If you or your partner are living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, you may be wondering what effect COPD will have on your sexuality. Will sex be possible? Will it be safe? Satisfying? COPD symptoms like coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath will almost certainly change the way you and your partner express yourselves sexually. But that doesn’t mean you must bid adieu to sex or other forms of physical intimacy. Of course, good sex isn’t automatic when COPD is in the picture. To get things right, it’s essential to talk about sex with your partner (or, if you’re single, with prospective partners). “I tell my patients to approach the…
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11 Possible Heart Symptoms You Shouldn’t Ignore
If something went wrong with your heart, would you know it? Not all heart problems come with clear warning signs. There is not always an alarming chest clutch followed by a fall to the floor like you see in movies. Some heart symptoms don’t even happen in your chest, and it’s not always easy to tell what’s going on. “If you’re not sure, get it checked out,” says Charles Chambers, MD, director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Penn State Hershey Heart and Vascular Institute. That’s especially true if you are 60 or older, are overweight, or have diabetes, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure, says Vincent Bufalino, MD, an…
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Blood Glucose Tests: What You Should Know
When you have diabetes, you may use a blood glucose test to check the level of your blood glucose, or blood sugar. If you take insulin, you may use a blood glucose tester, or glucometer, a few times a day. If you take non-insulin medication, you may only need an A1c test, which is done at your doctor’s office, every 3-6 months. An A1c test is a blood test that shows your doctor the average of your blood glucose levels over 3 months. Blood Glucose Tests as You Age As you get older, your doctor may change how you monitor your blood sugar. “The…
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Some Covid-19 Patients Say They’re Left With Ringing Ears
The suicide of Kent Taylor, the founder and chief executive of the Texas Roadhouse restaurant chain, has drawn attention to a possible link between Covid-19 and tinnitus, the medical term for a constant ringing in the ears. Mr. Taylor suffered from a variety of symptoms following his illness, including severe tinnitus, his family said in a statement, adding that his suffering had become “unbearable.” Whether tinnitus is linked to Covid-19 — and if so, how often it occurs — is an unanswered question. Neither the World Health Organization nor the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes tinnitus as a symptom, although auditory problems are common in other viral infections.…
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Stopping ADHD Medications
Like many adults with ADHD, Justine Ruotolo took a stimulant (in her case Adderall XR) for her symptoms. Then, about 11 years ago, she started meditating. Shortly after that, she began to shake after taking her pill. Ruotolo’s doctor lowered the dose, but 6 months later it started happening again. She decided to go off the medication and hasn’t looked back since. Ruotolo largely credits meditation for calming and focusing her brain enough that she no longer warranted a boost from medication. She also did a lot of reading about her condition and received training from an ADHD coach. There are many reasons why someone with ADHD might stop taking…
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Paving the Way for Diversity in Clinical Trials
Hala Borno, MD, assistant professor of medicine, Division of Oncology and Hematology, University of California, San Francisco Jamie Freedman, head of U.S. medical affairs, Genentech. Jennifer Jones-McMeans, PhD, director of global clinical affairs, Abbott Pharmaceuticals. Marya Shegog, PhD, health equity and diversity coordinator, Lazarex Cancer Foundation. Andrea Denicoff, registered nurse and nurse consultant, National Cancer Institute; chief of clinical trials operations, NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network. ‘Lola Fashoyin-Aje, MD, deputy division director and associate director, science and policy to address disparities, Oncology Center of Excellence, FDA. Keanna Ghazvini, spokesperson, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. FDA: “Drug Trials Snapshots: NINLARO.” National Cancer Institute: “NIH Policy and Guidelines on The Inclusion of Women and Minorities…
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AstraZeneca’s Latest Stumble Again Clouds European Vaccinations
LONDON — The announcement this week that the AstraZeneca shot, the workhorse of global vaccine rollouts, had achieved nearly 80 percent efficacy in a gold-standard American trial was met with relief by the many countries relying on it. “When you get the call, get the jab,” the British health secretary, Matt Hancock, urged, part of a campaign by European lawmakers to calm people’s nerves after a recent safety scare with the shot. But by Tuesday, that campaign had, once again, been thrown off course, at least for the moment. For AstraZeneca, it was seemingly another episode of public relations whiplash, part of a series of recent miscues and communication blunders…
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Vaccinated People Can Get Covid, but It’s Most Likely Very Rare
More than two months after he was fully vaccinated against Covid, a doctor in New York woke up with a headache and a dull, heavy feeling of fatigue. A fever and chills soon followed, and his senses of taste and smell began to fade. This, he thought, could not be happening. But it was: He tested positive for the coronavirus. “It was a huge shock,” he said. He knew that no vaccine was perfect and that the Pfizer-BioNTech shots he received had been found 95 percent effective in a large clinical trial. “But somehow in my mind, it was 100 percent,” he said. The doctor, who requested anonymity to protect…
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Lockdowns Gave Boost to Type 1 Diabetes Control in Kids
By Robert PreidtHealthDay Reporter TUESDAY, March 23, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Blood sugar levels in youngsters with type 1 diabetes improved during Britain’s first national COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, researchers say. “Children and families found it easier to manage this disease when they were forced to stay at home. This helps us to understand the pressure that is put on patients and families when trying to live normal busy lives with activities outside of the home,” said lead researcher Dr. Neil Lawrence, of Sheffield Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Sheffield, England. The research team compared how well 180 children and teens in two U.K. communities controlled their type 1 diabetes…
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Shingles Vaccine: What You Should Know
SOURCES: Christine E. Kistler, MD, MASc, associate professor, Department of Family Medicine, associate professor, Division of Geriatric Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Kathleen Dooling, MD, MPH, shingles disease expert, CDC, Atlanta. CDC: “Shingrix: About the Vaccine,” “About Shingles: Clinical Overview,” “About Shingles: Signs and Symptoms,” “About Shingles: Complications of Shingles,” “Frequently Asked Questions About Shingles,” “Shingles Vaccination,” “Shingrix Recommendations.” Mayo Clinic: “Shingles: Overview,” “Shingles vaccine: Should I get it?” Harvard Health Publishing: “Shingles can strike twice. Will the shingles vaccine help?” “Should I get the new shingles vaccine?” Sean Clements, head of Vaccines Communications, US, for GSK. Duncan Isley, 53, Durham, NC. Martha Howard, 70, Strawberry Plains,…
