Health resources by categories

“You have lupus disease.” These are four words no patient wants to hear from his or her physician, especially since there is no known cure. However, take heart if you’re one of the thousands suffering lupus symptoms around the globe - there are plenty of ways to enjoy a rich, full existence even if you’ve been weighed down by this condition.

About Lupus Disease

Lupus is really quite sneaky and seems to mimic other diseases, making identification difficult. It attacks an individual’s immune system, affecting the joints, blood, and any number of internal organs. Lupus symptoms often include arthritis-like pain, debilitating exhaustion, skin rashes, high fevers, and anemia, among others. Consequently, patients often endure months of testing before a diagnosis of lupus disease is finalized.

By this point in time, many sufferers are already feeling depressed or confused, so when they hear that they have lupus disease, they understandably have mixed emotions. On one hand, they are glad to finally be able to pinpoint the cause of their symptoms; on the other hand, they don’t want to hear that they have something quite as debilitating and seemingly untreatable as lupus disease.

Living with Lupus Symptoms

After the shock of a lupus disease diagnosis wears off, it’s essential that the patient begin to fight against the condition and lupus symptoms. And one of the best ways that individuals do so is with a diet and lifestyle change.

For example, many lupus disease sufferers who previously led a rather sedentary life turn to regular exercise to help with lupus symptoms and flare-ups. Though intense exercise may be difficult, moderate exercise is typically an exceptional method of controlling lupus symptoms.

Additionally, altering the foods one puts into his or her body seems to have a direct effect on how much and how often the lupus disease “takes hold” of the individual. Those patients who opt for low fat, healthier dishes rather than fat-laden ones or fast food usually see an immediate difference in both the frequency and length of lupus symptoms. Great choices include fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, flaxseed (in oil or food form), and Vitamin E rich products.

Finally, though many lupus disease patients do take NSAIDS to deal with the pain of arthritis-like joint problems and swelling, others have tried to opt for more natural methods of controlling aches. These include everything from meditation to vitamins.

Trial and Error

If you’ve been diagnosed with lupus disease, it’s important to remember that no one answer fits everyone. Therefore, never be afraid to take the proverbial “bull” by the horns and experiment on your own.

Add a daily walk to your morning, sprinkle flaxseed on your cup of yogurt at lunch, and opt for spinach as a salad green. Though these seem like insignificant choices, they can make a huge difference in how you feel about your specific lupus symptoms and how the disease affects you.

You deserve to live the life you’ve always wanted, whether or not lupus disease is part of it. Lupus may be a piece of who you are, but never allow it to define you.

Do you want to find out all the details about hair transplants? A great place to find it is in hair transplant forums. Some of them are operated by the various hair transplant clinics and others are independently owned. You will find answers to everything about hair transplants in the postings and the FAQ areas. There are likely to be aspects of the hair transplant to consider that you hadn’t thought of. You can even submit your own questions there and get them answered. The forums are generally monitored by individuals who themselves have had a hair transplant.

You will find information on these forums about the different types of hair transplant procedures as well as the costs of each one, the level of pain they involve, and the recovery process. Find out what the different terminology such as Norwood Stages and 6100 FUE mean. It is important that you understand Shock Loss and how to buzz your hair. You can also find valuable information regarding the different types of surgeons who perform hair transplants. Find out how the process when with a particular doctor as well as issues that came up.

Hair transplant forums offer great information on the latest research and newest procedures that are available. There is even talk about the possibility of eventually using animal hair for human transplants. There is a wealth of information other there relating to hair cloning, gene therapy, controversial treatments, and surgical procedures.

There are other discussions going on out there as well. Find out about eyebrow, eyelash, and beard transplants. Some people have these hair transplants after a transgender surgery. For women, there are specific hair transplant forums that discuss the effects of hormones on hair loss.

In addition to this information, you will get valuable information on the risks involved in hair transplant procedures. While a surgeon will go over this information, it changes everything when you read the first hand story of someone who has experienced it. Find out how scarring affects people, about cysts, lumps, and what to do if you aren’t happy with the results. This is information you won’t get from the surgeon.

After your LASIK surgery, you will be treated with some anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial eye drops and fitted with a light plastic shield over your eyes. You can remove the shields after you get home, or the next day, but your doctor will likely advise you to have them on if you sleep within the first 24 hours.

At this point the LASIK procedure itself is finished, although the vision correction process itself is continuing. This is because you may be one of the rare cases that experiences overcorrection or under correction of the treated condition, and you will not know until some time after the actual surgery. In addition, regression (the return of the eye to a previous condition, in whole or part) also takes time to show up.

These are among the reasons that post-operative care is so thoroughly explained to you. The initial post-operative healing process is a brief one, usually involving little discomfort. You should also experience a quick stabilizing of your vision if all proceeds without complication. Of course, the rate and strength of your individual recovery varies according to what might be termed your “personal healing pattern.”

The more complex the condition treated, the longer the recovery. During this recovery period you may experience severe watering of the eyes or a “sandy” feeling. This is normal and will usually disappear in a day or so. Pain medication may be prescribed, or the doctor may recommend cold compresses over the eyes, but most patients will return to their normal schedules within a few days.

