. It can even be prescribed to children as young as seven.

It's important to make these distinctions. Meth didn't make a "comeback"; it never left. It can't return with a "vengeance" and it can't be "evil" because we're talking about a chemical compound here. It has no personality, no feelings, no intentions.

Thus it does a disservice to science and to medicine, as well as to the people who use these drugs responsibly, to treat a molecule with dualistic properties purely as a poison. And as recent research has shown, we're still uncovering some of the potential therapeutic benefits of methamphetamine. Confronting the stigma associated with meth and highlighting its benefits can better inform drug policy and addiction treatment.

(Photo: HO/Royal Thai Navy/AFP/Getty Images)

'IT'S JUST A STIMULANT, LIKE ANY OTHER STIMULANT'

For Jordan*, the meth he's prescribed works better against his ADHD with fewer side effects than the Adderall he'd been on for 20 years. About five years ago, Jordan asked his doctor if he could try methamphetamine. The doc said sure.

"The first time I brought it to the pharmacy, the pharmacist actually said to me, 'Oh, your doctor wrote this prescription wrong, this is the stuff that they make in meth labs,'" Jordan tells me by phone. "I told him to type 'Desoxyn' into the computer, and he did. He kind of backtracked, [but] he obviously had no idea."

Jordan, a middle-aged man from North Carolina who works in clinical research, now switches every three months between Adderall and Desoxyn to prevent building a tolerance to either stimulant.

Methamphetamine and amphetamine (one of the active ingredients in Adderall) are almost identical chemicals. The main difference between the two is the addition of a second methyl group to methamphetamine's chemical structure. This addition makes meth more lipid-soluble, allowing for easier access across the blood-brain barrier. Meth is therefore not only more potent, but also longer-lasting.

"The medications have definitely been important for me, to be productive, to be successful, not just at work but also in my personal life," Jordan says. "I've been on the medications for years, but I can take Adderall or methamphetamine and take a nap afterwards. I don't have any noticeable side effects."

Jordan also doesn't feel "high" from the doses he takes—approximately 10 to 15 milligrams of meth per day. Doses at this level are well tolerated by most people. It's very difficult to estimate the typical dosages of illicit meth taken on the street, but they are generally many times higher and taken every couple of hours. Further, the route of administration—typically, users smoke or inject illicit meth—allows for more of the drug to enter the bloodstream than taking a prescription pill.

At high doses, meth gives a rush of euphoria, boosting attention span, zapping fatigue, and decreasing appetite. Intense sexual arousal, talkativeness, and rapid thought patterns are also common. Body temperature and heart rate shoot up, which can cause irregular heartbeat, increasing the risk of seizures. If taken repeatedly over long periods, street meth can be highly neurotoxic, inducing paranoia and psychosis.

But illicit meth is also often used to self-medicate, according to Mark Willenbring, an addiction psychiatrist from St. Paul, Minnesota, with over 30 years of practice treating substance-use disorders. In Willenbring's experience, most of his patients who use illegal meth are treating undiagnosed ADHD.

"There's a high degree of comorbidity between substance-use disorders and ADD," Willenbring says. "They used meth for years in a controlled way, they never over-used it, they just used enough to get an effect, and then they stopped. One misconception is that it's always very addictive."

With most people who are addicted to meth, Willenbring says, you can't tell it just by looking at them. Carl Hart, a neuroscientist in Columbia University's Department of Psychology, agrees that the image of a snarling meth addict with bad teeth is a false stereotype. The dental damage so prevalent in anti-drug propaganda, he says, is more likely due to poor nutrition and lack of sleep—not to the drug. "There is no empirical evidence to support the claim that methamphetamine causes physical deformities," Hart wrote in a 2014 co-authored report.

"It's just a stimulant, like any other stimulant," Willenbring says. "It's a marketing issue."

Part of the reason Jordan asked to try Desoxyn in the first place was to see if he'd develop any of the "stereotypical meth addict problems," as he puts it. He hasn't.

"Those of us that know the reality have a responsibility to say, 'Hey, not that shooting up meth isn't bad, but the chemical itself isn't bad,'" Jordan says. "It's just misuse of the chemical that's bad."

For Joan*, a 66-year-old grandmother living off the grid in northern Georgia, Desoxyn makes her feel normal. "Not high, not hyped up, just normal," she tells me. She's been taking prescription meth since 2006, but first tried many other ADHD meds, such as Ritalin and Concerta, with poor results. But Desoxyn has not only helped her socialize, manage bills, and finish her master's degree in social work; it's also helped with Joan's depression and self-esteem.

"The only downside is the cost," she says. "It's one of the oldest drugs on the market, but even generic, it is outrageously expensive."

Still, meth isn't for everyone, of course. Kevin*, a 31-year-old artist from the Midwest, was first prescribed Desoxyn at age 15 to treat extreme fatigue and trouble focusing. But misdiagnosed mental-health issues—his doctors thought he had bipolar disorder, when in fact he had post-traumatic stress from childhood abuse—led to worsening symptoms.

"Being able to just take a bunch of pills that made the exhaustion go away for a while felt like a blessing, but it was just a Band-Aid on the problem," Kevin says. "I became completely dependent upon Desoxyn to function, and any lapse in taking my dose would result in a terrible energy crash."

"In retrospect, my neurologist at the time would have done well to consider the effects of intense stimulants on someone already prone to mania, insomnia, and hallucinations," he says. "I think Desoxyn has its merits as part of a treatment plan for attentive disorders, but that's the thing—it needs to be part of a larger understanding of how and why it might have a negative impact upon the patient's overall health, and should remain closely monitored throughout."

"Stigma is the lens [through] which we see all drug issues. It keeps us from making the best decisions. It is fear-based, not rational, not creative. Because of stigma, we have not fully addressed the opioid crisis."

(Photo: Guillermo Arias/AFP/Getty Images)

HOW METH CAN TREAT BRAIN INJURY��AND MUCH MORE

Street doses of meth can be extremely damaging to your health. The purity of such drugs is often unknown, and repeated, high doses of meth have been proven to be neurotoxic. But in low, pharmaceutical-grade doses, meth may actually repair and protect the brain in certain circumstances.

