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Can methamphetamine bring on the menstrual cycle?

Can methamphetamine bring on the menstrual cycle? by Connie b. Dellobuono

Answer by Connie b. Dellobuono:

Methamphetamine disrupts menstrual cycle. To regulate menstrual cycle, get good sleep, avoid plastic and hormones in foods (milk), take magnesium and calcium (Whole Foods), drink red raspberry leaf tea, detox (acidophilus,picked veggies,lemon water, avoid junk foods) and see a doctor.
From: http://journals.lww.com/journaladdictionmedicine/Abstract/2014/05000/Long_Term_Use_of_Methamphetamine_Disrupts_the.5.aspx
Results: Long-term use of MA significantly altered the menstrual cycle, and 33.6% women suffered from abnormal uterine bleeding while using MA. Deregulation of sex hormones was observed in 73.3% of participants during abstinence. The most common patterns were simple anovular menstruation, which was caused mainly by a hypothalamic deregulation and pituitary suppression with or without ovarian suppression. Normal hormone levels were observed more frequently in participants abstinent for more than 10 months (39.5%) than in participants who were abstinent for less than 10 months (18.6%). However, no relationship was found between hormone deregulation and age or history of MA use.
Conclusions: The present data demonstrate that long-term use of MA results in the disruption of menstrual cycles and dysfunction of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in women

Can methamphetamine bring on the menstrual cycle?

Is grinding up naproxen for migraines safe (mixing in water)?

Is grinding up naproxen for migraines safe (mixing in water)? by Connie b. Dellobuono

Answer by Connie b. Dellobuono:

Naproxen as an NSAID is acidic. It maybe safe but long term but can be acidic to the cells causing ulceration. Reduce dosage for safety reasons. For migraines, visit http://www.clubalthea.com. Migraines can be a sign of lack of magnesium and Vit C and presence of stress, lack of sleep and other unknowns.
From Wiki:
Naproxen (brand names: Aleve, Naprosyn, and many others) is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) of the propionic acid class (the same class as ibuprofen) that relieves pain, fever, swelling, and stiffness.[2][3]:665,673 It is a nonselective COX inhibitor, usually sold as the sodium salt.
It is the preferred NSAID for long-term use in people with a high risk of cardiovascular complications (for example, heart attacks or strokes),[3]:665 due to its relatively low risk of such complications. Naproxen poses an intermediate risk of stomach ulcers compared to ibuprofen, which is low-risk, and indometacin, which is high-risk.[4] To reduce stomach ulceration risk, it is often combined with a proton-pump inhibitor (a medication that reduces stomach acid production) during long-term treatment of those with pre-existing stomach ulcers or a history of developing stomach ulcers while on NSAIDs

Is grinding up naproxen for migraines safe (mixing in water)?

Does occasional use of anticholinergic drugs such as Benadryl have serious neurological risks?

Does occasional use of anticholinergic drugs such as Benadryl have serious neurological ris… by Connie b. Dellobuono

Answer by Connie b. Dellobuono:

