pH BALANCE & ARTHRITIS

I recalled reading from somewhere that arthritis can be caused by high acidity in the body.  I knew that acidity has something to do with our pH level but I never really paid much attention to it.  In fact, I am not even  aware of the implication of the pH level indicated in my medical test reports.  So I embarked on a research to gain more understanding and I found that an imbalanced pH can actually affect our health.  I got even more interested when I read that an imbalanced pH not only can cause arthritis but osteoporosis, kidney ailments and a host of other diseases.  According to Wellness Watchers MD, pH imbalances can cause accelerated aging, demineralization, fatigue, impaired enzyme activity, inflammation which leads to inflammatory diseases such as arthritis and organ damage.  It can also cause proliferation of harmful microorganisms which can lead to cancer.  

I find it interesting that pH imbalances can cause inflammatory diseases such as arthritis.  Could this mean the same as what was suggested by Stanford University School of Medicine's study that "osteoarthritis is in great part driven by low-grade inflammatory processes"? (see post on OA still exist after TKR?).  If this is the case, I wonder why there is a lack of awareness on the importance of pH balance.

So what is a pH balance?  pH stands for potential of hydrogen and it is a balance between acidity and alkalinity in our body which is referred as Acid-Base Balance.  It is not easy to create a normal pH balance in our body due to all the acid-forming foods in our diet, exposure to toxins and high stress levels.  As a result, many people suffer from over-acidification.  A high alkaline level means that there is excessively low acidity in the body.  However, most people with imbalance are usually too acidic and this has been claimed to cause many degenerative diseases.  But too much of alkalinity is also not a good thing as it can lead to other serious health problems.  Therefore, we need to have a healthy pH balance to ensure proper function of organs.

The level of pH is measured on a scale of zero to 14.  The lower the pH, the more acidic.  The higher the pH, the more alkaline.  The neutral pH is 7 and 7.4 is considered to be a healthy pH level which is slightly alkaline.  The pH in our blood is the most important in order to ensure proper body functions.  However, to measure the pH of blood is not so convenient as we need to visit our doctor to get our blood drawn to do a venous plasma pH test.  So an alternative is to test our saliva and urine pH as it is very convenient.  It may not be as accurate as the blood pH test but it is a good indication.  This can be done with pH test strips or digital pH meters which  can be purchased from pharmacies.  It is best to do the test upon waking up in the morning and before taking our breakfast.  Do this for several days to get an average result.  If the test is done at other time of the day, it should be at least two to three hours after eating a meal. 

Ideally, we should try to achieve a more balanced pH in our body by consuming more Alkaline Food which includes most fresh fruits and green vegetables.  Dairy foods, meat, bread, chocolate, alcohol, carbonated drinks, certain teas and coffee are very acidic.  As an alternative, drinking alkaline water will help to increase our pH level. Water accounts for up to 75% of our body thus, the fluid intake greatly affects the pH of our body. Unfortunately, most of the water we consume are acidic.  Therefore, drinking alkaline water will help to balance the pH level.  Alkaline water has a pH value between 9 and 11 on the pH scale so it is very effective for developing an ideal pH of 7.4.

OVERCOMING JOINT REPLACEMENT SURGERY

In order to create awareness on total knee replacement, I certainly welcome any contribution of relevant articles from guest writers.  So here's a post contributed by Drugwatch which is dedicated to informing you about seemingly safe, doctor-prescribed drugs and medical devices that could negatively impact your health and life.  I am sure you will find the information useful.

 

 

 

 

Overcoming joint replacement surgery requires a bit of patience and diligence. While knee and hip replacement procedures have come a long way in the past couple of years, bone and joint health should be prioritized to keep joints healthy, mobile and strong. It's important to pay particular attention to the tissue surrounding the joint, as there can be complications associated with replacement surgeries. Some of the major medical device manufacturers have had to recall their latest innovations due to malfunctions and associated health risks, including metallosis and osteolysis.

Anyone who has had a knee or hip replacement should be informed of potential health risks to be aware of complication-related symptoms.

