All Blood Tests

While witch doctors are found in the uncivilised parts of the world, do you think such a voodoo culture is not found in the civilised countries? Let us analyse the following two liver cancer cases.

Story 1: Gan was a 62 year-old male. He had fevers with vomiting and diarrhoea for about two weeks. He was admitted to a private hospital. A CT scan done showed a 9 x 10.5 x 9 cm mass in segments 4 and 8 of the liver. The mass was seen to extend towards the porta hepatis. The intrahepatic ducts were not dilated.

The doctor said Gan had heptocellular carcinoma. Subsequently, he was referred to a university hospital for further treatment but he did not follow up with that. He came to see us on 6 August 2000 and opted for herbs instead. His condition was then fairly alright. He did not have any discomforts except that he had mild midnight fevers. Gan was started on our liver herbs.

Gan responded well to the herbs. After a week, his appetite increased. He slept well throughout the night while previously he had disturbed sleep and woke up every hour of the night. He felt more alert. His facial expression showed that he looked much better than before. The midnight fevers had also disappeared.

On 10 September 2000, Gan told us that he had more energy and was able to go jogging. On 21 September 2001, i.e., after one year and two months on the herbs, I met up with Gan again. He told me that he was not going to do any more blood tests since the alpha fetoprotein levels had increased from 179 in August 2000 (before taking the herbs) to 88,917 in June 2001 (after taking the herbs). He did not see any point knowing about it anymore. However, he was doing fine and had gone back to work as a mechanic. He had no symptoms or discomforts.

Gan obtained amazing relief from all his symptoms after taking the herbs for about only one week. He was able to sleep, eat and work. After three months on the herbs, the results of his liver function went back to normal. However, the rising AFP level pointed to the fact that something was not right with him. We did not know what else to do to help him. Perhaps, this is a case of ‘live and let live’ and hope for the best. Of course, Gan had the option of going for surgery or other medical interventions which he had declined from the very beginning. Looking at it from a positive viewpoint, Gan did not fare that badly compared to those who opted for medical treatments. Many who had surgery died soon afterwards, while others developed more tumors in their liver. There is no certainty in cancer. What is certain about the outcome of such cases is its uncertainty.

Story 2: Danny was a 55-year old man. In September 2001, he had a sudden abdominal pain. Investigations done in a hospital showed multiple liver masses with ascites. He was then referred to a hospital in Kuala Lumpur. A CT scan of the abdomen indicated “multiple enhancing nodules throughout the liver. The largest of these measure 12 cm across and lies in Segment 5. This particular nodule shows a mixed density with areas of reduced density in its centre. It hangs down to below the inferior border of the liver and appears to be surrounded by fairly dense fluid. Dense fluid is also seen surrounding the liver. Appearances are probably due to a multicentric hepatoma with bleeding from the largest tumour. Multiple secondaries is another consideration.”

A tru-cut biopsy confirmed a well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma. The chest X-ray indicated the heart appeared enlarged. The right hemidiaphragm was elevated and mild left pleural effusion was noted.
Surgery was not indicated in this case. Subsequently, Danny underwent transarterial chemoembolisation. After this treatment the blood test results were not encouraging. The doctor told the family members that Danny had only three to twelve months to live.

Danny and his family came to see us on 30 September 2001. He was not in pain but was unable to sleep. He had been on tranquillisers for the previous three or four nights. He was unable to sleep. He had dry coughs and was a bit breathless. Every day starting from 4 or 5 p.m. he had fevers. We prescribed our liver herbs.

After one week on the herbs, Danny reported that he had mild pains. He was able to sleep without having to take the tranquilliser anymore. He lost his appetite. But his breathing was better. The evening fevers had lessened. Before taking the herbs the evening fevers usually lasted for three to four hours and his temperature was around 39 degrees C. After taking the herbs, the fevers lasted for one or two hours only and the temperature was around 37.5 degrees C.

After two weeks on the herbs, Danny reported further improvements. He had no more pains. His breathing had improved and he also slept well. He felt more alert. On some evenings, he either had no fever or when he had them, his temperature was only about 37 degrees C.

After about one month on the herbs, Danny told us that he has declined to go for further chemoembolisation because his condition had improved tremendously. He had no more pains, could sleep, was more alert and his breathing was normal. His appetite had improved. He had fevers only on two evenings and his temperature was around 37.5 degrees C. He told us that his blood pressure was a bit low, at — 100/70.

In November 2001, Danny came and told us that he had no more fevers in the evenings. That was after he had taken the herbs for about six weeks. In late November 2001, Danny reported that his blood pressure had gone back to normal, 110/80. He looked radiant and healthy!

It was indeed most amazing to see Danny doing so well. We had a VCD recording all Danny’s visits. On his first visit, he was wearing a jacket. He looked sick. His movements were stiff, slow and lifeless. He was breathless when he talked. One week afterwards, Danny was different. He had more energy. He walked with much energy.

