This is a place to post general questions to which Connie will reply. Use the Comments to ask your question, and all efforts will be made to respond within 72 hours.
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What are some of the best ways toTREAT moderate to mild DEPRESSION NATURALLY? I have tried too many anti-depressants and none have worked. Counseling helps a little but I still feel really imbalanced (chemically/hormonally). I have a family history of thyroid disorder and am currently trying to find an Endocrinologist to confirm/eliminate that as the issue. I cannot afford to take alot of supplements or regular holistic therapies like massage or acupuncture. I’ve heard colonics may be helpful but don’t know how often it would be needed for theraputic effect. I work 2 physical/stressful jobs and care for my almost 2 year old daughter which leaves very little time/energy for exercise or meditation, etc. ANY suggestion would be greatly appreciated! Thanks =)
There are lots of ways. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy works as well as drugs, and with a lower relapse rate when it is over. I recommend checking out mood gym or
Feeling Good
by David Burns. Exercise also works well – as well as zoloft in a head to head trial.
Find and treat any sources of inflammation, like too much sugar, any food allergies, etc.
Connect with nature and with other people.
Crrect your biochemistry: I always recommend fish oil. For some people, B-complex or SAMe works well, for others St. Johns wort, Rhodiola rosea, and there are many more options.
One of the big issues is getting started with anything when you are depressed – a self-help program can look as overwhelming and pointless as everything else seems in life at those times. I generally recommend starting with the exercise – go for a walk, and focus on positive thoughts or affirmations while walking. After doing that for a few days, people often feel more able to start some of the other steps. Connie
I have been trying to find the WWW for such information and i wanted to thank you for the post. By the way, just off topic, where can i get a copy of this theme? – 10x
Just diagnosed w/CFS and fibromyalgia. Read Teitelbaum’s book but still feel lost as to where to begin treatment and what treatment. Any suggestions, espeically for services in Humboldt Co., would be greatly appreciated…(former patient and currently with Dr. Marshall). Thanks.
Connie..Some years back you gave me a prescription for Leucovorin Calcium and I’ve been taking it ever since. Can you tell me what it is, what it’s for, and can I quit?
Hi, Connie, I recently found an online USA Today article from 2007 in which you talked about your radioiodine treatment in relation to concerns about contaminating your daughter. I am almost four years out from having my total thyroidectomy for papillary TC, but have not yet had radioiodine treatment. I am very concerned about the safety of my three y.o. son. You mentioned in the article that one paper you read said that one four-thousandth of your dose (I assume you had around 75 mCi?) could potentially be enough to cause cancer. Do you remember where you found this info, or do you have any recommendations for good resources on I-131 exposure and safety? I’ve seen so much varied info on safety guidelines, and the website of one clinic that treats thy.ca. patients actually recommended only lap-sitting but no hugging, etc. for an extra couple of weeks even following the initial week of isolation, which would be extra difficult because my son sleeps in the bed with us. I am likely on the brink of having to go ahead with the radioiodine due to a suspicious pet scan and would appreciate any helpful information you may be able to share. Thanks so much.
I had 100 mCi the first time and 200 the second. It is an interesting disconnect, because the environmental safety articles talk about the low dose required to cause cancer and the treatment articles almost ignore the subject. Weirdly, small doses of I-131 may be more dangerous in some ways, because they cause mutation and do not kill thyroid cells completely.
There are 2 issues:
1. Your child being affected by the amount of radiation coming from your body. This is pretty small, though highest in the first few days after treatment.
2. Your child being affected by ingested I-131, which will go straight to his thyroid. I think this is where the concern is. Your urine, sweat, saliva, tears, etc. will contain this, so any surface you contaminate could be a danger if he gets those secretions in his mouth somehow.
The half-life of the iodine itself is 8 days, and we usually talk about 4-5 half-lives to really clear (the remaining amount after 4 half-lives is about 6%, after 5 is about 3%) but the half-life in your body is much shorter because your body actively excretes it. For the standard person receiving RAI who has no thyroid tissue, the vast majority of the dose is gone in 3-5 days. If there is tumor tissue that holds onto the radiation, it can stick around longer – supposedly you can set off radiation alarms in airports for up to 3 months. . . They will almost certainly do a scan after you get the RAI, and you will be able to tell from that whether it is hanging on somewhere in your body. Mine stuck around in one of my ovaries, for reasons no one can figure out. . . .
I will also say I am completely on the paranoid end of the spectrum (afraid of plastic containers, non-organic foods, etc. for my kid,) so take what I say with a grain of salt, but I think staying a good distance away for at least 3 days, ideally a week (not even lap-sitting) makes sense, but then physical contact like hugging should really not be an issue unless there is residual tumor. Still, being cautious of surfaces you may have contaminated (your bathroom, sink knobs, etc.) for a few weeks is prudent. My concern about sharing the bed would be more the drool, and less the contact, but it would be great if your partner could sleep between you and your son, and maybe to wash the pillowcase daily. . .
As far as I could tell, no one has ever done surveillance on family members of people treated with I-131 for thyroid cancer to see if their family members develop more thyroid cancer down the road, but when I was on the online support group I participated in around the time of my treatment I met two other patients whose parents had been treated for ThyCa.
Connie
I attempted to provide a donation last night and use the “ask a doctor feature”. I got a confirmation on the website, but no confirmation email and I don’t see the amount debited from my account yet. So, I’ll waive privacy and just ask my question here. I have been diagnosed with pelvic organ prolapse. The doctor who saw me recommended that I quit breastfeeding in order to strengthen the tissues (in addition to kiegles, pilates). My daughter will be 10 months old next week. So my questions are in general: (1) will quitting breastfeeding substantially improve the health of the tissues? (2) Are there any studies that indicate that my daughter’s health will benefit by continued breastfeeding past 10 months or have the benefits of breastfeeding been accomplished by 6 months as this doctor has suggested?
Hey, sorry, I got the notification of donation but then no e-mail with a question and I think Paypal had the wrong e-mail address.
I agree with your doctor that hormonal changes can make a huge difference in pelvic relaxation/prolapse, but I really do not think quitting breastfeeding is necessary. The idea is to get some estrogen back (breastfeeding suppresses that,) but it is very simple to give some vaginal estrogen cream and continue to breastfeed. There is a theoretical risk that your milk supply could be decreased by doing that, but that is unlikely after you have been established breastfeeding this long. You might ask your doc if they would be willing to try that. (FYI, the traditional Chinese medicine remedy for prolapse is astragalus, though there is minimal research for this indication. It is mostly studied for immune support. I like to recommend cooking with astragalus to prevent infections and keep your family well, so you might think about that for this situation in hopes of a two-fer.)
As for breastfeeding benefits, there is a great website that has collected a lot of the relevant articles at Linkages Project. There is some
additional benefit for the child in continuing to breastfeed in the second 6 months of life, and every additional 6 months you breastfeed also provides you with increased protection from breast cancer. I do recommend weaning by around age 2 if your daughter has not decided to do it on her own, just for behavioral reasons.
Connie
It is a derivative of folic acid, which I give when people are not efficiently making use of folic acid. I would recommend having your provider check a homocysteine level and then stop it and recheck a couple of months later. Hopefully you do not need it any more, but having folic acid and “methylation” working well in your cells may help with keeping autoimmune conditions under control, improving memory, etc.
Connie
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integrative counseling…
Thank you for your help!…
colonics…
Congratulations, you just earned yourself an entry in my feed reader, great blog….
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