Recovering after Surgery

For the first two to four weeks after joint replacement surgery, patients will need to adhere to strict post-operative guidelines from their doctor. This will involve rest, heat/cold therapy, prescription and/or over-the-counter medications and physical therapy. However, once the post-operative period has ended, it is up to the individual to continue a lifestyle that supports healthy bones and joints, and also the exercise required to maintain strength, mobility and balance.

·   Diet. Eating a well-balanced diet is especially important for anyone recovering from replacement surgery. Not only does the body require a nutritious diet to nourish bone and joint tissues, it is important to maintain a healthy weight to remove additional strain from compromised joints. Even a loss of 15 pounds or so can make a difference in recovery and can help prevent further injury. Dietary supplements can also help. Patients should ask their doctor about recommended supplements for bone/joint health such as, Vitamin D, Calcium, Magnesium, Chondroitin sulfate, Glucosamine and SAMe

 

·   Exercise. It is imperative that joint strength, range of motion and flexibility are maintained to prevent the risk of further injury. In most cases, individuals can assume their normal activities, with minor modifications. An emphasis on exercises that include both weight-bearing activities - to increase bone density - and movement-bases exercises - to increase range of motion and balance, is important. In cases where there are more severe restrictions on movement, patients can use a theraband for resistance and range of motion exercises. These exercises can be done while standing, sitting or lying down. It can also be beneficial for family members to learn how to guide assisted exercises if necessary.

 

·   Anti-inflammatories. Using anti-inflammatories as prescribed can help to alleviate pain and inflammation, which facilitates the body's healing process. Always check with a doctor before taking any new medications.

 

·   Orthotic inserts. It is a good idea to have custom orthotics made. Custom orthotics help to compensate for an unusual gait, differing leg lengths or unusual foot anatomy that may place strain on joints. Even the slightest adjustments can provide support to muscles, bones and joints, alleviate pain and prevent further damage.

The better patients take care of themselves after joint replacement surgery, the less likely they will be to require further surgeries.

Elizabeth Carrollton writes about defective medical devices and dangerous drugs for Drugwatch.com.

ADDICTION LIFE STORY 1

INTRODUCTION

As you know, the purpose of this blog is to raise awareness and provide inspiration to those battling the same problem. One of the ways to inspire others who are still battling the disease of addiction is by sharing life stories of recovering addicts.  This is also very therapeutic and freeing for the recovering addict himself.  So far, I have already posted on my experience with the following posts:-

 

·         Addiction

·         Addiction Rehab
·         Addictive Behavior

 

Now I am inviting other recovering addicts to share their life stories here.  I am also planning to invite family members of recovering addicts to share their stories.  It would be interesting to hear their side of the story.  If any of you readers know of any recovering addicts who have an interesting story to share, please feel free to email me.  Please read along and help to spread the awareness to people whom you know can benefit from it. 

Let’s introduce you to my first guest writer, Kevin who is a recovering addict. He is 34 years old and has been clean for 4 years plus now.

 

LIFE STORY BY KEVIN

 

HOW IT ALL STARTED?

I have four sisters. My father passed away about 3 years ago of throat and nose cancer while I was still in the center and I live with my mother now. My dad is a strong will person cause he battle and survive for more than twelve years on liquefied food after he had gone through his radio and chemotherapy. The doctor said he should be dead in within five years because people would naturally give up. Anyway, when I was young, my parents sent me to live with my aunt. I was always bullied by my two elder cousins there. At age six, I went back to stay with my parents and sisters. My parents would very often send me to a temple nearby for most of the day. At the temple, I would just follow whatever activity they have there. My parents did not show me any love and affection because we were poor and they need to earn for the family. My sisters are also not close to me. So there were not much communication within my family and most of the time, I was left alone. I hardly see my sisters or spend time with my parents and there is not much communications. So I came from a dysfunctional family.

