#and also i have no history of heart disease and am healthy and the symptoms didnt start with exercise

[freakinflipflop]

Whoever designed panic attacks to have very similar symptoms to heart attacks? TERRIBLE design flaw

[healthyheartsgurgaon]

Family History and Heart Disease: Are You at Risk?

Heart disease is a major health concern globally, and India is no exception. Many of us have heard stories from our elders about relatives who suffered from heart issues or other heart-related issues. These stories might make us wonder: "Am I at risk of heart attack because of my family history?” We can protect our heart health by taking preventive steps if we know the link between heart problems and relative history. Consulting the best heart doctor in gurgaon can provide insights and personalized advice.

What is Heart Disease?

Many different heart-related illnesses are included under the umbrella term "heart attack". Heart failure, arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats), coronary artery disease, and other conditions are among them. The most common type is coronary artery disease, which happens when the blood vessels supplying blood to the heart become narrow or blocked. This can lead to chest pain (angina), heart issues, and other serious problems.

The Role of Family History

Bloodline history plays a significant role in determining one's risk of heart problems. If your parents, siblings, or grandparents have had cardiovascular disease, you might be more likely to develop it too. A mix of common lifestyle variables and genetics probably accounts for this increased risk.

Genetic Factors

Genes are the basic units of heredity, passed down from parents to children. They can influence various aspects of our health, including the likelihood of developing cardiac disease. Certain genetic mutations can increase cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and other risk factors for coronary artery disease. For example, a condition called familial hypercholesterolemia is caused by a genetic mutation that leads to very high cholesterol levels and early heart failure.

Early Warning Signs

Being aware of the early warning signs of heart problems can help you seek medical attention promptly. Some common symptoms include:

Chest pain or discomfort

Shortness of breath

Palpitations or irregular heartbeats

Fatigue or weakness

Your legs, ankles, or feet are swelling.

If you find these sorts of symptoms are present, be sure to see your doctor right away. It causes you to consult your doctor immediately when you experience any of these symptoms, you might consider consulting Monik Mehta,who provides the best heart care.

Shared Lifestyle Habits

Families often share lifestyle habits that can impact heart health. These include diet, physical activity levels, and smoking habits. For instance, if your family consumes a diet high in unhealthy fats and sugars, you might be more prone to developing cardiac disease. Similarly, if physical inactivity or smoking is common in your family, these habits can increase your risk.

Other Risk Factors

Although a significant influence, relatives history is not the sole one. Other cardiovascular disease risk factors include:

Age: Risk increases with age.

Gender: Men are generally at higher risk, but women's risk increases after menopause.

High Blood Pressure: The heart is strained more as a result.

High Cholesterol: It may also eventually harden into plaque in the arteries.

Diabetes: High blood sugar may damage blood vessels.

Obesity: Excess weight increases the burden on the heart.

Stress: Chronic stress can harm the heart.

Unhealthy Diet: Diets high in saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol can increase risk.

Lack of Physical Activity: Regular exercise is crucial for heart health.

Assessing Your Risk

The first step in assessing your risk is understanding your ancestry. To find out more about your family's cardiac issues, have a conversation with them. Please record the age at when they were diagnosed, since early onset of coronary artery disease in close relatives may be a more accurate indicator of inherited risk.

Preventive Measures

While you can't change your genes, you can adopt healthy habits to lower your risk of cardiac disease. The following are some of the tips you can achieve:

Maintain a Healthy Diet: Consume a balanced diet rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and healthy fats. Limit the amount of sugar, salt, trans fats, and saturated fats you consume.

Exercise Regularly: Every week, try to get in 150 or 75 minutes of vigorous or moderate-to-intense activity. Exercises that are good for the heart include cycling, swimming, walking, and running.

Monitor Your Health: Monitor Your Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, and Blood Sugar. Regular checkups can also help identify issues while they are still small.

Quit Smoking: Seek support to help you quit smoking. Smokers are more prone to get coronary artery disease.

Manage Stress: Practice stress-relief techniques like yoga, meditation, deep breathing, or hobbies that you enjoy.

Limit Alcohol: Drinking alcohol in moderation if you have high blood pressure. In older men, prolonged excessive drinking is linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and is a risk factor for hypertension.

Stay Informed: Educate yourself about cardiovascular disease and stay updated on new research and recommendations.

Conclusion            

The mere fact that heart failure runs in your family does not guarantee that you will have it. Making good lifestyle choices and being aware of your risk of heart attack may help you significantly lower your risk. Remember, knowledge is power. Your heart now is the first step towards a better tomorrow. For personalized advice and treatment, consider consulting heart specialist doctor in gurgaon. Taking proactive steps towards a healthier lifestyle benefits your heart and enhances your overall well-being. Start making changes today for a healthier, happier tomorrow.

To book an appointment with our cardiologist: Dr. Monik Mehta (MBBS, MD, DM, FACC)  Interventional Cardiologist, Cardiologist, Cardiac Electrophysiologist  24*7 Helpline No.: +91–9873214382 Email: heartcare@healthyheartsgurgaon.com

[phawareglobal]

Dawn Clarke - phaware® interview 455

Pulmonary hypertension patient, Dawn Clarke, a resident of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation in Southern Ontario. Despite her rare disease diagnosis, Dawn decided to focus on her mental health and explore her creative passions. She emphasizes the importance of looking after all aspects of one's well-being, including physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. She encourages others to find their purpose and make positive changes in their lives, even in the face of challenges. 

My name is Dawn Clarke. I am currently residing on the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Hagersville, Southern Ontario. This is my mother's homestead, where she's come from. She's indigenous. My father is from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. He is non-indigenous or what we used to call him, Caucasian. I grew up in the military life, my father was in the military. My mom was quite young when she had me and got with my dad and started moving around to different places. Life at the beginning was a little complicated for me. Both parents were strict and that's how my upbringing was with all the things that go along with that. So I became a really quiet person. I should start off too by saying that I did a have congenital heart defects and heart surgery at four months of age. Incidentally, my parents were not at the surgery, so they were about two hours away when I did my surgery. They were back home.

They didn't have a vehicle, so I had no parent there at hospital during my open heart surgery. I did find out about that years later. I believe that there's a lot of childhood traumas that help lead up to the health of where people are now into adulthood. That was something that I had to deal with. So I did get surgery at infancy. I had intended on joining the military. I had actually passed all my testing. I did really well. The only thing I was waiting for was a phone call to say, "Okay, it's basic training time, let's go." For some reason, that call never came. 

I ended up going to school from nursing. When my children were one and a half and three and a half, I ended up going into nursing school. It was quite difficult to say the least as a single mom, single parent, and going through nursing school. Somehow we made it through though. With the help of family and relatives, we did get through that. But after a number of years, I had been really kind of wondering about doing mental health work. I did dabble in some training here and there with the mental health field, but it was kind of something that my brain was always wanting to lean towards. 

A few years ago, I started developing shortness of breath. I was down in weight compared to where I had been for a lot of my adult life, probably about 180 pounds, which is still overweight for a short person. I started getting symptoms when I was working as a nurse. Weight started coming on again. I thought, "Oh, must not be as active as I was before." I was getting a high blood pressure readings, and that had never been an issue before. So even with my cardiac history, I had still been fairly healthy. 

I had been trained to do palliative care nursing, so I was seeing a lot of palliative care patients. I got to the point where my troubles with my breathing became more of an issue, especially to the clients than they were… me coming in, trying to get up the stairs to see them, sitting down and taking a couple of minutes to catch my breath, at a point where I was starting to bring my oxygen in with me to do the stairs or to get from point A to point B to their rooms or anywhere to see them.

By this point, I had gotten quite bad. I finally decided I just can't do this anymore. I'm going into houses that are difficult to maneuver around, also into smoky houses that I always despise smoke, cigarette smoke, and having to take care of myself in front of patients before I could care for them. It was just getting to be way too much. The physical maneuvering of patients became very difficult and I just couldn't keep up anymore.

On top of these things. I also have scoliosis, and it's something that I was diagnosed with when I was 12. So between my back and the pain, between the weight gain and the shortness of breath, it just became very difficult to move people, to turn people to do any things that they needed to get down on the floor to do leg and feet dressings, if they happen to be sitting on a couch, for example.

Yeah, it just became too much. I tried to push further, but I just couldn't. Mentally, I was starting to deteriorate as well. I knew there was something wrong by this point, and I hadn't quite got the diagnosis yet of PH, but it did soon come after pushing and trying to get in to see a doctor.

I think I was diagnosed in June of 2019. I went off work July of 2019. Probably for the next year I was wearing oxygen pretty much 24/7. Sitting in a chair, so where I am now, just maneuvering myself around became quite difficult and caused me a lot of shortness of breath. It was to the point where, "All right, I don't think I can do this anymore." So I had to give that up, give that role up. I did not give up my nursing license, I still have it, but I am now on... What's the term? Non-practicing. So I'm a non-practicing registered nurse. 

I decided to hold onto that because it was a big part of me. It's a big part of my life. It was a great accomplishment for me to get through schooling and having two little ones at home as a single mom. It was something that was really hard to register in my brain that you can't do what you've been doing, but I'm hanging on to this because I knew still at that point, even though everything kind of took a dive down, including my mood and everything else, my look on life, my outlook and the uncertainty, it took a huge chunk out of my wellbeing.

I decided at some point, probably within that first year, "Well, okay, what can I do? I know that I have been thinking about changing careers. I've been thinking about giving up at least the physical part of nursing." There was something still calling me to the mental health world. Well, I started acrylic painting and I sang. I had sang for many years and I liked writing, and that's most of my life, as well. Not that I did a lot of it, but I did like it. And one of my goals since I was a teenager was to write a book, which I still haven't done, but I've started a couple of things.

I've written a few little things, poems. I have a long poem. Those kinds of things all mean a lot to me as who I am as a person. I decided at some point along the way, I'm going to somehow combine the creative things with the mental health and the background of nursing and help other people on their journeys and their wellbeing, as well. 

That became my focus. Not to say that every day is easy or that I can focus on these things every single day. There are still difficulties. I managed to change my viewpoint and my outlook on life and my perception of life, and I managed to change those things to a positive light and decided you can still live. You don't have to lay back and wait to die because what is the purpose of everything that I've done and everything I've wanted to be?

I always, always felt like I had a deeper purpose in life. Some people are good getting their purpose fulfilled through looking after their family or through working in a community, and that's enough. But there's something more that I'm meant to give. I'm still not 100% sure what it is, but I think I'm finally going down the path now. I decided to paint. There was a year, I think between 2019 and 2020 that I really didn't do much of anything, but I think that was my angry year. That was my diagnosis year. It was my spot that made me take a look at my life and decided to change my path. I could lay back and die. Life's over for me, boohoo. I know that's a lot of us. That's where we are. That's where we have been or we're getting to that point. But there is a point where you can take control of what you can. 

I had to look at my blessings. So I had to look at, I have my sons. At that time they were both home with me. I have one still home now. I have my mom, my dad, my sister. Even though I still had a lot of traumas to deal with, which I was currently working through and still am, those people were still close to me and important to me. I was now around my mom's family, side of the family. They were a huge support.

I felt like I couldn't quite leave this area and move away, because I thought about moving down east many times, but I had to use what I could. Also because of being from First Nation's community, I thought there's so much I can do. So I'm going to combine all the things I know and put them into a wellness journey for other people. I'm still not 100% sure what that's going to look like, but I have done many paint parties, you might call them. A lot of them are workshops. I get hired by organizations mostly for say, a personal paint party. Probably 95% of what I have done has been organizational workshops. I'll get people thinking about positive things, so what do they want for themselves that day or that week or month, or what would they like to wish for somebody else?

It could be someone they don't necessarily like so much. What do you wish for that person or yourself? Think of one word or a symbol. It could be a heart. It could be anything and you put that down on the backside of your canvas. You write happiness or love, unconditional love. Anything that you can think of or a heart or a star or anything and that's going to be your focus during that painting. The painting session, you go forward with that thought in your mind. We really try to keep negative thinking out of it because it's very, very easy for all of us to think negatively and go, "Oh, I'm terrible at this," and oh my goodness, there's always negative that we can throw to ourselves. We really try to take that out of the equation and just keep everything to a positive as much as we can. 

I would say that normally it does work and it helps most people to stay in a more positive mindset. Thinking positively, looking after my mental health that's been a huge, huge component of my wellbeing. Continuing to be in therapy because therapy can be for everyone, not just seriously ill people. It keeps us on track. That has helped me by looking after the mental health piece, my emotional piece, my spiritual piece, and my physical. We know that physical and mental health and emotional, spiritual all go together. We can't look after one and not the rest. We can't expect to do well in one and expect everything else to catch up. We've got to purposely look after all of those domains. I find by doing that and keeping myself in check with my mental health as well, even my spiritual health. By spiritual health, I mean even things like connecting to nature. Learning how to connect with nature. Learning how to breathe. Learning how to be calm and maybe put yourself in a better place. 