Toxicity of meds is greater for over 60 yrs old and under 6 yrs old. Benadryl gave rise to creation of Prozac.
From Wiki:
Diphenhydramine (DPH, DHM) is a first-generation antihistamine mainly used to treat allergies. It is also used in the management of drug-induced parkinsonism and other extrapyramidal symptoms. The medication has a sedating effect and is FDA-approved as a nonprescription sleep aid. It possesses anticholinergic, antitussive, antiemetic, and sedative properties.
Diphenhydramine was first synthesized by George Rieveschl and first made publicly available through prescription in 1946.[5] Diphenhydramine is marketed under the trade name Benadryl by McNeil Consumer Healthcare in the U.S., Canada, and South Africa (trade names in other countries include Dimedrol, Daedalon, and Nytol). It is also available as a generic medication.
Diphenhydramine is a first-generation antihistamine used to treat a number of conditions including allergic symptoms and itchiness, the common cold, insomnia, motion sickness, and extrapyramidal symptoms.[6][7] Diphenhydramine also has local anesthetic properties, and has been used as such in people allergic to common local anesthetics such as lidocaine.[8]
Allergies
Diphenhydramine has been found to have a higher efficacy in treatment of allergies than some second-generation antihistamines (such as desloratadine)[9] but a similar efficacy with others (such as cetirizine).[10]
njectable diphenhydramine is typically used in addition to epinephrine for anaphylaxis.[11] As of 2007 it was the most commonly used antihistamine for acute allergic reactions in emergency departments.[12] As of 2007 its use for this purpose has not been properly studied.[13]
Also, topical formulations of diphenhydramine are available, including creams, lotions, gels, and sprays. These are used to relieve itching, and have the advantage of causing fewer systemic effects (e.g., drowsiness) than oral forms.[14]
Movement disorders
Diphenhydramine is used to treat Parkinson's disease-like extrapyramidal symptoms caused by antipsychotics.[15]
Sleep
Because of its sedative properties, diphenhydramine is widely used in nonprescription sleep aids for insomnia. The drug is an ingredient in several products sold as sleep aids, either alone or in combination with other ingredients such as acetaminophen (paracetamol). An example of the latter is Tylenol PM. Diphenhydramine can cause minor psychological dependence.[16] Diphenhydramine can cause sedation and has also been used as an anxiolytic.[17]
Nausea
Diphenhydramine also has antiemetic properties, which make it useful in treating the nausea that occurs in vertigo and motion sickness.[18]

Adverse effects
The most prominent side effect is sedation. A typical dose creates driving impairment equivalent to a blood-alcohol level of 0.1 which is higher than the 0.08 limit of most drunk driving laws.[12]
Diphenhydramine is a potent anticholinergic agent. This activity is responsible for the side effects of dry mouth and throat, increased heart rate, pupil dilation, urinary retention, constipation, and, at high doses, hallucinations or delirium. Other side effects include motor impairment (ataxia), flushed skin, blurred vision at nearpoint owing to lack of accommodation (cycloplegia), abnormal sensitivity to bright light (photophobia), sedation, difficulty concentrating, short-term memory loss, visual disturbances, irregular breathing, dizziness, irritability, itchy skin, confusion, increased body temperature (in general, in the hands and/or feet), temporary erectile dysfunction, and excitability, and although it can be used to treat nausea, higher doses may cause vomiting.[19] Some side effects, such as twitching, may be delayed until the drowsiness begins to cease and the person is in more of an awakening mode. It has been implicated in the occasional development of restless leg syndrome.[20]
Torsades de pointes can occur as a side effect of diphenhydramine
Acute poisoning can be fatal, leading to cardiovascular collapse and death in 2–18 hours, and in general is treated using a symptomatic and supportive approach.[21] Diagnosis of toxicity is based on history and clinical presentation, and in general specific levels are not useful.[22] Several levels of evidence strongly indicate diphenhydramine (similar to chlorpheniramine) can block the delayed rectifier potassium channel and, as a consequence, prolong the QT interval, leading to cardiac arrhythmias such as torsades de pointes.[23] No specific antidote for diphenhydramine toxicity is known, but the anticholinergic syndrome has been treated with physostigmine for severe delirium or tachycardia.[22] Benzodiazepines may be administered to decrease the likelihood of psychosis, agitation, and seizures in patients who are prone to these symptoms.[24]
Some patients have an allergic reaction to diphenhydramine in the form of hives.[25][26] However, restlessness or akathisia can also be a side effect made worse by increased levels of diphenhydramine, especially with recreational dosages.[27] As diphenhydramine is extensively metabolized by the liver, caution should be exercised when giving the drug to individuals with hepatic impairment.
Long term anticholinergic use is associated with an increased risk for cognitive decline and dementia among older people.[28]
Special populations
Diphenhydramine is not recommended for patients older than 60 or children under the age of six, unless a physician is consulted.[29] These populations should be treated with second-generation antihistamines such as loratadine, desloratadine, fexofenadine, cetirizine, levocetirizine, and azelastine.[21] Due to its strong anticholinergic effects, diphenhydramine is on the "Beers list" of drugs to avoid in the elderly.[30][31]
Diphenhydramine is category B in the FDA Classification of Drug Safety During Pregnancy.[32] It is also excreted in breast milk.[33] Paradoxical reactions to diphenhydramine have been documented, in particular among children, and it may cause excitation instead of sedation.[27]
Topical diphenhydramine is sometimes used especially on patients in hospice. This use is without indication and topical diphenhydramine should not be used as treatment for nausea because research does not indicate this therapy is more effective than alternatives.[34]
Measurement in body fluids
Diphenhydramine can be quantified in blood, plasma, or serum.[35] Gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) can be used with electron ionization on full scan mode as a screening test. GC-MS or GC-NDP can be used for quantification.[35] Rapid urine drug screens using immunoassays based on the principle of competitive binding may show false-positive methadone results for patients having ingested diphenhydramine.[36] Quantification can be used to monitor therapy, confirm a diagnosis of poisoning in hospitalized patients, provide evidence in an impaired driving arrest, or assist in a death investigation.[35]