 

At 14 years old, I started smoking, drinking and using drugs. The first feeling of "high" I got from the drug was the most amazing moment. I have been chasing to get the same feeling ever since which in fact you will never get back that first high. (But at that time I never knew that so I just kept increasing my dosage). My attendance in school was very poor but I always manage to get away with it. I was also quite popular in school and could even convince other students to give me money and I would use it to buy my supply and booze. I have quite a number of girlfriends but most of them did not last because I was never serious with them. When I was 15 years old, I finally manage to court this girl who lives near my place and I kind of knew her when I was twelve, and fell head over heels in love with her. She was very encouraging and always telling me that education is important. She is the 9A's type while I am the bump type. My relationship with her got very serious but after two years, she dumped me. I was heartbroken and fell into depression. I committed suicide by cutting my wrist at home but my father came home in time and saved me.

 

My drug use slowly became more rampant but still under control. When I turned 18, my friend asked me to join him to work. While I was working there, a customer noticed me and offered me a job to work with her company. I hesitated at first but later decided to accept the job after the third offer. So I joined this firm and was given free lodging at the company premise. I continued to use drugs while I was working. There was never a day that I have worked without the influence of drugs. (Not a day I was sober). I was naive to think that I was not an addict because I have a job and I could still function. I never admitted I was a junkie because I have a professional job and basically living in denial. I hardly go back to visit my family even though my boss would encourage me to do so. My boss and her husband were very kind people and they gave me a lot of support and encouragement. I often wonder whether they were aware of my drug use.

 

Every day after work, I would isolate myself in my room. Even when my boss holds a gathering with friends or family members at the company premise, I would only come down to eat and then disappear into my room. My room was my sanctity where I would be lost in my own world, my sanctuary, my higher state of ecstasy, and my play station. I drank a lot of cough syrup and build up a lot of tolerance so I needed sleeping pills to knock me off and I also experimented with all sorts of drugs. As my lodging and food were provided, my salary was literally paying for all my drug supply. So basically I was working for my drugs.  I tried heroine but did not like it. I actually love my drugs so much because my work performance was great and every client wanted me to handle their event and that kinda made me wanna use more. My dosage kept increasing.

 

After eight years later I finally got fed up and wanted to quit but I can't and the side effect was that I was so depressed, cause the type of drugs I'm using is a downer. So I started to take anti-depressant pill and also anxiety pills and nothing helps and that is when my situation had gone bad. And I was suicidal. My bosses have to keep bringing me to different clinic to sow up the slashes on my wrist and also the stab wounds cause I stab and cut myself.

 

I started to become unmanageable due to all the side effects of the drugs. I could not wake up in time to go to work but my performance was not affected as long as I'm using it. I crashed a few cars as I would suddenly black out while driving. I suffered from bowel problem and could not stop purging so my boss rushed me to the hospital one day. Apparently, it was due to the constant high dosage of cough syrup. Then I started to have hallucinations. There was one day when my colleague found a trail of blood from my room to the kitchen downstairs. They discovered that I had cut myself. Before that I committed suicide many times but they did not take my situation seriously. For I have given up hope on living, I was a living dead at that time. That was a wakeup call for my boss and they decided to intervene to help by checking me into a treatment center and even paid the fees for me. After 28 days, I found that I did not learn anything and when I came out, I relapsed. I checked into the center again but still did not learn anything and relapsed immediately after I got out. My addiction became worse despite all the encouragement given by my boss and her husband. They finally gave up and kicked me out of the company and I had to rent a room to live in because I could not go back to my family in this condition. And at that moment my hell begin, I started to use crystal meth, ketamine, erimin, ecstasy, weeds and hashish just to destroy myself and to get high. Just like how a woman will mix and match their clothing that’s what I did with my drugs - to amplify the effects and to experience euphoria.

ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOUR

Although my addiction to sleeping pills was due to my knee pain, I realize that I also have an addictive behaviour. When I fell sick in the past, I would very often request the doctor to prescribe me with a heavier dose of medicines and for a longer period. My excuses were such as "I have an important meeting to attend" or "I have to go on a business travel" or something else. If I need to travel overseas for work, I will worry about sleep, so I will always carry sleeping pills with me. Even if I self-medicate for a common cold or flu, I will tend to take a few more tablets than required. In the case of shopping, I felt instant gratification for buying something nice and expensive but it may not necessarily be something that I need. These are typical patterns of an addictive behaviour. And my knee pain was just the trigger for me to fall into a full blown addiction to sleeping pills.

