Sleep - What should be natural evades so many of us

The expression "sleeping like a baby" can be confusing. While it's true that babies can and do sleep very deeply, they also can wake up because of the slightest sound if it comes at the right/wrong time. How many sleep-deprived parents ended up tiptoeing around their babies after spending hours trying to get them to sleep - only to have the doorbell or phone ring moments later?

When we were children, we often fought the need for sleep. We wanted to stay up a little longer, read one more chapter, watch one more television show - anything to keep from going to bed. You never know what we might miss if we're sleeping! As teens, many of us didn't want to go to bed, but once we were in it, it could take dynamite to get us out. But then as adults, as our lives become more complex, we have more responsibilities, sleep often begins to evade us. We don't have time to go to bed when we would like, we toss and turn, and have to get up much earlier than our body would like. What went wrong?

Research into sleep and its effect on our health is ongoing and the results are interesting. In 2008, Harvard University published an article called The Hidden Cost of Insufficient Sleep. The author discusses some of the physical effects that lack of sleep can cause, such as obesity and heart disease. This really came as no surprise to many people who do live with sleep issues. This article from Norway, Insomnia can cause fibromyalgia, (2011) also discusses the issue.

Insomnia or interrupted sleep can also have an effect on our mental health. A study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders found that people who experienced insomnia had a higher risk of developing depression than did those who did not have insomnia. Another article examines the relationship between insomnia and depression: Is Chronic Insomnia a Precursor to Major Depression?

There is also, of course, a lot to be said about how certain health issues cause sleep problems. Someone with fibromyalgia, for example, may be very fatigued but unable to sleep because of pain or sensory issues. Someone who is anxious or depressed may not be able to get to sleep or stay asleep. Other conditions that cause chronic pain or even those that cause inconveniences, such as having to wake up several times a night to urinate, all cause interruptions in sleep that then means a restful sleep has not happened.

So is there hope? Sleep isn't taken seriously enough by many people but it should be. If you are having difficulty sleeping, speak to your doctor about it. Keep a journal with the number of hours you've slept, observations from your sleeping partner if you have one, and how you feel every day. Armed with this information, you may have a better discussion with your doctor or nurse practitioner about what is happening.

Sleeping pills do help many people, but there are other issues involved with medications for sleep, so if a non-medication method can be helpful, it is usually best to try those first.

Do you have trouble sleeping? If so, what do you do for it? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section and maybe we can learn from each other.

Previous posts about sleep on my blog:

• Why don't older people and some sleeping pills mix
• Time changes - more to it than the Clock Change Shuffle
• Is it time for a nap yet?

Is it time for a nap yet?

I’m an unabashed napper. I nap any time of the day if I need it. I have to because I have horrible insomnia. One of my friends feels that I can’t sleep at night because I nap, but I’ve tried going nap-less for several days in a row and I *still* won’t sleep well at night.

I don’t take long naps; they’re power naps of 10 to 20 minutes. I can jump right up when I wake, although I do have to admit that on a grey, lazy day, I just may be tempted to cuddle under a quilt and stay a lot longer.

I’ve never been a good sleeper and then, becoming a nurse and working shift work really blew out of the water any ability I had to sleep at night. For several years, I did shift work and have, at times, worked all three shifts within seven or eight days. Then, to try and regulate my body, I tried working only night shifts. Not good for the body, I’m sure. Then there were the years of babies waking in the night, followed by young children who woke up with nightmares and then get up early. None of my three kids slept entirely through the night until they were at least 2 years old. They would go right back to sleep, but they’d wake up, we’d hear them and sometimes they’d call out of fear or just wanting reassurance.

Now, unless we get a phone call in the middle of the night from one of the off spring who call to tell us they’re not coming home, we don’t get disturbed by them – but I still can’t sleep. I may fall asleep quickly sometimes, but I’m lucky if I stay asleep for more than an hour and a half; that’s my longest stretch to stay asleep. And for the rest of the night, it’s sleep 40 to 50 minutes, wake up, sleep 40 to 50 minutes, wake up… and then by 6 a.m., forget it. I’m awake for the day.

There’s some interesting research going on about chronic insomnia. While we know about the medicinal sleep aids that are available, there’s a big push on to teach people good sleep habits and good sleep hygiene. That means using the bedroom only for sleeping and sexual activity, for example. Following a relaxing routine before sleep, no heavy meals before bed time, no heavy exercising either. Another technique is not allowing yourself to stay in bed if you’re not sleeping. If you wake up and can’t get back to sleep, get up until you’re sleepy again. Don’t lie there and think about not being able to sleep.

Keeping a sleep diary is helpful to some people. By keeping track of what time you go to bed, what you were doing beforehand, how long it takes to go to sleep, how many times you wake up, etc., you may be able to recognize a pattern or trigger that wasn’t obvious before.

Now that I work from home full-time, my sleepiness during the day isn’t that huge a problem. I can be inconvenient when I need to go places or do interviews, but I can work around it. But I can tell you, it was hell when I had to work outside of the house. By 10 a.m., I’m just crying for a quick nap. I so admire the companies that now promote naps at work. I am a firm, firm believer in them.

So, is it time for a nap yet?

News for today:
Conjoined twins' surgery halted in Ohio
Alta. surgeons complete 18 transplants in 56 hrs
Vitamin D lowers cancer risk in older women: study

Lack of Sleep Makes for Cranky Teens, Says Study - You Think?

