Period Fixes

For some women, heavy bleeding, keel over cramps, and nasty PMS make life whole lot harder. About 95% of women experience some sort of issue once a month. Here is a list of the most common, and some solutions recently suggested by experts. As with anything else, check with your doctor before proceeding with any treatment

Cramps
Virtually all women get cramps at one point or another, and these pains happen to be the most common reason for a woman to call in sick. The uterus is a muscle, and during your period it contracts, sometimes it can squeeze so hard that it actually blocks the arteries coming into it, just like in a heart attack, when the arteries are blocked, it causes pain.

What is Recommended
We all know that drugs like aspirin, and ibuprofen can help by short-circuiting the production of pain-causing chemicals called prostaglandins, but remember that extended use of high dosages of aspirin or NSAIDs may cause gastrointestinal troubles.

Omega-3 fats from fish oil however seem to block prostaglandin production, naturally. Research shows that women with low intakes of omega-3s have more painful periods.

Another way, tried and true is the good old heating pad. You can also try new nonprescription heat wraps, which last for eight hours and can be worn under your clothes.

Steer clear of salty foods, and drink lots of water.

Severe bleeding
Heavy bleeding, also called menorrhagia affects about 2/3 of women. The average woman loses about three to four tablespoons per cycle; more than five tablespoons is considered heavy.)

What is Recommended
If you have a serious problem, your doctor might recommend NovaSure. NovaSure is a 5 minute procedure done in a gynecologist's office, that rids most women who go through with it, from ever having a period ever again. A 'wand' emitting energy is inserted into the uterus, and in most cases, it permanently removes the uterine lining. Getting pregnant afterwards however is known to be risky, so steer clear if you want more children.

There is also a pill that will skip your monthly menstrual cycle. The 365-day birth-control pill, called Lybrel. Lybrel has no placebo pills, so you just keep taking an active pill each day. There is also Seasonale and Seasonique with which you take 84 active pills in a row, resulting in 4 periods per year.

If skipping your period is not for you, the traditional pill is also known for easing heavy flow. The constant level of progesterone causes the endometrium to develop a much thinner lining, resulting in a lighter period.

Mirena, the intrauterine device secretes progestin on a daily basis, thinning the uterine lining so there's virtually nothing to shed when you get your period.

PMS
From headaches to breast tenderness, or big, unpleasant mood swings, premenstrual symptoms affect about 66% of menstruating women. Up to 8% of these women have changes severe enough to cause problems in their personal lives and daily routines, this is also known as PMDD.

What is Recommended
Research shows that calcium supplements ease symptoms. It may work by helping to even out hormone levels. Most women don't get enough calcium in their diets.

Though working out may be the last thing you want to do, daily exercise has proven mood boosting eddects. Do some brisk walking, weight lifting, or even yoga.

Yaz, a birth-control pill that's FDA-approved to treat PMDD. Clinical trials show it can cut symptoms by at least half, though the reasons are unclear.

Upset Stomach
Many women have diarrhea, gas, or constipation during their periods because the chemicals that cause cramping in your uterus, do the same in your bowels.

What is Recommended
Fiber can help keep GI issues under control. Eat cereal, fruit with the skin, and vegetables. Eat too much fiber and it could worsen diarrhea. For constipation, when you get the urge, go. Many women say that they hold it if they are in a public place.

Ibuprofen and other anti-inflammatory medicines can reduce cramping, but may irritate your stomach, so take them with food.

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Neglect? UPDATED

UPDATE ON THIS STORY: British social workers have agreed to let the boy stay at home with his mother upon coming to a formal agreement to "safeguard and promote the child's welfare". No further details were given.

At age 5 he weighed 126 lbs. Now, as an 8 year old child from the UK he weighs in at 196 lbs (3 or 4 times that of a normal child his age) and he may be put into foster care until he loses weight. The reason for taking him away from his family authorities say? Neglect.

They claim the diet his mother feels obliged to feed her son could seriously damage his health, and that the family has failed to attend meetings with nurses and nutritionists.

The child's pediatrician says the family love the child to death, literally, and the way they are feeding him is slowly killing this young boy. At breakfast time he eats a bowl of chocolate cereal and toast with processed meat. During the day he eats about every 2o minutes, and will often consume a whole pizza for lunch alone. At supper time he eats a full meal of takeout accompanied by 4 bags of chips, followed by chocolate bars and cookies.

The child, a boy named Conner has missed a lot of class at school due to health problems and bullying. According to one doctor he is at risk of dying by age 30.