WHAT IS AN ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOUR?

Addictive behaviour is defined as one which is characterized by or susceptible to addiction. There is no single set of characteristics that fit all addicts but there are some shared similarities with different addicts. These are some common characteristics of addictive behaviours:-

· Low self esteem                                   · Compulsiveness

· Obsessiveness                                      · Need instant gratification

· Perfectionist                                         · Insecurity

· Depression or anxiety                          · Loneliness

· Aggressiveness                                    · Lack of self-control

· Lack of love and affection                   · Self-destructive

· Impatience                                           · Co-dependent

People with addictive behaviour do not necessarily mean that they will be destined to develop an addiction problem. Some of them still are able to make positive life choices. However, they must become more aware of the potential dangers of addiction.

WHAT IS ADDICTION?

Addiction is defined as a means "to devote or surrender oneself to something habitually or obsessively; behaviour that impairs the performance of a vital function, a harmful environment." Addiction causes you to lose your sense of balance and rationality. Beneath all addictions is a longing for immediate gratification - to feel good, powerful, worthy of admiration, problem free and an insistence on ignoring the long-range self-destructive implications of the behaviour. In simpler term, addiction is an out-of-control habit.

WHAT CAN WE BE ADDICTED TO?

A person can become addicted, dependent or compulsively obsessed with anything. It can be broken down as:-

Psychological addiction such as work, shopping, exercise, video/online games, gambling, sex, eating disorder etc.

Physical addiction such as drugs and alcohol. This occurs when the body has to adjust to the substance by incorporating the substance into its "normal" function. This state creates the conditions of tolerance and withdrawal. Tolerance is the process by which the body continually adapts to the substance and requires increasingly larger amounts to achieve the original effects.

Withdrawal refers to both physical and psychological symptoms that people experience when reducing or discontinuing a substance the body had become dependent on. Symptoms of withdrawal generally include but are not limited to anxiety, irritability, intense cravings for the substance, seizure, nausea, hallucinations, headaches, cold sweats and tremors.

Most physical addiction also has a psychological addiction. For example, an alcoholic who has not used alcohol for years may still crave a drink. This is referred to as a "Dry Drunk" syndrome. Normally, recovering addicts require a lot of help such as an established program, support groups, counseling, behavioural therapy etc. However, in such instance, the addict simply stopped drinking without any proper help, understanding of addiction, issues involved etc. Therefore, the addict remains emotionally disturbed, mentally unstable and vulnerable to relapse.

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF ADDICTION?

Some people ask "Can I be physically dependent on prescription medicines and not have an addiction?". The answer is "yes". If you depend on sleeping pills to sleep or pain killers to control pain but you can keep it within a low dosage, you do not have an addiction yet. But if you are told by your doctor to reduce the amount of the pills you are taking, your body will probably react by giving you very vivid dreams or you may toss or turn and be unable to sleep for a few nights. This is because your body has already become physically dependent to some degree on the pills and is reacting to the loss of the medication. So as long as you can control your choices, you are not addicted but you are at risk.

Some people use recreational drugs over the weekend. They can still keep control over how much and how often they use them. Many people can regularly drink limited amounts of alcohol too. The problem is that many people gradually lose control over how much they use and are overcome by the increasingly strong desire to consume more and more. Sometimes, a certain crisis such as an emotional trauma due to relationship, work, health, financial problem etc. can trigger a full blown addiction. In my case, it was the knee pain.  Here's a link to a real life example as a point of reference.   

http://www.thatslife.com.au/Article/Real-Life/Real-Life-Stories/I-was-an-alcoholic

Most people who are addicted to certain substances are very aware of their addictions and even the harms caused by the addiction but keep doing it anyway. This is because they feel they cannot cope without the addiction and they are avoiding having to deal with the real issues. It is only when a crisis happens and the substance is taken away completely, then the person goes into withdrawal and cannot cope. The most obvious sign of addiction is when the addict's life has become unmanageable.