This was first discovered in 2008, when researchers at Queen's Medical Center Neuroscience Institute in Honolulu, Hawaii, analyzed five years of data on traumatic head injuries. They unexpectedly found that patients who tested positive for methamphetamine were significantly less likely to die from the injuries. The authors suggested that meth could have neuroprotective benefits.

To learn more, in 2011, a different team from the University of Montana applied meth to slices of rat brain that had been damaged to resemble the brains of stroke victims. Then they induced strokes in living rats, using a method called embolic MCAO, and injected them with methamphetamine. At low doses, the meth gave better behavioral outcomes and even reduced brain-cell death. At high doses, the meth made outcomes worse.

Because meth stimulates the flow of important neurotransmitters—dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine—the Montana researchers theorized that methamphetamine may provide neuroprotection through multiple pathways. David Poulsen, one of the researchers involved, says this was a "serendipitous discovery."

"So we decided, well, if it worked in stroke, it's probably going to work really well in traumatic brain injury," says Poulsen, now a neurosurgeon at the University of Buffalo who specializes in treatments for protecting the brain after severe damage.

Traumatic brain injury, or TBI, occurs after a violent smash to the skull. Its consequences include concussions on the mild end and coma or death on the severe end. TBI kills around 50,000 Americans annually, according to the CDC, while about 2.8 million of us visit the emergency room for TBI-related injuries every year. There is currently no Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment for TBI.

So, Paulson and his team reasoned, if meth can already be prescribed for children, why not to adults with TBI?

To test the proposition, Poulsen and colleagues gave TBI to rats. Giving an animal brain trauma isn't easy, but for more than two decades, there's been a trick called the rat lateral fluid percussion injury model: Simply cut a hole in the skull of a rat and apply water pressure to the brain.

About half the rodents—19 male Wistar rats—were��given this treatment, and eight of these were then given meth. The rats given meth performed better at a task called the Morris water maze, a widely used experiment that involves plopping a rat into a pool of water with a hidden platform. By tracking how long it takes the rodent to find the platform, scientists can measure many different aspects of cognitive function.

"By the third day of training, there were no statistically significant differences between the uninjured control rats and the injured rats that had been treated with methamphetamine," Poulsen and his colleagues wrote.

But the team also found that low doses of meth were protecting immature neurons, while also promoting the birth of new brain cells that are important for learning and memory. The same was also true for rats that were given meth, but not injured.

"We see not just little, but very significant improvements in cognition and behavior," Poulsen says. "Their memories improved, functional behavior is improved.... It's not a trivial difference."

"In light of the fact that low-dose methamphetamine is FDA-approved for use in juveniles and adults, we see no valid reason why it cannot be utilized in human clinical trials for stroke and TBI," Poulsen and colleagues concluded in 2016.

But those clinical trials, considered the gold standard for testing medication, have yet to materialize, even while a 2018 retrospective study found similar results to the Hawaiian neuroscience report: Out of 304 patients with TBI, those who also tested positive for meth had better recovery results than those who did not. "The potential neuroprotective role of meth and other similar substances cannot be ignored," the authors wrote in Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery last July.

There are limited conclusions that we can draw about these rodent and retrospective studies, and it's probably unlikely that nurses will soon start giving meth to people who have cracked their skulls. Still, a wide variety of stimulant therapies for TBI is being explored, with positive results. These include trials with modafinil, a narcolepsy drug; amantadine, a Parkinson's drug; and dextroamphetamine, one of the components of Adderall. But there's still no indication of a single clinical trial for methamphetamine for TBI registered with the National Institutes of Health.

Methylphenidate, also known as Ritalin, seems to be the stimulant most popular in these trials. For example, in 2004, researchers at Drucker Brain Injury Center at MossRehab Hospital in Pennsylvania gave methylphenidate, better known as Ritalin, to 34 patients with moderate to severe TBI. They reported significant improvements in information processing and attention.

Twelve years later, in Gothenburg, Sweden, another 30 patients suffering from prolonged fatigue following TBI were given methylphenidate and observed for six months. They also showed improved cognitive function and reduced fatigue. But a 2016 meta-analysis of 10 controlled trials found the main benefit of giving methylphenidate for TBI was increased attention, "whereas no notable benefit was observed in the facilitation of memory or processing speed," the authors wrote. They encouraged more research into appropriate dosages and length of prescription.

Birgitta Johansson, a neuroscientist at the University of Gothenburg and lead author of the Swedish study, suggests caution whenever treating someone with a brain injury. "With methylphenidate, it is important to be aware about possible side effects, [such] as increased blood pressure and heart rate and also risk of anxiety," she says. "It is always very important to prescribe medication with care and follow the patient carefully."

But the reason meth isn't studied more rigorously—for TBI, for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, for stroke—could also come down to money. Methamphetamine is off-patent, meaning there may be less financial incentive for pharmaceutical companies to explore the drug's potential uses. Consider Vyvanse, a drug first marketed in 2007, with a new formulation introduced in 2017, that racked up $2.1 billion in sales in 2017. Desoxyn, which is sold by three companies, only earned about $9.3 million in 2009.

While Methamphetamine may not be widely recognized as medicine, it clearly has potential to heal as well as harm. Recognizing the duality of meth is arguably all the more essential in the face of a rising stimulant overdose crisis.

"Stigma regarding any substance use or substance use disorder is counterproductive," says Dan Ciccarone, professor of family medicine at the University of California–San Francisco. He says the overdose crisis is shifting from opioids to stimulants and that we are not prepared for the next wave. "Stigma is the lens [through] which we see all drug issues. It keeps us from making the best decisions. It is fear-based, not rational, not creative. Because of stigma, we have not fully addressed the opioid crisis."

That stigma remains a major hurdle, and until doctors and public-health officials counteract this kind of messaging, it seems unlikely that a multinational pharmaceutical company would risk marketing a substance only believed to be toxic and deadly.

"Everything will kill you, if you take enough of it," Poulsen says. "Some things don't require a lot to do that. Meth is one of those things. But just like any drug, the difference between a poison and a cure is the dose."

*These names have been changed.

TAGSALZHEIMER'SADDERALLTRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIESFEATURES & INVESTIGATIONSMETHAMPHETAMINEMETHTOPIC: HEALTH CARE

BY TROY FARAH

Troy Farah is an independent journalist and photographer in California. His reporting on science, health, and narcotics has appeared in Wired, Ars Technica, Smithsonian, Discover, Vice, and elsewhere. He co-hosts the drug policy podcast Narcotica. 

