Sometimes people may think they’re simply overstressed when in fact their condition has progressed to something more serious – a form of anxiety or depression. Stress can build and develop into outbreaks of depression and anxiety. Or, depression can also be more directly triggered by a stressful or traumatic event. Often the best treatment at this point is stress medicine. In other words: prescription medication.

Of the four major categories of medications for psychiatric symptoms, only one will be covered in some detail here. This is one of two categories that correlate more closely to stress (the other category includes the anti-anxiety medications). And within this article they’ll simply be called “stress medicine” although this certainly isn’t a medical term.

Antidepressants:

As the name implies, these medications (meds) treat the symptoms of depression. This includes low mood, low energy, appetite problems, sleep problems, and poor concentration. They can also be effective for anxiety disorders such as panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and phobias. It may be 2, 3, 5, or even 8 weeks before the patient notices a change. And never stop taking a med without first talking to your doctor.

The newer generation of these medications for depression is called “serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors” (SSRIs). They tend to cause fewer side effects. SSRIs include Prozac, Zoloft, Serzone, Lexapro, and Luvox.

The brain chemistry of depression and anxiety is not fully understood. However, evidence supports the view that people with these disorders have an imbalance of the brain‘s neurotransmitters. These are chemicals in the brain that allow nerve cells to communicate. One of the most commonly accepted theories suggests that two naturally occurring chemicals, serotonin and norepinephrine, are believed to affect core mood and pain symptoms of depression. An imbalance in these chemicals may be an important factor in the development of depression and anxiety.

These chemical messengers (neurotransmitters) aid communication between many areas of the brain and spinal cord that affect emotional aspects of a person’s nature. They are also important in “controlling the volume” of messages about pain between the body and the brain.

The SSRIs work in this way: Serotonin is released from one nerve cell and passed to the next. In the process, some of the serotonin released is reabsorbed by the first nerve cell. SSRIs block the re-absorption of serotonin into the first nerve cell. It is this blocking action that causes an increased amount of serotonin to become available at the next nerve cell and this is how SSRIs affect the balance of serotonin in the brain.

No two meds are exactly alike. And exactly what conditions a drug can be prescribed for vary as do the side effects for each drug or medication. Not everyone has side effects but the common ones include: Nausea, vomiting, excitement, agitation, headache, sexual problems, dry mouth, dizziness, sedation, weight gain, constipation, heart palpitations, cardiac abnormalities, insomnia, memory problems, over-stimulation, and hypertensive crisis.

Another sub-category of antidepressant stress medicine is called selective SNRIs (selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor). They work on the same basic principle as the SSRIs but target other chemicals. This impacts which conditions they can be prescribed for. Cymbalta is a common med and some of the side effects are nausea, dry mouth, diarrhea, constipation, dizziness, fatigue, decreased appetite, increased sweating, and difficulty sleeping.

Wellbutrin on the other hand, helps balance the levels neurotransmitters called dopamine and norepinephrine. It’s another antidepressant. Some of the side effects are agitation, dry mouth, skin rash, loss of appetite, sweating, ringing in the ears, shakiness, stomach pain, insomnia, muscle pain, nausea, fast heartbeat, sore throat, urinating more often, constipation, headaches, and weight loss.

Talk to your doctor about any other medications you’re on BEFORE getting a prescription for one of these antidepressants sometimes called “stress medicine.” They interact with some other medications in very dangerous ways.

By: Melinda Grossman

About the Author:

By all accounts, the nation’s economy hasn’t been this bad since the Great Depression in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The stock market has been like the Tower of Terror at Disney World, plummeting nearly 800 points in a heartbeat, some prominent companies are looking to the federal government for a very large life jacket, others are being snapped up by the competition at relatively bargain rates, credit availability is tightening, and everybody is wondering how it will affect them.

Call us crazy, but the volatile stock market fluctuations, the extreme turbulence, and people’s growing unrest (to put it mildly!) are actually good for all. Many times, we only embrace elemental change when we are highly motivated or in great discomfort. We think we can all agree that we are all feeling pretty uncomfortable right now. Which makes it an ideal time to look beneath the surface, identify the real issues, and devise solutions.

Times like what we’re in pull back the curtain on a structure’s flaws – much like Dorothy did in the Wizard of Oz – and force us to take a deeper look at the problems. Our fear is literally exposed, driving us to search for its root. Quick fixes and band-aids that only address surface problems – like the $700 billion federal government bailout that was recently passed – might provide some temporary relief but are nowhere near a long-term answer.

