By Guest Blogger on January 31, 2012
It’s 1982, and tomorrow I am donating my bone marrow for my 9- year-old brother, who has leukemia. I am his only hope. I’m scared for him and truthfully just plain scared because tonight will be this first night I have ever stayed in a hospital.
I have never felt so vulnerable. Hospitals do that. Make you feel vulnerable, and in this state we often give away our power.
A nurse’s aid waltzed into my hospital room and tossed down my chart and flipped it open. She then excused herself and left my chart unattended.
Did I peek at my open chart? Hell, yeah. And what did I see, but instructions to shave my posterior. This made sense as I knew that they had to extract my bone marrow from my ileac crest, i.e. tale bone.
The aid returned and carefully unwrapped her razor and got out some medicinal form of shaving cream and began to shave … my anterior! Yes, she shaved my bush clean off, this before it was fashionable to remove all of one’s coverage leaving women to look like 3rd graders.
She then, of course, had me flip over and shaved my backside for good measure.
Here’s the thing: I clearly knew the difference between anterior and posterior. Anterior=front; posterior=back. But I felt so vulnerable that I didn’t have the courage to speak up, even to an aid, who clearly isn’t as intimidating to question as a doctor!
For weeks after, I would try to discreetly rub my itchy pelvis into anything I could find for relief. I actually had fun entertaining my co-workers with my various ways to scratch my itch. It added levity to such a grave situation, and for that aspect, I was grateful.
Unfortunately, my brother passed away five weeks into the transplant process. As you can imagine, immense grief ensued.
Fast-forward two years. I have just received a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. My left collarbone is full with a softball -sized tumor, and my chest has a tumor a third of its size attached to my heart and lungs.
As I lie under the cobalt machine, radiation technicians are attempting to align me just right for my treatment. As I’m being positioned, I am informed that I will be receiving an extra dose of radiation on my right side.
Huh? Right side? Even in my heightened state of anxiety, I knew this was an error … one with potentially serious consequences for me!
Alas, a breakthrough. I speak up, albeit a bit too politely, and maybe even a tad apologetically, but I do it.
“Excuse, me. Don’t you want the added dose of radiation to go to the side where the softball-sized tumor is located?”
All of a sudden there is a huddle of professionals, including the radiologist, in the safety zone. That closed room off to the side to keep workers administering radiation safe. It’s not at all comforting when everyone runs for cover from what you’re being doused with, but I digress.
The time-out is over, the huddle breaks, and the officials on the field have issued a penalty. The play will be re-done, this time with the extra radiation going to the left clavicle!
Although I was scared out of my wits, I did find the courage to speak up, which is a good thing considering the stakes were much higher this time than just having an itchy vee-vee.
Now, nearly 30 years after my initial diagnosis and 20 years since my own bone marrow transplant, it’s still a work in progress to stand up for myself. On occasion, I want to kick myself for a question I didn’t ask or a test/treatment that I didn’t demand when leaving the doctor’s office. However, I have come a great distance, and I’m now much more cognizant of that fact that I am in charge of my own health and body. That translates into a much happier and healthier me!
Jennifer Warden makes veggies fashionable, one bite at a time. She is a plant-consuming, peace-promoting, animal-loving, compassion-spreading, environment-protecting, mother, daughter, friend, cook, photographer, psychotherapist and lover of words.
Photo credit: Howard Lake
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By Mark Hyman MD on January 27, 2012
Here’s some depressing recent medical news: Antidepressants don’t work. What’s even more depressing is that the pharmaceutical industry and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have deliberately deceived us into believing that they do work. As a physician, this is frightening to me. Depression is among the most common problems seen in primary-care medicine and soon will be the second leading cause of disability in this country.
A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine provides the evidence. It found that drug companies selectively publish studies on antidepressants. They have published nearly all the studies that show benefit, but almost none of the studies that show these drugs are ineffective.1
That warps our view of antidepressants, leading us to think that they do work. And it has fueled the tremendous growth in the use of psychiatric medications, which are now the second leading class of drugs sold, after cholesterol-lowering drugs.
The problem is even worse than it sounds, because the positive studies hardly showed benefit in the first place. For example, 40 percent of people taking a placebo (sugar pill) got better, while only 60 percent taking the actual drug had improvement in their symptoms. Looking at it another way, 80 percent of people get better with just a placebo.
