Yaz is part of a bigger problem

I recently posted a blog about Yaz that was more popular than I would have at first expected and it made me think that perhaps there is more to say about birth control pills and their effects on the body. So here we go ... Everyone's body is different. I'm going on record right now - we are all different. Physiologically speaking we are unique. Similar. Shockingly similar. But definitely individuals. I guarantee that no one reading this has ever had a doctor or healthcare professional do a blood workup (more than once) prior to prescribing medication of any kind let alone birth control. I'm not going to get into the importance of it to me - it is enough to know that millions of women and girls (emphasis on not-yet-grown-up women) take the pill. No one is monitoring what their baseline hormone levels are, how they change over the course of their natural cycle and no one is matching the prescription to these levels. Doctors are, intentionally / knowingly or otherwise, in the pockets of big pharmaceutical companies. (I wrote a blog about it because it bugs me so much.)

For this reason sites like Drug Watch exist to try to let people know what's going on. People should be informed and that's why I found some good pix online to help illustrate what a so-called normal cycle should look like and give some info about what the pill is really doing. This is what a menstrual cycle should look like:

where menses means menstruation. FSH is follicle stimulating hormone (what literally stimulates a resting would-be egg to mature enough to burst through the surface of the ovary and float down the fallopian tube toward the uterus). LH is luteinizing hormone and when it spikes in production, menses follows.

Naturally these charts are really simplified and I've included a more accurate one to give an idea of how variable the timing of release is expected to be.

Now all 4 of the main hormones interact with each other in complex feedback loops. (Eating 1 oreo causes you to want more oreos - that's a kind of like a feedback loop. I know it isn't a negative one for me. I've never had 1 oreo and thought - well that's going to stop me from eating any more.) It's crazy complex and I have no doubt that there's still lots for the 'scientific' community to learn but just for a couple of examples: from wiki: "LH receptors are also expressed on the maturing follicle that produces an increasing amount of estradiol", "the oestrogen rise [with follicle maturation] leads via hypothalamic interface to the positive feedback effect, a ... LH surge that triggers ovulation, thereby not only releasing the egg but also initiating the conversion of the residual follicle into a corpus luteum that in turn produces progesterone to prepare the endometrium for a possible implantation." from Rocky Mountain Analytical (a hormone detection company): estradiol is needed "for the proper function of progesterone receptors and maintenance of the right balance between estrogens and progesterone" which is "crucial for hormone health." Because sex hormones are produced by influencing hormones made in the pituitary gland (FSH, LH, thyroid stimulating hormone i.e. TSH - stimulates thyroid to produce thyroxine and triiodothyronine which in turn affect adrenal function), hypothalamus (thyrotropin-releasing hormone - controls TSH production), adrenal glands (testosterone - which in turn affects estrogen) and ovaries. It is an enormously complex web that the pill disrupts. This little look into the body is enough to tell me that indiscriminately mucking with it is not going to be without consequences. And so it comes around again - consequences. Side effects. All prescriptives have them. We tend to ignore them but our bodies do not have that luxury. It is no wonder that late night television is swamped with adverts to sue drug companies. I think that part of this trend is due to a lack of full disclosure on the part of the doctors. Time constraints and the pervasive thought that patients cannot handle the volume or detailed-aspect of the information leads many doctors to gloss over the whole story (as it is known to them, and they may not have all of the most current published info at their fingertips). And so big drugs are specifically targetted for law-suits. Check out these links for details regarding suits against Yaz, Celebrex and Nasonex. I write these blogs to put info out there. If it helps someone, that's great. An even better outcome from these posts would be to inspire others to check out the issues they have on reputable websites to better know what they are taking and why. A little information can lead to foolish choices or it can bring about questions. Questions could lead to dialogue and maybe better answers from your doctor. Good luck! Brought to you by You Get Well Soon.

