Aging Gracefully Barbies

Because of the field of anti-aging medicine I practice in, I get a lot of humorous things that come my way regarding menopause and aging.  If the walls of my office could talk this is a lot of what you would hear from women who are honest with 'the change' that's going on in their body.  So, here goes, this post if for the ladies who like to laugh and who can probably relate to this line up of Aging Gracefully Barbies. 

1. Bifocal Barbie: Comes with her own set of blended-lens fashion frames in six wild colors (half-frames too!) neck chain and large-print editions of Vogue and Martha Stewart Living.

2. Hot Flash Barbie: Press Barbie's belly and watch her face turn beet red while tiny drops of perspiration appear on her forehead.  Comes with a hand-held fan and tiny tissues.

3.  Flabby Arms Barbie: Hide Barbie's droopy triceps with these new, roomier-sleeved gowns.  Comes with toning balls and a stretch band for her New Years workout

4.  Bunion Barbie: Years of disco dancing in stiletto heels have definitely taken their toll on Barbie's dainty arched feet.  Soothe her sores with the pumice stone and plasters, then slip on soft terry mules.

5.  No-More-Wrinkles Barbie: Erase those pesky crows feet and lip lines with a tube of Skin Sparkle Spackle from Barbies own line of exclusive age-blasting cosmetics. 

6. Soccer Mom Barbie: All the experience as a cheer-leader is really paying off as Barbie dusts off her old high school megaphone to root for Ashley and Ken Jr. Comes with minivan in robin-egg blue or white, and cooler filled with juice drinks and lunch meat.

7.  Post-Menopausal Barbie: You get to fill in the blanks on this one.  Imagine what this Special Edition Barbie might be described as.  It includes... She is sick and tired of Ken sitting on the couch watching the tube, clicking through the channels.  Comes with Depends and Kleenex.  As a bonus this year, the book "Getting in Touch with Your Inner Self" is included.

I want one of each!!!

May your days be Merry and Bright! 

~Dr. Sonja

Just 5%.......little is BIG! My New Years Resolution

little changes with BIG effects....

What if people would just change 5% of their daily habits, routines, sleep, stress, etc.?  I can tell you, it would have a significant impact on just about everything.   I'm going to show you in this BLOG. 

Goal setting is important and we all do it this time of the year. Everyone is expecting you to share your 'New Years Resolution', right?  I'm just hoping it won't end in the middle of January for you as is common to most.  Here's mine and I've been thinking about this.  I figure we can all reasonably control 5% of flux from the main line of what is ideal in our life.  Yep, just 5% is more than doable.

I'm a numbers person so I began to put this thought and principle to the test and it's HUGE. Here goes....If you do a dedicated exercise routine of 30 minutes a day, a 5% addition would result in 547.5 extra minutes a year. Plus, at a pace of 4mph on the treadmill resulting in 1 mile in 15 min, you could add an extra 36.5 miles a year.  Wow! Here's another one.  If you sleep about 6 hours a day, a 5% increase could add an extra 109 hours of sleep a year.  Double WOW!!  little IS.... BIG!! If you spent 5% more time with your family than watching the TV (based on a 2010 average of about 3.5 hours) then at the end of the year would would spend 60 hours more time with your family.  Incredible!

Then I started pondering the clinical significance of our health and the impact that 5% could have in our society.  What if we all moved the balance bubble just 5% toward the mark? These are some numbers from the National Institute of Health and the American Diabetes Association.  Yikes!

~Approximately 24 million Americans have diabetes. (a reduction of 5% could mean 1.2 million less)
~12.6 million women have diabetes (a reduction of 5% could mean 630,000 less women)
~79 million Americans have pre-diabetes. (a blood glucose higher than normal, but not high enough for a diabetes diagnosis).  The damage to the body is already occurring, but it is silent at this point. You do the math.
~7.9 million ambulatory care visits are made to physicians offices and hospital outpatient and emergency departments for major depressive disorder each year.  That could be reduced by 395,000 visits.  Imagine the impact that could have on our health care system and expenditures.

Are you considering a 5% shift yet? I hope so.

What are some target areas to implement the +/- 5% rule? 

~Exercise
~Diet (start reducing calories by 5%. If you normally eat 2500 calories a day, then at the end of the year you will save yourself 45,625 calories.)
~Sleep
~Stress and Stress Hormone (cortisol) reduction (change just 5% from the lifestyle your are leading)
~Habits and Routines (TV and computer time, workload and responsibilities, etc.)
~Social Networks (I wrote another BLOG on the impact of social networks.  You might want to check that out and make changes accordingly.  Your friends/spouse might be making you happy, but also fat.)
~Family
~Faith and Friendships
~Quiet time

My New Years Resolution is going to be to change my life by just 5%.  If I make a 5% change in all of these areas, the numbers will really be compounded.  Would you consider doing the same?  Now just imagine if everyone would do their part!?!? ---->>  We could ALL see significant change in 2012.

It's been an amazing year in business.  We have prepared over 5,000 customized formulations for all types of needs.  If we increase that by just 5%, that will be 250 more people that we help this year.  How awesome is that?!?! Assess what you do and the impact that just 5% could have on your day to day life and the people that you touch.  You will be in awe at what the numbers show.  Go for just 5%!!!

