In the physiology and neurology classes of medical school, you learn a lot about the importance of something called the “blood brain barrier”. You’ve seen blood, of course. The bright red liquid carrying oxygen, nutrients, etc., etc. But your brain and spinal fluid should always be crystal clear, unless infected or inflamed. Separating blood from […]
Tag: fibromyalgia
Finishing Up on Vaginal Infections and Something About STDs
In our recent Health Tip, we delved into the intricate world of Candida and yeast infections, but when it comes to sheer prevalence, the most common vaginal ailment is Bacterial Vaginosis (B.V., for brevity), typically ignited by a variety of culprits, with Gardnerella being the prime suspect. While B.V. isn’t classified as a traditional sexually transmitted disease (STD), it predominantly affects sexually active women. This condition arises due to shifts in vaginal conditions, triggered by factors such as antibiotics, changes in birth control methods, well-meaning douching practices, and even wardrobe choices like spandex or nylon underwear. Symptoms vary from absence (detected incidentally during routine PAP smears) to a thin, greyish-white, and itchy discharge. A savvy health care practitioner can diagnose B.V. based on symptoms, discharge appearance, and microscopic examination. The standard prescription often includes metronidazole, available as a vaginal cream or tablet, but boric acid suppositories have also been a trusted option for nearly a century. Additionally, maintaining a healthy vaginal microbiome with probiotics can be beneficial.
Common Vaginal Infections, Number 1: CANDIDA
In the realm of women’s health, few topics carry as much importance and intrigue as common vaginal infections, and Candida, often synonymous with “yeast infections,” holds a prominent place in this narrative. Candida, those resilient single-cell organisms, have coexisted with us since time immemorial, occasionally venturing into the spotlight when things down there fall out of balance. This blog post delves into the world of Candida, discussing its prevalence, symptoms, and factors that can tip the scales in its favor. From the relentless use of antibiotics to the sweet tooth of diabetics, we explore the intricate dynamics of Candida overgrowth and offer insights into managing these troublesome vaginal infections. So, join us on this journey into the realm of women’s health as we unravel the Candida conundrum and empower you with knowledge to foster a healthier vaginal microbiome.
Infusions At Wholehealth Chicago #1: Ozone Therapy: What It Is And How Doctors Use It
If you’ve been to either of our centers, I’m sure you’ve seen the large leather recliner chairs, often containing a patient, busy on their smartphone, tablet or reading a book and on the receiving end of an intravenous drip. Over the next few Health Tips, I’ll be talking about what these infusions are used for […]
You Know It’s Time To Change Doctors When…
Despite waiting weeks for an appointment and filling out all those forms, you can tell from the get-go, you’re being regarded as an inconvenience. Maybe, despite your persistent symptoms, you “look” too healthy to have anything seriously wrong with you and your new doctor has scheduled you for a cursory history/physical/basic blood work before she […]
Wholehealth Chicago Partners With Chicago’s Finest Trigger Point Therapy Team
Let me tell you about Mary Biancalana and the value of myofascial trigger point therapy. A lifelong fitness expert and personal trainer, in her early thirties Mary found herself with chronic headaches. First, she was told they were ‘psychological,’ then a manifestation of a little understood term called “trigger points” and another condition she’d never […]
Root Causes of Chronic Fatigue, Part 15: Long Covid
Doctors who work with patients who have chronic fatigue, chronic Lyme, and fibromyalgia have remarked on the similarity between people with these conditions and those suffering the frequently disabling symptoms of long Covid. Like chronic Lyme, in which many patients don’t remember either a tick bite or Lyme disease, patients with all the features of […]
Root Causes of Chronic Fatigue, Part 14: Sugar (Yep, Sugar)
Picture a bowl filled with granulated sugar and a can of Coke next to it. How many rounded teaspoonfuls of sugar do you need to scoop from that bowl to equal the sugar in your Coke? Five? Ten? It’s 16. Yes, 16 teaspoonfuls of sugar in a single can. But, you think to yourself, I […]
Root Causes of Chronic Fatigue, Part 13: Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
