Healthy Tips For Better Live

Archive for July, 2009

Every year in the U.S, over 21,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and around 15,000 women die of the disease. Those are staggering statistics and yet the numbers seem to be rising from year to year, sadly, because women are not properly educated on how to diagnose ovarian cancer warning signs.

The rest of this article is taken from a post I wrote recently for my blog. I received positive feedback on the content because the facts are taken primarily from Mayo Clinic and a study done by the American Cancer Society – both of which are very credible sources of information. So I decided I wanted to share it with the EzineArticles readers.

The blog post is as follows:

The ovarian cancer warning signs can be difficult to detect in the early stages because some of the most common symptoms like indigestion and abdominal swelling can be indicative of a number of other medical conditions.

In order to avoid a misdiagnosis, keep this simple rule in mind:

If the symptoms or signs are constant and only seem to get worse, then talk to your doctor immediately.

According to Mayoclinic, recent studies show that women with ovarian cancer are more likely compared with other women to consistently experience the following symptoms:

Abdominal pressure, fullness, swelling or bloating Urinary urgency Pelvic discomfort or pain

Other warning signs can manifest themselves in the following forms:

Constant indigestion, gas or nausea Unexplained changes in bowel habits, like constipation Changes in bladder habits, including a frequent need to urinate Loss of appetite or quickly feeling full Increased abdominal girth or clothes fitting tighter around your waist Pain during intercourse (dyspareunia) A consistent lack of energy Low back pain Changes in menstruation

The American Cancer Society reports that almost 90% of the women in a conducted study who were diagnosed in early stages said that they experienced one or more symptoms like abdominal pain, bloating, pelvic pain or back pain. However, only 3% of women diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer did not report any symptoms.

In addition, 55% of the total number of women studied made an accurate diagnosis within two months after their symptoms appeared. Sadly, it took three to six months for 19% of the women, and more than a year for 11% of the women to realize that they indeed had ovarian cancer signs. In short, the longer the diagnosis took, the more advanced the cancer became.

In some instances, women with symptoms delayed their diagnosis by waiting an average of two to three months before talking to their doctors, with 22% of the women surveyed saying they ignored their symptoms, most because they were unaware their symptoms could be due to cancer.

How To Avoid A Delayed Diagnoses

They say that prevention is better than cure, and the easiest thing you can do to avoid a delayed diagnoses is to take an annual pelvic exam. Not only will this confirm the common symptoms that in often times lead to a misdiagnosis and validate your ovarian cancer warning signs, but it will also place you in a mindset that will help you live longer.

WITHDRAWAL symptoms have posed one problem common to almost all potent anti-depressants. The newsest of such drugs, Lexapro, is no exception. Though Lexapro’s side-effects during treatment are usually mild and manageable, its withdrawal symptoms can be severe, particularly if treatment is stopped abruptly instead of tapering off.

Withdrawal symptoms can occur even if a dosage is missed since the body ‘assumes’ that the treatment has been withdrawn. Withdrawal symptoms have been seen to occur within eight hours of a missed dosage, regardless of the quantity of the dosage.

While Lexapro fares better than most other anti-depressants in the intensity of withdrawal symptoms, there are a few drugs whose withdrawal symptoms are even milder than Lexapro’s though slower in their therapeutic action.

More than 50 different symptoms have been reported with antidepressant withdrawal. These include:

Dizziness Nausea, Fatigue, Headache, Gait instability and Insomnia
Why withdrawal symptoms: Withdrawal symptoms are considered normal with antidepressants that have a short half-life. A half-life is the amount of time it takes for half the quantity of drug to clear from your body. Drugs such as Effexor, tricyclics, MAOIs and many other SSRIs including Lexapro are cleared relatively quickly from the body, hence they cause withdrawal symptoms. But, Prozac causes the least amount of withdrawal symptoms because it has a long half-life of two to four days. Important information about withdrawal symptoms of anti-depressants: Not all Lexapro users suffer severe withdrawal symptoms. Those who do, suffer it for a week to two months. In contrast: Effexor withdrawal symptoms are seen in almost 80% of users and the symptoms quite often last more than two months.
Paxil withdrawal symptoms are seen in over 50% of users.
Deprex is a natural alternative for treatment of depression. It is slower to act, but it does act and that too without the side-effects or withdrawal symptoms seen with Lexapro and other anti-depressants.
Prozac causes the least amount of withdrawal symptoms due to its long half-life of two to four days.
Serzone, Wellbutrin and Remeron are the newer anti-depressants and rarely give rise to withdrawal symptoms. Lexapro withdrawal symptoms are usually tolerable if the treatment is tapered off instead of being abruptly stopped. Always get a tapering program from your doctor instead of devising one yourself.

