I'm a little late for Halloween, but I wanted to blog about a skeleton rattling around in the medicine cabinet of many headache, pain, epilepsy, psychiatric and other patients, and the startling fact is,
they don't even know it. Their nurses, pharmacists and doctors often don't know it. The skeleton may be affecting you and you might not even be aware of it, and it's likely that even if your doctor or nurses saw it, they wouldn't recognize it. Those who suffer it typically go undiagnosed.…
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Added by Ellen S on November 23, 2009 at 9:00am —
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One of the scariest phrases I've ever heard:
"You're dilated to 2. I'm going to get hold of your doctor right away, okay?"
It was the beginning of a blur even today I scarcely remember.
My beautiful daughter wasn't supposed to be born yet. It was too early. Things were happening too fast. One nurse turned into three, and their movements told me more than their words, which were chosen carefully to distract me.
I had gone to the hospital after my normal…
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Added by Ellen S on November 22, 2009 at 12:30am —
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Hot tubs/spas and their burbling, swirling, heated water goodness are widely used for pain relief and relaxing a sore body after a hard day's work.
Did you know a good soak in a hot tub can also help treat some sleep problems?
Hot tubs are more than great big bath tubs, or little tiny swimming pools. They play an important role in the health care of a large percentage of their owners.
Some facts about hot tubs:
** When water is used to treat health conditions, it's called…
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Added by Ellen S on November 21, 2009 at 11:37pm —
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A resent study at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland showed that women who were getting less than 7 hrs of sleep per night were at risk for significant weight gain. Those getting only 5 hrs per night were at high risk (32%) of major gains averaging 33 pounds over their adequately sleeping sisters. They were also 15% more likely to become clinically obese.
Researchers looked at diet and exercise of shorter and longer sleepers which might account for the weight differences, but found on…
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Added by Ellen S on November 20, 2009 at 11:30pm —
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A recent CNN article was passed to me and I wanted to comment on it here. The name of the article is
How to solve 9 sleep problems By Sally Wadyka.
The first words at the top of the page are huge - you can't miss them, even if you weren't looking for them -
REAL SIMPLE
Okay, got my attention!
Like most people, I'm one that prefers shortcuts when I can find them. Tell me it's going t…
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Added by Ellen S on November 14, 2009 at 10:00pm —
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The regulatory gene RORB results in disruption of the body's circadian clock, and a recent research article has linked 4 different variations in the same RORB gene to manic depression (aka bipolar disorder) in children.
The journal
BMC Psychiatry reported that a recent test of almost 300 children resulted in the link, leaving the study's scientists to state "Our findings suggest that clock genes in general and RO…
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Added by Ellen S on November 13, 2009 at 6:30pm —
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"Private summers"
"Mini tropical vacation"
"My own personal trip around the sun"
Whatever you choose to call them, hot flashes are not just
"sweatin'" - - to the oldies. I've known an unlucky few to suffer with them in their early twenties. *raises hand* They're also not reserved just for women. Even men going thru androgen deprivation therapy for cancer, or those with hormonal trouble experience these unwelcome instant trips to the sun and back.
Those of us dealing with hot flas…
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Added by Ellen S on November 7, 2009 at 9:30pm —
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As Health Activists, we frequently read research studies and pass along the great information we've found within them to our communities and groups. We may use studies to back up or refute articles we wish to write or editorialize, or points we wish to make when entering or starting discussions.
Understanding research studies isn't that difficult once you become familiar with the terms and their meanings.
Not all scientific evidence is created equal. In fact there are significant differences i…
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Added by Ellen S on November 7, 2009 at 2:00pm —
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Pain and sleep leaders - we need your help!
A short statement made to me about my doctors recently got me thinking...
The statement was about the story of the blind men and the elephant. Each blind man felt a different part of the elephant and assumed the elephant was something different than what it was. My doctor told me,
"Everybody sees a different part of the elephant."
Nobody was seeing the complete picture - just a tiny portion. This can be tough when you're the elephant and need help!…
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Added by Ellen S on November 6, 2009 at 4:10pm —
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For those on chronic opioid therapy, constipation is often much more than an annoyance - it can radically change their lives. Today there are at least 3 drugs being studied, in trial, or in use that can help this problem, without stimulating the bowel.