Big Problems with Big Pharma

Recently I was having lunch with my mom after one of her doctor's appointments and like always she was consulting with me. Now just so you know off the top - I am not a doctor. I am one of those people with years of experience in pharmacies, health food stores, medical research and clinical diagnostics but I am no doctor. I vacillate between recognition of their years of intensive study and therefore remarkable knowledge of the body and their easily bought (no, too harsh), influenced choices when it comes to prescriptives. Now back to my mom. She's got a whole host of problems which I won't get into but in addition to her previous drug regimen she now needs an additional drug for cholesterol and a different blood pressure drug. The doctor was actually paying attention that day (I mean this literally - she lost nearly 50 pounds which was more than 20% of her body weight and he didn't notice before). So, he went to their stores and brought out a bunch of samples. One of them was a new drug and he explained that it wasn't available as a generic. And a second one was an old drug. This all confused my mom and maybe this is weird to you too. Drug companies pay millions to develop new drugs. For that money, they've got the FDA in their pockets such that there will be patent protection for the production of the drug for anywhere from 10 to 20 years. So no generics can be legally made and sold. After I related this to mom, I said that that was why he had mentioned the 'new' drug and was concerned about her being able to afford it. With regards to the old drug - I told her that most doctors are 'encouraged' to promote new drugs so that big Pharma can make money. Old drugs make them nothing. And if you've seen The Fugitive you'll remember that doctors are 'courted' by drug companies. They sponsor

conferences and meetings all over the world to not only help the dissemination of medical information but also as self-promotion. The kind of Old Boys' Club mentality that it would be great to eliminate but given the state of politics (and especially special interest's groups hold on political cojones) is unlikely to happen any time soon. And speaking of the negatives of Big Pharma, I was recently asked about vaccinations with respect to my own kiddos. The old argument of vaccines causing autism came up and I had to remind the person I was speaking to that we (in Canada) do not get the same vaccine formulations that other countries do. Our regulations are different and an across the board comparison is not accurate. That stated though, another issue I have with big Pharma is how they have vaccination drives for batches of vaccine that are about to expire. The next time you see a push for a vaccine that should have been delivered en masse already (like an influenza vaccine push after January) it may be due to someone noticing that huge numbers of units are going to be thrown out if they don't get out the door. This isn't to say that vaccine campaigns are always suspect. The recent ones for Mumps Measles Rubella and Varicella or Diptheria, Pertussis (acellular, a) and Tetanus are valid and should be seriously considered by all parents. It used to be that a child could not attend any public school until all vaccinations were up to date. Now things are definitely different. With the recent decline in compliance herd immunity is down and most all of these are making comebacks in the developed world. I know this is diverging but I thought I'd include a few pix of what these bad-boys can do. In order: Measles - identified by cough, runny nose and red eyes - fever in excess of 39C/102F, rash and sometimes spots inside the mouth. Complicated by diarrhea, pneumonia, encephalitis (swelling in the brain), corneal ulceration/ scarring which would lead to vision problems to blindness. Oh yeah and a fever of 40C can mess up the brain forever. Mumps - noticeable and painful swelling of the parotid (salivary glands) and testes (also painful for adolescents or adult males that can in rare cases lead to infertility), fever and headache. Both have recently been enormous problems in the western world with outbreaks dominating diagnostics in many countries. Rubella - a personal favorite of mine because a schoolmate had it 6 times in 2 years. (And to this day she's mad at me for giving her scarlet fever. sheesh.) Also has a rash, swollen glands, joint pain, headache and conjunctivitis. Mostly a danger to pregnant women as it causes spontaneous abortion and congenital rubella syndrome (heart, brain, eye and ear defects which are permanent, low birth weight, prematurity, anaemia, hepatitis, "blueberry muffin skin lesions" and low platelet levels or thrombocytopenia which causes wound healing problems.) Varicella - perhaps better known as herpes / chicken pox / shingles. The pic above is shingles because just about everyone knows what Chicken Pox looks like. They're vaccinating for this because of the increased risk for serious Staph and Strep infections of the lesions. To note in the shingles pic - the rash is only on half of the body. Usually front and back and there can be limb involvement. This rash is painful in 80-odd% of cases. Really Painful. Diptheria is one I won't forget seeing as my mom had it as a small child. It causes sore throat (inflamed neck = bull neck), usually low but in rarer cases high fever, adherent pseudomembrane which may require medical intervention to maintain breathing and can lead to heart problems and death. (My mom was sent home to die 3 times.) Pertussis, also known as Whooping Cough. This one is quite common in the north of Canada and causes a type of cough that is so persistent that the person doesn't get much time to breathe - hence the whoop. Technically called a paroxysmal cough. It is so severe that it can cause eye hemorrhages, rib fractures, incontinence, hernia, fainting, inspiration of vomitting and even vertebral artery dissection. If that didn't spell it out - hey, it's serious! Tetanus. This one got some press recently when Selma Hayek teemed up with Pampers to distribute vaccines to the third world. This bacteria is of the same parent group that includes botulism (yes, botox), gangrene and an overwhelming intestinal infection known as C.diff. Tetanus causes the muscles of the body to contract (opposite of botulism). It's painful - very painful. Think of a muscle spasm that you may have had in your leg or back and multiply it by all the voluntary muscles of the body. In the industrialized world the fatality rate is about 11% but elsewhere it's more like 50-75%. High fevers, sweating, increased heart rate and blood pressure go with it - but that's no surprise given the muscle contractions. Lockjaw is also a common first sign. So vaccines in general good. Big Pharma not always good. I think of them like any big business of today (or say the Catholic Church of the dark ages) with so much power - it's easy to be corrupted. And if a church can justify killing thousands in not millions what can a corporation justify doing? Brought to you by You Get Well Soon

