May Bloomington Healthy Cells 2011

BLOOMINGTON/NORMAL

area

Promoting Healthier Living in Your Community • Physical • Emotional • Nutritional

May 2011

FREE

HealthyCells

TM

www.healthycellsmagazine.com

M A G A Z I N E

Horizons Counseling:

Extends Baby Fold Expertise to More Families page 20

The Drill Stops Here page 24 Better Communication Skills page 30

Stealth Attack of Whole Grains page 38

Helping You Get Back to the Things You Love ACCEPTING ALL INSURANCES AND SELF-REFERRALS

1015 S. Mercer Ave. Bloomington, IL 61701

(309) 662-4321

www.millenniumpaincenter.com BLOOMINGTON | NORMAL | PONTIAC | DECATUR | CHICAGO

May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 3

MAY 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 32 34 36 37 38 40 42 44 48

Pregnancy: Morning Sickness Getting You Down?

Research Studies: Stop the Confusion Physical: Cancer Care is Getting Personal

2011 This Month’s Cover Story:

Volume 6, Issue 5

Horizons Counseling: Extends Baby Fold Expertise to More Families page 20

Emotional: What is Bipolar Disorder?

Nutritional: The Gluten “Epidemic”— Are You Tired of Being Tired?

Neurological Disorders: New Treatment for Parkinson Disease Headaches: A New Hope For an Old Malady Health Savings Account Programs: When Healthcare and Politics Collide The Drill Stops Here: Local Dentist Patents New Drill Stop Reap The Rewards: The Hidden Health Benefits of Volunteering Hypnotherapy: Explaining “Unexplained” Infertility Comprehensive Breast Care: Role of the Breast Health Navigator Fitness: FlexToBaTM — Toning and Balance Program for Seniors Better Hearing: Implantable Hearing Aids Interpersonal Effectiveness: Better Communication Skills for Relationships Home Buying Legalities: Real Estate Realities Women’s Health: Benefits of Breast Reconstruction Following Mastectomy Identity Theft: Protect Yourself— and Your Piggy!

May is Better Hearing Month: How’s Your Hearing?

Paleo Diet: Stealth Attack of Whole Grains Healthy Feet: Baby and “Toe Woes”?

Community Cancer Center: A Passion for Quality of Care Pharmacy Compounding: One Size Does Not Fit All Speech Disorders: Stuttering

For information about this publication, contact Cheryl Eash, owner, at 309-664-2524, ceash7@gmail.com Healthy Cells Magazine is a division of: 1711 W. Detweiller Dr., Peoria, IL 61615 Ph: 309-681-4418 Fax: 309-691-2187 info@limelightlink.com

Mission: The objective of Healthy Cells Magazine is to promote a stronger health-conscious community by means of offering education and support through the cooperative efforts among esteemed health and fitness professionals in the greater Bloomington-Normal area.

Healthy Cells Magazine is intended to heighten awareness of health and fitness information and does not suggest diagnosis or treatment. This information is not a substitute for medical attention. See your healthcare professional for medical advice and treatment. The opinions, statements, and claims expressed by the columnists, advertisers, and contributors to Healthy Cells Magazine are not necessarily those of the editors or publisher.

Healthy Cells Magazine is available FREE at over 450 locations, including major grocery stores throughout the Bloomington-Normal area as well as hospitals, physicians’ offices, pharmacies, and health clubs. Healthy Cells Magazine welcomes contributions pertaining to healthier living in the Bloomington-Normal area. Limelight Communications, Inc. assumes no responsibility for their publication or return.

“I wish to thank all of the advertisers who make this magazine possible. They believe enough in providing positive health information to the public that they are willing to pay for it so you won’t have to.”

Cheryl Eash

May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 5

pregnancy

Morning Sickness Getting You Down?

By Vicki Voegel PA-C, Obstetrics and Gynecology Care Associates

B

lah, Yuk, Ugh! Those often are the first descriptions of pregnancy … what should be a happy, exciting time is often overshadowed by an overwhelming feeling of UUUURRRRRPPPP! During the first trimester three quarters of all women will be affected by morning sickness to some extent. Half will have vomiting and nausea, one quarter nausea alone. For some it’s restricted to morning hours but for others it hits at other times or lasts all day! This can start as early as four weeks, about the time of that first missed period. If it’s going to be a problem it will start by the 6-8 week mark. The hormone levels are going up and appetite is waning. How long does this rite of motherhood last???? Usually the symptoms lighten up by 14 weeks, just after the first trimester. Nearly all women will be past it by 18 weeks. For an unfortunate few it may come and go for the entire nine months.

Morning sickness, afternoon sickness, all day sickness… Women in the past have been expected to deal with the uncomfortable tummy troubles with saltine crackers. Period. The key for most moms is to try to keep something in your stomach at all times. Place crackers or pretzels on the night stand; eat a few before you even get up in the morning. Fluids will be tolerated better at room temperature rather than hot or cold. Ginger has Page 6 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Bloomington ­— May 2011

long been known to help with nausea - ginger ale or ginger tea. The important thing to remember is to keep hydrated. So even if you can’t keep solids down; eat popsicles, Jell-O, broth, tea, Gatorade - anything to keep fluids in.

Okay, you’ve tried that, it’s not working, now what? Luckily we now have other options. We have rectal suppositories for those who can’t keep anything down, oral medicines for those who are a bit better and trigger point wrist bands that can perform miracles for some patients. If none of these things work the patient may be destined for a hospital admission for IV fluids. At times Home Health becomes necessary so that we can do IV hydration in the patient’s home rather than repeated hospital admissions.