What’s compounding the situation for Americans and for an increasing number of people around the globe is that there is no quick fix. A lot of this stems from the McDonald’s mentality that many of us have. We’re hungry, so we drive to a fast food joint, order our meal through the drive-up, pay for it at the first window, pick it up at the next window, and then scarf down the fatty, salty, somewhat empty calories as quickly as we can.

An occasional quick trip to the drive through is a nice break from one’s cooking chores and it’s certainly convenient but it wouldn’t be a good idea to make greasy spoons your daily destination to fuel your body. Ever see filmmaker Morgan Spurlock in 2004′s controversial Super Size Me?

Well, we and our national economy are at about the same point Spurlock was after eating three squares a day at McDonald’s for 30 consecutive days without working out – inflated, busting out of our collective pants, hypertensive, and an internal mess.

After years of hedge fund, money market, and portfolio managers driving the economy and artificially boosting a lot of companies’ stocks – and thereby rocketing some CEOs’ compensation into the stratosphere – out of greed and a desire to rake in monstrous performance commissions, we find that this economic model is finally starting to collapse under its own bulbous weight.

One of the stanchions that has supported this top-heavy financial picture has been consumer confidence. Americans gladly went along with the market fluctuations and willingly paid their brokers the inflated prices on their stock tips. Overall the underlying financials of most investments were strong, but then Americans began to read and believe the media reports that the economy was beginning to go in the tank even before the onset of the sub-prime mortgage crisis.

Media repetition does work and as the elements of a perfect financial storm coalesced with the near demise of AIG, the Lehman bankruptcy, and the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailouts, the confidence of Americans soured into disbelief and then borderline paranoia. This is where we pick up the story.

The $700 billion question now is “How can we pull ourselves out of the seeming doom and gloom to fix the inner workings of the American economic engine?” The answer is by fixing what’s on the inside of each us first! You heard us right!

Let us explain … You see, what’s on the outside is merely an outpicturing of what’s on the inside. And a big component of that is our values.

Two of our predominant economic values have been instant gratification and greed. Americans have become spoiled and that has been no more evident than in the amount of stuff we buy. Window shopping trips turn into buying orgies of things that we think might be nice to have but don’t really need. We are compelled to keep up with the Joneses by having matching luxury SUVs, the latest electronic gadgets, or having our homes decorated just so to impress whoever it is we expect to visit. One of our family friends frequently takes walks in her South Carolina neighborhood the night before the recycle trucks make their early morning rounds and she commented how amazed she is with the empty boxes of stuff she sees in the trash bins every week. Whether or not we can afford the shopping bags full of products that we cram into our new vehicles is merely a passing consideration for many. We want what we want and we want it NOW!

Unfortunately, cash isn’t usually the currency of choice. Rather, it is the readily available and easily obtainable temptress, credit. Don’t have the cash for that new coat you want today? Not to worry, just charge it! Credit cards maxed out and looking for another card to leverage your spending habits? Just wait until the mail comes tomorrow and brings another four or five credit card offers that lure us with instant approval and low rates, among other perks.

If you can budget your finances, adhere to that budget, arrange to pay off your credit card balances in full when they are due, and take other fiscally responsible steps, credit is a great thing. However, if you’re struggling to make the minimum payments and racking up interest charges each month, not so much. As time has passed, more Americans have fallen into the latter category than the former.

Like a drug addict who quickly moves from marijuana and Ecstasy to cocaine and then heroin in search of a bigger high, Americans have fueled their credit habit by avariciously turning their gaze onto their homes. Transforming their residences into their personal ATMs, Americans siphoned equity from their homes at an annual rate of $700 billion (number sound familiar?) during the third quarter last year, according to a February 11, 2008 Business Week cover story.

The viability of home equity loans has nosedived as have housing prices. Some experts see the potential for an unprecedented 25%-30% drop in housing prices over the next two years, which could put a $5 trillion-sized dent into household wealth; would mean that two out of every three people who bought in the past year would owe more than their homes would be worth, preventing them from taking cash out even if they wanted to; and would drastically reduce the number of carpenters, real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and furniture salespeople.

Lenders, who boosted the housing boom by significantly relaxing their standards, are now contributing to the crisis by once again requiring down payments and abolishing no income verification mortgages. Their greed in chasing the almighty dollar a few years ago has now resulted in the virtual shutting down of the sub-prime mortgage business, a scarcity of home equity loans and credit lines, and jumbo loans that are commanding premium rates.

