Pepto Bismol and Ulcers - h. pylori

According to Dr. Oz, "that pink stuff", Pepto Bismol, is good for ulcers because it kills the bacteria h. pylori. Pepto was used for years and years and it had doctors stumped, since it had nothing in it to help ulcers. It was finally discovered that it actually kills the bacteria, h pylori, that causes some ulcers.

Poison Ivy - home remedy

Sometimes my posts are precipitated by cleaning up my office or kitchen table and finding scraps pf paper with notes on them. This blog really gives me a good place to file notes. Today I found a note that said "Baking soda and white vinegar - Poison Ivy". I think what it meant was a a good remedy for poison ivy is, making paste of baking soda and white vinegar and putting it on poison ivy. I believe this is something I heard when watching NCIS. I'm happy to say, I have yet to try it. I'm hoping I never get to find out if it really works. However, if you've tried it, please comment and let me know.

Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy - Suzanne Somers

Suzanne Somers - thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I can't even express how thankful I am that Suzanne has been on a crusade to help menopausal women everywhere to understand what is going on with our bodies and what we need to do to get our lives back.

I happened to be watching Good Morning America and saw an ad that Suzanne Somers would be on Oprah talking about Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT) and how it changed her life. After begging doctors for over a year to help me feel better without any success, I realized I'd better set my alarm so I wouldn't miss this. It changed my life. Watching Suzanne, I couldn't believe how I felt she was talking about me rather than herself. It took several months to get an appointment with a doctor to get the prescription (because not all doctors understand it and many think it's a bunch of crap).

Oprah has a synopsis of the show here: http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/20090128_tows_suzannesomers

I think we've been misled to believe we are supposed to have hot flashes, memory problems, etc. NOT TRUE! Think about it...does it really make sense that our lives should be over at 50??? Check out the adrenal glands and what their function is. They should be taking over when we hit menopause to supply the necessary hormones. Stress can cause our adrenal glands to not work properly. Ever wonder why some women can't understand what the big deal is about menopause and say, "I didn't have any problems." That is more than likely because their bodies are functioning properly (the adrenal glands are working properly).

If our thyroid is not making enough thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), we gladly take a supplement - synthetic or natural. If the urinary tract is not working properly because of an infection we gladly take an antibiotic. If something, like the adrenal glands, isn't working correctly, why wouldn't we fix the problem if we have that option rather than letting a doctor convince us we just need anti-depressants?

I must wonder if the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) actually did us a disservice and left us with misleading information. Their study, as I understand it, included only synthetic hormones, not non-synthetic hormones such as bio-identical hormones.

This comes from the article on Oprah's site from the show with Suzanne Somers, "According to news reports, two of the main reasons doctors are hesitant to prescribe bio identical hormones are the lack of long-term studies about their safety and inconsistencies with how some of these hormones are made." Here's my question, "WHY HASN'T ANYONE DONE A LONG-TERM STUDY?!!!" Yes that was me yelling! Is it because bio-identicals can not be patented and there is less money to make on them? Because if one company does a study all pharmaceuticals will benefit?

I know I don't have enough money to fund a study, though I'd be happy to be included in one. I think I do know one woman who has plenty of money to fund a study. Did someone say Oprah?

Get as much information on bio-identical hormone replacement as possible - I'm glad I did!!! And Suzanne, thanks again!

Whole Grains

It seems there is a minconception about whole grains. Talk to anyone and they seem to think bagels are healthy to eat if they are called "made from multi-grain or made from whole grain". The healthy choice is to eat whole grains, NOT things that are made from whole grains and probably contain trace amounts of "whole grains". White flour, even though it has very little or no nutritional value, is made from whole grain.

I recently learned the difference between rolled and steel cut oats. I also learned rolled oats are not a whole grain. All these years I've thought they were. Steel cut oats are a whole grain. Rolled oats literally are rolled, which allows for the removal of the bran. I think if you eat rolled oats and oat bran it might equal a whole grain.

Hot Flashes and Menopause

I've long heard black cohosh is the answer to hot flashes. I had even used it myself and found it very helpful (along with LOTS of other nutritional supplements). I had never heard, however, of cimifuga. According to Dr. Mark Stengler, cimifuga is a Native American herb that has been used for hundreds of years and has been proven effective on not just hot flashes, but depression and insomnia. I'm using bio-identical hormone replacement therapy so I won't be trying this. I hope if you have tried it, you will leave a comment (either good or bad).

