Natural Treatment for Microscopic Colitis: Kefir!
Let’s hear it for kefir as a natural treatment for microscopic colitis: This stuff works!
Microscopic colitis has no known cure, and treatments include natural and pharmaceutical.
However, treatment for microscopic colitis is hit or miss, and often nothing works to alleviate symptoms.
If you want to go the natural route with microscopic colitis treatment, I urge you to try kefir.
“Kefir is a fermented dairy product with high concentration of probiotics and special yeast which has been known for hundreds of years for its health benefits,” says Natasha Fuksina, MD, an internal medicine and obesity specialist who combines traditional, integrative and functional medicine to restore health and function.
“It contains multiple species of Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Bifidobacterium and yeast.”
Perhaps you’ve already tried probiotics in pill form to naturally treat your microscopic colitis.
And they probably had no effect whatsoever. Don’t let this fool you!
I have microscopic colitis — have had a few major bouts — and they did not respond at all to probiotics in pill form.
However…every time I drank Kefir for more than a few days, the symptoms just about cleared up. This beverage is yogurt in drinkable form.
It’s thick like a milkshake and comes in different flavors.
However, I’ve been drinking only the plain.
Flavored varieties contain more sugars, and for all we know, this can interfere with the treatment process.
First try the plain kefir. Drink two cups (about 16 ounces) a day. No more.
No less, though I have not yet experimented with how effective less might be.
When on Kefir, I hardly had any diarrhea, and my stools looked closer to normal.
They were not as “dispersable” and contained noticeably less undigested food matter.
Thanks to this probiotic drink, my stool color was often normal and so was the caliber, shape and solidity.
It’s good to know that when I eat almonds, most aren’t passing right through me.
When I stopped drinking kefir, the symptoms of microscopic colitis returned: in my case, diarrhea nearly daily, at times twice a day, and lots of undigested food in my stools.
I’d go back on the probiotic drink, and these symptoms practically disappeared.
The reason I’d been on and off kefir is because, among a few other reasons, I wanted to prepare for a food sensitivity test, and wanted the microscopic colitis to be more in progress so that the stool sample could reflect it for the analysis.
Thus, I went off it for a week — and also because I had thought the microscopic colitis had spontaneously resolved.
What I didn’t realize was that the kefir had seemingly subdued it. Not long after quitting the beverage, the symptoms returned.
Within several days of resuming kefir, the symptoms again subsided. This cycle has happened several times now, and it can’t be coincidence.
“When consuming kefir on a regular basis, you introduce numerous colonies of healthy bacteria which can affect your microbiome in numerous ways,” says Dr. Fuksina.
“These newly introduced bacteria can fight harmful bacteria which develop during a colitis attack.
“They can help the good microbiota to proliferate and grow further.
“Furthermore, the bacteria contained in kefir and its byproduct, kefiran, can help modulate immune function and diminish inflammation.”
Remember, microscopic colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease.
“One daily kefir drink per day may be sufficient to help control mild cases of colitis, along with other nutritional strategies to keep the gut microbiome healthy and tame the inflammation.”
In conclusion, start drinking kefir today as part of your natural treatment for microscopic colitis, which, I might add, cannot be diagnosed with certainty unless you’ve had a colonoscopy — and tissue samples from your large colon are taken for analysis via microscope.
Dr. Fuksina is the founder of astraMDhealth, which includes telemedicine. Double board certified in internal and obesity medicine, she focuses on a personalized approach, including metabolism and genetic makeup, to customize treatments and preventive care.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Shutterstock/Sea Wave
Denying Spouse Has Depression; When Partner Won’t Seek Help
How I convinced my father that my mother’s depression would not go away on its own.
Is one of your parents depressed, and the other parent in denial, and thus, a hindrance to treatment?
My mother was vehemently against taking an antidepressant, and wouldn’t state why, even though she was very amenable to taking prescription-strength narcotic painkillers, as well as Valium.
But for some mysterious reason, she refused to listen to why she should take an antidepressant.
Even though her clinical depression was draining my father, he, too, was very opposed to having his wife on an antidepressant.
I planned on staying with my parents for about three days, following my mother’s minor knee surgery, to help her recover. This was when I realized that she had developed clinical depression.
After six weeks of living with my parents to care for my mother who was crippled by depression, I convinced my father to speak to my mother’s doctor about prescribing an antidepressant.
The day I convinced him that an antidepressant was the only option left, was the culmination of six weeks of intense perseverance on my part.
Here are some objections (in bold) that the spouse, who’s in denial of a partner’s depression, might cook up, and after each objection, is what you, the daughter, son or other family member, can counter with.
I heard that antidepressants take two weeks to start kicking in.
“This depression will last a lot longer than two weeks without antidepressants.
“Before you know it, two weeks will have gone by, and she’ll still be disabled by depression, and then you’ll wish you had started her on an antidepressant two weeks ago.
