Medical

Posted by AMusico — Medical / Opinion / Self Help — No Comments
27
Aug 09

No More TMJ!

The first time my husband had a TMJ attack was when we were first dating. He was a teacher in Tennessee and up in New Jersey visiting family for the summer. His school district was going through some big shake-ups and he wasn’t sure he’d have a position in the fall. Needless to say, that stress brought on an attack of TMJ, something I’d never heard of before. TMJ stands for temporomandibular joint syndrome. This joint connects the temporal bone, which forms the side of the skull, with the mandible or jawbone. When this joint is irritated and not functioning properly it causes extreme pain in the muscles and joints of the jaw. That pain can spread to the face, neck and shoulder as well. It is difficult to open the mouth. The most common underlying causes of this painful condition are stress, grinding the teeth (especially during the night) and a poor bite. Believe me I got an education in this condition and quickly!

 That first time I witnessed the attack it wasn’t one of his worst and it only lasted a few days. Thankfully, he was told his job was secure and was able to relax and release the stress. Once we were married I realized he was grinding his teeth almost every night. I’d nudge him and interrupt whenever I was awake and heard him. It wasn’t long before he had another attack, which lasted about a week this time. He didn’t get these attacks all the time, but when he did he was in so much pain he was totally bedridden and out of commission for days at a time. Continue reading →

Posted by AMusico — Medical / Opinion / Self Help — No Comments
27
Aug 09

Fenugreek Seed Tea

When I first got married my husband informed me that he had a serious bout of pneumonia as a teenager and ever since then, he gets bronchitis every fall. Well, that did not sit right with me! I love a challenge, so I decided I would figure out how to prevent that yearly occurrence.

As you might imagine, that first year, he was true to his word and got bronchitis as soon as the weather began to change from summer to fall. Chicken soup made him feel better (so did ice cream, but that’s only because he considers it his own personal “medicine”)  However, neither did anything to protect him. We tried different things I was learning about – echinacea, larger than normal doses of vitamin C, bee propolis. They were all helpful to a degree and I believe his colds were less severe, but he still got bronchitis the first few years of our marriage.

I came across some interesting information about a natural substance I’d never heard of at the time – Fenugreek Seed. What I read said it would help keep the lungs clear and was used for bronchitis and other respiratory problems. It was certainly worth a try. I found Fenugreek Seed tea bags at my local health food store and bought a box. Continue reading →

Posted by AMusico — Medical / Self Help — No Comments
27
Aug 09

Always Trust Your Intuition

Mothers know their kids better than anyone. I remember when my son, Matt, was small he had one ear infection after another for a time. We were visiting my inlaws at the Jersey shore and he was actually on an antibiotic, yet I was still up with him all night. I called the doctor and said he must have developed a tolerance to that antibiotic. He told me that couldn’t be. When we got home and I took him in, sure enough he had a raging ear infection and the antibiotic was not touching it. Score:  mom one, doctor zero.

Several years later, Matt was about 9 years old and we were living here in the Hudson Valley in our new home. We have well water here which we’d never had before. Matt began to develop a horrendous cough. You know the type – people would turn around a look at him as if he had typhoid fever and pull their kids away from him. I couldn’t blame them – he sounded awful. I took him to our pediatrician who prescribed, what else, an antibiotic and a cough medicine. His cough seemed to improve slightly while he was on the meds and then went right back once we stopped. Took him in again – same story – and same result. She never tried to figure out what might be causing the cough, just sent us out every time with something to suppress the annoying (and embarrassing) symptom and never giving me an answer as to what may be causing it. Continue reading →

Posted by AMusico — Medical / Opinion / Religion — No Comments
21
Aug 09

Good Medicine

Proverbs 17:22 NLT: A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.

Much has been said about the power of laughter to heal. I want to share some research that links breast cancer and attitude. Recent research at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel provides this interesting finding: happiness and optimistic attitudes may reduce one’s risk of contracting the disease. In this study 622 women between the ages of 25 and 45 shared information about their life experiences.

The researchers assessed their optimism, happiness, anxiety and depression levels before diagnosis. They used this information to find the connection between life events, psychological distress and the occurrence of breast cancer. Of these 622 participants, 255 were breast cancer patients, while the other 367 had never had cancer.

Their findings revealed a clear link between outlook and risk of breast cancer. Optimistic women were 25 % less likely to have developed this disease. There have been other studies linking positive mental and emotional states and better health. Some studies have shown that positive emotions cause the body to produce more immune cells, while negative ones tend to suppress one’s immune system. The specifics of how attitudes contribute to health, are still not fully understood. What is known is that the body’s immune system is influenced by brain chemistry, which is in turn affected by emotional experiences. Continue reading →

Posted by AMusico — Medical / Opinion / Religion — No Comments
21
Aug 09

What Seeds Are You Growing?

