Women’s Health Information

Many of us know that heart disease affects not just men but women also. Around the world every day women suffer this type of disease and now it is time to talk about it, and encourage others to do so also…

Heart disease isn’t just a man’s disease; in fact heart disease is the leading cause of death among women. Thousands of our mothers, daughters, aunts and sisters will be affected by heart disease this year, and unfortunately, many of them may not get the care and treatment they need.

That’s why the HEART for Women Act is so important. This newly introduced legislation is a step forward to better diagnose, prevent and treat heart disease in women.

Will you join me in asking our lawmakers to co-sponsor the HEART for Women Act.

Click the link below to take action today - http://www.democracyinaction.org/AmericanHeart/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=4234&t=.dwt

A Fatal Slumber: What is Sleep Apnea?

Do you snore while you are sleeping? Do you wake up during the night sometimes with the sensation of choking or grasping for breath? Do you wake up with headaches and have trouble staying awake during the day?

If you answered yes to the questions above, chances are you may already be under a threat of a serious, potentially life-threatening sleeping disorder called sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is a breathing disorder characterized by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep. It comes from the Greek word, apnea, meaning “want of breathe.”

There are two types of sleep apnea: central and obstructive. Central sleep apnea, which is less common, occurs when the brain fails to send the appropriate signals to the breathing muscles to initiate respirations, usually with decreases in blood oxygen saturation. Obstructive sleep apnea is far more common and occurs when air cannot flow into or out of the person’s nose or mouth usually accompanied by a reduction in blood oxygen saturation, and followed by an awakening to breathe.

According to the National Institute of Health, sleep apnea affects more than 18 million Americans. It occurs in all age groups and both sexes but is more common to men over the age of forty. Sleep apnea seems to run in some families, suggesting a possible genetic basis.

Early recognition and treatment of sleep apnea is important because it may be associated with memory problems, weight gain, impotency, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke.

Sleep apnea generally has the following symptoms:

• Loud, frequent snoring. This is probably the best and most obvious indicator. Though not everyone who snores has sleep apnea.

• Cessation of breathing during sleep.

• Excessive daytime sleepiness/fatigue.

• Un-refreshing sleep with feelings of grogginess, dullness, morning headaches and severe dryness of mouth.

Fortunately, sleep apnea can be diagnosed and treated. Several treatment options exist, such as behavioral therapy, physical or mechanical therapy and surgery. For many sleep apnea patients, their spouses are the first ones to suspect that something is wrong, usually from their heavy snoring and apparent struggle to breathe.

Friends or coworkers of the sleep apnea victim may notice that the individual falls asleep during the day at inappropriate times, such as while driving a car, working or talking. The patient often does not know he or she has a problem. It is important that the person see a doctor for further evaluation.

This article is courtesy of ProsShapeRX

South Dakota lawmakers passed a bill on Friday that will ban almost all abortions in the state. The only grounds now for a legal abortion is if the ongoing pregnancy threatens the health of the mother.

Under the new law abortions are not even permitted in the case of pregnancies arising out of rape or incest. The House passed the bill 50-18 and is now preparing for a lengthy legal fight to have the law upheld by the US Supreme Court.

South Dakota is even prepared to accept donations to support the legal battle to uphold the law and they already have a pledge of $1 million dollars

For further details and some very good reasons why pregnancies arising from rape and incest should not be covered by this law see the report here

It’s interesting how sometimes people forget how important the recovery process is when women have a mastectomy. What happened to the bed side care, the time when support came around at a time when women needed it?

I remember being in a hospital bed next to a woman who had just had a mastectomy and the support she received was incredible. Support people were by her bedside offering her the support that she needed at a time when the removal of a breast or breasts is a sudden change in lifestyle. A woman’s life can be turned upside down, not just because she has cancer but because suddenly she doesn’t look like the person she once was…

The bedside support, the after care and not having to rush through a process when the after surgery care should be there. Women shouldn’t be shoved through the door like a machine, going in one side and out the other just to keep those hospital beds free.

The healing process should be allowed to happen without a woman having to go home with tubes still attached and while they are still groggy from the anesthetic. This is a very dangerous practice because anything could happen…

Why put the woman’s health further at risk when she could have a minimum of 48 hours to start the recovery process…

A friend sent me this in an email and asked me to send it out to as many people as I could. But instead I have chosen to put it up on Women’s Health Information because I believe that all women should have a say in how they want to be treated if they were in the same situation…

Mastectomy Bill in Congress

It takes 2 seconds to do this and is very important…please take the time and do it really quick!

Breast Cancer Hospitalization Bill - Important legislation for all women.

If there was ever a time when our voices and choices should be heard, this is one of those times. If you are reading this it’s because I think you will take the 30 seconds to go and vote on this issue and send the link on to others you know who will do the same.

There’s a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It’s about eliminating the “drive-through mastectomy” where women are forced to go home hours after surgery against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.

Lifetime Television has put this bill on their web page with a petition drive to show your support. Last year over half the House signed on. PLEASE!

Sign the petition by clicking on the web site below. You need not give more than your name and zip code number.

http://www.lifetimetv.com/health/breast_mastectomy_pledge.html

This takes about 2 seconds. Please pass this link on to your friends and family.

Thanks

Sheryl Crow undergoes breast cancer surgery

Grammy winner Sheryl Crow has announced she has had surgery for breast cancer and has postponed a North American tour scheduled to start next month.

The singer’s website says she underwent successful surgery on Wednesday and described the procedure as “minimally invasive”.

Doctors said her prognosis was excellent and she would have radiation treatments as a precaution.

“I am joining the more than 200,000 women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year,” Crow said.

“We are a testament to the importance of early detection and new treatments … I am inspired by the brave women who have faced this battle before me and grateful for the support of family and friends.”

Last month, Crow, 44, and Lance Armstrong, seven-time winner of the Tour de France cycling race and a survivor of testicular, brain and lung cancer, announced they were breaking up, after a two-year relationship.

Crow is calling off her March-April tour but intends to reschedule as much of it as possible.

The Missouri native was a school teacher before starting a singing career that led to a job as a backup singer to Michael Jackson and later to nine Grammy Awards.

Her hits include All I Wanna Do, Everyday Is a Winding Road, If It Makes You Happy and Soak Up the Sun.

- Reuters

RU486 available ‘within a year’

One of the co-sponsors of the private members’ bill on RU486 has predicted the abortion drug will be available in Australia within a year.

The new legislation will strip Health Minister Tony Abbott of his right to ban RU486 and give control of the drug to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

The Parliament has passed the bill and it will soon become law.

Supporters of the bill now think pharmaceutical companies will apply to the TGA to supply the abortion drug in Australia.

Democrats leader and co-sponsor Lyn Allison thinks it will be available to women within 12 months.

“I would think that women in this country can expect to join their colleagues in 35 countries around the world certainly within a year,” she said.

The bill was sponsored by a cross-party group of female senators, including Liberal MP Judith Troeth, who says she is elated at the result.

“That we have actually managed, against quite considerable odds, to get this through and with such a good working relationship,” she said.

“For me it’s been a first and I would like to think that it hasn’t stopped here.”

Family First Senator Steve Fielding says it is a sad day for Australia.

“All you’re doing is adding another method to abortion,” he said.

The Health Minister has had the veto power since 1996.

Thursday February 16th ABC Radio

Many families suffer considerably when their child or children leave home. The empty nest syndrome is something that is very real. I will endeavour to follow this story up with some information on the empty nest syndrome…

I’ll also try and find information on support facilities to help you through the tough times when you find that the house is empty and all your children or your child has left home…

Toni

Coping with a child leaving home.

On my daughter’s eighteenth birthday, she announced that she would be moving out after Christmas. This was a big shock, since she had just recently started a new job, that wasn’t even quite up to minimum wage. I wondered how she thought she was going to handle all her expenses.

I tried to get her to wait and save up some money to cover all of her expenses, but she was stubborn and thought she could do just fine with her part-time job. I knew she had to find out the hard way and already I had begun to worry about my daughter, feeling that empty feeling of my only child being out on her own.

On December the thirtieth she moved out. The feeling I had was one of loneliness, dread and worry. I constantly worried whether she was eating right, if she was safe, was she at home at a decent hour and how her job was holding out.

I wanted to rush to her house and order her back home, but knew that she was now an adult on her own. So I decided to be patient and not let her see me worry about her. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do, but knew in my heart, that just watching over her was all I could do.

I really shouldn’t have worried so much, since she began to drop by the house every so often, until it became an every day thing. She would come eat dinner, do laundry or borrow money; aggravating as that was since she had asserted her independence, I grabbed hold of every bit of time that I could spend with her.

I wanted so badly to tell her to return home and save up some money, but I’m just as stubborn as her and couldn’t bring myself to utter the words.

It wasn’t long before she lost her job and couldn’t pay her bills. She soon found out that she was pregnant and didn’t know what to do about the situation. She wanted the baby, but didn’t know if she was going to be able to take care of it financially on her own.

Watching her worry about her financial situation and her baby ate at my heart. She didn’t want help from her dad and I, so we just had to sit back and watch her struggle. It was heartbreaking and I didn’t know how to cope with my little girl becoming depressed.

During this time, her home was broken into several times and she was afraid to stay at home by herself. We invited her to spend the nights at our home on the couch and she willingly took us up on the offer. Although we wanted her home permanently, we knew that asking was only going to make her more stubborn to remain out on her own. It had to be her choice.

Finally I decided it was time for mom to step in and do something about her situation. I contacted her and sat her down for a long talk. I asked her to come home until she could get on her feet and the baby was born. No rules, other than common courtesy of a phone call if she was going to be out late, keep her room clean and have respect for her parents. I knew that she would need help with her pregnancy and I could help her get the help she needed. I wanted her home safe and I was willing to do anything to make her come home.

I think she finally understood that not only was I her mom, but her friend. I needed her, just as much as she needed me and the support I could give her to get through her first round of entering into the adult world. She asked for help in moving, learning how to deal with finances and finally admitting to us, that she was not ready for the world outside of her safe haven she called home.

I finally realized that the next time she moves out on her own, I will have to let her spread her wings and fly, in order for her to learn life’s lessons and become the competent adult I know that she will be.

Now she has been home for the past seven months, expecting her first baby and growing up a bit more before heading out into the adult world.

It will be hard to let her and the grandbaby go when the time comes, but I know that in order for her to be able to learn how to stand on her own two feet, I’m going to have to learn to loosen the apron strings a bit. I know in my heart, that if she needs me at any time, she knows that mom will be there.

Brenda

Breast cancer survivors fatigued: study

Approximately one-third of women treated for breast cancer experience fatigue for the first five years after treatment.

For about two thirds of those, the fatigue will persist, the results of a long-term study indicate.

“The message is that most women are going to be doing very well but for those who have persistent fatigue, we think there is an underlying biological syndrome,” co-investigator Dr Patricia A Ganz told Reuters Health.

Dr Ganz from the University of California and her associates previously reported that 35 per cent of 1,957 women who were diagnosed with early-stage breast carcinoma between 1994 and 1997 experienced fatigue for the first five years after treatment.

For their current study, published online in the medical journal Cancer, they recontacted the same women in 1998 who were at least five years post-diagnosis.

A total of 763 women who remained cancer-free completed the second set of questionnaires.

The results showed that 34 per cent were classified as being fatigued.

Among those classified as fatigued during the first survey, 63 per cent continued to score in the fatigued range.

Further analyses indicated that depression, pain and heart disease were significant long-term predictors of fatigue, as was treatment with combined radiation and chemotherapy compared with either treatment alone.

“When we intensively studied the biological mechanisms of fatigue in smaller groups, we found that women with persistent fatigue have abnormalities in markers of inflammation,” Dr Ganz said.

“So it appears they may have some underlying predisposing inflammatory condition causing the fatigue that is triggered or exacerbated when they develop cancer.

“Like any other subjective complaint we have to believe the patient when she complains of fatigue. Then look for medical problems that may be amenable to intervention, such as anaemia or a thyroid condition. If they are on a blood pressure medication, try to put them on meds that don’t contribute to fatigue.

“And clearly a careful assessment of depression and management of pain are very important.

“If we can get that under control their energy may improve.”

- Reuters

Many women and men around the world live with a disorder called Obsessive Compulsive Disorder… or OCD. It is a mental condition that some who do not understand it will not recognize the affects that it has on people. OCD affects people in different ways. Not all symptoms are the same.

My partner has told me about his mother who would often spend up to 30 minutes at a time making sure the front door was locked before going out. While other people will clean and clean and clean, over and over and over again. Others will wash their hands constantly, making sure they are clean…

C Fieldson wrote this article for Women’s Health Information – the title is Again and Again and Again. It is an article explaining a little about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder…

Again and Again and Again
(Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)

Anxiety disorders are a known part of any society and have been for countless eons. Stories throughout the ages have characters plagued by phobias, panic attacks, anxiety and obsessions.

Acknowledgement of the commonality of these mental conditions doesn’t always make it easier to seek treatment or get help in handling the day to day fight. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is perhaps one of the most mentioned as its behaviors or compulsions are easier to notice than the inner mental issues behind them.

One example of OCD is the compulsive hand washing of the queen in Hamlet as she tries to erase the illusionary guilt/fear she feels, repeating the action again and again.

OCD is an anxiety disorders characterized by the presence of recurring intrusive and unwanted thoughts, images or impulses - obsessions and repetitive behavioral and mental rituals - compulsions such as an obsession about germs and the repeated obsessive need to wash and rewash one’s hands after touching anything again and again.

A sufferer from OCD is aware that their symptoms are irrational and excessive but find the obsessions controllable and the compulsions difficult or impossible to resist.

The symptoms of OCD vary in type but the common thread is that they are distressing, exhausting, take up a lot of time and can significantly interfere with the person’s family and social relationships, daily routines, education and ability to work.

Some common obsessions include: fear of contamination from germs and dirt; fear of harm to self and others; intrusive sexual thoughts or images, concerns with symmetry, illness or religious issues; an intense, irrational fear of everyday objects and situations (phobias).

Common compulsions can include washing, cleaning, checking, hoarding, touching, counting and repeating routine activities and actions. Time spent dealing with one’s inner struggles over these issues can overwhelm her. It becomes difficult to carve out time for family, friends, chores and daily needs beyond the compulsions.

Although the causes of OCD are not completely understood researches know that they are related to chemical, structural and functional abnormalities of the brain. Genetics and hereditary factors play a role and outside stressful events, hormonal changes and personality traits all come into play as well.

It is estimated that at least three people in every hundred suffers from OCD at some time in their lives.

Treatment, as for almost any mental illness, uses a combination of medication, therapy and community support to help a patient handle this illness.

Medication is used to help restore chemical balance in the brain as well to help control the obsessions and compulsions. For OCD cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is often used to help a patient identify symptoms of their illness and work out alternative ways of looking at the problem and coping with the effects in their daily lives.

This is especially important step of treatment. Learning how to deal with the stresses of their daily lives OCD can make managing home life difficult and CBT can help provide effective management tools for accomplishing family tasks.

Support and counseling for families is also essential in coping with the lingering effects of OCD by encouraging family to help relieve some of the day to day struggle to complete tasks and offer understanding and acceptance to the patient.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can make a normal life seem like a minefield filled with hidden dangers but supportive family and friends can help an OCD sufferer seek the medical help and treatment that will make life bearable and eventually fulfilling once again.

Finally the Prime Minister has made one decision that I believe many women will be happy with. I believe that many women would love to have the freedom to make their own choices when it comes to their health.

You see just like men have the right to choose, then women should be allowed to do that too. We moved past the dark ages many years ago so surely those who don’t believe that women should have a right should think back to when life changed for everyone.

I hope the vote goes the right way… I hope everyone makes the right decision because we do not want to go back to an era when women or young girls are forced into homes due to unwanted pregnancies… surely the Government and the organisations involved should consider what happened in the past before making that conscience vote…

Toni

Abortion pill vote rules ‘a win for women’

Democrats Leader Lyn Allison has welcomed a decision by Prime Minister John Howard to allow a conscience vote on the abortion pill RU-486 early next year.

The drug has been effectively banned in Australia since 1996 although it is available in other countries, such as the United States and Britain.

The vote will decide whether the Health Minister should maintain the right to determine the availability of the drug or whether the decision should be left to the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Opponents of RU-486 say it is dangerous, while supporters of the drug say it is a safe alternative to surgical abortion.

Labor has already announced it will allow MPs a free vote on the issue.

Senator Allison expects the restriction on the drug to be removed when the vote takes place in February.

“This is a very big win for women and I’m very pleased that the outcome at last is in sight and we’ve got I think much to be grateful for in turning this around,” she said.

“So I am pleased with the Prime Minister’s decision and I am very confident it will be successful.”

ABC News Australia