Most often, even before patients realize they’ve developed multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), its very first manifestation is fatigue, the sense of feeling deeply tired all the time. MCS is yet another condition I learned nothing about during my internal medicine residency, and when I asked the then-chief of allergy at Northwestern about it, he dismissed […]
Root Causes of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Part 1: Chronic Mono/Epstein-Barr Infection
First, a bit of background into chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Regular Health Tip readers know I write a great deal about people who come to us with chronic fatigue, especially those who’ve been told “We can’t find anything wrong with you” or “There’s nothing we can do.” What we usually find is not all paths […]
Peripheral Neuropathies
Most neurologists and primary care doctors will tell you that one of the most frustrating groups of conditions to treat are the peripheral neuropathies. It’s estimated that somewhere on the order of 20 million people suffer from peripheral neuropathy and while diagnosis is fairly straightforward, treatment is definitely problematic. The available medications are generally given […]
Chronic Fatigue/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Fibro and Covid-19
Regular readers of British mystery novels from the 1930s and 1940s are familiar with the old trick where the detective actually turns out to be the murderer. Or where Character A, innocent and charming, is none other than Character B, the poisoner. In other words, the villain can be highly elusive, and every once in […]
WELCOME TO WHOLEHEALTH CHICAGO! ANNGELA LEONE, LAc.
Anngela Leone, LAc. Is a licensed and board certified acupuncturist and herbalist in the state of Illinois. Anngela offers minimally invasive healing modalities that allow your body to heal itself. Chinese Medicine looks at each person through a broader lens where we see you as a whole person, not just a set of symptoms. As […]
Major Breakthrough: A Highly Accurate Blood Test For Fibromyalgia
Although I’ve taken care of well over 2,000 fibromyalgia patients since first opening WholeHealth Chicago in 1995 (and also written a successful book on the subject), I was always troubled by two questions. First, exactly what is fibromyalgia? How can there be a condition that’s severe enough to be disabling, manifesting as widespread muscle pain, […]
Brain Fog and What To Do About It, Part 1
You can’t remember the name of the Netflix movie you saw just last night, literally hours ago. And that actor–what was his name? He was in, you know, that other movie. You think it was a thriller, but maybe a war movie. Then you get a notice from Verizon that they’re turning off your phone […]
Functional Telemedicine, Wherever You Are
All things considered, we’ve rather enjoyed our telemedicine interactions with patients. Doctoring this way also recently provided me with an Aha! moment. What I realized was that much of what we do as Functional Medicine specialists, both diagnosis and treatment, can be done online with you never leaving your home. Such a consultation would include […]
Ozone Therapy: What It Is and How It’s Used
I’ll spare you a migraine. Don’t google “ozone therapy” as you’ll get 2.1 million results in 0.35 seconds. And while this is a mere fraction of what happens when you search for “migraine” (80 million in 1.19 seconds), just reading about the controversy over ozone therapy in first 20 entries might be enough to give […]
A Medical Flip Flop for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Initially I thought I’d misread the conclusion of the re-analysis of the standard treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). “The claim that patients can recover as a result of (cognitive behavior therapy) and (graded exercise therapy) is not justified by the data, and is highly misleading to clinicians and patients considering these treatments.” Damning words. […]
Tired All The Time? Useful Info and Two Supplements
As you might expect, fatigue is a fairly common reason people visit doctors. Feeling tired is vague symptom and can be linked to dozens of possible diagnoses, plus there’s a need to differentiate between physical fatigue and mental fatigue (brain fog) or consider both. When your doctor or nurse practitioner starts to ask questions, she’s […]
Project Microbiome: Bacterial Happiness and Health
A short article tucked in the New York Times health blog “Well” reported on a Cornell University study published in Microbiome, an obscure medical journal whose circulation is likely in the upper two digits. To my mind, it’s an important piece of research and I’d guess that years from now as we understand more and […]