Herbal Health

Theophylline (Elixophyllin, Nuelin, Theo-dur) These drugs are taken by mouth, and are not used as often nowadays because of their bitter taste. They have also been associated with common side effects such as nausea and vomiting, as well as headache and school learning difficulties. They are often useful for night cough, and the long-acting version is sometimes used in children with chronic asthma, but they generally are no longer used as the first line or sole drug in asthma. Ipratropium bromide (Atrovent) This drug is sometimes used, but again not often as a first choice drug.

Drugs used to prevent asthma are seen as increasingly important. They act either to reduce the effects of inflammation, which is the main underlying cause of the disease, or to minimise the effects of some of the cells in the airways which contribute to the inflammatory response. The drugs used for prevention include: Sodium cromoglycate (Intal) This is inhaled on a regular basis, irrespective of whether the child has symptoms or not.

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I have learned to hate sex. It hurts, my whole pelvis hurts with every thrust. I just can’t do it anymore.

WIFE WITH ARTHRITIS

Some of the symptoms that come with the various forms and degrees of arthritis include numbness, joint pain, weakness, fatigue, and some muscular atrophy. The primary effect on sexuality seems to be in sexual movements that accompany intercourse.

Of the 118 patients with some form of connective-tissue disorder or arthritis, 26 had stopped having sex. Fatigue and pain were the most frequent reasons given. I learned in the interviews, however, that most of these patients were trying to have sex at night or in the morning. These two times are typically the most painful in the cycle of symptoms for most arthritis patients, particularly patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

I suggested the following steps for the husbands and wives with arthritis in the couples group.

1. Try a warm bath or shower before sex. The temperature of the water may lessen some of the pain in the joints and make movements easier.

2. .Change the time of day you try to have sex. Late morning and early afternoon seem to be good times for less severe symptoms for my patients, but find your own sex time. Don’t be bound by the nighttime trap.

3. Use warm compresses even during sex. Apply them just prior to posture changes, and incorporate them into the sex play.

4. Try the posture of the future. Mounting and thrusting are not sexual prerequisites.

5. If what you are doing hurts, don’t only stop and change the activity, but discuss it later. There may be ways to make adjustments. Symptoms are always changing. What does not feel good today might feel great later.

6. Emotional state can affect some forms of arthritis directly. The stress of anxiety, fatigue, and work or family pressure is as damaging as postural pressures. Look to your emotional posture as much as you look to your sexual position.

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This dimension of the super sex model refers to the contractions of the muscles in the pelvic area followed by a detumescence. In males and in some females, physiological orgasm is accompanied by emission of fluid. Whipple and Perry report that females experience a buildup and discharge of muscle tension in the pubococcygeal muscles and in the orgasmic platform (the area that can contract in the outer third of the vagina in response to sexual stimulation). They add that the buildup and disharge of myotonia in the deeper muscles of the vagina results in the uterus contracting and pushing down, causing the orgasmic platform to open, resulting in what they call an “A-frame” effect in the vagina. The former response, called the “tenting response,” is not typically involved with emissions in the female. The A-frame response can be involved in such emission, probably related to the Skene’s glands (glands around the urethra) and stimulation of the Grafenberg area (Whipple and Perry called this the G spot.)

Men in my interviews reported different types of physiological orgasms as well. Some felt more of an “opening” sensation similar to that of the A-frame orgasm, while others felt the contractive response of the tenting type.

“I definitely know when I come. I feel this tensing, then a series of pulsations,” reported the wife.

“I feel like that, too,” said the husband. “It’s like I’m going to come, then I come. It is just like strong pulses in the groin.”

The physiological orgasm was the emphasis of the first three perspectives, with a focus on the body response rather than “psy-chasms.”

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People have been curing themselves in various ways for many thousands of years. Over this time, some techniques have proved to be quite effective and popular. Almost every civilisation in the past had its own selection of best medical practices. We are very fortunate today, that some of this information is still available and we can take advantage of the accumulated wisdom of many generations of talented and enlightened people.

Please let me point out, that the original principles of orthodox medicine essentially support the view, that the patients should be able to seek another opinion.

A growing number of people, especially when confronted with a diagnosis of a disease considered “incurable” by orthodox medicine (such as advanced cancer for example) turn to alternative forms of treatments, which were proven through centuries. To the surprise of orthodox doctors, many of such patients succeed in greatly improving their state of health and surviving for many years, against all predictions and expectations based upon medical statistics.

The alternative techniques include, among others :

• Acupuncture

• Massage

• Herbal therapies

• Nutrition and diet

• Fasting (an extreme form of diet)

• Ayurvedic (ancient Indian) therapies

• Spiritual healers

• Oxygen and ozone therapies

• Meditation and relaxation therapies

• Radionics and electro-magnetic therapies

• Going to famous mineral springs in the mountains (Lourdes in France for example), drinking the water and bathing in it.

• removing some blood from the body

• going to bed and inducing sweating

• taking sauna

This list is probably not complete, but nevertheless, just by taking a look at it, it is hard not to notice the extreme diversity of healing techniques. They range from purely physical methods concentrating on the physical body (herbs, diet, oxygen, massage, physiotherapy etc.) to purely spiritual methods, totally ignoring the physical body (spiritual healing, meditation etc.). Several techniques (Acupuncture, Ayurveda) combine the extraordinary accurate and detailed knowledge of both the mind and the body.

To me, the most striking is the absence of surgery. I think, there is a reason for it. The design of our body is actually perfect. The mind-body system as a whole has been designed to function perfectly, to defend itself against disease, and to rebuild any damaged parts for as long as we wish. Our wise ancestors did not try to improve the design by removing or changing parts.

