YOUR CANCER YOUR LIFE – RIGHT TO MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS (DIFFICULTIES IN EXERCISING YOUR RIGHT TO DECIDE – CONCLUSION)
Posted on May 12, 2009, under Cancer.
Having made your decision on treatment, another major difficulty may arise. The practitioner you prefer may not be able or willing to supervise the treatment of your choice. As a general rule, it is best if your treatment is supervised by a practitioner experienced in its use. Very sophisticated treatments such as radiotherapy can be given only by certain highly-qualified medical specialists (this is legally enforced). Any practitioner is entitled to refuse to supervise a treatment that he or she believes to be useless or unacceptably toxic, or significantly worse than another treatment. Thus, the practitioner with whom you feel most comfortable may not be able to supervise your chosen treatment. You may take this factor into account in making your choice, or a compromise such as I suggested earlier may work—you may be able to get the treatment from one practitioner and the emotional support and effective communication from another, such as your local doctor.
*19/40/1*
HORMONAL REPLACEMENT THERAPY: TRANSDERMAL HRT
Posted on May 8, 2009, under Hormonal.
The patch is a circular piece of ‘plaster’ that you stick on to a fleshy part of you. In the centre is a reservoir of oestrogen that is carried through the surface of your skin in a base of alcohol.
Probably the biggest advantage the patch has over tablets is that, because the oestrogen is absorbed through the skin (doctors call this ‘transdermal’ HRT, meaning ‘across the skin’) and does not have to go through the liver and the rest of the digestive system, it is taken in a much lower dose and has fewer side-effects. It is easy to use, and easy to stop if you find it doesn’t agree with you. Also, the oestrogen is absorbed at a slow, constant rate, whereas if you use oral HRT you are taking the hormone in one dose all at once, which can increase the likelihood of side-effects, particularly in the digestive system.
The patch is simple to use: you just stick it on to a well-padded area of clean, dry skin, such as the buttocks, abdomen or upper thighs, and change to a new patch every 3-4 days, by which time all the alcohol and oestrogen will have been absorbed. You must not stick it on to the breasts. The main drawback with this form of HRT is that about one-third of women find they develop red and itchy skin at the site of the patch, and in a very small percentage this becomes so severe that they have to give up. This is caused by the alcohol contained in the patch and there are two possible solutions. One is to move the patch to a new area of skin every day (but still only having a new patch every 3-4 days), and sticking it down with a piece of elastoplast across it. The other is to wave the patch about in the air for a few seconds before applying it so that some of the alcohol evaporates. Don’t do this for too long, however, as it is the alcohol that transports the oestrogen through the skin; no alcohol means no oestrogen. More of the oestrogen is absorbed through the abdomen than through the buttocks or upper thigh, but the buttocks usually give the least skin irritation. (Before long, a new HRT patch will be available without an alcohol base; this should eliminate the problem of skin irritation.)
The skin reacts more to the patch in a hot, humid climate, so some women find it a problem if they go to a hot country on holiday. Leaving the patch off when you lie in the sun is one solution, or possibly changing to tablet HRT while you are away, but this might cause undesirable side-effects. If the patch comes off after swimming or a bath or shower, just stick the same patch back on again with some elastoplast.
The patch comes in three different strengths: 25, 50 and 100 micrograms of a form of oestrogen called oestradiol. If you find it is not having the desired effect, don’t be tempted to change to a new patch more frequently as this will not increase the amount of oestrogen you absorb. If you are not happy with its effect, ask your doctor about changing to a patch with a higher or lower dose.
The patch is generally well tolerated, and many prefer it to tablets and are less likely to give up. As before, if you haven’t had a hysterectomy, you will have to take progestogen for 10-12 days a month. Until fairly recently, progestogen was only available in tablet form, but there is now a combined oestrogen and progestogen patch called Estracombi, manufactured by Giba-Geigy. For the first two weeks of the cycle, oestrogen-only patches are worn for 3-4 days each; for the following two weeks, the double oestrogen and progestogen patches are worn for 3—4 days each. Because each double patch contains both hormones, it is not possible to use only the oestrogen patch for this phase of the cycle and to leave the progestogen patch in its box! The manufacturers report that symptoms similar to premenstrual syndrome may be a problem for up to three months, but these should diminish after that time.