“You don’t want to be kicking yourself for letting two weeks go by and she’s still suffering with depression.
“You don’t want to be thinking, ‘If she began antidepressants two weeks ago, where would we be now? Dang, I wish I got her on antidepressants two weeks ago.’
“There is no golden rule that it takes two weeks or four weeks for antidepressants to start working. That’s just a bell curve. For some people, the effect can be immediate, especially in severe depression.”
(In my mother’s case, the Cymbalta produced dramatic results the NEXT DAY).
She (or he) will never agree to see a psychiatrist.
“You don’t need to see a psychiatrist to get a prescription to an antidepressant. Any medical doctor can prescribe any drug. Her general physician can prescribe an antidepressant.”
She’ll never agree to go see even her general doctor for an antidepressant.
“Call the doctor’s office up, identify yourself, and ask if he could prescribe an antidepressant. He might do it over the phone without requiring a visit.”
(The phone call worked for my father, but this is no guarantee it will work for most people; we may have lucked out, because prior to this, my parents had been in his office and my father had inquired about an antidepressant, to which the doctor disagreed — details following).
Her doctor said she doesn’t need an antidepressant.
“Does her doctor LIVE with us to see what’s going on?”
My father accompanied my mother on a visit to her general physician for carpal tunnel syndrome, and at one point he asked about an antidepressant. The doctor said an antidepressant wasn’t necessary.
Ironically, my mother became hysterical after the doctor told her that he couldn’t line up an appointment with a hand surgeon sooner than one week away, and she cried her way out of his office.
After arriving home, my father told me that the doctor didn’t think she needed an antidepressant. When I objected, my father got angry. So repeat: “Does the doctor live here to see what’s going on?!”
Even if I get the antidepressants, she’ll refuse to take them.
“Not necessarily. Take things one step at a time. Cross that bridge when you get to it.”
Examine your unique circumstances. In my mother’s case, we could have easily given her Cymbalta without her knowing it was an antidepressant, calling it an “anxiety pill” instead (which Cymbalta is also prescribed for anyways), because my mother never goes online and thus would never Google Cymbalta.
If I tell her it’s an antidepressant, she’ll refuse to take it, and if I lie, she’ll look it up on the Internet anyways and find out.
“Tell her it’s an antidepressant and tell her you think it’s the right thing to do; when she sees you support antidepressant treatment, she’ll likely follow suit.”
This is exactly what happened with my mother; the moment my father relaxed his opposition to antidepressants, my mother instantly deferred to his judgment.
Crying spells are a symptom of depression, and my mother had plenty, but my father insisted: She keeps crying because of all the pain she’s in (carpal tunnel syndrome).
She must REALLY be feeling excruciating pain to be crying like that. The pain is what’s depressing her.
“Have you noticed that most of the time when she cries, she’s NOT reporting any physical pain?”
(My mother’s carpal tunnel syndrome pain triggered multitudes of sobbing episodes, but more sobbing episodes were during pain-free periods).
Point out to the spouse all the non-pain-related reasons that the depressed person has been weeping; reasons that should not make an emotionally well person break down.
Point out that when pain is severe enough, it’s impossible to cry: “A person will groan, moan, curse or holler, or even pass out, from truly excruciating pain. Who weeps upon stubbing a toe?”
“Think of the worst pain you’ve ever had; did you weep and weep? Maybe you screamed, but you didn’t sob.
Weeping is not a normal response to physical pain; it’s a response to EMOTIONAL pain, which can be brought on by moderate or even mild pain in a severely depressed individual.”
Point out that the crying sounds like she just learned her best friend died in a fire (which was exactly how my mother’s crying sounded).
She’s always been this way with pain. Point out how untrue this statement is, by citing examples. I cited examples of how my mother had responded in the past to physical pain (absolutely no crying or even teary eyes).
Never be afraid to use the word “depressed” repeatedly when referring to the patient.
Don’t give up. Keep harping on the fact that clinical depression will not disappear on its own; that nobody snaps out of this kind of depression; that you cannot talk a person out of FEELING the despair and darkness of major depression; and that, for Pete’s sake, since when is it normal to completely shut down, entire body and appetite and social connections and all, over carpal tunnel syndrome (or whatever relatively minor circumstance applies to your loved-one)?
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
IBS Relief from Bloating, Stomach Pain with Antibiotic Drug
Wouldn’t it be great if your IBS stomach cramping and pain and bloating could be relieved with a simple antibiotic drug?
IBS relief that lasts is here with an FDA approved drug, thanks to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
In this study, IBS patients reported continued relief of irritable bowel syndrome symptoms after going off the drug, called rifaximin.
This is a minimally absorbed antibiotic; it remains in the gut.
The trade name for the drug is Xifaxan.
“The study out of Cedar-Sinai was one of the studies that led to the approval of Xifaxan for IBS-D (diarrhea predominant IBS),” says Alan Gingold, DO, a board certified gastroenterologist with Central Jersey Ambulatory Surgical Center.
