Yearly Archives: 2020

Medicine, Men's Health, Opinion, Resources, Women's Health

DR. C’S MEDICINE CABINET: THE BENEFITS OF “IRON”

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Iron is the most common element, by weight, on earth, so it should come as no surprise that it has evolved to be an essential component in the mechanism that is life.

The ENERGY of the eukaryotic cell is dependent on the Iron in mitochondria, which are elaborate electron-transfer mechanisms. To quote Nobel Laureate Albert Szent Gyorgyi, “Life is nothing but an electron looking for a place of rest”.

Iron is essential, so it is possible to have too little of it. There is no physiologic pathway to get rid of it and so you can have too much iron in your body, which comprises a disease called Hemochromatosis. Excessive Iron can be TOXIC to the body, and produce damaging free radicals.

Deficiency of iron will produce ANEMIA. Regulation of incoming Iron is the body’s way of keeping excessive Iron out. It is absorbed only in the upper part of the small intestine, and a special protein called Hepcidin can block it from release into the circulation. It is carried through the blood by Transferrin and also Ferritin, which stores the iron that is not in the hemoglobin of RED BLOOD CELLS, the main storehouse of iron.

Blood loss is a common problem which leads to increased Iron requirement, This is reflected in the increase in RDA of Iron in Women during their menstruating years. Colonic Cancer, among other conditions, can also bleed and lead to the anemia of Iron deficiency. This is the reason for Doctors ordering a test for “occult”, or hidden, blood in the stools. My reason for taking Iron is a continuing loss of blood from the small intestine.

I have had multiple colonoscopies and Gastroenteroscopies to rule out cancer and other blood-losing conditions in the lower and upper intestinal tract. The small intestine is the “silent” area to gastroenterologists, and I cannot have the Capsule/camera examination because of my small bowel surgery.

I must take extra iron, and hope that this will be sufficient to keep me from developing anemia again. Green vegetables and red meat are more satisfactory sources, but insufficient for me. I worry a little about the recent finding that Heart Failure has been associated with Ferritin levels below 100 ng./ml.

I struggle to keep mine at 50 ng. by taking 2 tablets of feosol daily and dealIng with the subsequent constipation. An ANNUAL PHYSICAL and laboratory examination is important for the maintenance of health. Enough Iron and blood are important factors for vigorous Well-being. —

–Dr. C.

INFOGRAPHIC:

Men's Health, Opinion, Prevention, Women's Health

THE DOCTORS 101 CHRONIC SYMPTOMS AND CONDITIONS #26: HYPERTENSION

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Hypertension places an extra load on the blood vessels and heart, and eventually causes them to become diseased. High Blood Pressure is therefore bad for the entire body, which depends on the blood vessels for delivering the nutrients and oxygen necessary for life.

Most hypertension happens from subtle changes in the body’s signalling systems, and often runs in families; This is called “essential hypertension”. Additionally, there are a number of diseases and conditions of which hypertension is a symptom. It is important to know if you have hypertension, and fortunately it is easy to discover.

A visit to the doctor, or even to the pharmacy will make a reading available, and if you are concerned, an automatic cuff is available for $20. A healthy lifestyle and weight Will help prevent and treat hypertension, as in so many other chronic conditions.

A variety of medications are available to treat hypertension, but ANY MEDICATION CAN PRODUCE SIDE EFFECTS. It is rare for an effective medication to produce only a single, desired effect on the body. I have never known a person who at some time did not experience some side effect from antihypertensive medications.

Be sure to maintain contact with your Doctor. The dose may be too high, causing episodes of LOW blood pressure with fainting. When I was in practice, any number of patients came to me with a chronic cough, which I “cured” by having their doctor replace their ACE Inhibitor with another medication.

Please read the accompanying Mayo Clinic article for a complete discussion of this important condition.

–Dr. C.

Mayo Clinic article

Medicine, Men's Health, Opinion, Women's Health

THE DOCTORS 101 CHRONIC SYMPTOMS AND CONDITIONS #25: KIDNEY STONES

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Kidney stones are more common than you think, and over the span of life, afflict 1 out of 10 people, more commonly men. The pain is sharp, spasmodic and severe; it is described as being worse than the pain of childbirth. The pain is breathtaking, and if you have “renal colic”, your
world is truly “ in a grain of sand”.

This sand, this tiny rock, forms when certain elements and compounds become too concentrated in the urine as it is formed in your kidneys, and “drop out of solution”, or precipitates. This little pebble, which I’m sure feels like a rock, then begins its long, painful journey down the drainage system of the kidneys, and eventually passes, you hope, out with the
urine.

Be sure to save it for analysis if it does. Sometimes it is arrested, causes the urine to “back up”, and you need assistance to get it out. Half of the kidney stone attacks recur, and you will get other attacks.

