diabetes

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This is an update of a previous post:
http://estelletobygoldstein.com/?p=50

Science keeps changing and moving forward so quickly that even an avowed knowledge addict like me can sometimes do little more than hang on for the ride.

Back when I wrote my earlier post, I already knew for sure that I wanted to live for as close to forever as possible.  Calorie restriction had been touted as one possible way to do do so, and change in the gut flora was one possible mechanism. Read more on Update On Calories and Longevity…

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Okay, so my Continuing Medical Education Provider gave me every imaginable disclaimer on this one.

Abstracts at a meeting, so the demands were not as rigorous as for published articles. There could be confounding factors. A British study; maybe they aren’t wired the same way us yanks are. People who take a nap of at least a half hour during the day have lower blood pressure 4 mm. lower 24 hr. average systolic than folks who don’t. Espresso, on the other hand, raises blood pressure. This study was done on Italians.  Are they wired like us? Drinking enough espresso may also be increasing the incidence of type 2 diabetes, by some kind of an effect on long term glucose (sugar) metabolism. Read more on Helpful Hints From A Former Caffeine Fiend…

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I read a joke once about a husband’s preemptive strike in the bedroom.  He walks in holding two aspirin and a glass of water.  When his wife asks what it’s for he says it’s for her headache.  She replies “But I don’t have a headache.”  “Gotcha!”

Headaches are no fun, so we might as well get a little chuckle at their expense.  And if you suffer from sinus headaches, there might be quick and inexpensive relief your doctor hasn’t shared with you.

Listen, I have had allergies since I was small but sinus headaches have been rare.  That is, until I got my complete dental implants.  They have wildly improved my quality of life, but I have had more intense and regular sinus headaches as a result.  My surgeon had removed teeth prior to the implants and freely admitted he had been up in my sinus area.  He said I could see an ear nose and throat specialist if the sinus headaches became too much of a problem.  He tried to ignore my laughter as I told him I could fix this myself. Read more on What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Sinus Headaches…

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“There’s no such thing as a free lunch” – but there are plenty of free samples when you go to your doctor’s office for a prescription.

Be wary of free samples.

What? Am I asking you to look a gift pill in the mouth? Drugs are expensive, even the co-pay for drugs can be expensive.  What’s wrong with getting a freebie?

First, the drug companies that make them do not give them out forever.  Usually, they give out samples on a newer drug as part of a launch – kinda like a “grand opening” at a store.  The prices are really great that first week and it gets you trained to go to that store.

Another reason drug companies discontinue free samples is that, very often, the insurance companies or government programs may not have them on the “formulary” (the list of available drugs) right away.  As soon as the relevant insurance (mediCal in California) starts paying for them, you can say “Bye-bye” to free samples. Read more on Free Samples Might Carry Heavy Cost — Health…

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Recently, a patient’s widow called to cancel a routine assessment because the patient suddenly died. There had been no freak heart attack and it had not been one of those undiagnosed cancers.  He just “died, suddenly, in his sleep, I guess,” she said. That got me thinking.

The first class of drugs I think about, when I think of sudden death, are the stimulants.  I remember when someone decided that everyone who was going to get stimulants needed to have a “cardiocentric” examination first.  Doctors asked a lot of questions about chest pain, and administered an electrocardiogram.  These precautions were especially interesting because they were – of course – used before prescribing Ritalin. Many child psychiatrists had laughed at me when I cautioned usage of this job, claiming it was the safest medication ever invented. Once – at the peak of my massive weight — an endocrinologist offered me a prescription of Meridia, to get rid of my excess weight.  He did not think the fact that there had been a “few” reports of sudden death should get in the way of my using it. Read more on Sudden Death in Psych Patients — From Medicine…

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I’m nowhere near what anyone would call a “News Junkie.”  My husband, a former newspaper man, often calls my attention to articles of interest and I see headlines occasionally on various web pages, such as Yahoo or Google. But this type of story seems to come up pretty regularly any more.

Yes, most people in our country are in terrible shape.  I probably harp about it more than I need to.  But remember what Mark Twain (another newspaper man) once said:

“Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it!” Read more on Who Needs Wonder Drugs? We Have Vitamin C!…

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There are actually some people who are reporting original scientific research ideas that can help people, a lot – like this one.

cartoon of stem cells arguingThe idea here will be to harvest some sperm stem cells, and change them into insulin producing cells for people who have Type I diabetes (also known as Juvenile diabetes). These are the people who are born without the kind of cells that produce insulin, rather than those who develop diabetes later in life due to lifestyle issues like drinking, obesity and other factors.

This can mean a better life, better quality of life, maybe just life, period, or at least life without a bunch of daily self administered syringes for a lot of people.

Read more on You Don’t Have To Kill Babies To Get Stem Cells…

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She was 29 and I thought she was beautiful, although nobody else did, I am sure.  No normal scales in my clinic could weigh her, but I would put her between four and five hundred pounds.  Except for someone who brought her to see me ( I think, in the back of a pickup truck, but I did not press the issue) she did not leave the house. Others did her shopping, she had some kind of public assistance.

She was on the standard medication for her depression as well as her panic attacks; paroxetine (Paxil) 40 mg, to lower their intensity and frequency, and a little bit of Xanax, which is supposed to stop such attacks in their tracks.  She used it sparingly, hardly at all — no really — she did not use it.  It did not work.  The most addictive medication doctors give for this sort of thing and she didn’t even want it because it didn’t work.   I love this woman, I loved her candor.  She told me the last  psychiatrists had renewed these medications for the last six months,  even though they didn’t work.

What was wrong??? Read more on Panic and Diabetes…

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When I heard shortly before Christmas that another Hollywood star died of suspected prescription drug interactions, I thought, “Here we go again…”

Brittany MurphyBrittany Murphy — young, beautiful and only 32 was the latest rider on the Fame-Drugs-Dysfunctional lifestyle carousel. A month later, still no official cause of death has been issued although rumors abound.  The death certificate said “natural causes” and “cardiac arrest.” In the absence of congenital defects or some type of disease, cardiac arrest in a 32-year-old female is not natural. Read more on Brittany Murphy — Another Victim of Prescription Drug Abuse?…

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