John 12:24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

While this scripture is referring to the spiritual aspect of sowing seed, I find it relates very clearly to our physical health as well. Seeds are dormant until they are planted and given the proper environment in which to grow and flourish. You can keep an envelope of seeds for years and they’ll never become anything else.

Once you take those seeds and plant them into nutrient rich soil, water them regularly and let them get daily sunlight, the potential that was always resident within that seed is released and enabled to grow and flourish.

It works in much the same way in our bodies. Everyone has cancer cells in their bodies. They are dormant. As long as you provide a health-producing environment by feeding your body with nutrient-dense, whole foods, drinking clean water, getting fresh air, sleep and exercise, then those cells remain dormant. Continue reading →

Posted by AMusico — Medical / Opinion / Religion — No Comments
21
Aug 09

Don’t Be Afraid to Question the Source

I did an email to subscribers of my website about the dangers of artificial sweeteners, specifically aspartame and sucralose (Nutrasweet and Splenda). One reader raised a question. I mentioned that aspartame breaks down in the body into methanol (wood alcohol), formaldehyde (embalming fluid) and Phenylalanine. This reader noticed that this same substance (phenylalanine) is also listed as an ingredient in his whey protein and was concerned that this could create problems. I appreciate questions like this!  In fact God tells us in the bible to “Test all things; hold fast to what is good.”  (1 Thess. 5:21)

Phenylalanine is an amino acid – a building block of protein. That is why it is an ingredient in whey protein, as well as chicken, eggs or other sources of protein. However, in these real foods it is found in combination and proper ratio with the other amino acids. In diet soda, this synthetic chemical breaks down and there is a large amount of just this amino acid. The warning on the label is for people who lack the necessary enzyme to process and digest it. Since people drink large amounts of diet soda, this can pose a health risk (aside from just consuming diet soda itself!) Most people do not consume liters of whey protein daily. And if you lack this enzyme, you would have to monitor all your protein consumption as well – not just what is found in diet soda. Continue reading →

Posted by Jose Antonio Ponce — Medical — No Comments
13
Aug 09

Becoming Diabetic

I have been diagnosed with Type 2 Adult Onset Diabetes. This was not a surprising diagnosis given my age, weight and heritage. I’m 53, weigh over 300 pounds and am Mexican. All your life, you hear that these are things that are contributing factors to developing Diabetes, and like most people, we believe ourselves immune to the things that aging and poor health habits bring.
This story is not so much about how I came to be here as it is about crossing that threshold into diabetes. I knew, or at least I knew something was going on with my health and I did try to fix it, I just took action too late.
I have at least one complete physical per year. My doctor is pretty good about making sure I come in to see him at least twice a year and my annual always includes complete blood work. Once the results come back from the lab, the doctor sends me a photocopy of the results with notes in the margins that say things like “Too high” for my cholesterol or “Good numbers” for other items like prostate screening. If something looks amiss, he sends me back to the lab.
In 2008, I had had a physical in January but missed one in April. My employer had changed insurance companies and my doctor was no longer on the insurance company roster. Money had become tight and I couldn’t find the cash to go see him. In fact, I still owed him a hundred dollars and resolved that I would pay that debt first before I would schedule an appointment.
When my employer changed insurance companies (again) in 2009, I scheduled an appointment. It had been well over a year since I had last seen the doctor. When I finally went did see him in April of this year, we had the same blood work as always done. This time, he sent me back to the lab with a certain degree of urgency. When my results came back it confirmed his initial diagnosis.
He prescribed meds for me, gave me a blood glucose meter and had the nurse instruct me on how to use it. My initial blood sugar was 309. The doctor had told me that it should be 120 or below. I filled my prescriptions and pricked my finger twice a day. I had already changed my diet, however, because I had a feeling that something was amiss at least six weeks before my diagnosis. Continue reading →

Posted by AMusico — General Topics / Medical / Self Help — No Comments
11
Aug 09

Should You Consider Hiring a Coach?

Research shows that by reducing just one health risk factor you can increase a person’s productivity on the job by 9% and reduce absenteeism by 2%.  While different people have different needs at various stages in their lives, most people share all six of these to varying degrees:

Being held accountable; being questioned and/or challenged;

being listened to;  being recognized for your achievements;

being accepted; being motivated.

Having a coach guide you in the commitment to do, change or test specific thoughts, habits or behaviors and then have you report on them is a sure-fire way to improve your follow-through.  Accountability automatically improves performance and results.                    

A new study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that women were successful in losing weight when they had regularly scheduled, personal interaction with a health professional. You’re simply more likely to succeed if you have someone you check in with on a regular basis, who’s encouraging when you struggle, and celebrates with you when you achieve your goals.  That’s what a coach does! Continue reading →

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