Chantix - digestive issues, stomach problems

After taking Chantix almost a year and a half ago, the side effects I experienced (constipation, flatulence and a distended abdomen) have still not disappeared. It seems that maybe Chantix neutralizes stomach acid and causes the stomach to not produce acid in the future. :-( I'm guessing at the acid neutralization as I've been able to take large amounts of stomach acid (Betaine) without any heartburn.

I would love to hear from others if they have had this same issue.

High fructose corn syrup

We have all seen the new advertisements promoting high fructose corn syrup. They make us think, "hmmm sugar isn't that bad, so corn syrup isn't as bad as we thought". Another interesting bit of information found at Kitchen Table Medicine is about high fructose corn syrup. They asked Dr. Scott Olsen, "In your medical opinion, what is worse: Sugar or high fructose corn syrup? Dr. Olsen's answer, "This is a little like asking if you would rather be shot or stabbed: both are bad." The other thing that is explained, is that the body can not use it and therefore has only two choices: to convert it so it can use it for energy or store it as fat. If the body has a hard time using it, I guess it makes sense the latter would take place.

Kitchen Table Medicine

I've found a wonderful new place to get useful health information www.kitchentablemedicine.com Today I learned that the ground flaxseeds I've been using are not as useful because they should be ground just before eating them. I will have to purchase and keep handy, a coffee grinder for daily grinding. I notice that dry mouth and dry eye go away when I faithfully take flaxseed and fish oil. According to Kitchen Table Medicine, 1 tablespoon of ground flax has 2 grams of fiber.

Rezyme, Liquid-Gel Digestion Enzymes

Just received Liquid-Gel Digestion Enzymes (which I believe is the replacement for Rezyme) on Saturday, January 10. I'm pretty impressed since I only ordered it on Thursday from a company in Texas. It was sent priority mail for only $6.95 to New Hampshire.

I'll try to let you know how it works out for me.

Dr. Lindsey - Digestive enzymes and Cancer

I've just become a fan of Dr. Lindsey (Duncan). I was in my local health food store, purchasing the newest diet aid - Acai and ended up coming home with a CD on Acai 100 that included an interview with Dr. Lindsey. After listening to the CD, I ended up checking out one of his websites: www.askdrlinsey.com

If you have a chance, you might want to read some of his published articles under "Published Articles" by Dr. Lindsey. Two that I found particularly interesting are: "Digestion, Enzymes and Your Health" and "How to Fight Cancer for Life". Both articles are very interesting reading.
Digestion, enzymes and Your Health: I've been putting up with symptoms he mentions in the article for a long time (since using Chantix...hmmm what a coincidence or not). Apparently Dr. Lindsey has developed a product called "Nature's Secret Rezyme". I tried to locate it yesterday through my local health food store and they unfortunately did not have it. As soon as I can locate it, I will try it. I've been using Betaine for a long time with only some relief.

What I found very interesting in "How to Fight Cancer for Life" was that it didn't say "send in $$ for more information". It was outlined right there in the article.

Quit smoking - Woohoo!!!

November 13, 2007

Today was finally the day. I've tried to quit so many times and it never worked. I had previously tried Wellbutrin twice with no luck and adverse reactions. This time I decided to use Chantix, since I had heard good things about it.

I started taking Chantix mid-September. I knew one of the side effects was flatulence. It also caused constipation. I figured this would be temporary so it would be worth it given that I'd be quitting smoking.

By the first week of November, I was smoking only 2 cigarettes a day. (It wasn't easy, but I do think that Chantix took the edge off.) The next week, I was able to quit. By this time, I felt so terrible I can't even explain it. I was able to make it about 10 days and I stopped taking Chantix. I had become terribly depressed and was snapping at my family. I was extremely disappointed that the flatulence and constipation did not disappear after going off it.

The flatulence and constipation is still a problem. I ended up going to a homeopathic pharmacy to get some help. I was told I needed to replace stomach acid, which would mean taking Betaine with meals (you can find lots of info on Betaine on the Internet) and increasing with each meal. In hindsight I guess it makes sense that Chantix would neutralize stomach acid and that would explain why the side effects would be flatulence and constipation.

I tried Betaine and nothing so far has helped. I'm going to take it again this week and hope and pray that it will work to get my stomach to produce its own acid.

The good news is, I am still not smoking. I am not so sure that I would recommend Chantix, though. If there is any chance you can do it on your own, do it!!! and I never want to go through that H*ll again!!