ENVIRONMENT

STARRY, STARRY SKIES

California desert town takes back the night, wins rare "Dark Sky" award

SOCIAL JUSTICE

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF PAID PARENTAL LEAVE IN AMERICA?

The U.S. has a rough track record with how it treats new parents, but there are reasons to believe that this could soon be a thing of the past.

NEWS IN BRIEF

THESE MAPS SHOW WHAT GRAHAM-CASSIDY WOULD MEAN FOR YOUR STATE

A new report concludes that the Graham-Cassidy proposal would reduce federal funding to states by $215 billion by 2026.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

THE FAULT IN OUR STAR NAMES

The International Astronomical Union has established a committee to finalize a list of official star names. Some companies offer unofficial naming rights for purchase. But the voices of certain communities are often left behind.

ENVIRONMENT

HOW MUCH CAN DIETARY CHANGES AND FOOD PRODUCTION PRACTICES HELP MITIGATE CLIMATE CHANGE?

Food policy experts weigh in on the possibilities of individual diet choices and sustainable production methods.

UNSEEN AMERICA

LAS MANOS JÓVENES QUE NOS ALIMENTAN

Se calcula que 524,000 niños trabajan inimaginables largas horas en los agotadores campos agrícolas de Estados Unidos, y todo es perfectamente legal.

About

Impact

Contact

Pitching

Careers

Partnerships

Terms of Use

Platform Privacy

© 2021 Grist

[wutbju]

So there’s no copy of Berger’s dissertation easily available. 

But . . . he does love to talk about it is faux-expertise, so guess what? We can pretty much see what he said.

Local “biblical” “counselor,” Rick Thomas featured Berger’s new expertise on his site. Here are 20 “facts” to know about ADHD from BJU-trained Doctorate in Pastoral Theology (not chemistry, not pharmacology, not psychology) (bolded words are mine and are either ironic or abusive):

The first official label in 1902 was “a morbid defect in moral control” (MDMC), since childlike behavior was socially viewed as a moral issue and not as a medical problem. Words like “bad” are not used to describe a child’s behavior now. Instead, terms like “maladaptive” are the more popular description of a child’s poor and impairing behavior.

ADHD is best described as a subjective social construct that describes 18 undesirable-impairing-normal-childish behaviors and attempts to frame them as a disorder subjectively.

Every behavior listed in the DSM-5 begins with the word “often” to ensure that even the “symptoms” (the 18 behaviors) of ADHD are subjective and based on a person’s opinion. The acceptance of ADHD by many as objective, though it is entirely subjective, works by psychiatrists propagation of a logical fallacy. The American Psychiatric Association has convinced millions that they are experts on alleged abnormalities (such as ADHD) without ever establishing a standard of normalcy.

Not only is the DSM-5 construct subjective, but there is also no valid or reliable means to measure or diagnose a subjective social construct such as ADHD is. Only a person’s personal judgment based upon their observation or another’s testimony is required. When someone says that they “have ADHD,” they are merely stating that they behave in such a way that causes them or their authorities distress. ADHD equals behavior.

Since ADHD is subjective and entirely fluid, it is regularly impossible to win or lose an argument about ADHD. Making matters worse, people label many children under the subcategory of ADHD entitled as “Not Otherwise Specified (NOS),” which determines that children do not even need to meet the subjective listed criteria in the DSM-5 for a diagnosis of ADHD. Children need to be misbehaving in a way that a clinician feels it impairs or distresses the child or his family. This subjectivity regularly leads to clinicians overlooking authentic objective problems that the child may have.

Not all of the 18 behaviors listed as supposed symptoms of ADHD are moral in nature. Some actions, such as “often forgets things of importance,” are normal childlike (and adult-like) amoral behaviors. Others, such as “often gets out of his seat when expected to remain seated” is direct disobedience and not hyperactivity as it is listed in the DSM-5. Because ADHD is subjective, some kids who are diagnosed as having the construct are not sleeping well at night, whereas others are rebellious at heart. It is not fair, therefore, to make blanket statements about the spiritual condition of all children who have been stigmatized with the ADHD label or suggest that ADHD is just a parenting problem. In some cases, that is true, but in other cases—because ADHD is so subjective—a child could have a physical sickness that has been undiagnosed (e.g., ASD).

ADHD does not describe an inability to pay attention; the construct describes a problem of misplaced or immature interest/values. The child labeled can play video games for hours at a time without losing focus. The problem is not an inability to pay attention, but rather, it is a problem of misplaced attention. Attention is naturally a reflection of a person’s values/desires.

The construct of ADHD assumes that healthy children have self-control rather than needing to be taught self-control and trained by the Holy Spirit. The default position of all children is to be like a city without walls that is open to destruction. Only by learning self-control can a child be successful.

Hyperactivity is another name for high energy, which exposes another subjective aspect of the syndrome: “normal” energy levels do not exist from which to suggest a standard let alone to discern alleged deviances. When a person becomes a parent, individuals view his high energy as an asset not as a determinant like when he was a child. Who doesn’t want higher levels of energy? The most successful people in professional sports, in academia, and commerce are often the most energetic. High energy is only viewed as a disorder or impairment when it disrupts an academic setting, causes distress, or hinders success. But such is the result of a lack of self-control and not a problem of high energy.

Unlike the construct of ADHD, when a child has a genuine physical impairment that hinders giving attention (e.g., ASD), he does not selectively offer attention (e.g., the child labeled as ADHD can memorize lines from his favorite movies but not math formulas). In ASD, attentional problems can be observed in all aspects of life and not just those that are not of interest to the child.

ADHD depends on the perspective that “normal children” inherently offer their attention to their authority in a productive way and that children naturally know how and to what to give their attention. These vital lessons are not inherent to the child, and a cursory overview of the book of Proverbs reveals that teaching a child how to pay attention correctly and to what to give his attention are priority number one for the parent/sage.

Research/statistics regularly reveal that many children who are labeled and stigmatized as having ADHD struggle with dyslexia, reading comprehension, are enduring familial problems at home (e.g., divorce, neglect, and abuse), and are sometimes autistic (they have a misdiagnosis of ADHD). They act out further because they are misunderstood, hurting, stigmatized with a psychiatric label that categorizes them as abnormal, and have lost motivation thinking that no hope exists for them.