It is quite incredible to see athletes break records and set new ones. It never quite might click that their performance has been assisted by certain substances. While it is virtually undetectable, rhGH in sports accrues many benefits for the user. Many sports people will swear that they would rather be dealing with possible consequences of being banned, getting ill with side effects or appearing to be too fit for the eye, to simply not using the recombinant human Growth Hormone.

But there are many other benefits. A particularly good use for the rhGH is the treatment of Growth Hormone Deficiency. Sufferers of this condition who range from children to adults have a rather hard time just staying alive like the rest of the population. In effect, being deficient in such a thing as HGH means that aspects of growth in you are reduced, mal-effected and sometimes- for the severe cases, totally absent.

Bone density is the first casualty in these matters. Suffers of this condition are always at a risk of breaking bones whose density is very low. They have to operate as if in hiding because virtually every normal life activity could proclaim disaster for them.

Another problem with GH deficiency is that the affected children, especially boys, suffer joint and muscle aches which sometimes includes swelling about the joints. Sufferers are faced with vomiting and visual maladies. In cases, there psychological problems involved. The most obvious situations that speak of GH deficiency are cases of withdrawal and depression. In other cases it could also show up as memory loss.

The rhGH is known to work in improving these situations. People who are assailed by these problems do not have to suffer to the end of their days; rhGH is renowned for enabling reduction of these main symptoms and making life generally easier for these people. In the best of scenarios, you can even have some of these side effects reversed.

A most important thing to do is seek the right mode of ingesting these supplements. For those who are more attracted to the injection, more risks are involved here. One of these problems is brought about by the cost. You should be ready to dig as deep in your pocket as up to $2800 a month for the standard dosage of rhGH. The other problem is that every time you inject yourself, you are encouraging lipoatrophy. This is a consequence of injecting the same spot or general area.

The effects of lipoatrophy are such that the skin fat layer shrinks only at the particular spot. Experts advise users to distribute the number of jabs necessary for your dose in the several possible areas for injections. These areas are the buttocks, the thighs or the stomach.

So many different factors can cause insomnia that saying that any 1 reason stands out from the others is difficult. But make sure your doctor ferrets out what’s causing your sleeplessness; otherwise the prescribed treatments may not be as effective.

The most common reasons for wakefulness include:

Anxiety or stress Certain medications like diet pills, blood pressure and allergy and asthma medication Chronic medical conditions that cause pain or discomfort like arthritis or asthma Depression or other emotional problems Food and beverages that contain stimulants like caffeine or that cause digestive upsets Poor sleep habits, like going to bed at at different time each night or sleeping in a bed with pets

Work with your doctor to figure out what’s causing your insomnia. Carefully consider the role played by stressors, emotional problems, medical conditions, stimulants like caffeine or nicotine, medications, sleep habits and your sleep environment

Why take a sleep aid if the real reason for your insomnia is excessive caffeine consumption? Cutting back on the caffeine makes more sense. Pinpoint the exact cause so that your doctor can prescribe the proper treatment as well as consider and treat any co-existing medical conditions that may be contributing to your insomnia

Many prescription medications can cause temporary insomnia including some decongestants, bronchodilators, non sedating antidepressants, diuretics, thyroid medications, antihistamines, blood pressure medications and medications for epilepsy and heart rhythm abnormalities.

Check the warning label. If a particular medication says that it may cause nervousness, jitteriness, or sleeplessness, look for another formulation that doesn’t cause these side effects.

Although the inability to get to or stay asleep is certainly the most obvious symptoms of insomnia, the condition does cause other symptoms that you may not recognize as being connected to your sleep problems.

In addition, insomnia itself isn’t just a condition; it may also be a symptom of another, more serious underlying condition. Your doctor needs to check you out thoroughly so he can put the whole puzzle together and prescribe an effective treatment for your sleeplessness.

The most common symptom of insomnia is sleeplessness. Other common symptoms may include:

Anxiety Brain fog or difficulty concentrating Drowsiness Fatigue and Impaired memory Irritability

These are all common symptoms of insomnia. Chronic symptoms can also cause a variety of less common symptoms many of which you wouldn’t normally associate with insomnia. Less common symptoms may include:

Apathy Headache Increased blood pressure Low energy An overall feeling of sickness or malaise Weight gain

These less common symptoms generally only show up after a person has been suffering from insomnia for an extended period of time, at least a month or more.

#2 of 7 – The Secrets of Nutrition & Flexibility

As a yoga teacher, I can tell you that there are 3 poses that everyone wants to learn as soon as possible: full lotus, headstand, and crane pose (bakasana).

