Night Sweats – Menopause – Hot Flashes – Sleeping hot

Archive for the ‘Pfizer’ Category

I had major weight problems when I was growing up, I liked all of the wrong types of food and drinks.

I also had other things in my life, which were a concern for me, I suffered with a stuttering speech impediment from the age of four, I had a bald patch on my head from birth and I was also quite short for a male at only five foot four. All of these had a massive negative affect on my overall self-esteem. To make myself happy, I would binge and comfort eat, which would only add to the problem. I would feel guilty for hours, after eating for only twenty minutes.

Aged 21; I decided to fight back – I needed to become much fitter, healthier and thinner. I was now working for a front doors company and also part time for a firm which offered cheap calls, it was now time to attempt to lose some weight. I then went about formulating my own form of diet. I realised I had to cut out these wrong type of foods I was eating and to also drink far less alcohol. To say this was difficult was an understatement, however I knew that I had to be strong and to fight off my urges and cravings.

OK so the majority of weight loss experts would advise me to stop eating such fatty and foods and to cut down on my alcohol intake – this was not something that I was particularly interested in doing and so I formulated the following plan:

Breakfast

For breakfast I would eat properly for example, a bowl of cereal or a couple of slices of toast.

Lunch

At around one o’clock I would eat my lunch which would consist of something light such as a salad or a plain jacket potato.

In between meal snacks

It was quite simple; the snacks had to stop; I needed to stay disciplined to not eat between each meal.

Evening meal

Lets have some fun, this was the meal where I allowed myself some pleasure as I decided that I could basically eat what I wanted to, including pizza, my favourite.

For exercise I decided to ditch the car, wherever possible, and walk to more places. Something else that I started to do, and have continued to do, was to take my kids to the local playing fields on a much more regular basis. At the park we would play games such as football, cricket and baseball. It is amazing how much weight you can lose by having fun.

Chiropractic is considered safe for several types of individuals, including infants and children. Now, even pregnant women are reaping the benefits. Just like any other type of treatment, it is important to know about the procedure and risks associated with chiropractic care during pregnancy. You can get optimum results by reviewing the details.

Talking About Safety

Chiropractic care is generally safe even when given to pregnant patients, provided that the practitioner is a qualified and experienced chiropractor. The professional should be well-trained in the physical changes that happen inside a pregnant woman’s body. Chiropractors trained to deal with pregnant patients need to have a special table that adjusts accordingly to the shape and size of a pregnant women, at different stages of the process. Techniques will be incorporated to avoid unnecessary pressure on the abdomen.

It will be necessary to consult a chiropractor who is expert in the treatment of pregnant women. The professional should be highly competent in meeting the needs of pregnant women, providing stretches and exercises that are generally safe during pregnancy and support any type of adjustment given to the spine.

Is It Useful?

As a women enters pregnancy, variouis physical changes and alterations in the endocrine system takes place which prepare the environment for the developing fetus. The changes can also lead to joint and spine problems as evidenced by pelvic changes, protruding abdomen and more back curve, posture changes, uterus enlargement and uterus expansion forward.

When you create a balance and pelvis alignment, you get to have chiropractic care during pregnancy. Pelvic misalignment often lowers the available room for the baby. The baby may have a hard time getting into the right position just in time for delivery. The spine also needs to be aligned, so that the nervous system can properly send messages to different systems and organs, thereby making the body work better.

Knowing the Benefits

Pregnant women can benefit greatly from chiropractic care, such as a controlling signs and symptoms such as nausea and headache, keeping a healthy pregnancy, relieving joint, neck and back pain, minimizing the time of delivery and labor and avoiding the possibility of a caesarean section.

Unnecessary stress is lost or reduced from the uterus and supporting ligaments as balance is achieved in the pelvis of pregnant women. The balanced state then makes it easier for babies to turn naturally. The risk for having a breech position is lessened significantly. Babies may be presented in the breech position until the 3rd trimester, which is very normal. It is only during the 37th week that experts start worrying about breech position.

Treating Symptoms

Chiropractic care during pregnancycan eliminate several problems such as sciatica, low back pain, headaches, carpal tunnel syndrome and midback and rib pain. Pregnancy associated with low back pain is usually linked to several joint problems in the body.

