OTC Drugs and Dementia
Many commonly used OTC(over the counter drugs) have been linked with dementia(goo.gl/ihYhgc) according to a recent study from the University of Washington
The most commonly used drug linked to dementia was diphenhydramine, which is used in many popular products such as Benadryl, Nytol Sominex, Theraflu, Triaminic Allergy, plus many others. Also implicated where drugs containing chlorpheniramine (Aller-Chlor); oxybutynin (Ditropan) and tolterodine (Detrol) for overactive bladder; and the tricyclic antidepressants, such as doxepin or amitriptyline These drugs share a common feature with other OTC drugs in that they affect levels of acetylcholine(ACh), a common neurotransmitter in the body The short term changes such as confusion and loss of mental clarity are well known to prescribing physicians but the long term consequences and implications of this class of drugs are not recognized
Alzheimer's disease is a one of early senility or poor brain function and is associated with very low levels of acetylcholine(ACh) There is also evidence now that these changes may be irreversible because they produce permanent neurological changes
The relationship to poor brain function and dementia and drugs that control symptoms through lowering levels of ACh should be disturbing to those who rely on this class of drug to control their symptoms whatever they may be
The Study
To evaluate whether cumulative anticholinergic use is associated with a higher risk for incident dementia, researchers examined medical records from 3,434 participants 65 years or older with no dementia at study entry Initial recruitment occurred from 1994 through 1996 and from 2000 through 2003 and data through September 30, 2012 were also included in these analyses
Exposure to anticholinergic was determined from computerized pharmacy records Cumulative exposure was updated as participants were followed up over a 10-year period. About 20% of the population was found to be using anticholinergic drugs
During the evaluation period, 797 participants (23.2%) developed dementia with 637 of these (80%) developing Alzheimer disease A 10-year cumulative dose-response relationship was observed for dementia and Alzheimer disease. In other words, the higher the cumulative anticholinergic use, the greater the increased risk for dementia The highest risk threshold was taking the minimum daily effective dose of one the anticholinergic agents every day for 3 years
Based upon these results, the authors of the study propose efforts to increase awareness among health care professionals and older adults about the risk of the use of these drugs over time Even at low dosage or recommended levels chronic use of these drugs should be avoided
The Message
It seems self evident that anticholinergic use that is so prevalent in the general population should be kept to a minimum when attempting to reduce symptoms, looking for more alternative ways of managing their symptoms
Read More
Commitment and Healing
Commitment creates a new space within you in which you can live unencumbered by your past That is tremendously liberating Amrit Desai
Yesterday I saw a diligent patient interested in doing the energetic nutritional work to improve her health. She had found since I last saw her that her abdominal pain had resolved and was feeling well when......she went on vacation. While on vacation her efforts gradually succumbed to her old habits and her pain returned. When she came to see me she was happy to report that she was getting back on track with her energy nutrition and again her pain was gone.
This clinical scenario is not uncommon and it shows how energetic healing time to change our habitual tendencies. And it's totally OK to do this because energetic healing is a learning process. It requires the process of trial and error. It requires us revisiting old habits and seeing the effects of them on our physiology. It is to recognize that we are human after all.
Energy healing is not rapid as it is when we take a pharmaceutical or have that operation that changes the body's anatomy. Energy healing is subtle and slow like a tortoise but it is long lasting and forever if we want it to be because it's up to us.
Yet when we shed those old habits and take on new ones that are more supportive, we need to begin with commitment that we are in this for the long haul not the short term. This is a little onerous at first because it requires an element of faith. Fortunately the process builds trust which gives us some more trust as we move along in our journey
As we grow in this blogging experience together I hope to share other personal and patient stories that will help underscore the real nature of healing.
Read More
The Mind and Body: An Energy Science Concept
The mind is energy Regulate it by paying attention to what the bodily sensations tell you
The energy medical sciences tell us that both the body and mind are energy fields. Hence there is room for mind in the energy physiologic model of healing. And in the energy model, mind and body are not separate; they are intimately spliced. Mind and body are one. What happens in the body, happens in the mind. And what happens in the mind, happens in the body.
