Chronic Illness And Laughter

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Managing Chronic illness

Active and happy self management for chronic illness is becoming an increasingly viable option and the following article looks at what’s involved and what is available in the way of support

In The Meantime Here Is A Powerful Shortlist of Natural Pain Relief Solutions To Support Your Self Management

• Laugh Your Way Free of Pain It works! Try it and see.

• Natural ease with Eazol, made with natural ingredients

• Physiotherapy Exercise Guide pain management for chronic pain

• Meals That Heal Inflammation, a nutrition guide for inflammatory pain relief

• Relieve Chronic Back Pain through a gentle home managed program

• Pain Relief With EFT a simple and natural energy therapy technique you can easily learn and apply at home. It worked for me. I can highly recommend it!

• Meditation Guide and how to manage chronic illness by deeply relaxing

• Transform Pain to Joy. Taking Control of Chronic illness instead of it controlling you

Introduction to Chronic disease managament

Are You an “Expert Patient”? Can your Doctor(s) say the following about you?

“My Patient knows more about the disease than I do; as much about the disease as I do, and enough about his/her symptoms that it is easy to communicate with him/her.”

Why is becoming an Expert Patient so important?

There is plenty of emerging research about the needs of 21st century patients. Most of that research centers around the concept of “Illness Self-Management”, for what is called “chronic illness”.

What, you ask, is a “chronic illness”

Acute Illness

Health concerns are usually classified as either acute or chronic. Acute illnesses usually begin abruptly and last only a short time. Most people with an acute illness can expect to return to normal health. A strep throat is an example of an acute illness: it is easy to diagnose with a lab test and is cured with antibiotics.

Chronic Illness

Chronic diseases are different. They usually develop slowly, last long periods of time, and often are never cured. In most cases, there is no cure. The long-term effects may be difficult to predict. Some conditions cause few problems. Others cause only episodic problems or symptoms that can be controlled with medication.

However, in some cases, a chronic disease may severely limit a person’s ability to work, go to school or take care of routine needs. Examples of chronic diseases include, but are in no way limited to: diabetes, congestive heart failure, asthma, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, depression, irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, emphysema, fibromyalgia, parkinsons symdrome, chronic fatigue and multiple sclerosis – just to mention a few.

Why is “Chronic Disease Self-Management” so important a concept for those with a chronic condition?

For the person with a chronic condition, there is no way not to self-manage the disease/illness. If one retires from life and stays at home as a depressed person this is a type of self-management. On the other hand, many people learn to deal with their conditions and remain active, happy participants in life.

Laugh Your Way Back to Health  Learn How

Chronic Disease Self-Management covers the following areas:

• knowing how to recognize and respond to changes in a chronic disease

• dealing with problems and emergencies

• using medicines and treatments effectively

• finding and using community resources

• getting enough exercise

• coping with fatigue, pain and sleep problems

• maintaining good nutrition

• making decisions about when to seek medical help

• working with your doctor(s) and other care providers

• talking about your illness with family and friends

• managing work, family and social activities

It is the learning of the skills necessary for this later type of proactive disease/illness self-management that is the subject of this document. The information about developing the skills is fascinating; and, they (the skills) really are the key to deciding and remaining active, happy participants with a quality of life as full as you can make it.

Research and practical experience in North America and Britain are showing that today’s patients with chronic diseases need not be mere recipients of care. They can become key decision-makers in the treatment process.

By ensuring that knowledge of their condition is developed to a point where they are empowered to take some responsibility for its management and work in partnership with their health and social care providers, patients can be given greater control over their lives.

(Note: Once again, this process of acquiring the knowledge of your condition so that you can reach the self-management level with your Doctor(s) is one of the primary purposes behind the www.disabilitykey.com website.)

Self management programs can be specifically designed (between you and your Doctor(s)) to reduce the severity of symptoms and improve confidence, resourcefulness and self-efficacy (a big word that basically means self reliance).

Chronic Pain Self Management with EFT Access Free Training Video Here

Why become a chronic disease self-manager?

For those of you who have had an opportunity to read about my professional career , you will see that I started out as a “Federal Auditor” of Human Resources practices, policies and procedures (which is why I was able to create the Disabilitykey Workbook in the first place). As an Auditor, I always wanted to know what is the “ROI” (Return on Investment) as they say in the business world, for anything I worked on, or for any initiative I tackled.

Why would people with chronic illnesses want to learn how to manage their disease symptoms? Why would their Doctors want them to learn and do these things? What is in it for both patients and Doctors?

Laugh Your Way Free of Pain It works! Try it and see.

First of all, it was a fascinating subject for me to research! And, imagine my surprise to learn that, even though the original Chronic Disease Self-Management study was conducted here in the United States at Stanford University, it appears that, at this point in time, (mid-2005), England, Scotland, and Australia appear to be further along in actually implementing programs than we are here in the US!

