28 Jul 11 LOWERING YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE: QUESTIONS ABOUT DRUGS AND MORE

What’s wrong with taking drugs for HBP? Aren’t they effective?In a technical sense they can be quite effective. There is no question that doctors have succeeded in lowering the BP of many people through using one or more of the 50 or so drugs currently available on the market for this purpose. But these drugs do not always work, and even when they do, they usually produce serious side effects.
What are some of these side effects?Nausea, fatigue, sexual impotence in men, and a host of others. Most of these drugs also deplete the body’s supply of potassium and, as will be explained later on, the supplements which doctors often prescribe to compensate for this don’t always work too well. Some drugs even tend to wash vitamin B6 out of the system.A much more severe side effect is cancer. Studies at Oxford University in England, the Boston University Medical School and at the University of Utah Medical School have all pointed to this danger. As a matter of fact, the Food and Drug Administration warned physicians that women taking drugs containing reserpine, a commonly used substance in BP control, ran a risk of breast cancer that was two or three times greater than that of other women.
Does that mean that people with HBP should not take drugs?By no means. But they should simultaneously seek to lower their blood pressure through more natural methods so that they can reduce their need for such medication. Some may reach the point where they will not need drugs at all. Certainly, many have already done so.
If these more natural methods are so effective as you claim, why don’t doctors make greater use of them?Doctors usually do tell their HBP patients to give up cigarettes, cut down on salt and, if they are overweight, to reduce. These are all useful admonitions although, as we shall learn, there is much more to be said about all of them. But, in general, most doctors show little interest in these other methods of blood pressure control even when, as is often the case, they are backed up by scrupulous scientific research. Indeed, most doctors don’t even know about most of this research.
*13/151/5*

13 Jul 11 HOW BDD AFFECTS LIVES – SUICIDE

It isn’t known how many people with BDD kill themselves, but some do. A study of dermatology patients reported the very sobering finding that of those patients known to have committed suicide over 20 years, most had acne or BDD. The psychiatric literature also contains descriptions of people with BDD who committed suicide because they were so distraught and despairing over their perceived ugliness. And I know of numerous people with BDD who committed suicide. Several were beautiful young women with skin concerns who picked their skin. Another was a young man who had been obsessed with his “misshapen” forehead, and another a young man who hated his hair. Yet another was a man in his 50s who hated his beard and whose life had been devastated by BDD.Bill told me that there were some people with BDD I’d never be able to interview. When I asked why, he answered, “Because they’re dead—they’ve killed themselves.” He should know, because he had attempted suicide 15 times because of the pores on his nose. He could no longer cope with the torment of his perceived ugliness. Another man said something nearly identical: “I think many people have committed suicide because of BDD. I know, because it’s so painful. I made two suicide attempts at the time my symptoms were severe. I felt very isolated, and I lost hope.”I have no doubt that in many cases successful psychiatric treatment (SRIs and/or CBT) prevents suicide. In my fluoxetine (Prozac) study, suicidal thinking decreased significantly more with fluoxetine than with placebo (sugar pill) treatment. Juanita had a good response to fluoxetine. She called me years later to say that she’d gotten married and had a great job. She was no longer suicidal over how she looked. Luke also had an excellent response to the same medication plus cognitive-behavioral therapy. After treatment, his appearance no longer tormented him. He went on to a successful career in television, and gave up thoughts of suicide. “It’s the furthest thing from my mind now,” he told me. “I have a great life. Thank God I got treatment. I owe my life to it.”*146\204\8*

06 Jul 11 GETTING MIGRAINE: RELATIONSHIP OF MIGRAINE TO OTHER DISEASES AND MORE

Relationship of migraine to other diseasesAlthough there are many conditions that produce pain in the head region, e.g. sinusitis, high blood pressure, eye strain, there is no proof that these conditions predispose to migraine.On the other hand, many migraine sufferers notice that their attacks are more frequent when they are ‘run-down’ or suffering from general upsets.Case CD, on returning from a lecture-tour of India, suddenly developed frequent (sometimes twice-daily) attacks of migraine, which were produced by slight stress, e.g. a short walk. Analysis of his blood showed evidence of an infection, which later proved to be an inflammatory bowel disorder. When the latter condition was cured with treatment, he suffered no further migraine attacks.
Migraine in the elderlyOld people do not suffer from migraine as commonly or as severely as the young. There are exceptions to this rule, however. Many women whose migraine is worse at the time of the menstrual period are told that their attacks will go with the menopause. This is often, but not always, the case.There is little doubt that, on the whole, attacks change in their characteristics with ageing, e.g. vomiting is less severe and in many cases the disorder becomes less troublesome.
Weekend migraineAlthough migraine is often thought of as a stress disease, there are many sufferers who get attacks only when they are relaxing either at weekends or on holiday. Others will get attacks only when they are anticipating an exciting event, e.g. a party. This can be so distinctive that they will refuse invitations in the certain knowledge that acceptance will provoke an attack.
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