A different view on fevers
by Philip Incao MD on 03/12/11 at 3:11 pm
We have a mindset that says it’s bad to have an illness, and that health is the absence of illness. This isn’t always true. Fever is the healing flame, the great cleanser of the body, and a critical part of developing a child’s immune system.
Full StoryPain Killers May Be Banned
I am stressed out that I may not be able to get my pain medication, Vicodin. I’ve taken it for years, following a work accident. I’m not addicted. I really have pain but the pharmacist told me that it’s going off the market. Please tell me he’s wrong. I can’t live without it. …
Full StoryDr. Leonetti Responds to Reader Questions and Comments
Dr. Helene Leonetti responds to questions and comments from readers about bioidentical hormones, progesterone cream, Dr. John Lee, thyroid, the effects of getting tubes tied and more…
Full StoryEstriol and Breast Cancer
Over the past few years controversy has erupted over the risk of developing breast cancer with estriol therapy. A study from Sweden (Rosenberg et al, 2006) suggests that estriol can increase risk of lobular carcinoma when used for five years or less, and decrease the risk when used for more than five years. Unlike estriol however, oral estradiol and progestins continue to increase risk after five years. The results of this study may appear to be confusing, but can be explained by the differences in cancer initiation and cancer promotion by different types of estrogen.
Full StoryBuyer Be Aware of Non-prescription Human Growth Hormone (HGH) Products
… For the rest of us who can’t afford real HGH, there are dozens if not hundreds of pseudo-HGH treatments, none of which have been shown to have the benefits of real HGH. They are marketed under names such as pro-HGH, homeopathic HGH, HGH enhancers, secretagogues and releasers.This is code for: “there’s no actual HGH in this product,” but you would never know that from the advertising and marketing.
Full StoryDoes Progesterone Cream Build Up Under the Skin?
Q: My doctor has me taking natural progesterone sublingual pills—twice a day because she says the progesterone cream can build up under the skin. What do you say to that?
Full StoryMany Medicines Spark Nasty Sunburns
Photosensitive reactions are very unpredictable. Some people get severe sunburns and brown splotches in their skin, some get redness, tenderness, a rash, hives, or other types of inflammation (such as swelling or generalized pain), while others, experience no reaction whatsoever. Some skin reactions are permanent. Also, just because you do not have a problem with medication now, doesn’t guarantee smooth sailing every time you take it.
Full StoryConfusing Paid Health Services with Caring Muddles Thinking of Patients, Providers, and Reformers
The push is on to reform health services financing before the August Congressional break. Will haste give us another problematic law like No Child Left Behind? Or is it more important to pass something, anything, to get the ball rolling?
Full StoryTop Ten List to Protect Your Kidneys
Dear Pharmacist,
I’ve had diabetes for 12 years and now I have kidney disease. My doctor just prescribed lisinopril, but after talking to the pharmacist I’m concerned that there is more I should be doing to protect my kidneys. What else should I consider?
Answer: The kidneys continuously filter your blood to strain out waste products. Without functional kidneys we would die within minutes. Many people, including non-diabetics, have the beginnings of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and don’t even realize it….
Full StoryRemapping the Medical Metaphor
I often feel startled by life as many physicians do; startled by the vast intricacies of life, and humbled by the almost unfathomable complexities. But these days, I am concerned that for many in my field the wonder is waning, drowning.
Full StoryBioidentical Hormones – A Doctor Answers Basic Questions
A handy hormone guide from a physician who answers these questions every day!
Ever since Oprah, Dr. Phil’s wife, and Suzanne Sommers have opened the door onto natural hormone replacement therapy, patients have lined up, dropping even from moonbeams for the coveted nectar to balance our hormones, make us sex goddesses, and turn us into youthful vixens.
May I remind you that I have been using natural hormones (recently dubbed ‘bioidentical’ hormones) for 18 years.
Full StoryPopular Articles
Why a woman without a uterus needs progesterone
I am often asked about the statement “she doesn’t need progesterone if she doesn’t have a uterus.” It’s hard to conceive that medical schools are still teaching the idea that a woman without a uterus does not need progesterone. It’s also hard to believe that large number of practitioners consider this statement true, since it is not supported by physiology, biochemistry or science.
Full StoryHormones and Breast Cancer: The Latest Findings from WHI
“Experts” who are saying that synthetic progestins increase breast cancer risk are right, but, we’ve known that since 2002. Unfortunately, these same “experts” are now claiming an association of natural progesterone with breast cancer by default. They espouse that there is no clinical evidence to show natural progesterone is any safer than synthetic progestins. Unfortunately, this is an incorrect assumption and they have not done their homework.
Full StoryProgesterone and the Nervous System
Progesterone is produced in the ovaries, the Leydig cells of the testicles, and in the adrenal glands. Many people don’t realize that progesterone is also made in the glial cells of the nervous system, both in the brain and in the Schwann cells of the peripheral nervous system.
Full StoryNatural progesterone as a preventive for breast cancer
Yes, synthetic progestins increase breast cancer, but there is no evidence that progesterone does the same. Quite the contrary. Below is my argument in favor of natural progesterone as a preventive for breast cancer, with reference to the Fournier studies that address this issue.
Full StoryWhen Seniors Are Over-Medicated
The problem of elderly people taking too many medications is not new, but continues to pose a serious risk to health as well as contribute significantly to rising Medicare costs. The fact is that nearly 20% of adults aged 65 years and older who are not hospitalized take 10 or more medications daily. This number is not the result of shoddy care, but rather achieved when doctors simply follow practice guidelines for several common, co-existing conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and depression, for example.
Full StoryThe Connection Between Language and Suffering – One Part
As a physician, one of my primary charges is to try to minimize people’s pain and suffering. Being both a pragmatist and a generalist, my tools are quite wide-ranging so it was with some interest that I learned about the connection between language and suffering. There are many levels of this. Here is one part.
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