And, imagine my chagrin to find out that to be able to take the great online training program to become certified in chronic disease management, you have to live in England!

In the United Kingdom, their Department of Health came to the following conclusion:

• Little has been done to prepare patients for long-term management of their diseases

• They face many challenges in coping with discomfort and disability and carrying out treatment programs on a regular basis.

• They need to modify behavior to minimize undesirable outcomes, adjusting their social and work lives to accommodate their symptoms and functional limitations and deal with the emotional consequences.

• For their care to be effective, they must become adept at interpreting and reporting symptoms, judging the trends and tempo of their illness and participating with health professionals in management decisions.

(Note: language has been “Americanized” for greater ease of understanding here in America on, what they [the United Kingdom] call, “the other side of the Pond”.)

Expert patients

It was the chief medical officer for the United Kingdom, who first introduced the name ‘expert patient”. He said that expert patients are “people who have the confidence, skills, information and knowledge to play a central role in the management of life with chronic diseases.” Doesn’t this sound logical?

Here are some Chronic Illness statistics here in the US

In the US for example, less than One Percent of the people who stand to benefit from self managing their chronic arthritis – do so.

Chronic disease has become pandemic in the United States, and estimates are that it will affect 148 million people by the year 2030. Patients with chronic illnesses cost the health care system over three times more than individuals without chronic conditions.

The Population of U.S. adults over 65 is expected to double between 2000 and 2030. Over 80% of adults over 65 years of age have one or more chronic conditions — over 60% have two or more chronic conditions.

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Consumers with five or more chronic conditions account for two-thirds of all Medicare spending. People with chronic conditions are responsible for 78% of all health care spending, 95% of all Medicare spending, and 77% of all Medicaid spending for community-dwelling adults.

The U.S. has by far the most expensive health care system in the world — but lags most other developed countries in key quality and consumer outcomes.

However, it is the following statistic about how much actual time, on average, that a patient here in the United States spends with their Doctor(s) that really got my attention.

On average, we with a Chronic Disease spend around three hours per year with a health professional. This means that the patient is left to manage his/her own condition for the other 8757 hours of the year.

If you, or someone you know has a chronic illness, wouldn’t you be more comfortable knowing what to do during those “other” 8,757 hours that you are not in a health professional’s presence? I sure did, and I didn’t even know that such a thing as chronic disease management as a concept existed when I did the work depicted in the Disabilitykey Workbook.

I only knew that I needed a way to live the best possible life in spite of my chronic disease; I wanted to control it; I did not want it controlling me! OK, chronic disease management just seems to make sense. But, the Auditor in me asks, are there measurable, objective results that this concept is worthwhile? And, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), there are.

Chronic Disease Symptom Management Program

AHRQ-funded research at the Stanford University Patient Education Research Center led to development of the “Chronic Disease Symptom Management Program” (CDSMP). Standford’s CDSMP is a 17-hour course taught by trained lay people that teaches patients with chronic disease how to:

1) better manage their symptoms

2) adhere to medication regimens

3) maintain functional ability.

Over a period of 2 years, AHRQ-funded investigators compared health behaviors, health status, and health services use in patients age 40 to 90 years (average age, 65) who had completed the CDSMP. When compared to baseline measures taken for the 6 months prior to the CDSMP, researchers found the following:

• After 6 months, CDSMP participants had: Increased exercise. Better coping strategies and symptom management. Better communication with their physicians. Improvement in their self-rated health, disability, social and role activities, and health distress. More energy and less fatigue. Decreased disability. Fewer physician visits and hospitalizations.

• After 1 year, CDSMP participants had: Significant improvements in energy, health status, social and role activities, and self-efficacy. Less fatigue or health distress. Fewer visits to the emergency room. No decline in activity or role functions, even though there was a slight increase in disability after 1 year.

• After 2 years, CDSMP participants had: No further increase in disability. Reduced health distress. Fewer visits to physicians and emergency rooms. Increased self-efficacy. Another source of actual results from people who have made the decision to become Chronic Disease Self-Managers comes from The United Kingdom. The United Kingdom has a website describing the recent results of their Expert Patient “Programme” (EPP). The website provides periodic ‘eUpdates’ to inform people about new developments within the Expert Patients Programme such as new publications, forthcoming events and news from the national team.

The EPP is a National Health Service (NHS) lay led self-management programme for people living with any long-term health condition(s).

Groups of 8-16 participants, with a mix of different conditions, meet over six weekly sessions and are led through a structured course by trained tutors who are also living with a long-term condition.