The patch method of taking HRT has die same beneficial effects as oral HRT on hot flushes, night sweats, disturbed sleep, changing moods and vaginal dryness. Research suggests that, except at the lowest doses, it also preserves bone in 85-95 per cent of women, but because it is a comparatively new form of HRT it is not yet known for certain the extent to which it provides the same protection against arterial disease. Like oral HRT, the patch can cause breast tenderness, spotting, bloating and feelings of nausea, but these are seldom severe.
*28\42\4*
HYSTERECTOMY PROCEDURES
Posted on May 8, 2009, under Women's Health.
Hysterectomy has long been the most commonly used method of surgically treating women for gynaecological problems such as excessive menstrual bleeding and chronic pelvic pain. Recent years have seen both numerous changes in the way that hysterectomies are performed, and a variety of new techniques (described in the previous chapter) that are challenging its dominance.
Types of hysterectomy. The term ‘hysterectomy’ originates from the Greek words hystera, meaning uterus, and ektome, to cut out. The earliest hysterectomies on record were performed about 1600 years ago in Greece and, despite high death rates until last century, the procedure is still carried out. There are four basic types of hysterectomy.
Total hysterectomy. A total hysterectomy refers to removal of the entire uterus including the cervix, together with its supporting ligaments, while leaving the Fallopian tubes and ovaries in place.
Total hysterectomy with salpingo-oophorectomy. A total hysterectomy with salpingo-oophorectomy entails removing the uterus with cervix and support ligaments, together with one or both sets of ovaries and Fallopian tubes. If both sets are removed the operation is called a total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy.
Subtotal (or partial) hysterectomy. A subtotal (or partial) hysterectomy involves removal of the upper two-thirds of the uterus only. The cervix is left intact, along with the Fallopian tubes and ovaries.
*43\198\4*
SLEEP DISORDERS: NIGHT TERROR
Posted on May 8, 2009, under Anti Depressants-Sleeping Aid.
This condition is rare and is related to sleep-walking. Sleeping young children may suddenly scream hysterically at the top of their voices as if they have seen something horrible. Their parents rush to their bedside and try to comfort them. These children have their eyes wide open but are not aware of the presence of their parents. They may push them aside and continue to act as if extremely frightened. After ten minutes or so they fall back into deep sleep again as if nothing had happened. In the morning they cannot remember any bad dreams or anything horrible.
Night terror is not to be confused with nightmares. Nightmares are bad dreams. Night terror is not a dream and occurs in stages 3 and 4 of NREM sleep. Just as in sleep-walking, dissociation between the primitive part and the intellectual part of the brain occurs and the child experiences some primitive emotion such as fear and goes into primitive screaming. Since they are in NREM sleep, they are not dreaming and will have no recollection of the experience.
Night terror is very alarming to parents, but in fact children who scream are not experiencing any horrible dreams. Do not try to wake them up during an attack of night terror because they will be quite confused and disorientated, making the experience worse. Just stay with them until they fall back into sleep spontaneously. If there are frequent attacks of night terror, the child must be seen by a doctor to make sure there is no source of pain or illness that may cause these terrible screams.
*41\174\4*
THE SELF-MANAGEMENT OF ANXIETY: HOW TO DO THE EXERCISES-ACHIEVING RELAXATION OF THE BODY
Posted on April 29, 2009, under Anti Depressants-Sleeping Aid.
We sit in an armchair or we lie down on a couch flat on our back. Our eyes are comfortably closed. We think to ourselves:
It is good to relax.
Relaxing is natural.
It is the natural way to calm and ease.