If ADHD were a valid physical disease with biological markers and an objective etiology, the child could grow out of it according to the DSM-5. The construct of ADHD is listed as a “neurodevelopmental disorder” in the DSM-5, which means that children are merely developing slower than their peers. This type of child was once called a “late-bloomer,” but now late-bloomers are looked at as disordered or degenerated children. If children are late bloomers, they can and will mature with loving direction and the learning of self-control. Through repetition and maturity in desires and pursuits, a child’s brain will conform to the patterns of thinking and behaving he or an authority establishes in his life. When you view a child as normal, this process is called education. When a child is considered disordered, abnormal, or neurologically damaged, this same process is called neuroplasticity. The answer is the same.

Performance enhancing drugs (psychostimulants; e.g., Ritalin and Adderall) that are framed as medicines do not fix an alleged malfunction or balance out neurochemicals. Instead, these powerfully addictive drugs attack the nervous system to produce their effects. Behavioral changes due to the impact of powerful psychostimulants do not prove that ADHD is a valid construct; The results reveal that the drug action of psychostimulants is to stimulate and thus to enhance performance. This reality is why psychostimulants are forbidden in most competitive sports.

Whether labeled or not, taking psychostimulants will enhance a person’s academic and athletic performance, which is why they are one of the most widely abused prescription drugs in America and regularly referred to as “Kiddie Cocaine.”

Psychostimulants regularly cause insomnia, which is known to atrophy the prefrontal lobes and cause attentional problems. Sadly, the child’s alleged problem that these drugs are marketed to correct is to heal the prefrontal lobes where ADHD is supposed to one day be found. The evidence shows, however, that a large portion of children started on psychostimulants end up addicted to the prescribed drugs’ illicit counterparts (e.g., cocaine and meth) later in life. There is also mounting evidence that keeping children on an artificial high produced by psychostimulants causes them to be diagnosed as depressed, psychotic, and manic later in life. These drugs are not healing agents but neurodegenerative drugs. One must ask why a neurodegenerative drug that blocks the healthy function of the nervous system is being given to children who allegedly have a neurodevelopmental problem.

No medical degree, knowledge of biology, or classes in neuroscience are required to diagnose ADHD, as it is a matter of recognizing behavior according to the APA’s standard rather than discovering a disease. This fact exists because there is no physical cause to the construct of ADHD; “No biological marker is diagnostic for ADHD” (DSM-5, 61). Parents, school counselors, behavioral therapists, and teachers—those without medical degrees—typically diagnose ADHD within social contexts, exposing ADHD to be a social construct and not a valid biological disorder. Teachers usually diagnose ADHD according to the child’s behavior (often on a behavioral scale and according to their perspective) and regularly initiate encouraging parents to have their children checked out.

More than not, children labeled as ADHD will become defiant toward their authority and labeled as having ODD. This kind of person is precisely the pattern of the biblical fool that Proverbs warns. When the simpleton becomes a natural fool, he is headed toward becoming a scorner. Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) does not describe a disease, but the natural digression of a child being told he only has to listen to himself and is not responsible for his actions.

Many of the behaviors listed as alleged symptoms in the secular construct of ADHD are in Proverbs as being ordinary foolishness. Scripture understands that poor behavior is the expected activity of the natural fool: “Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly” (Proverbs 26:11). According to Scripture, fools should be expected to repeat their bad behavior.

To deny the secular construct of ADHD as legitimate is not to deny that a child has behavioral problems. Instead, it is to reject the secular attempt to reframe human nature apart from God’s wisdom, and in the process, it is to establish God’s Word as the proper authority and provide hope for these precious children and their families. Proverbs 20:11 exposes that all approaches to a child’s behavior require a presuppositional moral system: “Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.” People have the freedom to choose which authority to place their faith in discerning children’s behavior. Nonetheless, everyone is judging or diagnosing children by a moral system that evaluates their behavior. ADHD represents the most popular secular moral system currently available.

The summary of Berger’s dissertation, then, is this: I, an untrained person, don’t understand the chemistry or neurology or psychology behind the ADHD diagnosis; therefore, it doesn’t exist. But Proverbs does.

And like a good BJU-trained “pastor,” Berger ends with a sales pitch:

For more information on the construct of ADHD and to see supporting evidence, please purchase my book, The Truth about ADHD, and you may chat with me here.

That’s BJU in a nutshell: Cast stones at something you don’t understand, tout your faux-expertise, and sell your wares. 

Is there any difference among BJU, Scientology, or the latest MLM?

[smartwatchadviser]

How Apple Watch Useful for Teenagers?

Looking for Best Apple Watch for Teenagers & wondering how it is useful for a Teenager? Ever felt like you need someone, to tell you to do your things when it needs to be done? That someone who is always there as your care-taker.

Someone who keeps a check on your activities, your health and fitness, your social and family life; someone who will never fail to take care of your heart even if you don’t. What if that someone could be your watch?

Seeing into the things that an Apple Watch is capable of, without doubt, you could say that it will be your best friend. If you are a lost teenager who wishes to get your life organized by focusing on things that matter to you; that will make your life better, this is for you.

Here are 11 reasons why an Apple Watch is useful for a teenager in both their everyday life and college life.

11 Reasons Why an Apple Watch is Useful for a Teenager

1. Convenience

Our lives have turned out in a way that now convenience is all that matters. We prefer things that make our lives easy and which meets our expectation of convenient deliverance. This is one of the main reasons why you should consider switching your ordinary watch to an apple watch. Because this one watch doesn’t just tell you the time, but does everything that you might have done in your iPhone. And the best part is, it saves you from digging your bag or pocket to take out your phone; you simply have to turn your wrist, the screen lights up, and you get what you are looking for right away.

An apple watch is the right thing for you if you want to spend time away from your phone, but the calls and messages that you are going to miss worry you. Because with this on your wrist, you will never miss an important call or message, even if you are not near your phone.

It allows you to make short conversations on call, or send a text message without having to reach out for your phone. This basic phone and messaging feature lends you the freedom to not carry around your phone everywhere you go.

It is best applicable to college students, who might be restricted to carry a phone around the campus, or even if they are allowed, they can avoid staring all the time into their phones, and spend some quality time with their friends; because they have their mini phone tied to their wrists.