That becomes really easy to do once you've done it a bunch of times. You may need to focus and push yourself to do it at first, but eventually it's just an amazing place to be. So with meditating, learning how to focus, we can do so much for ourselves. People need to start looking at that, giving themselves that gift because it's there. It is in all of us to do. So by looking at all those domains and looking after each one, we do better for our physical health, as well. My physical being has improved. My breathing has improved. My energy level has improved. My focus is starting to improve a little more, because that's been very difficult to do.

But all in all, if you look after all of those things in your life, you become a better version of yourself. You start to see the world in a positive light again, and not think so much about how much life I have left. I still do think of that sometimes or, "When am I going to die," or, "What's the purpose? If I'm going to be gone in a year or 10 years or five years?" The purpose is because you need to be here now. You need to be here. You're on this earth. You have purpose. You can take from everything that happens to you in your life and pull it in and switch it around, bam, put it out as something that you can do for yourself and for other people. That was my choice. It's not to say that I don't ever struggle with my mood or with triggers or anything that comes up in my life, but I need to know how to come out of that.

With everything I've learned through somatic therapy, through there's a thing called FIT. It's focused intention technique. I learned how to do that, as well. There is training for that. It's something you can use on yourself, and it's something you can use to help other people. Give yourself the gift, I'll use that word again, the gift of life. You get to go forward in the way you want to, in the way that you can. Just do it in whatever way you're able to. If you look after all the pieces of yourself, it gets easier. I guess that would be the biggest thing is transforming my life to meet the needs of not just myself, but others as well. But there came a time where I had to look after just myself, and that was fine. I decided that's okay. This is what I need to do. 

My last job was helping to kill me. It was helping to dive me down lower in depth, because I wasn't able to focus on myself and my needs. That really woke me up. It made me go, "Yep, I guess I have to listen to myself now and listen to my body. It's telling me things and do something about it. Don't just keep pushing it back. Do something about it." I ended up having to move from where I was. My rent was going up a little higher every year. I could no longer afford to live there, because I wasn't working, at least not getting a nursing income. So my sons and I had to move. Thank goodness for our First Nation. They had been building a new set of townhouses and one had just been completed. We were lucky enough to get to move into that right at the time I was running out of money from whatever resources I could get it from.

We moved in here. The rent is significantly lower. I know not everybody has that opportunity, but it enabled me to start looking at what I wanted in life instead of worrying about the financial piece. So even if it's a matter of you have to move in with someone or a relative or something where you might not have as much, you might have to give up some things, which I did, but at least it got me thinking about my life again and having a purpose. So that's where I am now. 

My name is Dawn Clarke, and I'm aware that I'm rare.

Learn more about pulmonary hypertension trials at www.phaware.global/clinicaltrials. Follow us on social @phaware Engage for a cure: www.phaware.global/donate #phaware Share your story: info@phaware.com @phacanada 

Listen and View more on the official phaware™ podcast site

[ddfitnesshouse]

Benefits of Strength Training In 2023

Strength training or Resistance training is the performance of physical exercises that are created to improve strength and endurance. We can do strength training with or without equipment. It provides help us to preserve and enhance our muscle mass at any age.

It can also help you to develop strong bones by stressing your bones, Increasing bone density, and reducing the risk of osteoporosis. By Strength training, we can manage to lose weight or gain weight and it can extend our metabolism to help us to burn calories.

It enhances your quality of life and better your ability to do activities every day. It also protects your joints from injuries. It is also considered a form of anaerobic exercise.

Strength Training is so beneficial for those who are age 60 or older because these type of exercises helps them to build muscle strength, and muscle mass and preserve bone density. Strength training can improve weakness and fragility.

It is beneficial for diabetes patients because it helps to utilize body insulin better which can help lower blood glucose levels.

Recommendation by the experts doing strength training at least twice a week in addition to aerobic activities.

      Here are some examples of these activities:-

 Weightlifting or weight machines and free weights exercises at Gym.

I am using resistance bands.

Lifting light weights and objects like canned goods or water bottles at home.

Using your own body as a weight (pushups, Squats, lunges, wall-sits, and planks).

       Exercise and strength training plays a significant role in managings diabetes and other diseases and gives us the to live a healthy life.

Benefits of Strength Training

It is a type of physical exercise involving resistance to build muscle strength, endurance, and size. It can be done using free weights, weight machines, resistance bands, or bodyweight exercises.

      Here are some benefits of strength training:-

1. Build muscle mass: Strength training is an excellent way to increase muscle mass and improve muscle definition As you gain muscle, you will notice an increase in strength and endurance, which can help you to perform better in daily activities and sports.

2. Boosts metabolism: Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue, even when you’re not exercising. This means that strength training can increase your metabolism and help you to burn calories throughout the day.

3. Improve bone density: It stresses your bones, stimulating the growth of new bone tissue. This can help prevent osteoporosis and reduce the risk of fracture.

4. Enhances joint health: It can help strengthen the muscles that support your joints, reducing the risk of injury and Improving overall joint health.

5. Increase energy level: It can boost your energy levels by increasing blood flow and delivering oxygen to your muscles.

6. Reduces risk of chronic disease: Regular strength training has been linked to a reduced risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis.

7. Improves mental health: It has been shown to improve mood, reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, and boosts self-esteem.

8. Enhances athletic Performance: It can improve your performance in sports and other physical activities by increasing your power

     Overall Strength training is a great way to improve your health and fitness, no matter your age and fitness level. It can help you to build muscles, boost your metabolism, improve bone density and joint health, increase energy levels, reduce the risk of chronic diseases, and enhance your physical and mental performance.

It can be done in a variety of settings, including at home, in a gym, or with the help of a personal trainer. It is recommended that individuals consult a qualified trainer or health care professional before starting any new exercise, especially if they have a history of injuries or medical conditions.

[page-doctor-bekker]

Human Error (transfemme!sarah)

(A/N) this really doesn’t actually have anything to do with sarah being trans, it just takes place in the same universe. this is literally just an event that happened in this au written out so i can write about effects surrounding it without people being confused lol.

-

-

“Reese, we’re slammed, any chance you can take treatment four?” Maggie pointed at Sarah Reese, and then at the fourth treatment room. Sarah looked up from the computer, before grabbing her tablet and heading to the treatment room.

“Hi, Mr. Nearling? I’m Dr. Reese, what seems to be the issue today?” Sarah pushed for hand sanitizer, rubbing her already-dry hands together until the gel had absorbed.

“Trouble breathing…” The man took a few labored breaths, “Cold sweat… I’m shaking, I can’t breathe-”

“Okay, I see, when did this start? Does your chest hurt at all?”

“I… I had a big meeting today and it just happened suddenly. I guess it hurts a little bit.”

“Can I take a listen to your heart?” Sarah asked, already taking her stethoscope off of her neck. The man nodded, and she pressed the drum to his chest. His heart was racing.

He started talking fast, “Are you going to be able to give me a doctor’s note? I’m going to lose my job…” He started breathing faster.

“Has this ever happened before?” Sarah asked, lifting the stethoscope from the man’s chest, “Any history of anxiety or panic disorders?”

“Never like this,” He choked up and coughed a bit, “But, I had social anxiety as a kid.”

“Do you have any family history of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or high blood pressure? Do you smoke, drink?”

“No, none of that,” The man waved his hands, “I’m a healthy guy. A vegetarian, everything- everything is fine! I’m perfect, I can’t-”

“Mr. Nearling-” He was hyperventilating, and Sarah grabbed one of his hands, “Mr. Nearling, I think you’re having an anxiety attack,” Dr. Reese let go of his hand, and hung her stethoscope back around her neck, and tapped on her iPad, “I’m going to give you something to calm you down, then we can talk about coping strategies and I will refer you to outpatient psychiatry to continue care. April, push 1.5 milligrams of Ativan.”

April pushed the medication through the patient’s IV line, and Dr. Reese pulled up a round, spinning stool to the bed and sat down. April nodded at the doctor, and left the room, pulling the curtain shut.

Mr. Nearling calmed down noticeably, which Dr. Reese took as a success - Panic attack subsided. Dr. Reese smiled, “It’s normal to have some residual physical symptoms, mild tightness, shortness of breath, but as the medication works you’ll calm down more and more. Have you ever had a panic attack before?”

Mr. Nearling shrugged, “Maybe? I’ve never gone to the hospital for it.”

“After a severe panic attack you may have more panic attacks in the coming days or weeks, so I’m going to call in a mild benzodiazepine in case you need a bit of help,” Dr. Reese typed that into the tablet, “When you feel the anxiety and panic start up, you definitely want to try coping mechanisms before you take medication for it. The medication is just for if those coping mechanisms don’t work, which sometimes happens and is to be expected every once in a while.”

Mr. Nearling nodded, taking a deep breath. It was shaky going out, but residual anxiety can do that.

“So, a good first step, whenever you’re having a panic attack, is to recognize that you’re having a panic attack. If it doesn’t work to say it in your head, say it out loud,” Dr. Reese tapped the tablet against her leg with each coming syllable for emphasis, “I am having a panic attack.”

“I am having a panic attack.”

And just like that, it was no longer a panic attack. Mr. Nearling went limp, and the monitors started going crazy. Dr. Reese held two fingers to the man’s neck, and yelled out, “I need a crash cart!”

Everything moved fast after that. Sarah was pushed out of the way by two ED doctors, who started barking out orders.

“He’s in cardiac arrest, page CT. Reese, get on his chest-”

Sarah could feel blood pounding in her ears, and she clasped one hand over the other and started humming. Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin’ alive. Stayin’ alive. Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive… No matter how much CPR she performed, she still needed the song to keep her on beat.

“-Milligram of Epi.”

Ah, ha, ha, ha…

“Hold compressions,” Dr. Choi barked, holding two fingers to the man’s neck, “Clear!”

The man’s chest lurched as he was shocked, and Sarah’s heart jumped into her throat. Dr. Choi held his fingers back to the man’s neck, “Another milligram of Epi. Charge to 200.”

Sarah resumed compressions. Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin’...

“Clear!”

Sarah held her hands up, shaking. This never got easier.

“Asystole,” April sighed out, preparing another milligram of Epi. She knew exactly what Dr. Choi was going to ask for next.

“Another milligram of Epi.”

Sarah reached to resume compressions, but Dr. Choi swatted her hands out of the way and did CPR himself. Dr. Choi did it slightly faster than Sarah did. He knew the man was dead.

Sarah squeezed her clammy hands together, shaking like a leaf.

Dr. Bekker rushed in almost immediately after Dr. Choi stopped compressions, and was floored when Choi called time of death.

“Alright, why wasn’t this patient taken to the cath lab as soon as his heart attack was diagnosed?” Ava’s tone was stone cold.

Everyone looked at Sarah.

“He uh… He presented with…” She cleared her throat, “With shortness of breath, mild chest pain, cold sweat, shakiness, and extreme anxiety as well as a positive history for social anxiety. He did not-” She cracked her knuckles, “Um… He also displayed signs of work-related stress and no- Uh, no risk factors for heart attack. I determined he was having a panic attack and ordered 1.5 milligrams of Ativan and started talking about coping strategies with him.”

“Whenever a patient shows up with chest pains they should receive a FULL cardiac workup REGARDLESS of history and risk factors,” Dr. Bekker took a step towards Sarah, and grew louder, “If YOU were in the emergency room with CHEST PAIN, would you be anxious?!”

“I- uh-”

“You did NOTHING you should have. ANXIETY is NOT a contraindication for a heart attack, and now this man is dead. Leaving him to die in the waiting room would be more effective,” She spat out, her tone venomous, “Psych residents, I swear. God, isn’t anyone in this hospital competent?”

Sarah was out of the room before she even knew she was moving. Her feet dragged her away and her heart was practically leaping out of her chest. She felt tears welling up in her eyes and she started chewing on her tongue to avoid letting them go. She clenched her fists as Dr. Charles called her name.

“Dr. Reese! I was paged to the ED, something about you?”

“I need to use the bathroom,” She pushed past him, and he grabbed her arm.

“Sarah,” He whispered, “Go sit in my office when you’re done. I’m going to finish rounds. We’ll talk when I’m done,” He started to walk away, before turning around, “You’re not in trouble, Sarah, I just want to understand what happened.”

Sarah pushed open the swinging door to the women’s bathroom, bolted into the nearest stall and slammed the door shut. She sat down and started sobbing.

I’m in love with her.

She choked on her own snot, and ripped off a piece of toilet paper to blow her nose.

I’m in love with her, and she hates me.

She let out a wail.

i’m in love with her, she hates me, and I failed her.

The bathroom door opened.

“Sarah?”

Sarah held her breath, pulled her knees up to her chest to avoid making any noise.

“I don’t think she’s in here,” Sarah heard April, a gentle voice amongst the madness.

Sarah heard a pager beep.

“Ugh, I have a heart transplant. Whatever, send a note to Dr. Charles and let him know I was looking for her.”

She wants to yell at me some more. She wants to hurt me. She somehow knows about me and I’m going to get fired. I’m going to get fired and be all alone. She knows about me and she’s going to hurt me and I’m going to get fired.

They left, and Sarah let out her breath and let her feet fall to the floor. She blew her nose again, and took a deep, shaking breath. She stood up, and leaned her forehead against the stall door. She took her hair down from it’s low ponytail, and shook it out. She grabbed a piece of her hair and started absentmindedly braiding it - an old anxious habit.

