Health

Tired of being tired? Jessica Postigo was. After switching careers, going from on-the-go film producer to the more-sedentary role of screenwriter, the 36-year-old from Los Angeles began to feel lethargic. “I knew I needed to do something,” she says. “I wanted my energy back.”

That kind of funk probably sounds familiar, whether youre moving in slow-mo or frazzled from juggling work, family, and friends. And, with the energy-sapping holidays ahead, your fatigue-and-crankiness quotient is bound to go up.

Yes, its true: Feeling tired not only robs you of productivity and pleasure, it also can make you a real … well, lets just say the word rhymes with witch. And its no wonder women seem more likely than men to crash and get cranky: studies show that they sleep less, stress more, and do more multitasking than men (surprise, surprise).

Want to fight the funk and fatigue? Weve gathered some twists on those tried-and-true ways to put pep back in your step (like exercising, eating right, and stressing less) along with some tips that might surprise you (like taking a shower or bath before bedtime for a deeper, healthier sleep). So arm yourself for the holidays and beyond with these simple strategies for instant energy. In no time flat, youll be catching your second wind—and then some.

• Eat Smart
• Drink Up
• Sleep Deep
• Stop the Stress
• Move Your Body

IstockphotoFrom Health magazine

Pseudoephedrine
(SOO-doh-eff-ed-rin)

What is it? Commonly found in nonprescription cold and allergy medications like Sudafed and Advil Cold & Sinus, pseudoephedrine eases stuffy noses by shrinking swollen blood vessels in your nasal passages, says John Sundy, MD, an asthma and allergy specialist at Duke University Medical Center.

The buzz: Meds with pseudoephedrine were moved behind the pharmacy counter in 2006, and limits were imposed on how much you can buy. Why? The stuff can be used to make methamphetamine, an illegal drug.

You need to know: If you buy a cold or allergy medication and dont get your usual relief, it may be because the product con-tains phenylephrine (avail-able over the counter), not pseudoephedrine, Dr. Sundy says. New research shows that some people with stuffy noses get more relief from pseudoephedrine than phenylephrine.

The bottom line: Read labels so you know your phenyl from your pseudo, and ask your pharmacist for a pseudoephedrine product if you think you need it. Know that the drug slightly raises your risk for high blood pressure and might make you jumpy, Dr. Sundy says.

WEDNESDAY, June 25 (HealthDay News) — People taking dopamine agonists to treat Parkinson's disease are at risk for impulse-control disorders such as compulsive gambling, buying and sexual behavior, University of Pennsylvania researchers report.

In fact, people taking these particular medications are three times more likely to engage in these behaviors compared with Parkinson's patients not taking these drugs.

The connection is not entirely new.

"Impulse-control disorders are relatively common in Parkinson's disease," said lead researcher Dr. Daniel Weintraub, an assistant professor of psychiatry. "In almost 14 percent of treated Parkinson's disease, patients had at least one of the four impulse-control disorders."

Of the 14 percent, about a third had more than one impulse-control disorder, Weintraub said. The findings were to be presented Wednesday at the Movement Disorder Society's 12th International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders, in Chicago.

Most research on compulsive behaviors in Parkinson's disease is focused on gambling, Weintraub said. "We found that the other three impulse-control disorders occurred as commonly as compulsive gambling," he noted.

In the study, Weintraub's team looked at these compulsive behaviors in 3,090 patients taking dopamine agonists for Parkinson's disease and Parkinson's patients not taking these drugs.

The researchers followed the patients for six months. Weintraub's team found a twofold to threefold increased risk for these four compulsive behaviors among those taking dopamine agonists.

In addition, patients taking levodopa were also prone to impulse-control disorders, Weintraub said. Higher doses of levodopa or dopamine agonists increase the risk of developing and impulse-control disorder, he said.

"Doctors and patients should be aware that development of one or more impulse-control disorders is a potential risk factor for Parkinson's patients that are treated with a dopamine agonist," Weintraub said.

In addition, younger patients and those taking levodopa and patients with a family history of similar behaviors may be at higher risk of developing impulse-control disorders, Weintraub said.

Since people taking higher doses of these drugs are more susceptible to impulse-control disorders, doctors should prescribe only the highest dose needed to control Parkinson's symptoms, Weintraub advised.

Michael W. Jakowec, an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Southern California, said that "these compulsive disorders reflect clinical challenges faced in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, especially in the context of dopamine-replacement strategies."

While dopamine is necessary for control of the aspects of motor control, it also plays an important role in other regions of the brain, particularly those involved in reward systems, Jakowec explained.

"There are a number of behaviors we are subject to that are a balance between reward-reinforcement-aversion," Jakowec said. "A dysfunction in the reward system can lead to an imbalance such that compulsive behaviors emerge."

It is very similar to drug addiction, where drug dependence is reflected in dopamine dysfunction, Jakowec said.