As women’s bodies become heavier throughout pregnancy, more and more stress and physical conditions can develop. These should be treated immediately with chiropractics. Subluxation is described as misalignment of joints, thereby triggering irritation to tissues and nerves in the surrounding areas. Hormones also boost quickly during pregnancy with some causing joints, muscles and ligaments to relax.

The pelvis, in turn opens, to let the baby to go through the birth canal. Treatment via chiropractics is highly useful in assisting mothers have easier deliveries.

Many females have the tendency to slow down at the time of their menopausal years and merely depend on menopause remedies like natural progesterone, however it is significantly important to be fit and active as much as possible. There are numerous arguments why regular exercise is especially important during a woman’s menopause and below are some of the top reasons:

Heart disease. Menopause has been reported to exacerbate the probability of being afflicted with coronary heart disease; however if the cardiovascular system is strengthened with regular physical activity, then the risk is significantly decreased. Physical training also promotes the health of our blood vessels so that good circulation is sustained and symptoms during menopause, such as chronic exhaustion and enervation will cease.

Porous Bones or Osteoporosis.  Even though working out cannot fully block the advent of osteoporosis, it can diminish the rate in which bone density is lost, hence the condition advances at a much slower rate. It can also produce more hardy and tough ligaments, bones and tendons so that strains and breakages do not ensue quite so often. Natural hormone replacement therapy is also believed to protect against osteoporosis and is worthy of hashing out with your physician.

Depressive Disorder. This is a common sign of the onset of menopause. And exercise has been proven to clear depression in many women. This is because exercise galvanizes the brain to release endorphins, which are referred to as the ‘natural high’ producing hormones for they produce a feeling of liveliness. Minor depressive disorders generated by the uncertainties of this natural condition can often be assuaged by performing some kind of exercise.

Overall Feeling of Satisfaction.  Working out is great for making you feel fitter and healthier, even if you only exercise a few times each week. Plus if you are feeling more contented about yourself, then you will not be so caught up with symptoms of perimenopause.

What type of exercise regimen you should do is a personal choice. However, you should aim to include a variety of aerobic routines and muscle building workouts.

Cardio Training Program.
This category includes any form of physical exercise that makes the speed of your heartbeat and your breathing rate to rise. Some examples of these exercises are brisk walking or aero-walking, jogging, running, swimming, biking or vigorous dancing. It also includes activities such as doing chores in the house, gardening activities, chasing after your puppy or the children and even vigorous lovemaking. In fact, whatever activity you do which causes your heart to pump faster can be described as an aerobic activity and thus it is beneficial for you.

It is essential not to over-exercise however, because the potential benefits of exercise can be negated by overexertion and this will get you feeling weak and tired when you should be bright and feeling good.

Muscle building Exercises
This includes anything that makes your muscles work. These can be, climbing the stairs, lifting objects, stretching and muscle toning exercises and even carrying bags or heavy objects can be classified as body building even if these activities don’t technically cause your muscles to grow. Weight_lifting workouts are vital for keeping the tendons, bones, connective tissues and muscles stronger, and this in turn lessens the chance of getting bone fractures and sprains.

Based on this health arguments you can see that any workout exercise undertaken during the menopause years is more desirable than not having a fitness plan. You should try to find a few fitness activities you like and alternate between these physical activities so that there is minimal chance of you getting disinterested to performing them regulary. Lastly, a moderate amount of fitness routine during the pre-menopause years can make life a lot more comfortable menopause and ‘post-menopause’; and ultimately, is it not what we ladies want?

The viewpoint that the explanation for all the menopause symptoms is due to an instability of hormones is a superficial understanding and requires a deeper insight.

Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective: Menopause is determined a deficient characteristic of the liver and qi (life force). When the energy and blood quality is deficient and obstructed then all body organs that depend on that blood are not able to function at their best. This condition causes the liver to overheat which rises through the body, wreaking havoc in its path. The heart, lungs, digestion, glands, throat, mouth & teeth, nose, eyes, ears, brain, skin and hair become heated and dried resulting in the body heat ailments. Additionally, When the liver isn’t filtering the blood then it progresses into a clotted and sluggish.

Because the body is deficient of life-giving body energy, quality filtered blood and diet, therefore the glands do not perform normally. Their glandular secretions can develop irregularly or immobilized altogether. Whereas the blood is filtered and nourished then the body’s organs thrive. Progressively, the energy comes back and they are able to function normally. The hormonal functions, secrete normally, transforming the body towards wellness.

