Health

Men’s Hair Loss

May 19, 2020 by Anne Sweet Leave a Comment

There are many reasons why men suffer hair loss, alopecia, chemotherapy, injury, or just plain male pattern baldness.

My husband has male pattern baldness. It’s kind of strange as when we met he had this full head of lovely curly hair. He kept it short, but I loved it when it grew out a little and the curls showed. Our Little Man is the same, only a lot lighter in colour.

Male pattern baldness occurs to around six and a half million men in the UK. It starts by thinning hair or a receding hair line. It can cause distress to some men who don’t feel ready to lose their hair. Some can even suffer with their mental health because of their hair loss. I don’t know if my husband worries so much about his hair loss. He tends to feel happier once he shaves the whole lot off and goes completely bald.

He has tried products in the past to increase hair growth, but if I’m honest, I had more success than him. I had hair loss because of the medication I was on, but I no longer have a problem.

a man looking through a window with a bald patch on his head. — *Male pattern baldness*

Other Things to Try

If a man really doesn’t want to be bald their are so many things that can be done these days. Gone are the days of the toupee that look fake and blow away in gust. These days you can purchase stock hairpieces for men which look perfectly natural and cost a whole lot less than a professional hair transplant. Of course, if you have a spare £10,000 lying around you can go for the surgery instead!

For a natural looking hair piece you would be satisfied with a lace hair system professionally applied to your scalp and then styled the way you want. Personally I don’t mind bald men, but if you are young and it starts falling out early then you can start looking younger again with a really good hair piece.

What do you think? Hair or no hair?

man with a full head of hair in the barbers

Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.

Diet and Health – You are What you Eat

May 5, 2020 by Anne Sweet Leave a Comment

Why Are Diet And Health Connected?

You are what you eat. diet and health by www.Raisiebay.com

When you are thinking about diet and health, it’s quite simple really, you are what you eat! What you put in your body is what your body uses for energy and growth. Eat well and your body will work well. But what happens if you do what you can but things still go wrong? You might have your five a day, include protein, dairy, oil and starch and drink plenty of fluids, but your body may still not be as healthy as you wish.

This is when people start considering other types of problems with diet and how they are affecting their health.

Diet and Health Issues

So what sort of health issues can your diet cause, or improve? Weight is obviously one. People are all for not shaming people for being overweight and I’m one that believes that some people are genuinely meant to be a bigger size than others and if that doesn’t cause them any health problems then that’s fine. But if being overweight does cause problems then maybe it’s time to think about your diet and start making improvements.

Other issues can be caused by changing your diet without first checking that it would be better for you. A lot of people decide to cut out dairy or meat but fail to replace the nutrients they supply. Sometimes simple nutritional tests can be the way to find out whether a vegan diet would be best for you.

Trying Different Diets

It’s always best to consult your doctor before making drastic changes to your diet. But, there are ways you can make improvements and see if they work.

A few years ago I tried a Paleo diet. I kept it up for about a month but I found it hard as it was quite strict. I did find that certain things made me feel worse though, like sugar and starchy food. Unlike many I have low blood pressure which means I can take a little extra salt in my diet. The problem is I don’t really like salt or salty tasting things.

I’ve also tried replacing food with protein shakes but although they were filling, I did miss actually eating food.

I’ve tried a vegetarian diet, which mostly worked as I’m not a great meat eater, but I do like to eat fish, and I find fish gives me a lot of the nutrients that I lack. So, I ended up being more a Pescatarian, where I ate fish but not meat. Eventually, a little meat started creeping back in though. I have a large family and it gets difficult cooking different types of meals for everyone. We have to strike a balance somewhere.

Finding the Right Balance

It can be easy if you are living alone, but when you have a whole family to think of you need to be able to find the right balance of food that fits in with everyone. That doesn’t mean that everyone will like the same foods, I have two children that love peas and three that hate them for instance, but you can make things work. We can all have a paella, but I can dish some up before adding the pre cooked peas.

