Emotional Effects of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome sufferers often find that they have to deal with two sets of symptoms. The physical symptoms of diarrhea, constipation and pain form the main part of IBS, but sufferers may also develop emotional problems such as mild or moderate depression and anxiety because of the strain that IBS places on their lives.
There's no doubt that IBS can have a huge impact on your mental and emotional health. One of the reasons why people assume that IBS is caused by stress is that IBS sufferers can appear so stressed and unhappy. But is this really surprising? If you had explosive diarrhea, never-ending constipation or stabbing stomach cramps you'd be a bit stressed too!
The nature of IBS symptoms can mean that they are very difficult to deal with, both practically, in terms of being afraid to go out because of fear of diarrhea, and emotionally, because of embarrassment and the sometimes unsympathetic reactions of others.
Sufferers find that their social lives quickly diminish to nothing, or that they can no longer eat the food at restaurants or dinner parties without ending up in pain. Work or school can become a chronic struggle as you drag yourself in on days when you feel ill, knowing that if you didn't you'd get fired or kicked off your course.
You may also feel that you have to pretend to be healthy most of the time in spite of how you really feel, because people get tired of hearing about your condition or begin to say things like "Well why don't you go to the doctor" or "My mum had that and ate lots of bran and now she's fine. That's what you should do."
It can be very hard to bite your tongue and stop yourself answering back. "Oh, go to the DOCTOR, I see, that's where I've going wrong all this time, I thought you had to go to the hardware store. I shall now be cured."
What is important to remember is that anyone who is battling with IBS is going through a very difficult time, and deserves some genuine support, as does anyone with a chronic, long-term condition.
Hopefully, if you explain your condition to family and friends, support will be forthcoming, but if not you should ask yourself how much misunderstanding you are willing to put up with, and whether it is hazardous to your health.
This is what Heather Van Vorous says in The First Year - IBS:"You may even have friends or family dismiss your problem as 'all in your head.' It's up to you to educate these people, and then dump them if they persist in their ignorance at the expense of your health."
If they are truly your friends then they will want to learn about the condition and be ready to accept that their views are based on prejudice and assumption rather than fact.
But if they still believe that you're exaggerating then ask them to explain exactly why they believe that IBS is psychosomatic or 'all in your head', what scientific studies they are basing their views on, and how they explain the success of new drugs such as the selective 5-HT3 antagonist Lotronex. That should keep them quiet.
Sophie Lee has suffered from IBS for more than 15 years. She runs the IBS Tales website http://www.ibstales.com where you can read hundreds of personal stories of IBS and self-help tips.
http://www.mesines.com/best/medicine/5264.php

10 Tips for Responsible Medication Use

All medications, which include prescriptions, over-the-counter preparations, vitamin and mineral supplements, and herbal preparations, are potentially dangerous. Following some simple rules will not only reduce your chance of having a problem, but should reduce your cost as well.


Always shop around for medications ? there is a significant difference in cost from pharmacy to pharmacy. Check both online and offline sources. For example, several of my patients have realized a significant cost savings by using the Costco pharmacy as well as online Canadian pharmacies. Should you choose to use a Canadian pharmacy, please keep abreast of any laws that may affect your purchase.


Always check to see if a generic equivalent is available. Today, there are very few medications on the market where generics are not acceptable.


If you can, have your prescription filled for 90 days. It will cost less than if you bough 30 days worth over 3 months. One of the reasons is that pharmacies charge a filling fee for each prescription filled.


Will you medication allow you to take a half-tab? For example, if you are taking lisinopril 20mg, you can purchase 40mg tablets and break them in half ? a savings of 50%. Always check with your health care provider and/or pharmacist first?not all medications can be broken. Also, consider those nifty little pill cutters?they work wonderfully.


Do you really have to take all that medication in the first place? The best advice I can give you is to put everything into a bag and take it with you to your appointment. Make sure that you and your provider are on the same page when it comes to medications/supplements that you are taking. This is especially true when you are seeing more than one prescribing provider. You may have duplicates that you are unaware of. Always ask?"do I really need this"?