The feature that appeared to be most convenient for me is the Apple Pay; you can buy anything you want easily and securely by just turning your wrist and double-tapping the side button. Using the message app, you can easily send or receive money from your watch.

2. Your Fitness Partner

Here comes the most amazing feature of the apple watch. As teenagers, we all wish to be fitness freaks, and sometimes it just seems to be a faraway dream. But with an apple watch on your wrist, you carry around the whole fitness package.

Whether you are moving, standing, or exercising, it tracks all your daily activities. With the activity ring running all day, you can’t keep yourself from being motivated to lead an active life, especially when you get rewarded for achieving your goals.

So if you are going to college, get on that cycle lying useless in your backyard or just walk down the beautiful roads instead of taking a ride. Make a workout plan in the morning or evening, or go swimming; the waterproof watch will keep a track of all your favorite kinds of workouts, and keep you updated every time. Say ‘yes’ to an active life, and your apple watch will help you all the way through this journey.

3. Your Heart Matters

When I say that your watch is more concerned about your heart, than you ever will be, it cannot be denied. Many of us ignore the signs of our heart when it shows irregular functions- a higher or lower heart rate, or irregular heart rhythms. This can occur as a consequence of a serious heart condition. But many of us take it lightly and fail to diagnose the symptoms that could get worse if goes undiagnosed.

This is why you need your apple watch that has the Heart Rate app, which will notify you whenever it senses any irregularities in your heart rate. This will help you to take immediate action and consult the doctor at the right time. It is important that we take care of our heart from a young age itself to avoid problems in the future.

4. A Watch that Watches Over You

This single watch takes care of you like no one else. Have you ever had a great fall while skating, or running down the steps, and couldn’t get yourself help, and you feel that helplessness all over your body cause there is no one around you to grab your hand.

Once you shake hands with your apple watch, you will never have to face such a situation. The fall detector in the watch immediately detects when you fall from somewhere, and connects you to emergency services, if there is no response from you in the next one minute. This can be useful in any situation when you need emergency help; all you need to do is press and hold the side button.

So if you are walking back from college alone and sense danger in your way, there is no need to worry; you have your bodyguard watching over you from your wrist.

5. Wishes You a Good Night’s Sleep

Sleep is an important factor in everyone’s life. But if you are a teenager you should take extra care about it. Since the amount of sleep your body gets affects your physical and mental health in various ways, it’s necessary to keep a track of your sleeping time. Irregular sleep patterns may lead you to develop lifestyle diseases and decrease your mental awakening.

Your apple watch comes to your aid in this matter and helps you track your sleeping time. Along with tracking, it also works with your iPhone to create an organized sleeping schedule for you. With the help of your apple watch and iPhone, you can easily follow a healthy bedtime routine, and wake up everyday refreshed and energized.

6. Makes You More Health-Conscious

As the Covid-19 pandemic hit the whole world, and changed our lives drastically, washing our hands have turned out to be a necessity more than a routine. In a time like this, we must wash our hands in the right manner, taking the right time. The apple watch senses when you are washing, and it encourages you to wash your hands for 20 seconds at least. From the moment you turn on the pipe and start washing, the countdown starts on your watch.

Many teenage girls find it difficult to keep a track of their menstrual cycles. Marking it on the calendar is no use if you are going to forget about it anyway. Don’t worry! Your watch will take care of it and track your menstrual cycle most conveniently. It even tells you when you are near a loud noise that could be harmful for your ears. It makes you more health-conscious and helps you to practice mindfulness.

7. Watch that Knows You Well

The Apple Watch Series 6 has introduced two amazing features that help you to be more aware of your body functions. The revolutionary sensor and app in the watch measures your blood oxygen levels, which shows where you are on your wellness level.

You can get your ECG anytime, anywhere with just a few clicks on your apple watch. The ECG app in the Apple Watch Series 6 can generate an ECG which is similar to a single-lead electrocardiogram. The data provided can keep you updated about the health of your heart and warn you when you need to consult your doctor.

8. Stay Connected

The things you love and the people you admire are just one tap away from you. Now, you don’t have to rely on your phone to text, make a call, or listen to your favorite songs. When you can do this all on your watch, you can purposefully decide to leave your phone behind. With Apple Music, you steam about 70 million songs in your watch and take it with you everywhere you go.

To get a better connection with your family members, you can get them an apple watch even if they don’t have an iPhone. You can simply pair the watch with your iPhone, give it to a family member, and stay in touch with them. It also lets you share watch faces with your friends and family.

9. Go with the Trend

In your college life, your looks matter more than your grades. To have a super cool impression among your peers, you have to remain at the top of new trends and styles that sets you apart. With the wide range of watch bands available, you can change your look with every occasion and every season. There are a variety of stylish and cool bands that will go with every outfit on your wardrobe. Get yourself a watch that is smart and trendy at the same time- get yourself an apple watch.

10. It Lets You Take Control

With this simple watch on your wrist, you can control everything connected to it. You can activate Siri and ask her to perform various tasks; whether it is to find directions or know which song is playing, you can get it all done by just turning your wrist and asking.

This is your one remote control for everything; you can control the music in your phone, make your phone snap a random picture, or control your Apple TV with nothing but a watch on your wrist.

With the watch in your hand, you don’t need to enter a passcode to unlock your Mac; wake your computer just being near to it. It is also true that when you have your watch with you, you will never lose your phone. You might have put it somewhere near but couldn’t exactly remember where.

At times like this, all you need to do is to click the Ping the iPhone button and follow the sound it makes during that time. The other way is to touch and hold the button, which will light up the flash of your phone, making it visible for you.

11. Find Your Way

You will never lose your way if you have your apple watch with you. It helps you to navigate your directions better and provides you the best routes to reach a particular destination. Whether you are driving, cycling, or walking, you can rely on your watch to get a simple and convenient route for yourself; whenever it’s time to turn you will get a tap on your wrist.

These are some of the things that makes an Apple Watch useful for a teenager. You can see how it helps you to get better in both your everyday life and college life. It helps you to follow a systematic routine in your life that will keep you both physically and mentally fit. So what’s the wait? Get yourself an Apple Watch from the Apple Watch Series and get started with a better way of living.

So which watch is suitable for you? Find out here.

[cookinguptales]

Today, SCOTUS is hearing arguments about whether businesses should have to cover birth control for their employees in their health insurance plans and I just. It’s hard to read.