Each session (lasting two and a half hours) looks at ways to better manage the effects of their long-term condition. For more information about the EPP please visit the EPP website at www.expertpatients.nhs.uk

EPP Pilot Internal Evaluation

Internal evaluation data from approximately 1000 EPP participants who completed the course between Jan 2003 and Jan 2005 indicates that the programme is achieving its aims in:

1) Providing significant numbers of people with long term conditions with the confidence and skills to better manage their condition on a daily basis. – 45% said they felt more confident that they would not let common symptoms (pain, tiredness, depression and breathlessness) interfere with their lives. – 38% felt that such symptoms were less severe 4 – 6 months after completing the course. – 33% felt better prepared for consultations with health professionals.

2) Providing significant reductions in service usage by people with long term conditions completing the EPP course. – 7% reductions in GP consultations – 10% reductions in Outpatient visits – 16% reductions in A&E attendances (US note: note sure what this is.) – 9% reductions in Physiotherapy use

Over 94% of those who took part felt supported and satisfied with the course.

If you want to sign up to receive periodic updated information about what the Brits are doing, you too can sign up to receive an “eUpdate” as they call them. It is FREE, and you can sign up by going to: www.expertpatients.nhs.uk.

What is Chronic disease self-management?

Chronic Disease Self-Management; Self-Efficacy; great terms, but what do they really mean, and how does one start to become a Chronic Disease Self-Manager?

Consider the following quotations associated with these concepts.

“Row Your Own Boat” – Chronic Disease Self-Management.

”Every bird flies with its own wings.” Swahili proverb

What do the two quotations have in common? First of all, the desire, then the knowledge, then the action to take back control over your health, and your life.

Here are questions – a ‘mini quizz’ that you can use to ask yourself about your “readiness” to adopt the concept of Chronic Disease Self-Management (or, to assist someone else in their journey toward this objective).

Chronic Disease Self-Management Readiness Test

Created By Stanford University’s Patient Education Research Center, this test is called: Self-Efficacy for Managing Chonic Diseases 6-Item Scale. The test measures how confident you are that you can keep ‘your situation’ (i.e., the situation addressed in each of the following 6 questions) caused by your disease from interfering with the things you want to do?

For each of the following questions, please choose the number (between 1 and 10) that corresponds to how confident you are that you can keep the symptoms caused by your disease from interfering with the things you want to do? #1 represents “Not at all confident”; #10 represents “Totally confident”.

1) How confident are you that you can keep the fatigue caused by your disease from interfering with the things you want to do?

2) How confident are you that you can keep the physical discomfort or pain of your disease from interfering with the things you want to do?

3) How confident are you that you can keep the emotional distress caused by your disease from interfering with the things you want to do?

4) How confident are you that you can keep any other symptoms or

health problems you have from interfering with the things you want to do?

5) How confident are you that you can do the different tasks and activities needed to manage your health condition so as to reduce your need to see a doctor?

6) How confident are you that you can do things other than just taking medication to reduce how much you illness affects your everyday life?

The higher you score toward “10″ on each question, the more “self-efficacy” you have.

(Reminder: self-efficacy is the belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the sources of action required to manage situations.)

As you can probably figure out, I score either 9 or 10 on each question. My Disabilitykey Workbook (see www.disabilitykey.com) and the confidence that I received by first, executing the processes contined therein for myself, and then in developing the Workbook to assist others, has allowed my self-efficacy to be high.

OK, you have rated yourself, and you want to know more about the ‘what’ of this topic. First, we will discuss the definition of Chronic Disease Self-Management; next, the stages of a “chronic disease self-help behavioral change”; and, finally, something called “social learning theory”.

Definition of Chronic Disease Self-Management

Based on a comprehensive literature review of over 400 articles, Researchers have proposed the following definition.

“Chronic disease self-management involves [the person with the chronic disease] engaging in activities that protect and promote health, monitoring and managing of symptoms and signs of illness, managing the impacts of illness on functioning, emotions and interpersonal relationships and adhering to treatment regimes.”

There are a number of key elements to this definition that will enable us to develop a practical concept of self-management. It is important to note that these elements are about the behaviors of the patient, rather than models of self-management for health care systems, service providers or health professionals.

These elements suggest that self-management:

• Entails engaging in activities that promote health
• Involves managing a chronic condition by monitoring signs and symptoms
• Entails dealing with the effect of a chronic condition on personal well being and interpersonal relationships and
• Involves following a treatment plan prescribed to you by your Doctor(s).

The definition of self-management encompasses a range of behaviors, as well as knowledge and attitudes and is an important starting point towards the development of a concept of chronic disease self-management.

Help getting from where you are to becoming a Chronic Disease Self-Manager

Stages of Behavioral Change

A model of behavior change that has been applied to chronic disease self-management is based on research on how people change behavior, either on their own or within an intervention program (i.e. some sort of action to assist in the change). The theory is that the ceasing of risk behaviors (eg. smoking) and acquisition of health promoting behaviors (eg. physical activity, relaxation) involves the progression through the stages of change.

