Life Lesson Regarding YOUR Medication and Medical/Mental Health History

B'SD

21 Tevet, 5777

I've been busy preparing feature stories for a mental health website (I'm certified in counseling skills and as a spiritual chaplain plus quite experienced at coaching ill people 1:1 as I intereact with mental health professionals professionally and socially). Now I have a bit of mental health information to share with YOU!

An acquaintance shared the following account of a frightening story that need not have happened. Heed the life lesson no matter your medical or mental state:

Now that it is all over, I have been asked to share a scary story, in the hopes that others will learn from it, and not suffer as this family suffered.

My connection to the story is that I volunteer for an organization that helps women who are suffering from post-partum depression.

This story is about a woman who suffered in her youth from anxiety and depression - fairly mild , but she continued to take antidepressants for many years.  

Thank Gd, she never had setbacks after giving birth.

At menopause, her ob-gyn felt that her physical symptoms were severe enough to warrant taking hormone replacement therapy.

Unfortunately, this ob-gyn did not ask her about her mental health history, and was unaware that she had suffered in the past from anxiety and depression.

Like most laypeople, she did not realize that there might be an issue.

It started very gradually. Her mood changes were blamed on her gradually emptying nest. She would feel antsy, couldn't concentrate on anything.

Then the panic attacks began. She quit her job, feeling that she was unable to do even simple tasks.

As time went on, she found it hard to be alone. She would call her husband to come home from work. But she was too depressed to enjoy his company. She would lose her temper over nothing.

And then there were rages. She would scream, and throw things. She seemed to have completely lost control.

She stayed in bed most of the day, which kept her calmer.  And then, a few good days went by, as she stayed in bed, her mood improved. She talked calmly, the rages and the panic attacks were gone.

In her calmer state, she noticed that she had missed a week of her hormones. She took a pill, and by the next morning, was completely out of control again. This sequence repeated itself one more time, until her 
husband decided to look up the potential side effects of the hormones.

Seems that mood swings and depression are both potential side effects, and much more likely when one has a history of mood issues.

Now that this very difficult time is over, the woman is back on her feet, and her family is breathing easier, they want to share the lessons - hormones affect moods. And other medications can also affect moods. Any doctor who prescribes medication must be told your complete medical history, including mood issues. Even if it was a long time ago, and even if they don't ask.





As you'll learn in the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge, YOU are your own best medical advocate. Read every page to learn how to take proactive steps to protect your inner and outer health.





Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity. Face Your Future with Optimism.

Fill your time with proactive behavior!

When Your Pregnancy Does not Complete... or Even Begin...

B'SD

19 Tevet 5771


There's little in life to equal the pain of losing a pregnancy. Bereaved women are more pained when the people around them fail to understand the depth of that loss. It is a loss of hope, of happiness, of joy, even of femininity for some women.

A friend of mine, grief counselor Miriam Maslin, tells the world these wise words:

Grief is not an illness;
it is the healthy response to loss.
Under normal circumstances,
religious tradition provides us
with a structure
within which to do
our healing work.

Not so with miscarriages, stillbirths,
the agony of infertility, and
difficult birth outcomes.

Here there are no therapeutic mourning periods.

Sometimes our friends and family are
at a loss themselves and they can't
be there for us.

There is often a huge chasm between
husband and wife because men and women
tend to mourn differently.

Losing a baby can be a very lonely journey.
Sometimes, we need a safe place
to process our loss.

Sometimes we need someone with whom
we can just be.

Miriam Maslin, Pregnancy Loss Grief Counselor
Pregnancy loss support and counseling
Polarity therapy and Spiritual care
Workshops and Seminars

Israel phone: 02-566-2379
US phone number in Israel: 718-838-3244
http://www.miriammaslin.com/
miriam@miriammaslin.com

If you need someone to talk with about your grief, look for the list of therapeutic outlets in the Global Resources section of

Buy your copy of quick and convenient E-book EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge TODAY! Go to http://www.booklocker.com/books/4244.html

Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.