I'm on the duh-study trail again. My latest find is "Adolescent sleep duration is associated with daytime mood." Well then. What a shocking finding from a National Institutes of Health supported study.

According to the news release (I don't have a copy of the study findings), the researchers studied 97 healthy teens from 14 to 17 years old to follow their sleeping habits. The teens were allowed only 6.5 hours in bed per night for five nights in a row (sleep restriction), then a two-night break (a "washout period") and this was followed by five nights straight of 10 hours in bed per night. The researchers looked at the teens' daily self reports on nervousness, sadness, anger, energy, fatigue, ability to concentrate, and sleepiness.

According to the news release:

Results show that adolescents showed increased variability in sadness, anger, and sleepiness when sleep was restricted compared to when sleep was extended. This effect was not moderated by age, sex, race, or the order in which participants underwent the sleep conditions.
The study also showed that nightly fluctuations in sleep in healthy adolescents predict worse mood the next day, and worse mood any given day largely predicts unusually bad sleep the next night.

So here we have it - less sleep equals less happy teens. Any parent could have told us that.

In all seriousness, the authors do say that the research is necessary because they are concerned about the mental health of teens - an important issue to be sure. But their conclusion, that these findings indicate that by promoting healthy sleep habits, we may be able to reduce the risk of mental health problems among some teens, is too simplistic. We know that lack of sleep causes problems, particularly if it's chronic. We also know that teens need a lot of sleep, as they did when they were infants - a teen's body is growing and changing at incredible rates.

My issue with these Duh Studies is that they're sent out into the media world without any real meaning. Yes, teens need sleep. Yes, they're crabby and don't function well without sleep. Now what?

Yet more studies on lack of sleep

There have been several studies announced lately about sleep and health. The most recent, Lack of sleep hinders coping skills, logical reasoning: study, again, really tells us what we already know, doesn’t it?

The first paragraph kind of say is it all, in my opinion:
“Scientists have confirmed what every newborn-cradling, sleep-deprived parent knows: that lack of sleep is connected to an inability to cope with normal emotional challenges.” So, did we really need scientists to confirm this? We don’t even need newborns to keep us from sleeping – a bad night with loud neighbours, a snoring spouse, or just not getting comfortable is enough to let us know what it’s like not to get a good night’s sleep.

The second paragraph: “They also theorize that sleep deprivation is linked to psychiatric ailments such as anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder.” also seems pretty obvious to me. If you can’t sleep, you are going to be disturbed somehow. The longer the sleep deprivation, the worse it will get. Why else is sleep deprivation considered to be a form of torture?

Anyway, the article goes on to explain the findings. But, once again, I feel that this is just money thrown at something we already know. Look at the sleep deprived doctors in the hospitals, pulling overnight call after working all day. Look at the nurses who are working night shift after night shift. Heck, look at teens who try to party all night and then get through the day.

It’s obvious, we need sleep. The body craves it and needs it, or it’s not going to function properly.

Now, is it nap time yet?

News for Today:

Exercise and psychological counseling could ease cancer-related fatigue
Lack of sleep hinders coping skills, logical reasoning: study
High spending on lung cancer in elderly buys little time: study
Adult weight gain linked to breast cancer risk
Improvement still needed in HIV testing in high-risk groups
HIV is spread most by people with medium levels of HIV in blood, says study
More educated people who develop dementia lose their memory faster
Hypnosis for smoking cessation sees strong results

24-hours a day - time for sleep?

Sleep is in the news again – we aren’t getting enough of it and it’s affecting our health in a big way.

Of course, for people working night shifts, getting a good sleep isn’t always easy. As much as we try to get our body to adjust to sleeping during the day instead of at night – it’s just not natural. The story Nurses working extended shifts, are tired at work and sleep little likely to drive drowsy is an important one. The issue doesn’t rest with just nurses though. It used to be that only certain professions worked overnight and those were the professions that were vital to the health and functioning of the community: doctors, nurses, bus drivers, city workers who plowed the snow, and many others.

But now, with our changing society, we have people working overnight at the local fast food places, some mega-store chains, 24-hour corner stores and more. While this may be making life easier for many of us who do work odd shifts, what it does is add to the number of people who are working hours that are unnatural to the body clock and adding to the number of people who may be driving in an exhausted state.

Good sleep is vital to good health, so maybe we need to rethink how we feel about what is really important to us.

News for Today:

New drug curbs age-related macular degeneration: study
Promising new HIV-AIDS drug approved in Canada
Childhood sleep-disordered breathing disproportionately affects obese and African-Americans
Study links blood transfusions to surgery complications in women
Short, long sleep duration associated with increased mortality
Nurses working extended shifts, are tired at work and sleep little likely to drive drowsy
New study in the journal Sleep finds that sleep duration raises the risk for diabetes
Napping a more effective countermeasure to sleepiness in younger people

Lots of interesting news today from different areas of medicine

Lots of interesting news today from different areas of medicine.

I’ve never considered children having thyroid cancer – but it’s definitely a possibility. This is the article that drew my attention to the issue: Early detection critical in treating pediatric thyroid cancer.

Of course, one of my favourite topics was addressed too: Journal Sleep: Study concludes a daytime nap can benefit a person's memory performance . I love it when I read those types of articles.

Sleep is a very interesting topic because too much or too little has such a profound effect on us. These were interesting: Journal Sleep: Respiratory disturbances during sleep increase significantly with age and Journal Sleep: Chronic insomnia can predict future functioning of adolescents.