A few minutes and three braids later, she opened the stall door and stared into the mirror in front of her. She wiped away her tears, approached the sink, and splashed water on her face, soaking one of her messy braids in the process. She dried with a thin paper towel, took another shaky, deep breath. She grabbed a helping of hand sanitizer on her way out of the bathroom. Force of habit. Even leaving her bedroom at home she sometimes tries to push the sanitizer button, even though it isn’t there.

Sarah practically ran to Dr. Charles’s office, hurriedly taking her braids out and running her hands through her tangled hair.

She unlocked Dr. Charles’s office door with her key, and closed the door behind her. She did not turn the lights on. Instead, she made a beeline for the couch. There was a throw blanket stored under one of the cushions, and she pulled it over her after grabbing it. She covered her face with a pillow, and screamed into it.

“Sarah?”

She forcefully uncovered her face, before relaxing once she saw it was just Daniel.

“Sarah,” He inquired, sitting down at his desk, “What happened today?”

Sarah sniffled, “I misdiagnosed a heart attack as a panic attack,” She choked out, “Mid-30s male presenting with shortness of breath, mild chest pain, cold sweat, anxiety, healthy weight, vegetarian, panicking with a history of social anxiety, currently experiencing work-related stress, no family history of heart disease, nothing.”

Dr. Charles sighed, “Common mistake. Hardly something to have a-”

“He died, Dr. Charles,” She cried, “He’s dead.”

Dr. Charles’s face hardened, “I see,” He faltered.

“And- And Ava, God, Ava…” She pressed her hand to her forehead, “She yelled at me in the middle of the ED, and she said I was incompetent and-” She choked out a sob, “She hates me.”

“She doesn’t hate you, Sarah,” Dr. Charles’s tone softened, “She’s just… She’s just angry. She won’t be angry forever.”

“I just really messed up today,” Sarah swiped her tears away with trembling hands.

“You did,” Dr. Charles agreed, “You did mess up today, but-”

“I’m going to get sued-”

“Sarah.”

“I’m going to lose my residency and I don’t have a fallback plan, I’m in so much debt and so much trouble-”

“Sarah, you’re not going to lose your residency,” Dr. Charles yelled, and Sarah fell silent. He took a deep breath, “I’m sorry for yelling at you, but you’re not going to lose your residency. Every single doctor has a misdiagnosis in their career, it’s just part of the job.”

“But he died. And it’s my fault.”

“Sarah, you are going to lose patients. And sometimes it’s going to be your fault,” He reasoned, “You’re a good doctor, Sarah, you’re a good doctor who made a mistake. You want to know what happened during my residency? I diagnosed a teenage girl experiencing vomiting and lack of appetite with bulimia,” He raised his eyebrows at Sarah, “She died of malnutrition. Autopsy showed she had ulcers all along her digestive tract,” He shrugged, “She was in too much pain to eat! But all I saw was a sickly thin teenage girl that was vomiting and couldn’t eat.”

Sarah stayed quiet.

“The point is, things happen. Death happens. Sometimes, conditions disguise as one another. Medicine is hardly ever an exact science,” Dr. Charles pointed out, “Human error is expected, you’re not going to get fired, and you’re probably not going to get sued. Mr. Nearling presented with no typical risk factors of a heart attack, and all the typical risk factors and symptoms of a panic attack. Did you purposefully ignore Mr. Nearling’s heart attack?”

Sarah shook her head.

“Boom,” Dr. Charles threw his hands up in front of him, “You had no malicious intent. You made a mistake, a common mistake, on a patient that didn’t present typically, and it had consequences.”

Sarah nodded.

Dr. Charles sighed, and looked at Sarah with a look of sympathy, “And now it will never happen again, right?”

She nodded.

“You’re going to take complaints with these symptoms more seriously?”

She nodded.

“You’re not a bad doctor, Sarah, you’re just a human,” He said, “In med school they always teach you what someone who has a heart attack looks like, just like they taught me what someone who has an eating disorder looks like. You just have to learn to get past that phenotype and look deeper.”

Sarah stayed quiet.

“Look... This is hard. I get it,” Dr. Charles sighed, “Just... go home, Sarah. Take a breather.”

“What?”

“Go home. Come back in a few days. Take a break.”

“Yes sir,” She said, quietly, before standing up to leave.

-

-

(A/N) thanks for reading :) i’m going to build on this at some point and write a follow-up to this one shot. hope you enjoyed! this is a foundation for the parts i want to write, so it doesn’t have too much about sarah’s actual transition. i am so sorry for making ava be mean :(( EDIT: If you liked this, check this out bc I am continuing it!

[apollodrome]

1- the logical thinking indicates that the most probably option is usually the correct option, for example, if a man has lung cancer the most likely option is that is lung cancer is related to his tabaquism, the same aplly on this case, if a person with morbid obesity has some kind of circulation problem then the most likely option is that is related to the weight of that person, now about your question, if you wanna know how morbid obesity relates to health problems then my answer is

2 - read a goddanm biology book (or just google it), the answer is right there, you dont need to ask a random person on the internet about that, and guess what, you cannot put links into asks so im unable to give you the link to any kind of article explaining that, if you wanna know the corelation then just search morbid obesity on wikipedia.

---

This ask is about this post where a woman's health issues are blamed by doctors on her weight, so she loses the weight, and when doctors see that her health issues have not gotten better, but have gotten worse, they order tests that they should have ordered months ago.

I think you misunderstand the point of the post. Let's take the obesity out of this. A woman goes to the doctor for severe cramps, sleepiness during the day, memory and balance problems. Doctors refuse to treat her. That's all there is to this issue - a woman has gone to a medical professional with a set of symptoms, and the medical professional did not test her for the conditions that have the above symptoms.

You give me an example in your ask of smokers having an increased risk of lung cancer, so let's apply this analogy here. A smoker goes to the doctor and says, "doctor, I have difficulty breathing, a painful cough that doesn't go away for months, I lost 50 pounds in less than a month, pain in my hands, fingers and chest." These are very common symptoms of lung cancer. So, what you're advocating for, is that the doctor should refuse to order any tests for the patient, tell them to stop smoking, and send them on their way. We know that some health risks are associated with obesity, in the same way that lung cancer is associated with smoking, so should we not be testing those people for those diseases more often?

People whose father has died of heart disease are at more risk of heart disease, so we test those people for heart disease when they mention they have symptoms. People whose family has ADHD are more at risk of having ADHD, so we test those people for ADHD when they mention they have symptoms. Why is obesity any different? If a disease has already developed, losing weight will do nothing except for decrease that initial risk, but it's past that already if they HAVE THE DISEASE. They have to be treated for the disease. Thin people can get heart attacks, and non smokers can get lung cancer or develop asthma, so why do those people go to the doctor with those symptoms and get tested, and obese people don't?

In some of your replies on that post, you have used this Wikipedia page as your source. On the same page, it says,

"While a majority of obese individuals at any given time are attempting to lose weight and often successful, research shows that maintaining that weight loss over the long term proves to be rare." (Wikipedia includes a reference for this, I've linked it here).

I am using the same research you are using to argue my point. If an obese individual walks into a doctor's office with symptoms of a heart condition, and is told to lose weight, they are basically sentenced to death. As we can see above, long term weight loss may lead to more health risks, and is actually very rare in most people (less than 1 in 100 obese people manage to lose the weight and stay at the new weight), and so if a doctor tells an obese person not to come back until she has lost all of the weight, she may actually die before she comes back to the doctor.

Obesity is an issue, and does increase the risks of some conditions. However, according to the same Wikipedia article you and I have both been using,

"obesity has individual, socioeconomic, and environmental causes, including diet, physical activity, automation, urbanization, genetic susceptibility, medications, mental disorders, economic policies, endocrine disorders, and exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals."

I don't want to assume you're enough of a heartless monster to say "obese people brought this on themselves and therefore deserve to suffer and die due to medical malpractice" as a response to my above point, but JUST IN CASE YOU WERE, that's a whole lot of people you're condemning. You're condemning children who grow up in poverty and whose parents can only afford McDonald's (cheaper than vegetables in the USA), you're condemning my uncle, who had a deadly thyroid issue that wasn't treated in time (he grew up in Soviet Russia) and messed up his metabolism so bad he currently exercises for 3 hours a day but is still extremely overweight. You're condemning people with pcos, people with hyperthyroidism, people with eating disorders and depression. All of those people, in your opinion, do not deserve medical treatment.

With what we now know, let's summarise.

Fact 1: people who are obese have a higher risk of developing certain disorders, in the same way that someone with a family history of heart problems may develop heart problems, however, no disease is directly CAUSED by obesity and obesity alone. If that were the case, thin people wouldn't get those diseases at all, but I know many thin people with narcolepsy, cancers, and heart issues.

Fact 2: obesity can be caused by many factors, not just eating a lot of junk food. I've already mentioned hyperthyroidism, eating disorders, pcos, and poverty as some of those factors, but there are more. A lot of those factors are not the fault of the obese individual. We also know that once someone is already obese, keeping off weight that they lose is extremely difficult and takes a long time.

Fact 3: when a smoker goes to the doctor with symptoms of lung cancer, they are told to stop smoking, but they are also SCREENED FOR LUNG CANCER and TREATED IF THERE IS LUNG CANCER PRESENT.

Fact 4: according to the woman in the original post, she went to the doctor with symptoms of narcolepsy and other issues, was told to lose weight, BUT WAS NOT TESTED FOR THE DISEASES SHE IS AT RISK FOR, OR TREATED.

Do you see my point now? Yes, obesity is linked to diseases, but that should mean that people who are obese are screened and treated MORE OFTEN, not less or god forbid not treated at all. Preventing obesity by exercising and eating well is something we should definitely do ON A GLOBAL SCALE (better mental health help for people with depression/eating disorders, cheaper vegetables for people in poverty, more education, less fast food places), to decrease our risk of the diseases that obesity is associated with increasing the risk for (type two diabetes, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, certain cancers), but if someone is already obese, weight loss is no longer a cure, and actual treatment needs to be administered. Weight loss was never a cure, it is a PREVENTATIVE MEASURE, and not even a good one according to the evidence I've provided above. Healthy eating and exercise are good preventative measures, but they do not always contribute to weight loss. So why do doctors prescribe weight loss in the form of pills and calorie restriction, rather than eating HEALTHY and exercising? ALSO, if weight loss was a cure, non-obese cancer patients, non-obese people with narcolepsy, and non-obese people with eating disorders would also be told to lose weight rather than given treatment. So why is weight loss the ONLY treatment doctors give obese people? Obesity is much more complicated than a person just eating a lot of junk and getting fat, that's not how it works.

You know how we "eliminate the most probable option"? WE TEST THE PATIENT FOR IT, AND IF THE TEST COMES BACK NEGATIVE WE ELIMINATE THE OPTION. Why was the woman in the post not tested, and why do you advocate for this? Why do you think a group of people deserves medical attention less than others?

Here's another analogy. Wearing a mask and staying six feet away from others is a PREVENTATIVE MEASURE for covid. When a person already has covid, they are not told to wear a mask and stay six feet away from others. They are put in a hospital and treated. What you are advocating for is akin to sending a person with covid symptoms away with a mask, and not treating them at all.

To summarise: correlation is not causation, all people deserve medical help (people who are turned away from doctors a LOT are women, people of colour, and fat people. Medical discrimination needs to be eradicated in all of those cases) and you are in no position to decide who deserves to be treated and who doesn't.

I'm not overweight myself. I just care about people receiving the medical treatment they need and deserve, regardless of what they look like or what other conditions they already may have. I recommend really looking at yourself and examining the biases you have against fat folks, and figuring out how to become better as a person. You seem to enjoy giving unsolicited medical advice, so here's some from me: stop being a dick.

[theparanormalperiodical]

The REAL Story Behind A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984), And The 11 Demonic Entities Which Are Most Definitely Causing Your Sleep Paralysis

In 1981, The New York Times reported on something rather unusual that was occurring in southeast Asian communities in America. A couple of years later in 1987, The LA Times would pick up on the same, strange story:

In the late 1970s, 130 people died in their sleep.

No cause was pinpointed.

No symptoms were reported.

All they knew was that healthy, young men were crying out in their sleep as if having a nightmare, and then never waking up.

A copy of this edition would fall into the hands of a horror director Wes Craven, and their findings would inspire one of the most iconic horror slashers that is still haunting our nightmares:

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).

But the thing is, this isn’t the first time a link between our dreams - or rather, our nightmares - and the paranormal has been forged. A number of demons, spirits, and entities are said to be hiding in the dark corners of your bedroom and waiting for you to drift into an eternal slumber.

There’s reality in Freddy Krueger’s dream world.

First, let’s talk about this era-defining slasher movie.

1984 is mainly known for one thing: it titled the fictional tale of a dark, twisted dystopian novel penned by George Orwell. But in the actual year, we stumbled into a dark, twisted movie.

A movie that would change the genre forever, and spat out the very first slasher.

Through seven films we follow a simple yet traumatising premise: teenagers have nightmares of a mysterious and yet grotesque figure that attempts to kill them - and sometimes succeed. If they die in the dream, they die in real life.