Dr. Gingold continues, “The study showed that a course of Xifaxan not only helped with the IBS symptoms of diarrhea but also helped with the abdominal pain and bloating that accompanies IBS.
“These symptom improvements seemed to be sustained beyond the time that the patient was on antibiotics and seemed to last for weeks to months beyond the course of antibiotics.
This also brought up the idea that there is an association between IBS and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) — and treatment of the SIBO improves the IBS.”
Consistency of stools also stayed improved in the study subjects.
The effect of Xifaxan supports the idea that gut bacteria trigger the symptom group known as irritable bowel syndrome, a chronic condition that affects 30 million U.S. people.
For some sufferers if IBS, treatment isn’t very effective. Treatment options include fiber supplements and changes in diet.
Xifaxan offers hope for these patients, especially since its benefits keep working weeks after the antibiotic is stopped.
Irritable bowel syndrome is typically diagnosed after all other possible causes of the symptoms have been excluded.
The symptoms of colon cancer are strikingly similar to those of IBS.
This is why you must have a colonoscopy if you’re experiencing any of the following symptoms:
• Unexplained Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Abdominal Cramping or Pain
• Abdominal Distension
• Bloating
• Excessive Gas
• Change In Stool Caliber
• Blood In The Stools
• Weight Loss
• Fatigue
• Diarrhea that Alternates with Constipation
Dr. Gingold attributes his success to the extra time he spends with his patients. His areas of expertise include reflux disease, Barrett’s esophagus, capsule endoscopy, chronic liver disease and inflammatory bowel disease. Dr. Alan Gingold is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Gastroenterology
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Shutterstock/sasha2109
Source: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (2011, January 5). Antibiotic treatment effective in treating irritable bowel syndrome. ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 5, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2011/01/110105194836.htm
Can You Be Too Old to Get IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)?
Are you thinking, “I can’t possibly have IBS because I’m too old!”? Then think again. You can be as old as the hills and still develop irritable bowel syndrome.
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An individual being too old for IBS?
“No! We need to first better understand IBS in order to see why different people develop this disease at different ages,” says Pejman Katiraei, DO, FAAP, an integrative physician whose many areas of specialty include adult and pediatric IBS.
Let’s examine the gut’s foundation. Some people are genetically predisposed to intestinal problems more than are other people.
This is why two people may eat the same bacteria-contaminated food, but only one gets sick.
“Was it the bacteria or the person?” says Dr. Katiraei. “To me, it was the person’s weak intestines that couldn’t handle the bacteria that was the problem, not the bacteria itself.
“By looking at things in this way and treating the problem underneath everything, we can help increase the resiliency of people and keep them healthy.
“There are ways to overcome genetic weaknesses. Having a gene does not mean you have to have the disease.”
Regarding IBS, there are individuals who have weaknesses in their intestines, whether it is a lack of digestive enzymes or a hyperactive immune response.
For some people, this may lead to subtle food reactions. This manifests in infants as colic or reflux.
“As these children grow up, they then develop ‘allergies’ with a chronic runny nose –- these children (and adults) are not having a reaction to the environment, but rather, they are reacting to the foods they are eating.”
With these kids are often recurring ear infections, which means recurring antibiotic ingestion. The human gut has “good” and “bad” bacteria.
Antibiotics kill the bad bacteria, but they also destroy the good, beneficial bacteria in the intestines. This weakens the intestines, perpetuating the vicious cycle.
“Next thing you know, the child ‘suddenly’ has IBS. It wasn’t ‘sudden!’ We just couldn’t recognize all the complaints that started in infancy.
“If that child was taken off dairy and/or gluten earlier in life, chances are they would have never developed IBS.”
Things play out differently with adults, continues Dr. Katiraei. Emotional stress kicks up the gut’s immune system.
In those with a hyperactive immune system, chronic stress results in an immune response that does not know how to shut itself off, as it would in a person who is blessed with a genetic predisposition to a resilient gut.
“As such, the immune system starts irritating the inside of the intestines, and this irritation ultimately shows up as IBS,” says Dr. Katiraei.
IBS does not have one cookie-cutter cause, which is why you cannot be too old to develop this condition.
An example would be a 50-something who’s always been healthy and takes a trip out of the country.
They suffer some temporary digestive upset from some bad food they ate in the other country and then forget about it.
Years later, says Dr. Katiraei, they “‘suddenly’ develop IBS after a seemingly minor flu or other illness. While this person may not have any genetic vulnerabilities, the parasite that they caught while on travel caused subtle but perpetual inflammation or irritation in their intestines.
“Then, any minor insult on top of the irritation causes the intestines to stop functioning well, which then results in an IBS picture.
“I have seen countless cases where once a person gets treated for a parasite, fungus, or odd bacteria, all of the sudden their IBS symptoms get better. IBS can show up at any age. It just depends what is causing the IBS to show up.”