I was going to make up this big informational persuasive post about the situation. But I’m just. I’m just so sad and angry and tired. So I figured I’d make an emotional one instead.

Let me tell you about my hormonal birth control journey. 

(Rest under a cut for length and content. cw: mental illness, graphic discussion of medical issues, injuries, & menstruation, discussions of suicide & self-harm, discussion of opioids, alcohol, & recreational drug use.)

 I started taking hormonal birth control late in high school to help regulate “painful periods”. It wasn’t for actual birth control at that point and I hadn’t been diagnosed with any disease, not even POTS yet. I just had “painful periods”.

Things were okay for a little while, but when I got to college, things started to fall apart. The double whammy of undiagnosed mental illness and a barely-diagnosed chronic illness (POTS was relatively unknown at the time and my doctors gave me information which I now know is incorrect) really caused me to spiral during my first year of college. I didn’t know it yet, but I react very poorly to some forms of hormonal birth control. Put succinctly, they drive me batshit insane. On one pill, I literally did not leave my apartment for over a month. I became very literally agoraphobic. Bouncing off the walls, irritable, angry, high suicidal ideation. As bad as side effects can be.

But I didn’t know that yet. I just stopped taking BC as part of the whirlwind of medicines and doctors that my life became for about two years while I was on my (first) medical leave from college.

My ribs were coming out back then. I didn’t know that yet, either. I knew that when I was around 16, I started getting severe back pains. The first time it happened, I had to go to the ER because I couldn’t breathe and my teachers thought I was having a heart attack. I got a narcotic shot in my butt. It did nothing to dull the pain. That’s how much it hurt. But it went away on its own eventually and I over the years I started medicating reoccurrences with a lot of different things. Physical therapy. Muscle relaxers. (Medically prescribed) opiates that made me puke. Prescription strength Advil. Wine.

I didn’t see that it was all connected yet. Not yet. I didn’t realize, with my periods as irregular as they were, that the back pains were coming around the same time in my cycle each time.

My “painful periods” got worse. I talked to an OBGYN, with my mother in the room. I told her that I was scared of something like childbirth. I knew that my blood flow was dangerously bad. What if the fetus didn’t get enough blood? Oh, my doctor laughed, that wasn’t a problem. The fetus would always get enough blood. The risk was that I wouldn’t. That it, like the tiny vampire it was, would take it all until I simply died. If I got pregnant, I would likely die. I asked about permanent sterilization. My mother cried. My doctor said no. I didn’t ask again.

I went back on birth control.

It was odd. I didn’t want children before that visit, not really. I was so tired all the time. I knew I’d never be able to manage to raise a child — and honestly, I didn’t care to try. I was so depressed. I was so sick. It sounded like so much work. I still don’t want to have kids. But it still feels… weird, knowing that I can’t. And knowing that I could die if I get knocked up.

I’m bisexual, but I have zero sexual contact with men (because I don’t love them, despite being somewhat sexually attracted to them) and zero sexual contact with people with penises (because they could literally kill me and it would be no one’s fault). But I’ve been followed home by men before. I’ve had cabbies lock me in and ask me for a date. I’ve had men who won’t take no for an answer. And my god, it terrifies me that I might have to deal with both sexual assault and a slowly creeping murder all at once.

(It’s laughable to think he’d be tried for both.)

I ended up getting sick off birth control a few times. I went on and off it periodically during my college career. I now in retrospect see that a lot of my “meltdowns” were a combination of discrimination-based stress, physical breakdowns, and hormonal whirlwinds. At my worst times, I was on birth control. The wrong ones.

My periods, over time, got worse. My back would hurt. The cramps were unbelievable. I couldn’t feel my legs. I could feel them too much. I couldn’t keep food down. I’d be so angry, so sad, so everything.

I went to the doctor again. I was diagnosed with both endometriosis and PMDD. PMDD, or premenstrual dysphoria disorder, is like PMS on steroids. I remember telling my doctor, in halting tones, that I wasn’t well before my periods. That I always had depression, always had anxiety, but I wasn’t well before periods. At her prodding, I confessed that sometimes I would just lie there for hours, for days, in the fetal position. That I’d clutch at my own arms, mooring myself, because I knew that those white knuckles were the only thing between me and killing myself. That my brain, always somewhat malevolent, became an inescapable mantra of death. That I’d just lie there and sob because it took everything I had not to hurt myself. That I’d find claw marks, bruises, on my arms later, and all I could do was get some ice.

It was better than the alternative.

I told my doctor about how painful my periods had always been. How I’d heard a story once about, y’know, that Spartan boy? The one who hid a fox kit under his shirt during an examination and stayed perfectly silent even as it clawed at him so he wouldn’t be caught with it? How it tore at his stomach until he fell down dead, still silent? I told her how I felt like I was holding a fox kit every damn month and sometimes I couldn’t stand the pain of it. Sometimes I considered ending that pain, one way or another.

She put me back on birth control.

A little less than a year later, or in layman’s terms, about a year ago, my mental health was so bad again that I was almost committed. Literally committed. I had to go stay with my parents for a few months while I transitioned to new medications because it wasn’t safe for me to be alone. I learned that the birth control I was on could create those symptoms — but they didn’t start until months after you’d started taking it. So you didn’t realize it was the medicine. You just assumed you were crazy and unlikable and so, so angry. At the world, at your loved ones, but mostly at yourself.

I learned, around that time, that I also had Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. That the pain I felt every month right before my period wasn’t just cramps. It was my bones coming undone from their sockets. It was my hips dislocating. It was my ribs popping out of my spine. I realized that that lump my parents could feel in my back wasn’t a hard knot of tense muscles. It was my fucking rib poking out of my back. I learned that there is a period right before menstruation that mimics a period during pregnancy where your joints loosen — your body thinks it is preparing you for birth, for loosening your pelvic cavity so an entire head can pass through. For someone with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, that period of joint looseness was enough to wreak absolute havoc on a system of already-weakened joints.

I learned how to put my own ribs back in with a foam roller. I started drinking marijuana tea for the pain. I went on a different birth control. I stopped taking the placebo pills. I had to fully eradicate that entire portion of my cycle. Goodbye PMDD and ribs constantly popping out. I don’t miss you!

I am still on that pill, y’know. Every day I take it and wonder if I’m one step closer to the day when it inevitably destroys me. The last one took about a year. Tick tock.

