Coping With IBS
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can be painful, annoying, and embarrassing. There is currently no cure for this complex condition, and managing its symptoms and flare-ups is tricky. So, coping mechanisms are a constant need.
What are the symptoms of IBS?
IBS is a gastrointestinal disorder in which your gut becomes more sensitive, and the muscles of your digestive system have abnormal contractions. People with IBS usually have abdominal pain along with frequent changes in bowel habits (diarrhea, constipation, or alternating between both). Other common symptoms include
bloating and gas
urge to move the bowels, but being unab...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - November 3, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Matthew Solan Tags: Digestive Disorders Health Mental Health Stress Source Type: blogs
Mind-body medicine in addiction recovery
As someone who struggled with a miserable opiate addiction for 10 years, and who has treated hundreds of people for various addictions, I am increasingly impressed with the ways in which mind-body medicine can be a critical component of recovery from addiction. Mind-body medicine is the use of behavioral and lifestyle interventions, such as meditation, relaxation, yoga, acupuncture, and mindfulness, to holistically address medical problems. Mind-body treatments can be integrated with traditional medical treatments, or used as standalone treatments for certain conditions. Mind-body medicine is now being studied by the Natio...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - October 28, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Peter Grinspoon, MD Tags: Addiction Alcohol Complementary and alternative medicine Mind body medicine Source Type: blogs
New guidelines for aches, pains, and strains
We’ve all been there before. A minor injury leads to a sore ankle, achy shoulder, or sore neck. You could do nothing, try to ignore it, and see if it gets better. Or you may be tempted to take something, especially if significant discomfort prevents you from doing your usual activities or keeps you up at night.
So, what’s the best initial treatment? For minor injuries, your options are many, including:
Home remedies. Common approaches are the “RICE” treatments — Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation: applying cold to the sore area, wearing an elastic wrap to compress the sore area, rest, and elevation (such as p...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - October 2, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Bones and joints Exercise and Fitness Health Pain Management Source Type: blogs
What to do when one size does not fit all
Alert: rant ahead.
Early in my career working in persistent pain management, it was thought that “chronic pain is chronic pain is chronic pain” and pretty much anything that helped one person would help the next. Over time we’ve learned a lot more about persistent pain: the mechanisms differ a lot between neuropathic mechanisms and nociplastic mechanisms. Even within these groups, the mechanisms are very different. We’ve also learned a lot more about the psychosocial variables that are associated with prolonged disability and distress when pain persists. Some of the earliest work by Turk and coll...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - September 6, 2020 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: Chronic pain Groupwork Interdisciplinary teams Pain conditions Research Science in practice Source Type: blogs
Impact of the Immune System on the Brain and Mental Health
Most are aware that neurons send neurotransmitter signals to each other in circuits within the brain. My new book, The Secret Language of Cells, shows that similar conversations occur among all the cells in the body and these wide ranging conversations determine all physiological functions. While there are numerous examples of this cellular communication in the book — such as capillary cells sending directional signals for white blood cells to find an infection and capillaries instructing stem cells how to produce particular cells for the brain, this article will focus on a few ways that cellular conversations among ...
Source: World of Psychology - August 31, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Jon Lieff, MD Tags: Books Brain and Behavior Cognitive Neuroscience Source Type: blogs
Bridge, The Opioid Withdrawal Therapy Device, Released by Masimo
Masimo has announced that it’s making the Bridge device available, the first electronic therapeutic solution for tackling opioid withdrawals. Originally developed by Innovative Health Solutions, a Versailles, Indiana firm, the Bridge delivers neuromodulation to a set of occipital and cranial nerves (V, VII, IX, and X) via electrodes attached near the ear. The therapy helps to lessen withdrawal symptoms, including insomnia, agitation, sweating, and other irritabilities.
The technology was approved three years ago as an opioid withdrawal treatment, and three years before that it was FDA approved for use in acupunct...
Source: Medgadget - July 7, 2020 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Medgadget Editors Tags: Medicine Neurology Pain Management Psychiatry Source Type: blogs
Functional dyspepsia: Causes, treatments, and new directions
Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common condition, loosely defined by some physicians as a stomach ache without a clear cause. More specifically, it is characterized by the feeling of fullness during or after a meal, or a burning sensation in the mid-upper abdomen, just below the rib cage (not necessarily associated with meals). The symptoms can be severe enough to interfere with finishing meals or participating in regular daily activities.
Those with FD often go through multiple tests like upper endoscopy, CT scan, and gastric emptying study. But despite often-severe symptoms, no clear cause (such as cancer, ulcer disease, ...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - July 6, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Vikram Rangan, MD Tags: Digestive Disorders Mind body medicine Pain Management Source Type: blogs
Have a headache? The top 7 triggers
“Headaches aren’t welcome here” — that’s the sign you have hanging on your brain’s front door, but the pain is barging right in. You can chalk it up to stress from world events or something you ate or drank, and you might be right. But there are a number of common triggers for migraines, tension headaches, or cluster headaches. The faster you identify them, the quicker you can boot headache pain off the property.
What are the triggers for your headaches?
