Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/19196
Saturday, November 6, 2010 – Daily News – 5A FEATURES Can stress cause diabetes? DEAR DR. GOTT: On May 18, 2009, I was injured when a heavy metal door was slammed down on my head. Since then, I have suffered from severe neck pain and headaches that have caused serious sleep disruption and constant fatigue. All of these symptoms are unprecedented for me. I have had physical ther- Dr. Peter Gott apy, an epidural steroid injection, numerous pre- scriptions for pain, muscle relaxers and have done home exercises recom- mended by my physical therapist. All provided only temporary relief, and my doctor has said I’ve reached my maximum medical improvement. Actually, there has been no improve- ment. Despite my best efforts, I have had absences from work in excess of my former employer’s guidelines and, after six years, was terminat- ed. This, of course, has resulted in financial prob- lems. After five to six weeks of feeling lethargic, experienc- ing extreme thirst, blurred vision and weight loss, I vis- ited my doctor on Aug. 27, 2010, and was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. No one in my family has ever had diabetes. Could the physical dis- tress and mental anguish from my accident have con- tributed to this condition? DEAR READER: If I understand you correctly, you were diagnosed with diabetes 466 days after your accident. In the interim, you obviously saw a number of healthcare providers who failed to either order lab work or zero in on the diag- nosis. Glucose is the primary source of energy in our cells that make up muscles and other tissues. As food is digested, sugar is absorbed into the bloodstream. With the aid of insulin, cells are able to absorb the sugar and convert it to energy. When type 2 diabetes occurs, cells become resistant to the insulin and/or the pancreas is unable to produce ade- quate amounts of insulin. As a result, sugar builds up in the bloodstream. Long-term complica- tions can include nerve damage, pain, and tingling and numbness that com- monly begin in the toes and fingers and gradually spread upward through the body over a period of months or years. The kidneys, bones, joints and other areas of the body can be damaged, as well. My guess is that your neck pain and headaches were and are the result of the accident. You had major trauma to your head and may have even suffered a Paid Advertisement concussion. There is evidence that stress can cause sugar levels to ele- vate in known dia- betics. This still leaves a big ques- tion unanswered as to whether stress is a trigger in a person with no prior histo- ry. Perhaps some light can be shed on the matter if your physician has lab results in your file done prior to and following the accident. Request a review of the results to determine whether there was a gradual increase in readings that might not have been identified prior. From the copies of the MRI results you sent, I can see that you are 67 years old. Is there a possibility that because of your pain, headaches and lack of employment that you have gained a little weight and become sedentary? Are you exercising as much as possi- ble under the circumstances and eating well-balanced meals? Everything we do affects our bodies in positive or negative ways. Some- times simple lifestyle changes can make an enor- mous difference and even allow for previously pre- scribed diabetic medications to be reduced or eliminated. Take a positive view. Work daily on a healthier lifestyle, and try to prove your doctor wrong. Perhaps you haven’t reached your maximum medical improvement. I would like to hope you are 67 years young and can overcome your devastating accident. To provide related infor- mation, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Diabetes Mellitus.” Other readers who would like a copy should send a self- addressed stamped No. 10 envelope and a $2 check or money order to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092-0167. Be sure to mention the title or print an order form off my website at www.AskDrGottMD.com. Good luck. DEAR DR. GOTT: Do you have any information on condyloma acuminata? DEAR READER: This diagnosis is better known as genital warts, one of the most common types of sex- ually transmitted diseases, which may resemble flesh- or gray-colored bumps, or that have a cauliflower-like appearance when a number of them grow close together. The warts may itch, and there may be bleeding with intercourse. Two-thirds of all people who have sexual contact with a person who has genital warts will devel- op the condition, either within a few months of con- tact or several years later. Genital warts can be treated with medication and surgery, but they remain a serious health problem. Wandering wife wends wicked way Dear Annie: My wife and I have been married for five years and have three children. Recently, she cheated on me, so we went for counseling. Toward the end of our six weeks of counseling, I caught her in bed with the Other Man. and pulling the wool over your eyes. Don’t let her get away with it. Dear Annie: I live in a She begged for forgive- ness, and we are now getting counseling through our pas- tor. The man with whom she had the affair continues to call her on a daily basis. Some- times they talk for up to an hour. She told me he tried to commit suicide and she feels obligated to speak with him as a friend. I don’t feel right about this and have told her so. She claims angrily that I am being controlling and possessive, and that I invade her privacy. Both counselors have advised her to end all ties with this man. Am I right to think she should no longer talk with him, or am I being jealous and possessive? — Need Help Dear Need Help: Your wife must stop all contact with this man immedi- ately if she expects to save her mar- riage. By staying in touch with him, she is continuing to cheat on you emo- tionally. It’s time to put your foot down. You are not being ‘‘jealous and possessive.’’ She is being disingenuous Global finance minis- ters, including Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, met in South Korea over the weekend to discuss exchange rates. And they promised they wouldn't create a currency war that could lead to a global trade war. That promise won't be easy to keep. It's estimated that the recent decline in the U.S. dol- lar will add half a percent to our annual growth rate, as the weak dollar makes our exports more attractive to foreign buyers. That's the one plus of creating "too many" dollars and weaken- ing our currency. But there is a downside. No country ever made itself more powerful by having a weak currency. Especially when its currency is the basis of world trade. How many dollars do you have in your wallet? Probably not enough. Well, that's a problem you don't share with the central bank of the world. They have too many dollars -- and they're worried that the Federal Reserve is seriously think- ing about creating more. And if you think this isn't your problem, or even that too many dollars is a nice problem to have, think again. What happens when there is too much of any- thing? Its real value falls. That's true of tickets to a football game or rock con- cert, and it's also true about currencies. If there are too many around, no one really wants them. But if they are scarce, then their value goes up. Since you make your household budget in dol- lars, and plan your retire- Annie’s Mailbox by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar small town. A friend of mine introduced me to his friend ‘‘Joe.’’ We talked a lot for about a month, and I told him something in confidence. Joe told a friend, who then told his girlfriend, and she has a big mouth. I broke up with Joe because he betrayed my trust. But I know the rumor will spread quickly. It will hurt my family, and I take full responsibility, but what should I do? — Wish I Lived Some- where Else Dear Wish: Tell your family what happened so they are prepared, and also apologize to them for telling Joe something so confidential. You will weather this storm, and then it will pass. Hopefully, you will have learned a painful lesson about trust. Dear Annie: I read the letter from ‘‘Needing Advice,’’ whose married boss is having an affair with a co- worker. As a recently wronged ‘‘boss’s wife,’’ I think she should tell the wife what’s going on. After my third chemotherapy treat- ment, my husband began an affair with an employee. She came on to him, expressing concern for his role as a ment in dollars, it would be important to believe those dollars have buying power - - now, and in the future. But, just as in a Monop- oly game, when the banker starts handing out more money, the value or buying power of your savings declines. And unlike the Monopoly board where the price of Boardwalk is fixed forever, in real life when there is more money around, prices go up. We call that inflation. It isn't a problem now because so many dollars have been lost down the black hole of bank losses. And the banks are sitting on a huge pile of dollars creat- ed by the Fed, hoping they won't lose them down the drain of even more real estate foreclosures, credit- card write-offs and loans to failing businesses. The central banks of the world have been accumu- lating the dollars that we've sent to China and Japan and other countries to buy their products. And those coun- tries holding the most dol- lars don't want to see that the U.S. central bank is talking about "quantitative easing" -- i.e., printing more money. Those foreign countries want to keep selling stuff to the United States. But they don't want to be paid in dol- lars that will be worth less. The United States takes an opposite view, it seems. While we talk about pre- serving the value of the dol- lar, we keep creating more. The idea is that if our dollar falls in value, it will encour- age other countries to buy more from us. The problem is that the COMFORT SERVICE INC. Air Conditioning & Heating • RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • NEW CONSTRUCTION Tehama Counties Factory authorized Bryant Dealer Mention this ad for $ • SALES • SERVICE • REPAIRS Receive up to $3,050 OFF in tax credits & rebates on a new Bryant system 24 HOUR SERVICE 530 529-1990 Lic #593323 www.CascadeComfort.com 10 OFF SERVICE CALL Whatever it takessm CASCADE caregiver. This woman is married with three children. No one told me about the affair — not even her husband, who was desperate to stop it. Now she and my husband have informed me that I have to vacate my house, and I have nowhere to go. She intends to stay married for the sake of her children, but doesn’t want me liv- ing in the house with my husband. She also doesn’t want to give him time to see whether we can work things out. Instead, she says she will expose the affair and disgrace him. And she threatens to commit suicide if he even so much as looks at me. I wish someone had told me about their affair. I beg anyone who knows of such a situation to let the wronged spouse know immediately. They will appreciate it. — Wronged Dear Wronged: An employee owes her loyalty to her boss. If he is misbehaving, she can discuss it with him or even quit, but telling his wife is above her pay grade. Your husband is involved with a woman who sounds unbalanced, but he is permitting it to continue. A man who truly wants a chance to reconcile will find a way. Your husband sounds like a prize jerk. We hope you have good legal coun- sel. Dear Readers: Don’t forget to set your clocks back one hour and replace the batteries in your smoke alarms. Currency battles cheapen dollar, deepen fiscal hole rest of the world under- stands this trick. They, too, want to keep their curren- cies "cheap" to make their prod- ucts more attrac- tive to U.S. con- sumers. It's called a "beggar thy neighbor" strate- gy, and every country is play- ing it. This is a glob- al currency war, with money as the ammunition. They keep "score" in this war by counting trade deficits, not battlefield casual- ties. economy grow. It would be a lot easier for the United States to put some pressure on China if they did- n't have all those dollars already. And if China weren't using their dollars to buy our govern- ment debt -- Treasury bills, notes and bonds. Their willing- Terry Savage The Savage And that was the big debate going on at the G- 20 meeting this weekend, where the finance ministers of the world's leading economic powers met in South Korea to discuss this issue. For decades, the U.S. consumer was the world's biggest buyer. We benefited from a strong and respected currency. It let us buy more stuff made overseas. But now, with American con- sumers pulling back, we'd like to get our economy moving again. Thus, our government calls on China to let its cur- rency "rise" in value against the dollar, instead of being closely linked to the dollar. If the Chinese currency rises, they could more easi- ly buy things from Ameri- can workers. And help our FREE! •COATS • HATS • GLOVES • SCARVES • BLANKETS • COLD WEATHER CLOTHING Free Goodies & Info Everyone Welcome SAT. NOV. 13th 8 a.m. to Noon At Bethel Church 625 Luther Rd, Red Bluff HELP US SPREAD THE WORD Call 527-2151 for more information Sponsored by associates of the Truth on Money ness to keep buy- ing our debt keeps our gov- ernment going in spite of our rising deficits, and has kept our interest rates low, help- ing the housing market here. It's in the best interests of the Chinese to main- tain the value of the dollar, since they already hold so many of them. And it's in their best interest to keep their currency low in value, so American consumers can buy more "made in China" stuff. Because we're so greatly in debt, the balance of power has shifted. We're hardly in a position any- more to tell China how to set its currency policy. The United States is belatedly learning that "beggars can't be choosers." And that's The Savage Truth. Terry Savage can be reached at www.terrysavage.com. Don’t Miss Out! FREE MEAL