Taking a hit from the housing crisis is the automobile industry, which is a major force in the American economy and has many different businesses supporting it through parts and materials. Lenders are pulling back as borrowers are falling behind on their car payments at higher levels than in past downturns. J. D. Power has projected approximately 14.95 million vehicles being sold in 2008, down from 16.2 million last year, the lowest level since 1995. This is serious, indeed, since the automobile is considered to be a person’s 2nd largest purchase, behind a home.

As the American economy (one could argue its way of life) sways back and forth on top of its tremulous foundation like a drunken sailor out to sea, it should be a wake up call to all of us. It should propel us to look in the mirror to figure out what we need to address inside ourselves to make us feel better.

Two areas that warrant scrutiny are choice and personal responsibility. While many are still prone to point fingers, those who are moving on realize the role they’ve played in events and that there are changes they need to make to ensure that the events aren’t repeated. They also know that we have choices to make every moment and that what we choose to think or do this moment is intricately intertwined with what transpires in the next. Those who choose to embrace their personal power choose to be victors, those who don’t are victims. Which are you?

Another obvious issue that merits examination has to do with lack. Many people try to compensate for a lack of confidence on the inside by accumulating stuff on the outside. They try to use clothes, jewelry, jobs, automobiles, and homes as shields so those around them aren’t able to see a perceived lack of mastery or even competence in one area or another. These individuals think that securing a corner office, belonging to an exclusive country club, or living in a tony neighborhood will enable them to feel better about themselves.

Just like the multi-billion dollar federal bailout, these baubles are merely band-aids that deflect attention away from where it needs to be focused. Trust us, we tried the cosmetic approach and it does not work. We had the grand 10,000-square foot home in bucolic Cambridge, living down the street from a former Dynasty TV star; drove an ethereal BMW 7-series; and Don had a prestigious Vice President of Sales and Marketing job for a small business membership organization. But we hadn’t done the work on ourselves so our lives unraveled like the Mets in a September pennant race. We couldn’t sustain the house, which was evolving into a money pit; we were unable to afford the car; and the job was a terrible fit.

It’s when we fix what’s truly broken that life’s miracles begin to unfold for us. As we feel better about whom we really are, our relationships start to excel, we become aware of career opportunities that will enable us to do that which we love, we finally can appreciate all the gifts in our life that we previously overlooked, and, amazingly, financial prosperity flows to us as we become less and less concerned with it. Our preoccupation with lack transforms into joyful acceptance of abundance.

And something else happens when we’re in alignment and not stifled by fear – we allow our creative juices to flow effortlessly throughout all areas of our being. While fear constricts our innate creative nature, the lack of it encourages us to think of new and exciting ways to enhance our relationships, make our mark at our job, have fun, thrive and not just survive somewhat challenging times, and, best of all, be good to ourselves. We’re also able to manifest that which we want in life quicker and more easily!

Within short order, it becomes a wonderful chain reaction. Since what we are is what we think, the world around us starts to undergo a startling metamorphosis. Our newly emerging thoughts about ourselves change our beliefs and as our inner world shifts, so does our outer world. As we become more in tune with who we are, we begin to act differently and those around us respond to us differently. As the negative thoughts are washed away, they are replaced by uplifting thoughts and feelings that generate more of the same. They can’t help it, that’s the law! That is, it’s the Law of Attraction, which states, in essence, that likes attracts like.

A perfect example is getting up in the morning and stubbing your toe, popping a button on your blouse, realizing your favorite slacks don’t fit, or getting cut off in traffic. A lot of us stay upset at those events and our day goes downhill from there, spiraling into nonstop annoyances, inconveniences, and slights. However, if we took the time to let the events go and recalibrate our thinking to a positive frequency, there’s no place to go but up! Remember, thoughts do become things!

Also keep in mind that thoughts take time to take form. Patience is a virtue, and it also seems to be a foreign concept to many of us walking the malls and surfing the Web. As we mentioned earlier, it’s this need for instant gratification that helped put our country into the delicate economic condition that it finds itself. Professional sports teams have also tried the fast track by signing high-priced free agents (see New York Yankees) or trading for high profile players (ditto) to capture championships, only to come up short. One of the rare exceptions was the 2007-08 NBA champion Boston Celtics.