*9\96\8*

Despite what some patients may think of us, and despite what some of us think about ourselves, doctors are not above the law.

The law is set down for all citizens to obey and we as a learned profession do ourselves and the law a disservice if we attempt to bring it into disrepute.

Being called as a witness to court is a time-consuming business and if one is a witness to an accident, it may be a full day lost from work.

However, for most individuals this may happen only once or twice in a lifetime.

For those doctors involved in treating workers compensation or road accident cases, a court appearance may occur almost every week.

But doctors are involved with the law in many other ways.

Speed limits on the road are absolute, but if a doctor is travelling to an emergency and he exceeds the speed limit, he still breaks the law.

Should he be apprehended by a policeman, a simple and polite explanation will usually result in the policeman waving the doctor on his way or asking him if he requires a police escort.

*477/71/1*

The seventh cranial or facial nerve passes through a hole in the bony skull just below the ear, to run forward under the parotid salivary gland to supply the muscles of the face.

This nerve can be injured by tumors of the parotid gland or by operations in this area. As this is a motor nerve supplying stimulation to the facial muscles, interference with its function may lead to weakness or paralysis.

The most common cause of facial palsy is inflammation of the nerve.

The swelling causes it to be compressed in the bony canal it passes through to enter the face. Compression leads to loss of function.

In most cases the cause of the inflammation is unknown, although it is thought that some cases may be due to exposure to cold or a draught.

The condition, usually called Bell’s palsy after Sir Thomas Bell, who was professor of surgery in Edinburgh in the 1830s, usually comes on suddenly and may be partial or complete. The person often notices it on awakening.

The paralysed face is flat and without expression, the eyelid cannot be completely closed and food and drink may dribble from the side of the mouth.

*222/71/1*

Unlike laparoscopy, which is, in a way, exploratory surgery, laparotomy is a much more serious consideration, and should not be thought of as routine. Exploratory laparotomy is a major surgical procedure. The doctor makes a horizontal or vertical incision in the abdomen in order to explore the abdominal cavity for any abnormality or to remove tumors or cysts. This procedure is not used routinely as a diagnostic tool, but if a woman has a large pelvic cyst or mass that needs to be removed, a laparotomy might be indicated and might help treat the patient. Surprisingly, endometriosis often is discovered when something else is suggested, such as pelvic infection or pelvic tumors.

Sharon’s instincts about her condition were right from the start; she would have been better off searching for a specialist in endometriosis. Specialists are a good bet because they have experience in treating endometriosis on a regular basis, frequently are involved in research on the disease, and are more skilled with the laparoscope.

*46\43\4*

There are four common reasons for the treatment of moles:

1. Diagnosis of a mole as being of the type that is statistically more likely to become malignant; such a mole would be the large, hairy ‘bathing trunk’ naevus.

2. The presence of changes suspected to be malignant.

3. The occurrence of functional changes within the mole. These may be irritation, trauma, or infection.

4. Cosmetic reasons. In this case removal is only successful if the result improves the appearance of the individual. The choice of surgical technique is therefore important.

There is absolutely no foundation for the widely-held misconception that surgical interference with a mole will cause it to become malignant. This may have arisen from the result of inadequate treatment of what in fact was already an early malignant melanoma, not a simple mole. All doubtful moles should be excised with an adequate margin and submitted for pathological examination. No moles should ever be simply destroyed by cauterization or similar treatment without adequate pathological examination. Removal for cosmetic or functional reasons does not necessarily have to be complete. Elliptical excision and suturing may be avoided and a very satisfactory cosmetic result obtained by a shave excision. This entails shaving the mole off flush with the skin surface, and stopping bleeding with light electro-desiccation.

*73\44\4*

Summary of main points.

• Sustainable strategies of eating a low-fat diet and maintaining appropriate activity levels are required for long term management of fat stores.

• Fad diets are not sustainable, exploit the vulnerabilities of the overweight and are counter-productive.

• Criteria can be applied to these diets to assess their validity and sustainability.

Long term management of fat stores requires people to develop sustainable strategies in eating a low-fat diet and maintaining appropriate activity levels. The ad libitum approach to low-fat eating has been shown to be the most effective and easiest to follow over the long term. The rationale and techniques for doing this have been discussed in previous chapters. One disadvantage of this approach, however, is that it takes longer for success—even though this is likely to be more sustainable over the long run. Hence, there is still often a desire by many for a ‘quick fix’. ‘Diets’ offer this. Fad diets offer it even more convincingly. The most popular diets promise faster and seemingly effortless ways of losing ‘weight’, contributing to sporadic, and often counter-productive, efforts in weight management.

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Every woman should be aware that a second opinion is her right and she should never be made to feel guilty about wanting one.

A second opinion will give you peace of mind so it is essential that you get this from a specialist well-versed in the treatment of endometriosis and one who is well up on the latest research and technology. It is important that the doctor giving the second opinion is not in the same practice as the first doctor.

When should I get a second opinion

If you are unable to communicate with your doctor or you are uneasy about your doctor’s attitude, approach and explanations then you should seek a second opinion.

You should also obtain a second opinion if you are unsure about the type of treatment recommended, or if your doctor says there is nothing wrong with you.

If you do not feel that adequate tests and evaluations have been carried out or you wish to consult a doctor who has expertise in one particular aspect of the treatment of endometriosis — such as laser therapy or infertility — then seek a second opinion.

A second opinion is important for women who:

Have been recommended a hysterectomy.

Are told by their doctor that nothing further can be done to treat their disease.

Need reassurance that the treatment suggested by their first doctor is appropriate.

*115\83\2*