Body Types Figure into Olympic Champions
Ever wonder how much body type plays into being an Olympic champion? Michael Phelps has a strange body type: Phelps’ arm span exceeds his 6-4 height by three inches. […]
Can Slurred Speech Have a Benign Cause or Is It Always Serious?
Most causes of slurred speech are life-threatening, but there’s also a small number of benign causes. […]
Can You Get Serious Brain Injury Banging Head on Car Door ?
Whether or not a serious injury can result hitting your head on a car door depends on your age. We’re talking about casually getting in and out of the vehicle, rather than having one’s head [...]
How Often Is ALS Misdiagnosed As Benign Fasciculation Syndrome?
There are cases in which someone with ALS was misdiagnosed with BFS. Imagine the devastation when the patient finally receives the correct diagnosis. From a clinical standpoint, early ALS can resemble benign fasciculation syndrome – [...]
ALS Muscle Twitching vs. BFS Muscle Twitches: Key Differences?
The term “twitching” is ambiguous; there are different kinds. Certainly, there are variations between ALS muscle twitching and that of BFS. What are the differences between the twitching muscles of ALS and those of BFS? [...]
Break Deadlift Plateau in Middle Age with One Exercise
It is just ridiculously aggravating when you’ve hit a plateau in the deadlift, especially if you’re middle aged and wondering if this is a sign you’ve reached your all-time limit. […]
Will the Rack Pull (Top Deadlift) Thicken a Woman’s Back ?
The rack pull is a great strength training move that very few women do out of fear it’ll bulk their back. Absolutely false; rack pulls will burn fat and do several wonderful things for a [...]
Bulbar Onset Symptoms vs. Laryngeal Cancer: Symptom Comparison
Laryngeal cancer is one of the scariest diseases, but it would be appealing to someone who’s just been diagnosed with bulbar onset ALS. Symptoms overlap in these two conditions. “Both conditions can be associated with [...]
Can a Groove in the Thigh Muscle Ever Be an ALS Symptom ?
The groove or indentation appears in one thigh only, so this may mean the muscle is starting to waste away or atrophy from ALS, and unfortunately, this is the erroneous thought process that many people have [...]
Can You Be Anorexic but Not Thin or Underweight?
First of all, not all women who appear “too thin” have an eating disorder. Anorexia nervosa is a term that many laypeople associate with a particular body appearance: emaciated or one that appears “way too [...]
Why Don’t Stomachs of 600 Pound Life People Ever Rupture?
There are cases of people who’ve fatally ruptured their stomach from eating enormous amounts of food in a short period of time. The “600 Pound Life” subjects apparently have not suffered this fate. [...]
Can Chronic Subdural Hematoma Increase Risk of Alzheimer’s?
You may already know that a chronic subdural hematoma can cause permanent physical disability. But what about an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease? Can the bleeding that contacts the brain set in motion a chain [...]
Can Anabolic Steroids Cause Bleeding in the Brain?
Long-term use of anabolic steroids can cause damage to the brain. There are many causes of bleeding in the brain. Some of these bleeds occur slowly and some are instantaneous and thus immediately life-threatening. [...]
Early ALS Muscle Atrophy vs. Benign Atrophy Appearance
“It can be difficult to distinguish between early ALS atrophy and normal atrophy,” says Bonnie Gerecke, MD, MD, director of the Neurology Center at Mercy in Baltimore. The typical course goes as follows: • You [...]
Why Quitting Smoking after a TIA Is So Important
Do whatever it takes to quit smoking if you’ve had a TIA. Smoking damages the blood vessels in the brain. But not only that, it also causes conditions that are independent risk factors for transient [...]
Should Family Members of Brain Aneurysm Patient Have MRI?
If you just learned a family member has a brain aneurysm, you definitely should schedule an MRI scan of your brain, as there is a familial link to this condition. This genetic link was shown [...]
Exercise Guidelines after Brain Aneurysm Coiling or Clipping
Are you a weightlifter or runner with an unruptured, newly coiled aneurysm? Just what does “return to full activities” really mean? Exercise is encouraged by surgeons who clip or coil brain aneurysms, but the term [...]
Life after a TIA: 5 Steps to Kill the Fear of Another One
Once you’ve had a transient ischemic attack, life as you know it will never be the same — but there are five measures you can take to regain power over [...]
Will the DASH Diet Help Prevent a Second TIA?
If you’ve suffered from a TIA, perhaps you’re wondering if the DASH diet will help prevent another one of these mini-strokes, which can mean a massive stroke in the near [...]
Can an Aneurysm Cause Very Brief Stabbing Head Pain?