Health Promoting Behaviours

Pre-contemplation [not thinking of change] Contemplation [thinking of change] Determination [ taking preliminary steps to change] Action [ actively engaging behavior change] Maintenance [ sustained behavioral change] Relapse [ can occur at any point.]

‘Can do’ Attitude

Behavioral change is facilitated by a personal sense of control.

If people believe that they can take action to solve a problem, they become more inclined to do so and feel more committed to this decision. This “can do” attitude mirrors a sense of control over one’s environment. It reflects the belief of being able to master challenging demands by means of adaptive action. It can also be regarded as an optimistic view of one’s capacity to deal with stress. (Not to sound redundant, but this really is about the glass being “half-full” and not “half-empty”.)

Social Learning

OK, now we understand the behavioral change steps, now on to the social learning stage. The theoretical underpinning of effective chronic disease self-management programs should be based on social learning and behavioral theories.

The key principles of these theories as applied to chronic disease self-management are:

• Disease management skills are learned and behavior is self-directed
• Motivation and confidence (including self-efficacy) in managing one’s condition dictate an individual’s success
• The social environment (ie. family, workplace & health care system) support or impede self-management and
• Monitoring and responding to changes in disease state, symptoms, emotions and functioning improve adaptation to the chronic condition.

Becoming Trained In Chronic Disease Management

How do you become trained in Chronic Disease Self-Management?

Here are the primary resources available

1) Start with your own health insurance company. Call up the Customer Service folks in Plan, and ask if they offer “Chronic Disease Self Management Program” classes. My Internet searches indicate that many of the larger companies are offering such classes for their enrolees. And, in some cases, self-management is becoming a requirement of retaining insurance coverage!

2) Go to your State’s Home Website, and look up the Department of Health, and of Aging. In some cases they might be the same, in others, different. Call each and see if and when they will be offering classes in your city or county for a Chronic Disease Self Management Program.

3) Use one of the many Internet search engines to locate this statement: “(your state) Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP)”. This should help you locate classes in your state. In my state, they located classes by county and city. Some of the “bigger” states even offer classes derived from the original Stanford research program.

4) Use one of the many Internet search engines to ask locate this statement: “Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP)”. This should provide you with additional options.

5) Finally, and probably the best source, from the original Stanford site where the concept was created, there is a link to each state’s CDSMP sites: http://patienteducation.stanford.edu/programs/cdsites.html If you go to this site, you can click onto your state and see which organizations in your state are licensed to offer the Chronic Disease Self-Management program.

Conclusion

The National Center for Quality Assurance (NCQA) in their 2004 Health Care Quality Report comments that “the U.S. healthcare system as a whole remains plagued by deadly quality gaps that contribute to 42,000 to 79,000 avoidable deaths every year and $1.8 Billion in excess medical costs due to the system’s routine failure to provide needed care.”

According to Catherine Hoffman of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, nearly half the people in the U.S. are living with chronic conditions, at a cost of $234 billion in lost productivity and $425 billion in medical spending per year. These figures are rising.

Moreover, they do not include billions of dollars in lost productivity of employees who miss work to care for family members who have chronic conditions. Many people with chronic conditions, as well as family members who care for them, also suffer needlessly from the physical and emotional effects of their illness. By helping people change their behaviors and adapt to their conditions, self-management programs often increase people’s adherence to medical treatments, strengthen their control of pain and symptoms, and improve their overall emotional well-being.

About The Author

Carolyn Magura, noted disability / ADA expert, has written an e-Book documenting the process that allowed her to:

a) continue to work and receive her ‘full salary’ while on Long Term Disability; and

b) become the first person in her State to qualify for Social Security Disability the first time, in under 30 days.

Click here (http://www.disabilitykey.com/products.htm) to receive Carolyn ’s easy-to-read, easy-to-follow direct guide through this difficult, trying process. If you are disabled, don’t let this disabiling process disable you. Read Carolyns Disability Key Blog http://www.disabilitykey.com/disabilitykeyblog.shtml.

Disabilitykey.com is a website designed to assist each person in his/her own unique quest to navigate through the difficult and often conflicting and misleading information about coping with disabilities.

Here are some more posts related to the topic of coping with a chronic illness…

Coping with Chronic Illness in Your Marriage

How can you improve your marriage when you live with chronic illness Bill and Pam Farrel are relationship specialists international speakers and authors of 30 books including best-selling Men are like Waffles Women are like Spaghetti.  

Living with the downs of chronic illness

I recently googled coping with chronic illness and found an interesting article where she says that a Ployanna like existance is not real and that intermittent depression is normal and to be expected. Living in the acceptance stage 

Coping with Chronic Illness in Marriage

It’s easy to become a little self-absorbed when living with chronic illness and, for the spouse, it’s normal to resent MS and the impositions it imposes. The trick is not to resent each other. 