The physical body isn’t missing chemical hormones. The blood is clogged like sludge. Glands are not receiving/transmitting life-giving messages, timely and/or minimally!

So therefore why do we add or provide more hormones. Doesn’t that risk an overload of hormones? Remember when you were a teen and your hormones were super revved. You won’t want to chance of experiencing that again. You have enough hormones. If you nourish your blood, keep fit, sleep, deal with stress, etc. Our hormones revive back and reenforces increased balance.

So if Chinese medicine knows the problem, then what is their solution to this weakened conditioneath

What Restores Usual Hormone Function? Chinese Medicine Has Had An Answer for More Than a Thousand Years! Traditional Chinese Medicine has 20+ formulas for menopause. But which one is the best? To figure this out, its necessary to consult an adept Master Herbalist. While nearly all women fall into 6 main constitution types: 1) cold 2) damp 3) deficient 4) hot 5) dry and 6) excess 

On the whole menopausal women benefit 95% of the time from Chinese herbs contained in Menopause Comfort. The exception is during the summertime. Particular women, who are more hot than the usual population, require a colder menopause herbs, Paramalin, to offset the surplus inner heat produced in the liver.

You can look at the top 10 menopause Chinese herbs, the most effective  menopause formula, listed in more depth, at Longevity Mountain.

It is true that all menopause  night sweats  are triggered by hormonal imbalances. What many people may not understand is that menopause  treatments like Zoloft, Paxil and Effexor night sweats  are a little different. For a quick science lecture, take a look at hormonal imbalances that most often are caused by things such as PMS and menopause.

That medication may be the problem for people who need medication to manage disorders such as bipolar disorder, clinical depression and anxiety. The medicines correct the chemical imbalance in the brain as probably causing one in the hormonal body system. In order for the patient to have relief from their menopause symptoms it is necessary to apply a hormonal supplement to give them freedom from some of the other following symptoms.

Lower libido

When a person is combating depression related cases, sex is usually the last thing on their minds. This is due in part to the nature of illness however it is also a result to their medication. Basic biology tells us that libido and sexual drive come from a healthy and regulated hormone level. Without it, the patient may feel very undesirable and their relationships may suffer. To let a person with depression that part of their life back it is necessary to treat the hormonal imbalance.

Read the rest of this entry »

Is Prempro, the hormone drug known to increase the risk of breast cancer, a public hazard?

If a judge in Pinellas County determines that it is, hundreds of thousands of documents now under seal in lawsuits against the drug’s manufacturer nationwide could be released for the public to inspect.

The key to the confidential company records has ended up in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Anthony Rondolino’s hands because of a clerical misstep and a unique Florida statute.

A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Monday, though attorneys were negotiating a possible resolution late Thursday.

More than 9,000 women have sued Pfizer’s Wyeth unit, the maker of Prempro and Premarin, claiming its bestselling hormone drugs caused breast cancer and stroke. The vast majority of those lawsuits have been consolidated in federal courts in Arkansas, Pennsylvania and Nevada.

Read the rest of this entry »

Pfizer yesterday questioned the verdicts.

"The company believes that neither the awards of punitive damages nor the liability verdicts were supported by the evidence or the law," spokesman Chris Loder said. The company plans to challenge both decisions.

"The company stands by its belief that its subsidiaries acted responsibly," Loder said.

Plaintiffs’ lawyers say the verdicts are further proof that their cases are strong.

The verdicts show that "when jurors hear how Wyeth put huge profits over the safety of patients, they will react with a strong message of outrage," Esther Berezofsky, one of Barton’s lawyers, said in a statement.

Tom Kline, cocounsel for plaintiffs in about 40 other Prempro cases, said the punitive awards "showed that juries clearly believed that Wyeth hid the risks of breast cancer from doctors and patients, making the defense of these claims harder down the road."

There have been larger verdicts in pharmaceutical cases involving individual plaintiffs – a Texas jury awarded one plaintiff $253 million, later reduced to $26 million by an appeals court, in litigation against Merck & Co. Inc. over the arthritis drug Vioxx. But yesterday’s jury award in Philadelphia nonetheless was significant, another Center City plaintiffs’ lawyer said.

Pfizer Inc. has been hit with more than $100 million in two punitive-damage awards – one decided and the other unsealed yesterday – from Philadelphia juries.