Keep an up-to-date list of your medications with you at all times.


It is your responsibility to learn the names of your medications and why you are taking them! Most likely, your provider does not know what you mean by the "little pink pill" or the "white capsule". There are literally dozens of each.


Check your medications before you leave the pharmacy. If something does not look right, ask about it right then. DO NOT take something you are unfamiliar with.


Follow label directions. If you are taking something for osteoporosis, chances are you were told to take it with a full glass of water, sitting upright while avoiding any other food or fluids for 30 minutes. They were not making it up! This goes for the labels on over-the-counter preparations. This is one time that "if a little is good, a lot must be better" can be a dangerous thought.


Another very important tip. If at all possible, it is in your best interest to have a primary care provider. Ideally, he or she will coordinate your care with specialists, and keep track of all the medications you are on. If you have a complete profile on record, then between your one primary provider, and your one pharmacist, any problems in your medications should be picked up.


This bonus tip comes from a lesson taught to me by a wonderful patient of mine?If you and your partner both take medication, do NOT mix them up. It can have serious consequences!

While proper nutrition and exercise are the mainstays of treatment for most health challenges, medication use is sometimes unavoidable. Make sure you need them; know what they are and how to take them. Follow directions, and don't share! Most of all, always seek to understand what you are taking and what it's suppose to do for you.

Your body will thank you.

For over 26 years, Barbara C. Phillips, MN, NP has been involved in health care. Now, as the founder of OlderWiserWomen, LLC, that experience and passion is focused on Women who want to experience the freedom, magic and wisdom of successful aging. She can be reached through http://www.OlderWiserWomen.com

http://www.mesines.com/best/medicine/4911.php

PDA (Personal digital assistant)

A personal digital assistant (PDA) is a handheld computer, also known as small or palmtop computers. PDAs have many uses: calculation, use as a clock and calendar, accessing the Internet, sending and receiving E-mails, video recording, typewriting and word processing, use as an address book, making and writing on spreadsheets, scanning bar codes, use as a radio or stereo, playing computer games, recording survey responses, and Global Positioning System (GPS). Newer PDAs also have both color screens and audio capabilities, enabling them to be used as mobile phones (smartphones), web browsers, or portable media players. Many PDAs can access the Internet, intranets or extranets via Wi-Fi, or Wireless Wide-Area Networks (WWANs). Many PDAs employ touch screen technology.

History
The first PDA is considered to be the Psion Organiser. GO Corp. was also pioneering in the field. The term was first used on January 7, 1992 by Apple Computer CEO John Sculley at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, referring to the Apple Newton. PDAs are sometimes referred to as "Palms", "Palm Pilot", or "Palm Tops".

Typical features
Currently, a typical PDA has a touch screen for entering data, a memory card slot for data storage and at least one of the following for connectivity: IrDA, Bluetooth and/or WiFi. However, many PDAs (typically those used primarily as telephones) may not have a touch screen, using softkeys, a directional pad and either the numeric keypad or a thumb keyboard for input.
Software typically required to be a PDA includes an appointment calendar, a to-do list, an address book for contacts and some sort of note program. Connected PDAs also typically include E-mail and Web support.

Touch screen
Many original PDAs, such as the Apple Newton and the Palm Pilot, featured touch screens for user interaction, having only a few buttons usually reserved for shortcuts to often used programs. Touch screen PDAs, including Windows Pocket PC devices, usually have a detachable stylus that can be used on the touch screen. Interaction is then done by tapping the screen to activate buttons or menu choices, and dragging the stylus to, for example, highlight. Text input is usually done in one of four ways:

• Using a virtual keyboard, where a keyboard is shown on the touch screen. Input is done by tapping letters on the screen.




• Using external keyboard or chorded keyboard connected by USB or Bluetooth.




• Using letter or word recognition, where letters or words are written on the touch screen, and then "translated" to letters in the currently activated text field. Despite rigorous research and development projects, end-users experience mixed results with this input method, with some finding it frustrating and inaccurate, while others are satisfied with the quality. Recognition and computation of handwritten horizontal and vertical formulas such as "1 + 2 =" was also under development.