As someone who experiences a profound, intense itch behind one shoulder, this story caught my eye: Research suggests why scratching is so relieving.

And, as a lot of research is done to help the medical community understand differences between different cultural and ethnic groups, their management in health care, and their reactions and thoughts regarding health care. Here are two articles: Blacks twice as susceptible and more likely to die of severe sepsis than whites and African Americans Less Likely To Choose Epidurals For Post Operative Pain Relief.

Finally, this one was very interesting for me because of my own past: Abuse history affects pain regulation in women with irritable bowel syndrome.

Have a good weekend everyone!
(Don't forget to visit Helpmyhurt.com to learn more about pain and pain management.)

Occupational therapy and physiotherapy

Many people don’t understand the difference between the two professions, so when an article such as Occupational therapy is an effective way of improving the daily life of stroke patients
appears, it can raise questions.

Even after I’d graduated from nursing, I wasn’t entirely clear on the difference between the two because I’d had so little exposure to them. It was only when I worked in a school for physically handicapped and/or deaf children that I learned what each did.

The easy explanation is that the physiotherapists focus on getting people moving, working on their gross motor function skills. They help people learn how to walk again, maintain their balance, use walking aids, and as well as helping them with range of motion of the joints. Physiotherapists also work on reducing pain and inflammation of certain types of injuries. Occupational therapists work on the finer motor things that allow people to regain their independence, such as helping you dress yourself, cook, or work, for example. They figure out adaptations to make these possible if adaptations are needed. OTs can work with children, the disabled, or the elderly, as can physiotherapists.

Of course, I won’t/can’t presume to speak for anyone in those two fields so I will keep my explanation at that basic level, but their work does involve a lot more than just what I wrote. Although their clients may be referred to them by medical doctors, the therapists need to assess their clients, make up treatment plans, and then follow through on the, adapting them as needed. They often have to work with families to help with special adaptations, as needed, or to help them learn specific types of exercises and therapies so that treatment can continue at home.

Both are very interesting fields and can lead in many directions.

News for Today:

Women with severe PMS perceive their sleep quality to be poor
Journal SLEEP: disturbed sleep linked to poorer daytime function in older women
Lower metabolism, eating behavior possibly explain the cause of overweight in narcolepsy
Initial reaction to nicotine can dictate addiction
Treating sleep apnea reduces heart attack, stroke risk: study
Cough, cold medicines not for young children: U.S. health officials
Occupational therapy is an effective way of improving the daily life of stroke patients
Only half of hypertensive California adults take blood pressure-lowering drugs
High blood pressure may be due to excess weight in half of overweight adults

Why don’t older people and some sleeping pills mix?

There’s a new study out that says more than half of elderly patients in hospitals who are prescribed sleeping pills (sedatives) are still using them 6 months later. This is disturbing and I would add the issue of all the other medications with sedative effects that this population tends to take and there’s a huge concern, in my opinion.

While it may not seem such a big deal, people taking sleeping pills to get a good night’s sleep, it’s not the sleeping part that is the problem. When we look at the older population, we see a larger number of people with problems that can affect their mobility, their cognition (thought process), and safety. Since sleeping pills are supposed to make you drowsy, if an older person has to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, this drowsiness could easily make them lose their balance and fall (and breaking a bone or striking their head, for example), they could become disoriented as sedatives can do, or they can not wake up and be incontinent in bed – something that might not have happened otherwise.

There is also the issue of about daytime sleepiness. Many people, young or old, who take sleeping pills experience a daytime effect of lingering sleepiness. This could end up messing up the person’s body clock because of the temptation and need to sleep during the day, starting a vicious cycle of making it hard for them to sleep at night and requiring yet another sleeping pill. The daytime drowsiness could affect their safety and increase falls or, if the person is still driving, could even cause an accident. Someone who is sleepy from a sleeping pill could have cognitive problems, seeming confused and lost when normally he or she wouldn’t be. This could start a whole round of medical concerns from family and friends that aren’t necessary. Someone who is sleepy from sedatives could end up being housebound, increasing social isolation, and they can become less able to care for themselves, starting a downward spiral in self care.

While some of this may seem way off, sadly, it’s not. Medications often work differently in older people than they do in the younger population. Drug testing isn’t usually done in the older age group so it’s not always understood how drugs can affect them.

In this particular study, the sedatives are benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines are also given for anxiety. According to the study findings, of almost 12,500 patients who had been prescribed a benzodiazepine while in the hospital, more than 6,100 were still taking them over the next 6 months.

So, how does this affect us? If you’re in the population mentioned in this study, be aware of what you are taking. Ask your pharmacist about the drug’s side effects; ask your doctor if there isn’t another type of medication that might be safer for you. If you are the child of someone who may be in this situation, keep in mind that excessive sleepiness, memory issues, falls, things like that, could be the result of your parent taking sleeping pills. If you’re a nurse or a healthcare worker, keep in mind that this can happen to your patients as they are discharged home, so maybe you can keep this in mind when discussing discharge planning.

Sleeping pills have their place – not much replaces a good night’s sleep. But we need to be careful how we go about getting it.

working night shift

The story about no link between working the night shift and increased cancer risk caught my eye. As someone who preferred to work nights over any other shift, this gave me reason to pause.