Now that you know what should occur in your recovery, you will be more attuned to any problems or negative outcomes and will be able to communicate them clearly to your surgeon. LASIK is a very safe, effective and accurate procedure, but sometimes when significant conditions are treated there can be undercorrection or overcorrection. Undercorrection occurs more frequently than overcorrection, but it is important to be patient and careful, since a small amount of overcorrection is expected after LASIK surgery. This will diminish as your eyes heal and the cornea becomes more stable.

Undercorrection or overcorrection that persists can be treated and reversed with an enhancement procedure that involves additional laser treatment. This usually takes place between six to twelve months after the initial LASIK surgery, after the vision has stabilized.

It is always wise to be fully informed, but it bears mentioning that the incidence of severe undercorrection and overcorrection is only one to three percent of all laser eye surgery patients. There is another possible complication that you should be aware of, regression, even though this occurs in even fewer cases, only about one-third of one percent.

Regression is defined as the tendency of the eye’s refraction to return, often quite slowly, to its pre-operative condition (also called the eye’s “prescription”). When this happens, it can be swiftly and effectively corrected with an additional procedure. Over 15 years of LASIK surgery history shows that regression is rare, and when it does occur is usually minimal inmost people.

There are undoubtedly many unique, personal reasons for getting LASIK eye surgery, but after many years of doing the operation doctors have found a handful of common reasons. You may or may not agree with every item on the following list of the top five reasons why people get LASIK surgery, but chances are one or more will ring a bell.

1. There are a lot of people in the world who wonder what it would be like to wake up in the morning and see everything clearly without having to look for their glasses. It’s that simple for some folks. They just want to have normal vision, period.

2. Some people just don’t like the look of glasses, and cannot adjust to contact lenses, either. They want to look good, and not have to worry about coordinating their eyewear with their wardrobes. More women than men may have this reason for vision correction surgery, but in this day and age men are just as fashion- and clothes-conscious as women are-some even more so!

3. It’s often quite hard to play sports wearing glasses or contact lenses, and certain activities make it nearly impossible. It’s bad enough just playing a casual game of weekend volleyball, having the ball crash into your face and hearing (and feeling) your glasses break. But it’s worse if you are a semi-professional athlete. Swimmers and other aquatic sports athletes are great candidates for LASIK eye surgery, for instance, as they would never again have to worry about losing their glasses or contacts underwater.

4. Think about this: You never have to worry about your eyesight again for the rest of your life. This is a prime motivator for a lot of people, especially those needing vision correction early in life. What is normal vision for others is a wonder and a blessing for you. With LASIK eye surgery, you can enjoy the world in true, bright and beautiful clarity-for your whole life-without slipping on specs or popping in contacts.

5. Many people work in occupations requiring above average, unaided vision in environments where it would be dangerous or otherwise problematic to lose your contacts, have your glasses fog up or misplace either one. Everyone, from jewelers and photographers to baseball players and NAVY Seals, depends on good vision to do their best work, and corrective implements like glasses and contacts have a degree of risk involved in their use. Clear vision really could be a matter of life and death in some occupations.

A great number of the people who choose LASIK eye surgery are doing so because of one or more of these listed reasons, or something very close to them. People around the world have many things in common that transcend culture, nationality, politics and creeds, and everyone who gives it a moment of thought would agree that their vision is a very precious commodity.

One large clinic that performs LASIK procedures has a very creative advertising approach. On their Web site, they advise people never to look for bargains when they are shopping for parachutes, scuba gear or laser eye surgery. They also wisely counsel interested parties to compare apples to apples when pricing LASIK surgery.

The cost of vision correction, however it is approached, depends on a number of factors. The specific procedure that’s best for you, the location and overhead of the clinic or outpatient surgery center, the physician’s experience, the length of the recovery period and the cost of post-operative pain relief-these are all variables in the complicated price formula. For example, more experienced surgeons may charge higher fees, while some might simply have bigger rent payments in their part of town. As with any other purchase, do your homework and get the facts.

The total cost, of course, will also depend on the particular “vision correction package” that you are purchasing. Many doctors include both pre- and post-operative care in the deal, and offer warranties lasting from 90days to the patient’s lifetime. The great diversity of approaches means, as the clever advertiser said, that you need to compare apples to apples. A “low” price that does not cover follow-up visits, pain medication or other necessities will not, in the long run, be a better bargain than a “higher” price that does include all of these things. Be as careful and exacting in this part of your research as you were when looking into the medical aspects of the LASIK surgery.

On average, the cost for LASIK eye surgery in the U.S. is between $1,500 and$2,000 per eye. By shopping around, you will find any number of doctors and clinics that charge less, as well as those that charge more. And although it’s understandable that you want find the best price, remember that you also have to think about reputation, quality, aftercare and service. Of course, once you decide on the clinic and the LASIK surgeon, you will face another set of decisions that you must make before undergoing the treatment.

If you do not wish to pay for the procedure in cash, there are various financing methods you can employ. If you do decide to finance your LASIK eye surgery, you will then have another investigation to pursue-finding the best deal for financing. Most doctors and clinics will offer some kind of financing plan, whether or not they are the lender, and you will have to decide if their interest rate and monthly payment are the best deal for you.

Naturally, you can finance the LASIK surgery cost yourself by using a credit card, a portion of your homeowner’s line of credit or taking out a loan through a bank, finance company or paycheck advance lender. A simple comparison of interest rates and “total loan cost” will yield a winner in short order.