Posted by admin on April 22, 2009 under Cancer | 
A house surgeon or senior house officer will visit you on the ward before your operation to take details of your medical history – including any allergies you may have and any drugs you are taking – and to examine you. Your GP may have already filled in a form giving the names and dosages of any drugs you have been prescribed, and you should have been told what to do about these. Do not forget to tell the hospital doctor of any other drugs you have been taking which your GP may not be aware of, such as vitamin supplements, cough medicines, aspirins etc., which are available from the chemist without the need for prescription.
If you normally take a contraceptive pill or hormone replacement tablets, you may have been told to stop these for a time before your operation. If you are still taking them when you enter hospital, for example if you have been called for your operation at short notice, you should tell the doctor. Contraceptive pills used to contain much larger amounts of hormones than do the more modern ones, and these were sometimes associated with complications from blood clots. The newer pills are almost entirely free from these risks, but some surgeons still prefer their patients to stop taking them for at least a month before surgery.
A medical examination is carried out to identify any illness or infection you may have which could complicate the use of a general anesthetic. If you are over 50 years of age or a heavy smoker, you will probably have to have a chest X-ray and an electrocardiogram so that any potential anesthetic complications due to breathing or heart problems can be picked up.
If you are having a lump removed from your breast, the doctor will try to locate it and will mark the appropriate area on the surface of your breast with an indelible felt-tip pen. If the entire breast is to be removed, the appropriate one will be identified in the same way.
Consent forms
The house surgeon will probably also ask you to sign a consent form. Although it can be assumed that your consent to the operation is implied by the fact that you have entered hospital willingly, consent forms are widely used. By signing this form you are declaring that your operation has been explained to you and that you understand what it entails and have agreed to it taking place. You are also giving your permission for the doctors to take whatever action they feel to be appropriate should some emergency occur during your operation, and for any necessary anesthetic to be given to you. Do read this form carefully, and ask the doctor to explain anything you do not understand.
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Posted by admin on under Women's Health |
Dysmenorrhoea
Dysmenorrhoea means painful periods. It is the most common symptom of endometriosis. In a recent survey of women with endometriosis by the Endometriosis Association, 81% of the women had experienced dysmenorrhoea.
According to medical textbooks there are two types of dysmenorrhoea: primary and secondary.
Primary dysmenorrhoea is said to be the ‘cramping’ type of dysmenorrhoea that typically affects teenagers. It usually begins a year or two after the onset of menstruation and tends to lessen by the age of 25, or after childbirth. The pain usually begins with the menstrual flow and lasts for only one or two days. It is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, dizziness and fainting. This type of dysmenorrhoea is generally believed by the medical profession to have no relationship to endometriosis.
Secondary dysmenorrhoea is the ‘grinding’ or ‘boring’ type of menstrual pain which is usually due to an underlying condition of the reproductive organs. According to the medical profession it typically appears in women who are in their 20s and 30s. This is the type of dysmenorrhoea that is generally believed to be associated with conditions such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), fibroids and endometriosis.
The pain of dysmenorrhoea due to endometriosis may be mild, moderate or severe and may be described as constant, deep inside, sharp, stabbing, knife-like, nagging, aching, burning, throbbing, dull, boring or cramping. It may be located in the centre or on one or both sides of the abdomen. The pain may radiate into the vulva, pubic bone, lower back, rectum, buttocks, groin or thighs. It may be more severe when using the bowels or passing urine, and may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea and/or constipation.
The pain may begin one to several days before the start of the period, gradually becoming more severe, particularly once the menstrual flow begins. The pain may last for the first one to two days or continue throughout the entire period. Usually the pain is most severe on the first or second day. It has been reported that the pain worsens and peaks at the end of the period although this pattern is not common.
It is not known precisely what causes the dysmenorrhoea associated with endometriosis but it is probably due to several reasons. One is that the bleeding from the endometrial implants causes irritation to the surrounding tissues. Another possibility is that the pressure resulting from the swelling of the implants and cysts causes pain in the immediate area in much the same way that a boil causes pain. It is also possible that the release by the endometrial implants of chemicals known as prostaglandins causes pain. Irritation to neighboring organs, such as the bowel or bladder, by the implants of endometriosis can also lead to pain in those organs.
Dyspareunia
Dyspareunia means painful sexual intercourse. It is another common, but often unacknowledged, symptom of endometriosis. In the survey conducted by the Endometriosis Association nearly half (48%) of the women with endometriosis had experienced dyspareunia.
Dyspareunia often causes much heartache for women with endometriosis and it can have devastating effects on their self-esteem and their sexual relationships.
Dyspareunia due to endometriosis may be felt during or after intercourse and may be so severe as to make intercourse impossible. The pain maybe described as sharp, stabbing, jabbing, or a deep aching. Intercourse may always cause pain or only when intercourse occurs at certain times of the month – for example, during menstruation or at ovulation. The pain may be felt only during deep penetration but it may also be felt during any form of intercourse, particularly if the uterus is rigidly fixed by adhesions in a retroverted position.
Dyspareunia is usually associated with endometriosis in the Pouch of Douglas, the utero-sacral ligaments and the rectovaginal septum. It may also be associated with cysts or implants on the ovaries, vagina or cervix.
If the endometriosis is located in the Pouch of Douglas, the utero-sacral ligaments or the recto-vaginal septum the pain may be due to stretching or jarring of the endometriosis on those tissues.
