Weight loss and Weight Chat Blog

It’s not often that I recommend natural remedies because there’s rarely any scientific evidence that they work better than a placebo. But when there’s data supporting their use I’m all for it. Such is now the case in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) as shown by a review of research recently published in the British Medical Journal. Turns out that two of the best treatments for IBS, peppermint oil and fiber, are old-fashioned, inexpensive and widely available over-the-counter (OTC). And I don’t mean that these are just two of the best natural remedies or two of the best OTC remedies, they are two of the best remedies period.
The research review found three IBS treatments to be consistently better than placebo. In addition to peppermint oil and fiber, the anti-spasmodic scopolamine (also called hyoscine), a natural product derived from certain plants, is also effective […]

Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com

Let’s talk about placebos, and in particular about how you’d feel if you found out that your doctor had prescribed something for you that he or she believed actually had no activity against your illness other than a psychological effect. But instead of calling it a placebo, he or she told you that the prescription was for “a medicine not typically used for your condition but which might benefit you.” Would you be okay with it figuring that your doctor had your best interests in mind and was trying, as best he or she knew how, to help alleviate your symptoms, or would you be angry, feeling that you’d been misled, or worse, the victim of fraud?
However you feel, it seems that placebo prescribing may be more common than you think. A new study, conducted in the United States but published online in the British Medical Journal […]

Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com

St. John’s wort, an herb long thought to be effective for the treatment of depression, is used widely in many countries for this purpose and is available over-the-counter in the United States (but not approved by the FDA as an antidepressant). But clinical studies have sometimes yielded conflicting results, in part because of variations in study designs (such as the exact definition of depression) as well as variations in the preparation of the herbal extract and the dosages used. But a new meta-analysis has reviewed 29 separate studies involving nearly 5500 patients and found that, overall, St. John’s wort was more effective than placebo and similar in efficacy to both older antidepressants (such as those called tricyclics of which amitriptyline is typical) and newer ones (such as those called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, of which Prozac and Celexa are typical). Most of the patients studied […]

Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com

Virtual colonoscopy is an x-ray examination of the colon used to screen for cancer. It is also called CT colonography because the x-ray test used is a CT scan (also called computed tomography or CAT scan for computed axial tomography). Virtual colonoscopy is in the news because of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) that compared the x-ray test to traditional colonoscopy and found comparable results in terms of identifying abnormal growths. But while the headlines will tout the positive findings, there are a few things you should know before undergoing one of these procedures.
First off let me say that screening for colon cancer is an extremely important and life-saving yet underutilized undertaking that I’ve written about before, and which you should undergo regularly as appropriate for your age and risk level (please read the article for more details). So efforts […]

Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com

After surgery for colon cancer, you are still at risk, both for cancer recurrence and for development of another new colon cancer. Because of this it’s important for colon cancer survivors to be followed closely and monitored carefully. But new research has found that many such survivors aren’t getting the proper follow-up care. And it looks as though the fault lies more with the doctors than it does with the patients. If you or someone you love is a colon cancer survivor, it’s important to know the guidelines for follow-up in order to ensure you’re getting the right tests.
In the study, published online in the journal Cancer on September 8, 2008 - only 40 percent of colon cancer survivors who were followed for three years had all the right doctor visits and tests. But since 92 percent of patients had all the proper office visits, […]

Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com

Bernie Mac, comedian, writer, TV and film star, died this past weekend of pneumonia at the age of 50. He had suffered from an unusual condition known as sarcoidosis or sarcoid, since his 20s, but it was said to be in remission at the time of his death. It is probable, however, that the pneumonia was due to immune system suppression caused by the very medications used to treat his sarcoid disease. So, just what is sarcoid, who gets it, what happens and how is it treated?
Sarcoidosis, also known as sarcoid, is an unusual inflammatory disorder of unknown cause. The inflammation it causes is also unusual in that it results in small nodules, called granulomas, which can join together to become larger nodules, and which can be present in a wide variety of organs, most typically the lungs. The nodules can interfere with normal organ […]

Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com

If you take one of the “triptan” medications for migraine headaches, you could be at risk for developing serotonin syndrome, which is a potentially life-threatening neurologic condition. And your risk of serotonin syndrome increases if you also take one of the SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) or SSNRI (selective serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) antidepressants (see below for the names of all these drugs). The symptoms of serotonin syndrome are often described as a triad of clinical manifestations:
• Mental status changes: confusion, agitation, mania, hallucinations, headache, coma
• Autonomic effects: nausea, vomiting, high blood pressure, diarrhea, racing heartbeat, fever
• Neuromuscular effects: tremor, muscle twitching, shivering, overactive reflexes
There are eight triptan medications currently approved for the treatment of migraine:
• Amerge [naratriptan]
• Axert [almotriptan]
• Frova [frovatriptan]
• Imitrex [sumatriptan]
• Maxalt [rizatriptan]
• Relpex [eletriptan]
• Treximet [sumatriptan and naproxen combination]
• Zomig [zolmitriptan]
Triptans all work in […]

Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com

If you take one of the “triptan” medications for migraine headaches, you could be at risk for developing serotonin syndrome, which is a potentially life-threatening neurologic condition. And your risk of serotonin syndrome increases if you also take one of the SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) or SNRI (serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) anti-depressants (see below for the names of all these drugs). The symptoms of serotonin syndrome are often described as a triad of clinical manifestations:
• Mental status changes: confusion, agitation, mania, hallucinations, headache, coma
• Autonomic effects: nausea, vomiting, high blood pressure, diarrhea, racing heartbeat, fever
• Neuromuscular effects: tremor, muscle twitching, shivering, overactive reflexes
There are eight triptan medications currently approved for the treatment of migraine:
• Amerge [naratriptan]
• Axert [almotriptan]
• Frova [frovatriptan]
• Imitrex [sumatriptan]
• Maxalt [rizatriptan]
• Relpex [eletriptan]
• Treximet [sumatriptan and naproxen combination]
• Zomig [zolmitriptan]
Triptans all work in the […]

Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com

Here’s an alarming statistic: on average, every day in the United States at least one doctor dies by suicide. Every year approximately 300 - 400 doctors take their own lives – roughly one a day, and more physicians commit suicide than do members of any other profession. Moreover, suicide among women physicians is especially high with a rate between 250 and 400 percent higher than females in other professions (the rate in male physicians is 70 percent higher than in other professions). And while men in the general population successfully complete suicide four times more frequently than do women, among physicians, the completion rates for the two sexes are equal. Thus, physician suicide is all too common and women are disproportionately affected.
To help address this problem, a new one hour high-definition documentary entitled Struggling in Silence: Physician Depression and Suicide is airing this month on many public […]

Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com

Yesterday was the first Monday of May, and although it happens this year to coincide with the Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo, it is also known in the skin cancer community as Melanoma Monday. Melanoma Monday, the first Monday in May, officially kicks off the American Academy of Dermatology’s month-long awareness program called National Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month. This year, the Academy’s campaign is called “See Spot…Check Spot…Save a Life.” It emphasizes the importance of self-examination of the skin, as well as having a partner check the parts of your body that are difficult to see like the back and the scalp.
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States, with over one million new cases detected each year. About one in five Americans will develop some form of skin cancer in their lifetime. Fortunately, most types of skin […]

Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com