Help for Postpartum Depression

B'SD


25 Tevet 5770


Postpartum Depression is more than a double-whammy. The woman already physically stressed out by birthing a baby must now tend to the helpless child while her mind is assaulted by a hormone surge she can't control. Feeding, bathing, diapering, cuddling and dressing the infant require clear-headed thinking, time and energy, the things poor mom seems to have in a frighteningly low supply.

If other children are in the home, and if the fathers are oblivious to the issues or unaware of how to be helpful, the mother's problems can add up unbearably.

Here's some good news about that scary scenario.

I've reviewed a marvelous book and despite its title, it serves the needs of women of any religion. The authors simply addressed some cultural realities within the Jewish world when they wrote:

Delivery from Darkness: A Jewish Guide

to Prevention and Treatment

of Postpartum Depression

A comprehensive look at the emotional, physical, psychological and medical realities of PPD, this book explains the hormonal cascade happening during pregnancy, birth and recovery. The effects of that cascade have nothing to do with willpower, evil or goodness. The chemical reality is all on its own.

The manuscript explains PPD's low to high levels of severity, how to recognize the symptoms and how to cope with them. The personal stories in the text can relieve PPD sufferers of their senses of undeserved guilt.

Prepared by mental and medical health professionals who've experienced PPD or are professionally familiar with it, this book is a must-read filled with solutions, preventatives and coping mechanisms. Published by Feldheim, Delivery from Darkness can literally save lives.

Cry if you need to. And learn to dry your tears. THAT can help you to EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge.

Yocheved Golani
Coping with a Medical Crisis?
Make the Changes You Need in Your Life

Preventing Postpartum Depression

B'SD


The medical world has lots of good news this week. Here's another need-to-know item.

Attention obstetricians and

pregnant women!

Breaking news in the world of hormone health:

A new report suggests that women with higher levels of a hormone produced by the placenta midway through their pregnancy are more likely to

develop postpartum depression...

It's a big break in learning how to prevent and how to treat PPD.

Click on Hormone Test to Predict Postpartum Depression to read the story.

Learn about how to cope with the symptoms of depression after clicking on I'M BUYING YOCHEVED'S BOOK TODAY!

To your good health and that of your family,

Yojeved Golani
Coping with a Medical Crisis?
Make the Changes You Need in Your Life

Moms’ Sick: Here’s How to Cope

3 Tevet 5768

Men, I intend to give you equal time. But first up, I'm sharing some online videos about women who are sick for extended periods of time.

Two of the themes running through both videos are 1. cruelly dismissive remarks that medical "professionals" made to women experiencing genuine illness and 2. lack of interest in exploring an intelligent, articulate adult's medical concerns and symptoms. "You're having hormone problems," "You need psychotherapy," "You're just busy and tired from raising kids," and so on were just some of the responses made to the people in these shows.

If you're a woman, you're probably familiar with the problems mentioned above. I sure am, and WOW am I disappointed in the medical world's regard for women.

Here's my suggestion for repairing the problem. Suggest watching the "Moms with Long-term Illnesses" and "Post-Partum Depression/Empty-nesters" videos to your medical team, plus to your family and friends. It's a painless and valuable education effort on their part.

Here's the link to the videos (at the same blog): http://www.douglas.co.us/networkdc/dcmom/index.html#topVideo

If and when you respond to the E-address at the video blog above, please “CC” me. Or simply send your reaction to the dialogues to giveretgolani@gmail.com.

Buy It's My Crisis! And I'll Cry if I Need To. Learn more about how to cope with the stresses of sickness in the family.

***

CHANUKA ends later today !!!!! Spread healing cheer and keep the warmth of the holiday going far into the future when you buy someone a copy of It's MY Crisis! And I’ll Cry if I Need To at http://www.booklocker.com/books/3067.html

The good feelings you'll foster can be as warm and appealing as these Chanuka latkes.












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To your good health,

Yocheved Golani
Coping with a Medical Crisis?
Make the Changes You Need in Your Life.