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May, 2011

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May 27, 2011 9:22 am

PIPES IN YOUR CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM

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by admin    in Cardio & Blood-Cholesterol
Your blood vessels – the pipes – are pretty amazing, too. This complex network of tubular passageways carries blood from the heart to tissues throughout the body and back again to the heart. Freshly oxygenated blood leaving the heart enters the aorta, the large artery connected to the left ventricle, which branches off into large, elastic arteries and smaller arterioles. Your vascular system contains more than 100,000 arterioles, many of which are less than 1/100 inch in diameter. Arteries have thick, elastic walls made of smooth muscle tissue that allows them to expand and contract in response to changes in pressure against them caused by the heart’s rhythmic pumping action. As the muscular arteries contract and relax, they act much like reservoirs and auxiliary pumps, keeping the blood flowing during the resting phase of the heartbeat.
Arterioles are the smallest of the arteries. They deliver oxygenated blood to capillaries and interconnecting branchlike capillary beds. These tiny vessels, sometimes collectively called the microvasculature, are extremely thin-walled and fragile. As fluids diffuse through the capillary walls, nutrients, gases, hormones, and other vital components are delivered to the tissues, and waste products of cellular metabolism are picked up.
The blood then begins its journey back to the heart, flowing from capillaries into small venules that merge to form larger veins. Veins have thinner, less muscular walls than arteries, but their diameter is wider and they are equipped with a complex series of valves. Unlike the blood flow through the arteries, which is assisted by the muscles in the vessels themselves, venous blood flow is assisted by pressure changes that occur when you breathe, which suck blood upward. This is known as the respiratory pump. In addition, as the skeletal muscles throughout your body contract and relax, they move venous blood toward the heart, a phenomenon called the muscular pump. (This explains why your feet and ankles swell when you sit or stand for long periods of time. The muscles in your lower extremities are not active enough to help move blood up through the veins, resulting in pooling of blood and swelling.) All the while, the valves in the veins prevent backflow.
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May 18, 2011 9:04 am

COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR DOCTOR DURING CANCER TREATMENT: BUILDING RAPPORT

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by admin    in Cancer
Go to the appointment with an attitude that your relationship with the doctor is as a partnership in managing one of the biggest projects of your life! Building a ‘sense’ of trust means accepting that your cancer doctor is highly trained and has the technical medical expertise to manage your physical well being. Their skills then balance your ‘expertise’ of what your emotional and spiritual needs are. However although much of the treatment they prescribe may make you feel like leaping off a tall building at times, most doctors do not provide unnecessary treatments. Remember, they too want to preserve your life in the best way possible. An attitude like this will start the relationship in a positive manner and develop a level of optimism essential to your well-being.
The reality is, however, that not all doctors will match your style and needs. If the doctor’s communication style, listening skills (or lack of) or personality make you feel uneasy, keep in mind their human foibles. Always ask for a second opinion if you are unclear about the diagnosis or treatment plan. Regrettably some doctors do let arrogance and egos mask their style, and are better not being the recipient of your time or money! Always take someone with you to your appointment – another ‘pair of ears’, someone to comfort you on the way home and talk things through.
Make sure your doctor is the person you think he/she is. You have the right to be treated in an appropriate and sensitive manner, and with current, accurate information. Make sure that the person caring for you is properly trained and has experience in treating your type of cancer. If you live in a rural or regional area, and the choice of doctor is limited, ask what alternatives there are for specialist attention. This is especially important with gynecological and breast cancer.
If your spoken language is different to the doctor or, if you have a hearing impairment, take someone who can interpret for you. Ask for support groups and resources that can explain the medical terms in a simple way, and that are translated in your language or sensitive to your national culture.
Take a notepad and pen – write any questions you have down before your visit. Ask your friend to write the answers down while the doctor is talking. Ask if you can tape record the consultation. Keep in mind that your appointment is for a restricted time, and other patients will be waiting. If you have a lot of questions and concerns and will need a longer appointment, contact the receptionist well before the appointment and advise them that you will need a longer visit.
Make sure any anxieties you have, no matter how small they may seem, are discussed with the doctor before you leave the appointment. Discussing ALL your concerns will help give you peace of mind, and give you correct answers. Our friends are full of advice and want to help, but not all have accurate information, and your doctor will be too busy to take your calls exactly when you may need reassurance or extra advice. If questions develop after your appointment write them down as you think of them for the next consultation.
*31/144/5*
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May 5, 2011 8:24 am

ALCOHOLISM TREATMENT TECHNIQUES AND APPROACHES: GROUP WORK WITH ALCOHOLICS

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by admin    in Anti Depressants-Sleeping Aid
In contemplating group work with alcoholics, the leader will need to consider several basic issues. What is the purpose of the group? What are the goals for the individual members? Where will the group meet? How often? What will the rules be? The first question is the key. The purpose of the group should be clear in the leader’s mind. There are many possible legitimate purposes. Experience shows that not all can be met simultaneously. It is far better to have different types of groups available, with members participating in several, than to lump everything into one group and accomplish nothing.
Some of the major group focuses include education, self-awareness of alcohol use, support for treatment, problem solving, and activity/resocialization.
Educational groups attempt to impart factual information about alcohol, its effects, and alcoholism. There is a complex relationship between knowledge, feelings, and behavior. Correct facts and information do not stop alcoholic drinking, but they can be important in breaking down denial, which protects the alcoholic drinking. Besides battering denial, educational efforts assist the already motivated person. Information provides an invaluable framework for understanding what has happened and what treatment is about. Alcoholics acquire some cognitive tools to better participate in their own treatment. Educational groups generally include a lecture, film, or presentation by a specialist in the alcohol field, followed by a group discussion.
Another kind of educational activity developed by Leona M. Kent in California, is the AA Training Group. In a series of ten sessions, the clients are introduced to the structure, philosophy, and jargon of AA. The intent is to help the referral process to AA of persons in treatment programs. Many of these clients are resistive, or confused, and apprehensive about AA. Normally, in AA this kind of information is shared informally between a sponsor and a newcomer. Without an introduction, some clients would never get close enough to understand how the AA program works.
Self-awareness and support groups are intended to assist the members to grapple honestly with the role of alcohol in their lives. The group function is to support sobriety, to identify the characteristic ways in which people sabotage themselves. In these groups, the emphasis is on the here and now. The participants are expected to deal with feelings as well as facts. The goal is not intellectual understanding of why things have, or are, occurring. Rather, the hope is to have members discover how they feel and learn how feelings are translated into behavior. They then choose how they would prefer to behave, and try it on for size.
A problem-solving group is directed at tackling specific problem or stress areas in the group members’ lives. Either discussion, role play, or a combination may be used. For example, how to say no to an offer to have a beer or how to handle an upcoming job interview could be appropriate topics. The goal is to develop an awareness of potential stress situations, to identify the old response pattern and how it created problems, and then to try new behaviors. These sessions thus provide practice for more effective coping behaviors.
Activity groups are least likely to resemble the stereotype of group therapy. In these groups an activity or project is undertaken, such as a ward or client government meeting or a planning session for a picnic. The emphasis is on more than the apparent task. The task is also a sample of real life; thus it provides a practice arena for the clients to identify areas of strength and weakness in interpersonal relationships. Here, too, the people have a safe place to practice new behaviors.
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