How Does Parathyroid Disease Lead to Osteoporosis?

A common question from patients suffering from parathyroid disease is whether their condition will lead to osteoporosis. Parathyroid glands control how much calcium is released from your bones and into your bloodstream. The parathyroid glands control how much calcium is released from our bones.

Normally, parathyroid glands regulate parathyroid hormone (PHT) in response to normal or elevated calcium levels in the blood. With parathyroid disease, an abnormal parathyroid gland does not "turn-off" in response to a normal or elevated calcium level in the bloodstream. Instead, they continue to secrete PTH. This produces elevated calcium levels in the blood stream that can, in time, lead to serious medical problems.

With elevated PTH due to an abnormal parathyroid gland, patients continually lose calcium from their bones faster than they replace it. This leads to thinning of the bones - or osteoporosis. Even if you don't have any symptoms, this loss of bone density becomes increasingly difficult to reverse and replace.

Osteoporosis drugs such as Fosamax or Boniva will not cure the underlying parathyroid disease. This is because as long as the parathyroid tumor exists, the secreted PTH will remain elevated and will be too powerful for any drug to counteract. Osteoporosis drugs do not block the effects of PHT. No clinical trials have shown that these drugs help increase bone density in patients with parathyroid disease.

Even if the calcium levels do not rise further than slightly elevated levels, there is still continual damage being done to your bones and skeletal system. The long-term effects can be severe and permanent. A 'wait and see' approach is not advised for patients suspected of suffering from parathyroid disease.

In nearly all cases, surgery is needed to remove the diseased parathyroid gland. The traditional surgical technique requires a surgeon to place a large incision in the neck to locate and examine the four parathyroid glands located behind the thyroid. The tumorous gland is located and removed. Patients that opt for traditional surgery require at least one night of hospitalization. The patient is also left with a large inch scar on the neck.

About 97% of parathyroid disease patients have only one bad gland. Minimally invasive parathyroid surgery is an outpatient procedure that requires an incision of only a one-inch or less. The average operative time is less than half an hour vs. 2 to 5 hours with a traditional procedure. Minimally invasive surgery helps patients recover faster.

And best of all, scarring is minimal and the risk of osteoporosis is averted.

Painkiller Addiction Is As Severe As Any Other Narcotics

20 percent of American's abuse prescription drugs. Yes, prescription-drug abuse is a growing problem of America. Long-term use of painkillers like OxyContin, Xanax, Vicodin, Valium and retalin etc. are resulting in dependency and addiction.   

Drug addiction is a severe problem for its effects result in social problems as well. Apart from resulting in-to 40 million serious illness or injuries among people, it creates social problem likes drug driving, violence, stress and child abuses, criminal offences, peccadilloes; complicity leading to privation, work problems and harm to unborn babies.

These dependencies are nothing less than that of cocaine and heroin. A person addicted to these painkillers needs Virgin Islands drug rehab as much as the cocaine addict does. Prescription of these drugs makes them easily available in the market and t becomes easy to buy them in bulks. Everybody relays on painkillers for the relief from ailments such as headaches, cramps, injuries, etc. unfortunately some of us start relaying on them too much. For them, the reliance changes from being medicinal to physical. A drug popularly taken for pain relief gradually creates a demand in an individual's body for it.  Patient becomes an addict and feels anxious, weak and restless without it.

Diagnosing Alcohol Liver Disease and What Should Be Done

Alcohol liver disease is one of the largest causes of liver disease in Western countries today, and if the warning signs are headed and the causes are reversed, the liver has the capability to regenerate itself even after being significantly abused and damaged. The condition called fatty liver may develop in a person who consumes large quantities of alcohol over an extended period of time, and fortunately the condition may be reversible. The key is to catch it in time before extensive damage occurs, and unfortunately because of the liver's resilience, symptoms might not become noticeable until the condition is beyond hope.

Alcohol liver disease can be described as coming in three distinct phases. The first would be fatty liver disease, and though it may happen to individuals who drink very little, called nonalcoholic fatty liver, in this case it can occur even during a short period of heavy drinking. Basically it is caused by overwhelming the liver so it is unable to properly metabolize the alcohol as it is consumed. When the liver is allowed to take a break, so to speak, it can recover and begin to mend itself. Again, because this phase rarely comes with symptoms, there is nothing to really tell you when you are approaching the danger zone.

Without giving your liver a break, you may fall into phase two, or alcohol hepatitis. This can occur because of binge drinking, but more commonly happens over a period of time and is marked by inflammation of the liver tissues. The condition is in most cases reversible, but may take several months or years of staying totally away from alcohol. Symptoms may include, especially as the condition continues to develop, loss of appetite, yellowing skin, abdominal tenderness, fatigue, and nausea and vomiting.

Which brings us to the final phase of alcohol liver disease, and that is cirrhosis. When the liver tissues have been inflamed over a long period of time, scarring can develop, and can render the liver dysfunctional if a large percentage of the organ become damaged. It is thought that about 10-20% of all heavy drinkers will develop cirrhosis of the liver, and this condition is not reversible.

When the organ can no longer carry out its function of detoxification of chemicals in the body, the only option is to quit drinking entirely. Then just hope that there will be enough liver to function to the point of keeping you alive, or go through a liver transplant. There is a long waiting list at virtually all hospitals for livers suitable for transplant, and one of the criteria for becoming eligible is to be completely without alcohol for a minimum of six months. A few of the symptoms of cirrhosis of the liver are tiredness and weakness, loss of appetite and weight loss, pain in the liver area, the skin becomes easily bruised, and fluid build-up in the legs and ankles.

Alcohol is one of the chief reasons for liver failure causes, and everyone who drinks more than in moderation should be aware of the risks and danger signs. Maintaining a healthy liver, which performs so many functions, is necessary to give it every chance possible to do its job properly.