Category: Health

When it comes to living with migraines, sometimes you’re willing to try anything to stop the pain. A pounding migraine can make you feel like you are losing control. It’s natural to want to get back in charge.  Some have gone to great lengths to quash the pain and other symptoms. From spraying cayenne pepper into their nose to strict food diets, there’s not much that hasn’t been tried to get a break from symptoms. Some complementary therapies for migraines have research backing them up. Others, not so much. So why do we give things that may not work a ... Read more

Agitation can be one of the most troubling symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. You’ve probably tried everything you could think of to bring calm to your loved one.  Keep in mind the behavior is part of the disease and a form of communication and often is triggered by relatively minor events, says Sam Fazio, PhD, senior director of quality care and psychosocial research at the Alzheimer’s Association.  “The person may be uncomfortable, confused, bored, anxious, or have some basic need like being hungry, thirsty, or having to use the bathroom. As it becomes more difficult for the person living with dementia to communicate ... Read more

Alzheimer’s disease is a difficult diagnosis for the person with the disease as well as for all those who love them. As the brain becomes weaker, it becomes harder to recognize your loved one’s “old self.” It is as though the person you once knew and loved is gone even when they are physically still present. How can you maintain your relationship with loved ones with Alzheimer’s? Learning the effects Alzheimer’s disease has on mental and emotional responses is the first step toward shifting expectations of your loved one and adapting to a new way of relating with them. It’s ... Read more

  Carlos Julio Aponte, MD, still remembers his ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patient No. 1. The man, a former traffic controller, was referred to Aponte more than 4 decades ago, racked by such agonizing back pain since age 20 that he couldn’t hold a job. No one could pinpoint the source of the man’s “mysterious” ailment. One doctor suspected that the patient’s symptoms were all in his head and prescribed medication for that. Aponte, a rheumatologist in Cleveland, asked his new patient when his back pain was the worst. In the morning, he replied. In fact, it took the man almost ... Read more

When Deanne Bhamgara took a tumble off her electric scooter on a pier in San Diego, she didn’t make much of it at first. The fall left her sore, but she felt only little pain. But over the next several days, she slowly began to hurt more and more. “What started as a tingling sensation in my thighs had soon become sensitive to touch,” says Bhamgara, 28. The San Francisco resident later learned that the fall affected her lower back, tailbone, pelvic areas, and her hip joints. In a few days, Bhamgara’s pain had radiated to the rest of her ... Read more

  For the first decade of her life, Saada Branker enjoyed a normal, active childhood in Montreal. But after a year of unexplained pain in her shoulders, hands, and feet, her doctor diagnosed her with polyarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, now called juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), when she was 12. That news 40 years ago surprised Branker’s parents. It was uncommon then — as it is today — to hear of children with arthritis. By the time Branker entered high school, her condition was severe enough to often leave her stuck on the sidelines. “The toughest part was sitting in gym ... Read more

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) came for Lovaine Cohen with speed and force. Lovaine Cohen was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis in her 30s and needed to have hip replacement surgery. Cohen was in her 20s when she gave birth to her first child, a daughter. After she became a mother, Cohen’s lower back began to hurt. Soon, she couldn’t walk without a limp. Eventually, Cohen needed a cane to get around. Then at age 31, after her pain had climbed to her upper back, Cohen learned she had AS, a type of arthritis in the spine. She had tested positive for the ... Read more

If you’re living with arthritis, certain assistive devices and changes around your home can help you tackle everyday chores with less pain and move around more easily and safely. “When you have to do the same task every day or very frequently, the small changes or tools that allow independence become significant,” says Carole Dodge, an occupational therapist with the University of Michigan’s School of Medicine. Here are some assistive devices, safety tips, and mobility aids that might help you around the house if you have osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or another arthritic condition. You can find hundreds of assistive gadgets ... Read more

July 25, 2023 – On June 2, 2019, 35-year-old Anne Hutchinson gave birth to her first child, Lillian. There were no problems with the pregnancy or the birth at Fairview Hospital, which is part of the Cleveland Clinic system. But 2 days after the birth, she had shortness of breath and couldn’t lie down and breathe. “My mom’s a nurse, and she was like, ‘You need to go to the hospital immediately,’” Hutchinson said. When she was admitted to the hospital, there were suddenly “10 doctors in the room.” Hutchinson was diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy, a weakness of the heart ... Read more

It’s widely known that smoking cigarettes and having a history of tobacco use raises your risk for lung cancer. But it’s not the only risk factor, according to Julia Rotow, MD, thoracic medical oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA.  “Lung cancer can also strike those you might not expect. So those, for example, without a history of tobacco use, younger patients. And this is really where the data for EGFR mutations becomes critical,” Rotow says. Rotow is referring to the epidermal growth factor receptor or EGFR-mutated lung cancer. It’s a form of cancer that largely affects young people, ... Read more