My 600 Pound Life: Pauline Is Another Penny
Penny from “My 600 Pound Life” now has a twin sister, Pauline, who’s in denial and refuses to take responsibility. An episode of “My 600 Pound Life” in 2015 was viewers’ first exposure to Pauline, [...]
How to Elevate Sofa 9 Inches to Prevent Acid Reflux
If you sleep on a sofa, here’s a safe, easy way to elevate it 9 inches to help prevent acid reflux overnight. I sleep on a sofa (not a pull-out sofa, but the actual sofa). [...]
Sensation of Pill Stuck in Throat But No Pills Swallowed
A GI doctor tells why you may feel that pills are stuck in your throat when you didn’t even swallow any. Ever have that sensation that you can only describe as, “It feels like a [...]
Why Acid Reflux Can Cause Pepper Taste in Mouth
Have you been experiencing a peppery taste in your mouth, particularly upon awakening in the morning or even in the middle of the night? Where is this coming from if you haven’t been eating peppers [...]
Can Exercise-Induced Acid Reflux Cause LPR?
LPR can make it difficult to breathe, but can acid reflux from exercise cause this scary situation? “Acid reflux is when normal stomach acid regurgitates into the esophagus and causes symptoms," says Jay Desai, MD, [...]
Acid Reflux Comes and Goes: Causes
What can make acid reflux come and go if the patient avoids food triggers? “Acid reflux is when the normal stomach acid regurgitates up into the esophagus,” says Jay Desai, MD, who specializes in colon [...]
Where to Get the Instruction Manual for Raising Children
But kids DO come with instruction manuals! Why do we keep hearing “Children don’t come with instruction manuals,” especially in this day and age of online parent communities, tons of websites and blogs about how [...]
Can a Pacemaker Implant Damage the Vagal Nerve?
If a person has recently had a pacemaker implant, but is also suffering from blackouts or fainting spells, one may wonder if the vagal nerve is somehow getting adversely affected by the pacemaker. Pacemakers Are [...]
Why Isn’t the Corus CAD Test Part of Routine Physical?
Have you been wondering why a routine physical or even routine cardiologist exam doesn’t include the Corus CAD test? This blood test uses “gene expression” to quickly and safely determine when chest pain is due [...]
Why Don’t CABG Patients Get the Corus CAD Test?
Why isn’t the Corus CAD test given to people who’ve had coronary bypass surgery? This test uses “gene expression” to safely and quickly determine whose chest pain or shortness of breath is the result of [...]
Is IBS a Real Disease & Diagnosis or just Symptom Collection?
“IBS by definition is not a true disease,” says Dr. Saad Habba, MD, a board certified gastroenterologist at Overlook Medical Center in Summit, NJ. One of Dr. Habba’s areas of interest is irritable bowel syndrome. He [...]
When Your Child’s Hamster Dies: Guide for Parents
If your child's hamster is very sick or seems to be dying, here are clear instructions on what you, the parent, should do and NOT do. In your mind, the hamster might be nothing more [...]
Can GERD Cause Constant Chest and Back Pain?
Are you wondering (hoping) that your constant chest and back pain is being caused by GERD rather than a heart problem? GERD stands for gastroesophageal reflux disease and is notorious for causing chest pain. “Acid [...]
Can Acid Reflux Cause a Heavy Pounding Heart?
Can the acid that’s refluxing up from your stomach and into your esophagus actually trigger a pounding heartbeat? “Acid reflux is when the normal stomach acid regurgitates up into the esophagus,” says Jay Desai, MD, [...]
Parenting Mistakes that Make Child Bully Younger Sibling
One mistake parents can make is to blow off the bullying as normal sibling rivalry. Sibling bullying isn’t “normal” or “healthy” just because the parents experienced it with their own siblings or just because it [...]
Popular Articles on Diarrhea
One day I began noticing oddly shaped and colored bowel movements that were loose enough to be considered mild diarrhea. I thought this was related to my period, which was due in several days. Very [...]
Dent in Thigh: One of the Most Feared Symptoms
Let’s get to the bottom of whether or not a dent in your quadriceps muscle means you might have ALS. The “quad dent” evokes fear in tens of thousands of people. Are you one of [...]
Why Zumba Classes Should Not Be So Crazy Loud
You will damage your hearing if you keep attending Zumba classes unless you wear significant ear protection. Has it ever occurred to you, the Zumba enthusiast (either as a participant or instructor), that the volume [...]
Does Popeye’s Elbow Always Hurt?
As funny and goofy as Popeye's elbow looks, one has to wonder if this bizarre condition always comes with pain. Though Popeye’s elbow (olecranon bursitis) is associated with pain, it can also be painless — [...]
If You’re Dizzy Should You Get a CT Scan in the ER?
When is dizziness serious enough to warrant a head CT scan, being that this procedure emits radiation to the brain? Many people go to the ER for feeling dizzy. The sudden onset of what the [...]