Of these three, full lotus is probably the most challenging — but it’s well worth the effort. The Hathapradipika says “there is no asana like padmasana (full lotus).” So there you go!

TOO MUCH DESK TIME?

Ask any non-yogi office worker to sit down on the floor and cross his legs, and 9 out of 10 times, his knees will be way off the floor and his back will be hunched up like Quasimodo.

Anatomically speaking, there’s a lot going on here, but on a basic level, the dude’s got tight hips.

YOGA NOT WORKING?

If your hips are really tight (i.e. you have nightmares about squat toilets), your average yoga class will only help you make small gains… say 10-20% per year.

In order to double or even triple your progress, keep going to class (this is essential), but take ten minutes each day and practice the postures listed below.

BUTTERFLY (a.k.a baddha konasana)

1 – Sit on the floor

2 – Bend your knees

3 – Bring the soles of your feet together

4 – Pull your feet as close to your crotch as possible

5 – Fold forward and place your finger tips on the floor

6 – Walk your fingertips forward until you can’t fold any further

7 – RELAX everything (legs, back, neck, head, arms)

8 – Breath normally for 3-5 minutes

Looks like this: http://tinyurl.com/2n9oe6

(but stretch your arms forward… and relax!)

THE LUNGE (a.k.a. ouch!)

1 – Take Downward Dog

2 – Step your right foot between your hands

3 – Drop your left knee to the floor

4 – Push your right foot forward until the right ankle is underneath OR in front of the right knee

5 – Bring both hands onto the floor inside of the leg

6 – If it’s comfortable, drop down onto your elbows (if not, don’t!)

7 – RELAX everything (legs, back, neck, head, arms)

8 – Breath normally for 3-5 minutes

9 – Repeat on the other side

Like this guy: http://tinyurl.com/2so4kw

(but put your hands or elbows down, take your shoes off… and relax!)

I used to be the guy who sat like Quasimodo, but now I can comfortably take full lotus for an hour or more at a time, and it was primarily these two poses that opened me up. If you do these postures as I’ve described, you’ll be blown away with the results!

A Couple of Tips:

- Don’t push or use force… relax completely!

- Practice these stretches 6 days per week (consistency is essential)

- Breath normally

A BIT OF ANATOMY

The two big muscles that are often blamed for tight hips (though they’re not the only culprits) are the iliacus and the psoas–sometimes called the hip flexors or iliopsoas. These tough tissues enable us to lift our legs when we’re lying on our back, or lift up our torso in a sit-up.

The iliacus originates on the inner bowl of the pelvis, the psoas (the weird one) on the lumbar spine. Both cross the floor of the pelvis, the outer edges of the pubic bones, and insert on the inner upper femur (thighbone).

NOT MAKING ANY SENSE?

Basically, you’ve got this big bundle of muscle/tissue that starts at your lower back, extends over your pelvis, and finally connects to your legs. If this tissue gets tight and shortened, you can’t do lotus (or a bunch of other poses either).
Thanks for reading!

Keep practicing,

Lucas

YOGABODY Naturals LLC

http://www.yogabodynaturals.com

Please send any questions or comments to: questions@yogabodynuturals.com

Hormonal therapy and chemotherapy are usually set aside for cancer which has spread beyond the prostate, or in other words, is malignant. Here we look at hormone therapy.

Prostate cancer cells require particular hormones, known as androgens, in order to grow. With hormone therapy, the goal is to get these cancerous cells barred from getting androgen hormones.

One form of hormone treatment employs drugs for preventing the body from producing testosterone. For instance, some medications block the production of natural hormones. Also there are drugs which block hormone production at localized places. LH-RH agonists, (Leuprolide and Goserelin) for one, are drugs that stop the testicles from making testosterone.

Surgery is another alternative in hormonal treatment. The procedure known as orchiectomy removes the testicles; this permanently reduces production of testosterone. The adrenal gland persists in production of the hormone, however, substances called antiandrogens are then introduced; these block the action of all remaining male hormones. This blend of surgery and antiandrogens is referred to as total androgen blockade.

Hormone treatment can control and delay growth of malignant prostate cancer. It typically slows down the cancer for a number of years. When deprived of hormonal material, cancer cell growth rates of slow down radically. However, most prostate cancers continue to grow even without the occurrence of male hormones.

Like other treatments for prostate cancer, hormone therapy may cause erectile dysfunction. Weakening of your bones is one specific dangerous side effect to be aware of. A protracted hormone treatment reduces bone density, leading to fractures. Some of the other side effects can include diarrhea, hot flashes, nausea, and breast growth.