Or maybe I finally found the one that works… I really just don’t know.

The fact of the matter is that I have a full handful of maladies that require birth control so I can function. PMDD, endometriosis, dangerous pregnancy, EDS. I need hormonal birth control. I would probably be dead by now without it. The PMDD especially was that bad. My internal organs are likely a scarred-up mess. But the birth control itself almost killed me, too. God, it was close.

Simply put, birth control is heaven and hell all wrapped up in a pill. It treats illnesses and it prevents pregnancy. In other words, it provides you with both freedom and peace of mind. It is absolutely essential. But it’s also monstrous. The sheer number of sometimes-deadly side effects that come with hormonal treatments is staggering. Which is why you need to be under a doctor’s careful eye when you’re on it. You need to be free to choose whichever brand you need. You need to be free to switch kinds at a moment’s notice. None of these things are possible in a system where these pills are not fully covered by insurance.

(And yes, I know, this is a stupidly American problem in so many ways. Obviously the ideal thing here would be single-payer for all medical procedures. But that’s not up for debate here and insurance for BC is. Because for some reason we let some people’s religious convictions determine others’ health care. But I digress.)

Please don’t worry too much for me. I have a good employer who has told me in no uncertain terms that I don’t need to worry about my healthcare coverage. But there are so many people just like me. Who may not have diagnoses yet. Who may have “problem bodies”. Who only know that they need to do something and that they might have to go through several pills to find it. Whose employers either have the strong religious belief that hormonal birth control is a sin or the strong religious belief that they want to pay as little as possible for their workers’ health care. (Call me cynical.)

Those are the people I worry about. Those are the people I feel absolutely sick over as I watch the SCOTUS argue whether we should be allowed to have life-saving medicine. The people who I know will fall through the cracks the second that the cracks are widened enough for them to do so. The people who will die.

It’s a tense time right now. It’s a tense time for very obvious reasons. But this morning I find myself to be even tenser, and my stomach hurts thinking about it. It feels like all I can do is stare at a pill packet and remember every horrible reason I need it and every horrible thing it’s done to me and I just.

It’s a lot.

[minebeauty8]

Top Factors behind Extreme Tiredness You Must Know Many of us have experienced being tired at one point or another- searching for hectic day at work, pursuing the vigorous aerobic exercise, after playing a sport. To feel tired after a nicely training is normal. However,many people experience tiredness even upon wakening each and every morning, despite an apparently long sleep. Are you feeling 1? Do you often feel insufficient energy for apparently no reason in any way? For you to address this difficulty, site is to be aware what is causing it.

Many diseases and disorders can trigger fatigue, such as flu, anemia, and sleep disorders, just like sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome. Hormonal problems, heart ailments, and cancer are described to cause fatigue. Certain medications, especially those useful to treat chronic illnesses, also lead to extreme tiredness. The cause of the extreme tiredness is generally even harder to trace for more has undiagnosed medical problems. When experiencing abnormal physiological conditions, it is far better watch a doctor. waklert that Social factors working for example working alone with no interaction online websites and fixed concentration for the repetitive task are also known culprits. Workplace stress attributed to quite a few factors including job dissatisfaction, heavy workload, conflicts with superiors or colleagues, bullying, constant and unwanted change, and threats to job security are commonly known as culprits. Recently, burnout among workaholics, the result of striving too rigorous during the work area while neglecting any devices, sometimes drain each of their energies from other issues with their lives. Even on the list of unemployed, financial pressures, feelings of failure or guilt, along with the emotional exhaustion of prolonged job hunting bring about fatigue.

Top Reasons behind Extreme Tiredness You Must Know

Without a medical illness, psychological problems, and work-related stress, lifestyle choice is regarded as prevalent trigger of extreme tiredness among all ages. Common lifestyle choices that will cause fatigue include: lack of sleep ., very much sleep, intake of alcohol and drugs, sleep disturbances, absence or deficit of physical activity, and poor diet. Now and again, extreme tiredness is caused by blend of these factors. Diagnosis can often be difficult making treatment even harder. Consequences of extreme tiredness can even be worse. To avert this plague, a good idea is that we believe the triggers and avoid them in any respect cost. As they say, an ounce of prevention is definitely worth one pound of cure. The key factor would be to feel tired when you're going to retire to bed. Following your same routine all the time will exhaust you. But since not too then you could indulge in exercising so your body demands good rest. If exercising, then confirm you do it at the very least 5-6 hours before your regular bedtime. Develop a very peaceful environment on your bedroom. It shouldn't look like a study or even a storeroom. Clear all extra stuff which is not a bedroom material, keep the lights very dim and apply the preferred scent. Every one of together will make sure you drift off instantly.

[vands38]

things i wish someone told me about coeliac disease (UK edition)

apparently some doctors are still not telling coeliacs what they actually need to know so here’s some fun facts --

*coeliac disease is likely to go undiagnosed if you don’t have digestive symptoms. for a lot of folks, their first symptoms are odd things like weight loss, bloating, mouth ulcers etc that take ages for doctors to correctly diagnose as coeliac disease. I know someone whose only sign was tingling in her fingers (nerve problems are a Thing sometimes). I don’t wanna freak folks out but check this list of symptoms and if you’re worried, ask your doc for a blood test to check for coeliac disease. I went in and out of my docs for years with various symptoms (mostly from the anaemia) and no one caught it until I was finally having noticeable digestive trouble.

* coeliac disease an autoimmune disease. not an allergy. not an intolerance. when you eat gluten, your gut just screams NOPE and throws everything out of there.

* this means if you keep eating gluten you will have serious long-term health problems because your gut can't absorb shit 

* as I mentioned, anaemia is one of these associated health problems. a lot of people have this at diagnosis b/c your gut hasn’t been absorbing the nutrients it needs. it leaves you very weak and tired, and the longer it goes on, the worse it gets. 

* long-term anaemia / malnutrition causes so many fucking health problems I can't list them all. basically, if your body sucks, there's a good chance it's a side-effect of your coeliac disease going undiagnosed. I got shitty joints and a shitty heart and shitty bones and godknowswhatelse and every time my doc is like "hey, guess what? it’s coeliac disease!"