Again, we would like to pose some questions: This is a man who suffered bleeding due to a ruptured tumour in the liver. He stopped taking chemoembolisation after only one treatment and opted for the herbs instead. Why was he getting better? Why were there no more fevers? Why did his blood pressure return to normal? In this case, no drugs or medical procedures were involved. In fact he suffered bad side effects when he was on medical treatment! This is indeed a miraculous healing.

On 20 Janaury 2002, Danny and his family came to see us. He was in perfect health. Then, barely a month later, Danny came again and was feeling rather down. He had spent time surfing the Internet and learnt that his cancer was a fatal disease. He was depressed and this new information made him feel dejected the whole week.

To understand why this is happening, let us go back a little more at the time before Danny came to see us. Danny’s doctor wrote on 17 September 2001: “the prognosis is guarded and his family has been informed.” And according to the family, Danny was given only three to twelve months to live!

We could predict that the outcome of Danny’s and Gan’s healing would be different, although they suffered similar incurable liver cancers. As William Oslo said, survival largely depends on what is going on in the head. I suspected that Danny is under a voodoo curse. He knew that his cancer was serious and he only had three to twelve months to live. Though he benefited from the consumption of the herbs, he still felt hopeless and unsure of the outcome. He once told me: “I am alright and feel great on the outside, but I don’t know what is happening inside me.” His family members also told me that Danny worried too much. In spite of all the improvements he experienced from taking the herbs, his daughter told me that Danny was just hoping that he could live for another two months, by which time his son would have finished college. He looked forward to his successful graduation and then he was ready to die. No matter how much I assured him that he was going to be alright, he still remained skeptical.

On the other hand, Gan was not under a voodoo curse. His doctor did not have a chance to tell him how long he could live. He opted for herbs and declined further medical attention. He knew that his cancer was serious but he left it at that! When the blood test showed an elevated AFP, he simply stopped going for the test. When I talked to Gan, he did not make any remarks of doubt as Danny did. To me, the prognoses for both the cases were extremely poor. Gan survived for two years but Danny died much earlier — not only because of his cancer but also his mindset.

Sleep apnea (apnea: Greek for “without breath”) is a sleeping disorder where a subject frequently stops breathing during sleep. Because the subject is unaware of these breathless episodes and because waking, symptoms are vague: daytime grogginess, headache, and dry throat, the subject rarely feels the need to check with a physician. Family and friends are who usually report the problem. Sleep apnea’s outward symptom is loud and excessive snoring. Though the symptoms are indistinct, the consequences of undiagnosed sleep apnea can be life-threatening hypertension and cardiovascular disease. To diagnose the disorder requires a sleep apnea test.

The optimal sleep apnea test is polysomnography, (PSG) performed in a sleep lab. PSG consists of observing the patient overnight during sleep, monitoring sleep state, heart rate, breathing, blood oxygen levels, eye movement and muscle activity. In normal adults during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, the muscles of the throat and neck are relaxed, allowing the tongue and soft palate to relax as well. In sleep apnea, these tissues relax so much that they can reduce and/or block the airway (often the source of snoring). Blood oxygen levels drop, the brain arouses the body enough to breathe, waking the patient shortly, but rarely to full wakefulness. These breathless episodes are called apnea events. The results of this sleep apnea test: the number of apnea events, how long each event lasts, blood oxygen level, percentage of sleep spent in REM, snoring, etc., allows the physician to diagnose the disorder and its severity.

Conducting a sleep apnea test via PSG in the sleep lab is an important diagnostic tool, but has drawbacks. First, the patient is asked to sleep in an unfamiliar environment. Secondly, the patient is connected to multiple wires and to multiple monitors. Lastly, other people are watching the patient. Thus, the patient often does not sleep well.

To help alleviate the awkwardness of sleeping in a lab, a similar type of sleep apnea test can be performed at home. In addition, a type of PSG, a monitor records heart rate, how air moves in and out of the lungs, the blood oxygen level, and the effort required to breathe. For this sleep apnea test, a technician goes to the home and hooks the patient to the electrodes. The patient goes to sleep as usual, and the technician returns the next morning to retrieve the monitor and send the results of the sleep apnea test to the patient’s physician.

Another home sleep apnea test system, recently approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) is the Watch_PAT100 by Itamar Technologies. This test consists of a fingertip probe and a wearable wrist unit. Both devices are placed on the wrist and finger just before going to bed. During sleep, the system measures blood oxygen saturation levels, changes in blood flow and pulse rate. The signals are recorded onto a memory card. The memory card can be removed by the physician and then downloaded into a computer for analysis. Comparable to polysomnography, this device is still being evaluated.

What is herbal medicine and what is the philosophy behind herbal medicine

What is herbal medicine?

Herbal medicine is an ancient system of medicine that utilizes seeds, berries, roots, leaves, bark, or flowers of plants. Herbal medicine is sometimes referred to as phytomedicine, botanical medicine or herbalism.

Unlike orthodox (western/modern) medicine, herbal medicine is not just based in science, but has a strong component of art. It balances the art & science of medicine.