Now that you know you can’t be too old to develop irritable bowel syndrome, realize that the older you get, the more likely that your IBS-like symptoms may actually be colon cancer!
In other words, don’t assume you have IBS and think it can’t be colon cancer because after all these years you’ve always been healthy.
Risk of colon cancer goes up with age, spiking after age 50.
If you have unexplained diarrhea, constipation, bloating, abdominal pain, weight loss or fatigue exceeding a few weeks, see a gastroenterologist to rule out colon cancer.
The diagnosis of IBS is made after a complete series of tests rule out other causes of your GI symptoms.
Dr. Katiraei created Wholistic Kids and Families for people interested in learning how to raise a healthy child (and future adult) in a world that’s becoming increasingly polluted with toxins (chemical and emotional).
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
Sudden Headache While Lifting Weights: Causes and Solutions
A dangerous bleeding in the brain can be the cause of a sudden and severe headache that comes on during weightlifting.
Now let’s suppose you’re a longtime enthusiast of building muscle.
You’ve been pumping serious iron for years and have always felt fine.
Then one day in the gym as you strain for that last repetition in the squat rack – BOOM!
A sudden, really bad clap of a headache. Out of nowhere.
After you rack the barbell the headache is still there and lasts the rest of your time at the gym.
“Sudden onset of headache with intense exercise needs to be investigated,” explains Dr. Brian Loftus, a board certified neurologist in Bellaire, Texas, who specializes in migraine headaches and multiple sclerosis.
“The first job of the physician investigating is to rule out an intracranial bleed,” continues Dr. Loftus.
“If the patient is seen at the time of the headache – this can usually be done with a CT scan of the brain along with a lumbar puncture.
“If the patient is not seen near the time of the acute headache, then it is harder to rule out a bleed.”
If during a weightlifting set the athlete experiences a sudden bleeding in the brain, the cause would be a tear in a blood vessel.
But this cerebral blood vessel would have to have a pre-existing weakness in its inner wall.
This weakness causes the vessel to bulge or become dilated (aneurysm) – and all the while, maybe years, the athlete does not know this.
Brain aneurysm. Shutterstock/Veronika Zakharova
Until that moment while straining during a weightlifting set: the blood vessel tears. This is an aneurysm rupture.
Rising Blood Pressure when Lifting Weights
When you lift hard and heavy, blood pressure will significantly rise. This puts pressure on the inner walls of blood vessels.
That’s okay, too, as long as these inner walls are sturdy and tough.
But an aneurysmal wall may simply give way one day. A brain hemorrhage results.
It’s important that you realize that bodybuilding, powerlifting, etc., do not actually CAUSE an aneurysm.
But if you have a pre-existing aneurysm … intense straining with weight workouts is a risk factor for a tear.
As far as the overall possibilities of causes of a really bad headache in the middle of a weight workout, Dr. Loftus says that “It is relatively uncommon to find a bleed.”
A dilated cerebral blood vessel is a rare occurrence, especially in younger adults.
Risk factors are smoking and hypertension – which don’t go hand-in-hand with health conscious people who take their muscle building seriously.
Sudden Bad Headache While Strength Training
Now if you don’t smoke, have normal blood pressure and are a younger adult – and one day you get hit with head pain at the gym – you should still see a doctor.
If the pain goes away, it’s not a torn aneurysm. It’s likely an exertional headache.
These are harmless, though they can be painful enough to stop the workout.
They can last briefly to a few days and are often throbbing.
The throbbing nature does not mean it’s any more serious than if it were not throbbing.
Recommendations for “Weightlifter’s Headache”
Dr. Loftus endorses a medication called indomethacin for these exertional headaches.
A headache that comes on gradually, slow in onset, is not an exertional type.
The cause may be dehydration, especially while working out in a hot environment.
Stressed neck and trap-area muscles can also be a cause.
To help avoid any kind of headache while lifting weights, be well-hydrated prior to the routine, and keep hydrated throughout.
Stretch your neck and shoulder area before you begin working heavy.
Dr. Loftus
has a private practice in Bellaire, TX, and focuses on headaches, multiple sclerosis and hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating). He is also board certified in headache medicine.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: ©Lorra Garrick.
Source: ihs-classification.org/en/02_klassifikation/02_teil1/04.03.00_other.html
Bad Pain in Back of Head from Squats: Causes Include Serious
Barbell Squat vs. Leg Press vs. Hack Squat Pros & Cons of All 3 Weightlifting Equipment
Barbell squats, leg press and the hack squat are favorite weightlifting routines among fitness enthusiasts and bodybuilders.
So as a former certified personal trainer, I decided to pit the barbell squat, leg press and hack squat against each other. Is one the best of the three?
Are they more or less equal?
Is one absolutely inferior to the others?
All three pieces of equipment – barbell squat, leg press and hack squat – can be a regular part of a leg routine, whether it’s strength training or bodybuilding.