Rather, life is a process and persistence is an essential ingredient. We didn’t suddenly wake up and find ourselves in this financial quagmire overnight and we’re not going to miraculously rise and shine tomorrow morning to gum drops and lollipops. It’s going to take time for our country to find the fundamental flaws that plague its economic system and it’s going to require our collective consciousness to pull it up by its bootstraps.

That’s why, we think, consumer confidence is in the sewer drain, our collective fear is palpable, and the stock market is performing like a possessed yoyo, finishing up 900 points one day and down 700 points a couple of days later. There’s no quick fix this time and no one seems quite sure about what precisely to do to keep the ship from sinking. This time, we can’t just pop a frozen meal into the microwave and expect it to be done in three minutes.

Unless we become more reflective and introspective and fully realize what’s truly important in our lives, it won’t matter what is done to fix the American economy because it won’t last and we’ll find ourselves in a similar, if not worse, predicament. The signs are clear and they are calling for an in-depth re-evaluation of that which guides us.

By: Julie Purdy

About the Author:

Just because you are experiencing headaches does not necessarily mean that you have a headache or migraine condition. Instead, your pain could be a symptom of a potentially life threatening disease, which needs treatment. This is why it is always recommended that you get treatment from a doctor for persistent or severe headaches instead of relying on self medication through over-the-counter pain medication.

Hypertension

One possible source of your headaches could be hypertension, also called high blood pressure (HBP.) Hypertension is believed to affect 73 million Americans according to the American Heart Association. As many as 69% of all Americans who experience their first heart attack have HBP as do 74% of those with congestive heart failure.

What is blood pressure?

Hypertension is a condition of high pressure in the arteries. A certain amount of pressure is needed in order to allow the heart to pump blood throughout the blood vessels of the body. The pressure comes from two forces – the strength with which the blood is pumped out of the heart, and then rest period between heart beats.

What is hypertension?

Hypertension is considered anything higher than 140/90. High blood pressure can cause the walls of one’s blood vessels to become stretched and damaged, leading to spots of weakness and blockage. If blockages occur in one’s arteries, then the heart has to pump even harder to send blood and oxygen through one’s system. In some cases the heart may not be able to work hard enough to force freshly oxygenated blood through every vein.

What are the risks of hypertension?

If oxygenated blood is not able to travel throughout one’s system, this can lead to tissue damage and damage to the heart itself. Hypertension can lead to increased risk of heart disease, heart attack, kidney disease, hardening of the arteries, eye damage, and stroke.

What are the symptoms of hypertension?

High blood pressure is known as the “silent killer” because it usually does not exhibit any symptoms except in the most extreme levels, known as hypertensive crisis (BP readings of 180/90.) Sometimes headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, and/or nausea can be symptoms of high blood pressure. The only way to know if one has high blood pressure is to get tested and diagnosed by a trained medical professional.

Minimizing the risks of high blood pressure

High blood pressure is believed to run in families, have tendency to affect more men than women before age 45, increase with age, linked to poor diet, lack of exercise, stress, being overweight, drinking alcohol and smoking. The best way to manage this condition is to lose weight, exercise, eat a healthy diet, stop smoking, limit intake of alcohol, reduce stress, and take any medications prescribed by your doctor.

Conclusion

High blood pressure may be a silent killer but this is a condition that can be easily and painlessly diagnosed. In fact, if hypertension is diagnosed early on, the damage to one’s body can be minimized. For these reasons if you are worried that your headaches are caused by high blood pressure – do not hesitate to get tested and diagnosed!

By: Lana R. Howard

About the Author:

The heart conditions that are among the most bothersome that we could mention are angina, hypertension, tremors and heartbeat disorder and so on. The impact on the life of the individual who suffers from them can be profound. Without solutions like Inderal it is very difficult to control these conditions.

The most annoying heart conditions that anyone could suffer from are hypertension, tremors, angina and heart beat disorder. These conditions can greatly effect the quality of life of the sufferer. If you don’t use medication like Inderal controlling these conditions becomes that much harder.

How does Inderal work?

Inderal is a member of the beta-blockers group of medicines. The drug improves the circulation through the veins and arteries by impacting directly on the bloodflow. An immediate benefit is if someone suffers from regular migraines as the condition is often caused by low blood circulation and is often prescribed to reduce the severeness and the occurrences of these annoyingly frustrating headaches.

As there are no symptoms that are noticed by the high blood pressure sufferer, the patient may well find that they have the condition during their general health check or when a crisis situation occurs. Due to this the patient ought to keep administering Inderal, no matter if they are feeling fine.