Mechanism of action
Overview of diphenhydramine targets and effects
Diphenhydramine is an inverse agonist of the histamine H1 receptor.[37] It is a member of the ethanolamine class of antihistaminergic agents.[21] By reversing the effects of histamine on the capillaries, it can reduce the intensity of allergic symptoms. It also crosses the blood–brain barrier and inversely agonizes the H1 receptors centrally.[38] Its effects on central H1 receptors cause drowsiness.
Like many other first-generation antihistamines, diphenhydramine is also a potent antimuscarinic (a competitive antagonist of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors) and, as such, at high doses can cause anticholinergic syndrome.[39] The utility of diphenhydramine as an antiparkinson agent is the result of its blocking properties on the muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in the brain.
Diphenhydramine also acts as an intracellular sodium channel blocker, which is responsible for its actions as a local anesthetic.[40] Diphenhydramine has also been shown to inhibit the reuptake of serotonin.[41] It has been shown to be a potentiator of analgesia induced by morphine, but not by endogenous opioids, in rats.[42]

Does occasional use of anticholinergic drugs such as Benadryl have serious neurological risks?

Care homes/nursing homes, client’s rights

Nursing Home Residents Rights

Know Your Rights as a Resident in a Nursing Home

The Licensing and Certification Program provides a packet of material designed to assist you in understanding Nursing Home Residents’ Rights.  To view the various portions of the packet, select the links below.

Glossary – Health Facilities Consumer Information System

Here are a list of names and terms used on this website specific to Health Facilities Consumer Information System (HFCIS).