I always preferred night shift – not because the work was easier (often it’s not) but because there was something about the shift that appealed to me. When I worked in intensive care, the work we had during the night was exactly the same as during the day, but there were fewer people coming and going, fewer tests being run, fewer visitors, and so on. It allowed us to do our work and spend time with our patients.

When I worked in palliative care, I liked being able to talk to the patients who couldn’t sleep, speak with family members who stayed over night but they couldn’t sleep, giving support and an understanding ear whenever needed.

Of course, in certain situations, working nights is somewhat easier than days or evenings. At night, we didn’t have a lot of the daily routines, but what a lot of people forget is that also when working nights, our bodies are doing something that isn’t natural. While there are night owls out there, many of the night nurses are not true night owls. Trying to get a good quality sleep during the day is not the easiest thing in the world and the sleep deprivation builds up.

I remember once working in a situation where the day nurses were extremely critical of what the night nurses did and didn’t do. It finally reached a boiling point and until we could get them to work a good slew of nights – not just a few here or there – they wouldn’t understand. That caused hard feelings between the shifts – and that shouldn’t happen.

There are so many people who work night shifts, from nurses to firefighters to bus drivers and so many more. The interesting thing is that a huge proportion of these night workers have incredible responsibilities, often holding the safety of fellow humans in their hands.

So, I guess this ramble was a bit about how I liked to work nights, how I wish people would be more understanding of those who worked nights (even coworkers!), and I just felt like writing about it. :-)

News for today:
Study Finds No Link Between Working The Night Shift And An Increased Risk Of Cancer
Gastric bypass reduces mortality risk in severely obese patients
Half of Canadians physically inactive, StatsCan says
Diabetes control a must before heart surgery
Results of Lasik not always clear

Stress – sometimes it takes a while to relax

Vacation is almost over – tomorrow we start our drive home. Instead of doing the 20 hours straight as we did on the way here, we’ll be stopping for the night half way through.

Although I’ve been enjoying myself since we arrived, it was only yesterday that I actually felt relaxed. I wasn’t exhausted or fatigued – I was feeling good, I felt happy and I really and truly enjoyed the day. It took *five* days for me to feel that way.

According to an article on WebMD :
(taken from the article)
- Forty-three percent of all adults suffer adverse health effects from stress.
- Seventy-five to 90% of all doctor's office visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints.
- Stress can play a part in problems such as headaches, high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, skin conditions, asthma, or arthritis in addition to depression and anxiety.
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) declared stress a hazard of the workplace. Stress costs American industry more than $300 billion annually.
- The lifetime prevalence of an emotional disorder is more than 50%, often due to chronic, untreated stress reactions.

Why are we so stressed? Does life do it to us? Or do we do it to ourselves?

I think we do it to ourselves. A group of people can be exposed the same types of stress and some handle it well, others get stressed and anxious. I know in my case, the more stressed and anxious I get, the worse I make it by stressing about being stressed. It becomes a vicious circle.

Yesterday didn’t start as a good day. I hadn’t slept well at all, as I hadn’t for the previous 2 weeks. The longest stretch of sleep I could get was about 20 minutes each and every night. Of course, by the time I would get up in the morning, I’d be exhausted and frustrated by not being able to sleep. I’d try to catch a nap during the day, but that didn’t help my stress or mood.

Here on vacation, the sleep wasn’t getting any better at all and yesterday I got up feeling defeated. After sitting on the balcony, enjoying the view and weather, sipping my coffee, I decided to stop saying how tired I was and that I would focus on feeling good and not feeling anxious or stressed. I said to myself that I was going to lie down around 9 a.m. and take a nap. I would take a good, solid nap and I was going to wake up refreshed. And then, I was going to have a great day. I was going to feel relaxed and calm. I didn’t use any negative words in my thinking, I didn’t say what I wasn’t going to do (not feel tired, not feel stressed) but what I *was* going to do.

Guess what happened? I took a very refreshing 45 minute nap and had the best day of my vacation. We took a walk on the beach (wonderful!) had a great lunch, went to visit plantation gardens (beautiful) and had another great dinner. Not once did I feel like I had to curl up and go to sleep. Not once did I feel stressed or anxious. I felt great.

Of course, vacation is just about over. But that’s ok because I think I learned something valuable yesterday to take home with me. Every time I start to feel overwhelmed or stressed, I will think about the positive ways I’m going to deal with my feelings, not what I’m *not* going to do.

As for today, it’s raining. Kind of a bummer on our last day. But I’m not doing to say that it’s a shame because we can’t golf or we can’t go to the beach. I’m going to say, ok, it’s raining, I wanted to check out some local shops and stuff.

Have a great day everyone.

News for Today:
FDA Approves Nasal Influenza Vaccine for Use in Younger Children
American's TB didn't spread on flights: WHO
Crib bumper pads pose suffocation hazard: U.S. study
Drivers with dementia a growing problem, MDs warn
Parents' participation in medical decisions linked to self-efficacy
Cervical cancer screening: Too many are left unprotected
Antibiotics overprescribed by GPs
Alberta taking slow approach on HPV shots for school kids
Nighttime dialysis reduces blood pressure

Many topics covered over the past 7 months

Going over the months since I started the blog, I covered a lot of topics – some more often than once. I went back to look to them and compiled them into an alphabetical list. I didn’t include the writing-related posts, but as it is, there are quite a few here. Also, a few show up in a few different categories because they include information from each one:

Allergies
latex
Childhood food allergy guidelines
Christmas trees

Alternative medicine
Acupuncture
Holistic medicine

Appendectomy and tonsillectomy / Arthritis / Asthma / Autism

Babies/Children
When should I bring my baby/child to the doctor?
Childhood diseases
Infections and antibiotics
Paintball dangers
Childhood food allergies
Measles

Back pain / Blood donation / Blood pressure / Cancers below the waist

Colon cancer / Cholesterol / Colds / Communication / CPR / Dementia

Dentistry
Root canals
Dental work

Depression

Diabetes
Rising rates of diabetes
Diabetes foot care

Drug warnings or recalls

Exercise
Get more exercise
Getting kids moving

Flu vaccine / Gambling addiction / Grief / Handwashing

Head injuries / Heart attack

Heat
Heat 1
Heat 2

HPV vaccine / Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) / Living wills

Lyme disease
Don’t let Lyme disease keep you inside
Lyme disease

Med errors / Memory / Mental illness

Migraine
Migraine pain
Migraines and strokes

MS

Nurses
What do nurses do
Nursing histories
Nurses and addictions

Nursing/breastfeeding moms

Nutrition
All in the eating
Coffee, tea, etc
vegetarians
Portion control

Obesity / Organ donation / Osteoporosis / OT and PT

Pain
Pain scales
Pain meds

Palliative care
World hospice day
World Health Organization palliative care

Plastic surgery deaths

Podiatry
Seeing a podiatrist
Diabetes and foot care

Pregnancy / Psoriasis / Rep. stress injury / Hip and knee replacements / Safety

Searching for health info
Searching for health info
finding health news

Seniors
Seniors month
Broken hips

Sensory overload / Shingles vaccine / Sinus infections

Sleep
Is it nap time yet?
Lack of sleep
Time for sleep

Smoke exposure

Stress
Vacation stress
Winding down
Professionals and stress

Stroke
Strokes
Migraines and strokes
Don’t wait if you’re having a stroke

Suicide

Sun safety/ skin cancer
Sun safety 1
Sun safety 2
Skin cancer

Taking medications / Tattoos / TB / Vision / Vit. D

Weight / Working nights

Time changes - more to it than the Clock Change Shuffle

Not everyone does the twice-a-year Clock Change Shuffle and according to the health experts, that may be a good thing. Besides the annoyance of having to change all the clocks in the house. car, purse, and pocket (and Lord knows, we have way more clocks these days than we ever did before), there seems to be a not-so-good effect on our health and well-being most of the time. But - it's not all bad.

Statistics show that there are more accidents in the few days following time changes and that many people suffer from sleep problems as they adjust to the one hour change either way. One would think that it's easy enough to make up for a lost hour of sleep in the spring and enjoy the one extra hour of sleep in the fall, but that doesn't seem to be so. And, pity the poor night-shift worker who has to work that extra hour in the middle of the night. I've done it and man, does that extra hour make a big, big difference in how you feel that night.

Anyway, back to health stuff. As weird as this sounds, falling back an hour in the fall slightly increases our chance of developing breast, prostate and colorectal cancers if you live in a northern country like Canada. The evidence isn't strong enough to warrant any action, but there is a link to the amount of vitamin D you get (from the sun) and certain types of cancer. So, organizations like the Canadian Cancer Society has issued a plea that we up our daily intake of vitamin D to balance out the lack of it from the sun during the winter months.

Now for the good news. Mondays are notorious high heart attack days in hospital emergency departments. Every Monday that is, except for the one following the change back from Daylight Savings Time. Swedish researchers published the results of a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, that showed there were 5% fewer heart attacks the Monday after the time change. Of course, if there's this effect in the spring, we can assume - and we'd be right, say the researchers - that there's a rise in heart attacks the the full week, not just Monday, after we go back to Daylight Savings Time.

Today at Cancer Commentary:

New MRI procedure may detect even earlier cervical cancer
November: Cancer awareness months for several health issues

Today at Help My Hurt:

Rheumatoid arthritis and gum diseases?
November is…

Today at Womb Within:

More bad news about gaining too much weight in pregnancy
November: Raising awareness on premature babies
Yes, your life is going to change

News for Today:

New Drug Approved for Overactive Bladder
Bed nets pay off with plunge in malaria cases in Gambia
Doctor with Down son denied immigration

The wisdom teeth are gone

Well, it’s over. The wisdom teeth are out. Thanks to the happy miracle of chemicals, I have no recollection of the procedure, but man, did I hurt last night for a while. On a scale of 0 – 10 with 0 being no pain and 10 being the worst ever, I’d rate the pain on the right side, pretty darned close to a 9. The left side is fine. So, my conclusion is that it’s the bottom wisdom teeth that are the toughest. Whether that’s true or not, I don’t know, but I only got 3 out, my upper left, and both upper and lower right. And it’s the right side that’s painful. I barely feel the left at all.

I remember when my son had his out about three years ago, I told him to be sure to sleep with his head elevated. He didn’t. He told me he did, figuring that one pillow was elevating his head – and he had an absolutely horrible first day with lots and lots of pain plus massive swelling. So, having remembered that, I set myself up on the couch with lots of pillow that didn’t raise my head, but raised my whole upper body – almost like a hospital bed would lift you.

While I didn’t sleep terribly well, I did sleep and I don’t feel as bad this morning as I know my son did. So, here’s to hoping that this was a major key to helping prevent the worst.

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Today at Help My Hurt:

10 ways to prevent injuries in your home

What’s your score?