As the films and even a TV series continue, we discover more about the mysterious figure, Freddy Krueger, and his past, and explore the possibilities of the dream world in which he operates.

‘Couple jokes cracked by the murderous villain and a few million dollars in the bag for Wes Craven later, and we arrive at one of the biggest horror film franchises still haunting those that grew up in the ass-end of the 20th century.

What’s the film based on, again?

Wes Craven has stated that the movie was inspired by those that had survived the Killing Fields in Cambodia. The Killing Fields are a number of sites where more than a million people were killed in what is now labelled the Cambodian genocide.

During the rule of the Communist Party of Kampuchea from 1975-79, anyone who was suspected of a connection with former or foreign governments was to be arrested and executed. The exact number of those that were executed has been disputed, but Yale has indicated through analysis of mass grave sites that at least 1,386,734 people had died at the hands of the Khmer Regime.  

One Cambodian family successfully fled the brutal regime in the 70s, but their son had already been traumatised.

The child would stay awake for days for fear that something in his nightmares would chase him and eventually kill him. He finally fell asleep one night, but would cry out into the middle of the night one last time.

By the time his family got to him, he was dead.

This experience was placed within a wider phenomenon occurring throughout southeast Asian communities, a phenomenon that has actually been established in the medical world: it’s called Sudden Arrthymic Death Syndrome.

Most common among young men (average age of 33) who were seemingly healthy, they would simply cry out in the middle of the night randomly, and then they would die. It was later discovered that this wasn’t an unexplained phenomenon; they were suffering from undiscovered medical problems including a slightly large heart and other defects.

This rare syndrome was first noted in the Hmong refugees in North America in 1977, and is most often associated with southeast Asian immigrants to the US and Canada.

What’s really interesting, though, isn’t the medical proof that you can indeed die in a nightmare. It’s the paranormal link to SADS, as it is also known.

Medical journals have already outlined the link between the victims of this syndrome and their cultural beliefs in the spiritual world. This was first suggested in regards to the Hmong population: 

Hmong cultural beliefs traced back this phenomena to nocturnal pressing spirit attacks.

To the Hmong people of Laos, dab tsuam - a spirit which takes the form of a jealous woman - sits on one’s chest and suffocates you in the middle of the night. And it turns out each culture right across the globe has their own negative spirit or entity that supposedly causes what we now call sleep paralysis.

The Hmong belief developed in the 1970s and 1980s, however, to take into account the political context. When the syndrome began a timely outbreak in this period, many were unable to worship properly as a result of the guerrilla war against the Laos government. By failing to worship properly, whether they were incorrectly performing rituals or failing to carry out sacrifices, the ancestor or village spirits would not protect them.

This claim is not impossible to make: many still confuse sleep paralysis from which you are awake but unable to move or make any noise with paranormal activity. This is become typically one witnesses strange, shadowy figures or terrifying entities near them and feels suffocating pressure on their chest at the same time.

That being said, a link to the supernatural has been present throughout history. And maybe, just maybe, there is something going bump in the night.

It’s time to talk about the 10 other terrifying sleep paralysis demons that are probably haunting you in your sleep.

Without summarising the entirety of human history, it’s safe to say that before science could explain natural phenomena, gods, spirits, and demons were used to make sense of the world.

Before we knew what sleep paralysis was, we pinned it on the paranormal.

Most often entities or spirits would be considered to be causing such an affliction. Even the term ‘nightmare’ can be traced back to a mare, a Norse spirit that would crush people’s chest in the dead of the night and cause traumatic nightmares for the victim.

According to folklore, the mare was believed to ride horses, leaving them exhausted and covered in sweat - a symptom associated with night terrors and nightmares. Mare would also tangle their hair, another symptom of thrashing around in one’s sleep, I guess - but this can be related to the Polish plait phenomenon (a hair disease from which one’s hair becomes matted).

Mares are also associated with witches when they would take on the form of animals. Their spirits would effectively leave their bodies, enter the animals they would possess, and leave them in a trance.

Scandinavia, Germany, and Poland are the most popular champions of mares and have their own takes on the typically dishevelled creature. In fact, some of them bear a similarity far too close to Krueger.

And the mares aren’t alone.

#2 - Kana tevoro, Fiji

Feeling the weight of a jealous old woman sitting on your chest is by no means a pleasant experience. Being eaten by a demon, or kana tevoro, is far worse.

Fijians believe the spirit of a recently deceased relative takes the form of this demon who returns to their living relative to impart important information or complete unfinished business.

Although the idea of being eaten by an evil entity sounds like something you’d much rather not experience, those sleeping near you should say “kania, kania” (“eat, eat”) in order to prolong the possession. It’ll give the relatives a chance to talk to you and explain why they have returned.

When the person being eaten awakens, they should curse or chase away the spirit to end the terrible experience. Simply tell them to go away, and you will be free from their midnight snack.

#3 - Phi Am, Thailand

Thailand is also home to demons seeking a feast in the dead of the night.

Sleep paralysis in this part of Asia is caused by the ghost Phi Am (‘phi’ is the word for ‘ghost’ in Thai), a spirit that is known to cause bruising, a tell-tale symptom of violent spirit or demonic attacks.

Phi Am sits on your chest while you are asleep, and often causes troubled nightmares and uncomfortable sleep. Some even claim this Phi can kill you in your sleep.

#4 - Dip-non, Tibet

In Tibetan culture, the phenomenon of sleep paralysis goes by the name ‘dip-non’. Roughly translated from Tibetan, this means that one is oppressed or struck by a shadow, referring to a ‘spiritual pollution’.

Despite little being mentioned on the web, it sounds like this refers to an individual’s depression or spiritual emptiness, and thus means something far more personal than paranormal.

#5 - A collection of evil beings, Pakistan

Pakistan gives their take on the Old Hag far more backstory than other nations. Sleep paralysis on this part of the planet is considered to be an encounter with one of three things: jinns, demons, or Satan.

(Take your pick, I guess.)

It is supposedly caused by black magic that is performed by enemies or those that are jealous and wish to cause harm to the victim. To protect against this, Pakistani culture dictates several measures for defending against evil supernatural beings.

This includes wearing Ta’wiz, an amulet to ward off an evil eye, performing exorcisms, and blessing haunted houses with specific Muslim practices.

There is no specific Old Hag sitting on the chests of innocents in Pakistan; instead, any ol’ negative spirit or entity will do the trick.

#6 - Jinn and/or a nameless African Queen, Egypt

Out of all cultural groups, Egyptians are probably the most terrified of sleep paralysis. A huge number of studies and investigations have even attempted to explain the high incidences of such troubled sleep.

Unfortunately, the information on the beast they believe to be haunting them is limited.

You have two options: there’s the evil African Queen who might be Lilith, a female demon belonging to Jewish mythology, or it’s just jinn.

Evil jinn typically bear the blame for sleep paralysis as a result of the strong religious traditions still present within the country. According to Islamic mythology, jinn are genies and this is not the only time they have been blamed for a bad nights sleep.

#7 - Dukak, Ethiopia

‘Dukak’ - that is, ‘depression’ - is sleep paralysis that is caused by an evil spirit possessing one in their sleep. But this possession might be associated more with khat, a stimulant which can cause excitement or euphoria.

By quitting khat, users experience hallucinations which are punishments from dukak, a personification of the depression as a result of the withdrawal. The dukak takes pleasure in extreme forms of punishment aside from sleep paralysis, including forcing someone to swallow a bag of gravel, or being put in a bottle and the bottle being shaken violently.

Don’t do drugs, kids.

#8 - Haddiela, Malta

The entity halting this island nation in their sleep is Haddiela. They take the form of a stereotypical Old Hag that spends the evening lounging on your ribcage. To get rid of them simply place some silverware under your pillow.

Interestingly enough, Haddiela is married to Hares who is considered to be an entity similar to a poltergeist.

#9 - Women executed in the Salem witch trials, USA

It’s peculiar.

No, really, this one is weird.

Each country has folklore that can be followed back to the darkest depths of history. And most of the spirits, demons, entities, and jinn mentioned in this article can be traced back just as far. But the sleep paralysis experienced by those in America during the Salem witch trials was actually pinned on the witches on trial.

Jon Loudner was one of the first to experience this, and gave his encounter as evidence in the trial of Bridget Bishop, the first woman to be executed for witchcraft in the trials.

Loudner claimed something of her likeness attacked him in the middle of the night and made attempts to suffocate him in a manner similar to other sleep paralysis entities.

“… I going well to bed, about the dead of the night felt a great weight upon my breast, and awakening, looked, and it being bright moonlight, did clearly see Bridget Bishop, or her likeness, sitting upon my stomach. And putting my arms off of the bed to free myself from that great oppression, she presently laid hold of my throat and almost choked me. And I had no strength or power in my hands to resist or help myself. And in this condition she held me to almost day.”

Yeah, you gonna want to rethink that Sunday morning lie in.

Liked this article? Love the paranormal? Go on and tap follow to read a new article about the supernatural every weekend and hear a new ghost story everyday.

Oh, you can’t wait to get your hands on more real evidence and experiences of the paranormal? Then you need to head over to the People’s Paranormal Archive, the online collection of real stories of the supernatural.

[spoons4spoonies]

Story Time: POTS diagnosis

I was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (or POTS, since that’s a mouthful and a half) in August of last year. It was nearing the end of my gap year, which was supposed to be a period of rest and healing, not of gaining new unwelcome symptoms and new diagnoses.

I had as usual set myself an unrealistically (in hindsight) high goal of becoming a completely healthy and abled person by the time I started university, as I simply could not wrap my head around the idea that I would be able to cope otherwise. In other words, it was get better or you will fail and never amount to anything and always be miserable – and yeah, needless to say as the time drew nearer and my body showed no signs of obeying my strict instructions, I entered more and more panic spirals of despair.

At this point I would like to return to the present to let you know that I have just finished my first year and survived my first lot of exams since the endurance test that was A-levels. Not to say that it has been easy – of course university was never going to be a walk in the park – but I have done well and I should be proud of myself.

(I know this because my mother keeps sending me postcards telling me how amazing I am. Bear in mind that she lives twenty minutes away and visits me once a week – often to hand the postcards over herself to save on postage.)

Anyway, unless you have it or know someone who does, you have probably never heard of POTS. It is essentially a problem with my blood pressure and that is what I stick to when I’m asking someone for their seat on the tube. When a normal fully-abled person stands up, their blood pressure increases slightly to account for the increased effect of gravity – mine does not and as a result my heart is forced to pump faster to keep blood going to my brain. My heart rate can increase by up to forty beats per minute just from getting up off the couch.

Symptoms include dizziness, an inability to stand up for long periods of time, nausea, headaches, fainting (though thankfully I have never experienced that one), digestive problems, fatigue (like I didn’t already have enough of that), heart palpitations (just casually in the middle of the night when you haven’t moved for hours) and even shortness of breath. Of all of these, I would have to say that the heart palpitations are the worst. They do not hurt exactly, but they are terrifying – especially before I had my diagnosis – and make it hard to breathe.

It is hard not to panic when your body is doing it’s very best to simulate a panic attack.

I have a friend whom I met online who suspected they had POTS and I’d been aware of it for some time before I started to consider whether I myself might have it too. I’ve read that about a third of those suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome also have POTS so it wasn’t a wholly unlikely scenario. I had also read the NHS page for it and noted that I had many of the symptoms, however, this was not conclusive proof to me as the problem with autoimmune diseases is that the symptoms overlap a lot.

Then I started a course of birth control pills and my CFS specialist, Dr S, wanted me to take measurements of my blood pressure to check that it wasn’t causing any problems. As it turns out I have fairly low blood pressure, so there’s no risk of getting a stroke from my daily dose of oestrogen. More importantly, I noticed how my heart rate would increase far beyond normal levels if I took a reading whilst sitting down and then another after standing up. This was the proof I needed to self-diagnose.

From there on out it was a case of proving the matter, so we brought it up with Dr S and she referred us to a cardiologist.

There was a bit of a kerfuffle when we arrived at his clinic, as it turned out to be a children’s hospital, which as a nineteen year old I was theoretically not supposed to be treated at. On the bright side, there were a lot of cartoon fish on the walls. Whoever decided that adults don’t need cute animal drawings in hospitals fundamentally misunderstands what it’s like to be in a hospital.

Eventually we managed to sort the whole situation out and I was taken downstairs to have an electrocardiogram. This was to test the electrical activity of my heart – don’t ask me how that works or what exactly the point was because the science went over my head. All I can say is that it didn’t hurt and there was something oddly exciting about being hooked up to a bunch of wires. But that might just be me and all the superhero media I consume.

Then I went to meet the cardiologist, Dr D, and give him a history of my symptoms.

It had not even crossed my mind up until that point that there might be something “seriously” wrong with me, by which I mean something life threatening, so needless to say it rather came as a shock when the cardiologist did an ultrasound of my heart to check that it didn’t have any holes (and I quote). In retrospect it might have been a joke, but it certainly didn’t land well with me.