My husband and I get heartburn but we have worked out which food cause the biggest problems and eliminate them, or eat them less frequently. I have family members with digestive issues, so I can make sure they get the food which helps them most, if I can’t give them what they need in food then drinks always helps. I’ve found in the past that even just a change in breakfast cereal can make a difference.

We don’t always eat healthily and we do sometimes turn to junk or comfort food. But I try to make sure we eat enough to give us the right nutrients along with the diet that causes us the less stress to our bodies.

Occasionally, I do stop and think about how lucky we are to have such a wide range of food available to us and that we are able to afford it. When times get hard financially we can choose to cut out the treats and still be able to afford healthy food. It’s so easy to choose ready made meals and meals from jars, but when you make your own food you know exactly what you are putting into it. We always say we make our food with love and whether it’s Spaghetti bolognese, a sandwich or a chocolate cake, we know all the ingredients and what affect the food will have on us.

Most weeks I try to write up my weekly meal plan on my other blog At Home a Lot. Planning meals can help a lot with deciding what you want to eat each day and working out what you need to buy each week.

Can CBD Effectively Manage Pain?

March 26, 2020 by Anne Sweet Leave a Comment

CBD or Cannabidiol is a chemical found naturally in Sativa plants, mainly cannabis and hemp. It is essential to understand that it is different from THC, which is the chemical that induces a ‘high’ when smoked or ingested. Contrary to this, CBD does not alter the mind but is thought to have many medical uses. Unfortunately, a long period of prohibition has resulted in a lack of appropriate research; however, it is widely agreed that CBD is safer than opioids, and it has been approved by the FDA as a product for epilepsy in a brand called Epidiolex.

How Can It Help Pain?

Every person has an endocannabinoid system, and CBD interacts with the receptors in your brain and immune system. These receptors are small proteins attached to your cells that receive signals, mostly chemical ones, and help your cells respond appropriately. This response creates anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects to help with pain management.

Although clinical trials and studies are thin on the ground, one study conducted between 1975 and 2018 has examined CBD and its effects on various types of pain, including:

Cancer pain
Neuropathic pain
Fibromyalgia

These studies concluded that CBD was effective in managing pain; however, it is widely recognized that more studies are necessary to fully understand how this takes place and how to use the product optimally.

CBD for Arthritis

A 2016 study looked at CBD use in rats with arthritis. The rats had gel applied to the site of inflammation for four days in a row, and the results were a considerable reduction in inflammation with no apparent side effects.

A similar study in dogs using a double-blind placebo found that when CBD was administered to the dogs twice a day, it was effective in the management of arthritis and dogs in the study revealed improvements in both mobility and activity following the study. CBD dog biscuits are now widely used to treat arthritis in canines.

CBD for Cancer Treatment Relief

Research has shown CBD to shrink tumors in mice, although there has been little in the way of scientific evidence of the same effect being prevalent in humans. However, CBD has been studied in the management of pain and other symptoms following treatments for cancer, and The National Cancer Institute has identified it as a possible option for reducing the side effects of chemotherapy, including pain, vomiting and lack of appetite.

A 2010 study revealed that using CBD was more effective at reducing pain than opioids alone. This is a significant finding given that opioids are responsible for many addictions across the globe. They not only make patients sleepy, but in higher doses, they can slow breathing and heart rate, which in turn can lead to death. The number of people who have died resulting from taking opioids is significant enough to make the medical community look for an alternative. In 2017 along more than 47,000 Americans died as a result of an opioid overdose.

*This is a collaborative post

December – Life with a Chronic Illness

December 2, 2019 by Anne Sweet 9 Comments

Each month I join up with Sheryl from A Chronic Voice for some writing prompts aimed at living life with a chronic illness. This months writing prompts are Travelling, Bonding, Warming, Coping, Ending.

Travelling

I don’t do much travelling around this time of year. My family are all close by, and the only ones who are not come to visit us. This will be on December 14th.

In November, I only left the house three times, and one of those outings was an hospital appointment! The other I was only out for an hour, and the final outing was on the very last day when we went to the local Christmas Tree lights festival. (Anyone who follows me on Social Media will have seen me saying that I’ve only been out twice in November, but that’s brain fog for you, I completely forgot about the other time.)