What do you think about this? We all know how hard it is to say no to a child, but we have no problem telling them "no" to touching a hot stove, something that will harm them, and technically his diet is harming him, so shouldn't his mother be saying no? Not only is it affecting his physical health, but it is also hitting home with his emotional health, and cheating other children who are judging him by his appearance from getting to know what may be a great friend.

Positive Outcomes For High-Risk Mums

The number of high risk pregnancies today is skyrocketing because of increased age at conception, obesity, women with heart defects, AIDS, women who are cancer survivors and organ donor recipients, and women with multiple birth pregnancies as a result of fertility treatments.

More and more of these women are defying the odds, or at least what were the odds and going ahead with pregnancy anyway, regardless of past opinions and statistics. And an increasing number are despite some of these factors being life-threatening conditions, still successfully having babies.

Most results have been startlingly positive, so much so that the ideas of whose body is and isn't fit to have children is changing. However not all of these pregnancies end happily, and many believe that some of these women won't live long enough to raise their children, or that the children might inherit their mother's medical conditions.

About half of organ transplant recipients give birth prematurely often though by just a couple of weeks. More and more HIV patients are giving birth successfully as well. Many such pregnancies have been very controversial because of the risk that the mothers might be spreading the virus to their babies. However, modern AIDS drugs are effective enough at protecting the babies, thus, more doctors are accepting these women's choice to have children. HIV disease is now more commonly viewed as a chronic illness.

Many prenatal complications are becoming so common that nurses and midwives can manage them on their own instead of sending women to a high-risk specialists. Some Doctors are even replacing the term high risk with a scale of 1 to 10.

What do you think about this? Should women who risk dying before their children start school go ahead and try to get pregnant? Should women who risk passing AIDS onto their little ones, though the odds may be low, take that risk? Ultimately the decision lies with them but what would you decide if you were in their shoes?

How Do You Love?

Love is different for every couple. Some relationships are full of sparks and passion after decades. Others may fall into a comfortable everyday cycle and over time lose that lust they once had for one another. In fact, experts say there are six different ways you can be in love, and over a long period of time yours may evolve.

Knowing which category you fall under can help you evaluate your own relationship. It can help you have more realistic expectations and worry less about where your relationship is headed. For instance if you understand that it's normal for a loving couple to have a platonic relationship you won't be as concerned when there aren't any fireworks. Determine your love style, and learn how to maintain a healthy happy relationship.

The romantic

You love being in love. You can be swept away by your lover's new look or hobby. However you may also be disappointed when those looks change with age, or when looking back at the way things were.

Try and remember that true love doesn't recede with his hairline, and that romance isn't "supposed to" fade. Go on dates together, weekend getaways, or vacations for just the two of you to rekindle that spark in your relationship. Even if you end up bringing the kids on that weeklong getaway, it will likely bring you all closer together as a family. Besides, the kids have to go to sleep sometime.

The list-maker

You have standards that are important to you in a relationship, and you refuse to change, or let them go. Even if you are in a committed relationship. You may be putting too much pressure on your partner to live up to your requirements and desires.

Let go of the list. Clinging to those must-haves could mean a strained relationship or a lonely life. Ultimately, the important things are companionship, love, and a capacity for forgiveness. Not the things that impress others. After all you're the one who has to live with him. Remember why you feel for him in the first place, and if you intending on changing him from the get-go maybe you're with the wrong person.

The obsessive

You want to spend all your time together, and you are constantly worrying about the status and security of your relationship, even when you've been together for years and your man gives you every reason not to. This can be overbearing and drive your significant other crazy and possibly even out the door.

Don't over crowd. Try and realize that too much of a good thing can be too much of a bad thing. Talk to your man, it might help you both understand why you feel so insecure and help you find ways to put your relationship in perspective.

The giver

You give more than you get. You're constantly working selflessly to meet your partner's needs and desires, but you're forgeting to look after yourself.

It's important to have a life outside of your relationship. Develop your own interests and follow up on them. Cultivate your own friendships so that you're not always hanging out with other couples, and reserve time to do things solo that you enjoy. It gives you something to talk with him about too. And won't make you so resentful when he runs out the door with his friends.

The player

You love the catch of the chase. You're easily bored in long-term relationships, and have a serious case of the roaming eye.

Avoid situations that lead to infedelity. Take the temptation out of your life completely. Instead of looking for excitement outside of your relationship, try doing new things with your partner, so you can see a different side of him.

The pal

Love creeps up on you both. One day you think, "Wow, I've been spending a lot of time with Jack lately," then, all of a sudden you realize you're in love with him and have been for a while. In the long term, your relationship may be quiet, but it's strong.

Don't let your thing get too boring. You need to have those moments of romance. Planting a passionate kiss on him once in a while shows him (and reminds you, too) that you think he's sexy.

So, what kind of lover are you?