• Stroke recognition (termed Graffiti by Palm). In this system a predefined set of strokes represents the various characters needed. The user learns to draw these strokes on the screen or in an input area. The strokes are often simplified character shapes to make them easier to remember.

PDAs for business use, including the BlackBerry and Treo, have full keyboards and scroll wheels or thumb wheels to facilitate data entry and navigation, in addition to supporting touch-screen input. There are also full-size foldable keyboards available that plug directly, or use wireless technology to interface with the PDA and allow for normal typing. BlackBerry has additional functionality, such as push-based email and applications.

Newer PDAs, such as the Apple iPhone and iPod touch include new user interfaces using other means of input. The iPhone and iPod touch uses a technology called Multi-touch.

Memory cards
Although many early PDAs did not have memory card slots, now most have either an SD (Secure Digital) and/or a Compact Flash slot. Although originally designed for memory, SDIO and Compact Flash cards are available for such things as Wi-Fi and Webcams. Some PDAs also have a USB port, mainly for USB flash drives.

As more PDAs include telephone support, to keep the size down, many now offer miniSD or microSD slots instead of full-sized SD slots.

Wired connectivity
While many earlier PDAs connected via serial ports or other proprietary format, many today connect via USB cable. This served primarily to connect to a computer, and few, if any PDAs were able to connect to each other out of the box using cables, as USB requires one machine to act as a host - functionality which was not often planned. Some PDAs were able to connect to the internet, either by means of one of these cables, or by using an extension card with an ethernet port/RJ-45 adaptor.

Wireless connectivity
Most modern PDAs have Bluetooth wireless connectivity, an increasingly popular tool for mobile devices. It can be used to connect keyboards, headsets, GPS and many other accessories, as well as sending files between PDAs. Many mid-range and superior PDAs have Wi-Fi/WLAN/802.11-connectivity, used for connecting to Wi-Fi hotspots or wireless networks. Older PDAs predominantly have an IrDA (infrared) port; however fewer current models have the technology, as it is slowly being phased out due to support for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. IrDA allows communication between two PDAs: a PDA and any device with an IrDA port or adapter. Most universal PDA keyboards use infrared technology because many older PDAs have it, and infrared technology is low-cost and has the advantage of being permitted aboard aircraft.

Synchronization
An important function of PDAs is synchronizing data with a PC. This allows up-to-date contact information stored on software such as Microsoft Outlook or ACT! to update the database on the PDA. The data synchronization ensures that the PDA has an accurate list of contacts, appointments and e-mail, allowing users to access the same information on the PDA as the host computer.

The synchronizing also prevents the loss of information stored on the device in case it is lost, stolen, or destroyed. Another advantage is that data input is usually a lot quicker on a PC, since text input via a touch screen is still not quite optimal. Transferring data to a PDA via the computer is therefore a lot quicker than having to manually input all data on the handheld device.

Most PDAs come with the ability to synchronize to a PC. This is done through synchronization software provided with the handheld, such as HotSync Manager, which comes with Palm OS handhelds, Microsoft ActiveSync for older versions of Windows or Windows Mobile Device Center on Windows Vista, which comes with Windows Mobile handhelds.

These programs allow the PDA to be synchronized with a Personal information manager. This personal information manager may be an outside program or a proprietary program. For example, the BlackBerry PDA comes with the Desktop Manager program which can synchronize to both Microsoft Outlook and ACT!. Other PDAs come only with their own proprietary software. For example, some early Palm OS PDAs came only with Palm Desktop while later Palms such as the Treo 650 has the built-in ability to sync to Palm Desktop and/or Microsoft Outlook, while Microsoft's ActiveSync and Windows Mobile Device Center only synchronize with Microsoft Outlook or a Microsoft Exchange server.

Third-party synchronization software is also available for many PDAs from companies like Intellisync and CompanionLink. This software synchronizes these handhelds to other personal information managers which are not supported by the PDA manufacturers, such as GoldMine and Lotus Notes.

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