But this does not mean that hack squats, barbell squats and leg press should always be in the same weight lifting routine.
I say always leave one on the backburner, to use when it’s time to re-shock your body into adaptation.
Choose two of the three for your weight lifting sessions. Also realize that barbell squat could mean free barbells or Smith machines.
Sometimes the free barbell squat is done with smaller lifting bars (the kind you can curl).
The hack squat this article refers to is the machine, not the free barbell version.
The leg press here is the floor equipment, which I consider more effective than the upright leg press, though the upright version has its virtues.
The best two out of the three are the leg press and barbell squat – though there are hardcore hack machine users who swear that the hack machine is the best.
Advantage of Leg Press
This apparatus pretty much leaves the lower back out of the picture; whereas in barbell squats, the lower back is stressed significantly.
Shutterstock/Free around
Because the legs are more isolated in the leg press, and your upper body is supported by the machine, you can work with much more weight than you could with barbell squats.
(People who can perform ultra-heavy barbell squats, can often do complete leg presses with up to seven, 45-pound plates on each side.)
There is far less risk for injury during leg presses, since your entire upper body is stabilized against the equipment’s back platform.
This enables you to do all sorts of interesting variations without worrying about slipping or injury: altering foot position and distance between legs, focusing on negative training, deep-knee training, etc.
Plus, if you can’t push the weights back up, you can always use your hands to push on your legs.
Disadvantage of Leg Press
Leg pressing really has no disadvantages. Just because leg pressing doesn’t work the entire body, like the squat, doesn’t mean it’s a flawed routine.
George Stepanek, CreativeCommons
The only “disadvantage” I can think of is that people with very stiff lower backs should avoid deep leg presses on declined leg press equipment until they gain some limberness in their lower back.
Advantage of Barbell Squat
Works many major muscle groups at once, including the core.
A strenuous set of 20 reps, in which the upward motion is more of a thrust, can drive heart rate up to 90 percent target heart rate — you can combine a short cardio interval with an intense resistance set. And 6-10-rep maxes have been known to build huge quads.
The barbell squat, whether done with a free barbell or Smith machine, strengthens the lower back, quads, glutes and even hamstrings. It improves body stability and balance.
Disadvantage of Barbell Squat
Requires tremendous attention to form. There is a relatively high risk of injury to the lower back and shoulders, especially if the barbell is free rather than the Smith machine. Some people never quite master good form.
A very deep knee bend can be stressful on knee joints for some people.
Because the lower back absorbs some of the weight, it’s hard for some individuals to reach a point where they can really challenge their leg power without their lower back giving out first.
Shutterstock/YanLev
Often, a 6-10-rep max is determined by the lower back maxing out long before the legs do.
If you have shoulder problems, barbell squats will be a hassle, since you must maintain a stretched, tensioned use of their shoulders to support the barbell.
In free barbell squats, it can be a drudgery to re-set a very heavy barbell back on its rack.
Advantage of the Hack Squat
Because these are so different from a leg press, they invite shock to the body and can accelerate results or bump you past a plateau. They target the quads more than the leg press.
Risk of low back strain is much less likely than in barbell squats, but it’s still present.
Shutterstock/mountaira
Disadvantage of the Hack Squat
These are just plain uncomfortable.
The position is unnatural, because you are tilted back while squatting. In real life, a squat is done vertically.
Also, most of these machines require you to slip your neck in between a narrow space, and shoulder pads fit on top of your shoulders; so your head and neck are very crammed in.
The problem is when your legs are so strong, you need a lot of weight, but then you can feel all that weight bearing down on your shoulders as you push up. Your shoulders may end up hurting more than your legs.
People with stiff lower backs may feel back discomfort at heavier weights.
On some hack machines, if you can’t get back up, you’re in deep trouble because your hands are not in a convenient position to lock in the platform.
Conclusions
If you absolutely abhor only one of these exercises, then it’s best to limit your involvement to several sets per month.
Otherwise, if you force yourself to perform the activity on a regular basis, you’ll likely output much less than 100 percent effort, when instead, you could be performing at 100 percent effort with a more desirable routine.
If you despise all three — barbell squat, hack squat and leg press — you’re on the wrong track.
You must make yourself look forward to at least two of them, so that every time you perform the routines, you can put passion into your efforts.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
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Top image: Shutterstock/crazystocker
How to Use Your Mind, Not Drugs to Stop Panic Attacks
You can stop a panic attack dead in its tracks with your MIND, without relying on drugs every again.
I’ve had only two full-blown panic attacks because by the time I started to get a third panic attack, my plan of curing panic attacks without drugs had already been set in place.
To understand how I cured panic attacks, without drugs, you’ll need to be taken through my first two panic attacks.
Contrary to popular belief, panic attacks are NOT always triggered by stress or anxiety. My first panic attack began in a dream while I was asleep.
In the dream I was with my brother, and nothing eventful was occurring.