Administrator
In a nursing home or facilities for the developmentally disabled, the administrator is a person licensed as a nursing home administrator; in other healthcare settings, the administrator is a person appointed the responsibility for overseeing the services, functions and operations.
Licensee
The person, persons, firm, partnership, association, corporation, political subdivision of the State, or other governmental agency to whom a license has been issued to operate a health facility or agency.
Client
A person who is receiving services from an intermediate care facility for the developmentally disabled.
Complainant
Any person that files a complaint about an alleged violation of applicable requirements or noncompliance with Federal and/or State laws and regulations.
Consultant
Staff in the Licensing and Certification Program Professional Consultants who provide Medical, Medical Record, Nutrition, Pharmacy, and Occupational Therapy consultation services.
Evaluator
Staff in the Licensing and Certification Program that are trained to conduct complaint investigations, inspections and surveys.
Substantiated
Any allegation that is part of a complaint, that did occur, and was verified by evidence. An allegation is considered substantiated based on the finding about the individual or specified situation named by the complainant.
Substantiated Allegation with No Regulatory Violation
Substantiated allegations that do not constitute a violation of laws or regulations enforced by L&C. These allegations may be forwarded to another agency for investigation if appropriate.
Unsubstantiated
Any allegation where evidence cannot support that the allegation did occur. Unsubstantiated allegations can be due to the allegation not occurring or lack of sufficient evidence to support the allegation.
Deficiencies
Substantiated allegations for violations of Federal and/or State laws or regulations receive deficiencies that cite the violations of noncompliance.
Entity Reported Event
Federal term for an official notification to L&C from a self-reporting facility or healthcare provider (i.e., the administrator or authorized official for the provider).
Immediate Jeopardy
A situation where the noncompliance with Federal laws and regulations has caused or is likely to cause serious injury, harm, impairment, or death to residents, patients or clients.
Immediate and Serious Threat
A situation or complaint where the noncompliance with State laws and regulations has a threat of imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm.
Patient
A person under medical treatment in a health care facility, provider or agency.
Resident
A person who is receiving skilled nursing services and resides in a nursing home. (Patient, resident, client are often used interchangeably)
Substandard Quality of Care
Noncompliance with Federal laws and regulations for nursing home residents that present as immediate jeopardy or harm to resident health or safety.
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Contact Connie at 408-854-1883 or email at motherhealth@gmail.com for a free referral to a care home in California.
In Home Care
4088541883

How Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Medicine

By Shawn Lucas, MD

Three technological developments are overlapping to change the practice of medicine: big data, machine learning, and robotics.

Individually, they are significant forces, but together they reinforce each other, and, although it will take years, these ideas will likely lead to disruptive changes in all medical specialties and how they are practiced.

Thinking Big

In the next ten years, we’ll see diagnostics as well as medicine change. And that will come from both medicine and devices, and the information systems that support them. – Jonathon Rothberg; CEO Butterfly Network; Adjunct Professor, Yale School of Medicine

Underlying all of these ideas is “big data,” which refers to our increasing ability to collect, store, and analyze information on things that were previously thought of as “non-measurable.”

For example, video data, the binary description of the pictures on our screen, can be stored and automatically analyzed to determine what the video is about, to identify specific people in the video, or even the emotions they are expressing. As doctors, who strongly rely on what we observe, the increasing ability for computers to accurately analyze video and photographic data will eventually present new opportunities — for example, faster, more accurate melanoma detection.

Similarly, auditory data can be collected and analyzed across the acoustic spectrum from subsonic to ultrasonic, allowing recognition of not only speech content but also “acoustic fingerprints” outside of human hearing. Industries outside of medicine are already taking advantage of novel ways to analyze acoustic data, such as identifying the location from which a gun was fired and the type of ammunition used. This technology is already deployed in cities across the United States. Going forward, it may provide ways to reduce injuries and deaths associated with guns.

Medicine has increasingly been using acoustic technology in the form of ultrasound imaging. A fascinating example is the tech startup Butterfly Network, which hopes to design an artificially intelligent ultrasound system that can automate the diagnosis of some conditions. When integrated with telemedicine, this platform could expand global access to diagnostic imaging by providing quality care in remote clinics that don’t otherwise have access to a trained technician.

Making Machines Smarter

“I’m convinced that if it’s not already the world’s best diagnostician, it will be soon.”
– Andrew McAfee, MIT, on the IBM Watson supercomputer

Of course, the increase in the amount of data we collect, including the digitalization of our vision, hearing, and other senses, creates new problems. Namely, once enormous sets of data have been collected, what do we do with them? How do we write programs to analyze data when the data in question is too complex for us to understand?

That’s where machine learning makes its impact. It gives us the ability to examine data sets that are so complex, our human brains struggle to create algorithms that make sense of them.

Machine learning allows computers to improve their own understanding of data sets, find interconnections between discrete data, and to make predictions and recommendations based on the connections within those immense data sets.