* you know what a common side effect is? LACTOSE INTOLERANCE. this is because, once again, your gut hates you from all that gluten you've been killing it with, so it starts to muck around and kick out other things too. but good news! most of the time this is reversible!!! lay off any lactose for a couple of months, reintroduce it to your diet slowly, and you -- like me -- might be a-ok 

*some folks with coeliac disease can’t digest oats either as they contain a similar protein. I found that I was kinda squiffy with them at first but as soon as my gut had calmed down I was a-ok with GF oats (this is good b/c 99% of good GF biscuits are made with oat flour, RIP to everyone that can’t eat them)

* so... your bones are probably fucked. if you were diagnosed early and your doctors are on it, you might be okay but for a lot of people it means osteopenia, and further down the line, osteoporosis (meaning it's v easy to break bones). you need to be eating, like, double the regular amount of calcium every day. most people are put on calcium tablets with combined vitamin D (to help absorb the calcium) but even on top of that, you need to be getting a lot in your diet. If you're still lactose intolerant then switch to lacto-free versions of dairy products or eat tofu like there's no tomorrow. It's super important that you get enough.

* relatedly, bone health!!! You should be doing MODERATE impact exercises like jogging to strengthen the bones but nothing high-impact like tennis. load-bearing exercises are good too. here’s some examples (in detail) given to me by the rheumatology dept

* people have different sensitivity levels. in the UK, certified gluten-free products have to be 20 parts per million or less, but in the US this is 100! marmite lives somewhere between these two and can cause some coeliacs to have a reaction. please be aware when you eat international gluten-free foods that they might have more parts per million than your body is used to

* because you're super sensitive to gluten, not only do you need to check the bold allergens on the ingredients, but the small print too. it might say "made in a factory that handles gluten" or "may contain traces of gluten" and that’s a no-go

* similarly, be careful in restaurants. Apparently it's still perfectly legal for restaurants to say a dish is "gluten free" and then put your nice GF bread in the same fucking toaster as regular bread and have you shitting your pants for days. Just because the ingredients are GF doesn't mean they're cooking it in an allergen-conscious manner. If its not a Coeliac UK certified restaurant, always ask about their methods. Is that milkshake made in a GF blender? Is your fry-up cooked in a separate pan? The first time I got glutened after my diagnosis it was because my GF naan bread shared a tray with a regular one. A lot of places won't even fucking think about this stuff.

* if you're in a gluten-eating household, you've got a big expense coming up. you need to buy a GF toaster at the very least and I would recommend also a separate baking tray (because pizzas, garlic breads etc stick to that shit like no tomorrow) and a saucepan (or anything else that regularly contains pasta/noodles/etc). You'll also need a separate bread knife and board. Separate butter. Separate strainer if you're the type to drain your pasta. Line anything suspicious (e.g.your sandwich toaster, a communal baking tray) with baking parchment. Don’t use bare rungs in your oven or hob. And buy separate spreads and condiments, unless your household is very well trained in not dipping their crumb-covered knives into those things. I've even got separate plates, kitchen utensils, and cutlery. It seems extreme but I haven't had a cross-contamination incident since. Just think: has gluten touched this? And if so, do your best to minimise the risk.

* living GF is expensive long-term too. GF bread costs twice as much as regular bread. Restaurants often charge extra for GF alternatives. I had to switch from having toast in the morning to cereal because it's much more reasonably priced. I eat more fruit than I ever have before just because GF snacks cost so much. I used to have breakfast bars lol say goodbye to that shit unless you wanna be broke

* things I didn't realise I couldn't eat: crisps (a lot of your standard crisps are made with ??? production methods), candied nuts (most of these are made in factories that handle gluten), soy sauce, strawberry laces and a whole bunch of fave sweets (contain wheat starch to bind them - check this list for safe sweets), marmite (you can buy a GF yeast extract that is only 50% worse than the original)

*good food you actually can eat: most cadburys but not most nestle, GF beer which tastes exactly the same, schar pretzels are actually the shit, so are their BBQ pringles and those little chocolate bars with hazelnuts, Morrisons free from frozen mini hash browns will cure your depression, M&S do these bacon tortilla rolls which... OH BOY. Quiche alternatives are pretty damn good but I've yet to find a pizza that doesn't make me want to cry.

*speaking of supermarkets... Morrisons stock a good range of stuff and tend to have everything in one aisle, M&S have many yummy (and expensive) treats, Sainsbury's has good own brand things including bread, Tesco's are fairly decent and stock a lot of baking things, ASDA are the king of GF cake, if you're still lacto-free then Waitrose sell LF cheese including halloumi, and check your your local hippy food store because I found the best goddamn bread in mine (Incredible Bakery Company - you are £4.50 a loaf but I have no regrets)

*party risks: if there's a BBQ, insist that your things go first or have a separate BBQ, or, if worse comes to worse, just eat cold snacks. (Beware of sausages! Many aren't GF!) If its a chip and dip situation, either everything has to be GF (easily done) or have your own dip. BUFFETS ARE LITERALLY OUR WORST NIGHTMARE. the amount of coeliacs I know that have been glutened at one are INSANE. even if those tasty treats are labelled 'gluten free' they've probably be contaminated. everything at a goddamn buffet is contaminated. Dinner party? Well meaning friends will want to cook for you but unless their kitchen is set up as above, it's safer to bring your own food -- if you're very lucky, you will have friends who take the time to learn about allergens and will clean every item in their kitchen before cooking and serving an entire GF meal. these friends are to be treasured -- nay, worshipped.

*fast food. there’s no good way to put this but you’re never having that guilty pleasure 2am burger again. mcdonalds fries are miraculously GF though. (a lot of takeaways recycle oil so even if the ingredients are GF it’s often not safe but mcdonalds always use a separate fryer for chips). indian takeaway is great as most dishes don’t contain gluten. on the flip side, you’ll only be able to have about 5 items on the chinese menu (soy sauce is in everything, yo) so be prepared to learn those 5 items by heart. dominoes do Coeliac UK certified GF pizza!!! (buuuuut not during covid). chains like pizza express have got our back and will even serve you GF doughballs

*coeliac UK are your best friend! most of the things I’ve mentioned are described in detail on their website. they also have a barcode scanner app that will tell you if foods are safe, and they have a restaurant guide, and useful things like translation guides for when you go abroad. 

That's all I've got right now but hmu with any questions or corrections. Take care of yourself, folks. <3