Coping with chronic illness

My Mom has been coping with a crush of medical problems that resulted in an emergency room visit a month ago and surgery one day last week. My mother’s problems aren’t life threatening, thankfully, but they are chronic illnesses 

In Sickness and in Play Children Coping with Chronic Illness

For children who live with a chronic illness, each day is filled with endless treatments, painful symptoms, confusion, and embarrassment. How can an eight-year-old girl understand diabetes, let alone explain to her schoolmates

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Hypothyroidism is often difficult to detect since it has signs and symptoms that could be attributed to any number of problems. However hopefully the following list of common symptoms can help to throw some light on the condition for a clearer diagnosis and treatment plan

Adults and Elderly

Some of the most common symptoms of hypothyroidism may include:

• Feeling sluggish or tired
• Weakness
• Thin or course hair
• Brittle nails
• Yellow tinted skin
• Memory problems
• Low tolerance to cold
• Cold skin
• Depression
• Difficulty concentrating
• Constipation
• Irregular or heavy menstrual periods

Some symptoms of hypothyroidism that may be present though less common are:

• Muscle cramps and aches
• Swelling of the extremities
• Puffiness around the eyes
• Enlargement of the thyroid gland or goiter
• Slight weight gain
• Hoarseness

Infants and Children

Symptoms of hypothyroidism in infants and children can often be so mild that they are difficult to detect, and are commonly mistaken for other illnesses.

These symptoms may include:

• Poor performance in school
• Lack of concentration
• Goiter or swelling at the front base of the neck
• Scaling of the skin
• Difficulty or inability swallowing food
• Lack of appetite
• Behavioral problems
• Weight gain
• Slow growth

It is important to note that left undiagnosed and untreated, the symptoms of hypothyroidism in infants and children can lead to a lifetime of health problems and stunt physical growth. If the symptoms of hypothyroidism are treated within the first month of life the child will be able to develop normally.

Long Term Effects

Although the symptoms of hypothyroidism can disappear on their own over time, it is most likely that they will lead to loss of thyroid function and a lifetime of other physical diseases. These diseases include:

• Sleep apnea
• Fluid around the heart
• Risk of coronary artery disease
• High cholesterol and triglycerides

Who is at Risk

There are many physical and environmental factors that may increase your risk of developing the symptoms of hypothyroidism these may include and are not limited to:

Family history: the symptoms of hypothyroidism may be genetic, it is important to discuss your family medical history with your physician.

Age: Symptoms of hypothyroidism are more likely to occur in the elderly.

Medications: Some medications can interfere with the thyroid gland.

Other factors: Diabetes or autoimmune disease may contribute to the onset of symptoms of hypothyroidism.

Call your Doctor

Call your doctor or emergency medical officials immediately if you experience any of these more severe symptoms of hypothyroidism:

• Slow or shallow breathing
• Confusion, psychosis, or rapid mental deterioration
• Extreme weakness
• Loss of consciousness

Author: Jane Jack Collins

Do you want to manage hypothyroidism more effectively? Learn More about hypothyroid diet and ways to manage hypothyroidism.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jane_Jack_Collins

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You can find the thyroid gland at the front part of the neck just below the Adam’s apple and it is this gland that produces thyroid hormones, which in turn regulate the body’s metabolism

The thyroid is one of those organs that are crucial for regulating life sustaining processes in the human body. Therefore, any kind of thyroid problem can cause a number of severe disorders. This article is mainly a discussion about the symptoms of thyroid problems.

The thyroid is a small butterfly-shaped organ located below the voice box.

It regulates metabolism by secreting three hormones, known as tri-iodothyronine or T3, thyroxine or T4 and calcitonin.

It is responsible for determining the rate of metabolism or conversion of food into energy. The secretion of thyroid hormones, in turn, is controlled by two glands, known as the hypothalamus and pituitary gland.

TRH and TSH

The hypothalamus releases a hormone, known as thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH), which stimulates the pituitary gland to secrete thyroid stimulating hormone or TSH. This TSH hormone stimulates and regulates the secretion of thyroid hormones. Any problem with the thyroid gland, hypothalamus and pituitary gland can break the coordination among these three organs and can result in either an overproduction or underproduction of thyroid hormones.

Symptoms of Thyroid Problems
Some of the common thyroid problems are:

• hypothyroidism

• hyperthyroidism

• thyroid nodules and

• cancer.

Here is an account of the symptoms of thyroid problems.