Recently, the World Health Organization estimated that 80% of people worldwide rely on herbal medicines for some aspect of their primary healthcare. In the last twenty years in the United States, increasing public dissatisfaction with the cost, efficacy and potential of side-effect of prescription medications, combined with an interest in returning to natural or organic remedies, has led to an increase in the use of herbal medicines. In countries such as Germany and Switzerland, roughly 600 to 700 plant-based medicines are available are prescribed by approximately 70% of physicians.

The Skills of herbalists have developed long before the science-based machines that go ‘beep’, and the skills of the doctor had to be far greater than simply looking at the blood test results from the pathology lab.

The herbalist has to be able to look at the physical, mental and spiritual health of the patient to interpret their state of health. That is not to say that modern day herbalists do not use technology. Of course they do, they use auroscopes, stethoscopes, and a variety of other technology, which is commonly used by a GP (orthodox general practitioner or MD – medical doctor).

As a doctor of Chinese medicine I am often looking at X-rays, blood test results and other test results that patients present to me. I also send patients for specific tests. After all, why not use technology if it can be of assistance in the treatment of my patient?

As a scientist, I also like to use these types of tests to get scientific validation that my treatments are working – why not, after all if I can actually measure the success of treatment why not do so.

A herbalist is also uniquely qualified to make natural herbal skin and personal care products, as their knowledge include an in-depth understanding of the skin and its needs.

In short, herbal medicine is a valid, safe and effective system of medicine that combines the art and science of medicine and uses plant-based materials to treat in individual’s health problems.

What is the philosophy behind herbal medicine?

The basic principle behind herbal medicine is that your herbalist will assess you as a person and not a disease.

This simple statement has much more depth to it than it appears on the surface, because a patient has a disease, but is not that disease. That means the patient has developed a system wide imbalance that is reflected physically and/or mentally in the display of certain symptoms and attitudes.

The philosophical approach by the physician is to look at the patient as a person and consider the health issue in context of that individual.

For example, a patient may present with chronic headaches. Now the orthodox approach would be to do a series of tests to rule out any major pathologies and if there are no major diseases at work, such as tumors for example, the prescription will simply be one of pain relief – Aspirin, or a similar type of pharmaceutical drug.

An herbalist will assess a patient very differently. Yes, they will rule out any major or life threatening diseases also, but once these have been ruled out, the approach differs enormously.

Their approach will include a complete physical assessment of the body; it’s alignment, posture, musculo-skeletal functionality and inspect any old physical injuries, etc. They will assess an individual’s stress levels, work and family pressures and so on. A herbalist will also look at their patient’s diet, life style and levels of exercise. In addition they will ask questions about seemingly unrelated issues such as niggling signs and symptoms that at first do not seem relevant.

This type of consultation will provide the physician with an over-all picture of the person in front of them – not the disease, but the person. The individual.

The idea of this is that in herbal medicine, the herbal mixtures are individually formulated specifically for that person with the health issue(s). It’s specific, individual and personalized.

In short, an herbalist will ‘paint a health picture’ of you and employ herbal medicine to specifically treat you as an individual with a health problem.

A green drink is a powerful drink that can help detoxify your colon and your blood. This drink keeps your colon and your whole body working better and longer.

There are many types of green drinks that are prepared with powders. But the green drink that I like is made using only liquid chlorophyll.

Chlorophyll has many benefits. It is capable of neutralizing substances that cause cell mutations and strengthens the cell walls of the small intestine and colon. It has an exceptional deodorizing effect on your body and on the stools you have during a bowel movement.

I drink my green drink the first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. This helps to activate your colon and stimulate it to have a bowel movement.

Here’s how I prepare my green drink.
* Add 1-2 oz of pure liquid chlorophyll into an empty glass (you may want to start with a tablespoon or two)
* Squeeze the juice of one lemon into the glass
* Fill the glass with 8 oz of distilled water
* Drink the combination completely

I add lemon juice to the chlorophyll because chlorophyll has a dull and blank taste that is uncomfortable for me. With lemon, it’s a drink that I enjoy taking every morning.

If you have other health issues you want to work on, you can add other nutrients or liquids to this green drink. You can add a few drops of a product called Oxygen Elements Plus, which also is good for constipation and helps to detoxify your colon even more. You can add Alkalife, an alkaline water booster, which adds minerals to your drink.

From the clients that I have worked with, I have found that this chlorophyll drink helps them get better blood test results. Their blood is a little thinner. They carry more oxygen into the cells. Their blood cell count goes up.

Use this drink and you will keep drinking every morning just like I do, especially if you like lemon juice.

A testosterone level test is helpful in measuring total levels of testosterone produced by the body. Testosterone saliva testing only measures total testosterone. If the reason for testing has to do with patient symptoms similar to those experienced during andropause, measurements of total testosterone are not always helpful.

A patient’s testosterone level test results may be within normal ranges for total testosterone, while the level of “free” or bio-available testosterone may be lower than normal.

