Eating disorders are among the most dangerous and difficult to treat of all mental health disorders. Eating disorders do not discriminate. They can be found in both genders, all age groups, and across a wide variety of races and ethnic backgrounds. Eating disorders adversely impact the health and well-being of those affected. And, sometimes, eating disorders can become quite severe and, without aggressive medical treatment, can lead to death.[1]
This article will explore the key features of these often misunderstood disorders.
Our unhealthy relationship with food
Were you ever told you must clean up your plate? Or eat your Brussel sprouts before you could have dessert? If so, you aren’t alone. Many of us grew up being harangued with some variation of these types of “eat your food or else” threats. However, they are just one of many contributing factors to American’s unhealthy relationship with food. …
Medically reviewed by Patricia Salber MD, MBA (@docweighsin)
Family building via assisted reproduction or gestational surrogacy is complicated and requires planning. The COVID-19 pandemic has made it much more difficult.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an enormous impact on couples who are already having difficulties with family building. These couples have legitimate concerns about receiving in vitro fertilization treatments during a public health crisis.
These concerns include making regular hospital visits and risking COVID exposure. These concerns include each and every procedure involved with their infertility treatments, assisted reproduction, and gestational surrogacy.
Plans and embryos are frozen in time
In April, May, and June of 2020, IVF clinics essentially shut down on recommendations from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). …
By: Ilchi Lee
Medically reviewed by Patricia Salber MD, MBA
Ilchi Lee, the author of ‘Water Up Fire Down’, shares powerful tips to manage your stress and find your calm by using an Asian medicine energy principle
You probably already know that you should manage your stress level. After all, it is widely acknowledged that stress has been linked to many of the most common health problems.[1] But have you ever considered that stress is a problem linked to your body’s energy system?
In traditional Asian medicine, the flow of life energy, also known as chi or qi, is the foundation of health and vitality. So, when a blockage or imbalance arises in your energy system, health problems will soon follow. …
Updated on December 5, 2020
TRX exercises are an efficient way for women to burn calories, build muscle, improve core strength at home.
Whether your ultimate fitness goal is to build strength, improve your core stability, flexibility, balance, and endurance, or drop some serious pounds, all you need is the TRX training system*** and your body weight to perform it. The TRX system provides terrific workouts for both women and men.
Do you want to learn how to perform a variety of basic TRX workouts? And do you want to understand more about how this suspension exercise can benefit your body? …
By: Philip Mehler, MD, FACP, FAED, CEDS
Severe eating disorders are the only mental illnesses regularly accompanied by dangerous, life-threatening medical complications
Severe eating disorders are the only mental illnesses regularly accompanied by dangerous, life-threatening medical complications. Significant medical instability results from a number of abnormalities, including:
In fact, the disorder can compromise virtually all of the body’s vital organs and systems.
There are a number of different eating disorders that lead to excessive weight loss and associated medical complications. The most common include:
- anorexia nervosa (AN),
- bulimia nervosa (BN),
- avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID).
In this article, I will focus on the medical complications of these disorders. I will also discuss how to manage because it is crucial to saving the lives of individuals suffering with a severe eating disorder. Further, it is key to helping patients achieve the medical stability and cognitive function necessary to engage fully in the recovery process. …
By: Steven R. Newmark, JD, MPA
Medically reviewed by Patricia Salber MD, MBA
Telehealth utilization under Medicaid surged during the pandemic providing needed services to the vulnerable. Ongoing funding must be ensured.
We all need to keep an eye on the weather in our state capitals. That’s because a public health storm is forecasted. It is caused by the opposing forces of the pandemic-related economic downturn and related diminished tax income versus an increased demand by many unemployed Americans newly eligible for Medicaid. The Medicaid tsunami is here!
As explained by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), to support Medicaid and provide fiscal relief, generally, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) authorized a relief package to help Medicaid meet the demands of new enrollment. …
By: https://thedoctorweighsin.com/poor-vision-senior-falls/
Aging is associated with an increased risk of poor vision. Poor vision, in turn, increases the risk for senior falls. Vigilance is needed to prevent both.
More than ever, seniors need to be vigilant about their vision. Not only is it an essential sense, but poor vision presents another risk: preventable falls. Unfortunately, we live in the age of COVID which makes it harder for older adults to maintain their health, including their eye health. This article reviews the reasons why it is more important than ever that seniors get regular vision care.
The health risks of social isolation
There are millions of older adults living alone, a grim fact amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Family members are visiting older relatives less. And when they do, they may keep their distance to limit virus exposure and spread. …
By Jonathan Aviv M.D. & Suiana Chandrasekhar M.D.
A treatable, virus-related vagus nerve injury may be the cause of persistent shortness of breath in some COVID-19 long haulers.
Persistent shortness of breath in COVID-19 long haulers may be due to a treatable nerve injury. This is a reminder that shortness of breath is not always pulmonary.
Sandy’s story
Sandy is a 42-year-old previously healthy woman who presented with a four-month history of an inability to have conversations or do Zoom meetings without feeling out of breath.
Her chest X-ray (CXR) and chest computerized tomography (CT) scan were normal. However, she had an unusual abnormality on her spirometry lung breathing test with flattening of the inspiratory curve. …
By Gavin Clark
Medically reviewed by Margaret Cary, MD, MBA, MPH
A medical student finally learned how to give permission to himself to explore his memories and experience his emotions.
Permission is a heavy word. When we are young and have little agency, permission takes on the most superficial meaning: asking for something tangible. It’s innately tied to something we want in the hopes of bettering the moment.
As we grow and our desires begin to intertwine with those around us, permission begins to involve incorporating others. We ask for dates and we ask for intimacy.
Either way, you cut this, though, we are asking something of someone else on behalf of ourselves. For some, this is where their understanding of permission ends. It is as neatly contained in wanting something that can be provided to you. …
Body dysmorphic disorder is a syndrome in which a person can’t stop thinking about some perceived flaw in their appearance.
Body dysmorphic disorder is a mental disorder in which a person can’t stop thinking about some perceived flaw in their appearance. It may be a flaw that doesn’t exist or is so minor it isn’t noticed by anyone else. It leads to feelings of embarrassment and shame.
Sometimes people with the disorder avoid social situations because they feel their “defect” will be on display. A fairly common example is a person who has had multiple rhinoplasties to fix their imagined nose defect. …
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