I will be going out more this month (Fingers crossed) but not really travelling much. I have booked our holiday for next year though. It’s still in the UK but I love a seaside holiday. I have also realised that as my kids get older these families will become a thing of the past. I still remember when my eldest kids became to old to come on holiday with us. I even remember when I got too old to go on holiday with my Mum. I feel sad, but maybe it will give me an opportunity for more travel seeing as it will cost less paying for so many children. Let’s just hope I stay healthy enough.

Bonding

We have had a week of a sickness bug running it’s way through the family and suddenly I have had children again and plenty of bonding. In particular, my Little Man. Instead of wanting to be glued to a laptop or phone or other device, with his headphones on and seemingly in another world, he has spent time talking to me and we even cuddled up together on the settee one day and watched a movie together. I think we all need this special time, either as a family or just two of us. I also got to watch a movie with my husband which rarely happens. He’s generally more interested in watching the sports channel upstairs, sometimes life is too hectic for this kind of bonding.

In past years Christmas was always a time of bonding as my Nan, who was the glue of our family, would bring us all together for the holiday. She left us many years ago now and the family drifted further and further apart. In fact I barely see any of my cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and so on. I don’t even see one of my brother’s. So it’s just Graham’s Mum and brothers and my eldest brother and his wife. It seems so distant, those days of a house full of relatives, when the furniture would be moved around to fit them in and the chairs from the kitchen dotted around the living room.

These days the only bonding I get with my extended family is through sending Christmas cards. And sometimes I don’t even manage this.

Warming

I suffer so much from cold weather, even at home I find myself covered in blankets and layers of clothes just trying to keep warm and the pain at bay. Sometimes, you just have venture out though and that’s when the warmer clothes come in handy.

In no particular order, the things that make me feel warm in December are;

Hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows (And maybe a tot of Baileys)
Christmas Carols, I love them and know all the words
Believing in Father Christmas, the kids might be getting older but I will always believe in him as it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.
Christmas bells, we are lucky to live near a carrillion which plays the most wonderful Christmas music on a Saturday afternoon.
Christmas feel good movies. I can watch them all, no matter how corny.
Christmas decorations, trees and lights. I get a warm fuzzy feeling just looking at them.
A lovely real fire. We don’t have one, we don’t even have a chimney (But it’s okay, Father Christmas has a magic key) but I can put the You Tube video of a real fire on my TV and put my feet up in front of it. There is no heat but it still makes me feel warm.
Christmas food..yummy, everything from chocolate to brussell sprouts. I love Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, and all the treats and deserts that are okay to indulge in over Christmas.

And there is nothing nicer than coming home after a cold outing to a lovely warm house, or cuddling up on the sofa with a blanket, or getting into a lovely warm bed. There are so many ways to feel warm.

Coping

This is a big one for me this month. I stopped my treatment, on advice from my consultant, nearly three months ago. So it’s probably completely out of my system now. It’s been hard and I’ve almost phoned the hospital on many occasions to ask them to give me my treatment (my consultant said I could do this any time.) But, on the other hand, I’ve coped better than I thought I would, and although I’ve gone backwards on many things, I’ve also noticed that some of the side effects are starting to disappear.

That’s one of the problems with a rare chronic illness like Stiff Person Syndrome, no-one really knows what will make it better, and everyone who has it reacts differently to treatments. So coping is the best I can do.

As for the season’s festivities, I cope with them by taking everything slowly. There was a time where I’d be in a tiz if my decorations were not put up on December 1st, but we have a lot on in the following week so I doubt my husband will be able to get the decorations out for me any time soon. We will also have to move furniture, something I can’t do. The Christmas shopping is mostly done online, so that’s how I cope with that. Along with very careful planning.

Ending

The end of the year, such a bittersweet time, especially as you get older. I often wonder if this will be my last year on this earth, will I even make it through another year. I often wonder how I will make through a night so this is not an isolated feeling. Some people say they are glad to see the back of the year, especially when things have not been so good. But I always look back and think of all the positive acheivements I’ve made. The bad times don’t just disappear, but it’s much nicer thinking about the good times, and there is always more than you think.