Relistor is an injectable drug I blogged about a while back (see
Treating Opioid side-effects with a new/old drug) that was recently put on the ma…
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Added by Ellen S on November 2, 2009 at 9:30am —
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Do you know what caffeine actually does inside your body? inside your brain?
You know that it helps you to stay awake, but did you know that the effects inside your brain is actually cumulative? Those with sleep trouble and Migraine are especially at risk.
My analogy is the children's tale of Little Red Riding Hood - Adorable little red-caped girl skips thru the woods to visit dear old grandma, only to find that a nasty, hungry wolf has beat her there. The wolf dresses in grandma's clot…
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Added by Ellen S on October 30, 2009 at 4:00pm —
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Sarah posed a few great questions to sleep leaders on my last blog post
Sleeping and transportation - mandatory rules/testing? Sleep activists talk, and once I began replying to her, I realized the topic deserved a post of its own.
Part 1
She writes:
"I wonder if there could ever be…
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Added by Ellen S on October 27, 2009 at 6:01pm —
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The recent news story of an airliner that
missed its landing and continued on autopilot for an additional 1 1/2 hrs may sound incredible, but it's not the first time landings have been missed. Whether or not these pilots were simply so engaged in their discussion that they forgot to land the plane as they say, or whether speculators are correct in their assumptions that the…
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Added by Ellen S on October 24, 2009 at 11:30pm —
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Not all Migraine related discussions are found within the
Migraine group. Sometimes a patient posts something that relates to Migraineurs in another area of WEGO Health called the
General Forum.
Lately there has been an ongoing discussion re: a question posted by a Health Activist in the Dystonia community who was looking for answers to a frightening p…
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Added by Ellen S on October 24, 2009 at 10:30pm —
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A recent report in
Science Daily tells us that,
although improving diet and exercise habits are beneficial for obese obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients, it may not be enough.
A small Australian study (10 patients) was done to look at improved diet and exercise as a treatment for OSA. Although the 16 week pro…
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Added by Ellen S on October 17, 2009 at 12:30pm —
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Verbena officinalis (aka common Verbena, Vervain, Enchanter’s Plant, Herb of the Cross, Pigeon Grass, Simpler’s Joy, Juno’s Tears, etc and used interchangeably here) is a perennial plant/flower which was introduced to North America and now grows wild. When traditionally dried and steeped as a tea, or modernly used in extract form, is known for not only enhancing non REM delta waves during sleep, but also for its neuroprotective effects of the central nervous system and anti-inflammatory p…
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Added by Ellen S on October 16, 2009 at 1:42pm —
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When I stop to consider which animal I've met that has a perfectly adept built-in sleep mechanism... it has got to be the cat. I've never met a feline with chronic insomnia - have you?
An intelligent and entertaining sleep blogger named Kat Tansey agrees, and in fact has written a highly entertaining
post on her blog titled "
Why cats don't have insomnia" which l…
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Added by Ellen S on October 13, 2009 at 10:00am —
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Many who suffer allergic rhinitis also snore. It seems snoring and allergies seem to go hand in hand in our house, and I know we're no different from most others. Allergic rhinitis is well known to most people, however sleep apnea is not. When a patient suffers from both it can be a deadly combination and doctors are being warned to pay careful attention to these patients and consider closer management of them, potentially with multiple therapies and a multi-modal approach.…
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Added by Ellen S on October 10, 2009 at 8:30pm —
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Read Part One of this post
here
Before a recent vacation I hit on an idea I was sure someone else much more tech-savvy had discovered first, but apparently not. I wanted to share it, in hopes that Health Activists find it worthy enough to pass along to others who might benefit by using it, or even using it as a jump-off point for finding something else that might work for them. (And hopefully…
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Added by Ellen S on October 8, 2009 at 9:00am —
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Do you or someone you know need help remembering to take medicines at the right times each day?
Those with chronic medical conditions often find this a very difficult part of their life. On a personal level, some medicines make me very forgetful, so remembering when and what or how much to take can be a huge obstacle in my life because forgetting something can mean an emergency run to the hospital. I was saving to invest in an expensive reminder watch to keep me on schedule, until the da…
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Added by Ellen S on October 7, 2009 at 9:30pm —
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