I want to emphasize a point that surprised me. Machine learning is exactly how it sounds. The machine (i.e., the computer program) is teaching itself how to analyze the data and deal with complex situations for which there may be no “right” answer.

In other words, machine learning is not getting the program to follow a complex algorithm written by humans. It is having the computer write its own program based on its ability to examine, trial, and iterate at an amazing speed. And this is not just a fancy calculator. Although, humans are involved in creating the situation that allows the “machine” to learn, the improvements that occur happen at a pace and scale that only computers can achieve

Machine learning is already being put to use in playfully creative applications like recipe design and games. But, more importantly, it is increasingly being used in fields like medicine and transportation. Physicians will eventually need to know how to effectively deal with machine learning applications so we can provide the best patient care.

Ramping Up Robotics

Autonomous robotic surgery—removing the surgeon’s hands—promises enhanced efficacy, safety, and improved access to optimized surgical techniques. – Azad Shademan and colleagues, Science and Translational Medicine

No matter how far artificial intelligence has advanced, humans have always had an advantage: we have hands connected to our minds that give us the ability to touch and manipulate our surroundings. When it comes to interacting with the environment, we win. However, with advancements in robotics, that may be changing.

A recent article in The Economist describes the Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot, or STAR, an autonomous surgical robot created at the National Children’s Health System in Washington D.C. In lab trials, STAR has been trained to use haptic feedback (touch data) along with visual feedback and other inputs to re-anastomose severed pig intestines… by itself.

This is in contrast to the robots currently used in surgery, which are controlled by a surgeon, usually seated ten feet away from the patient.

It will be still quite a while before we see any autonomous surgical robots in hospitals or clinics. Although STAR successfully reconnected the severed pig intestines, the entire process was set up by humans, which allowed the robot to successfully complete a very specific and limited task.

However, anesthesiologists have already faced a similar development: the Sedasys machine.

Sedasys was an automated system for delivering sedation to patients, typically for colonoscopies. Sedasys could measure various patient vital signs to control sedation levels, keeping patients comfortable for their procedure but not extending the level of sedation into general anesthetic.

The American Society of Anesthesiologists opposed Sedasys’ approval by the FDA, claiming machine intelligence would be ill-equipped to make nuanced clinical decisions or cope with emergencies. Some hospitals using Sedasys reported cost savings and improved efficiencies. However, Sedasys may ultimately have been ahead of its time. The machine was recently withdrawn from the market because of sales difficulties.

Bracing for Disruption?

Despite the removal of Sedasys from the market, it would be a mistake to dismiss it — or other nascent technologies.

Disruptive innovation depends on the incumbents ignoring technological upstarts as “not ready for prime time.” This gives new technologies time and space to become effective. Even more importantly, it gives new companies time to develop new, effective business models.

The combination of innovative technologies and innovative business models has led to disruption for other industries. The practice of medicine and the business of healthcare are not immune.

Whether one describes AI in terms of potential hype, or considers its arrival to be wonderful to catastrophic, reality is likely to be somewhere in the middle. The technologies that are being created today have a potential that is mind-bogglingly amazing… but they are not a guaranteed panacea for patient care.

There is a significant amount of trial and error left to go before we can reliably and easily use AI in medicine. However, based on the trajectory and pace of its development, it seems inevitable that artificially intelligent decision support tools will be part of our patient care, especially for those of us whose remaining careers are measured in decades.

Despite the justified concerns and appropriate skepticism about artificial intelligence in medicine, I remain cautiously optimistic. I believe the advances in big data, machine learning, and robotics will allow us to practice in ways we never expected, and to treat patients more effectively than we thought possible. Which, in my opinion, makes big data a big deal.
– See more at: http://www.cepamerica.com/news-resources/perspectives-on-the-acute-care-continuum/june-2016-(1)/artificial-intelligence-medicine-lucas#sthash.x0ARJaq2.dpuf

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