That leaves us with a big problem: millions of depressed people with no effective treatments being offered by most conventional practitioners. However, there are treatments available. Functional medicine provides a unique and effective way to treat depression and other psychological problems. Today I will review seven steps you can take to work through your depression without drugs. But before we get to that, let’s take a closer look at depression.
What’s in a Name?
“Depression” is simply a label we give to people who have a depressed mood most of the time, have lost interest or pleasure in most activities, are fatigued, can’t sleep, have no interest in sex, feel hopeless and helpless, can’t think clearly or can’t make decisions.
But that label tells us nothing about the cause of those symptoms. In fact, there are dozens of causes of depression, each one needing a different approach to treatment. Depression is not one-size-fits-all, but it is very common.
Women have a 10-25 percent risk and men a 5-12 percent risk of developing severe major depression in their lifetime.2 One in ten Americans takes an antidepressant. The use of these drugs has tripled in the last decade, according to a report by the federal government. In 2006, spending on antidepressants soared by 130 percent.
But just because antidepressants are popular doesn’t mean they’re helpful. Unfortunately, as we now see from this report in The New England Journal of Medicine, they don’t work and have significant side effects. Most patients taking antidepressants either don’t respond or have only partial response. In fact, success is considered just a 50 percent improvement in half of depressive symptoms. And this minimal result is achieved in less than half the patients taking antidepressants.
That’s a pretty dismal record. It’s only made worse by the fact that 86 percent of people taking antidepressants have one or more side effects, including sexual dysfunction, fatigue, insomnia, loss of mental abilities, nausea and weight gain.
No wonder half the people who try antidepressants quit after four months.
Despite what we have been brainwashed to believe, depression is not a Prozac deficiency!
How We Have Been Deceived by the Antidepressant Hoax
Despite what we have been brainwashed to believe, depression is not a Prozac deficiency!
Drug companies are not forced to publish all the results of their studies. They only publish those they want to. The team of researchers that reported their findings in The New England Journal of Medicine took a critical look at all the studies done on antidepressants, both published and unpublished. They dug up some serious dirt …
The unpublished studies were not easy to find. The researchers had to search the FDA databases, call researchers and hunt down hidden data under the Freedom of Information Act. What they found was stunning.
After looking at 74 studies involving 12 drugs and over 12,000 people, they discovered that 37 of 38 trials with positive results were published, while only 14 of 36 negative studies were published. Those that showed negative results were, in the words of the researchers, “published in a way that conveyed a positive outcome.”
That means the results were twisted to imply the drugs worked when they didn’t.
This isn’t just a problem with antidepressants. It’s a problem with scientific research. Some drug companies even pay or threaten scientists to not publish negative results on their drugs. So much for “evidence-based” medicine! I recently had dinner with a step-uncle who runs a company that designs research for drug companies. He designs the study, hires the researcher from an esteemed institution, directs the study and writes up the study, and the scientist just signs his or her name after reviewing it.
Most of the time, we only have the evidence that the drug companies want us to have. Both doctors and patients are deceived into putting billions of dollars into drug companies’ pockets, while leaving millions with the same health problems but less money.
The scientific trust is broken. What can we do? Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. But I do think functional medicine, on which my approach of UltraWellness is based, provides a more intelligent way of understanding the research. Rather than using drugs to suppress symptoms, functional medicine helps us find the true causes of problems, including depression.
I see this in so many of the patients I have treated over the years. Just as the same things that make us sick also make us fat, the same things that make us sick also make us depressed. Fix the causes of sickness and the depression takes care of itself.
Here are a few things you can do to start treating your depression today.
Seven Steps to Treat Depression without Drugs
1. Try an anti-inflammatory elimination diet that gets rid of common food allergens. As I mentioned above, food allergies and the resultant inflammation have been connected with depression and other mood disorders.
2. Check for hypothyroidism. This unrecognized epidemic is a leading cause of depression. Make sure to have thorough thyroid exam if you are depressed.
3. Take vitamin D. Deficiency in this essential vitamin can lead to depression. Supplement with at least 2,000 to 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 a day.
4. Take omega-3 fats. Your brain is made of up this fat, and deficiency can lead to a host of problems. Supplement with 1,000 to 2,000 mg of purified fish oil a day. Consider a vegan source of omega-3 (such as this one).
5. Take adequate B12 (1,000 micrograms, or mcg, a day), B6 (25 mg) and folic acid (800 mcg). These vitamins are critical for metabolizing homocysteine, which can play a part in depression.
6. Get checked for mercury. Heavy metal toxicity has been correlated with depression and other mood and neurological problems.
7. Exercise vigorously five times a week for 30 minutes. This increases levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a natural antidepressant in your brain.
Overcoming depression is an important step toward lifelong vibrant health. These are just of few of the easiest and most effective things you can do to treat depression. For more information on how to optimize your health, see http://drhyman.com/.
Now I’d like to hear from you … Have you been diagnosed with depression? How have antidepressants worked for you? Do you plan to try any of the approaches mentioned here? Please let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
References
1. Turner EH et al. 2007. Selective publication of antidepressant trials and its influence on apparent efficacy. N Engl J Med. 358: 252-260.
2.Eaton WW, Kalaydjian A, Scharfstein DO, Mezuk B, Ding Y. 2007. Prevalence and incidence of depressive disorder: the Baltimore ECA follow-up, 1981-2004. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 116(3):182-188.
Photo credit: walknboston
Disclaimer: The opinions presented in this article are those of Dr. Hyman based on his years of training and experience as a medical doctor. This information is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. All material in this article is provided for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any diet, exercise or other health program.
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By Guest Blogger on December 5, 2011
God, do I love to dance.
I love the way music feels in my body. It’s like the boom, boom ka of a drumbeat calls my cells to celebrate, which call to my bones, which call to my muscles, and before you know it, I am movin’ and groovin’ with pure abandonment.
I loved to dance so much that, in 4th grade, I decided that was it. Move over Jennifer Beals: There’s a new flash dancer on the way. The boom boom ka and I were going to be wed forever.
I spent countless hours in dance studios, pointing, stretching, turning, and jumping. However, at around 16 years old, the magical rhythm of the music that once soothed my soul turned into the ringing of Pavlov’s bell. It became the signal that I needed to work harder, turn faster, be thinner, jump higher, and plie my way to perfection.
I spent several years moving my body with one intention. Do better.
Even getting hired to tour with a renowned dance company didn’t quiet the, “This isn’t good enough” voice that joined me every time I slipped into my dance shoes.
But in 1996, while I was battling it out with myself in dance class, my mom was presented with her own battle. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
She took on the challenge like a warrior goddess presented with the task of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Determined. While she did what her doctors told her, being a child of the 60’s, peace love and everything in between, my mom employed her family as part of her healing team.
We went to meditation and tai chi classes, changed our diet, and found a way to love each other on a deeper level.
My mom was certain that the way to heal her body was through a whole lotta love and tenderness.
So, strange that at the same time, I was certain that the only way to get my body to what I wanted it to do was to beat it into submission. If I didn’t crack the whip on myself, wouldn’t my lazy butt end up on the couch, eating ice cream and watching hours of television?
My mom’s approach was the opposite. She allowed herself to have days of “Well, this really sucks” that were always followed by days where she would paint on her eyebrows and proudly walk out the door. When asked how she was doing, she said, “Gettin’ better every day.” And she meant it.
My mom’s healthy vibrant cells won out over ovarian cancer.(They won out again over breast cancer six years later! A miracle indeed. ) I learned that she did not win because she beat, prodded, forced, or made herself do anything.
She was kind to herself, every step of the way.
When I finally took on this approach in my own life, not only did my body change, but my whole life changed. The extra pounds I hung onto melted away. The self-criticism that spilled into other areas of my life was transformed to a sweet, steady voice reminding that I am doing pretty damn good.
If you’re looking to make radical changes with your body, whether it’s to heal, lose weight or even train for a marathon, it starts with radical kindness and compassion.
Here are a few radical ways to move your body:
1. Get on the love train: We choose our thoughts. You can’t get to destination I love my body by riding the I can’t stand my ______ (insert body part) train. That train ride will only lead to one place: where it is dark and murky and the sun rarely shines.
It starts with love and absolute appreciation for what you are able to do today.
Do whatever it takes to make appreciation for what you can do your primary thoughts. You might have to slow down to access these thoughts, or you might need to ramp it up, but be determined to catch that love train.
2. Set your intention: Instead of jumping on the treadmill or into your favorite exercise class with the intention that you have to burn off the calories you ate the day before, try something different.
Try sweating with the intention that you are going access your power. Intend that you are going to open your heart. You are going to heal. You are going to shine. You are going to become more of who you are meant to be.