Symptoms of Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism or the low level of thyroid hormones in blood, can be a result of an underactive thyroid gland, inborn defect with the gland, certain medication and autoimmune disorders, where the body’s own immune system attacks the thyroid gland. Hypothyroidism causes an overall slowdown of the metabolic activities and produces symptoms like fatigue, weight gain, low blood pressure, constipation, fluid retention, depression and slow reflexes. A common autoimmune thyroid disease is Hashimoto’s disease, which is one of the important causes of hypothyroidism. The symptoms of this disease often resemble those of hypothyroidism and it is more common in middle-aged women.

Symptoms of Hyperthyroidism

Another common thyroid problem is hyperthyroidism, which is the opposite of hypothyroidism. It is characterized by an excessive secretion of thyroid hormones and the resultant rapid rate of metabolism. It often produces symptoms like rapid heart rate, anxiety, insomnia, diarrhea, weight loss, high blood pressure, bulging of the eyes and vision disturbances. An excessive production of thyroid hormones can be caused by an over stimulation of the thyroid gland by thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin, as in the case of Grave’s disease. Other than Grave’s disease, hyperthyroidism can also be caused by goiter, tumor in the pituitary gland and medications.

Symptoms of Goiter

Goiter is generally caused by a deficiency of iodine, though many times, it can result from Hashimoto’s disease, Grave’s disease, error in thyroid hormone synthesis and thyroiditis (inflammation of the thyroid gland). The most common symptom of goiter is an enlarged thyroid gland. Sometimes, the enlargement can take place to such an extent that it appears as a large swollen lump in the neck. Other symptoms include problems in swallowing and breathing.

Symptoms of Thyroiditis

Thyroiditis can be described as an inflammation of the thyroid gland, which can be caused by autoimmune disorders, infection by virus or bacteria and some drugs. There are several types of thyroiditis, which can produce many symptoms including fatigue, weight gain, depression and constipation. Thyroiditis can also produce hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism symptoms.

Symptoms of Thyroid Nodules and Cancer

Development of nodules in the thyroid gland is quite common. But most of these nodules are benign or non-cancerous and do not produce any symptom. Some of them are associated with symptoms like pain or pressure in the neck, difficulty while swallowing and hoarseness. Sometimes, symptoms of nodules can fluctuate between the common thyroid disease symptoms caused by either hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism.

Development of a lump in the neck along with a change in voice, are the common symptoms of thyroid cancer. Gradually, a person may experience difficulty in swallowing and breathing. But in many instances, thyroid cancer may not show any symptom.

Thyroid problems are usually diagnosed with the help of a blood test, thyroid scan, ultrasound and fine-needle aspiration.

The individuals who fall under the risk zones for thyroid problems are women, especially during pregnancy and also within one year after childbirth, individuals undergoing radioactive iodine treatment or thyroid surgery, older individuals (more than 50 years), smokers (both current and former), radiation exposure, family history and over consumption of certain foods like soy, Brussels sprouts, turnips and cauliflower. A proper monitoring of the symptoms of thyroid problems can help in early diagnosis and treatment of any type of thyroid disease.

By Chandramita Bora

Here is a collection of other thyroid related blog posts you may find useful

Symptoms of Thyroid Disease

Before being diagnosed with a thyroid disorder I didn’t realize how many parts of the body could be affected by the thyroid. 

What Are Your Worst Thyroid Signs and Symptoms

Most of the typical lists of signs and symptoms of a thyroid problem focus on weight changes, fatigue, depression, and neck/throat symptoms. But what were the signs and that you personally experienced.

I have almost every thyroid symptom

Went to a doctor…he took my blood and sent to pathlab…thing shows I dont have thyroid…but i have most of the symptoms of thyroid.

Thyroid Disorder Symptoms | Hormone Imbalance and Hair Loss Treatments

Thyroid dysfunction symptoms include excessive weight gain, hair loss, and fatigue. For hormonal imbalance treatment and control vitamin rich diet consumption is beneficial.  

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Back problems are much more common than you might think.

Back disability will affect almost every single person on this planet at one time or another. The fifth most common complaint that physicians have from the patient is to do with low back pain.

It’s really sad that a lot of people think that there is not much that can be done about their back problems.

Back problems can be very debilitating. Back pain can restrict you so severely that you can lose your job. If the sport you are playing is very physical, you may have to stop it altogether. If you cannot do the same things that your friends can do your social life will be restricted. Another part of your life that may suffer is your sex life.

What is the solution?

You should try to prevent back problems from developing in the first place

A course of back workouts will help you to prevent any problems with your back. You can workout every single muscle in your back by going to the gym. This will involve working out your upper back, the big side muscles, and your lower back. You can keep your back problem free by doing these exercises regularly. You will keep great posture and maintain brilliant balance. You should go easy at the beginning of your back workout gradually builds up as the time goes on.