In order to measure “free” or bio-available testosterone levels, a blood test must be used. Athletes can use testosterone saliva testing when attempting to measure the effects of working out or supplement use with some degree of accuracy, but even then, the results may be inconclusive.

In other words, a testosterone level test may show normal levels of testosterone and the man may still feel the symptoms (fatigue, weakness, etc.) of a testosterone deficiency.

This is all caused by sex hormone binding globulin or SHBG. It is known that when testosterone becomes attached to SHBG, it cannot enter the cell and therefore cannot affect the body.

A testosterone level test, like testosterone saliva testing, that measures only total testosterone and not the amount attached to SHBG is not measuring “free” testosterone and it is only “free” testosterone that can increase stamina, muscle gain and libido.

Some on-line companies are now selling in-home hormone level tests for men and women. These are saliva tests and can indicate hormonal imbalances.

Testosterone saliva testing does not tell the whole story and they cost about $60.

Whenever a bloodlike stain is found at the scene of a crime, the forensic scientist must conduct two basic kinds of tests: presumptive and confirmatory. The reason presumptive tests are conducted first is because they are more cost-efficient than the more cumbersome confirmatory tests.

What is a presumptive test?

Presumptive tests for blood can be found in two broad categories: those that change color, and those that cause a glowing reaction.

Presumptive tests that depend on a color change involve the following:

* Leucomalachite green (LMG) color test: This chemical reagent has been around since the early part of the 20th century and undergoes a chemical interaction with blood, yielding a characteristic green color.
* Tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) color test: At a crime scene, a CSI technician swabs a suspected bloodstain with a moistened Q-tip and then applies it to a Hemastix strip containing TMB. A Hemastix strip is a dip stick used to test for the presence of blood. If the Hemastix strip turns blue-green, it might be blood.
* Kastle-Meyer color test: Phenolphthalein is the active chemical reagent in this particular test. When blood, hydrogen peroxide, and phenolphthalein are mixed together, a dark pink color results. This color change is due to the hemoglobin (the oxygen-containing molecule within red blood cells) causing a chemical reaction between hydrogen peroxide and phenolphthalein.

Other tests depend on chemical reactions that cause blood to fluoresce, or glow, under an ultraviolet light source, uncovering blood that is invisible to the naked eye. Offenders many times try to scrub walls and floors clean, mistakenly taking for granted that if blood is not visible, it can not be found. Fortunately, that is not the case. At the scene of a crime, blood can show up by spraying a fluorescent chemical over the area suspected of containing blood. The lights are dimmed, and ultraviolet light is passed over the area, causing bloodstains to fluoresce in the dark just like you see on CSI. Not only is the presence of blood established, but the area of blood distribution is also clearly indicated. This is where blood spurts, drag marks, spatter, footprints, and handprints show up.

The actors you see on CSI use fluorescent chemicals to get the blood to reveal itself. The most common fluorescent chemicals used are luminol and fluorescein.

* Luminol–Luminol is highly sensitive and may reveal blood that is present in minute quantities. Luminol is able to expose blood in places that have been cleaned repeatedly unless a solvent such as bleach was used, and even on walls that have been painted to hide blood. In spite of the fact that it can negatively impact some serologic testing processes, luminol does not affect subsequent blood typing or DNA analysis.
* Fluorescein–Fluorescein has been around since the early part of the 20th century. This compound does not interact with bleach the way luminol does. Fluorescein is better used over luminol for exposing bloodstains that have been cleaned up using solvents such as bleach. Fluorescein is advantageous in that it is thicker than luminol and drips less, therefore, sticks to vertical surfaces much better than luminol.

What is a confirmatory test?

Teichmann and Takayama tests are the most commonly used confirmatory tests. Both tests depend on a chemical reaction between a reagent and hemoglobin. This reaction yields crystals, which then can be seen under a microscope. A considerable benefit of these tests is that they are more effective with aged stains.

The next time you watch your favorite forensic science/detective show like NCIS or CSI, you will have a clearer understanding of the chemicals used in exposing blood at a crime scene.

Dementia is common among the elderly and affects the normal functioning of the brain and the symptoms of dementia are similar to other neurological disorders.

The screening tools for dementia patients include physical and neurological examination and the specified laboratory tests.

Proper diagnosis requires a physician to go through his or her patient’s medical history, to gather information about the factors that could have resulted in the disease.

These factors may include a family history of neurological diseases, stroke and alcohol or drug abuse.

As per the American Psychiatric Association, a patient is diagnosed with dementia when he experiences memory loss, is unable to co-ordinate speech, is unable to perform motor activities or relate to objects and is unable to think rationally.

The screening tools for dementia patients must be able to differentiate between delirium and dementia, since both have similar symptoms. Delirium is characterized by mental disturbances, disorganized thinking and the reduced ability to remain attentive to the external environment.

Differentiating between delirium and dementia is necessary because the treatment is different for both the diseases. The screening tools for dementia patients should also be able to differentiate between actual dementia and Pseudo dementia.