Achieving Relaxation of the Body-We bring our body into relaxation by allowing the tension to go from our muscles. When we are in normal health there is always a certain degree of muscle tension. This is necessary to prevent our limbs flopping about in uncontrolled fashion and straining the joints. But when we are tense and anxious, this normal tension of the muscles is increased. So we start the relaxation by allowing our muscles to let go. As we do this we keep ourselves aware of the relaxation. In fact this conscious awareness of the relaxed and easy feeling is a very important part of all our exercises.
It is best to start with the big muscles of the thighs and arms because it is easiest to feel the relaxation in them.
You can test this now, as you are sitting reading this book. Just let your hand rest on your thigh. Now go to straighten your leg, but do not move it. With your hand you will feel the muscles of your thigh contract. Then you allow the muscles to let go, and with your hand you feel them relax. Now do the same thing without your hand on your thigh. You are still aware of the muscles first contracting and then letting go. Sometimes, just at first, it is hard to capture this feeling of letting go. But if you do this two or three times you will soon come to feel it.
We can now start on our exercises. We present these ideas to our mind:
We think of our legs, the muscles of our legs.—We allow them to let go.—We can feel them relax.—We really feel it.—The muscles of our legs let go.—They let go so that all we feel of our legs is the weight of them on the floor.—They are heavy and comfortable—the natural weight of our legs.—We feel this easy comfortable relaxation come all through us.—We feel it in our body.—Our arms are heavy on the side of the chair.—They are so relaxed we just feel the weight of them.—The natural weight of them.—Natural.—It is all natural.—Natural to let ourselves relax, and our mind learns to be calm and at ease again.—We feel the relaxation more and more.—It grows on us.—Our arms are so relaxed they hardly seem to belong to us.—Our whole body is relaxed.—We feel ourselves sitting in the chair.—Sinking into the chair.—We feel it in the face.—The muscles of our face relax with it.—Our jaw is loose.—It is so relaxed, so loose that our lips part.—We feel it in the muscles around our eyes.—We feel the muscles of our face smooth out with the relaxation.—It is in our forehead.—At the sides of our forehead, we feel it there deeply.
These are ideas which we present to our mind. We do not just say them over, or repeat the thoughts to ourselves. It is much more than that. These ideas all concern feeling. We have the idea in our mind, and at the same time we bring ourselves to experience the appropriate feeling. This is something very different from reading a paragraph and understanding it. Our exercises do not involve the critical faculties of our intellect. In the exercises it is a matter of presenting the idea to the mind, of receiving it, and experiencing it. We in fact experience both the feeling and the act. Thus the muscles of our legs let go, and we feel them let go. But the relationship of the act and the feeling is more complicated than this. For instance, the opposite is also true. We feel relaxed, and we are relaxed. Here the sensation precedes the act. What we aim for is an integrated experience in feeling and doing. Expressed like this, it would seem to be something difficult, and hard to attain. But it is not. It is natural and easy. Feeling and doing in this context are essentially simple and primitive. It is intellectual criticism of ideas which is complicated, and this has no part at all in our exercises. We merely have the simple idea in our mind; then we experience the simple feeling and the simple act that goes with it. We have the idea of our muscles relaxing. Then we experience it—really experience it—without the intervention of critical thought.
We need to repeat this exercise a number of times, and the feeling of relaxation becomes more and more a reality. But in repeating it—remember—there is no hurry, no rush; the whole thing is leisurely, easy, natural.
The sequence of the parts of the exercise follow quite naturally, so that they are easy enough to remember: the relaxation of the legs, the body, the arms, the face and the different parts of the face.
Remember that it does not all come at once. If at first you can capture just some of the feelings, the others will soon follow. Try to experience the sensation of weight in the legs as the muscles relax and let go, so that the legs seem heavy on the floor. The feeling of the face smoothing out as the facial muscles relax is another part of the exercise which comes quite easily. This is felt in the relaxation of the muscles around the eyes, and is enhanced by the letting go of the muscles of the jaw and the parting of the lips.
*67\57\2*
THE ROLE OF NUTRITION IN ARTHRITIS TREATMENT: NATURAL FOODS
Posted on April 29, 2009, under Arthritis.
