Why should you help make decisions with your doctor? Aren’t you paying him or her to know what to do? Well, the choices aren’t always black and white. With many health problems, there is more than one option. Consider these examples:

• You have moderately high blood pressure (160/95). Your doctor says that exercise and diet might bring it down, but most people don’t succeed that way. Your doctor recommends that you start on medication to control it. You would rather try exercise and lose weight than take pills for the rest of your life. The best decision depends on your values.

• Your three-year-old has a headache and a fever. The doctor says it’s probably nothing to worry about. Then you mention your hunch that it might be meningitis. Some testing may be appropriate.

• You have been suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome for several months. Your doctor is now recommending a wrist splint and a steroid injection. You would prefer

trying just the splint with aspirin first. If that doesn’t work, you will consider other medications. Your doctor agrees that is a good plan.

In each case, the treatment you choose will have an effect on your life. Therefore, the best medicine for you combines your doctor’s medical expertise with your personal values.

Eight Ways to Share in Medical Decisions

1. Let your doctor know what you want. Tell your doctor that you want to help make decisions about what to do for your health problems.

2. Do your own research.

Sometimes you need to learn things on your own before you can fully understand what your doctor is saying. See “Do Your Own Research” on page 15 for some ways to get the information you need.

3. Ask “‘why?” Always ask “why?” before agreeing to any medical test, medication, or treatment. Asking why may help you discover another option that better meets your needs.

4. Ask about alternatives. Learn enough to understand the options your doctor thinks are feasible.

5. Consider watchful waiting. Ask your doctor if it would be risky or costly to wait a while (day, week, month) before treatment.

6. State your preferences. Tell your doctor if you prefer one option over another based on your personal desires and values.

7. Compare expectations. Tell your doctor what you are expecting from the treatment and ask if that is real-istic. If appropriate, discuss side effects, pain, recovery time, long¬term limitations, etc.

8. Accept responsibility. When you make shared decisions with your doctor, both of you must accept the responsibility for the outcomes.

- Is this doctor well-trained and experienced?

- Is this doctor available when needed?

- Will this doctor work in partnership with me?

Training and Experience

For most people, a good choice for a family doctor is a board-certified family practice doctor or internist. For children and teens, a pediatrician is a good choice. These doctors have broad knowledge about medical problems.

Availability

Because health problems rarely develop when it’s convenient, it helps to have a doctor who can see you when needed. Call or visit the office. Tell the clinic receptionist that you are looking for a new doctor.Ask these questions:

- What are the office hours?

- If I called right now for a routine visit, how soon could I be seen?

- How much time is allowed for a routine visit?

- Will the doctor discuss health problems over the phone?

Calling Your Doctor
Is it okay to call your doctor? Of course it is. Often a phone call to the doctor or advice nurse is all you need to manage a problem at home or determine if a visit is needed. Here’s how to get the most from every call:

Prepare for your call.
- Write down a one-sentence description of your problem and why you are calling (list two to three questions at most).

- Have your symptom list handy

- Have your calendar handy in case you need to schedule an appointment.

Leave a clear message.
- Tell your one-sentence descrip¬tion to the person who answers and ask to talk with a doctor or advice nurse.

- If no one is available, ask the receptionist to relay your mes¬sage and have someone call you back. Ask when they might call.

- If a call-back is needed, keep the phone line clear so you can take the call.

Follow through.
When the doctor or advice nurse calls back, briefly describe your problem, ask your questions, and describe any major symptoms.

1. Immunize. Immunizations are the best bargain in health care. When you immunize, you prevent illness for your family and help prevent epidemics in your community. Follow this link for Immunization recomendations
2. Keep Moving. Any way you define it, fitness is essential to good health. Even moderate exercise makes a huge difference both in how you feel and what illnesses you get.
3. Eat Right. Eating a well-balanced, low-fat diet of wholesome foods will keep you energetic and free of many illnesses. Consider breast-feeding your baby to help keep him or her in the best health.
4. Control stress. Even with a hectic and hurried lifestyle, you can prevent stress from undermining your health.
5. Be smoke-free. Smokers who quit gain tremendous health benefits. So do people who avoid secondhand smoke.
6. Avoid drugs and excess alcohol. When you say “no” to drugs and limit what you drink, you prevent accidents and illnesses and avoid a lot of problems for yourself and your family.
7. Put safety first. Safety at home, at work, and at play; safe driving; firearm safety; and safe sex will all help keep you healthy.
8. Pursue healthy pleasures. Take naps, relax during meals, play with kids, care for a pet – they all can add to your health.
9. Think well of yourself. A good self-image is the foundation of good health.
10. Promote peace. Peace on earth begins at home. Seek nonviolent ways of resolving conflicts at home, at school , at work, and in your community.

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• tips to stay healthy obesity (1)

Stress is simply a fact of nature forces from the outside world affecting the individual. The individual responds to stress in ways that affect the individual as well as their environment. Stress is a normal physical response to actions that make you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way. When you sense danger whether it’s real or imagined the body’s defenses kick into high rapid gear, or the stress response.