The mindbody concept is impossible to understand from a matter field medical perspective. Although talked about in matter field circles of healing, by the very nature of the way the body is perceived, the matter field model cannot include mind easily. This is because the molecular way of conceiving of the body cannot address the mind.
From an energy medical disciplinary approach, mind and body are intimately spliced. Mind is in every cell of the body's matter field because it is all energy to begin with. You see, if mind is an energy field, that is, a subtle energy field of matter that is not matter ( I can't wet a thought with water), then mind cannot exist in the matter field model. Mind is not molecular; it is an energy field!
Any energy that comes in contact with our own personal energy field has the potential to influence it either positively or negatively. Herbs are fundamentally energy medicines and affect both the mind and the body simultaneously. They have stood the test of time in their actions and have the unique capability of causing the mind to have insights as to what is next best thing to do with respect to the healing that needs to be done.
Foods are also essentially mindbody medicines. Although we don't consider hot pungent spices as anger provoking, nonetheless they do, when associated with other cumulative nutritional effects. Bitter causes mind to become introverted and averse to desire but in excess can make a person cynical and boring. And the astringent taste is supportive and grounding but when in excess causes the mindbody to be anxious and scattered
Read More
The Energy Science and Transdermal Creams for Management of Chronic Disease
In the energy science disciplines of Ayurveda and traditional Oriental medicine(TOM) the use of topographical points on the skin are used for treatment of various disease states In TOM these points are called acupuncture or acupressure points In the energy science of Ayurveda these points are called marma points There is some variability in terms of location and what they represent but the utility of use is undoubtedly valuable The whole body has lots of marma points and the ones depicted in the diagram are three around the ankle
In conventional medicine today the use of transdermal therapies has had a wide application utilized mostly as a delievery system These pharma systems are designed to get molecules into the body that would otherwise be digested in the gastrointestinal tract(GIT) and rendered useless A good example is that of the testosterone molecule that is digested in the GIT Because of this no functional hormone support can be acheived by taking it orally But with the use of the transdermal delivery system testosterone can be effectively absorbed across the skin to provide its physiologic benefits
In chronic diseases such as chronic prostatitis, IBS, GERD, and fibromyalgia we can make use of marma points to deliver herbs into the mindbody for healing
Marma and Transdermal Creams
There are specific marma associated with organs such as the liver, lungs and nerve plexi associated with disease in these organs From an Ayurvedic point of view all diseases can be affected and treated because neurological involvement of the nerve plexi is the rule This nervous tissue is invaded by imbalancing qualities that move to various parts of the mindbody and energetically affect the functioning of these plexi
Transdermal creams can be made so that they can take the herbs across the skin and deliver their effects to target tissues of the mindbody The carriers are energetic vehicles move the finest of vibrational frequencies of the herbs to the respective locations in this case the pelvic plexus The carries move through the nadis and hair follicles of the skin and attach to the synapses of nerve endings leading to distant effects
The point is that the nerves essentially carry the vibrational frequencies
Uses of Transdermal Creams
1 Pain control There is no pain without the mobile energy pattern of Vata which is most expressed in the the nervous system So when we use transdermal creams and affect the nervous system directly we have the chance to change pain
2 Therapy for conditions Conditions for chronic diseases will best respond to the the use of transdermal creams because they address the chronic imbalances that occur in tissues
3 Bringing overall balance By affecting the tissues and eliminating imbalances we have the chance to reverse disease
Read More
Chronic Prostatitis
Chronic prostatitis is a nonbacterial inflammatory condition of the male pelvis and can be considered male intersitial cystitis It is a member of the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, irritable bowel syndrome, GERD, and fibromyalgia) because the cause is the same as its other members Imbalances of qualities in the bowel caused by primarily the foods consumed and lifestyle choices that provoke the energy physiology lead to dissemination to the peripheral tissues Like IC itself invariably the pelvic nerves become involved with the qualities of light mobile dry rough and hot leading to observed symptoms
The presence of fever is a key differentiating feature between acute and chronic prostatitis This is very important because the treatment of acute prostatitis is completely different If a man has chills and fever of 100.5F or greater with symptoms of acute prostatitis then he should be on antibiotics and in severe cases hospitalized because the cause is bacterial
Acute Flares of IC and Chronic Prostatitis
It is estimated that greater than 90% of those with chronic prostatitis are of nonbacterial origin, that is, there is no bacteria or infection in the prostate tissue Sounds a lot like IC doesn't it?