This philosophy can be applied to any kind of physical activity you’re doing.
The more you sweat with love, the easier it becomes to be loving even when you are not exercising. This new behavior changes your brain chemistry, which, without doubt, spills into all areas of your life.
3. Add affirmations: I created a playlist and recorded spoken affirmations over it so that when I go for a walk, a run, or even dance around my apartment, I am moving with specific intentions.
I started sharing the playlist with my clients and friends, who love to incorporate it into their workouts.
It’s one thing to think affirmations. It takes it to a whole other level when you are moving and saying them to the rhythm of music. The affirmations become a part of your muscle memory, and they get embedded into your cells. This is where the real change happens.
Bottom line: Decide today that you are moving to celebrate your life. Let the boom boom ka fill you with joy as you move to any rhythm, cherishing the body you’re in and all that it does to support you. It’s has taken you this far. What a blessing.
Money-back guarantee that your body will change, your life will change, and moving will feel more like the final scene in Flash Dance … What a feeling!
Erin Stutland is a life coach, personal trainer and fitness instructor. She is the creator of SHRINK SESSION: 30 Days To Tighten Your Body + Rewire Your Mind and Air In Sculpt. She is one of four Premiere Intensati Leaders in the world.
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By Guest Blogger on November 15, 2011
Does this sound like a typical week? A doctor’s appointment, a massage, acupuncture, daily yoga, therapy, 25 daily supplements, morning green juice, daily meditation, cardio, cooking, and that’s after cleaning the house, getting the kids to school and finishing the sales presentation. Wow, I’m tired just thinking about it.
Healing your body from illness can seem like a full-time job on top of your regular life ? a job you didn’t even apply for.
How do you manage it all without going crazy or making yourself sicker? One option is to ignore your self-care and go on with life as usual. I’ve seen this work for some, but usually not for the long term.
Alternatively, you can try to do it all at once and get overwhelmed under the weight of juggling all your healing tasks with your family and career obligations. Early on, when I was healing myself from multiple sclerosis, I spent more nights at the dinner table crying from overwhelm than I like to think about.
I eventually found a third way between overwhelm and denying the disease. I found a way that honors the healing process without having it consume or define your life. Here are some those lessons.
Start slow.
It can be natural for some of us to take on all the healing modalities at once. That was biggest the mistake I made. I was so determined to stay out of a wheelchair that I jumped in with both feet. I don’t advise it. It’s not possible and it’s not wise.
Instead, start with a few items and build up your self-care muscle. Start with green juicing or 20 minutes of meditation every other day. Any one of these can give you more energy so you can later add yoga or massage.
Self-care is a project.
While you might not have asked for this job, it is yours. Put it on your to-do list. Not just the appointments, but also the juicing, the baths, the supplements – everything.
But don’t put it at the bottom where you will forget it. That’s easy to do without a deadline. Instead, place healing at the top of your list.
I know this sounds like it will create more stress. But it works to shift your paradigm, and put self-love front and center. If you are notorious for taking care of yourself last, illness marks the end of that.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying sales reports and soccer practice aren’t important. Yet if you are sick or too fatigued, you won’t make those anyway. There is a reason they tell you to put your oxygen mask on first.
Plan, delegate and execute
OK, all your healing tasks are on your to-do list. Great. But that doesn’t by itself make it any less overwhelming. Just like that big project at work, break down the tasks, plan them out, efficiently multitask and engage help when needed.
Here’s an example. You want to make green juice each morning, but you also need to get the kids and yourself out the door. Plan it out. Sunday afternoon clean, cut and prepare all the produce for the week. Then put enough for a day in seven separate bags. You can even have the kids help. Each morning, grab a bag, juice it and head out the door.
Make healing fun.
Ask a person who loves their job what they love about it and they will almost always say, “because it’s fun.” Why not make self-care fun?
Spice things up. Try Thai massage. Practice yoga naked. Dance in your skivvies to Lady Gaga instead of going to the gym. Play soccer with your kid, and score parenting and self-care points. Be creative.
Make healing sacred.
OK, the shot I give myself every day is not fun. Having to down all those supplements three times a day is no joy either. How do you get through the yucky stuff?
Make those moments sacred. Take a deep breath. Burn a candle or put on a relaxing sacred CD. (I love Tibetan singing bowls.) Then as you pop that pill or insert that needle, imagine it is a magic potion going directly to the source of your illness and restoring your health. Not only does this take the dread out of these tasks, you also incorporate the power of guided imagery that may even boost the healing effects of your medicine.
