Side Effects of HGH

It's been heralded for its ability to virtually "turn back time," but the side effects of HGH that occur when it is used incorrectly are harrowing. Read below to learn what can go wrong when one decides to take HGH, and take care when beginning any HGH regimen. Weigh the benefits versus the risks, and select the type of HGH that is most likely to prove safe for you.

Side effects of injections and supplements of HGH include:

-Stiff muscles and joints - Though HGH most definitely helps the user increase muscle mass, it also can result in muscles that are difficult to stretch out and joints that feel stagnant.

-High blood pressure - Some studies have shown that HGH use by the elderly can eventually result in complications like high blood pressure, which may affect a person's lifespan. Even with the knowledge of side eff ects, some people purport to enjoy the vitality HGH use brings to their life, and to therefore accept the possibility of some side effects in the process.

-Fluid retention - Many people take HGH for its anti-aging benefits, so it comes as a surprise to some when they experience fluid retention. After all, increased muscle mass gives one the ability to burn more calories and thus decrease fat stores; fluid retention can make it look as if one has gained weight instead of lost it.

-Carpal tunnel syndrome - Uncomfortable and a real hindrance for computer users in particular, carpal tunnel syndrome can occur due to HGH supplementation.

-The onset of diabetes - This is a debated side effe ct, as HGH also been shown to lessen one's chance of developing diabetes. It depends which studies you view as to what your final opinion will be on this matter.

-Enlarged heart and/or kidneys - A scary side effect that can happen due to HGH therapy, an enlarged heart and/or kidneys is definitely a concern.

-Nightmares - Some side effects of HGH do not seem intuitive, and nightmares or night terrors are one of these.

-Allergic reactions - Itchiness, rashes, swelling at injection site and more can occur as a result of an allergic reaction to HGH.

To lessen your changes of experiencing side effects of HGH, make sure you are taking a supplement that is well-known for its relative safety and efficacy. Do not take more than is prescribed by a professional, and be on the lookout for any and all side effects.

I Hate Taking Medicine

I can not even guess how many times I have heard that statement from patients when I ask them about the medications they take everyday. Many times I ask them why they are taking medication and the most common answer is "The doctor said I had to". If someone is taking more than one medication (which is usually the case), I ask them if they know which medicine is for which condition. About 50% do not know which medication is for blood pressure, cholesterol or stomach issues, etc. Then the next 2 questions almost always draw a blank stare reaction - How high was your cholesterol or how high was your blood pressure? They usually don't have any idea. Then I want to know that when their doctor told them that they had to take this medicine, did the doctor base the recommendation on 2 or 3 blood pressure readings over a period of weeks or did the doctor do at least a second blood test 2 or 3 months later to check their cholesterol to see if was still high? Their answer almost always is "no" or "I don't think so".

Why? That should be standard procedure. Blood pressure can vary widely from day to day over a period of weeks, as with cholesterol readings. Once a patient is placed on these medications, rarely does the doctor ever say "let's try stopping the medicine for a while and see how things are going". People are expected to take medicine for the REST OF THEIR LIFE! Yet I hear it everyday - "I hate taking medicine"...

Think about this - no doctor can "make" a patient take anything. None of the medications for blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. are something that needs to start the day they are prescribed or a heart attack or stroke will occur soon. It does not work that way.

Ask yourself this question - Do I know anyone who started on one medication and a year or two later is still taking only one medication? Also - Do I know anyone who has started on one of these drugs and they really seem healthier, more active, more alive or more joyful after being on the medication for 2 or 3 years?

Think about this - If taking drugs for just about every lab value that gets a little out of range or if taking drugs to prevent the problem actually worked, why is our country going broke trying to practice this type of health care?

Think about the "war on cancer", the massive flu shot campaigns, the millions donated to all the various societies and associations for all diseases. How is that working? It's not! Consult with me and get real answers about the cause of your health problems - then get the truth about how to support the organs and tissues of your body to heal and repair and create a level of health you didn't think you could ever regain!

Eat Well - Move Well - Think Well

© Health & Wellness Solutions

Dr. Dennis Mutell, D.C., D.A.C.B.S.P., D.A.C.B.N., C.C.N. graduated from Life Chiropractic College in 1983 with honors. Following graduation Dr. Mutell set up a private practice in Baldwin, New York. While in practice Dr. Mutell's interest in running led him to pursue post graduate training in the care and treatment of athletes.

Both for personal and professional reasons his interest in nutrition for improved athletic performance and health became a focal point of his practice. Dr. Mutell obtained diplomat status with the American Clinical Board of Nutrition.

