Pain, Pain, Go Away!

Doctors and hospitals don’t always make it easy to take control of your health. Last week, I had a CT scan of my heart. It was harder to get a heart scan than a mammogram, even though nobody in my family has ever had a breast condition more serious than a pimple. This effective, inexpensive but under-used tool in cardiac medicine takes pictures of your heart that show how much calcium is there (i.e., a calcium score). The more calcium you have in your arteries, the more likely you are to have a heart attack or stroke. In many cases, the calcium buildup, or plaque, can be reduced or prevented. Since my biological mother died of a massive stroke at 54, and many members of her family have or had heart disease, I thought it would be wise to have a scan before my own heart attack or stroke. That’s just good planning. Everybody I talked to at the hospital wanted to know which doctor ordered the test and seemed confused because I ordered it myself; today I had to sign a release form to get a

Who would have guessed that a trip to the grocery store could be so astonishing? I don’t often venture into the aisles of the grocery store—unless I need tea or canned tuna or somesuch, I stick to the meat, dairy and produce sections. I understand things like eggs, lettuce, grapefruit and sliced ham. Lately, I’ve seen some oddities when looking for things like oat bran in the aisles: Onion flavoring. What’s wrong with a real onion? Is less than a buck a pound too much to pay? Is chopping it too much work? Labels proclaiming “Real Sugar!” I’d expect to see this in the baking aisle, but the labels were on soft drinks. Maybe it’s because the sugar-free craze of the 1970s is etched in my mind that this strikes me as odd. (If you don’t remember the 70s, it was a time when people were a lot thinner.) If Bill Cosby ever revives his comedy routine about giving his kids chocolate cake for breakfast (because he thought that wheat, eggs and milk were healt

Years ago, I had suffered such bad and frequent headaches that I saw a doctor--something I rarely did. He asked me what my complaint was, I said it was headaches, and he referred me to a hospital to get a $700 scan. Not having $700 or health insurance, the headaches continued. I've since read that some doctors get a referral fee from hospitals when they send patients there. I suppose that even making a pretense of trying to diagnose the cause of my headaches might have cost him his kickback. I've since found five causes of my headaches, though I doubt anything would have turned up on an MRI. Sinus pressure. Sinus headaches are behind the eyes, in the cheeks and sometimes in the upper teeth. I take Sudafed PE for these, as often as directed. Acupressure at the points beside my nostrils helps, too. TMJ. This can feel like a sinus headache. If relaxing my jaw for a few minutes helps, I know it's at least partly from carrying tension there. I put in my splint, take ibuprofin,

Until recently, I went for two years without a cold. Normally, I get one every winter. Of course, once I started bragging about my good fortune, I caught cold. There are some cold medicines out there that my friends and family and I have tried. Our results: Mucinex: This stuff really does clear out mucous. It won't however, clear up pneumonia. (Someone I won't name really did think this would work.) Nevertheless, it's worth the price, and cheaper store brands area available that contain the same active ingredient (guaifenesin). Umcka Cold Care: I've popped four or five of these a day since Friday, when a cold started coming on. It's Tuesday and my cold is gone. I didn't have sinus pain or a stuffy nose at all--just a runny nose that felt like hay fever. Buy this with a box of tissues. Sudafed PE: This works as well for me as the original Sudafed. If I'm really congested, I have to take several doses (as directed) to get relief. The store brands are cheaper;

Sasha always attracted admirers, but didn't like to be petted by them. He was handsome and fluffy, but I heard he bit someone who put his hand over the fence. He was more cat than dog, but ended up with a common canine disease: oral melanoma, a cancer of the mouth. My vet, Dr. McCarthy, said he'd live three months if I let nature take its course, and referred me to a veterinary oncologist. The oncologist was taken with Sasha; Sasha let her look in his mouth. After discussing our options (chemotherapy, expensive radiation, ghastly partial jaw removal), we decided on chemotherapy. A few days on chemo put Sasha at death's door: he wouldn't eat and had become incontinent. I took him to Dr. McCarthy with the intention of putting him down. But she recommended Zantac and a diet of chicken breast and white rice, and no more chemo. She looked at Sasha as if she'd never see him again. About that time, I consulted a holistic veterinarian who recommended a grain-free diet. I ha

It's been three and a half weeks since I stopped eating wheat (except on my weekly free day). I haven't changed my exercise routine, just my diet. Keep in mind I that about the only wheat I ate in one day was two slices of bread, maybe a pita too on a rare day. I've substituted fruit, beans, rice and potatoes for wheat. Results: My cravings for junk food have disappeared. I've stopped snacking on caramel corn, chocolate and diet soda on my non-free days. I eat two tiny pieces of chocolate per day, at most. My hair stays clean longer. Certain foods taste better. Coconut chai tea tastes like a candy bar in a cup (yes, I drink it straight) and even sardines taste better. Since I got a scale ten days ago, I've lost two pounds. I even had to tighten the straps on my backpack today. Three happy words: no menstrual pain. I have more energy. If I were a horse, my name would be Secretariat. My mother, who is diabetic and in a rehabilitation center with a broken leg, agreed

I eat right (well, mostly). I exercise (a lot). How did I put on 20 pounds since 2005? What have I been doing differently since then? My GP chalked it up to getting older. But I went from age 36 to (almost) 41, not 25 to 50. In 2005, I had been on Body-for-Life (BFL) for two years. Basically, BFL involves eating six small meals a day of balanced proteins and carbohydrates, plus two servings of vegetables. It also involves three strength training workouts and three cardio workouts every week. I was also dancing two or three nights a week. I don't know how much weight I lost, but once I started BFL I went down two dress sizes and felt great. All was well. The results of a car wreck and an unrelated illness in late 2006 and early 2007 no doubt caused some weight gain. The car wreck left me unable to dance or exercise for several months; the illness (an infection of H. pylori and acid reflux) made my stomach so sore that it was painful to eat fruit. I ate wheat products instead. About