health
Keeping your mind and body in check - popular topics in health and medicine to maintain a long and healthy life.
My Cancer Story
My story started when I was a senior in high school. It was the beginning of 2016, so it was the middle of the school year, January. I remember being excited for prom coming up in April, I got my dress before the school year started. It was a beautiful purple sparkly dress with a slit on the leg. But that excitement would soon turn to dread when I started to develop a serious and intense itch on my legs and feet. It was from the knee down when it started. I remember thinking at the time, maybe I ran into some weeds, or my body was sensitive to the lotion that I put on, or maybe I needed to shower more often. I kept it from my mother thinking it would go away in a couple of days, I didn't want her to worry about me. But days turned into weeks, and my mother eventually noticed how scarred and scratched up my feet were, since I couldn't wear socks so much anymore. One night, the itching got so intense that I was itching really bad to the point where I was finding skin underneath my fingernails. I tried to do lotion and take a bath, but it only intensified it to the point where I couldn't take it anymore. My mother had hit her breaking point and took me to the emergency room.
By Amiracle Zawatzki7 years ago in Longevity
Coping with Fibromyalgia
I first heard of this disease in July 1993, I had been having muscle and a burning firey sort of nerve pain and a lot of fatigue. I had no ideas why other than maybe I was overdoing and maybe my thyroid medication needed adjustment. However, for a month, it got worse and finally I was taken to the hospital due to pain that was so intense I was screaming and crying.
By Jennine Donier7 years ago in Longevity
Hearing With Your Heart
Deaf. Hard of hearing. Unilateral hearing loss. Bilateral hearing loss. Conductive hearing loss. Sensorineural hearing loss. Some of these terms may be confusing to you. After all, hearing loss is hearing loss, right? Actually, no. There are many different types of hearing loss and it affects the way people hear in drastically different ways.
By Jenny Beck7 years ago in Longevity
The Side Effects of Ingesting Caffeine
Waking up in the morning can be a challenge for many people. If it wasn’t for the glorious gift of coffee, many of these people would be nearly unable to function. People spend hundreds of dollars each year on their daily cup of Joe. Even during the day, it seems that the American public is nearly dependent on coffee. Why is coffee such an essential part of life?
By Rebecca Weiner7 years ago in Longevity
What It's Really Like to Live with Epilepsy
I tell my dad I don't feel good and walk into my room. I feel a rush of cold water run through my body and my stomach tightens. I know it's coming, but there's nothing I can do to stop it. I wake up in my bed, even though I know I didn't make it there. I look at my pillow and see blood. I bit my tongue again. I sit up.. too quickly and everything goes black for a second. My entire body feels like I'm in a dream. My dad runs into the room, and recaps my seizure. How long it lasted; where I fell; what I hit; how long I shook; how long it took me after to realize who he was. He's already called my doctor and I feel helpless and start to cry, again.
By Michelle Schultz7 years ago in Longevity
Do I Need a Root Canal?
I’m often surprised how many people visit their dentist and recount, they were told they need a root canal. why? As in what’s the reason behind the procedure? Most patients say they don’t know. The follow up question is, do I really need one?
By Cindy Montalvo7 years ago in Longevity
Hashimoto's Disease
Have you ever felt tired? Not normal tired, but really tired. As a kid, I had sooo much energy! I was always full of life and ready to party! But as I got older, like teenage age, I noticed how fast I felt myself declining. Nothing got me excited anymore. I wanted to sit on the couch and never get up again. I was having back pain and knee pain at 16-years-old! I was ready to give up! Everyone around me figured this was depression. I had been diagnosed with dysthymia (persistent depression) as a young child. My life has been far from perfect, so it seemed like a legitimate diagnosis for the lack of energy and pain. After seeing counselors for depression, I decided to see a medical doctor to see if anything medically was wrong with me. They did a standard blood test and everything came back normal. They did a vitamin deficiency test next.
By Courtney Elizabeth7 years ago in Longevity
How Late Is Too Late to Get Your Flu Shot?
It’s well into November and signs of the flu are starting to pop up everywhere we look. Sneezing and coughing is starting to run rampant in the office, while headaches and waves of fatigue are on the rise at home. And those of us that have yet to visit the doctor to get a flu shot are thinking, “Is it too late?”
By Angela Fausone7 years ago in Longevity
Drop Soda for Good
Soda, for some it's the carbonation for others it's the sweetness. Regardless, one thing all soda lovers can agree on is that it's increasingly difficult to stop drinking it once you've developed a habit of drinking it daily. In this article, we will discuss ways to finally kick your soda habit for good, as well as healthier alternatives to drinking other than soda that still taste good.
By Misha Alsleben7 years ago in Longevity
The Journey Begins
When the journey had only begun I can remember it was warm outside, maybe July or August. I came in from swimming one day, and taking off my bathing suit, I realized how weird my stomach had started to look. My right abdomen had begun to sink in and the skin to became rather hard. I of course went to my parents who seemed to be worried and confused at the same time. So we started first by going to my family doctor who of course had no clue what was happening to my stomach.
By amber hatfield7 years ago in Longevity
A Cyst, Cancer, and a Hysterectomy at 32
When I told people about my experience of being taken into hospital in April with severe abdominal pain so many of them told me that I must have been scared. Having an ambulance sent out to me at 3:30 in the morning, being alone, having waves of crippling pain course through my abdomen every 30 seconds, laying alone in a room waiting for pain medication that wouldn’t be effective must have been so scary. In truth though I was never scared; I was convinced that I was overreacting and that I’d be told they couldn’t find anything wrong with me and be sent on my way. I believed this even when I was left in the middle of A&E, crying, “Ow!” out loud, toes curling in pain and banging against the sides of the gurney because the pain was so intense that I didn’t know what to do with myself. When my mum came to see me and I told her what I’d been doing she told me that “nothing is painful enough for you to need to make any noise,” and I felt instant shame at my actions.
By Tuesday Styx7 years ago in Longevity