Nevertheless, in the dream, my heart began beating faster and heavier. I then awakened to a pounding heart.
Actually, the panic attack didn’t start in the dream literally. My heart began spontaneously pounding, and this was then incorporated into my dream, like how sometimes the urge to urinate gets “scripted” into a dream.
Anyways, I awaken, and I immediately sat up, heart pounding and feeling very strange. I felt like I was about to have a heart attack.
I couldn’t shake the conviction that cardiac arrest was moments away, even though the preceding day, I had went on a grueling hike up a steep trail.
Anxiety and fear set in, my respiration increased, and my heart wouldn’t calm down.
I dialed 9-1-1 and requested an ambulance. I was in perfect health and fitness, an athlete, a weight lifter, a jogger and hiker. Yet I felt a need to dial 9-1-1 out of concern I was having a heart attack.
I did not have the foresight to bring money with me while I waited outside my apartment for the ambulance.
My heart was just pounding. I was wheeled into the ambulance, and couldn’t believe how my heart refused to stop racing.
In the ER I was hooked to a heart rate monitor.
It took about two hours for my heart rate to slow down enough to where I could be discharged. Of course, the doctor said my heart was fine.
I noticed the numerical code for the diagnosis on the paperwork; I recognized it as being a code for anxiety, as I was familiar with these codes.
I couldn’t believe I’d had a panic attack and thought it would never occur again.
But not long after, another panic attack struck. Because I didn’t think I’d have another panic attack, I had devised no plan of prevention; I was caught off-guard by the second panic attack, which took place while at the workplace.
Again, no stress triggered this second episode. I had been assigned a very light workload and there were frequent periods of no work.
No Drugs!
During one of these periods I was standing but leaning over a countertop, reading a newspaper article – one that I had written, actually.
Suddenly, this feeling came over me. I immediately recognized it. It was happening again.
I straightened like a stiff board and felt like I might be dying. My heart began thumping.
My breathing seemed funny. I faced the head foreman and actually entertained the idea of asking him to dial 9-1-1.
No, I will not do that. I’ll just stick this out. I left my post without saying a word and began walking about the maze-like department, which was filled with people, several of whom I couldn’t stand.
How humiliating it would be to ask the foreman, a runt of a man whom I didn’t care for, to dial 9-1-1.
I maintained good posture, held my head high and continued walking all over the place, in the midst of a panic attack, while nobody had a clue.
I figured if I were really dying, someone would immediately dial 9-1-1, there were enough people around.
I made a few stops at the drinking fountain, and after several minutes, felt that the panic attack was subsiding.
I realized, if something were genuinely wrong with my heart, I wouldn’t be able to sustain such grueling steep hikes.
Further, if something were wrong with my heart, I’d experience cardiac arrest or angina while I was hiking, and I had to admit, my strenuous hikes always went without a hitch.
After about five minutes, I returned to my post, feeling normal again. I had out-psyched the panic attack.
For sure, I had to convince myself nothing was wrong with my heart; proof was in my hikes and heavy weightlifting.
A sick heart wouldn’t last on one of my hikes. Further, a bad heart wouldn’t get well spontaneously, either. THIS TIME, I decided, no more panic attacks. This was not going to happen again.
No Drugs Again!
Not long after, I was at the end of a hike and walking down a gravel road, my car in sight. Suddenly…that feeling came upon me. But I kept charging down the hill, pumping my arms, thinking,
Screw this. I don’t need this. I’m fit and strong. It’s all in my mind. Just ignore it. It wants my attention. It ain’t gonna get it.
Before I arrived at my car, the panic attack demon had given up on me.
The fourth – and last panic attack – occurred at night while I was awake but in bed. I bolted out of bed and began doing pushups. I intended on jogging outside, but the pushups scared off the panic attack demon.
Shutterstock/Slatan
This last panic attack attempt occurred about many, many years ago. I haven’t had a panic attack attempt since. The panic attack demon knows I’m too much work.
Don’t jump on the drug bandwagon too quickly; develop your mind over matter skills to cure panic attacks.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Freepik
Time It Takes to Reverse Insulin Resistance?
How long would it take to reverse insulin resistance with diet and exercise?
So how long does it usually take to reverse insulin resistance with diet and exercise?
As far as how long it would take for insulin resistance to be reversed with exercise and an improved diet, there is no one-size-fits-all answer, says Craig Stump, MD, former chief of the UA Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism (2006 to 2016), University of Arizona, Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System.
He says, “Some people can reverse insulin resistance very easily. I have seen people improve by just cutting out fast foods or taking up a moderate walking program.
“Significant improvements can be seen in as little as 2-3 months. Indeed, a single bout of exercise in most people can improve insulin resistance for between a few hours to 24 hours.
“This is why it is often recommended that people partake in physical activity nearly every day.”
If you have not been exercising, and especially if your job has you seated for most of the time, then adding exercise to your life will be a significant variable in reversing insulin resistance if you have it.