The stress responses you receive are the body’s way of defending you. When it’s working the right way, it helps you pay attention by staying focused, energetic, and alert. In other emergency situations, stress can save your life giving you extra strength to defend yourself, such as like slamming on your brakes to avoid a car accident.

In general, stress is related to both external and internal factors. External factors include the physical environment, including your job, your relationships with others, your home, and all the situations, challenges, and difficulties, your dealing with on an everyday basis. Internal factors determine your body’s ability to handle stress include your nutritional status, overall health and fitness levels, emotional well being and the amount of rest and sleep you get.

Stress can lead to serious health problems. Stress also have a lot of bad effects on you and your health, raising blood pressure, suppress the immune system, increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, speed up your aging process, pain of any kind, heart disease, digestive problems, sleep problems, depression, obesity, skin condition, and a lot more, are all symptoms that stress can cause. Stress drains our energy, weakens the adrenal glands, thyroid weakness, and skin concerns. Blemishes may appear around the chin; nails become brittle and peel, and your hair is dull and lifeless, and can eventually fall out.

Because of the widespread damage stress can cause, it’s very important to know your own limit. But just how much stress is too much is different from person to person. Some people can go with it, while others can completely crash. Some people even seem to thrive on the excitement and challenge of high stress lifestyle. Different people are affected more or less intensely, and in different ways. While stress affects everyone in an exclusive different way, there are certain factors that are in common.

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Obesity has been proven to be a risk factor for such diseases as heart disease, some types of cancer, and diabetes. Now, research studies are revealing that obesity is a risk factor for asthma. For instance, studies now show the risk for developing asthma increases when there is a large increase in weight. When a person is seriously overweight, their breathing becomes shallow because their lungs do not expand as much as it would if one were a normal healthy weight. As well, in obese individuals, there is a chronic inflammation of the lungs which reduces the airway passage. The inflammation takes place in the fatty tissue. A narrower airway passage also means the airways will remain blocked when breathing normally which reduces oxygen exchange. The airways will contract more causing more asthma symptoms. Narrow airways in obese asthmatics are more likely to stay closed during normal breathing which results in reduced oxygen exchange which puts one in a higher risk category for pulmonary hypertension. As well, obese people are more prone to sleep apnea and gastroesophageal reflux disease which can make asthma worse.

When a person suffers from obesity, they tend to have more severe asthma problems than those who are not obese. With a weight loss surgery such as lap band surgery, there can be considerable improvement for people suffering from asthma. With the loss of the excess fat, lung function will improve, inflammation will subside, the air passages will open up, and people will breathe better. As well, they will need less medication and there will be fewer trips to the hospital due to a severe asthma attack.

Lap band surgery has become a popular weight loss procedure to treat obesity because it is minimally invasive with few side effects. As well as having proven positive health results, the procedure normally takes less than an hour and the patient recovery time is short with most patients going home just a few hours after the procedure. It is also the only reversible option and post operative lap band adjustments are made without additional surgery.

During home recovery, the patient will have simple diet to follow as they learn how to eat healthy and the correct amounts of food. Lap band surgery is a great option for those suffering from obesity and serious health problems such as asthma. When considering any type of surgery, it is important to consult with a physician to learn about the benefits and risks involved with the procedure.

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What this HDL cholesterol does is that it stays in the bloodstream; essentially lining the blood vessels and disposing of the bad, or LDL, cholesterol. It would, therefore, be unhealthy to remove all cholesterol from your body, whilst also being practically impossible! The healthiest option is to ensure that you retain the HDL cholesterol by reducing the amount of LDL cholesterol that you have in your body.

The question, therefore, is how to increase your HDL cholesterol levels without adding too much LDL cholesterol to our diets. There are plenty of ways in which this can be achieved. The best way by far is, quite simply, to exercise; specifically aerobically. Aerobic exercising essentially makes you fitter; not only by helping you to lose weight but it also ensures that your body is increasing its aerobic activity. Your muscles need oxygen to break down the lactic acid which means that more blood is pumping through your veins

Because of this, more of the LDL cholesterol is able to pass through, and eventually, out of the body, meaning that eventually, less of the HDL cholesterol is used to remove the LDL cholesterol, resulting in your HDL levels increasing. You do not have to conduct massive workouts; not the type of intensity that a marathon runner would do, but recent tests have shown that by exercising just between 20 and 30 minutes every day will drastically reduce the amount of LDL cholesterol and thereby increasing your HDL cholesterol levels.

By knowing how to increase good cholesterol naturally ensures that we do not have to resort to pills or other artificial methods. Though we may not want to hear it, the really best way to improve your good cholesterol levels is through regular aerobic exercise. You can be certain that for just a little bit of hard work you will feel the benefits in the long run, as you will avoid all the issues surrounding heart disease or cancer.

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