Since 1984 Dr. Mutell has worked with athletes, private patients and corporations helping individuals achieve better health and wellness with proper nutrition and life style management.

Dangers Of Self-Medication

Pill-popping has become a common practice today. The stressful conditions under which we live, the competition at work or business, the struggle to keep up with the Joneses, has taken a toll on human health. About 50% of the general population suffers from headaches several times during the month. Dyspepsia, heartburn and peptic ulcers are other common complaints. As depression, insomnia, allergies and various other problems increase, pharmaceutical companies flood the market with new drugs. There are pills available even to combat laziness or shyness. Ingenious advertising and aggressive marketing have turned us into a generation of pill-poppers.

Self-medication is the use of drugs without a doctor's advice. Medicines may be recommended by a family member or a friend or a pharmacist.

Reasons for Self-medication:

• Lack of time to see a doctor. Inability to get a quick appointment. The battery of unnecessary tests ordered for a simple illness is both expensive and time-consuming.
• Illness may be too mild to warrant a visit to the doctor.
• A similar complaint may have been treated successfully through a previous prescription. So the medication is repeated.
• Too much information culled from the internet or magazines makes people confident about treating their own illness.
• Non-availability of a doctor in the vicinity. The hospital or clinic may be a long distance away.
• Poverty. A doctor's fees may be unaffordable.
• Easy availability of over-the-counter drugs.
• Home remedies that have been used in the family with success.
• Elderly people are suspicious of allopathic medicines. So alternative therapies are commonly used in developing countries.

The Dangers of Self-medication are many

1. Habituation. Many become addicted to prescription drugs such as cough syrups, anti-allergic drugs, antacids, pain relievers or tonics. Newspapers often report about Hollywood actors checking into rehabilitation facilities for addiction to prescription drugs.
2. Allergic reactions that may be severe or even fatal. Antibiotics like Penicillin or Sulpha drugs can cause very severe reactions.
3. Irrational drug combinations are available in the market. Some of them may be dangerous especially if taken with alcohol or other substances. Even food supplements and tonics can sometimes be harmful.
4. Under-dosage may not cure the symptom. Over-dosage can produce collateral damage to heart, kidneys or other organs. Indiscriminate use of antibiotics through wrong dosage or insufficient duration may lead to resistance or a sudden allergic reactions. As a result, when there is need for an antibiotic, it may be ineffective.
5. Even an overdose of vitamins may have an adverse effect, especially fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K.
6. Cheap and substandard drugs are of no use.
7. Addiction to psychotropic drugs such as LSD, Ketamine, cocaine, marijuana is on the increase.
8. A symptom like headache or nausea may be common to many medical diseases. By masking the symptom temporarily, it will be difficult for a doctor to arrive at a correct diagnosis.

Drugs most commonly used are painkillers. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like brufen or ibuprofen increase the risk of stroke by four times in a person suffering from high blood pressure. They also cause gastric problems. COX2 inhibitors affect the heart. Paracetamol, aspirin, anti-allergic pills, anabolic steroids - any of these can produce side- effects detrimental to health.

How to discourage self-medication:
Sir William Osler said "One of the first duties of a physician is to educate the masses when not to take medicines."
So the most important thing is to educate the general public on the dangers of self-medication. Health talks can be given in schools or colleges or even at the grass root level through talks, slide shows or videos. Every drug must be regarded as potentially dangerous if taken indiscriminately. Medication should be taken on the advice of a doctor or a trained health professional.

Proper drug control is very important. Drugs should not be dispensed without prescriptions. There should be proper maintenance of records of dangerous drugs, by shops selling medicines. Drug inspectors should be more vigilant in checking these pharmacies. Many patients rely on the pharmacist to recommend drugs for their ailments. Sometimes antibiotics are given only for a day or two. There should be some restrictions on over-the-counter drugs.

Slack implementation of drug control is the reason why pharmacists feel free to prescribe at will. People vary greatly in their sensitivity to drugs. One person's dosage may be a little too much for the next person, resulting in toxic reactions.

Doctors too should be conversant with the properties of the drugs they prescribe. There are patients who demand antibiotics for the slightest indisposition such as a common cold. They should be discouraged. When an antibiotic is prescribed they should insist on the patient taking the entire course. They should also create awareness about the dangers of mixing drugs.

Self-medication is dangerous. Only the ignorant and the ill-advised will subject themselves to medication for every minor complaint. Pregnant women should be doubly cautioned as it can have adverse effects on the unborn child.

The next time you are tempted to pop a pill just stop and think!