Both cases involve Prempro, a hormone-replacement drug made by Wyeth, which recently was acquired by Pfizer. Plaintiffs said the drug was linked to their breast cancer.

The total includes $28 million awarded yesterday to Donna Kendall of Decatur, Ill.

In the second case, Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Sandra Moss yesterday unsealed a verdict reached earlier this year that awarded $75 million in punitive damages to another Illinois resident, Connie Barton, over her Prempro-linked breast cancer.

"Those are large punitive verdicts, make no mistake about it," said Howard M. Erichson, a Fordham University law professor who has studied pharmaceutical litigation.

About 1,500 of 10,000 similar cases are pending in Philadelphia, a common jurisdiction for large liability cases, attorneys say.

The juries are sending a message that they are angry about the corporate conduct in the cases, Erichson said. The $75 million likely will be reduced because it far exceeds the $3.5 million Barton received in compensatory damages, he added.

"This is a pretty good-sized punitive-damage award," said Sol Weiss, whose firm, Anapol Schwartz, tries pharmaceutical lawsuits in jurisdictions around the country. "The jury believed that the [drugmakers] were not straight with what they knew about the cancer risks."

New York-based Pfizer and lawyers for the plaintiffs even disagreed over how to count wins and losses in hormone-replacement therapy cases to date.

While plaintiffs’ lawyers point to recent verdicts in their favor, Pfizer argues that judges have set aside some decisions and plaintiffs have dropped some cases, turning the legal tide in the company’s favor.

More than six million women have taken hormone-replacement medicines to treat menopause symptoms including hot flashes, night sweats, and mood swings. Until 1995, many patients combined Premarin, Wyeth’s estrogen-based drug, with progestin-laden Provera, made by Pharmacia & Upjohn, a company also acquired by Pfizer.

Wyeth, which had not reserved funds to cover losses in the litigation, combined the two hormones in Prempro. The drugs are still on the market. Pfizer, the world’s biggest drugmaker, completed the $68 billion purchase of Wyeth on Oct. 15. Pfizer reported net income of $8.1 billion last year on sales of $48.3 billion.

Pfizer shares closed yesterday up 17 cents, or a bit less than 1 percent, at $18.53.

Annual sales of Wyeth’s hormone-replacement drugs topped $2 billion before the 2002 Women’s Health Initiative study, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, suggested that women using the medicines had a higher breast-cancer risk.

Wyeth faced its first punitive award over Prempro in January 2007, when a Philadelphia jury granted damages to Mary Daniel, an Arkansas woman who said the drug had caused her breast cancer. A judge threw out the award seven months later. The case is on appeal, and the amount of punitive damages remains under seal.

In October 2007, jurors in state court in Reno, Nev., awarded a total of $99 million in punitive damages to three women who blamed the drug for their breast cancers. That figure later was reduced to $35 million and is being appealed.

A federal jury in Arkansas awarded Donna Scroggin $27 million in bad-conduct damages against Wyeth and Upjohn over her Prempro claims. An appeals court threw out the award this year and ordered a new trial on the punitive-damage issue.

Not to worry, it will only take a few hours for them to make this money back.

Pfizer Inc. must pay about $75 million in punitive damages to an Illinois woman who developed cancer after taking one of the drugmaker’s menopause treatments, people familiar with a sealed verdict in the case said.

A Philadelphia jury ordered Pfizer’s Wyeth unit on Oct. 26 to pay the bad-conduct award, which is about 20 times larger than the $3.7 million in actual damages the panel awarded to Connie Barton over her use of Wyeth’s Prempro menopause drug, according to people with direct knowledge of the verdict.

A judge ordered Barton’s punitive-damage award sealed at Wyeth’s request until the trial of another Prempro lawsuit in the same courthouse is completed. Lawyers in that case say jurors won’t start deliberating on that suit’s claims for another three weeks.

“The company believes there is no basis in fact or in law for the jury verdict in the Barton case,” Pfizer spokesman Christopher Loder said. “We plan to ask the judge to reject both the compensatory and punitive awards. We anticipate that if the judge doesn’t grant the company a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, we will appeal.”

Loder said he couldn’t comment on the amount of the punitive damages verdict because of a court order banning disclosure of it while a related trial is in progress.

Read the rest of this entry »