You should try back products like True Back

True Back is a product that is available on the market for people with all different types of back problem. The advantages of using these systems are captured on many advertisements especially on late-night TV. This particular traction product does not use any power in dealing with your back. There have been many reviews about the True Blue. YouTube runs a video review of True Blue.

Consult your doctor

You should visit your physician before you try out any new product that is claiming to offer back relief or indeed before you undertake a program of exercise.

A lower back workout can give you the best chance of maintaining a healthy back.

Of course laughter can help too!  Don’t forget that … and it is free!

Have you or someone you know had an experience of pain relief through laughter? We would love to hear about it.

Feel free to add your comment in the comment box below

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Chronic Fatigue, despite its reality remains a mystery to health professionals today

Much research still needs to be done about this often debilitating disease. Meanwhile some natural treatments can help to manage the symptoms

Chronic fatigue syndrome, or CFS, is a debilitating and complex disorder characterised by profound fatigue that is not improved by bed rest and that may be worsened by physical or mental activity.

People with CFS most often function at a substantially lower level of activity than they were capable of before the onset of illness. In addition to these key defining characteristics, patients report various non-specific symptoms, including weakness, muscle pain, impaired memory and/or mental concentration, insomnia, and post-exertional fatigue lasting more than 24 hours.

In some cases, the condition can persist for years. The cause or causes of CFS have not been identified and no specific diagnostic tests are available. Moreover, since many illnesses have incapacitating fatigue as a symptom, care must be taken to exclude other known and often treatable conditions before a diagnosis is made.

A number of illnesses have been described that have a similar spectrum of symptoms. These include fibromyalgia syndrome, myalgic encephalomyelitis, neurasthenia, multiple chemical sensitivities, and chronic mononucleosis. Although these illnesses may present with a primary symptom other than fatigue, chronic fatigue is commonly associated with all of them.  In addition, there are a large number of clinically defined, frequently treatable illnesses that can result in fatigue.

Diagnosis of any of these conditions would exclude a definition of CFS unless the condition has been treated sufficiently and no longer explains the fatigue and other symptoms. These include hypothyroidism, sleep apnea and narcolepsy, major depressive disorders, chronic mononucleosis, bipolar affective disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders, cancer, autoimmune disease, hormonal disorders, subacute infections, obesity, alcohol or substance abuse, and reactions to prescribed medications.

In addition to the eight primary defining symptoms of CFS, a number of other symptoms have been reported by some chronic fatigue patients. The frequencies of occurrence of these symptoms vary from 20% to 50% among patients. They include abdominal pain, alcohol intolerance, bloating, chest pain, chronic cough, diarrhea, dizziness, dry eyes or mouth, earaches, irregular heartbeat, jaw pain, morning stiffness, nausea, night sweats, psychological problems (depression, irritability, anxiety, panic attacks), shortness of breath, skin sensations, tingling sensations, and weight loss.

People of every age, gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic group can have CFS. It affects women at four times the rate of men.  Research indicates that it is most common in people in their 40s and 50s.  Although it is much less common in children than in adults, children can develop the illness, particularly during the teen years.  Since there is no known cure, the aim of any treatment is symptom relief and improved function. A combination of drug and non-drug therapies is often recommended.

Natural alternatives include getting a body immune booster through:

• Learning how to laugh for health

• Pain relief with EFT

• Natural pain relief using a herbal product called Eazol

• Healing through deep relaxation

Lifestyle changes, including prevention of overexertion, reduced stress, dietary restrictions, gentle stretching and nutritional supplementation, are frequently recommended in addition to drug therapies used to treat sleep, pain and other specific symptoms.

Carefully supervised physical therapy may also be part of any treatment. However, symptoms can be exacerbated by overly ambitious physical activity. A very moderate approach to exercise and activity management is recommended to avoid overactivity and to prevent deconditioning.

Although health care professionals may hesitate to give patients a diagnosis for various reasons, it’s important to receive an appropriate and accurate diagnosis to guide treatment and further evaluation. CFS affects each individual differently. Some people remain homebound and others improve to the point that they can resume work and other activities, even though they continue to experience symptoms.

Article source: http://www.tenerifenews.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12039:fighting-the-fatigue-of-cfs-&catid=36:health-and-beauty&Itemid=124

Starting a New Treatment Plan

I started a new treatment plan yesterday. It’s the one by Dr. Rich Van Konynenburg that I mentioned in a previous post. The official name of the treatment is “Simplified Treatment Approach Based on the Glutathione Depletion

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, take charge of your symptoms …

Look for simple but effective solutions – Not all CFS treatment may work for you. This is because while there is a general clinical definition of the disorder, there are various levels of severity whereby it occurs.

CFS and B12 – rationale for using vitamin B12

Over the last 22 years of treating over 3000 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, I have developed a programme of treatment which I believe all patients must do as the foundation before proceeding to other treatments.

What is your experience of fatigue and do you know anyone suffering from this debilitating condition?

Please share your experiences by making a comment below

Your sharing is valuable and  appreciated

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Trying to get rid of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is difficult at best because it is after all chronic, a persistent and lasting disease or medical condition.

In this article, I’m going to reveal some psychological, systemic, and economic complications that in some cases lead to alternative remedies.

Take a closer look at this group of chronically ill people, after other illness and disorders are filtered out, and you may discover the shocking reality that this is a group of people who are not mad, are suffering from a serious chronic illness, and are not receiving the help they should.

The medical profession is yet to be held accountable. A significant number of doctors dissociate when patients complain and describe symptoms of CFS. The dark side of a doctor patient relationship is uncovered when a scenario like -
‘If I cannot find anything physically wrong with this patient, then there is not anything physically wrong, therefore the patient is crazy. Go away’.

Some CFS patients do not help their own cause especially if they become anti-doctor. By refusing to co-operate, even with doctors who are sympathetic and who are trying to help, the situation is complicated even more by fueling the fire of stigma for all parties.

Consistent with an undisclosed and obscured policy of dissociation, some doctors tend to distance themselves from controversy relying on terms like disorder and syndrome and stay away from words like diagnosis and treatment, especially when it comes to writing reports for insurance claims.

Such conduct is not only contrary to the medical reason to be, it also sets the stage for controversy and differing opinions within the medical community itself. Furthermore, some patients suffer unnecessarily when compensation or disability income is improperly withheld due to questionable adjudication and bureaucratic behavior indicated when the least expensive alternative is chosen.

For example, the language of medicine, and legal interpretation of it, tends to feed money into professional and bureaucratic channels of due process of independent medical examinations and protracted appeals. An obvious result is that the diversion of wealth to the wealthy at the expense of the poor, sick and suffering is never stated as part of any common dialogue on the topic.

Notwithstanding any real or perceived confrontational indicators, a severe social disapproval of personal characteristics or beliefs that are against cultural norms or stigma can be attributed to both parties. It exists in the fact of the result. People suffering from a chronic illness not only have to deal with their illness but also the effects of an anti-social self-serving systemic treadmill that denies, obscures, and dismisses any and all attacks on their vested interest.

‘The American Psychiatric Association’s considers symptoms such as depersonalization, derealization, and psychogenic amnesia to be core features of dissociative disorders. However, in the normal population mild dissociative experiences are highly prevalent, with 80% to 90% of the respondents indicating that they have had dissociative experiences at least some of the time.’

Unlike the circumstances of chronic illness like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome where psychological disorders are known to be part of the symptomatic mix, there is no excuse for the medical community to behave in ways that aggravates the condition directly or indirectly.

Effects of improperly withholding diagnosis and treatment by means of differing medical opinions and in turn used by bureaucrats, employers, or insurance adjusters to also improperly withhold payment of claims further aggravates the condition of some patients. And they get away with it because there are few if any options available to CFS patients whose health is their immediate personal priority, doctor or no doctor.

So while the doctors debate, bureaucrats bungle, and adjudicators play anal, not much is left for many CFS patients to do except seek relief and help elsewhere from those who claim to have a cure or at least brought the illness under better control.

To this end the internet has become a source of hope to some who seek to know how others have discovered successful relief or cure for their illness. However buyers must beware that there is no warranty or guarantee that the information available online meets medical or scientific standards.

Alternatively, it is equally true that while opposition in the medical community is improperly used to withhold treatment and financial support, there is not much else a person with CFS can do while waiting other than explore the alternatives.

I hope my insight into some of the psychological, systemic, and economic complications that may lead to alternative remedies will also be reason to unite the medical and administrative communities to realize that there is no right way to do the wrong thing, especially to persons suffering from an illness like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Author: Brian Hack

Brian Hack founded the Chemical Injury Relief Foundation in 1995 and has had extensive personal experience with CFS, dissenting doctors, and silly servants. Did you find the insights on CFS complications useful? You can learn a lot more about Chronic Fatigue Cures and Curses by reading how others have overcome their illness at the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Review, a blog set up at http://www.cfs-review.blogspot.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brian_Hack

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & Mitochondrial Dysfunction

Mitochondrial dysfunction is getting more and more attention as an underlying mechanism of chronic fatigue syndrome. Dr. Sarah Myhill, a UK doctor who was an early proponent of this theory and has a treatment protocol based on it

Chronic Fatigue: Introducing the Multiple Reasons

All of these conditions, regardless of the disease name, have similar symptom patterns. The most common names are fibromyalgia, Sjogren’s Syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and Gulf War Syndrome. 

Chronic Fatigue Treatment Options

Because the origins of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome are not yet fully understood, treatment options are more directed to managing the symptoms and not really in curing the disorder. 

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