The fact that I had a cold and unpleasantly slimy machine on my chest and was lying there with only a fairly ratty, old bra to protect my modesty did not help. This again was something that had not occurred to me and I was deeply grateful for the presence of my mother in the room so that she could fill the awkward silence with small talk and I could focus on breathing normally. It is extremely strange to hear your own heartbeat sounding like a foetus’s on TV and be painfully aware of the fact that anyone around will literally be able to hear your nerves.

Ultrasound over with, chest wiped down and clothes thankfully put back on we sat down to discuss what was next. Dr D was fairly confident from my description that I did have POTS but obviously I had to go through the whole process before it could be official. In the meantime he gave us some advice about dealing with the symptoms:

1.       Drink lots of water. Aim for three litres a day.

2.       Eat lots of salt. Aim for ten milligrams a day.

3.       Stand and sit up slowly and jiggle your legs to get the blood moving.

4.       Exercise.

This I interpreted as a prescription for Pringles and an excuse to hold in the face of people who tell me to stop fidgeting. My mind happily slid over the recommendation of exercise as a “Problem for later me” A.K.A something I hoped I’d be able to put off indefinitely.

Building up muscle, fitness and stamina are all worthy things and have helped now that I’ve achieved them, but in conjunction with my CFS they have often seemed impossible goals. Also, I like sitting down.

I shall now elaborate on the third recommendation, which I follow every morning, doing a funny little dance about my room to bring my limbs to life. I pity the person who lives below me in my student accommodation… at least I am rarely up before eleven. The hilarious point about this was that Dr D took it upon himself to give us a rather long and overly serious demonstration, standing up from behind his desk and jiggling about on the spot with a completely straight face.

Both my mother and I were struggling to maintain the same level of facial control.

It was a couple of weeks before we could return to London to embark on the next step of diagnosis: getting a blood pressure monitor fitted that must then stay attached for a whole twenty hours, taking measurements on the hour every hour. This was something of a trial as I had to walk around with a bunch of thick tubing wrapped round my neck and with the machine strapped round my bicep.

I garnered a lot of stares as people must have assumed I had something serious going on. The fact that it beeped loudly and inflated with a sound like an airbed being pumped up at every measurement, did not make it inconspicuous to say the least. It also meant that I barely slept through the combination of loud noises and the clamp tightening on my arm.

I was thoroughly exhausted the next day when we went to drop it off and then continue on to a hospital in order to do the tilt test. This involves being strapped to a table which is then tilted upright from the horizontal and then being stuck there for the next twenty minutes (feels like three hours) whilst measurements of your blood pressure and heart rate are taken. I already felt ghastly but by the end of this I was ready to curl up in a ball on the floor and stay there for the rest of my life.

The doctor administering the test ran through the results with us, confirming that I had POTS – though technically we still had to wait for Dr D to give the all clear as it were – and then confidently asserting that I didn’t have CFS and certainly didn’t have any mental health problems and should stop taking my antidepressant straight away since it was all because of POTS and once I started doing some exercise I’d be fine.

Right…. Thanks Karen.

One more appointment later I had my official diagnosis. Alas, having trekked halfway across London to make this appointment, it only lasted ten minutes and mostly consisted of me being told to come back in six months when I had tried some exercise and then we’d see about medication.

We have postponed this reunion indefinitely as I have seen little change for the better – though in truth I have not gotten started on the rigorous exercise plan he had in mind – but nor is it sufficiently bad that I am in desperate need of medication.

I have found that the most useful tool in combatting my symptoms are compression garments as they help with my circulation. I have some tights, a knee support, gloves and several random bits of tubing that can be used anywhere. They reduce pain and allow me to stand up for longer.

Mod H

[wlwdjh]

hi. i think i might have some early fibromyalgia but the internet isn't helping me too much. how did you get a diagnosis? how did it feel for you in the beggining? please i need some help i have been struggling with health for a few years but lately its gotten worse and neither my mum (undergraduate in medicine) nor any doctors ive been to know whats going on. Ive been on antidepressants for a while but stopped them. i cant say they helped. do you have any experience you can share?

Hi hun. First I want to preface this by saying I am in no way a medical professional so all I can do is share my experience. I also am located in the United States and have health insurance, which is going to make my experience different than a lot of others. I’m gonna put the rest under a cut just in case anyone has trouble reading about medical issues.

Fibromyalgia is a weird diagnosis, in that it’s a diagnosis by elimination. Before I was diagnosed by a Rheumatologist (a doctor who specializes in diseases of the connective tissue like arthritis) I spent years working with my doctor to figure out the source of my chronic pain. At 19 I was in a car accident and my doctor checked me over and took x-rays, all of which came out completely normal. Slowly over the course of the next few years though my health started to deteriorate.

At first I thought it was only mental. I was having major anxiety, to the point where I couldn’t go to school, and depression severe enough that I couldn’t get out of bed. I was sent to a psychiatrist, who listened to my symptoms for 15 minutes, diagnosed me with a panic disorder, and prescribed me Fluoxetine (Prozac) and sent me on my way.

Here’s the thing with meds - they work, but it’s often a struggle to find the right one. A lesser known symptom of Fibromyalgia is medication sensitivity. While Prozac works wonders for millions of people, it was way to strong for me, and left me feeling like a zombie. So after a few months of this drug, I went back to the same doctor. He maintained his previous diagnosis but switched me to Buspirone, a medication that is used just for the treatment of anxiety. I definitely think that it helped, but it didn’t do anything for my depression or any of my other symptoms.

While I was trying to figure out my mental health I started having more severe chronic pain. I was a dancer from twelve to twenty, and was in the best shape of my life when I started having severe joint and muscle pain. I thought I was just pushing myself too hard honestly, and just tried to slow down on my classes. I went from dancing 8-12 hours a week to not at all.

I also was having issues with memory - I was losing gaps in the day and couldn’t focus on things I used to love like reading. I was also exhausted 24/7.

It’s around this time that I dropped my psychiatrist and went without medical intervention for about a year. I realized at 21 that my depression was getting worse and worse - that summer I spent an entire week in bed, and my best friend had to come and make sure I was eating. I started seeing an MFT, and going through my own journey to mental health.

When I finally (through tons of incredibly hard work) pulled myself out of that hole I stopped being emotionally stoic and started noticing hey, my body is getting worse. My IBS symptoms started around the age of 23, and I lost quite a bit of weight just by not being able to eat anything. I also, through the encouragement of my therapist, started going back to my primary care physician, and he started trying to puzzle it out with me. First we thought the symptoms were depression related, so he put me on Welbutrin (which I still take to this day). It was unlike the other drugs in that taking it actually gave me energy and cleared my mind, rather than fogging it up further. Then he sent me to Physical Therapy. The PT was horrified at the state of my back at this point and put me through 8 weeks of grueling therapy. I would leave in incredible pain every day and then have to go home and do more exercises. While it wasn’t pleasant I can say that it gave me some of the knowledge that I use now in trying to treat my Fibro.

I also went through an elimination diet to try to find my trigger food for my IBS. I had never before in my life shown signs of dairy intolerance and then here at the age of 23 I was developing a rash on my arm any time I tried to eat mac and cheese lol. Cutting that out of my diet made a big difference in my gut health.

This whole time I was doing lots and lots of internet research on my own. I remember coming across an article about Fibromyalgia and its symptoms and how my heart stopped when I read it. I took it with me to my next doctor’s appointment and he admitted that he didn’t know much about the disease but that he could refer me to the doctor who did. In the meantime he put me on Gabapentin for my pain (which just made me feel drunk and dizzy half the time, not my fav).

The first appointment with my Rheumatologist was terrifying. I kept thinking that all my symptoms were just caused by my depression, that I was faking, that here I was about to be laughed out of another doctor’s office as a liar and attention seeker. Instead my doctor sat me down, asked me about my mental illness, my family history, my lifestyle, my diet, how bad my pain was, where it was located, and never once suggested that any of my symptoms were in my head. I went home and cried that night - I had never felt more validated in my life.

Before I could get my diagnosis we had to run some tests. My Rheumatologist had access to all of my results from previous x-rays and tests but had to run some blood tests to rule out anything else. I also underwent a physical test where she checked for trigger points - they’re basically small points on your body that cause intense pain when pressed. Almost all of the points hurt me haha. After a few weeks, at 24, five years after my initial onset of symptoms I had my diagnosis. I was prescribed Cymbalta and told to stop eating gluten, start exercising more, and to take care of myself. That’s the hardest part of this condition for me - the only way to treat it is by living a healthy lifestyle, which is incredibly difficult to do on my own due to my mental health issues.

It’s been a journey for me, and I’m sorry to say that everyone I’ve talked to with Fibro has had a journey as well. It’s just not a condition that doctors are quick to diagnose patients with. I know it can be hard but self advocacy is going to be your best bet towards getting a diagnosis. Remember that even without one your pain is still real.

[mandysimo13]

First post of 2020

The last couple years have been a doozy, fam

From lost and shitty jobs to sick family members to bad dates to losing friends to political strife, it’s all been just overwhelming and a seemingly endless line of shit. 

So first thing, I’ll recount the positives (of my life) of this year: 

I was able to finally go abroad again and visit three countries I’ve been dying to visit: England, Scotland, and Ireland. And I was able to do it with a good friend and see a lot of amazing thing in 20 days. 

I started visiting with a group of other tour guides and history nerds for drinks once a month and it’s become much less isolating for me. 

I had an amazing spring tour season with my student groups and was given many good reviews that secured me with offers for this coming 2020 season. 

I joined a new company that specializes in “over 50″ and unique school tours and they have given me opportunities for this coming 2020 student season. Through them I was also able to do my first seniors tour to places I had never been to but was able to absolutely kill it and get lots of good reviews. 

All my friends had something good happen to them this year that gave me happiness because I was able to share it with them. 

My mom’s lupus, amongst other diseases, seems to have hit a plateau and she’s actually been able to manage her symptoms the best in years and lately has been able to have higher energy and less pain. She’s lost weight and is happy and I’ve not seen her this healthy or happy in years. 

But now the shit part, the negatives: 

My dad, who was diagnosed with heart disease and diabetes in 2018, has not been taking care of himself at all and now he needs to have surgery on the major arteries in his leg to clear a 90% plaque blockage in one leg and a 60% blockage in the other. My dad still smokes, refuses to quit, and still has a horrible diet and refuses to change that so this surgery may be all for naught. 

My grandparents are not doing that well, particularly my grandma whose memory is going and she’s becoming increasingly paranoid, mean, and mistrustful. She’s always been a martyr and kind of a bitch but she hasn’t left the house in over a year and has nothing to do all day but think of hurtful comments to say to me. And the kicker is, I want to help her with things. But she won’t let me so it’s a continuous cycle of hurt and worry and disappointment. 

While I have a partner (he’s in an ethical poly relationship and already married) he cannot provide me with the things I want -marriage, children, a home with a partner, etc.- and as such I am functionally single. He is very encouraging with me finding someone else and is happy to be here for me in the meantime. But it also means I have no backup during family stuff, I don’t bring him around to events as a date, and I end up feeling like second fiddle to his wife despite his best attempts to tell me I’m not. 

My finances have been less than ideal for the last few years because of all kinds of crap circumstances and I’ve been trying to claw my way out of my family’s house so I can live on my own again. 

Several friends of mine have had major losses in their life (one her wife, one her mother, one her husband) and being an emotional anchor has been difficult. But also coupled with the fact that so many good things have happened (one friend sold her house and is moving to a bigger and better one, a couple got new pets, some got promotions and degrees and advancements in their careers or school endeavors, one is trying for kids) I feel a little left behind. Like I’m not good for anything aside from highlighting the fact that others are doing well because I’m not where I want to be. (A feeling I’m working on snuffing out) 

Politics in the world, but most troubling for me is the US since that’s where I live, have been exhaustingly bad. I’ve had to take several news breaks just to keep a semblance of sanity and then get upset when I catch up because it’s just one shitstorm after another. Rollbacks on environmental protections, removal of social welfare protections and benefits, more hate crimes, equality for women/minorities/children/immigrants/queer folks are all on the chopping block. It’s depressing. 

I haven’t felt as creative as I have in the past. I’ve written less, drawn even less than that, crocheted very little. I’m mentally and physically exhausted all the time between labor intensive jobs (one is physically exhausting and one is both mentally and physically exhausting). It’s made me feel like crap because I have ideas. I have WIPs. I have aspirations for creativity. And none of the energy or drive to do it. I also have not found the energy to do research and further my historical knowledge for tours. 

It’s hard not to feel like I’m a failure. It’s hard not to feel like it’s all too much and I should give up and accept life for the shitshow it is and not improve. But I’m trying. I’m trying to look at my friends’ successes and go “I’ll get there”. I’m trying to look at the positives in the news and be excited because maybe not all hope is lost. I’m trying to set boundaries with my family while also being there for them. I’m trying to date and meet new people to build up more friendships and connections. I’m trying to take care of my mental health so I can get my drive back. 

In the coming year I am making plans. I am taking steps. 

I have made an appointment with my doctor to get on some anxiety medication so that when I start to spiral I can pull myself out of it. I am also going to ask for therapist recommendations. 