Phil Collins is retiring

If you grew up in the 80s, you know exactly who Phil Collins is and what an incredible influence and impact he has had on music. I remember well doing a thorough washing of an apartment to

To this day I can probably sing every word (not well mind you) and recall every nuance of these songs. But if his retirement reminds me of anything, it is that I too am aging. And perhaps I can learn a few things from this rocker. One of the reasons he sites for retirement is that he has problems with his back and nerve damage in his hands from years of hunching over a drum set. I myself have never played drums and have no concept of the ergonomics of the instrument.

I do wonder if perhaps a redesign of the seating or set up would help out in this department. I cannot imagine having to stop doing something I love because doing it has become the cause of health problems. It also brought up for me something that was harped on when I was growing up - Posture. My family was rather anal-retentive on this issue and because of it I still have quite good posture and even make a point of sitting properly when at the laptop. I do this not just because I was constantly reminded to do so but more out of a deeply held knowledge that my body prefers it. Just try it and you'll notice the difference. Your breath can come more easily and deeply. Your back won't hurt when you stand up and you'll find yourself far less fatigued. Unfortunately, like any other form of attention - it takes effort and practice. (Like thinking good thoughts - it doesn't come naturally at first - it takes practice.) I don't expect that Mr. Collins will ever read this but if I could I'd ask him if he's every really tried out yoga or, even easier on the body, QiGong. Or perhaps even some simple breath/ stretching exercises like Dr. Fulford's. I'm sure everyone recognizes the pose below:

Unlike most classic yoga poses that seem to be more focused on stretching/ bending (seem, being the operative word) this one is more about attention to your own body's internal position. Focusing on your body - in a good way. A way that helps your body to work better, feel better.

Another less well known method for achieving internal balance and awareness is QiGong. I was introduced to this practice by my massage therapist. I had been going while pregnant and found that the practice of QiGong could be minimally physical while still producing wonderful, energizing and relaxing (I know weird combo) sensations. It can resemble Tai Chi and also is great at focusing the mind and body. Either way, I do hope that Mr. Collins is able to find some physical relief for his chronic symptoms and is able to fully enjoy his retirement and kiddos. Brought to you by You Get Well Soon