Shutterstock/Jasminko Ibrakovic
A fasting glucose reading should be between 60 and 99 ml/dL. The range for pre-diabetes is 100 to 125.
“When glucose is elevated above 100, this is evidence that the body can no longer compensate for insulin resistance,” says Dr. Stump. Over 125 is considered diabetes.
However, it’s not that simplistic. One fasting glucose reading between 100 and 125 does not automatically get a person a diagnosis of insulin resistance.
Other factors must be considered, such as that person’s cholesterol profile, blood pressure and body weight.
A higher than normal fasting glucose reading may result from a bad night’s sleep the morning prior to the test, according to some preliminary studies (i.e., Spiegel et al).
Thus, if you plan on taking a fasting glucose test, make sure that it follows a good night’s sleep.
In an attempt to reverse insulin resistance, which is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes, a person may not be getting the desired results, despite seemingly doing everything he or she is supposed to be doing. This includes a failure at weight loss.
Failure to lose weight can result from inefficient exercise.
For example, a man at the gym reported to me that he was not able to lose weight, despite using the treadmill faithfully.
One look at him while he was walking on the treadmill, and I instantly knew what the problem was:
He kept holding onto the equipment, and thus, wasn’t really walking at all, but just gliding through supported motions.
I told him to swing his arms; he lost eight pounds in one month without caloric reduction.
Dr. Stump says, “Some people tend to eat more (imperceptible) when they begin an exercise program (although they swear up and down that they are eating no different).”
This will interfere with weight loss attempts, and losing weight is so important for reversing insulin resistance – if you’re overweight, that is.
“Being slightly calorically negative through dietary restraint and physical activity is the best way to reduce insulin resistance,” continues Dr. Stump.
“This is nearly impossible if high caloric density foods such as fast food are plentiful.
“Other recommendations that are made are to avoid simple sugars and starches (white noodles, white rice, white bread and flour).
“Rather, it is advised to consume more complex carbohydrates and to mix these with protein and fat in a given meal.
“However, these are not uniformly accepted or recognized by medical and nutrition specialists as being effective.”
On the other hand, the fitness-professional industry swears by this protocol, that carbohydrates should be eaten with protein and “good” fats.
So if you want rice (wild, brown or basmati), have an egg white omelet cooked in olive oil with it, or a handful of nuts.
Plus, the best time for your body to metabolize any kind of carbohydrates is within 30 minutes or so of hard exercise.
To reverse insulin resistance, practice these guidelines and then have another fasting glucose reading taken (after a good night’s sleep) after a few months to see if there’s any improvement.
Dr. Stump’s
research interests included insulin resistance resulting from physical inactivity, obesity and the metabolic syndrome, and identifying biological markers to predict progression of diabetes. Dr. Stump passed away in May 2019 after a brief illness.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: ©Lorra Garrick
Can Anxiety and Stress Cause Insulin Resistance?
Wondering if insulin resistance can be caused by anxiety and emotional stress?
“Insulin resistance is when insulin is no longer able to trigger the same physiological response as it once did, or as is normal,” says Craig Stump, MD, former chief of the UA Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism (2006 to 2016), University of Arizona, Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System.
Insulin resistance is a forerunner to diabetes, says Dr. Stump.
If you clicked on this article, you probably already know some facts about insulin resistance, such as that “it requires more insulin to achieve the same effect as a lesser amount did under normal or insulin sensitive conditions,” continues Dr. Stump.
The primary causes of insulin resistance (or prediabetes) are lack of exercise; being overweight; and a diet with too many quick-acting carbohydrates (such as those found in any sugary foods, plus white rice, white bread and fruit juice).
Dr. Stump continues, “Stress can definitely cause insulin resistance and this is partly due to stress hormones including those produced by the adrenal gland.
“However, when I say this I am talking about severe stress such as severe injury, illness, surgery or deprivations.”
But what about stress of the psychological kind, such as the stress of daily living?
Can anxiety and stress be a cause, or even a contributing factor, to insulin resistance?
After all, stress increases production of certain hormones that, when left circulating and unopposed in the body, can be detrimental over time (e.g., high blood pressure, increased stroke risk).
“For example, anxiety may prolong the daily release of the stress hormone cortisol, which is predominantly released at dawn under normal conditions,” says Dr. Stump.
“Vigorous exercise likely opposes cortisol through a variety of mechanisms.
“Therefore, if you suffer from chronic stress while remaining sedentary, then slight but persistent cortisol elevations could contribute to metabolic dysregulation and deterioration of your health.”
Dr. Stump says he frequently hears about stress from his patients.
“They are forever blaming their lack of blood sugar control on increased stress.
” This is a much more difficult question which is fraught with potential abuse for excusing all sorts of unhealthy behavior, because if insulin resistance or poor glucose control can be blamed on ‘stress,’ then it is no longer the patient’s responsibility; it is due to outside influences beyond their control.