In past times the period between Christmas Day and the New Year has brought much sadness, grief and pain. It’s a difficult time for us as a family and we realise that all we have is each other, so we try to spend the time quietly, bonding with each other and coping in our own way.

I was admitted to hospital on New Years Day 2016 which is when my chronic illness journey began. So this year it will be four years sick.

Thanks for reading. I’m linking up with Sheryl here and you can click through to see other bloggers interperete the same prompts.

Explaining the Different Types of Eating Disorders

October 23, 2019 by Anne Sweet 2 Comments

photo of a woman with a plate of food — *stock photo from Unsplash/PicMonkey*

While it’s a fairly common, albeit harmful, misconception that eating disorders are just phases, fads, or kinds of lifestyle choices, they should be seen as the serious mental illnesses they really are. Eating disorders can have serious and detrimental consequences on a person’s physical and psychological health, not to mention affecting their everyday lives and social lives.

Eating disorders are classified as a mental health issue, with at least 1 in 10 people in the United States suffering from an eating disorder at some point in their lives. Understanding the different kinds of each type of eating disorder is necessary to help recognize symptoms and find successful treatments before the consequences become life-threatening.

What is an eating disorder?

Eating disorders are usually started from an obsession with body weight, body shape, and food which can result in serious health problems and even death. People who suffer from eating disorders can starve themselves by restricting the amount of food they eat, can have an unhealthy relationship with food and binge, or can over-exercise or purge after eating to avoid caloric intake.

They are most often reported in young women and adolescents, but can affect any gender at any age and can be brought on by genetics or other mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Often, eating disorders are co-diagnosed with other mental illnesses.

Binge eating disorder

People who suffer from binge eating disorder have similar symptoms to those with bulimia, as the illness causes them to eat unusually large quantities of food in short periods of time. Binge eaters often also feel a lack of control during their binges and end up over-eating. Unlike the other types of eating disorders explained in this article, people with binge eating disorder don’t count or restrict calories or use purging behaviours to counteract their binges, which are often done in secret.

People who binge eat are often obese or overweight, which can increase the risk of medical conditions like stroke, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. If you or someone you love is suffering from binge eating disorder, there are treatment options, including visiting a treatment centre like edentreatment.com, where professionals will work with you or your loved one to find a personalized treatment plan.

Anorexia nervosa

Anorexia nervosa is the eating disorder that is most well-known and most often thought of when eating disorders are discussed. People who suffer from anorexia typically view themselves as overweight, even if they are dangerously underweight, and will drastically restrict their food intake in order to be thinner. They will usually constantly monitor their weight and avoid eating specific types of foods while having dysfunctional thoughts about food and eating. It also isn’t uncommon for people with anorexia to have difficulty eating in public.

Anorexia nervosa is severely unhealthy for the body, as it can cause serious health complications like heart, brain, or multi-organ failure and death. 20% of people who suffer from anorexia will die from the disorder, making it the deadliest mental illness. In less severe cases, it is still quite damaging to the body, causing thinning of the bones, brittle hair and nails, infertility, and the growth of a layer of fine hair all over the body.

Bulimia nervosa

People who suffer from bulimia nervosa will eat unusually high quantities of food in a short period of time, similar to people who binge eat. However, people with bulimia will attempt to purge the food after eating in order to compensate for the calories they have just consumed. Purging activities include forced vomiting, fasting for relatively long periods of time, taking laxatives, and excessively exercising.

Symptoms are usually similar to the symptoms of binge eating or anorexia, however, it isn’t uncommon for a person suffering from bulimia to maintain a relatively normal body weight rather than becoming underweight. The side effects can be quite serious, including stroke or heart attack caused by an imbalance in body levels like sodium, calcium, and potassium. Less serious side effects can include tooth decay and worn enamel, acid reflux, gut irritation, inflamed throat, and severe dehydration.