I have already secured a future roommate, we have discussed expectations and boundaries and wants. We’ll be looking for places come late spring/early summer. 

My projected income for 2020 means that I will actually be able to move out. 

I will continue doing research for companies and tours so that I can keep my income secure and my travel aspirations in sight. 

I have a date tonight (with someone other than my partner, partner is very excited for me and wants to hear how it went afterwards), I have been keeping an eye out for other prospective people to date and have it in mind to ask someone else out. 

I have looked into the sustainability of taking swing dancing lessons (a thing I’ve always wanted to do) and have decided it’s worth it. I plan to start taking lessons soon. This will give me exercise, a weekly engagement to get out of the house, and open me up to a whole new social network. 

I’m trying. I’m working on myself and my goals. I’m tired of feeling like I’m going nowhere. I’m not saying “new year, new me!” but I am saying that I’m working on making the me that’s already here better. It’s gonna be hard, I’m going to feel like I’m sliding back when I may not be. But I’m going to try and focus on the positives, the payoffs, and ask for help when I need it. 

tldr; 2016-2019 sucked. Hoping to make 2020 suck less. I’m trying. 

[femnet]

Confession: I’m afraid of dying. Or I used to be. Maybe it’s because I used to wonder if I was. It all started when I was in my early 20s and I’d have these episodes while sleeping- an alarm bell would go off in my head and I would suddenly jolt up out of bed, gasping for breath, my body half numb, my heart pounding.

Doctors told me it was just anxiety, which in some cases, it is. But I knew in my heart that it wasn’t normal for me. I was the most laid-back, ce la vie person that I knew. I never had a panic attack in my life. But just in case, they convinced me to take antidepressants. Needless to say, they didn’t work.

For several years, I was able to ignore the symptoms. They were vague and would come and go. I told myself I was just out of shape. After all, I used to be a competitive swimmer who swam for hours every day and now I was so busy with work that I only worked out a few times a week. I might feel dizzy and short of breath after a workout one day and feel fine the next. Dehydration, maybe? But I drank water like a mermaid. Weeks later, I would feel weak in my left arm. I went to the neurologist. Then, it was my left jaw. I saw a dentist. I had lung tests for shortness of breath. The pulmonologist said my lungs were clear and my lung capacity was higher than average, probably due to being an athlete.

However, in my 30s, when I started feeling dizzy and faint after lifting a heavy object or leisurely walking around Target for thirty minutes, I started to get scared. I made a few trips to the ER, but the doctors and nurses did not seem worried. My EKG was normal. My blood pressure and heart rate were optimal. X-ray and blood work were stellar. I was just another healthy young woman who worried too much about her health. But just to alleviate my fears and to be prudent, they conducted a plethora of tests: a holtor monitor for palpitations, a tilt test for dizziness, echocardiogram, nuclear stress echo on a treadmill. I passed them all with flying colors. “Good news!” they would say. “It can’t possibly be your heart!” I tried to feel relieved, but the symptoms never went away. And since no one believed me, I suffered in silence.

As a woman, I am NOT alone in my experiences with the healthcare system. It turns out, women really are from Venus. We are just as unique chemically as we are in every other way and we have been historically misdiagnosed and underdiagnosed. There are many more of us out there doubting ourselves. I’ve read too many documented cases and verified studies about women who died too soon or too young because their symptoms were dismissed or misdiagnosed as anxiety or stress by their doctors. Why? It isn’t because doctors don’t care about women. It’s because medicine is not a perfect science. There are still so many things that we still don’t know about our bodies and most diagnostic tests have been tested on men. Therefore, women have to be the experts of their own bodies. We have to be own advocates.

Finally, last year, at the of 36, I could not ignore my symptoms any longer. I was a high school English as a Second Language teacher and I had to walk up 3 flights of stairs every day to get to my classroom, leaving me exhausted, nauseous and dizzy all day long. I would have to fake normalcy with my coworkers and students when secretly I felt like I was a ticking time bomb. I would spend my lunch breaks crying, checking my pulse and obsessively googling my symptoms. I eventually had to quit my job and dedicate myself full time to finding a diagnosis. Now, I can finally say that I’m on the right track.

The greatest relief came when I realized I wasn’t going crazy. All of my independent research finally led me to find more patient stories like mine. I found a support group of (mostly) women, some my age or even younger, with negative tests, no risk factors or family history, but persisting symptoms. It turns out that our main arteries are clear, but we have a dysfunction in our tiniest vessels, which can lead to a chronic lack of blood flow to the heart, a condition now known as microvascular disease. Unfortunately, it is difficult to diagnose as it is difficult to detect with conventional to test. Not only is it difficult to diagnose, but also difficult to treat. However, as more and more is becoming understood about the mechanisms behind it, (some experts believe it is an autoimmune or inflammatory response or genetic disorder), doctors are able to help us manage our symptoms to prevent future problems like heart attack, stroke, or heart failure.  

Contrary to popular belief, heart disease is the leading killer of women of all ages. Women are more likely than men to have heart symptoms or even a heart attack despite having clear main arteries. Women are also more likely to die before, during, and after their first heart attacks. I’m not saying this to scare you. Knowledge is power and women are the best experts of their own bodies. If your doctor says you’re fine, but that little voice tells you that something just isn’t right, seek a second opinion. And a third. If it weren’t for the women in my Facebook support group, I would never have found a specialist for microvascular disease. He is one of only a few in the country. I am crossing my fingers for a definitive diagnosis in February.

But even without one, I know I’ll be okay. I have good days and bad days. I have a support system of friends all over the world. I’ll keep on living and searching for answers and ways to adjust to my evolving situation. I am more in tune with my body and I know my limits. I’m now more comfortable living in a state of “unknown”,  which has helped me cope with living and the idea of dying. Life is precious. I don’t put off my dreams, but I also take one day at a time. I listen to my body instead of the advice of others. I allow myself to be lazy some days. I try not to feel guilty when I have to cancel plans. I try not to care what other people think. I’m kind to myself.

As a teacher and life long learner, my experience has become more intriguing to me than depressing. I’ve chosen to make lemonade from these lemons. I feel like a living, breathing science experiment. I do have some control over what I choose to do from now on. And although this condition limits me in physical ways, it has also put me on the path I am today. It’s made me love science and medicine. Made me live more deliberately and choose a healthier lifestyle. It’s made me more creative. Adaptable. Resourceful. Determined. I’m now teaching English online to kids all over the world. I’ve also started my own blog, something that’s been a goal of mine for years, but I never had the time when I was teaching in the classroom full-time.

I am not very religious, or even very spiritual (although I try to be), but this experience has made me consider the existence of fate and a higher power. Maybe I was meant to be struck with this. Quit my classroom job. Write this article. Have you read it. Save a life.

[promisesandprosperity]

Some Exhausted Rambling

Anyone who has ever dealt with chronic health issues, physiological or otherwise, understands what it feels like to be a Sick Person.

Even with the relief and validation that comes along with finally getting back test results that confirm that you’re not imagining all the pain and that the exhaustion isn’t just you being lazy, it has a specific confirmation that leaves you with a brick in your stomach. It weighs you down all the same, despite having the weight that was lifted off your shoulders when you found out that what you have wrong with you actually has a name.

For the years I drug myself through the daily grind with no medical assistance, I could admit a few of my diagnoses, but for the most part, I just disregarded it as “This body sucks” and roll on with whatever it would entail to survive.

But I had the ability to pretend I was mostly okay. I could pretend that all the old test results weren’t true anymore. I could pretend that my sed rates weren’t more than double what’s considered healthy, or that my white blood cell count wasn’t elevated, that my joints weren’t wearing down, that my heart wasn’t wearing itself out to the rate that it was going to last into middle age and not much further without medical intervention, all among other ways my body felt like it was falling apart.

I only recently got a doctor. And while the excuse of “no insurance” was convenient enough, that went out the window a few months ago. It wasn’t until a new symptom, as trivial as it was, decided it wanted to present itself that I headed into a fresh state of panic and decided enough was enough.

I had to stop trying to run from being a Sick Person.

Now, unless you are A Sick Person, you will never understand the distinction. Hell, even the doctors that know your history, that ran the tests, that write the scripts, they can never understand unless they themselves are dealing with the same problems.

It means having to carry around a small pharmacy with you any time you leave the house. It means having to have something to remind you what to take and when because your memory is slipping more and more, though, you aren’t sure if that’s because of the medicine or because your brain that feels so broken is just giving up on it too. It means fighting your insurance for meds that work, to get referrals to the specialists you need. It means no one quite getting that you have limits that seem so low, especially on your bad days, and always having their comments about it.

It means almost never being taken seriously by any medical professional, even as they read back the results of your latest scans, the last blood panel.

I can’t even put into words how grateful I am that my new primary does take it seriously. I don’t know if I’ve ever been so lucky. She’s thorough, she’s understanding, all with a great bedside manner. Hell, she’s even been on the front line of battling my insurance to try and get me the right meds that they’re not wanting to approve. And when one of them is $1,200 a month, you really can’t afford to not have it covered.

Downside is, not only do I get to be Sick, but I have to play catch up. And part of that catch up involves facing having a few of your disorders and diseases being misdiagnosed. Not that the problems aren’t there. But that now I get to face the possibility of something entirely new being wrong, and having to cope with that. It’s like finding out you’re sick at all all over again.

I was first diagnosed with a [physical] chronic health issue when I was fifteen. Fifteen! As incompetent as the doctor I went to at the time (he couldn’t see the mischappen mess that was my spine after half a dozen xrays of it!), it felt weirdly relieving to finally understand that the pain in my knees and hips and back and anywhere was in pain wasn’t some weird post-growth growing pains. He would go on to give a few other diagnoses, refuse to listen to me when he fried to put me on certain medicines that I knew I couldn’t take.

Can you imagine what it feels like to be a Sick Person before you even have your own driver’s license?

I miss retail. I genuinely do. I miss the thrill of the sale. I miss getting to learn and try new product. I miss getting to rave about things I love, getting to sway people’s opinions and see their face as I explain something new for them to try that seems just perfect for them. Yes, I loved retail. But retail doesnt love me.

Because retail doesn’t just involve the sales. It doesn’t just involve rambling on and on about how great something is and how you know that they’re going to love it. It involves dealing with shipments, it involves cleaning, unpacking, organizing, standing on your feet for too many damn hours that even a healthy person should have to stand on end.

It’s been a long time since I have felt as physically weak as I do right now. But I’ve also been combating what I assume to be a cold. Which is never just a cold for anyone who’s Sick. You never just catch a cold or an ear infection. And don’t get me started on things like the flu. Sure, it’s hard on everyone, but imagine the extra complications that come with being immunocompromised? Sure, I should have at least called my doctor for something to alleviate something that I’m dealing with now, but I’m still far too heavily in the mindset of not having anything but myself to help me.

I hate having to admit I need any sort of help.

While there’s nothing wrong with needing help, seeking help. It purely comes down to a matter of pride. And while my pride shouldn’t take too hard of a beating, anyone who has experienced life while Sick knows exactly what it entails.

And now I wait, letters from the specialists sitting nearby with appointments with them somewhere between the scheduled times for other exams and scans and visits with my primary, some of which will determine the potential for surgeries.

So here I sit, typing all this redundant nonsense that was inspired by so many people suddenly posting about their own experiences with chronic illnesses. My eloquence is evading me, and faulty memory has robbed me from all my original plans for what would be in this post.

[paleorecipecookbook]

9 Nutrient Deficiencies Making You Crave Junk — What Your Body Really Wants Instead

We seem to always crave food that is high in sugar and fat, yet we never find ourselves craving a huge bowl of broccoli. What gives?

Craving certain foods is a multifaceted experience. There’s a cognitive component and an emotional component – aka “I am having a terrible day so I want to go home and eat my bodyweight in fro-yo.” And there’s even a physiological factor: you literally feel good after you eat certain foods.

It turns out cravings aren’t totally our fault. In fact, research suggests that many cravings are often a cry from our body, letting us know that it is seriously lacking in several key vitamins, nutrients, and minerals. These things help to regulate appetite, mood, hunger levels and cravings.

It’s not that our body desperately needs a piece of chocolate cake, we just misinterpret what our body is crying out for. Cravings, poor mood and stubborn weight issues can indicate psychological roots, specific nutrient needs, and/or vitamin deficiencies.

For every gram of sugar you consume, your body uses between 28-53 molecules of magnesium.

Certain food cravings can be triggered by specific moods. We all crave comfort foods when we are stressed out, lonely or sad. This has been linked to alterations in our gut microbiome, dysregulated cortisol levels and a low level of serotonin. (4) Research even found that highly stressed individuals report having more cravings than non-stressed individuals. (5)

The next time a craving strikes, pay attention to what the actual craving is. Do you notice that every time you have a bad day at work you rush home to eat ice cream? Do you have emotional triggers that cause you to overindulge? This self-reflection will help you control your cravings and make healthier choices on tough days.

Here are nine common nutrient deficiencies that might be at the root of your cravings:

Calcium

The Nutrient: We need calcium for more than strong bones; we need the mineral for nerve impulses, blood clotting, and for our heart to pump blood. Every cell in the body requires calcium and our body has very tight control of how much calcium is in the blood at any time. Our body will actually pull calcium from our bones when our blood levels drop or we experience pH changes in the body.