“This hypothesis also falters in that there are plenty of people with stress who are not insulin resistant.”
Even if anxiety and mental stress can outright cause prediabetes or insulin resistance, this does not absolve the patient from responsibility.
Because if you suffer from anxiety, this is all the more reason to ramp up physical activity.
Shutterstock/Jacob Lund
Bouts of intense physical exertion of a structured nature increase release of human growth hormone and testosterone (in ladies, too), and these potent fat-burning substances neutralize cortisol and another stress hormone, adrenaline.
And when you stick to an exercise program, you are more inspired to eat healthy foods and cut back on sugary foods.
So, with healthier eating and exercise adherence at play, what’s the invariable result?
Weight loss! With a healthier body and dramatically improved mood from exercise, you will sleep better, and sleep is very important for stabilizing blood sugar levels.
Dr. Stump explains, “The most notable and intriguing may be that relative sleep deprivation can cause insulin resistance.
“There have recently been preliminary studies suggesting that even one night of poor or inadequate sleep can make one more insulin resistant.
“On the other hand, exercise is definitely a physiological stressor that is well-known to improve insulin sensitivity.
“Whereas, remaining sedentary would not be considered ‘stressful,’ yet this is a primary cause of insulin resistance.”
In conclusion, no matter how much stress you have in your life…I’m going to be simplistic with this…but…hit the gym.
Anybody who engages in bouts of intense exercise will tell you that this does wonders for a harried, stressed-out soul.
Don’t fight anxiety and stress by overeating or filling up on sugary sodas, ice cream, cakes and cookies — which can lead to prediabetes or insulin resistance.
Dr. Stump’s research interests included insulin resistance resulting from physical inactivity, obesity and the metabolic syndrome, and identifying biological markers to predict progression of diabetes. Dr. Stump passed away in May 2019 after a brief illness.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Freepik
Insulin Resistance: How Long Does It Take to Reverse?
Insulin resistance can be reversed with diet and exercise, but how long does it usually take?
So how long should it take to reverse your insulin resistance? I asked Dr. David Edelson, MD, board certified in internal and bariatric medicine, one of the top obesity experts in the U.S., and founder and medical director HealthBridge and thin-site.com.
Insulin resistance can lead to prediabetes, which of course can morph into type 2 diabetes.
Thus, it’s extremely important to reverse insulin resistance, even though the time it takes will not occur overnight.
How long it took to acquire insulin resistance didn’t happen overnight, either.
Dr. Edelson explains, “I’ve seen our patients with early stage insulin resistance able to reverse it and normalize their fasting insulin levels in 6-12 weeks.”
The three key areas to work on, when it comes to reversing insulin resistance, are:
Weight Loss
Exercise
Changes in Diet
Dr. Edelson continues, “If you let the ‘fuse burn’ too far, it becomes harder and harder to reverse insulin resistance.”
Insulin resistance can be thought of as being on a continuum. On one end, the left side, is normal glucose metabolism.
All the way at the other end, on the right side of the continuum, is type 2 diabetes. These two points are connected by a fuse.
It ignites at the left end at early insulin resistance, but if left untreated, that lit fuse burns its way along the continuum, towards the prediabetic point, and as it progresses further down the continuum, it becomes more difficult to reverse.
Dr. Edelson says, “There also is a point where it can no longer be reversed, when the pancreas has essentially ‘burned out’ and can no longer produce enough insulin to meet the body’s needs.
“This is why it is so important to intervene as early as possible in the course of this condition.”
Weight Loss
Make sure this is loss of fat, not muscle. A “starvation” or severe calorie restriction diet won’t work long-term.
Portion control is the key. Take inventory of the kind of portions you usually have!
So practice portion control and don’t skip meals; long periods in between meals may slow metabolism in some people and sabotage fat loss efforts.
Exercise
Ancient man exercised hard nearly every day. The idea that’s been perpetrated out there, that you shouldn’t exercise every day, is full of nonsense.
Shutterstock/YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV
But don’t confuse this with the rule that you should not lift weights with the same muscles two days in a row.
Do an hour of exercise daily, alternating cardio days with weight days. Or replace a cardio day with yoga.
Your highest carbohydrate meal of the day should be consumed within an hour of exercise, if possible.
Diet
Avoid as much as possible foods with ingredients lists that name anything “hydrogenated” as well as sugar and high fructose corn syrup.
Eat whole fruits instead of juice as much as possible. Restrict saturated fats.
Take omega-3 fish oil supplements, vitamin D3 supplements, and a B3 supplement (niacin).
Take the fish oil and D3 simultaneously for a synergistic effect.
Stick to these guidelines and your insulin resistance will almost always be reversed within a reasonable time period.
Dr. Edelson is widely recognized as one of the nation’s top weight loss experts, and was listed in NY Magazine’s “Best Doctors of 2014” issue.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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