Review - Made for Each Other
August 26, 2009 |09:11 | Mmedical | Relationships | Science By : Team X
Nine out of ten pet owners say that they consider their pets to be members of the family, and more than half of the respondents in an American Animal Hospital Association survey say that if stranded on a desert island, they would prefer the company of their pets to any human companion.
But as Meg Daley Olmert argues in Made for Each Other, our four-legged friends offer much more than companionship. Recent studies indicate that caring for pets brings a host of health benefits, from lower levels of stress to reduced blood pressure and risk of heart disease.
Pet owners make fewer visits to health care providers than non-pet owners and seem to enjoy higher survival rates following coronary heart disease. And therapy with animals has been shown to help in a range of conditions, from autism to Alzheimer's to depression.
It seems the word ‘Survivalist' is changing, thanks to author Neil Strauss and FOX News coverage of his book, EMERGENCY, This Book Will Save Your Life.
Armed with recent medical evidence that supports the cliche that older people are, indeed, wiser, Alford sets off to interview people over 70 - some famous (Phyllis Diller, Harold Bloom, Edward Albee), some accomplished (the world's most-quoted author, a woman who walked across the country at age 89 in support of campaign finance reform).
Every day, millions of Americans gather in church basements and community meeting rooms to take turns announcing, "Hi, I'm X and I'm a Y addict."
'My Angels Are Come' is a penetrating insight into every aspect of the author's life-changing encounter with prostate cancer. Its narrative is frank, bold, and information rich, offering a generous behind-the-scenes look at both the nature of the disease and the complex character of the caregivers who made coping with the disease possible. Although the author enthusiastically applauds his exceptional caregivers, he critiques outright the questionable patient privacy policies of their host institution. 
A couple of years ago, writing in Poetry magazine, August Kleinzahler lighted a string of firecrackers under Garrison Keillor and his “Writer’s Almanac” segments on National Public Radio.Mr. Kleinzahler criticized the “anecdotal, wistful” poems Mr. Keillor often chooses to read poems he summarized as “middle-aged creative writing instructor catching whiff of mortality in the countryside.” Mr. Kleinzahler wasn’t very nice about Mr. Keillor’s “treacly baritone” either.
The frightening thing about the human body is that it can break down in thousands of ways, and it is impossible to prepare for every contingency. Between the endless variety of specialty doctors, conditions dramatized by hospital television shows and words far larger than an average vocabulary, it's easy to be either terrified by the possibilities or caught off guard when an unheard of condition enters your life.When this happens, the only way to confront the problem is to educate yourself as best you can - and if you have empty nose syndrome (ENS), Christopher Martin's "Having Nasal Surgery? Don't You Become An Empty Nose Victim!" is the ideal resource. One of the first books on the subject, it is ideal for both the typical person considering nasal surgery and doctors who may not know enough about the condition.ENS, as Martin describes it, is a condition resulting from the removal of inner tissue known as turbinates following nasal surgery. This removal leaves the patient unable to breathe properly, with a string of chronic health problems including shortness of breath, nasal dryness, thick mucus and an inability to sleep. The discomfort caused by these symptoms frequently leads to distraction and depression, especially since many doctors don't even know how to treat ENS.Martin, who has lived with ENS since 1997, provides it with a much-needed personal connection. He tells his story in detail, beginning with his flawed surgery and showing specifically how the condition impacted his life and the choices he had to make. Through it all, with the exception of a few wistful "what if" statements, Martin maintains a positive tone and a desire to move forward.The book is not only useful for those looking for a personal story of ENS, but also to anyone who suffers from it and is looking for relief. Martin provides the reader with a comprehensive list of treatments, ranging from practical everyday remedies (even providing recommendations on what brand of nasal spray and gel to use) to recommending a certain type of surgery if necessary. 
This book could change your life. Millions of women have undiagnosed hormone problems because their tests come back within the ônormal rangeö. These problems include PMS, memory loss, menopause, fertility, fibromyalgia, interstitial cystitis, chronic fatigue, depression, migraines, cravings, sleep difficulties, chronic allergies and more. Too often these health problems are dismissed as emotional or psychiatric problems and often the recommendation of doctors, rather than medical help, is to seek out a therapist.Dr. Vliet breaks all the rules of the typical doctor. She sees her patients as individuals, not as a list of symptoms, and she treats them accordingly. I donÆt know a single woman who hasnÆt been disappointed by her doctorÆs lack of interest in her total well-being. When we know that something ôjust isnÆt rightö or that we arenÆt feeling ôlike ourselvesö our doctors often chalk it up to stress or dissatisfaction with life, when, in fact, there are real and medical issues that need to be dealt with.As Dr. Vliet said, "The problem I have found is that too often women are told their thyroid is normal without having the complete thyroid tests done. Of course, what most people, and many physicians, don't realize is that...a 'normal range' on a laboratory report is just that: a range. A given person may require higher or lower levels to feel well and to function optimally. I think we must look at the lab results along with the clinical picture described by the patient...I have a series of more than a hundred patients, all but two are women, who had a normal TSH and turned out to have significantly elevated thyroid antibodies that meant they needed thyroid medication in order to feel normal. This type of oversight is particularly common with a type of thyroid disease called thyroiditis, which is about 25 times more common in females than males...a woman may experience the symptoms of disease months to years before TSH goes up..."I recommend this book to EVERY WOMAN. 
