Heaven Can Wait

If you have gout, then you know how painful an outbreak can be. While gout can strike from out of the blue, there are some surprising triggers that you may not be aware of.

Do you reach for the aspirin bottle when you get a random ache or pain? You may want to rethink that bottle in your medicine cabinet. Why? Aspirin can drive up the amount of uric acid in your blood. At high enough levels, uric acid deposits in joints (especially in the big toe and fingers) can create gout. For occasional pain, acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil) might be better for the gout-prone.

Dehydration can also play a role in gout episodes. Aim to drink around eight cups of water a day to keep your body well-hydrated.

After menopause, women are more likely to develop gout. This may be why, in younger people, men are more prone than women to have a gout attack. This is because estrogen, a hormone that helps the kidneys excrete uric acid, dips during menopause. (Men in their mid-40s are at the highest risk of gout; post-menopausal women are at increasing risk as they age.)

Family history can make your more prone to develop gout, but you don't have to just wait for it to happen. Some studies suggest that you can help keep gout at bay by consuming coffee, cherries, and vitamin C. its. Plus, apples, grapes, and cranberries all contain malic acid, which may counter gout-promoting uric acid in your body.

According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 70 million Americans are affected by digestive disorders. Harvard gastroenterologist J. Wolf has just released her new book, A Woman's Guide to a Healthy Stomach and explains that women are particular vulnerable to digestive problems. The problem is, stomach and bowel problems are embarrassing and cause many women to ignore potentially serious problems.

As the author explains, this shame and reluctance to seek help—or the tendency to seek it too late—have real-life repercussions. According to the National Institutes of Health, more than seventy million Americans suffer from digestive diseases. In 2004 more than 236,000 Americans died from digestive ailments. Over half of the deaths were due to cancer—colorectal cancer accounting for almost 40 percent of all cancer deaths. And in many of these cases, deaths could have been prevented if routine screening had been done and treatment had been sought at the outset of symptoms. In the United States, Canada and Northern Europe, women are more than twice as likely as men to seek the advice of physicians for changes in bowel function. In my gastroenterology practice at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, 70 percent of my patients are women. And almost universally, these women feel alone and scared. There's no road map, no resource to reassure them that they're not imagining their problems or that they're going to be okay.

Instead, symptoms mean fear: Could my bloating mean cancer? Could my endometriosis mean that I can't get pregnant? I often find myself in the role of psychologist as much as gastroenterologist. And my message for the afflicted woman is this: you're not alone!

Wolf covers diet and lifestyle choices that cause or contribute to relatively minor problems; warning signs of serious conditions; the myriad available tests, treatments and medications; impact of digestive disorders on pregnant women; and links between such disorders, PMS, and endometriosis. Wolf's accessible q&a format, personal stories, easygoing humor, and practical concern for tight budgets and work schedules will relieve much of the anxiety and shame that, she says, prevent many women from seeking appropriate medical care.

Doctors have known for a long time that obesity can be linked to a number of health conditions like heart disease and diabetes. These conditions can dramatically shorten life expectancy for individuals. But did you also know that obesity may be linked to fibromyalgia?

In a recent article published in the Journal of Pain, researchers announced that they've discovered a connection between the chronic pain condition fibromyalgia and obesity. As it turns out, obesity is a common problem for patients who have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia.

The Weight-Fibromyalgia Connection

While this connection has been discussed for some time, the current research study wanted to test whether fibromyalgia—a disease affecting more women than men—would be more disabling for patients who were also obese. In all 215 patients were evaluated, testing sleep quality, vital stats, heart rates, flexibility and strength. Approximately 50 percent of the participants were characterized as ‘obese' while the remaining participants fell under the category of ‘overweight.'

The results showed that fibromyalgia sufferers who were obese suffered from the condition. In addition to showing increased sensitivity to pain (particularly in the lower body), they also experienced compromised strength and flexibility in their lower back.

The Bad News

In short, people with fibromyalgia who are also obese feel more pain and suffer from impaired sleep and other complications that ultimately lead to a reduced quality of life.

The Bright Side

With all of this seemingly bad news, it's important to remember there is a bright side. Patients may find that even moderate weight loss can have a dramatic impact on fibromyalgia symptoms. The American Pain Society is encourage people with chronic pain conditions to adopt a healthier lifestyle in order to combat the cycle of pain, fatigue and obesity that leaves so many unable to perform even simple tasks.

For many patients with fibromyalgia, shortness of breath can be a way of life. However, according to a new study, there may be help for patients. New non-drug therapy might help relieve chest strain in people with fibromyalgia. Two kinds of water therapy treatments also helped relieve the pain commonly associated with the chronic condition.

During the study, Turkish researchers evaluated more than 50 fibromyalgia patients. All participants were divided up into one of three different groups. All of the teams received traditional physical therapy, and two of the groups also received an additional session of water therapy including hydrotherapy and warm water therapy.

Each study participant was treated daily over a period of three weeks, with the exception of Sundays. Following treatment, lung function tests and pains scores were taken and compared to scores collected prior to the beginning of treatment.

The tests showed that patients perceived their breathing to be easier after completing in both forms of water treatment.

Who is affected by fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia mostly affects females. In fact, more than 80% of people with fibromyalgia are women between 35 and 55 years old. However, the condition still does affect men, children, and seniors. It can occur on its own or be connected with another disease like rheumatoid arthritis or lupus.

What are the common symptoms?

• Widespread pain or sensitivity to stimulus
• Fatigue
• Trouble sleeping
• Headaches
• Jaw pain
• Irritable  bowel

Fibromyalgia can be made worse by a number of different factors including acid reflux, dizziness, muscle weakness, nasal congestion, sweating and more. So the news that non-invasive therapy can improve quality of life for sufferers is welcome to those with the condition.

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has long been known to cause several disabling symptoms including exhaustion and disturbed sleep. It is even a cause of routine muscle and joint pain. For some patients, CFS also causes cognitive impairments. Doctors and scientists are still unclear as to what actually causes the condition.

The first few cases of CFS weren't diagnosed in the United States until sometime during the 1980s. Since that time, experts have remained divided about the cause of the condition. Some have suspected that a viral infection may contribute to the onset of the syndrome.

Despite the diagnoses, other researchers--and even patients themselves--have long dismissed the condition. They believe it to be stress related or even a psychosomatic illness. To further complicate matters, recent developments in the field have proven to be both heartening and saddening for CFS patients.

Confliction Information

In one instance the FDA was urged by a panel not to accept blood donations from patients with a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome. The reason experts made this recommendation was to help prevent the potential for the transmission of viruses that had earlier been linked to chronic fatigue syndrome.

Less than one week later, four more research papers were released that suggested those earlier studies and the panel's nomination were based on faulty results and that the findings were merely the result of contamination in the laboratory. This was upsetting to some patients. Although the FDA was not bound to follow the panel's recommendation, it showed that CFS was finally being taken seriously by medical professionals.

In the end, there are still differing opinions, leaving patients and their doctors in a conundrum over the best treatment options for CFS.