If cysts are located on the ovary the pain may be due to compression of those cysts, particularly if the ovary is rigidly held in position by adhesions. In addition, penetration may cause some implants to bleed slightly and this may cause pain for some time after intercourse.
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Posted by admin on under General health |
Breathing is an activity to which most of us give little thought yet we are aware that when we are tense we breathe shallowly or sigh a lot. When a person is relaxed and happy his or her breathing is slow and rhythmic and healthy breathing involves the whole ribcage. When we are tense breathing becomes rigid, shallow and only the uppermost part of the chest will move. Many relaxation and meditation programmes involve breathing manoeuvres, mainly because thousands of years of experience have shown that breathing control can alter a person’s state of mind and vice versa. Learning to breathe properly can be a valuable part of stress control. This works because stretch receptors in the lungs feed back information to the brain and alter central functioning in a way which tunes up the rest of the brain. Teachers of the Alexander Technique claim to be able to abolish all kinds of physical and even some emotional complaints solely by altering body postures and improving breathing techniques.
Breathing is one vital function of the body over which we have conscious control, and because it can be so easily mastered to our benefit it is worth learning how to breathe more healthily. The main purpose of learning breathing exercises is to be able to use them in stressful and painful situations. You can also use them to help you to get to sleep. If you doubt that breathing exercises can be of help in tense and stressful situations just watch tense people and see how they sigh a lot, catch their breath, gasp or show laboured breathing. Panicky people over-breathe and can get tingling in their fingers and toes as a result.
There are many good breathing exercises and the reader should refer to a specialized book on the subject, but here I will just outline one-three-stage breathing.
• Start by lying down on your back with your lower back touching the floor. You may have to bend your knees to achieve this.
• Rest the palms of your hands on the upper part of your chest and breathe gently. Breathe out slowly and completely and repeat this cycle ten times. Your hands are simply registering the movement of this part of your chest.
• Place your hands on your lower ribs on either side of the breast bone so that the fingertips almost touch when you breathe out. Watch and feel your fingertips being parted-one hand from the other-as you breathe in. Breathe in and try to separate your finger-tips as far as you can. Breathe out and try to get them to touch in the midline. Close your eyes, relax and repeat this ten times.
• Place your hands on your tummy at the level of the navel. Repeat the slow breathing and see if you can make your tummy expand as you breathe in. This shows that the diaphragm is working fully. Your fingertips will move back and forth as they did on your chest but probably more so. Repeat this ten times.
• With your hands on the floor breathe out completely and then expand your abdomen with your breathing. Then fill your lower chest-then your upper chest until all three areas seem ‘full of air’ (of course there is really no air in your tummy but it expands because of the diaphragm pushing down from the expanded lungs). Carry on until your whole respiratory system is full of air. This should take about 10-15 seconds.
• Reverse the process to exhale. Expel air first from your upper chest, then your lower chest, then your abdomen. Expel the last of the air by contracting your abdominal muscles slightly. Pause for 2-3 seconds and then restart the whole cycle.
• Repeat the cycle ten times.
The benefits of learning to breathe more deeply and fully include:
• You will feel more relaxed while you do the exercises
• You will be able to call on the: at times of stress and tension
• You can use them to get to sleep
• You can use them as a prelude t meditation or other relaxation exercises.
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Posted by admin on under Weight Loss |
Teresa Tomeo grew up in a traditional Italian family that loves traditional Italian meals. Huge plates of spaghetti, bowls of meatballs, and thickly buttered bread are staples at family gatherings. And it shows: Many of Teresa’s relatives are overweight.
But not Teresa—not anymore. Her secret? She learned to make slimmer versions of her favorite Italian dishes.
Teresa’s weight-loss odyssey began in 1985. Then age 25 and a successful news reporter for a Detroit radio station, she was trying hard to break into television news, with no success. Finally, a friend laid it on the line: At 190 pounds, Teresa was too fat for TV.
The remark stung, but Teresa knew that her friend was right.
She wasn’t about to let her weight stop her from realizing her career | goals. So she enrolled in a medically supervised weight-loss pro- ^ gram that included a written eating plan and weekly weigh-ins. j ^ Within 7 months, she lost 60 pounds.
Teresa was thrilled with her new, trim figure, and she vowed ! ^ not to let those pounds come back. So, armed with the nutrition knowledge that she had gleaned from her weight-loss program, she 1 “* began experimenting with her favorite Italian recipes, looking for ways to lighten them. She reduced the amount of olive oil in her tomato sauce to just a drizzle. And she took out the meat completely, replacing it with vegetables. She used vegetable purees to thicken sauces as well as soups. She topped salads with a squeeze of lemon.
By turning her kitchen into a laboratory and reinventing her recipe collection, Teresa has managed to maintain her weight at a healthy 130 pounds for 14 years. Along the way, she realized her dream of working in television news, landing a job with a Detroit TV station. She stayed there for 10 years before returning to radio, which she calls her real love, in 1998.
WINNING ACTION
Create low-fat versions of your favorite foods. As Teresa discovered, you don’t have to give up your favorite dishes when trying to slim down. Just look for ways to make them slimmer. There are many excellent cookbooks on the market that will show you how to take the fat out of traditional recipes. One of my favorites is Healthy Homestyle Cooking by Evelyn Tribole, which is available in paperback in bookstores. Her Deep-Dish Turkey Pot Pie is fabulous!
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