Legitimate patients with chronic pain vs drug seekers

Today at Womb Within:

b5media Blogs For a Cause And Raises Money in Support of Charity

Postpartum depression can hit dads too

Pregnant Pause

News: Caesarean sections associated with risk of asthma

Tsk, tsk Ricki Lake

News for Today:

TV viewing, computer use linked to obesity: StatsCan

U.S. firm hopes to end need for vitamin B12 shots

Worldwide allergy, asthma rates rising, report says

Diet supplement can lead to seizures: Health Canada

Visiting an ER - do you make it harder on yourself?

It's not easy for millions of people across North America who don't have family doctors. They don't have someone to turn to when they have the aches and pains that should be checked but aren't emergencies. Unfortunately, their only choice is then to visit an emergency room when things get really tough.

But, after many years as a nurse and many years as someone who has needed to use the emergency room for my children and for me, I've seen many, many instances of people abusing the system - going to an emergency for something that just isn't remotely close to being an emergency; perhaps not even needing a doctor.

In the early 90s, I worked for a brief while in a small rural hospital. I was the nursing supervisor and the only nurse in the emergency room. Luckily for me, during my short stay, there wasn't anything life threatening, but I did get visitors. One, I will never forget. It was a man, likely in his 30s or 40s, who came in around 3 a.m. When I asked what the problem was, he told me that he was there because he couldn't sleep.

Not being sure I heard correctly, I probed to be sure that was what he meant. Finally, I asked him incredulously something along the lines of, "let me get this straight. You can't sleep. Because you can't sleep, you want me to wake up our doctor??" His response, I still remember, was: "Well, I have a cold too."

I don't recall if he went home or waited until a more decent hour, but I know I didn't wake the doctor for him. Sadly though, he wasn't alone in that type of doctor's visit. I have spent many hours in the emergency room of our Children's hospital and there were often children there who obviously didn't need to be there. If you eavesdropped, you would even hear the parents saying that among themselves. And these were the parents who were furious because they had to wait hours to be seen.

I never liked waiting a few hours - something that didn't happen often - but I figured if I had to wait that long, then my child's problem wasn't life threatening. Because, when my children did have serious issues, we didn't have to wait long at all.

So, do you make ER waits harder for yourself by going when you really shouldn't?

Today at Help My Hurt:

Quiz: How safe is your medicine cabinet?
Indiana medical school needs people with fibro for study
Child’s increased weight = more migraines

Today at Womb Within:

And the Duggars’ 18th baby is a….
Should pregnant women be included in clinical trials?

News for Today:

Very Early Mobilization Cuts Rates of Poststroke Depression by 50%
Black men face higher prostate cancer risk
Bone Health a Concern in Teen Boys with Anorexia
Traffic Deaths Spike on Election Day

Restless Legs Syndrome

Have you seen the ads on television for restless legs syndrome (RLS)? Although I’m in Canada, we get several US channels, so we get to watch US commercials.

My oldest son thought that RLS was a made-up disease but, it really does exist. And it’s awful for those who have it. It’s a neurological disorder that makes it so you have to move your legs, you can’t resist the urge to move them. Doctors are finding out more about the issue as well: Restless legs syndrome doubles risk of stroke and heart disease

According to the RLS Foundation, you must meet these four criteria to be diagnosed with RLS. Copied directly from their site:

· You have a strong urge to move your legs which you may not be able to resist. The need to move is often accompanied by uncomfortable sensations. Some words used to describe these sensations include: creeping, itching, pulling, creepy-crawly, tugging, or gnawing.
· Your RLS symptoms start or become worse when you are resting. The longer you are resting, the greater the chance the symptoms will occur and the more severe they are likely to be.
· Your RLS symptoms get better when you move your legs. The relief can be complete or only partial but generally starts very soon after starting an activity. Relief persists as long as the motor activity continues.
· Your RLS symptoms are worse in the evening especially when you are lying down. Activities that bother you at night do not bother you during the day.

While it may seem somewhat comical to some, an uncontrollable urge to move your legs, it can be a horrible thing to live with. If you think you have RLS, there are some medications that may help. The RLS Foundation also offers these non-pharmaceutical therapies that may provide some relief:

Again, copied directly from their website:

· Checking to see if there is an underlying iron or vitamin deficiency and then possibly supplementing your diet with iron, vitamin B12 or folate.
· Looking at medications you may be taking which make RLS worse. These may include drugs used to treat high blood pressure, heart conditions, nausea, colds, allergies and depression.
· Looking at any herbal and over-the-counter medicines you may be taking to see if they could be worsening your RLS.
· Identifying habits and activities that worsen RLS symptoms.
· Looking at your diet to assure it is healthy and balanced.
· Discussing whether or not antihistamines could be contributing to your RLS.
· Eliminating your alcohol intake.
· Looking at various activities that may help you personally deal with RLS. These could include walking, stretching, taking a hot or cold bath, massaging, acupressure, or relaxation techniques.
· Attempting to keep your mind engaged with activities like discussions, needlework or video games when you have to stay seated.
· Implementing a program of good sleep habits.
· Possibly eliminating caffeine from your diet to aid in general sleep hygiene.

News for Today:

Healing a holiday hangover: from rabbit turds to hair of the dog
Sleep disruptions may raise risk of diabetes: researchers
ER doctors give whites narcotics more often: study
Tonsillectomy significantly improves quality of life in adult and pediatric patients
A short-term dose of zolpidem is an effective treatment for insomnia
Restless legs syndrome doubles risk of stroke and heart disease

Can Bed Sharing Cause Infant Death from SIDS?