While many people think milk is a great source of calcium, it’s difficult to absorb calcium from dairy. Up to 75 percent of the population experiences lactose intolerance, meaning they lack the enzyme necessary to digest lactose. Stress, intense exercise, and too much sugar can all deplete your calcium stores.

Signs of a Deficiency: If you find yourself craving sodas, carbonated drinks and even dairy this could be a sign you need more calcium.

What To Eat:

Increase your intake of plant-based calcium sources such as 6):

Dark leafy greens

Turnip greens

Broccoli

Kale,

Celery.

Pumpkin seeds

Brazil nuts

Almonds

Asparagus

Coconut meat.

For non-plant sources, try:

Sardines

Salmon

Tuna

Magnesium

The Nutrient: Known as our relaxation mineral, magnesium contributes to nearly 700 enzyme and biochemical processes in the body. Our body has roughly 3,500 different binding sites for magnesium in our cells.

Up to 80 percent of the population is deficient in magnesium. It’s easily depleted in times of chronic stress, extreme exercise, during menstruation and when we consume sugar. In fact, for every gram of sugar you consume, your body uses between 28-53 molecules of magnesium.

Magnesium acts like a gate keeper for calcium, as it allows calcium to be excreted from our cells in response to various stressors. Calcium acts as an excitatory molecule, while magnesium acts as a calming molecule. Having imbalances in these minerals can lead to issues with our mood.

Signs of a Deficiency: If you find yourself having intense cravings for sugar and feel fatigued and sore, you may need more magnesium. This is true as well if you experience muscle twitches and cramps, depressed mood, and anxiety.

What To Eat (7, 8):

Dark chocolate (be sure it is organic with at least 70% cocoa content and no added sugar)

Avocados

Raw cacao

Cashews

Almonds

Pumpkin seeds

Sesame seeds

Dark leafy greens such as spinach, kale and broccoli.

Zinc

The Nutrient: Zinc is a part of at least 3,000 different proteins in your body and is involved in more than 200 different enzymes. In fact, zinc is involved in more enzymatic reactions in your body than any other mineral. Its highest concentrations are in your hippocampus, which deals with memory and mood.

This key mineral is important for our immune system, cellular growth, sleep, skin, insulin regulation, hormone balance and mood support. The body has no special storage capacity for zinc, so it is important to consume zinc-rich foods on a regular basis.

Zinc plays a role in modulating the brain and body’s response to stress and has been linked to depression. Under times of extreme stress, we get rid of zinc at higher rates through our urine, sweat and saliva. (9, 10)

The Signs of a Deficiency: If you suffer from GI distress, experience low moods, have extreme PMS, have high stress or take antacids and OTCs you likely could benefit from more zinc.

What To Eat:

Oysters

Shellfish

Salmon

Grass-fed meat

Pasture-raised chicken

Unsweetened dark chocolate

Pumpkin seeds

Spinach

Almonds

Omega-3

The Nutrient: Omega-3 fatty acids are known as essential fatty acids. Our bodies cannot make them on their own, so they must either be obtained through our diet or through supplements.

Signs of a Deficiency: Cravings for sweet, fatty foods, cheese and carbohydrates can be a sign of omega-3 deficiencies, as well as having poor mood and brain fog. (11)

What To Eat:

Essential fatty acids can be divided into three types: ALA, EPA and DHA, all of which can be found in:

Wild caught fish, such as tuna, salmon, and sardines.

Walnuts

Flax seeds

Hemp seeds

Chia seeds

Some algae such as spirulina.

Vitamin B12

The Nutrient: Roughly one in four Americans are deficient in Vitamin B12, a vitamin associated with memory, mood, energy and red blood cell health. Vitamin B12 is our largest vitamin and requires a good amount of stomach acid and a protein, called intrinsic factor, to break it down and absorb it. This is likely why so many people have suboptimal levels of this key vitamin.

Vitamin B12 can only be obtained from animal sources, as plant sources of B12 are in the analog form, which cannot be absorbed by the body. Methylcobalamin is the active form of B12 that the body can use, which can be found in methyl B-12 supplements or animal sources of B12. (12)

Signs of a Deficiency: If you have low energy, find yourself craving meat, suffer from anemia, or find yourself bruising easily, you likely could benefit from getting more B12 in your diet.

What To Eat:

This is a case where you want to eat what you crave. Increase your intake of:

Organic grass-fed meat

Venison

Veal

Bison

Pasture-raised chicken, turkey and eggs

Folate

The Nutrient: Also known as Vitamin B9, folate is the active form of folic acid that is necessary to support cardiovascular health, cellular health and cognitive health. With up to 40 to 60 percent of the population having the genetic variant for the MTHFR gene, consuming folate-rich foods, as opposed to synthetic folic acid, is necessary for overall health.

Methyl Folate is the biologically active form of Vitamin B9. It is also the form that is transported across membranes into peripheral tissues, particularly across the blood brain barrier. Methyl folate is used in the methylation process, which contributes to DNA health, detoxification pathways, and cell health.

Signs of a Deficiency: Natural dietary folate is found in food, while Folic acid is the synthetic form of B9 required to be added into processed grains. (13) If you crave processed grains, you may need more folate. This is also true if you have a history of cardiovascular disease, miscarriages, or experience fatigue, low energy, loss of appetite, anemia and have changes in mood and irritability.

What To Eat:

Dark leafy greens such as spinach and arugula

Beets

Bell peppers

Cauliflower

Asparagus

Broccoli

Lentils

Avocados

Okra

Brussels sprouts.

Vitamin D

The Nutrient: Also known as the sunshine vitamin, Vitamin D acts as a pro-regulatory hormone in the body, influencing over 2,000 genes. When our skin is exposed to the sun, Vitamin D produces compounds that support healthy moods.

With up to 70 percent of the population being deficient in Vitamin D, it is no surprise that our mood, cravings and even our immune health can be affected by having low levels of this vital vitamin. Scientists found that people with low vitamin D symptoms are 11 times more prone to be depressed than those who had normal levels. (14)

Signs of a Deficiency: If you find yourself getting sick a lot, having poor mood, bone loss, back pain and feel tired and fatigued you likely have low vitamin D levels.

What To Eat:

Fatty fish, such as tuna, mackerel and salmon,

Beef liver

Egg yolks

Note: Getting outside and playing in the sun can be a great way to increase your Vitamin D levels, but be sure to expose roughly 70 percent of your skin as close to solar noon as possible.

Selenium

The Nutrient: Selenium is an antioxidant-rich essential trace mineral that works in conjunction with other enzymes and proteins in the body. Selenoprotein S in particular is involved in the protection against cellular stress and regulating the release of pro-inflammatory cytokine release.

Adequate selenium levels are essential for not only proper immune function, but also for regulating excessive immune response (found at the root cause of several autoimmune diseases), chronic inflammation and protecting cells against free radical damage. (15)

Signs of a Deficiency: A decline in cognitive health, thyroid functioning and immune health, as well as heart disease and infertility may be signs of a selenium deficiency. If you find yourself excessively tired, as well as craving salty foods you could benefit from increasing your selenium intake.

What To Eat:

Brazil nuts

Garlic

Tuna

Nori

Seaweed

Sunflower seeds

Turkey

Lentils

Spinach.

Antioxidants

The Nutrient: Antioxidants are categorized as either fat soluble or water soluble. However, your body needs both to protect your cells from oxidative damage and free radical damage.

Antioxidants help rid the body of dangerous oxidative products by converting them into hydrogen peroxide, then into water. This is done through a multi-step process that requires a variety of trace minerals, such as zinc, copper, manganese, and iron, which are found in foods that are rich in antioxidants.

Signs of a Deficiency: If you have low energy levels, crave sweets, seem irritable and have general low immune function you can benefit from getting more antioxidants into your diet.

What To Eat:

Organic fruits and berries

Chlorophyll-rich vegetables

Lemons and limes

Grapefruits

Tart cherries

Sulfur-rich veggies like onions, garlic, broccoli, cauliflower, and broccoli sprouts.

CoQ10-rich foods, such as grass-fed beef, liver, sardines and mackerel.

(Read this Next: 9 Leaky Gut Symptoms and How to Start Healing Now)

The post 9 Nutrient Deficiencies Making You Crave Junk — What Your Body Really Wants Instead appeared first on PaleoPlan.

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[jermjoey-blog-blog]

How Long Does It Take To Cure Erectile Dysfunction Problem?

Impotence treatment in bangladesh combat that 70s show impotent; protocol for erectile dysfunction. Erectile dysfunction treatment in mumbai applicable is there any permanent treatment for erectile dysfunction; does dark chocolate help with erectile dysfunction;. The symptoms are similar to angina pectoris but in this case it is spasm of the artery and the treatment is not betablockade therapy but a group of drugs called calcium antagonists. To add to the confusion, a PSA test can also come back negative even when you do have early symptoms. Smoking is also a significant factor that can impact erectile dysfunction. Avoid smoking. Tobacco use is associated with a higher risk of heart disease. “Not many people know that ED is an early symptom of diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure,” said Zachariah Reitano, Ro CEO and co-founder. However, itcan also occur in people who have no family history of depression. 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As we all know, there are many different treatments to help with stress. 60. Liquorice & Oriental Spice tea is said to reduce stomach ulcers, combat diarrhoea, sore throats and viral liver inflammations. Monitor cholesterol levels and keep them within a healthy range. If you have any questions about any of the side effects, ask your physician. “The jury is still out on this,” Hagen said. The numbness and tingling in the feet or hand gradually appear and may extend up to the legs and the arms. They become torn between the dire require test along with the fiscal want to save revenue. This will allow you to communicate with others in the same situation and they will be able to tell you what has or hasn't worked for them.

[your-dietician]

Health Habits to Avoid if You Don't Want a Heart Attack, Say Experts

New Post has been published on https://depression-md.com/health-habits-to-avoid-if-you-dont-want-a-heart-attack-say-experts/

Health Habits to Avoid if You Don't Want a Heart Attack, Say Experts

A broken heart can, in fact, kill you. Heart disease—which can refer to several types of heart conditions, including coronary artery disease, and can lead to a heart attack—is the leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet about 80 percent of cardiac and stroke events may be prevented with knowledge and heart-healthy action.

So what can you actually do? We’ll answer that question with 15 more. Eat This, Not That! Health rounded up a list of your biggest Qs about heart disease—and found As for them all. Keep reading for a real heart to heart—and to ensure your health and the health of others, don’t miss these Sure Signs You Have “Long” COVID and May Not Even Know It.

1

What is Cholesterol And is it Always Bad?

high cholesterol

Despite its reputation, cholesterol is not exactly the c-word. Yes, high cholesterol is not a good thing, but cholesterol in general is necessary for your existence. Seventy-five percent of this waxy, fat-like substance is produced by your liver and other cells of your body. The rest you usually get by eating animal products like meat, egg yolks, or dairy (cholesterol isn’t produced in plants, so you won’t find it in vegetables or fruits).

So why do you need It? Cholesterol is necessary to make your hormones such as estrogen, or testosterone; production of vitamin D; and is a building block for human tissue. Too much of it, however, can reduce your blood flow through your arteries which can lead to chest pain, stroke or heart attack.

Recommendation: Visit your primary care doctor to check your cholesterol and other risk factors. The American Heart Association recommends to do it every four to six years. If you are over 35, you should do it even more often. Your doctor will explain what your results mean and suggest the next steps, but you don’t want your LDL (bad cholesterol) level to be 190 or higher.

2

What Are the Warning Signs of Heart Disease?

Story continues

Man having a heart attack

Warning signs are a good thing. They alert us to a problem and give us information that we may be able to act on. Heart disease can manifest in a number of different ways, including chest pain; tightness or discomfort; shortness of breath; dizziness; irregular heartbeat; a sense of doom; becoming easily winded by regular everyday activities, and more.

Recommendation: If you experience any of these symptoms, particularly together, call your doctor immediately—it could be a sign of a heart attack.

RELATED: The #1 Cause of Heart Attack, According to Science

3

If I’m a Woman, Are the Symptoms the Same?

Woman holding chest

It’s no longer a man’s world, especially when it comes to heart disease. For decades, the medical community and general public saw heart disease as a “man’s” disease. But this is no longer the case. If you have the risk factors and also family history, you have the potential to develop heart disease—whether you’re a man or woman. The sad truth is that about the same number of women and men die from heart disease every year.

Wait, there is more: Heart disease is now the No. 1 cause of death in women. According to the Centers for Disease Control heart disease kills almost 300,000 women every year or causes 1 of every 5 female deaths. And despite increased awareness, the CDC reports that only 56 percent of women know how deadly heart disease is to women.

Recommendation: A heart-healthy lifestyle goes a long way toward reducing your overall risk of heart and other diseases.

4

Do Men And Women Experience the Same Heart Disease Symptoms?

Heart health

Heart disease symptoms in women may differ from those experienced by men. If you’re a woman, learning to recognize these symptoms can reduce your risk. Most men and women will exhibit the most common symptom of a heart attack: chest pain. But one in five women do not have any chest pain at all when having a heart attack. Learn what the warning signs are: They can save your life.

Recommendation: Take heed, these are the most common symptoms of a heart attack in women.

Pain and/or discomfort in your chest, neck, jaw, back, arms, or stomach

Unusually rapid heartbeat

Nausea

Fatigue

Shortness of breath

Dizziness

Although these symptoms could be caused by other factors if you experience them, see a doctor.

5

My Parents Had Heart Disease. Am I Doomed?

cheerful african family at home using tablet

You share more than you think with your family, and we’re not talking dad’s big schnozz. You share genes, behaviors, lifestyle. All these can influence your risk of developing certain health conditions—heart disease included. The risks can be further impacted by your age, race, and ethnicity. If your mother had a stroke or your father had a heart attack, you are at higher risk for heart disease. The American Heart Association shares that both the risk of heart disease and risk factors for heart disease are strongly linked to family history.

Recommendation: You can’t change your family history, but you can change your behavior. Check your cholesterol and blood pressure regularly and pay more attention to the risk factors that you can limit, like getting regular exercise and eating a healthy balanced diet. Start with a delicious collection of recipes that will teach anyone how to cook beautiful meals, lose weight fast, and get healthier fast.

RELATED: Dr. Fauci Just Shared 7 Key Points About Boosters

6

Is Heart Disease Reversible?

Hand holding mouse with blur Computed Tomography Angiography Coronay (CTA coronary) background.

You can’t turn back time—once your heart is damaged it’s not possible to regenerate dead cells. Although you cannot regrow your heart muscle, you may be able to reverse heart disease by making lifestyle choices (like not smoking) that keep your cholesterol and blood pressure in check. Several research studies have shown that aggressively lowering your LDL or “bad” cholesterol below 100 can actually open up blocked coronary arteries, at least partially.

Recommendation: Intensive lifestyle changes have been shown to reduce plaque build-up in your arteries, lowering the risk of heart disease. The secret to preventing heart disease just might be the Mediterranean diet. Start now with these easy 15 Mediterranean Diet Swaps for Your Go-To Meals.

7

Can a Glass of Red Wine a Day Help Keep the Heart Doctor Away?

Woman drinking wine

Rejoice, real housewives: Scientific research shows that having one or two drinks a day can help keep the risk of heart disease at bay. Why? It’s thought that drinking wine or alcohol—in moderation!—increases levels of HDL or “good” cholesterol and protects against plaque build-up in your arteries. This benefit is lost, however, at more indulgent levels of copious alcohol consumption.

Recommendation: Gin-and-tonic (and even Aperol-spritz) lovers take note: This heart-healthy benefit is not restricted to red wine! Studies show that any alcoholic drink may have some happy heart benefits. Enjoy responsibly—whether it’s occasional or overindulgence, drinking alcohol has a big effect on the body’s detox system.

8

Will Taking an Aspirin a Day Reduce the Risk of Heart Disease?

Closeup of a young brunette getting some aspirins from a bottle at home.

Many healthy Americans take a baby aspirin every day to reduce their risk of various diseases, including heart attack, stroke, cancer, and dementia. However, is it really a good idea? Nope. A recent study released by the New England Journal of Medicine says, “Aspirin use in healthy elderly persons did not prolong disability-free survival over five years but led to a higher rate of major hemorrhage than placebo.” If you’re healthy and don’t have high-risk markers for heart disease, leave the baby aspirin to sick babies.

Recommendation: There is an exception, though: If you’ve already had a heart attack or suffered a stroke, talk to your doctor. Strong evidence suggests that taking a daily baby aspirin can reduce your risk of suffering another heart attack or stroke.

RELATED: What Taking a Vitamin Every Day Does to Your Body

9

Can Exercise Really Make My Heart Stronger?

doctor examines patient

It really can. Moving your body has enormous health benefits: Exercise reduces blood pressure and increases HDL (high-density lipoprotein) or “good” cholesterol while helping lower LDL (low-density lipoprotein) or “bad” cholesterol. Physical activity can help rid the body of arterial plaque build-up—and is one of the most effective tools to strengthen heart muscle. Exercise is also a great stress reliever. And of course, it can help you look hot in those new Levi’s.

Here’s more: Getting regular exercise makes it less likely that you will suffer a heart attack—and if you do, it will likely be less severe.

Recommendation: Not all exercise is created equal when it comes to heart health. According to Johns Hopkins exercise physiologist Kerry J. Stewart, Ed.D., “Aerobic exercise and resistance training are the most important for heart health.” The American Heart Association offers some great tips to help get you moving!

10

I’m Overweight. How at Risk am I?

Bigger is not better, especially when it comes to our hearts. Being overweight increases the risk of heart disease. In fact, there can be a ten-fold increase in the risk of developing high blood pressure and diabetes due to being overweight. It also decreases your HDL cholesterol, another significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

In fact, obesity is the leading cause of heart disease risk and death in the United States, and 70 percent of American are adults classified as overweight or obese. What’s also alarming is that its rate and incidence of obesity have been on the rise in both adults and children.

Recommendation: If you’re overweight, consider making some serious heart-healthy lifestyle changes. Try lowering your cholesterol by eating a more plant-based diet. Also, get your body moving.

RELATED: 9 Everyday Habits That Might Lead to Dementia

11

I Love Salt. How Much Can I Have?

hands adding salt to pasta water

Sodium is a vital mineral that’s crucial for both muscle and nerve function, but too much salt intake may increase your risk for high blood pressure and heart disease. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans put forth by the CDC recommends that you consume fewer than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day.

And you must stay on top of your sodium intake—the amounts you take can sneak up on you, especially in foods you don’t normally suspect as being high in salt. Some common culprits include pickles, peanuts, ready-made meals, canned soups, and of course, potato chips. Just one cup of your favorite chicken broth can have as much as 860 milligrams of sodium!

Recommendation: Look for canned foods with “low sodium” or “unsalted” on the label. And these tips will help you beat bloat, improve heart health, and bring some excitement to your dishes!

12

How Bad Does My Stress Tax My Heart?

Stressed out woman

Stress can indeed stress your heart out. The American Heart Association reports that it can contribute to high blood pressure, asthma, ulcers, and gastrointestinal disorders like irritable bowel syndrome. Essentially, excessive stress can have an outsize effect on your body. It also affects behaviors that can increase your risk of heart disease. Drinking and smoking are two common ways we try to “manage” stress in our lives, but both can increase blood pressure and impact heart health.

Recommendation: Managing stress will help improve your overall health. Positive self-talk (“I’ve got this!”) or taking a few slow, deep breaths are among the tips recommended by American Heart Association.

RELATED: Signs You’re Getting One of the “Most Deadly” Cancers

13

Smoking is Bad, of Course, But How About Vaping?

Middle age hoary senior man

So you finally managed to curb your smoking habit—congrats!—and switched to e-cigarettes, like 3.2 percent of adults in the United States. Many people (yes, we’re talking about you, Pete from sales), think it’s cool, and also less damaging than smoking. It’s easy to forget that e-cigs—as well e-pens, e-pipes, e-hookah, and e-cigars—deliver nicotine, a highly addictive substance that according to The American Heart Association is hazardous to your health and is linked with cancer-causing chemicals.

Cancer is not the only problem: A 2019 survey revealed that vapers have 71 percent higher risk of stroke, 59 percent higher risk of heart attack and 40 percent higher risk of heart disease compared with non-users.

Recommendation: Want to get more heart smart? Quit smoking! Try a variety of approaches to help you stop—from nicotine-replacement patches and gum to medications. And if you happen to know a vaping teen—17 percent of whom start vaping because they believed that e-cigs are less harmful than other forms of tobacco—send them a link to this article. If they quit now, the risk of heart disease will come down within one to two years.

14

What Diet Changes Can I Make to Lower My Risk of Heart Disease?

Mediterranean diet

How much you eat may be just as important as what you eat. Do you often overload your plate, regularly take seconds (or thirds!), and eat until you’re stuffed? Then you are eating more calories than you should, and you gain weight. When you gain too much weight, your risk for heart disease goes up. This is not to say that what you eat doesn’t matter. It does. Follow advice of author Michael Pollan, who wrote: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

Recommendation: Start with cutting on sodas and red meat. Eat a lot of fruit, vegetables and whole grain food instead. Try to add more nuts and seeds to your diet and eat fish at least twice a week.

RELATED: The #1 Cause of Alzheimer’s, According to Science

15

What Lifestyle Changes Can I Make to Lower My Risk of Heart Disease?

woman runner tightening shoe lace

Glad you asked. It means you might be interested in making changes big and small.

Recommendation: Adapt your lifestyle by following these six heart-savings steps:

• Stop smoking or vaping. This is one time you want to be a quitter. If you need assistance check out this helpful guide from the American Heart Association.

• Eat a healthy diet. Use more vegetables and fruits in your diet. Go easy on white bread. To quote Michael Pollan again: “The whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead.”

• Move your body. Be physically active. Every. Single. Day. Getting at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity can help lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and keep your waistline looking trim.

• Reduce stress. Research shows a clear link between being highly stressed and heart disease. If you are stressed out, there are management tools that can help.

• Lower your blood pressure. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for stroke, which is a leading cause of disability in the United States. Prevention is key.

• Manage high cholesterol. Cholesterol spackling the walls of your arteries is a disaster waiting to happen. Sooner or later, that fat could trigger a heart attack or stroke. If you’ve got high cholesterol, lower your intake of trans and saturated fats, and move your body (see above). If these lifestyle measures do not work, medication may be needed. And to get through this pandemic at your healthiest, don’t miss these 35 Places You’re Most Likely to Catch COVID.

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[medical921]

How Medical can Save You Time, Stress, and Money.

The Ultimate Guide To Medical

The Main Principles Of Medical

Does your family members have a history of diabetes mellitus, high cholesterol, heart disease, cancer, or another significant condition? If so, you may be at danger for these problems, tooand there are most likely things you can do to lower that threat. A doctor can aid you discover out as well as work with you to determine which screening tests you need.

And also if you still match your skinny pants, there are other health markers, like heart rate and also blood stress, that ought to be trended in time. By monitoring fundamental vital indications, a regular medical professional's visit can be like a system of checks as well as equilibriums for your body. Did you understand that being a lady is an independent threat variable for depressionand that women are a lot more than twice as most likely than men to battle with depression throughout their life time? What's even more, we aren't constantly fantastic at seeing the signs and symptoms ourselves.

And also even though the Internet can be a wonderful wellness resource, reading concerning your health issues online can usually lead to unneeded concern as well as concern. Keep in mind, you (and also every various other patient) are special and be worthy of a personalized examination.

Does it feel like I am duplicating myself? Excellent! Wellness security and also prevention is the essential to staying healthy and balanced for the long run. From easy blood tests and vaccinations now to mammograms and also colonoscopies later, your physician can assist you become the healthiest version of you. Although it may appear like a hassle currently, one hr in a doctor's office now can include years of health and wellness to your life.

Everything about Medical

So, what are you waiting for? Locate a doctor you such as, and also stick with her (or him).

You might not see any type of reason to see a doctor as well as instead, might choose to treat yourself with more fluids as well as remainder. In some situations, seeing a physician will certainly aid guarantee faster recuperation and also protect against considerable issues.

For those who are not high-risk people and are not experiencing any one of the severe signs and symptoms, a journey to the medical center could not be essential, as sufficient rest and also fluids need to be enough. However, there are other times when one might need to go to the doctor. These consist of: The fever enhances, then suddenly worsens, Signs and symptoms do not enhance after two weeks, One has a consistent coughing that starts to produce thick mucous, Discomfort is localized in one location (like the upper body, ear or sinuses)Lots of people experience a full healing from the flu in concerning a week.

The major issues of the influenza are infections of the lungs (pneumonia) or sinuses. In recap, If you are down with the flu as well as are at high danger of creating flu difficulties or you are fretted about the condition, you should call the clinical center quickly to schedule an appointment.

The Facts About Medical Revealed

In many cases, the medical professional may recommend prescription antiviral drugs to deal with the condition. When you are going to the physician's office, make certain that you wear a face mask if you can. Attempt to wash your hands and also cover your face when coughing or sneezing to avoid the spread of the infection.

Medical Fundamentals Explained

It deals with the internal health and wellness of the senior. Targeting the details conditions of the older generation requires more emphasis.

4 Easy Facts About Medical Explained

Points walk-in centers will not tell you Yet individuals pick the centers not simply out of despair, however due to the fact that they use one more advantage over traditional physician workplaces: benefit. The clinics are open on nights and also weekends after many primary-care doctors have actually gone house as well as since walk-in patients rate, people can go when they first really feel unwell, as opposed to awaiting their doctor's routine to open.

"We were considered the soccer mommy favorites at an early stage," states Point Hansen-Turton, executive director of the organization. Certainly, a Rand research discovered that people who attempt retail centers are 67% much less likely to head to a physician the following time they get ill with a similar trouble, a sensation wellness experts deem possibly unsafe: "If each time a client goes to a retail center is one less visit to their physician, could they be weakening health care partnerships?" inquiries Ateev Mehrotra, a Rand wellness policy analyst.