Eva Bell is a doctor of Medicine and also a freelance writer of articles, short stories, children stories. Published in Indian magazines and newspapers, anthologies and also on the web. Author of two novels, one non-fiction, two children's books. Special interest- Travel and Women's Issues. http://www.evabell.net Blog: www.muddyloafers.blogspot.com

The Return of the Victorian Diseases

A series of deadly diseases, which wreaked havoc during the Victorian age, are staging a comeback. Conditions on the rise include typhoid, whooping cough, rickets and scarlet fever.

The UK has seen an increase of 50 per cent on new scarlet fever cases since 2007, a pandemic disease that once killed thousands of people throughout Europe 200 years ago. As a result of this increase doctors and hospitals have also been put on alert for possible outbreaks.

Typhoid and whooping cough are at their worst levels in more than a decade.

The return of these diseases can be attributed to the rise of cheap package holidays to parts of the world where tuberculosis and typhoid are rife combined with poor nutrition and outbreaks of flu.

Here are some guidelines about how to recognize and prevent these feared diseases:

-Typhoid: This infection is caused by salmonella bacteria. Its symptoms include fever, constipation and tummy pain. Typhoid outbreaks are common in Asia, Africa and South America. Most of the cases in the UK are attributed to people who have brought it from abroad. The most effective way to prevent this disease is by vaccination, so if you are thinking about travelling to these areas it is better to get advice from either your local GP or your international health insurance provider.

-Rickets: This condition is caused by a deficiency in vitamin D, which helps the body to absorb calcium and make sure it gets it where is needed, namely your bones and teeth. If the bones do not get enough of the calcium that they require, then they can become soft and weak. This illness is common amongst children of African-Caribbean descent because dark skin needs to be in the sun longer than pale skin to get vitamin D. The increase use of sun protection creams in the UK might have led to more children being deficient in vitamin D and as a result more exposed to the risk of getting rickets. The best way to prevent it is to eat plenty of food rich in vitamin D like oily fish, liver, eggs and breakfast cereals.

- Scarlet Fever: This disease is usually caused by a bacteria transferred through mucus or saliva. Its most common symptoms are vomiting, tonsillitis and swollen glands in the face and neck. The severity of this disease can be curbed to a great extent by the use of antibiotics. These bacteria can also spread via cutlery, clothes and bed linen so it is important to wash everything regularly and at high temperatures.

-Whooping Cough: This is a bacterial infection which can be easily spread between people and usually affects infants and young children. The UK has a national immunisation programme against whooping cough, however a health scare about 30 years ago led to a loss of faith in the vaccine causing cases of whopping cough to rise. Its symptoms are sore throat, hacking cough, a runny nose and watering eyes. It is worth mentioning that the current vaccine is very effective even though its effectiveness decreases over time. However the symptoms tend to be milder for adults.

Drug Interactions Can Be A Problem

Drug interactions can mean different things to many people, but most people think of the different varieties of prescription medications, the disclaimers and the label warning information. The great thing about taking only one medication is that it is much easier to monitor the effects on your body and be aware of any problems almost immediately. For those taking many medications close together, monitoring and problem solving is much harder and can cause some major problems for the patient.

Prescription drugs are notorious for having too many cross interaction tests to determine where the problem cause is and add to these confusions the different chemical makeup of each drug and you might be looking for a needle in a haystack and many possible adverse reactions. Regardless of how many tests are ordered it all depends on the individual and the medications and the reactions that might not even be mentioned on the label so the patient might not realize that the new problem is actually coming from one or more of the medications they are taking.

One way to try and combat unusual reactions to the medications you are taking is by closely communicating with your doctor making sure they are aware of every single medication you are taking. However, because some doctors are not fully versed in every drug, especially the less common drugs, they might be at a loss for what is going on. To get the full scoop on the medications you are taking and how they might have negative interactions always and frequently consult your pharmacist. They are specifically trained in specific drugs, the chemical compounds used and the many ways they can affect the body and for the most part they would probably be the best medical professional to seek advise from.

Of course, while some medications are life threatening it is important to realize that the less medications you take the better off your body will be. Medication that can help certain problems can also take a large toll on organs such as your kidneys, liver, and heart.

The importance of letting your doctor know what prescription and OTC drugs and medications you are taking regularly cannot be stressed enough. The best approach is to be proactive like doing some of your own research as well as limiting the number of medications you are taking when you can and definitely stop any medications that are producing questionable side effects until you can talk to your doctor or pharmacist. Following these simple suggestions will help you live a long and healthy life well into your future.

Huge problems can arise when you are taking a bunch of medications for different problems at one time, with decent Health insurance coverage and a good doctor, staying on track is no problem. Quick Health insurance quotes will get you needed coverage.