It seems like a perfectly natural thing to do - bring your baby into bed with you so you both can get some sleep. It's particularly tempting if your baby wakes up frequently during the night. It keeps from having to get up from your own bed to comfort the child or to nurse, if you're breastfeeding. Parents all over the world practice co-sleeping, either part-time (out of perceived necessity) or all the time. But is it a good idea? Could this practice be putting your child at risk?

In 2011, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a position statement against co-sleeping.

"Infants may be brought into the bed for feeding or comforting but should be returned to their own crib or bassinet when the parent is ready to return to sleep. Because of the extremely high risk of SIDS and suffocation on couches and armchairs, infants should not be fed on a couch or armchair when there is a high risk that the parent might fall asleep."

While SIDS (sudden infant death) remains unexplained, the risk of suffocation is considered to be high enough that the Academy advises against the practice.


Of course, thousands, if not millions of children have co-slept with their parents without anything bad happening to them. But one could argue that it's not unlike the seatbelt debate of many years ago. While seat-belts save lives, millions of people have ridden safely in cars without them. It's only when there's an accident that the seatbelt comes into play.

A new study was just published in the British journal BMJ Open, with findings that seem to back up the concerns of co-sleeping. The researchers looked at the cases of 1,472 babies who died of SIDS and 4,679 controls (healthy babies). None of the parents were smokers (often considered a risk for SIDS). All babies were younger than three months old.

The researchers found that a little over 22 percent of the babies who died co-slept with a parent or both parents, while not quite 10 percent of healthy babies did. The researchers also found that as the babies got older, the risk dropped somewhat. According to a press release put out by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine:

The researchers estimate that 81% of cot deaths among babies under 3 months with no other risk factors could be prevented if they did not sleep in the same bed as their parents. The study also showed that the risk associated with bed sharing decreases as a baby gets older, and that the peak period for instances of cot death was between 7 and 10 weeks. months old, were breastfed, and had no other known risk factors for SIDS.

So, what do you think? I wasn't comfortable sleeping with my babies, although there were times when I did fall asleep while nursing them in bed. I didn't even like having them in my room because I'm a very light sleeper and their noises, which are so cute during the day, weren't so cute when they kept waking me up.

Alternative therapies

For some people, conventional Western medicine just doesn't cut it for their problems. Either it doesn't work, it doesn't work well enough, or they feel that there has to be something better out there.

I believe that we can use both conventional therapies and alternative therapies together to get the best of both worlds. I have used acupuncture and love it. I've undergone chiropractics and don't love it. I'm willing to try other forms of alternative therapies too. But - I'm lucky. Our insurance covers at least part of it, which makes it fairly affordable. But what of those who can't afford it? Must they do without?

In Canada, the province of British Columbia is addressing the issue: BC acupuncture coverage begins April 1.


I think that's great news. At least it gives more people the option. And, if acupuncture does help what ails them, it could lessen the drain on the conventional medical system. I look at it as a "if we don't try, we'll never know" program.

News for Today:
New study shows children benefit from drinking chocolate/flavored milk
Combining Internet with Office Visits Cut Heart Attack Risks
Journal SLEEP: Insomnia may perpetuate depression in some elderly patients
Ear Aches Complicate Most Colds in Young Children
Journal SLEEP: Short, long sleep duration is associated with future weight gain in adults
Study indicates diabetes medication may help slow plaque build-up in coronary arteries

It's Tuesday and the news pickings are good

Tuesday is generally a big news days on the health news wires; it’s the day that many journals are published and the more eye-catching news stories are picked up. That gives me an interesting problem because on Tuesdays, I usually have a great variety of topics to write about.

I’ll often read one release and think “aha! That’s what I’ll write about today,” only to find a more attention-grabbing piece a few moments later. Take today’s news, for instance. Sleep is a very interesting topic. It’s a cause for much debate in families when it comes to children, especially teens. As someone who has always had difficulty sleeping, I know how important sleep is and horrid it is to feel as if you’ve never had enough.

But, then I read about the story about children and iron-deficiency. That’s a story of note too. So much of what our children are exposed to – or not exposed to – early in life will affect them well into adulthood. That topic included the stories about parents’ attitude towards asthma medications and flu shots. So, I figured, that’s what I would tackle.

Of course, just as I was about finished my newswire search, I came across the story about depression in women with migraine and I thought, oh boy, that’s a big one too – and one that hits very close to home because I fit into that category. I ended up emailing that story to a few people who I knew would find it worth reading.

What I find particularly captivating about the story with the migraine study is that it, once again, draws attention to how experiences as a child can truly and deeply affect the body years later. Of course, this brings into question the treatments that we use and their effectiveness. If the physical problems we have are caused by childhood traumas, can they be reversed without the physical interventions we end up having to use or is there a more effective way to ease the pain and discomfort if we can understand how it originates?

I know that many people who don’t understand the legacy of abuse do say that those of us who have suffered have to get over it, that we can’t blame our lot in life with what happened to us as a child. I understand and even agree with some of that thinking. I do believe that we are what we make ourselves despite of what happened in the past. I generally don’t blame the bad things that happen to me now on what happened to me as a child. I know it’s for me to make my life what it is, despite what happened in the past. However, if such abuse does have the lasting physical effect on our bodies that scientists are starting to find, then it may not be so easy to just leave it behind, to put it past us.