The first and most important principle of optimum nutrition is that you should eat natural foods.
Natural foods are foods grown under natural conditions in man’s natural environment, consumed in their natural state. It would be unnatural for an Eskimo to live on a raw vegetarian diet, just as it is unnatural for inhabitants of tropical or subtropical regions to eat meat.
Dr. Weston A. Price made an extensive study of health and diet habits of practically every race of people in the world and came to the conclusion that the condition of their health is in direct relation to the “naturalness” of the foods they eat.1 Wherever he found strong, healthy people without diseases and without tooth decay, he learned that their diets were made up of natural, fresh, pure, and unprocessed foods, available in their immediate environment. Conversely, where he found people subject to dental decay and various diseases common to civilized man, he invariably discovered that they ate denatured, cooked, processed foods and that white sugar, white bread, canned foods, etc. had found their way to them from more “civilized” countries.
In the United States, we have departed so far from the natural way of life that for many it is difficult to comprehend what is meant by natural foods.
Let’s clarify this with an example. Eggs laid by hens which have access to the outdoors, green grass, seeds, insects, and worms are natural, fertile eggs full of nutritive value. But eggs produced in an egg factory, by hens who never see a rooster, nor sunlight, and eat only synthetic mash, are not natural. Not only is the chemical composition of such an egg altered and unbalanced, but also its nutritional value is far below that of a natural egg.
Natural fruits and vegetables should grow in healthy, fertile soils, without chemical fertilizers or sprays. Equally, animal food
—milk, cheese, or meat-should come from healthy animals which are fed organically grown fodder and are not artificially raised with the help of hormones, antibiotics, and poisonous chemicals.
Natural foods contain more vitamins, more proteins, more minerals and other nutrients, particularly the vital enzymes, than denatured foods.
The human body is a living organism, a part of the complex organic universe subject to the unchangeable laws of nature. The human body must have living, organic food elements in their unaltered natural state in order to survive and five in good health. Synthetic, altered, poisoned, processed, and devitalized foods will not sustain health, but will bring about a degeneration of normal bodily functions and disease.
*24\176\2*
THE SIDE-EFFECTS OF THE ANTI-EPILEPTIC DRUGS: LONG TERM OR CHRONIC SIDE-EFFECTS
Posted on April 28, 2009, under Epilepsy.
These are side-effects that develop more slowly, over months or years. They are more common in patients taking more than one drug, and often in high doses. Once again, the effects may be more difficult to recognize (by both the patient and doctor), as they tend to develop gradually and do not cause any acute or sudden problem. The older drugs such as phenobarbitone, primidone, and phenytoin are more likely to cause chronic, or long-term, toxicity. The newer anti-epileptic drugs would appear to be safer. However, as already stated, there is relatively little information on these newer drugs, as they have not yet been used for many years.
One of the most common concerns of patients and parents of children who are receiving
anti-epileptic drugs is the effect of drugs on school or work performance, memory, mood, and behaviour. Anti-epileptic drugs may cause some initial drowsiness, or changes in mood and behaviour, as the drug is being started, but these effects usually wear off. The older anti-epileptic drugs such as phenobarbitone and phenytoin have been shown to reduce a patient’s concentration or attention span and therefore cause an impairment in memory. This in turn can adversely affect learning and the ability to do certain tasks. These problems are less likely to occur with drugs such as carbamazepine, sodium valproate, vigabatrin, and lamotrigine, although it is impossible to guarantee that they have no effect. It is often difficult to determine whether a problem with either learning or behaviour is definitely due to a drug. A number of patients, as well as having epilepsy, may also have learning and behavioural difficulties as another manifestation of the brain problems that are causing epilepsy. A careful analysis of the story often shows that these difficulties appeared before any drug treatment was started, and that the drugs are not responsible.