In pseudo dementia, the patients start believing that they are losing their memory, even though they are perfectly normal.

The differentiation is necessary because the treatment advised for dementia patients is specific. The latter is more of a psychological problem.

Laboratory Tests

Screening tools for dementia are selected as per the medical history of the patient and are used to identify the root cause of the disease. Screening tools include laboratory tests that are used for assessing problems faced by the patient.

These may include attentiveness, perceptiveness, memory and social and language skills. This will help in determining whether the patient is suffering from dementia or from some other neurological disease, such as Alzheimer’s or Hydrocephalus.

A patient suffering from Alzheimer’s is more attentive, co-operative and gives appropriate responses whereas a Hydrocephalus patient is relatively more distracted and less co-operative.

Blood tests

Screening tools for patients may include blood tests, if the medical history of the patient indicates infectious, metabolic or toxic conditions.

Blood test results will help the physician in ruling out other neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s.

Blood tests may indicate B12 vitamin deficiency, blood glucose or hypoglycemia, anemia, drug toxicity, hypercalcemia, hypermagnamesia, hypernatremia, liver disease, lumbar puncture, hypothyroidism, syphilis and even HIV infection.

DNA samples taken from the blood are utilized for diagnosing Huntington’s disease. It is also used for revealing the ApoE4 gene that is found in the case of Alzheimer’s.

EEG, MRI scan and CT scan

The EEG or Electroencephalography measures brain activity and helps in diagnosing dementia.

Dementia patients normally have lower brain wave activity as compared to normal human beings.

CT scan and MRI scan are used for detecting structural or physical changes in the brain that might be caused due to stroke, blood clots, tumors or head injury.

All these factors can produce dementia like symptoms even if the patient is perfectly normal.

Your thyroid is a gland situated in the front of your neck. The hormones (chemical messengers) that it produces affect a great number of your body processes and other glands. So if your thyroid becomes underactive (medical name hypothyroidism), your whole body is thrown off balance.

Official estimates of hypothyroidism in Western populations vary from two to seven per cent, although some experts believe it is significantly under-diagnosed, and that the true percentage is probably as high as thirty per cent. Whatever the case, hypothyroidism appears to be increasing and this is starting to attract the attention of researchers, clinicians and government health departments as an emerging public health problem.

So how do you tell if you might have an underactive thyroid? Lack of energy, weight gain, dry, pale skin, feeling cold all the time and depression are the most well known symptoms. But low thyroid can cause a surprisingly wide variety of symptoms, which can be totally different from individual to individual. Many of the symptoms are also symptoms of other conditions. For these reasons, and because physicians are generally unaware that hypothyroidism is so common, hypothyroidism is a frequently missed diagnosis.

An example of this is the person who complains of putting on weight unexpectedly or being unable to lose weight despite a modest calorie intake. Such a person is almost automatically assumed to be overeating and told to reduce calorie intake. Even if they ask whether it could be their thyroid, they are unlikely to be tested.

Or take depression. What thyroid expert Dr Barry Durrant-Peatfield says is quite shocking: “Any patient suffering from depression should be routinely assessed for hypothyroidism. There should be no exceptions; half to one third will be found to be hypothyroid, and as a result of treatment, their depression will begin to lift in weeks.” How many people are being treated for depression with medications or psychiatric counseling, when in actual fact they just need their thyroid fixed?

Yet another example is high cholesterol. Studies show that more than ten per cent of people with high cholesterol have hypothyroidism, but unfortunately most people with high cholesterol are not tested for this. That’s a lot of people who are taking cholesterol-lowering drugs needlessly.

CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) or ME is another condition which experts believe is in many cases actually misdiagnosed hypothyroidism. Low fertility and repeated miscarriages is another. Other problems that can be caused by hypothyroidism include:

* brittle nails, hair loss, boils and spots, eczema and psoriasis, hoarse voice, slow speech
* constipation and haemorrhoids, painful irregular periods
* muscle weakness, muscle and joint pain and stiffness, shooting pains in hands and feet, carpal tunnel syndrome
* gallstones, visual disturbances, breathlessness, halitosis, candida (intestinal yeast overgrowth)
* impotence, loss of libido, bladder irritation and frequency
* deafness and tinnitus (ringing in the ears), ankle swelling, palpitations, anxiety and panic attacks
* ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), poor memory, poor concentration and slow thinking

Even if hypothyroidism is considered as a possible diagnosis by the physician, the problem doesn’t end there. Thyroid tests fail to pick up many cases – the current ‘normal’ ranges for thyroid test results are quite wide, and thought by many thyroid experts to be wrong. Sanford Siegal, DO, MD, a US thyroid specialist, believes that about ten per cent of the population is hypothyroid but that maybe only half test positive with the blood tests that are currently used.

Dr Siegal’s experience with patients who test negative but have clinical symptoms of hypothyroidism is that there is often marked improvement when thyroid supplementation is given. His experience has led him to believe that around a quarter of those who have difficulty in losing weight fall into this category and benefit from thyroid treatment.