On the other hand, this type of information may give us another tool to heal because one part of surviving is not allowing the perpetrators to win – ever. And, if the effects of childhood abuse follows us into adulthood, they *are* winning. So, maybe the next time I have a migraine or start into a cycle of depression, I can use this information to fight it. He’s not going to win. He never has won and he’s not going to win now. I am stronger. *I* will win this fight.

News for Today:
Heart surgeries more dangerous for women, study indicates
Sleep vital for students, experts say
Overweight toddlers and those not in day care at risk for iron deficiency
Practice-based intervention has sustained benefits for children and families
Annual flu shot cuts need for doctors' visits, hospitalization among children
Parents' perceptions can hamper kids' asthma care, study finds
Involving parents in therapy doubles success rates for bulimia treatment
Depression in women with migraine linked to childhood abuse

Blog tours

Time to share some blogs I like to read. I try not to spend too much time surfing, but often I go to blogs I check regularly and find a link to another blog, which ends up being another blog I visit regularly. Then I go to leave a message and, while reading other messages, I follow a link and find yet another blog that I want to visit regularly. Sense a theme here?

One blog I visit every morning is Crabby McSlacker’s Cranky Fitness. It’s supposed to be a guide to health and related issues but often becomes a giggle fest, particularly when she solicits comments for a particular post. After a stop at Crabby’s, I usually head on over to Sue Poremba’s I Breathe, Therefore I write. I met Sue in person several years ago through an Internet group. She was encouraging when I went full-time freelancing and nudged me in the direction of Freelance Success, which is a wonderful and fun resource for freelance writers. After a quick peak at Sue’s site, I pop over to Australia and visit Dawn Rotarangi’s The Flightless Writer. She updates less frequently than she used to, but I still check every day because her posts are well worth reading.

Other sites I pop into regularly when I have time are Inherwritemind1, Women of Mystery, Christy’s Coffee Break, and Emergiblog. I look at other blogs and I apologize for those whose blogs I read but didn’t list.

Anyway, now for me to get back to work. Have a great day everyone and thanks for visiting my blog.

News for Today:

Healthy lifestyle counters female infertility: study
Extra weight, eating red meat linked to elevated cancer risk: global study
Children with Asperger syndrome more likely to have sleep problems
Link between a sleep-related breathing disorder and increased heart rate variability
Breastfed babies breathe better, except when mom has asthma
ACP issues comprehensive guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of stable COPD

Emergency room waiting times

What are waiting times like in your part of the world if you have to visit an emergency room? We hear such horror stories about waits that take hours, but then we hear stories about people who have no wait at all.

Here, in Canada, we have our issues with the socialized medical program, Medicare. The biggest argument I hear from Americans when they don’t want to have socialized medicine, is that we have horrendously long wait times. But, I have many American friends and acquaintances, and I’ve heard about incredibly long wait times for them and their friends as well. Is one system better than the other?

Personally, I’ve been very fortunate for serious issues – elective ones, nuisance ones, could take a while. I remember taking my children to the emergency room for what we perceived as urgent issues. When it was truly urgent, we were taken immediately – if it wasn’t urgent, the wait could be hours, but I do understand why, as frustrating as it can be.

But, I think that a lot of it goes to how the emergency rooms are used – and many times, they aren’t used properly. Is that always the patients’ fault though?

In Canada, it can be very difficult to find a family doctor; with the number of doctors retiring or cutting back on their work hours, the remaining doctors can’t take the full load. Without a family doctor, and if walk-in clinics are closed, many families don’t have a choice but to go to the ER. In the States, if someone isn’t covered with insurance, they may leave their problem unattended to until it becomes so serious that they have to go to an emergency room.

So, this adds to the number of people visiting – but why can it take so long to be seen by a doctor in the ER? There are only so many beds in the hospital. Many of the patients who present to the emergency room have to be admitted, but if all the beds are full, the emergency patients have to wait, taking up an ER bed. If the ER bed is taken, the ER staff can’t see another patient from the waiting room; they’re too busy caring for the patients who are waiting.

The solution may seem obvious, free up the hospital beds. But if you are in an area that has few long-term or chronic care beds, many patients who no longer need acute care but still need some sort of care have nowhere to go. They can’t go home; there’s no-one to care for them. So they stay in the acute care beds and wait.

There’s another issue that bears acknowledging: our nursing shortage in North America. People aren’t going in to nursing at high enough numbers. Nurses aren’t being paid enough and they’re not being treated and respected as the professionals they are. So, if there aren’t enough nurses, beds in the hospitals can’t stay open. Sometimes, whole units or floors are closed because there are no nurses to care for the patients. That means fewer beds for the patients down in emergency.

Health care prevention would play a big role in reducing the number of ER visits, more chronic care beds would help too. And finally, better accessibility to home care, to supporting people to stay at home as long as possible, would all play a role in helping speed up care for those who do need it.

News for today:
At-home sleep apnea tests sanctioned by U.S. sleep authority
New sterilization technique for women to be reviewed by FDA
Men may also carry breast cancer genes: study
Survey underscores importance of emotional/educational needs among women with advanced breast cancer
Survival Shortened When ER/PR Negative Breast Cancer Spreads to the Brain
Drug combination shrinks breast cancer metastases in brain
Health needs higher for kids of abused moms
Breathless babies: Preemies' lung function shows prolonged impairment