Can your “jabs and jolts” stabbing head pain be caused by an aneurysm that’s about to rupture? Aneurysm pain from rupture is classically a “thunderclap” headache: sudden in onset, and excruciating, the worst head pain [...]
Twitching Muscles: Fasciculations vs. Myokymia
What you think is a muscle twitch from MS (myokymia) may actually be just a harmless fasciculation; there’s a way to tell the difference with these two kinds of muscle twitching. […]
Can Multiple Sclerosis Start with a Twitching Nose?
There actually is a type of facial twitch that’s associated with multiple sclerosis. However, this data needs to be picked apart very carefully, which is why the statement, “A twitching nose can be an early [...]
Can a Brain Tumor Cause Eyelid Twitching?
A brain tumor can cause an eyelid to droop, but the big question is: Can a brain tumor cause an eyelid to twitch? Many people who have a persistently twitching eyelid are terrified that this [...]
Can a TIA Cause a Metal Taste in the Mouth?
Perhaps you’ve read that a stroke can cause a metal taste in the mouth, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that a TIA can leave a metal taste in your mouth, does it? A TIA (transient [...]
Cause of Golden Yellow Poops
Is the cause of gold stools—a more golden color rather than straight yellow—different from the cause of a blander yellow type of poop? What can be considered a “gold” stool might actually be a yellowish [...]
Left Arm Pain As an ONLY Symptom: Heart Related?
So you know that left arm pain with chest pain, nausea, sweating might mean a heart attack. But what if your ONLY symptom is unexplained left arm pain? First off, even when pain in the [...]
Chest Pain Upon Waking, Gets Better Soon After
You should not rule out a heart problem if you keep awakening with chest pain that gets better soon afterwards. It may seem odd that a heart problem would cause chest pain only in the [...]
Can Chest Pain with Burping Mean a Heart Problem?
If you have burping along with your chest pain, this definitely can mean something’s going on with your heart. A visit to a cardiologist would be smart. Angina Chest Pain with Burping Angina is impaired [...]
Chest Pain Only After Exercising, Not During?
If you’re having chest pain AFTER exercise, not during the activity, this may still be related to your heart. The older you are, the more likely that any chest pain that’s associated with exercise is [...]
TIA Headache vs. Ruptured Brain Aneurysm Headache
The problem with comparing a TIA headache with a ruptured brain aneurysm is if the sudden headache is a burst aneurysm, you don’t have minutes to wait around and see what happens. [...]
Brain Mets vs. TIA: Symptom Comparison, Differences
How can one tell the difference between a transient ischemic attack (TIA) and brain metastases? There’s an overlap of symptoms with a TIA and brain mets, but there’s also features of brain mets that would [...]
What Is the Slowest ALS Can Progress?
The life expectancy after ALS diagnosis averages two to five years, but progression of the disease is not always predictive of life expectancy. Progression of this fatal disease will vary from one patient to the [...]
How ALS Finally Kills a Patient
ALS is 100% fatal, though there are extremely rare cases in which the patient lives many years after diagnosis. But ALS will kill them, too, assuming that by sheer chance, another illness or accident doesn’t [...]
ALS Weakness vs. BFS Weakness: Comparison of Symptoms
Here’s a comparison between the muscle weakness of ALS and that of benign fasciculation syndrome (BFS). There are striking differences between the muscle weakness of ALS and that of BFS. […]
Is It Okay to Eat Lots of Sugar if Glucose Level Is Normal?
Do you have the green light to eat a ton of sugar in one sitting if your blood sugar level is in the normal range? For example, you’re healthy and have a glucose monitor device [...]
How to Stop Worrying About Your Moles
Anxiety over your moles can get bad enough to disrupt productivity at work, ruin social events & cause insomnia. However, you can overcome this nagging problem. […]
How Dangerous Is Blood Sugar in the 400’s?
You know it’s bad, but HOW bad is a glucose reading in the 400’s? This can be “a very unhealthy place and could be a medical emergency,” says Alison Massey, MS, RD, LDN, registered dietitian [...]
Edema, Swelling in Legs from Obesity vs. Heart Failure
How does one tell if the “edema” in their lower legs is strictly from obesity vs. congestive heart failure? Though an obese person may also have heart failure, there are obese people who do not [...]
Does Echocardiogram Show Plaque Buildup in Arteries?
An echocardiogram is an ultrasound of the heart that, unlike a catheter angiogram (the gold standard for showing plaque buildup in arteries), is non-invasive and carries no risks. The CT angiogram (CAT scan with contrast [...]
Causes of Congestive Heart Failure in Younger Adults
Congestive heart failure isn’t just an “old person” disease; it strikes young adults—and for specific reasons. The reasons differ from those for elderly people. What Is Congestive Heart Failure? Failure of the heart to adequately pump [...]