Chronic prostatitis is not associated with fever and similar to interstitial cystitis occurs acutely as flares lasting 2-3 weeks Urological workups including cultures, xrays, and endoscopy are negative In uncommon situations cystoscopy may show bladder mucosal lesions that biopsy negative and are typically not characteristic of Hunner's ulcers(which are unusual even in IC) Prostatic calculi may produce a chronic bacterial prostatitis but this is unusual There is no association between chronic prostatitis and prostate cancer epidemiologically in the allopathic literature
There is no agreed upon best treatment from the molecular or allopathic model of healing but it is typically treated with antibiotics initially These courses usually last for 3-4weeks or more based on the resolution of symptoms and/or recurrence of symptoms This is often the case since the cause is nonbacterial As the chronicity develops in the clinical course men are often kept on antiinflammatories or even short courses of steroids have been used
Anatomically the prostate lives at the base of the bladder and as you can see by the accompanying picture the urethral tube passes from the bladder to the outside through the penis So the symptoms of prostatitis mirror those seen in women with interstitial cystitis Suprapubic pain, perirectal or perianal pain , low back pain, testicular pain, pain referred to the base or the tip of the penis, pain with ejaculation, urinary frequency, urgency, small volumes of urine passed, and a feeling of incomplete emptying predominate when the man is having an acute flare
Due to the hot quality inflammation like IC produces the symptoms of burning on urination and because the prostate is innervated by the same use nerves affecting bladder function there can be pain with ejaculation This latter symptom may also be caused by the prostate itself becoming involved by the hot quality Sometimes the prostate becomes so inflamed that blood may be seen at the tip of the penis at the end of urination
An Energy Science Approach To Chronic Prostatitis
As in any chronic disease there should be a division in treatment based on whether one is treating an acute flare or trying to do maintenance therapy This has been covered in a previous blog post Here are some basic foundational things to do
1 As always use a nutritional format appropriate for one's energy pattern and avoid incompatible food combinations
2 Use of the dinacharya(day in balance) is an important foundational method
3 Consistent daily pranayama practice specifically using kapalabhati can have symptom controlling benefit It has been shown in an Italian study of 231 sedentary men with chronic prostatitis that routine exercise helped symptoms Pranayama is an excellent combined aerobic and anaerobic exercise that stresses the pelvic floor hence strengthening this area of the anatomy which is involved in chronic prostatitis
4 Herbal formulas can be helpful even in the acute stage or flare and gokshuradhi guggulu can be effective in reducing congestion when the gland is involved
5 Basti therapy in both acute and chronic phases can be very helpful in treating the pelvic nerve imblances
6 Lidocaine as in interstitial cystitis transrectally can be helpful in reducing the acute symptoms of chronic prostatitis
7 If foundational work has been done then panchakarma can be a viable alternative in management
Like the IC bladder pain syndrome chronic prostatitis can be healed from an energy science perspective but it requires a disciplined approach and based on how long symptoms have been present determines the length of time of recovery
Read More
A friend of mine is a well trained matter field physician in the field of endocrinology having received training at several prestigious centers in the US and abroad. Due to the unique nature of the discipline he found himself drawn to explore the energy field of the mindbody.
In one of his sojourns he found himself speaking to a group of prestigious energy field physicians on how certain hormones interact with receptor sites in the body.
It was a series of talks and each time he found a sea of puzzled faces as he carefully took them through the molecular workings of the physiology of the endocrine system.
The third discussion led to the same returning polite group of puzzled faces. He repititiously and earnestly went over the information to explain his molecular material. At the break he saw one of the participants turn to his friends and exclaim, "Oh, I get it! He thinks the molecules do it!"
The story describes two perspectives, both valid. But what if, just what if we could entertain both viewpoints. Why you ask? The most important reason is that there is a system of prevention in the energy field work. And I believe we are all after how to prevent dis-ease.
Read More