The test at the centre of the thyroid testing controversy is the TSH. This test measures the amount of Thyroid Stimulating Hormone your pituitary gland releases. If it is high, it means your thyroid hormone production is low and the pituitary is sending repeated chemical signals to try to get your thyroid to produce more thyroxine. So a high TSH means you are low thyroid.

In the TSH test, the upper limit of ‘normal’ may be given as anything from 3 µU/ml to 6 µU/ml depending on which country you live in and which lab has done the test. However, Dr Barry Durrant-Peatfield, in common with many other thyroid experts, regards even the recently revised limit in the US for ‘normal’ TSH levels of 3.0 µU/ml as too high. His experience with patients has led him to believe that a level of 2.0 µU/ml should arouse suspicion, and anything over 2.5 µU/ml should be diagnostic and therefore treated as hypothyroidism.

So if you have some of the symptoms in the list above, and particularly if you are having difficulty in losing weight, ask your physician to test you for low thyroid. Be aware of the issues surrounding current methods of testing and make sure you get copies of the actual test results so that you can compare them with the reference ranges used by those thyroid specialists who believe the current ‘normal’ ranges are too wide.

Similarly, if you have been tested in the past and told the results were normal, get tested again and ask for the actual values. If the TSH is above 2.5 µU/ml, bring the new ranges to your physician’s attention and ask for a trial of thyroid hormone replacement.

Unfortunately, agreement of your physician to treat you for hypothyroidism is not the end of the story. There is also controversy over medication and dosage. The ‘alternative’ thyroid experts feel that patients are not best served by the usual treatment (consisting of replacement of thyroxine – called T4 for short). This is not the only hormone that a healthy thyroid secretes, and they believe that many hypothyroid patients fail to achieve 100 per cent improvement without the other hormones. The reluctance to prescribe better alternatives appears to be down to a mixture of historical practice, mainstream doctors’ reliance on the drug companies who make the synthetic T4 preparations for information about treatment options, and a lack of research interest in the subject.

Dosage is a further area of controversy. Complex feedback loops that govern the workings of your thyroid mean that it is actually possible to make a patient worse by giving too small a dose of thyroxine. Many physicians are also constrained in their prescribing by blood test results and the official reference ranges for ‘normal’, rather than by their patient’s clinical symptoms. Some hypothyroid patients fail to improve until their TSH falls to 0.3 or lower, but most mainstream physicians are reluctant to let it drop to even to that level.

It seems therefore that hypothyroids have had a raw deal for a long time. Happily, word is starting to spread amongst thyroid patients that a better quality of life is possible, and patients are starting to become indignant and vociferous in their demands for better diagnosis and better treatment. An indication of this is the recent proliferation of thyroid patients’ websites, providing information about alternative treatments and helping fellow patients to locate physicians experienced in using them. Helpful sites include ‘Stop the Thyroid Madness’ and ‘Thyroid Patient Advocacy’.

Although the cause of the increase in hypothyroidism is unknown, there is an interesting theory. This relates to iodine, which is critical for a healthy thyroid. Hypothyroidism is widespread in upland areas of the world which are far from the sea where food is grown on iodine-poor soils. Many countries have a national salt iodization program to combat this problem. Ironically, this may be having the opposite effect in some cases. The trouble is that too much iodine is just as harmful to the thyroid as too little. And it is possible that people who consume a lot of fast food, canned or prepackaged foods or eat in restaurants regularly could easily be consuming between 8 and 10 grams of iodized salt per day. This would provide more than four times the recommended daily allowance of iodine. Could this be a contributing factor to the increasing rate of hypothyroidism in Western populations, and in turn, to the increasing rates of obesity?

More information on how undiagnosed or undertreated low thyroid may make losing weight difficult can be found in the e-book “Why Can’t I Lose Weight – The Real Reasons Diets Fail And What To Do About It”.

People differ from each other not only with eye and skin color, or height, but also with a blood group, and also with its Rhesus factor. For the time being, it does not matter which blood runs in our veins.

“At school I tried to avoid medical examinations, hiding in toilets and checkrooms. At home, resisting a doctor’s visit, I resorted to various tricks: pressed my forehead to a frozen window to cool it and hide high temperature, coughed under the blanket, shook off the thermometer. And when I grew up, I could not find time for sicknesses or preventive medical examinations, as I always had more important and absolutely urgent matters. As a result, I knew about Rhesus factor existence and that I have got Rhesus-negative only when I was 27 y.o., i.e. when I decided to become a mother”.

Such different blood

Rhesus factor is an antigen (or albumen), which is situated on erythrocytes’ surface (red corpuscles). It was discovered just 35 years ago. And at the same time it was discovered that 85% of men and women have this Rhesus factor, and, hence, are Rhesus-positive. And the rest 15%, accordingly, have no Rhesus factor, and are called Rhesus-negative.