This is particularly the case if your first attack comes when you are young, or there is a history of kidney stones which runs in your family. It is important for a doctor, such as an internist, to review your case, particularly if you are young.

Your family history, lifestyle including diet, medications, and other problems may give clues which will allow other attacks to be avoided. Sometimes there are serious underlying conditions that should be addressed. Half of people who have kidney stones have a genetic cause, but even here there are lifestyle changes which will help..

Drinking plenty of liquid helps, unless you have kidney failure. Read the Mayo Clinic article referenced below for details. They are interested enough in kidney stones to have consulted a Geologist, the ultimate student of Rocks.

–Dr. C.

Medicine, Men's Health, PODCASTS, Resources, Women's Health

COVID-19 PODCAST: DEATH RATES ARE FALLING – WHAT THIS MEANS FOR PANDEMIC

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The COVID-19 mortality rate is falling around the world. We discuss the reasons behind this – the role of new drugs, the treatment strategies the have been learned, or re-learned, and the ever-present worry that these hard won victories could be undone by rising infection rates.

In this episode:

00:44 An increase in survival rates

The COVID-19 mortality rate is falling around the world. We discuss the reasons behind this – the role of new drugs, the treatment strategies the have been learned, or re-learned, and the ever-present worry that these hard won victories could be undone by rising infection rates.

News Feature: Why do COVID death rates seem to be falling?

10:53 More vaccine good news

This week, Moderna released preliminary results for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, the third positive indication from a string of vaccine announcements. Although the full data are yet to be published, do these results give us more reasons to feel hopeful?

News: COVID vaccine excitement builds as Moderna reports third positive result

Medicine, Men's Health, Opinion, Women's Health

THE DOCTORS 101 CHRONIC SYMPTOMS AND CONDITIONS #24: CONSTIPATION

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One of my previous posts, “bad breath”, was so well received that I am emboldened to deal briefly with another important, if politically incorrect, topic; Constipation.

I have anemia, and take regular IRON, which produces constipation. A high fiber diet solved it. My bones have also been thinning over the years into Osteopenia, a deficiency of Calcium. I Increased my calcium intake with some CALCIUM citrate powder, and developed one of the worst episodes of Constipation I have ever had, in spite of my high fiber diet.

Stopping the Calcium leaves me with the osteopenia worry, but was a great relief. Many other medications can cause constipation. Ask your Pharmacist for a list.` Hypothyroidism, and a variety of autoimmune, intestinal and neurological conditions have constipation as a symptom.

As I struggled with something that should be automatic, I worried about possibly pushing out a hernia, ballooning out one of my colonic diverticula, or developing hemorrhoids. These are all complications of constipation, not to mention the big waste of time. Regularity is much to be desired.

If you have regular SLEEP and EXERCISE a low Calorie density, high fiber diet, and are not taking a lot of drugs and supplements, you most likely don’t have constipation. If you have constipation, you might consider examining your sleep, diet, exercise and medications. If you don’t want to change your habits and medication, try METAMUCIL and drink lots of WATER.

–Dr. C.

Read more from Mayo Clinic

Men's Health, Opinion, Women's Health

THE TWO SIDES OF STRESS

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Stress in modern times most often has a BAD connotation. Stress is blamed for a raft of disorders from headaches to cardiovascular disease. Indeed, stress activates the adrenocortical “alarm reaction”, and if unremitting can indeed implement many chronic problems.

ACUTE stress, however, is often beneficial. The body responds favorably to measured amounts of brief stress, especially if it is YOUR CHOICE, and not demanded of you. It is WORK, when you would rather be doing something else. It is FUN when you are hiking up a steep but beautiful trail in the Swiss Alps. The flavor of reality takes place in the mind.

HEAT SHOCK PROTEINS (HSP) illustrates how your body works. If you get a little overheated, HSPs are produced and benefit any misfolded proteins that result. If you go hungry, a metabolic pathway burns fat and increases insulin sensitivity. If you exercise your mind, BDNF and new neurons result.

THE BODY ADJUSTS TO THE DEMANDS, and benefits flow. The body is designed to function. The trouble is that placing demands on the body is effortful, and effort requires discipline. The Paleolithic Hunter-gatherer lifestyle, the reality to which our metabolism is attuned, REQUIRED plenty of aerobic exercise, just to get food and avoid harm.

Our modern life is replete with deadlines and requirements, and hearts beat rapidly from ANXIETY rather than aerobic demand. Even the trades, which used to require physical energy expenditure have a lot of labor-saving devices. Children, insead of running, ride around on electrically propelled scooters. Little wonder that people are “out of shape” and gaining weight.

–Dr. C