I hope you have a Happy New Year!
To your good health,
Dr. Sonja

Feel Like Puking Your Guts Out?

That's kind of an intense title I understand, but for someone who is experiencing a bout of the stomach blues, there's just no other way to describe it.  What if I told you that I could prepare a gel that you rub on to your wrist to stop the queasies and prevent episodes of nausea and vomiting?  I can and do. :)
Read on.......... There's nothing worse than being sick at your stomach and this time of the year we typically see a surge in cases of nausea and vomiting as people's immune systems succumb to the pressure of the winter flu bug.  Entire families begin to drop like dominoes as they pass the illness from one person to another.  Moms begin to worry that their kids are going to become dehydrated as they struggle to keep enough fluids on board their sick little bodies. You rarely have warning that it's coming and unfortunately most people's medicine cabinets are not stocked appropriately to handle the invasion and insult.  There are a few good things to have on hand that might just prevent a trip to the convenience store at 2am on a Sunday morning.  Those would include:

Pepto Bismol for upset stomach
Imodium for diarrhea
Tums for gas and indigestion
Emetrol for nausea and vomiting
Pedialyte Popsicles and Liquid
Chicken noodle soup and Sprite (that's for my mom who thinks it's the cure all.  Thanks Mom!)

I also want to mention a prescription remedy for nausea and vomiting that we make in the lab all the time.  It's called Phenergan Gel and you simply rub it on your wrist every 4-6 hours.  Phenergan gel makes it nice for those that are too sick to keep anything (food or medicine) down for any length of time.  We always have phenergan gel on hand and prepare it in various strengths to allow treatment for those 2 years of age and older.  (It comes in a dispensing syringe with 10 doses of medicine contained within.)  I should also share that Phenergan Gel is also very helpful for women who are experiencing nausea and vomiting with pregnancy.  Yep that's right, pregnancy!  Many women have intense nausea with pregnancy and Phenergan Gel helps tremendously in controlling episodes of vomiting.  Pregnant moms think its the BOMB!! For me, it's nice to be able to offer a treatment that is safe and effective for all ages and nausea conditions. 

Remember to check your medicine cabinet for the winter season, and don't hesitate to call if I can answer any further questions on this topic.

To your good health,
Dr. Sonja

Low T? Guys, do you have Low Testosterone?

I can't help but be in tune with all of the Low T commercials appearing on the TV right now because of what I hear in my office everyday.  I am happy that men are being targeted and educated on the physical implications that come about as a result of having a low Testosterone (low T) level.  Throughout the last year especially, more and more men are seeking answers for the crummy way that they are feeling.  The last two guys that came into the office were both in their 40's.  To all of this initiative, I say High Five Guys!

Symptoms:
Typically men will mostly complain that they have no energy, no sex drive, a loss of muscle strength, erectile dysfunction, irritability, depression, and weight gain.  These can all be direct symptoms of androgen (male hormone) deficiency.  Another common complaint is a feeling of extreme fatigue.  A few weeks ago a wife called to seek information on testing options for her husband who was cranky she said, '95% of the time now'. She warned him that if he didn't do something about it, that she was going to do something herself.  (I did not ask any further questions.) Yikes!

A peek at what the Medical Literature is showing about Testosterone:
In the Massachusetts Male Aging Study, low hormone levels were found and diagnosed in 38.7% of the study participants who were over 45 years old.  With that high of a statistic, if you are 45 or older, you might want to pay particular attention to this blog. Another study published in 2008 tracked 800 California men 50-91 years old.  Their hormone levels and health was tracked over 20 years.  Guess what?  The men with low T tended to be overweight and had increased risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.  Men with the lowest T had a 40% increase in mortality.  Whoa!! 

What to have checked:
There are OTHER key hormones (other than Testosterone) that should also be looked at in males struggling with the aforementioned symptoms.  *The TV commercials don't tell you that little tidbit of information.*   Did you know that estrogen is not just a female hormone?  Men produce a small amount too.  (Man up guys, it's ok to say you make estrogen.) So what's the big deal with estrogen?  During andropause, a problem can occur as Testosterone declines and estrogen takes the lead.  Estrogen dominance can result due to the imbalance of one hormone to another and can lead to breast and prostate enlargement. Progesterone, another sex hormone, can then look out of balance too as it is responsible for balancing estrogen.  It's kind of a cascade of things as you begin to peel back the layers of the problem.  Stress and thyroid hormones also need to be evaluated to determine if the symptoms are linked to another problem outside of the hormone world.  Work with your doctor or a hormone specialist to find out what is important to check.

What to do:
If you think you may have low T, then by all means get it checked out.  You may be functioning at a lower level of normal than you actually realize.  Who knows how good you might feel if things were appropriately balanced.   The testing is very simple and something that you can actually do right from your own home.  So guys there's really no good excuse to pass up this option.  Please give my office a call to get an informational packet on Andropause and a testing kit mailed to your home today.


Low T does not have to be.

To your good health,
Dr. Sonja