Infertility issues, which seemed so rare 20 years ago, are quite common these days. The most significant factor seems to be the desire couples have to start their families when they’re a little older, after they’ve established themselves in their careers. Clearly this affects a woman’s chances of reproducing, since fertility in women declines after age 35. And conception after age 45 is rather rare. Aside from trying to reproduce earlier in her life, there are some surprisingly simple steps a woman can take to increase her likelihood of becoming pregnant. It amazes me (although perhaps it should not) how little emphasis is placed on lifestyle issues and good nutrition by either gynecologists or infertility specialists. In all parts of the world, “wise women” have been using herbs for centuries to help their infertile daughters.
Category: Knowledge Base
Infertility, Female
Infertility issues, which seemed so rare 20 years ago, are quite common these days. The most significant factor seems to be the desire couples have to start their families when they’re a little older, after they’ve established themselves in their careers. Clearly this affects a woman’s chances of reproducing, since fertility in women declines after age 35. And conception after age 45 is rather rare. Aside from trying to reproduce earlier in her life, there are some surprisingly simple steps a woman can take to increase her likelihood of becoming pregnant. It amazes me (although perhaps it should not) how little emphasis is placed on lifestyle issues and good nutrition by either gynecologists or infertility specialists. In all parts of the world, “wise women” have been using herbs for centuries to help their infertile daughters.
Impotence
The politically correct term for impotence these days is “erectile dysfunction,” or ED. Whatever you call it, the lesson we doctors were taught in medical school–that most cases of failure to get or maintain an erection are emotional–turned out to be dead wrong. We now know that ED has a physical cause about 85% of the time. Usually the problem is poor circulation and reduced blood flow to the penis, so that an erection cannot occur. Undeniably, the new prescription drug Viagra works well for many men. But it’s expensive, can have side effects, and may not be right for everyone. Over the years, several supplements and herbs have been used with good results. (In fact, one of these, yohimbine, can be so effective that it’s available only by prescription.) Let’s see how some of our WholeHealth Chicago recommendations can help.
High Blood Pressure
We doctors know it’s difficult to get our patients enthused about taking blood pressure medicines. Our plea that “this will help you to prevent problems in the future” doesn’t compel most people just struggling to make it through the day. And of course, it’s hard to convince someone to take medicines that often have unpleasant side effects to control a condition that has no noticeable symptoms. A lot of doctors acknowledge that high blood pressure is probably overtreated. Mild-to-moderate pressure levels (140/90 to 160/100 mm Hg) can usually be reversed by lifestyle changes alone. Levels consistently above these numbers do require medical treatment. However, despite the American Heart Association’s statement that blood pressure medicine is a lifetime commitment, if successful lifestyle changes create a new and healthier you, there’s no reason why (with your doctor’s help) you can’t begin to trim down your morning load of prescription pills–maybe even to none.
Hemorrhoids
As unglamourous as they are (and you’ll never see a telethon for hemorrhoids), consider yourself very fortunate if hemorrhoids are your worst experience with ill health. Try as you might, you simply cannot die from hemorrhoids. They may swell and become quite painful. Or itch. Or bleed. But ‘rhoids will never do you in. As you might be aware, hemorrhoids are simply varicose veins that have developed in an unfortunate location. When they do bleed, it’s never very much actual blood. (But don’t ignore bleeding. Over time, you can actually get quite anemic.) The only serious complication (relatively speaking) is thrombosis, when a clot forms within the hemorrhoid, and that is indeed quite painful and usually needs a surgeon’s help.
Heartburn
Because conventional physicians are becoming more skilled at diagnosing and treating heartburn, a condition in which stomach acid splashes upward into the esophagus, this common problem is undergoing some name changes. Strictly speaking, when you used to feel as though Mount St. Helens was erupting beneath your breastbone, it was called “heartburn.” After doctors developed gastroscopes to actually see the irritated esophagus, your heartburn grew into the more respectable “reflux esophagitis,” or “reflux” for short.
Heart Disease Prevention
We’re constantly hearing about how heart disease is the nation’s “number 1 killer.” Yet if I took a survey of my patients, I’m sure most of them would say they’re more worried about cancer than having a heart attack. Especially my female patients. So when the subject comes up, I take the time to point out that heart disease kills about 500,000 women each year–more than 10 times the number who die of breast cancer–and half those deaths are from heart attacks. To which I quickly add there are more effective strategies for preventing a heart attack than there are for preventing any other chronic disease.
Hair Problems
Whether you realize it or not, every day you lose some hair. Your body then replaces it with some new strands as part of the many renewal processes that are built into our systems. As you age, the reappearance of new hair gradually slows. This phenomenon is more noticeable in men, whose “male-pattern baldness” is genetically determined and can begin as early as age 20. For women, hair normally thins after age 50, and significant hair loss before that age is rare. Hair loss can also be tied to a wide variety of conditions not related to your family history, such as nutritional deficiencies, side effects of illnesses or a particular drug, child birth, hormonal shifts, or periods of increased stress.
Gum Disease
If you’re ever sitting in the dentist’s chair, bracing yourself for an procedure called “scaling,” which cleans out the bacteria in your infected gums, just say to yourself, “This could have been avoided. I did not have to be here.” Some Americans must be getting the message and finally are brushing and flossing more efficiently, because serious gum problems are on the decline. Nevertheless, gum disease continues to cause more tooth loss than cavities, and is second only to the common cold in terms of prevalence (98% of people over age 60 have some degree of gum disease). And now, researchers have linked severe gum disease to an increased risk of both heart disease and strokes
Gout
You don’t forget your first gout attack. Pain wakes you up in the middle of the night. Of all things, it’s your big toe that hurts. You try to go back to sleep, but the pain keeps getting worse and by morning, your poor toe can’t even stand the pressure from the bed sheet. Gout, which affects mainly middle-aged men, begins with unusually high blood levels of a waste product called uric acid. Normally uric acid is excreted in the urine, but in a gout-prone person, it precipitates as crystals in certain joints (the big toe, knees, elbows, fingers). The result is a local (and painful) inflammation. The crystals can also accumulate in the skin and in the kidneys (where they can cause kidney stones or even kidney failure).
Gallstones
Having a gallstone or two (or even more) is very common: A third of all women (it’s mainly a female condition) will have them by age 60. Fortunately, most people live peaceably with their gallstones without any symptoms whatsoever. It’s when gallstones act up that you need to do something. A painful “gallbladder attack” may occur when a stone decides to move, or simply may follow bouts of indigestion, especially after a meal rich in fatty foods. A double bacon cheeseburger, fries, and a shake should simply be renamed a “Gallbladder Special.”
Flu
Although medical textbooks list hundreds of different illnesses, a bad case of flu is high on the list of those that make you feel the sickest. Those who have really had the “flu” (and I’m not talking about a bad cold, although a mild case of the flu is indistinguishable from a bad cold) will know exactly what I’m talking about. It seems that your every muscle aches; you feel so weak you can barely click the remote on your TV; your mind is so foggy that comic books are challenging; and your throat is raw from a cough that brings up no phlegm. Conventional medicine can offer some help: If you’re at a high risk for flu, vaccines can reduce your risk of getting flu during an epidemic; antiviral medications can help (somewhat) check the spread of the germ to other members of your family; antibiotics can help you deal with bacterial superinfection, if you develop one.
Flatulence
Benjamin Franklin wrote a whole pamphlet on the subject. He suggested that if people added to their diet certain perfumes and flowers, they would soon be breaking wind as delectable as summer breezes. Of course, two hundred years later, our intestinal air is, well, as succulent as ever. Most of us, like it or not, do have our own ‘factory-installed’ Whoopie Cushions. The flowers didn’t work and flatulence prevails. Certainly one of those health issues in the realm of the genuinely annoying rather than medically serious, flatulence can still cause considerable discomfort, noise, and embarrassment. (Unless you’re about eight years old, in which case, expect considerable popularity among your peers.)
Fibromyalgia
If the muscles in your upper back and neck ache all the time for inexplicable reasons, it’s possible you have fibromyalgia. Virtually every day, patients (mainly women) come into the office with what turns out to be this condition. Either they describe long-standing symptoms associated with fibromyalgia, or they’re aware of their diagnosis but were told by their doctors that nothing could be done to help them. While at present no doctor, including me, can cure fibromyalgia, there is plenty we can do to help you feel better. In fact, our integrated approach, using conventional medicines, supplements, and other measures we recommend at WholeHealth Chicago, has produced real benefits for hundreds of my patients.
Fibrocystic Breast Changes
By the time they’ve reached their mid-forties or so, almost half of all women develop some degree of a condition called fibrocystic breast syndrome (FBS) in which their breast tissue becomes either more dense (“fibrous”) or it contains fluid-filled cysts, which can be tender or “lumpy.” In addition, because these cysts are under hormonal control, they often change size during a woman’s cycle and become exquisitely tender and painful during the week or so before her menstrual flow begins.
Fatigue
Occasionally, however, the electrical system in the brain goes awry, and an electrical storm erupts in one tiny portion of the brain. The result is an epileptic seizure. Seeing someone suffer an epileptic seizure is probably scarier than experiencing one yourself–in fact, the person loses consciousness too quickly to be aware of what’s happening. Through the ages, lots of stereotypes (good and bad) have been attached to anyone who had seizures. And it’s well worth repeating that people with epilepsy are just as smart, creative, and productive as everyone else.
Epilepsy
Occasionally, however, the electrical system in the brain goes awry, and an electrical storm erupts in one tiny portion of the brain. The result is an epileptic seizure. Seeing someone suffer an epileptic seizure is probably scarier than experiencing one yourself–in fact, the person loses consciousness too quickly to be aware of what’s happening. Through the ages, lots of stereotypes (good and bad) have been attached to anyone who had seizures. And it’s well worth repeating that people with epilepsy are just as smart, creative, and productive as everyone else.
Endometriosis
Although theories abound, just why some women develop endometriosis and others don’t remains a mystery. Or why endometrosis produces painful or heavy periods in some and no symptoms in others. Or why some women with endometriosis are infertile and others are not. What doctors do agree on is what endometriosis is. Pieces of the lining of the uterus called the endometrium find their way outside the uterus and into the pelvis, where they implant themselves and grow.
Eczema
Eczema is a skin inflammation that has symptoms of itching, scaling, and even the formation of blisters. Some forms of eczema are better known as dermatitis, such as contact dermatitis or seborrheic dermatitis. Eczema is easy to diagnose and not at all dangerous. But it’s a real challenge to treat effectively and permanently. While many cases of eczema clear up by themselves when whatever irritating substance that started the whole thing is avoided, some cases can be incredibly stubborn. They disappear only temporarily when cortisone creams are applied, then return like an unwelcome relative on your doorstep.
Earache
The anatomy of our middle ear changes as we get older, so adults get less susceptible to earaches following a cold than small children are. It’s a good thing, too, because for grown-ups to be walking around pulling at our ears and crying our eyes out would be a pathetic sight indeed. When the middle ear does get infected (a condition called otitis media), it’s definitely painful. But also uncomfortable in its own special way is the maddening itch of swimmer’s ear (otitis externa). Disconcerting, too, is the clogged and muffled hearing of excessive earwax, or the blockage and ringing sensation following scuba diving or air travel. You’ll need to see a doctor if any of these lasts for more than two or three days.