Phenytoin has an unfortunate effect on the gums, which tend to thicken and grow down between the teeth. This can usually be kept at bay by twice daily brushing upwards and downwards with a medium bristle tooth brush. If necessary a dentist can push back the gums or remove the excessive tissue. This overgrowth of gum tissue is reflected in subtle changes in the lips and facial skin, which may become slightly ‘fleshy’. Phenytoin and barbiturates predispose to acne of the face and back, and may cause some slight excess of facial hair. These cosmetic effects may be a reason to avoid using these drugs in young people. Sodium valproate, on the other hand, may cause hair to fall from the scalp in a very small number of people. Regrowth of hair usually occurs even without stopping the drug.
There are a number of other side-effects of anti-epileptic drugs. Phenobarbitone seems to affect the shoulder joint in a few people, so that it becomes stiff and painful. In others, changes in the tendons in the hands and connective tissue of the palms leads to a contracture (Dupuytren’s contracture) of the hands. Phenytoin may cause an excessive metabolism of the body’s vitamin D supplies, which may lead to rickets, in the absence of adequate diet or sunlight (which helps form vitamin D).
Finally, and importantly, there is the issue of the effect of anti-epileptic drugs on the developing baby—a particular concern to women with epilepsy. There is a slight increase in the occurrence of fetal abnormalities of mothers who have epilepsy. From the analysis of a large number of patients, it is clear that much of this increase is due to anti-epileptic drugs, particularly phenobarbitone and phenytoin. Phenytoin produces a number of abnormalities including a characteristic face, a cleft-(hare) lip or palate, very small and under-developed finger and toe nails, heart defects, spina bifida, and learning difficulties. It must be stressed that this does not occur in the babies of all women taking phenytoin in pregnancy. It will occur in only about 5-10 out of every 100 mothers who have epilepsy and are taking phenytoin, but this risk is about two or three times the risk in women who do not have epilepsy. Sodium valproate, and to a lesser extent carbamazepine, may also cause spina bifida, a malformation of the vertebrae and spinal cord. This risk of sodium valproate causing spina bifida is 1-2 per cent. It is important to realize that these malformations arise early in pregnancy—perhaps even before the mother realizes that she is pregnant. For this reason it is wise to discuss pregnancy and anti-epileptic drugs with doctors before conception. During the pregnancy the growth and development of the baby can be monitored closely by detailed ultrasound examinations, which will usually detect major heart abnormalities or severe spina bifida.
Finally, it is also important to realize that if a mother has frequent generalized tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizures during pregnancy this may actually cause more harm to the baby than the drugs themselves—either by direct injury to the abdomen as the mother falls, or by the seizure preventing a sufficient oxygen supply in the mother’s, and therefore in the baby’s, blood. Although both of these circumstances are rare, they may occur, and because of this it is recommended that anti-epileptic drugs are taken during pregnancy, but that the blood levels are closely monitored. However, it must be stressed that the decision must be taken by patient and doctor together in equal partnership.
The issue of side-effects or toxicity is frequently undervalued by doctors.
Minimal side-effects (as defined by an individual or parent of a child and not by the doctor) may be acceptable providing seizure control is good. Major side-effects with or without seizure control are usually unacceptable. What may be acceptable to one patient (or family) may be unacceptable to another. The control of seizures in patients with difficult epilepsy may be improved or achieved by doses of drugs that may cause significant adverse effects. In many of these patients a compromise has to be reached, and a narrow line steered between controlling the seizures without producing excessive sedation or loss of other abilities.
*59\188\2*
ARTHRITIS BEATEN TODAY: CMO AND OTHER AILMENTS-PSORIASIS AND PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS AND BURSITIS AND TENDINITIS
Posted on April 28, 2009, under Arthritis.
We’ve dealt with psoriatic arthritis earlier in the book. It responds just as well to CMO as any other form of arthritis. But recently we have been surprised by numerous reports of improvements in the dermatological outbreaks as well. Many patients have seen dramatic improvement, some reporting complete disappearance of the rashy outbreaks. Future study may prove CMO to be of benefit in controlling psoriasis even when no arthritic symptoms are present. Mrs J.V., the multiple sclerosis patient whose case history is given above, had a patch of psoriasis on her scalp disappear completely with her CMO treatment.