For more about Parkinson's disease, visit the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

SOURCES: Daniel Weintraub, M.D., assistant professor, psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Michael W. Jakowec, Ph.D., assistant professor, neurology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles; June 25, 2008, presentation, Movement Disorder Society's 12th International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders, Chicago

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

Last Updated: June 25, 2008

Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

When I heard that high schools were closing and teenagers were dying because of the MRSA superbug, I felt lucky. Since the middle of 2006, Ive had methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus six times and somehow managed to avoid the worst: Ive never been hospitalized and dont fear for my life. But, please, take my advice and do everything you can to avoid this dangerous infection.

My first episode was in July 2006. I live in Boston and was going to visit a friend on Nantucket. I leaned back in my seat on the plane and felt a dull pain, like someone was pressing really hard on my buttock. When I arrived I asked my friend to take a look. That sounds embarrassing, but I couldnt see the problem myself. She said it was just a pimple but really red. By the third day the irritated area was more than three inches wide and burning sharply. I was nervous, so I left the island early and went to my doctor.

He gave me an antibiotic called Keflex for a skin infection, but the pimple just got bigger, hotter, harder, and redder. Sitting was almost impossible. And soon it wasnt just my buttock that ached. I had developed a second spot—on my labia!

Next Page: What is it? [ pagebreak ]What is it?
I still didnt know I had MRSA. Truth is, I hardly knew anything about MRSA. But I wasnt getting better, so while I was at my weekend house in Connecticut, I decided to go to the emergency room. The doctors there gave me a local anesthetic, then cut open and cleaned out the spot on my buttock. The abscess underneath was big enough that they had to pack it with absorbent material to soak up pus. When they cultured the infection, I finally learned it was MRSA. The doctors changed my antibiotic to Augmentin, because the first one wouldnt work against the resistant bug. But they didnt want to touch the spot on my labia. Id have to go to a gynecologist for that.

When I returned to Boston, I went back to my doctors office to get the packing changed, but the doc wouldnt do it because they didnt have the necessary surgical tools. I had to go to the emergency room. I went over to the ER in the same hospital complex; they agreed to change the packing, but didnt want to touch the spot on my labia. Again they said I needed a gyno. Argh! Five doctors visits for this one infection, and the thing was getting worse. I was losing it.

I walked into the medical building next door and found an OB-GYNs office. They agreed to take a look. The doctor pinpricked the swollen area, got a little pus out, and sent it to be cultured. It was MRSA. Again.

Both spots healed up, and for three weeks I was fine. But then two months later, in September, it happened again: hot, red spots on my perineum and labia. I was really frustrated. I couldnt believe it had come back. Before long I was back at the ER for another draining and culture. More MRSA. More antibiotics, this time something called Bactrim.

Next Page: Is it my fault? [ pagebreak ]Is it my fault?
Eventually, I saw an infectious-disease specialist, who did all kinds of tests (including diabetes and HIV) to figure out whether I had a condition that would make me vulnerable. Everything came up negative. I wasnt surprised. I used to be a professional dancer, and Ive always been very healthy. The tests, though, made me feel even more nervous and unsure of myself.

The specialist couldnt explain why the outbreaks kept coming back, but the fact that they popped up where I sweat was a clue. I work out at the gym three times a week and also run. Id come straight from the gym and start working in the garden, changing clothes first but waiting until I was back inside to shower. Bad idea. The specialist told me to shower and change clothes right away so that bacteria wouldnt have a chance to breed, and to wash my workout clothes every day. She also had me try “decolonization”—a real hassle. For five days, I showered with an antibacterial soap called Hibiclens (my husband, too), and for two weeks I put an ointment called Bactroban up my nose (because staph can live there) and on my perineum. I also washed all our sheets and towels every day, in hot water with bleach. Later, I saw a dermatologist who recommended I switch from spandex to loose cotton just in case the tight outfits were rubbing against my skin and leaving tiny abrasions.

Next Page: What more can I do? [ pagebreak ]What more can I do?
I wish I could say that was enough to solve the problem. But last winter the infection came back—again!—this time under my arm and on my breast. My belly was next, in June, and again in September. Most of these spots, like the others, needed to be drained, packed, and treated with Bactrim.

Had I done something wrong? My friends kept telling me to change doctors, but the docs say the same things: “Were seeing this a lot, and we dont know why its back.” Truth is, I feel I was doing everything right. Im obsessive now about following the specialists advice. Im moisturizing in hopes of avoiding cracks in my skin that might be a breeding ground. I wash my hands all the time. I use my wrists and the backs of my hands to open doors in public restrooms.

I cant imagine what else I could do about MRSA. Except warn you.

What are my real risks for MRSA?
1 in 3,200

Those are estimated odds of developing a serious MRSA infection this year, based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates for the number of infections in 2007. Your odds of being audited by the IRS? About 1 in 100. Up to 1 percent of Americans are believed to carry MRSA on their skin or in their noses, yet most never develop an infection. In other words, your MRSA risks are extremely low, although no one can say for sure. In short, dont panic—and dont stick your head in the sand.

*Jilly Jackson is not the authors real name.

Maryn McKennas book on MRSA, Superbug, will be published by Free Press in 2009.