Suicide Attempt by Bullied Teen: Shall We Blame the Parents?
Is it possible that a bullied teen could feel helpless enough to try suicide because their parents have shamed them for their troubles? Maybe the parents have always been critical, and that certainly would not [...]
Acid Reflux in Nose (LPR): Cause, Solutions, Long-Term Effects
An ENT doctor explains all about acid reflux burning in the nose as part of LPR, plus cause, how to prevent and long-term effects if it keeps happening. Acid reflux can shoot up into the [...]
Child Says Fidgeting Burns Calories Years Before Research
A teacher blew off a 13-year-old’s proposition that fidgeting burns calories, which, many years later, was proven by research to be true. When I was 13, I was a freshman at a Catholic high school. [...]
Why a Bullied Child’s Suicide May Be Rational vs. Mental Illness
Perhaps the bullied teen or adolescent who dies by suicide was thinking rationally rather than suffering from clinical depression or mental illness. When yet another story breaks of a child who dies by suicide as [...]
Child Bullying Younger Sibling: How Mom Should NEVER Respond
Find out what parents should never do in response to a child bullying a younger sibling; the way the parents respond in an attempt to “fix” the problem can make the situation far worse. This [...]
Why Isn’t Corus CAD Test Done on All ER Chest Pain Patients?
Since the Corus CAD blood test can determine if chest pain is being caused by clogged arteries, why aren’t all patients with chest pain in the emergency room given this test? Wouldn’t that more efficiently [...]
Chest Pain: Blood Test Can Tell if It’s Clogged Arteries
This blood test uses age, sex and gene expression measurements to safely & quickly determine whose chest pain is the result of obstructive coronary artery disease (clogged arteries). Certain patients are candidates for this blood [...]
PVCs: Frequency Per Minute, Hour, Day, Dangers
This is all about premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) as far as frequency and what REALLY matters as far as if they mean harm. At my mother’s pacemaker evaluation, it was determined that over the preceding [...]
Premature Ventricular Contractions after Pregnancy, During Exercise
Did you recently have a baby, have resumed your exercise routine, but are now experiencing frightening PVCs? A PVC is a premature ventricular contraction that makes it feel as though your heart is either skipping [...]
PVCs After Exercise: How Soon After Do They Count?
A cardiologist explains PVCs (premature ventricular contractions) that occur after exercise: how soon after do these matter; is there a cut-off point? If someone has PVCs in the minute after stopping the exercise but not [...]
How Often Do Heart Attacks Come After PVCs?
Do your premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) keep making you think that they mean a heart attack is coming? There are some people for whom, no matter how many premature ventricular contractions they experience, and no [...]
Can Insomnia Increase PVCs (Premature Ventricular Contractions)?
Are you losing sleep over the worry that insomnia can increase the frequency of premature ventricular contractions (PVCs)? There can be a connection between premature ventricular contractions and insomnia because lack of sleep can cause [...]
Caffeine Causing PVCs: Why, & How Long It Takes
Find out why caffeine causes premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) and how long after eating or drinking this substance it takes to make your heart "skip" beats. How long after eating (or drinking a caffeinated beverage) [...]
Zero Calcium Score & Normal Heart Structure but with PVCs?
What does it mean when you have premature ventricular contractions (PVC's) but also a zero calcium score and normal heart structure? Can the presence of the PVC's still be indicative of something bad? I asked [...]
What Gives Hair Its Natural Smell?
Here’s the explanation for why hair has a NATURAL scent or fragrance, rather than what causes a BAD smell. This isn’t a “Why does my hair smell bad?” article. It’s a “What gives hair its [...]
Soy Intolerance vs. Allergy, and IBS
There IS a difference between an soy intolerance and an actual allergy to this food, including how it relates to irritable bowel syndrome. “It is important to differentiate soy allergy from soy intolerance,” explains Dr. [...]
Does an IBS Attack Happen Suddenly or Slowly?
Here is information about the onset of an attack of irritable bowel syndrome. “The onset of IBS symptoms is usually slow and ongoing for a prolonged period of time,” says Dr. Saad Habba, MD, an [...]
Strength Training for Prader-Willi Syndrome
Here’s why people with Prader-Willi syndrome should train with weights (strength training). One of the classic features of the genetic condition of Prader-Willi syndrome is that of very poor muscle tone — the result of [...]
Colon Cancer Diarrhea vs. IBS Diarrhea: Is There a Difference?
A gastroenterologist discusses differences between colon cancer diarrhea and the diarrhea caused by IBS. Do they look the same? How are they different? You may have read that “constipation alternating with diarrhea” is a possible [...]
Are Big Tall Kids Rarely the Victims of Bullies?
It’s a myth that kids who are big or husky hardly ever get bullied. Ever notice that in TV shows and movies, a boy who’s a bully is almost always bigger than his classmates? He’s [...]