Be kind to yourself.
I imagine self-care like a serving tray overflowing with beautiful dishes. There are so many dishes piled up that occasionally one falls off. No worries, I just place it back on the tray and continue on. The same is true of all your healing methods.
Know that on any given week or day, something will fall off. You will forget your midday supplements. You will be too tired for yoga. It’s OK. Don’t beat yourself up. Expect it to happen. Why? Because you are human.
What do you do when it happens? Get back on the bike. Pick up the task the next day.
But one word of caution: Create boundaries around the ultra-important healing tasks. Those are the ones that will set your healing back big time if it falls off the tray. For example, I never miss my daily injection, no matter what. For you it may be a pill. Or yoga. Regardless, create strict boundaries around those one or two things. And then don’t cry over the other stuff.
How will you organize your week so you have the time to make self-care an integral and non-overwhelming part of your life?
Laurie Erdman is a holistic health coach and the Chief Wellness Hero at Chronic Wellness Coaching. She helps her clients take the overwhelm and confusion out of their healing journeys.
Photo credit: Tyler Axtell
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By Guest Blogger on November 9, 2011
Today I got the news that someone I love has cancer. I’m not going to call for a few days because I remember the initial hit of the diagnosis. It is a panic that doesn’t show any signs of subsiding. I remember trying to wash windows several hours after I heard the news and getting mad at the people who told me to stop. I was looking for a brief escape from the words, “You have cancer.” Later that night – after it had finally sunk in – I became quite sick, almost as if my body’s natural reaction was to purge itself of my horrible reality. I went to bed crying and woke up crying.
So I have been mentally walking through the upcoming conversation with this person. I’m sure she is devastated to the point of numbness. I found myself filing through old memories of what was said to me. Some great and some really awful. So from one who experienced it, I can at least offer a few gems of how to talk to a newly diagnosed cancer patient:
1. It’s OK to cry, but not OK to lose it. Unless you are the spouse, child or parent of the person with cancer, do not put them in a situation where they have to console you. This is the main reason I’m waiting a few days to talk to her. I can process the information myself and call when I’m reasonably calm.
2. Don’t say, “Everything’s going to be all right.” You don’t know that. And don’t tell that person about your Aunt Gina who battled cancer and lived to be 101. Guess what, I’m not Aunt Gina. These stories didn’t help at all. I know that cancer doesn’t play fair, and I’m already crabby that I’m cancer’s most recent benefactor.
3. No links in the inbox, please. The offering of information to a newly diagnosed cancer patient is not always a great idea. They are already dealing with information overload. The links that tell you what causes cancer imply that we did something blameworthy. The ones that claim chemo is a pharmaceutical conspiracy will put us into a panic. The ones that offer holistic alternatives such as coffee enemas and angel readings will stress us out. (When will I find time/money for that?). And the ones that offer products for faster hair regrowth are just plain insensitive. Yes, I got every one of those links.
4. Don’t ignore it or pretend like you don’t know when you see them. I was OK with, “I really don’t know what to say.” Cancer reminds us of how vulnerable we are, so as patients we are OK with your honesty. Just remember suggestion number 1.
5. Don’t ask what you can do to help. I was too exhausted to think about everything that needed to be done and then assign tasks. Think of something, make a plan and follow through. Food is always appreciated. What needs to be done at your home? Is it the season to rake leaves or hang Christmas lights? These are things that just won’t get done during chemo but those little nuggets of normalcy are huge for the cancer patient.
6. Acknowledge. Text, email and send cards and/or flowers. Even if the patient is just an acquaintance, positive words are powerful. As patients we are going to grieve the roadblock that has been placed in our path. Reminders of what we have to be positive about put us back in balance and truly support our fight.
The one thing I can offer people who are recently diagnosed with a devastating illness is the unspoken knowledge that I get it. I get the pain, the anger and the unfairness of it all. Even so, because every situation is so unique I won’t compare our experiences or even talk about it unless she asks. Especially in the beginning. At that point, the only thing I really want to say is that I’m in her corner.
Amy Annis, a crazy sexy cancer survivor, is a believer of the healing power of yoga. After teaching for over a decade she launched her yoga retreat business on beautiful Madeline Island, Wi for all levels of yoginis and adventurers.
Photo credit: niznoz
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