In everyday life, neither presence, nor lack of Rhesus factor plays any special role. It becomes important only under such extreme conditions, like, for example, blood transfusion. Or pregnancy. Why pregnancy? Because if a future mother has Rhesus-negative, and father has Rhesus-positive, a child can inherit both mother’s and father’s ones, it’s 50×50. If he inherits a mother’s Rhesus-negative, then everything is ok, no danger. And if he inherits a father’s Rhesus-positive? Then a threat of Rhesus-conflict appears. What’s this? This is an incompatibility of blood between mother and her fetus. Rhesus factor of fetus overcomes a placenta barrier and comes to a mother’s blood. And her organism, “not recognizing” fetus and accepting it as something alien, begins producing protective antibodies.

These antibodies come through placenta and begin “battling” with a future baby’s erythrocytes, annihilating them. What this may lead to? To a miscarriage, if a mother’s organism tears away fetus. To production of more bilirubin, a substance that colors skin in yellow and leads to new-born babies’ jaundice. Bilirubin can also damage a future baby’s brain, cause hearing-aid and speech defects of development. Moreover, as erythrocytes in fetus blood will be constantly annihilated, his liver and spleen will quicken red corpuscles production, increasing in sizes sharply. However, they will definitely lose this race, and as a result, a future baby can have anemia, caused by threateningly low content of erythrocytes and haemoglobin. In addition, Rhesus-conflict can cause in-born dropsy (edema) of fetus and even lead to his death.

How to struggle?

There’re preventive measures and methods of treatment of Rhesus-conflict. The first of them is to learn your blood group and Rhesus factor as much earlier, and also a future father’s blood group and Rhesus factor. Sometimes, Rhesus-conflict starts because of an incompatibility between mother’s and baby’s blood groups, for example, if a mother has 0 blood group, and a future baby has A or B blood group. Fortunately, such incompatibility is less dangerous and does not betoken serious complications. If both parents have the same Rhesus, there’re no reasons for anxiety. If a mother has Rhesus-negative, and a father has Rhesus-positive, a mother will have to pass such a procedure, as vein blood test regularly. This way doctors will be able to control the quantity of antibodies in your blood constantly and notice a beginning of Rhesus-conflict. Till 32 week of pregnancy, you need to pass vein blood test once a month, since 32 till 35 – twice a month, and then every week till the day of childbirth.

If Rhesus-conflict still begins, specialists will be able to resort to different measures to save a baby. In some cases, they stimulate premature birth and execute exchange blood transfusion to a baby – doctors inject a blood of the same group, but with Rhesus-negative in him. This operations is held during 36 hours after childbirth.

There’s also a possibility to reduce a risk of Rhesus-conflict development during next childbirth. For example, with the help of administration of a special vaccine – anti-Rhesus immunoglobulin at once (during 72 hours) after first childbirth or abortive pregnancy. The principle of action of this medicine is based on the fact that it “connects” aggressive bodies in mother’s blood and brings them out of her organism. After this, they cannot threaten a future baby’s health and life anymore. If Rhesus-antibodies were not injected as preventive measures for some reason, such “vaccination” can be done during pregnancy. Administration of anti-Rhesus immunoglobulin can be done also after fetus bladder puncture, amniocentesis and surgical operation during abdominal pregnancy.

Happy-end

“And in general, – a doctor finished his story, now you should know only one thing: a prognosis is good. So, pass vein blood tests regularly and don’t think of anything else”. And I went to pass a vein blood test. Once, again, and again… And soon I discovered that this is not so disgusting. When the procedure became ordinary, it stopped seeming to be some terrible trial. Easy and quickly. There’s one bad aspect – you need to pass the test in the morning and surely on an empty stomach. But the main thing was that every following test showed the same result – there was no any threatening quantity of antibodies in my blood, and, hence, no any Rhesus-conflict.

With such results, I came to a long-awaited day of childbirth. And gave birth to an absolutely healthy daughter. Her birth, naturally, displaced all other thoughts from my head. And, unfortunately, I completely forgot to ask doctors to inject anti-Rhesus immunoglobulin in me during 72 hours after childbirth. Well, nobody offered me this too. But then, frankly speaking, I did not think about any other pregnancies. And now? You know, I have not told anybody about it yet… But, to my opinion, two children in a family are much better, than an only child. And, perhaps, I’m ready to repeat everything. We will pass all tests, consult doctors, administrate this Anti-Rhesus. Of course, I’m afraid a little. But, as a doctor said, the prognosis is good!

Queen Anna

People differ from each other not only with eye and skin color, or height, but also with a blood group, and also with its Rhesus factor. For the time being, it does not matter which blood runs in our veins, as it “works” only on our organism and suits it completely. However, sometimes such situation may happen, when one person’s blood contacts with other one’s blood – this happens while blood transfusion or pregnancy. And then problems begin…

There’re 4 main blood groups: the first, it’s also called zero (0); second (A); third (B) and fourth (AB). If one gives somebody a transfusion of blood of some other group, serious complications may occur, right up to conditions, threatening to one’s life.