Take note of your circumstances when a headache starts. Keep a diary to track the day, time, symptoms, and circumstances surrounding the pain (what had you eat...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - March 30, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Heidi Godman Tags: Headache Health Men's Health Women's Health Source Type: blogs
Things to Know Before Seeking Treatment for Alcohol Addiction
Before seeking treatment for alcohol addiction, there are a few things you should consider along the way. Becoming sober from alcohol isn’t as easy as abstaining from alcohol; it takes a lot of work and, as such, some preparation should be involved. Whether it is you who are seeking treatment for your own alcohol addiction, or you are searching on behalf of a loved one, preparation is key before heading to treatment for alcohol addiction.
Consider Medication-Assisted Detox
Alcohol is the only substance with potentially deadly withdrawal symptoms. This makes it imperative that medical intervention including medication-as...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - January 31, 2020 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Alcohol Alcohol Rehab Information Alcoholism Detox Resources for Alcohol and Drugs/Opiates alcohol abuse alcohol detox alcohol treatment alcohol treatment center alcohol treatment facility Source Type: blogs
Inpatient Alcohol Treatment Center: What to Expect
Finally making the decision to get sober is one of the most difficult, yet rewarding, decisions you will ever make. This is especially true if you’ve decided to head to residential rehab to focus on changing your life. There can be many unknowns involved when moving your life to a new setting for an extended period of time, which is why it is comforting to know what to expect when you enter an inpatient alcohol treatment center.
Understanding what the first few days will be like, how to overcome withdrawal, what type of treatment plans are offered and what your chances of long-term results are are all important things w...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - January 3, 2020 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Alcohol Alcohol Rehab Information Alcoholism Detox Resources for Alcohol and Drugs/Opiates alcohol disorder alcohol treatment alcohol treatment center alcohol treatment facility inpatient residential residential rehab Source Type: blogs
Opioid Overdose: Causes, Signs, and What to Do
Opioid Overdose: Signs, Symptoms, and What to Do
Any individual who uses opioids runs the risk of overdosing. Overdoses can be fatal. In fact, more than 130 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids every day. This makes it important to know what causes an opioid overdose, the signs that an opioid overdose is occurring, and what to do in the event of an opioid overdose.
Opioid Overdose Causes
In 2017, the CDC reported that more than 15,000 individuals died from drug overdoses involving heroin in the United States. That’s almost 5 deaths for every 100,000 Americans. However, there are some people who may...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - December 27, 2019 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Detox Resources for Alcohol and Drugs/Opiates Painkiller drug overdose opiate addiction opioid opioids Source Type: blogs
How to Ask Your Doctor About Addiction Treatment
Learning more information about the addiction treatment process can be difficult if you do not know where to start looking. One of the many places individuals may begin their search is with their primary care provider, which makes it important to know how to ask your doctor about addiction treatment.
There are many reasons an individual may seek addiction treatment advice from their doctor, including:
The doctor is prescribing medications that they believe they have become addicted to
The individual is suffering from a condition that they believe their addiction is worsening or impacting
The individual doesn’t have any...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - December 11, 2019 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction Recovery Addiction Treatment and Program Resources doctor doctors treatment center treatment facilities treatment facility treatment options treatment programs Source Type: blogs
What Is The Opioid Crisis?
The opioid crisis is known as the health crisis surrounding prescription, and nonprescription, opioid drugs. The overdose and death rates of opioids are climbing exponentially and the use of the drug is more rampant now than ever.
How Did the Opioid Crisis Begin?
In the late 1990s, pharmaceutical companies reassured the medical community that patients would not become addicted to prescription opioid pain relievers, and healthcare providers began to prescribe them at greater rates. Before long, this lead to the medications becoming misused and it became apparent that these medications were indeed highly addictive. However,...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - November 21, 2019 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction to Pharmaceuticals Heroin Addiction Recovery opioid opioid crisis opioids pharmaceutical addiction pharmaceutical drug abuse treatment pharmacists Source Type: blogs
Vicodin Withdrawal: Symptoms, Timeline and Treatment
What is Vicodin and What Does It Do?
According to MedicineNet, Vicodin is a combination of Hydrocodone and Acetaminophen. Hydrocodone is a narcotic pain-reliever and a cough suppressant, similar to codeine. Hydrocodone blocks the receptors on nerve cells in the brain that give rise to the sensation of pain. Acetaminophen is a non-narcotic pain reliever and fever reducer. Acetaminophen works by elevating the threshold to pain. Essentially, in order for pain to be felt, s greater stimulation of the nerves responsible for the sensation of pain is necessary. It reduces fever through its action on the temperature-regulating ce...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - October 30, 2019 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction Recovery Detox Resources for Alcohol and Drugs/Opiates Drug Rehab Information Drug Treatment anxiety in withdrawal vicodin withdrawal symptoms Source Type: blogs
The Opportunity in Disruption, Part 5: Five Strategies of Cooperation
By JOE FLOWER
The system is unstable. We are already seeing the precursor waves of massive and multiple disturbances to come. Disruption at key leverage points, new entrants, shifting public awareness and serious political competition cast omens and signs of a highly changed future.
So what’s the frequency? What are the smart bets for a strategic chief financial officer at a payer or provider facing such a bumpy ride? They are radically different from today’s dominant consensus strategies. In this five-part series, Joe Flower lays out the argument, the nature of the instability, and the best-bet strategies.
Th...
Source: The Health Care Blog - October 8, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: Economics The Business of Health Care cooperation Joe Flower Payers Providers The Opportunity in Disruption Source Type: blogs