Bursitis and tendinitis-The common denominator in these two ailments is the presence of calcium deposits. Both of these ailments produce very painful chronic inflammatory processes. In bursitis the inflammation occurs in the cellular membrane covering certain bony areas like the shoulders or the knees. Calcium deposits are frequently found at the sites. The inflammation associated with tendinitis is often the direct result of calcium deposits among the tendon fibres.
The pain associated with either ailment is often so severe that it restricts movement of any afflicted joints. Although CMO cannot remove the calcium deposits themselves, it often successfully controls the painful inflammatory process which then allows full use of the joint again.
*77\142\2*
CHILDREN’S NOSEBLEEDS: SYMPTOMS, PRECAUTIONS AND TREATMENT
Posted on April 28, 2009, under General health.
Symptoms: bleeding from one or both nostrils or from the mouth; vomiting blood
Home care
To stop a nosebleed, compress the entire soft portion of the nose, not just the nostrils, between the thumb and fingers for ten minutes.
Teach your child at an early age how to stop a nosebleed him- or herself.
To prevent nosebleeds apply petroleum jelly to the insides of the nostrils morning and evening for up to 14 days.
Use a vaporizer or humidifier in the child’s room.
- A child with a nosebleed should not lie down.
- Stay calm and don’t let the child panic.
- Do not use cold compresses, nose drops, or other household remedies; they are not necessary.
- Do not pack the child’s nose with cotton or gauze.
Nosebleeds are as inevitable a part of childhood as scraped knees and bruised shins. Ninety-nine percent of nosebleeds are caused by the rupture of tiny blood vessels in the septum, the midline partition of the nose located about half a centimeter in from the nostrils. These small blood vessels are easily broken by a minor blow to the nose, and the scab that forms during healing is easily disturbed by rubbing or picking, which starts the bleeding again. This sequence of events may be further aggravated by: an allergic reaction or a head cold that causes the blood vessels in the nose to dilate; heated air that dries out the nasal membranes; sneezing, coughing, and blowing the nose; and rubbing and scratching the nose, especially during sleep (most nosebleeds start at night).
*163/84/5*
LIVING WITH DIABETES: MANAGING DISEASE IN CHILDREN
Posted on April 23, 2009, under Diabetes.
The child with diabetes passes copious urine and has to drink more
Naturally a child who is producing so much urine will need to drink more to replace the water lost, so the child with diabetes will become thirsty and drink large amounts of water and other fluids. Without treatment he may reach the stage where he cannot drink enough fluids to replace the losses, and his body may thus become depleted of water or ‘dehydrated’.
Body fat is used up excessively
In addition to the problem of glucose mounting in the blood, with consequent excessive production of urine, thirst and drinking, there is another consequence of insufficient insulin. As the body cells cannot rely on glucose for fuel, they may use fat instead. With the wastage of glucose in the urine and the burning up of body fat by the cells, the child with diabetes will of course tend to lose weight. Moreover, the large-scale burning of fat is harmful, and leads to accumulation of toxic products which also mount up in the blood, and make the untreated child with diabetes feel ill.
The toxic substances are called ketones, and the illness caused by their accumulation in the blood is called ketosis or ketoacidosis. Ketosis, if it should develop, makes the child drowsy, and eventually he may become unconscious, or go into a coma. It also leads to nausea, and later vomiting. He may develop a sickly sweet smell in his breath which is due to the ketones. They also appear in urine, and can be detected by testing for them.
Other problems may also arise in the untreated or uncontrolled person with diabetes. His resistance to infections and injury may be reduced, and skin or other infections may develop or be hard to clear up. Injuries may take longer to heal.
Of course, how sick a child with diabetes may get depends on how quickly his condition can be diagnosed, and treatment begun. Some children develop illness from their diabetes very much more rapidly than others, and these children may become very ill before anyone has suspected the cause. Once a child is known to have diabetes, however, it should be possible to prevent him from becoming sick in this way again.
*6/54/5*