The quantity that ought to be taken daily should be decided through consultation with the doctor, therefore it is better to administer Inderal each day at the same time. Taking the medication at meal times is not necessary as the patient just needs to take a full glass of water without chewing, crushing or breaking the pill.

If the patient believes they need to change the dosage, they should consult with their doctor to make sure what the new requirements should be; the danger of dropping the dosage or even stopping could have serious consequences with the individual suffering unpleasant adverse reactions. It is better to gradually reduce the dosage rather than doing a sudden halt.

What drugs are likely to interact with Inderal?

If a patient is taking prescribed medications they should be aware that they possibly could interfere with Inderal which can cause unpleasant side effects if taken with their present treatments. So of course it is important for the patient to advise their doctor of the medications they are taking before start a course of Inderal. For example:

- Allergy treatments shouldn’t be used at the same time with Inderal; the taking of the drug is also not recommended if you are having skin allergy tests.

- Diabetes medication such as insulin needs extreme care when considering prescribing Inderal. The doctor may well decide that diabetes is not compatible with the taking of Inderal.

- Asthma drugs, particularly dilators, are best avoided in parallel treatments with Inderal.

There are other medications other than the above that should not be taken if Inderal is being administered and the doctor is the best person to make a judgement if they are not compatible with the drug. So it is advisable to give the complete list of the medications that are being taken. If they aren’t provided correctly and there is incomplete information, extremely grave consequences for the health of the patient could occur.

As you’re probably aware, Inderal is proving to be an effective treatment for heart conditions. It works by raising the bloodflow through the arteries and veins of the body. As with any prescribed medication, care ought to be taken when taking the drug, but you are likely to see that as a treatment for heart conditions it will prove very beneficial to your condition.

By: Daniel Lesser

About the Author:

The clinical picture depends upon underlying causes, like acute GN (allergic disorder of kidneys), sudden acute rise in blood pressure (malignant hypertension), or it may be a case of acute infection of the kidneys (pyelonephritis), or an advanced case of dehydration (due to repeated vomiting, diarrhoea, etc.), or due to loss of blood as a result of sudden bleeding, or due to marked hypotension, i.e. fall in blood pressure in a case of heart attack, or acute kidney failure may manifest itself due to the use of toxic drugs, as explained earlier. Hence, the signs and symptoms vary with the basic disease the patient is suffering from.

Immediate treatment should be started whenever any of the above diseases/conditions occur, and a close watch should be kept on the daily output of urine. A general awareness is required on the part of everyone that whenever a kidney patient starts passing less urine, he/she should consider that the function of the kidneys is markedly threatened, and therefore, it is advisable that the amount of urine passed each day should be collected and measured. It may seem very simple, but since collection of 24-hour urine is somewhat cumbersome and distasteful, people may not like to follow it. As a result, excretion of urine goes on reducing day by day, till it becomes . around 400 ml, and at this volume of urine, kidney failure occurs. Even serum creatinine or blood urea does not run parallel to the initial damage the kidneys. Hence, it is vital to keep a close watch on the volume of the daily output of urine, in the various circumstances mentioned above, which are responsible for sudden kidney damage/failure.

Initially, during the first week of the disease, the signs and symtoms are of the primary disease, i.e. acute GN, dehydration, etc., and the patient starts passing less urine than normal. If the condition remains undetected, i.e. specific attention is not paid, or the patient does not report to his physician about the low output of urine, the vital period for saving the kidneys is wasted, and the volume of urine passed daily goes ondecreasing till it becomes less than 400 ml, when an acute kidney failure is said to have been initiated. Due to the retention of water, swelling of the face and other parts of body may develop. The patient will have marked symptoms of nausea/ vomiting, drowsiness and convulsions, and even death may occur. Both blood urea and serum creatinine will be raised.

Treatment

The patient should be treated in a hospital. Besides urgent measures, the underlying cause of the ARF should be simultaneously looked into. If blood pressure is markedly elevated, it should be lowered with suitable drugs. If infection is the sole reason, it needs to be treated on the lines of UTI, already discussed. And, if there is some obstruction in the urinary tract, say, as a result of an enlarged prostate, etc., it should be immediately dealt with in the hospital, by a team of doctors, including both physicians and surgeons. In case of loss of fluids/blood, measures should be taken accordingly. If drugs are the causative factors, they ought to be stopped immediately.

By: Krishan Bakhru

About the Author: