The Truth about Women and Ulcers

We’ve all heard the myths about these mysterious ailments called ulcers:

Control your stress, or you’ll get an ulcer.
Watch out for spicy foods, unless you want an ulcer.
Got an ulcer? Drink milk.

None of these are remotely true, but have, nonetheless, been passed down through generations to those suffering from a variety of digestive disorders. So what is an ulcer? The facts about this often painful, usually treatable, irritation might actually surprise you.

Ulcers Defined

According to the book, “Mayo Clinic on Digestive Health,” ulcer is the medical term for an open sore. While most of us think of those sores occurring within the digestive tract, ulcers can occur in other areas as well, including the lower back, buttocks and ankles. The peptic ulcer is the type most familiar. These ulcers develop in the lining of the small intestine or stomach, and affect about 10 percent of the people living in this country.

Only 10 percent? But it seems like everyone knows someone with an ulcer! Possibly, but probably not. The truth is, ulcers are a relatively rare condition in the United States, and are becoming rarer all the time.

In fact, Dr. Cynthia M. Yoshida, in her book, “No More Digestive Problems,” says, “Whenever I see an ulcer during an endoscopy, I call over my GI fellows to show them what it looks like. They may not see that many ulcers during their training, so I point them out when I find them.” Some folks who think they have an ulcer may actually be suffering from another chronic condition, such as GERD or nunulcer dyspepsia. Only your doctor can tell you the real reason behind your symptoms.

Ulcers: The Real Culprit

If stress and spicy foods don’t cause these nasty critters to develop, then what does? Interestingly, one of the most common culprits is a bacterium known as H. pylori. These bacteria may be transmitted through contact with an infected person, poor sanitation or contaminated water. Scientists are finding the incidences of H. pylori are lower today than they were decades ago, no doubt due to our improvements in these areas. This reduced incidence of H. pylori is probably a factor in the lower number of ulcer cases as well.

That’s the good news. The bad news is there is another potential cause on the rise, and it affects women more than men.

Taking large amounts of pain medications, particularly nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen can increase your risk of developing an ulcer. According to the Mayo Clinic, between 15 and 30 percent of the people who take these medications regularly will develop ulcers. The reason women are more vulnerable is because they take more of these medications overall for ailments like headaches and menstrual cramps. Your best bet in reducing your risk is to switch to acetaminophen whenever possible, since this medicine does not play into the development of ulcers.

Other habits able to increase your risk include smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. Nicotine can increase the amount of acid in your stomach, creating a ripe field for an ulcer to develop. Alcohol can damage the lining of your digestive tract, which can lead to inflammation and bleeding. The jury is still out on whether these bad habits alone can cause an ulcer to develop, but they can contribute to one when other factors, like H. pylori bacteria, are present.

When to Call the Doctor

If you experience any of the symptoms of an ulcer, it is best to see your doctor for an accurate diagnosis and an effective treatment plan. The Mayo Clinic lists the following symptoms to watch out for:

• Gnawing pain in the stomach area
• Blood in your stools or vomit
• Unexplained weight loss
• Pain in the middle of your back

Your doctor can perform different tests to determine the cause of your symptoms. These tests might include an upper GI X-ray or an endoscopy. The endoscopy consists of threading a long, narrow tube down your throat and into your stomach. At the end of the tube is a tiny camera to help your doctor view your entire digestive tract. According to Dr. Yoshida, the endoscopy is the “gold standard for diagnosing ulcers.” If anything is found during the test, your doctor can take a sample of the suspicious lining to test it further.

If an ulcer is diagnosed, treatment will probably include a combination of antibiotics to treat the H. pylori and an acid blocker to heal the ulcer. If your ulcer is caused by NSAID instead of the bacteria, you will probably be given the acid blocker and advised to switch your pain medication to something safer for you. The large majority of peptic ulcers will heal within six to eight weeks with this type of treatment. A small number of cases will need additional medication or treatment to heal completely.

Ulcers can be painful and unpleasant, but the good news is they can be treated. If you think you might be suffering from an ulcer, make an appointment with your doctor today. You and your digestive system will be glad you did.

Women and Cholesterol: An Amicable Relationship

We hear a lot about cholesterol — or more specifically, the evils of it. Here’s a little secret; not all cholesterol is evil or even bad for you. But to understand this concept, we must first wade through the cholesterol maze of LDL and HDL.

We must understand how other factors can affect the significance of our cholesterol counts. We need to know how certain types of cholesterol will increase our heart disease risk while other types will actually lower it. And then we need to discover how to gain control over this cholesterol puzzle to help our bodies achieve optimum health.

Whew! It appears that learning about cholesterol will require nearly as much energy as it takes to run a marathon. Too bad it won’t burn the equivalent number of calories! The good news is cholesterol may seem complex on the surface, but with a few basics under your belt you will be able to meet this heart disease risk potential head on and use it to your healthy advantage.

Organizations like the American Heart Association have broken this complicated subject down into easy to understand components allowing you to take control of your own health and get those numbers to the best level you can.

What is Cholesterol?

So what is this important substance so imperative to a healthy cardiovascular system? According to Carol Ann Rinzler, author of “Controlling Cholesterol for Dummies” and “Nutrition for Dummies,” cholesterol is actually something produced by your body — your liver to be exact — and it is essential in many physiological functions, including:

• Protecting the integrity of cell membranes
• Assisting in the transmission of messages between nerve cells
• Acting as a building block for vitamin D
• Enabling your gall bladder to make bile acids, which help you to absorb fats
• Acting as a base for steroid hormones like estrogen and testosterone

If cholesterol performs so many important functions within your body, how can it possibly be bad for you? The problem happens when there is excess cholesterol in your blood, which has a tendency to stick to the walls of your blood vessels and produce a build-up, restricting the flow of blood. This process can greatly increase the risk of a heart attack, since the function of the cardiovascular system can be compromised. Heart disease is considered to be the number one killer for women in the United States, taking more lives than the next six causes of death combined.

And this is not the only thing you have to worry about if your cholesterol levels are too high. Cholesterol can also be a risk factor for a stroke. In fact, a study published earlier this year in “Neurology,” a publication of the American Academy of Neurology, found that even when other risk factors are low, women with high cholesterol numbers were still at a much higher risk of having a stroke at some point in life.

Have these numbers got your attention yet? And if so, are you ready to find out what you can do to keep your cholesterol in check to keep you on the path of better health?

What’s your Number?

Here’s a personal question; what’s your number? I’m talking about your cholesterol numbers, and if you don’t know them, it’s time to get savvy to one of the most important tidbits of information you need to know to stay healthy.

Unfortunately, most women are not savvy when it comes to their HDL and LDL levels. A study done this year by the Society for Women’s Health Research found that as many as three-fourths of women do not have any idea what their cholesterol numbers are. And what’s more — most who were surveyed had no idea what terms like HDL and LDL meant, including which cholesterol was “good” and which was considered “bad.” This may indicate women are not taking the risk of cardiovascular disease as seriously as they should.

On a positive note, it’s never too late to educate yourself about your own cholesterol information. It starts with a trip to the doctor and a quick blood test to find out if your cholesterol is in the healthy range or if it is something you should be concerned about. But to know how to read the result of your blood test, you will need to understand the difference between HDL, LDL and total cholesterol.

The Good, the Bad and the Total Cholesterol

Here’s where cholesterol gets a little confusing. There are two different types of cholesterol in your body — one should be high and the other needs to be low. It all has to do with whether the cholesterol will stick around in your blood stream or whether it is designed to be carried out of your body. Cholesterol that passes through your blood vessel walls is called low-density lipoproteins or LDL. This is the cholesterol you want to have in low levels to reduce the chances of it sticking to your vessel walls and forming deposits or plaques. Your goal is to keep this number at 100 or lower.

Anything more than 130 is cause for concern.

The other type of cholesterol is too dense to enter the blood vessels, so it is carried out of the body. This is your high-level lipoproteins, or HDL. This is the type of cholesterol you can afford to have more of. The average woman should have a number in the 50-60 range. Then there is your total cholesterol. This is usually the number you will receive from the doctor’s office. Your total cholesterol number should be below 200 to be considered a low risk factor.

Anything above 250 is a high risk factor for heart disease, and needs to be addressed with your doctor for possible treatment options. Keep in mind cholesterol numbers alone do not necessarily give a complete picture of your risk, since other factors like age, obesity and smoking will also come into play. Still, high cholesterol is certainly not something to ignore in the overall picture of good health.

Bringin’ It Down

So maybe you know your total cholesterol is on the high side, and you want to know what you can do to bring those numbers down. There are some options here, including diet, exercise and medication. To determine the best treatment options for you, talk to your doctor.

The American Heart Association also offers a checklist for lowering cholesterol:

• Eating a healthy, low-cholesterol diet
• Getting more physically active
• Taking medication
• Making other lifestyle changes

For additional information, you can click on americanheart.org/. Many like to try diet and exercise first, before moving to medications like statins. According to a report on Medical News Today earlier this year, most health care professionals agree people who are at high risk for cardiovascular disease are appropriate candidates for medication.

However, the jury is still out on the need for medication for those in the lower risk categories. You and your doctor can make the best decision for you regarding medication.

Cholesterol is something to be taken seriously with women, so health risks associated with elevated cholesterol levels can be alleviated. What’s your number? Now is the time to find out. Why not make an appointment with your doctor this week to get savvy to your cholesterol count? Health happens when you take the first step.

Menopause: Separating the Fact from the Fiction

If you ask women between the ages of 30 and 40 what they think about when they hear the word, “menopause,” you will undoubtedly get some mixed responses. Some worry about the physical symptoms, particularly the hot flashes. Others dread the roller coaster of emotions about to come.

A few try to avoid the issue of menopause altogether since the “change” is generally seen as an indication of aging. And who wants to grow old? If you are approaching those years of life when menopause will become a reality, it is time to get straight on what menopause really is all about.

What exactly is this great and mysterious transition? Before we define what menopause is, it is helpful to discuss what it is not. First, menopause is not a single event, but rather a series of symptoms and occurrences within the body, taking place during a period of a number of years. The process is complete once you have gone a full twelve months without a menstrual period. Second, menopause is not a disease, although many during the years have been guilty of treating it as such! Menopause is actually a normal, biological process every woman goes though. And today, most women can look forward to many happy, healthy years after the process has run its course.

Let’s Cope

Okay, we know we can’t get around menopause; we simply must go through it. The question then becomes, how do we survive those years as pleasantly and painlessly as possible? It seems to depend. Since every woman responds to the fluctuating hormones differently, each case needs to be treated on an individual basis. For example, Marilyn began having hot flashes in her late forties. These became disruptive to her daily life since they were generally accompanied by nausea and an overall feeling of malaise. Deborah started having extremely painful headaches a day or so prior to her menstrual cycle in the years leading up to her other menopause symptoms. Those headaches and the roller coaster of emotions were the hardest symptoms for her to deal with. Karen talked to her doctor about treatment options when the depression became more than she wanted to deal with. And Kaye managed to get through her menopausal years with few symptoms to speak of.

“Treatment of menopause needs to be on an individual basis,” said Ladean Cross, a certified Family Nurse Practitioner for more than 25 years. Since everyone responds differently to the hormone fluctuations, each woman who sees her doctor during menopause may have unique concerns and require treatment options customized to her individual situation. Cross added, “It is important to have a healthcare provider who listens to you as a person, and treats you — not a condition.” Make sure your provider listens to your concerns and complaints and responds to you appropriately. And keep an open mind when it comes to dealing with your menopausal symptoms, since medication is only one option for you to use.

Deborah found her mood swings were one of the most important symptoms she had to address. She explained, “You ask yourself, ‘why am I saying and doing these things?’ But you can’t stop.” She said that her daily, three-mile walk helped the most with keeping her emotions in check. Cross agreed that diet and exercise, as well as other lifestyle choices, can play a big part in surviving menopause as well. If you are not already in a good exercise habit, now is the time to get moving! Aerobic workouts also benefit your cardiovascular system, which is good news considering your risk of cardiovascular disease increases as your estrogen levels decrease. Strength training will keep your bones and muscles healthy in those postmenopausal years; a time when bone density tends to decrease and you run a higher risk of breaking bones.

Karen decided to take her doctor’s advice and try hormone replacement therapy (HRT), when the depression became more than she wanted to deal with. She said that while the HRT worked effectively on this symptom, it seemed to increase her incidence of migraine headaches. This caused her to go off of them after a period of time. She said the effects of menopause seemed much easier to deal with at this point, although she still has some issues with hot flashes and increased irritation over little things in life.

Cross said hot flashes are probably the number one complaint from the women she sees in her practice. Other common issues include irritation and depression, a decreased libido and concentration and memory problems. She said there are many options available in treatment of menopausal symptoms today, including pharmaceutical and “natural” HRT, as well as exercise, diet and lifestyle choices. The Mayo Clinic also provides a number of medications as possibilities. These different medicines can be used to effectively address emotional symptoms, hot flashes and the vaginal dryness, which are all concerns for women as they age.

Find Support

There are also plenty of opportunities to find support as you are going through this very natural, but sometimes challenging, phase of life. Menopause support groups offer you a chance to hash out your concerns and (yes, indeed!) gripes with other women who have “been there, done that.” After all, no one else will understand your complaints as well as someone who is coming along side you in the process. One good resource to find a menopause support group is your doctor’s office or local health department. Online, you can do your own research at www.minniepauz.com, or www.menopause-online.com for lots of information, chat rooms and a bit of humor thrown in for good measure. There are also the Web sties www.webmd.com, www.mayoclinic.com, www.menopausetohealth.com. Cross also recommends the book, “The Wisdom of Menopause” by Christine Northrup, MD.

Menopause may be a fact of life, but that doesn’t mean that we have to take it lying down. Get up, get out there and take charge of your “change.” You go, girl.

Conquering PMS: Surefire Spirit Lifters to Chase Away the Blues

You can feel it coming. The tension begins to mount, the irritability increases, and life just doesn’t feel like it’s suppose to. You are tired, cranky and unable to cope with the smallest of inconveniences or annoyances. You are all too familiar with these unpleasant symptoms, because you experience them at the same time every month.

Your husband knows when it is coming, and even your kids seem to keep their distance. How can you be such a sane, happy woman three weeks out of every four, and be such a “you-know-what” during those last seven, fateful days? The good news is that a solution to your 28-day, Jekyll-and-Hyde cycle might be easier to attain than you realize. And it may not be as uncommon as you think.

According to the Mayo Clinic, as many as three-fourths of all women of childbearing age suffer with premenstrual symptoms of one type or another. When these physical and emotional symptoms begin to interfere with your daily life, they are known as premenstrual syndrome or PMS. A much smaller percentage of women will suffer from symptoms so severe that they are put into a separate condition, known as premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD. This is an extreme state of PMS that often requires a doctor’s evaluation and treatment. On the other hand, many cases of PMS can be sufficiently managed through some simple lifestyle changes. But most women can beat the PMS blues, and sail through those fateful days in style.

You are what you eat
There have been studies that have shown that women who suffer from more intense PMS symptoms may not be getting adequate nutrition from their current diets. According to womenshealthlondon.org, a deficiency of certain vitamins and minerals can affect the hormonal levels throughout the menstrual cycle. The good news is that dietary changes are fairly easy for you to make, even if it means sacrificing that sugar donut a few days of the month for the good of your emotional state! There are plenty of good foods that you eat to replace your mid-morning snack, including fresh fruits and vegetables, whole-grain breads, lean fish and chicken, and low fat dairy products. Make sure that you are drinking plenty of water during this time of the month, and enjoy your decaf teas and coffee to your heart’s content.

While it may seem tempting to jumpstart your morning with a good strong cup of Joe, or drown your evening tears in a glass of Chardonnay, both of these activities can make you feel worse in the long run during this challenging week of the month. WebMD.com advises women to avoid caffeine and alcohol when striving to gain victory over those nagging PMS doldrums. It is also a good idea to say “no” to sugary foods (yes, like that donut), salty foods, red meat and other saturated fats. Take heart in knowing that once your monthly “friend” has arrived, you can again indulge in the occasional sin, although you may find out that permanently giving up many of these naughty items isn’t the necessary evil that you had originally thought.

Get moving!
Exercise is an amazing depression-buster, and it can work for PMS better than almost any other treatment. If you are already a fitness buff, make sure that you don’t neglect that workout during your PMS time. If you are new to the exercise game, keep in mind that even a brisk walk around your neighborhood three times a week can be effective in boosting endorphins and booting out stress. Weight training is another great method for tension taming, and can be an effective means of working out your frustration and annoyance with the world at large. Always check with your doctor before embarking on any new exercise journey, to make sure that your workout out will enhance your health without causing injury.

Is that all you’ve got?
If you have set your sights on lifestyle changes to get your PMS symptoms under control, but you still find yourself snapping at your spouse and crying over the EPT commercials, it may be time to see what your doctor can do for you. However, before heading into his office, it is a good idea to chart your symptoms for two or three months prior to your appointment. This will assist your doctor in diagnosing your PMS more effectively, since there is no single test that will offer a definitive diagnosis for this condition. You can find PMS logs on various Web sites, like womenshealthlondon.org, acog.org, which is the Web site for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, or in a variety of books on the subject, such as “The PMS Self Help Book” by Susan M. Lark, M.D. Once you have your chart in hand, you will be ready to discuss your symptoms and treatment options with your doctor.

There are many effective medications that are used to treat PMS symptoms today. Ibuprofen is probably the best medicine for the aches and pains that commonly occur, since the anti-inflammatory properties are most effective at reducing breast pain and headache, as well as the all-too-familiar abdominal cramps. If you need to, kick your medicinal therapy up a notch. Antidepressants like Prozac have been proven to work extremely well with some women. These prescription meds can be taken all of the time, or they can be added two weeks prior to menstruation. Oral contraceptives are another effective choice for some women, although the Pill has also been known to make the PMS symptoms more intense for certain patients.

If you have tried lifestyle and diet changes to no avail, there are other treatments for PMS available. The most important fact to take with you is that you don’t have to suffer alone. Many women deal with these difficult symptoms every month, and many have found the way to a happier, more balanced way of life. Talk to your friends, family members and your doctor about methods that you can use to gain control over your PMS. I guarantee that you (and those around you!) will be eternally glad that you did.