Besides, blood is divided into 2 types, according to Rhesus factor – albumen, situated in erythrocytes (red corpuscles). Rhesus factor can be positive or negative. If a woman with Rhesus-negative blood is bearing a child, who inherited his father’s Rhesus-positive, then during a contact of mother’s and fetus’s blood, a pregnant woman’s organism treats fetus as some alien thing and produces antibodies that contribute to its seizure. This can make difficulties for normal height and development of a future baby, influence bad his health. In cases of serious complications, a prenatal death of fetus takes place, miscarriages on different periods of pregnancy.

During the first pregnancy, a conflict, caused by an incompatibility between mother’s and fetus’s blood according to a blood group and Rhesus factor, seldom develops, as women’s antibodies are being produced in not enough quantity. With every following pregnancy, a chance of complications increases in several times.

Often, antibodies are produced in organism of women who haven’t given birth yet, as a result of previous blood transfusions, without taking into account Rhesus-compatibility, miscarriages or abortions, abdominal pregnancy. Various complications during pregnancy (toxicosis, high blood pressure, infectious and other diseases) increase weight of condition and a chance of conflict development.

A conflict, caused by incompatibility according to a blood group, is met more often, but under AB0 conflict, serious problems appear less often, than under incompatibility according to Rhesus factor. One can predict a probability of a pathologic process, knowing Rhesus factor and blood groups of both parents.

Women, who have a risk of a conflict development, should be under careful obstetrician-gynecologist’s observation during pregnancy. It’s necessary to determine a level of Rhesus-antibodies in blood during the whole period (once a month till 32 weeks of pregnancy, twice a month since 32 to 35 weeks, and then every week). Height of antibodies’ titre helps to determine a fetus state, forecast a weight of a new-born baby’s condition, and prevent the development of complications when it’s necessary.

Women with Rhesus-negative can avoid the conflict during the second pregnancy with the help of administration of anti-Rhesus immunoglobulin right after the first childbirth, abortion, transfusion of an incompatible blood. As a rule, this is a routine practice of maternity hospitals, but it’s better to ask such question before you choose a hospital to give birth in.

The PSA test s becoming more popular with men over 40 and could save your life. Here we will look at prostrate cancer and the test and how it could help you.

What is PSA?

PSA is prostate specific antigen. PSA is a protease (protein) secreted the prostate gland. Its levels in the blood are elevated in men with both benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer. PSA is now an accepted and routine screening test for prostate cancer.

The PSA Test

PSA presence in the blood is very low, so its detection requires a very sensitive type of technology.

The test uses the monoclonal antibody technique. The PSA protein exists both in the blood by itself, and joined with other substances. By itself, it is free PSA, and joined with other substances, bound PSA.

The term ‘Total PSA’ is the total both forms. The PSA test gives the result of the Total PSA

Results of the PSA Test

The highest normal level of Total PSA is 4 nanograms per milliliter, or ng/mL. Statistics show men’s prostate gland will generally increases in size and produces more PSA with increasing age.
Therefore aging has a great role in the actual results of the test. However, doctors would be concerned with anyone who had a result of over 4.5 ng/mL, and would generally do a biopsy to determine physically if cancer were present

Specific Use of the PSA Test for Cancer

Doctors are using the PSA test now in two ways. First as a screening test to determine elevated PSA levels (which might indicate cancer, but can also indicate other conditions as well), or as a monitor test for those who are known to have prostate cancer.

With the screening technique, any increased levels over 4.5 ng/mL require further investigation. As a monitoring test, high levels of PSA can indicate the growing or reducing threat of cancer.

However an abnormal result also can indicate a recurrence of prostate cancer following therapy.

For example, in men with a surgically removed prostate gland (prostatectomy), where all of the cancer was contained, a PSA test should result in 0. However, if in these men the PSA test is positive or shows increasing levels, it shows the cancer was not successfully removed and / or it has spread.

PSA Also Can Show Non-Cancerous Conditions

The PSA test result can indicate conditions other than cancer.

Often a higher PSA test result indicates benign prostatic hypertrophy, which his enlargement or hyperplasia of the prostate gland. These conditions are due to an increase aging in certain men.

Also infection of the prostate gland, known as prostatitis, will cause an abnormal elevation of PSA.

There are other conditions also which can result in higher levels of PSA that are non-cancerous.

In each case however, the doctor will first perform a biopsy to determine if cancer cells are present.
The Free PSA Test

Free PSA in the blood exists as well as bound PSA, and there is now a test for Free PSA. Studies have shown that levels of free PSA decrease in men with prostate cancer.

The Free PSA levels in men with benign conditions will not decrease. Levels of Free PSA differ from test procedure to test procedure, but in any case, it is a good indication of the presence of cancer if the levels are shown to be decreasing.

Who Should Test for PSA

Any many over 40 years old now should test for PSA. Every man over 50 must test for PSA to insure that if there is a problem, it can be treated early. Consult your physician if this article concerns you.