Of course, just because morning sickness is common - and likely to “only” last a few months – doesn’t mean it’s not a challenge. Even mild cases of nausea can wear you down, and bouts of round-the-clock nausea and vomiting can leave you exhausted and miserable. Talk with your caregiver about your symptoms and the possibilities for relief.

For more information or an appointment with Dr. Joe Santiago or Vicki Voegel, PA-C, you can contact Ob-Gyn Care at (309)662-2273 or www.obgyncare.com.

Experience the difference

Jessica Hoelscher, D.C.

May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 7

research studies

Stop the Confusion

By Jessica Hoelscher D.C, Eastland Chiropractic & Wellness Center

P

eople seem to be bombarded by a variety of research studies that often seem to contradict each other. One study suggests that we need more Calcium and Vitamin D, while another study says we may be consuming too much. We’re sure that a low-carbohydrate diet is best for losing weight until the newest study hits the media that low-fat is the way to go. One study may report that a cholesterol reducing medicine works very well and has minimal side effects, whereas another study may find that the same medication does not work and has serious side effects. The list goes on and on. No wonder people are confused! How and why do experts disagree and what can you as the consumer do to receive accurate information and opinions?

WHAT IS RESEARCH? Research is a science separate from whatever is being studied. The founding principle of research is the scientific method. You may have learned this in school where the researcher will state a problem, propose an explanation, test the problem with and without the explanation, and finally determine if their solution was in fact accurate. The information is then published for other researchers to duplicate if they so choose. The two hallmarks of the scientific method are reproducibility and reliability. Reproducibility refers to the ability of other researchers to recreate the experiment and draw the

Page 8 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Bloomington ­— May 2011

same conclusions. Reliability refers to how reliable the measurements used to test the solution were. This requires the researcher to not only measure the variable, or proposed solution, but also something completely unrelated to determine if measurements were taken accurately.

CAUSATION vs. CORRELATION Correlation does not imply causation is a phrase oft repeated in research. Causation refers to cause and effect. If you heat (cause) water at a certain temperature (variable) it will boil (effect).

Correlation refers to two related factors that do not cause each other. For example smokers are more likely to drink but the act of smoking does not automatically cause a person to drink. The importance of these concepts can be seen in the debate regarding Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). Initially, numerous studies reported women on HRT had a decreased risk of Coronary Heart Disease. Some went so far as to promote HRT as a protective therapy against heart disease. However, additional research revealed that women on HRT actually had a higher risk of heart disease! Why the misunderstanding? The women on HRT in general were more affluent with better diets and exercise routines (overall). Therefore the decreased risk of heart disease in women undergoing HRT was purely coincidental and a result of better lifestyles.

BE INFORMED When it comes to making decisions about your health and wellness and which studies to believe, your best bet is to check out the research for yourself. Published research can be found at pubmed.

gov or http://www.thescientificworld.com/scibase/search.asp.

Pubmed is government operated and allows you to not only read the research an expert is citing but also search for the topic of the research and see to what degree there is controversy on the subject. If you google the topic, be sure that the websites are credible.

You want to be sure that what looks like a research study is not actually a company website.

By design, there is always some level of interpretation with research. Researchers must work very hard to propose a solution and then much harder to not allow “their idea” to influence their findings. The majority of researchers want the right answers and solutions to our problems. It can be easy to celebrate when it appears there is a solution. This is why it is so important that research be reproducible and open to others.

Remember that a single research study does not prove a new idea or disprove an existing one.

Anytime you have questions, you should consult your health care professional. Many studies are applicable to specific conditions that may not apply to you.

Ask multiple experts for their own opinions - each will likely have a unique perspective on the topic. You may find a trend where most experts agree and if nothing else, you will have more information at your disposal. Be proactive! It’s your health and your body, no one can care about it more than YOU! For more information, you may contact Eastland Chiropractic and Wellness Center at 309-662-8418, www.eastlandchiro.com They are located at 2406 E. Washington St. in Bloomington.

Researchers at the University of Illinois are studying the effectiveness of a home-based physical activity program delivered via DVD. Participants in the study will be randomly assigned to an exercise group that receives the set of DVDs and starts exercising right away, or a wait-list group that will receive the exercise DVDs at a later time.

CALL FOR MORE INFORMATION IF YOU: Are between 65 and 85 years old Are interested in exercising with a DVD program designed specifically for older adults Can do flexibility, strengthening and balance exercises without aggravating any pre-existing conditions Have access to a television and DVD player Are not regularly exercising more than two days a week SPACE IS Are able to read and understand English LIMITED! Are able to attend a two-hour assessment session at locations in Bloomington-Normal and Springfield

For more information, call Susan Herrel, Project Coordinator FlexToBaTM program at 217-265-9848 or toll free 888-359-0022 or herrel@illinois.edu.

May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 9

physical

Cancer Care is Getting Personal

By Pramern Sriratana, M.D.

W

e all know that everyone is a unique individual. We are finding that cancers have unique and individual characteristics as well and that these can be used to personalize treatment.

Even within similar types of cancer (breast, colon, etc.) we are finding that different cancers react differently. These differences can include differences in the way the cancer spreads and the response to different cancer treatments. The good news is that there are new tests that can aid us in determining how different cancers will behave and respond to different treatments.

These tests work by analyzing certain characteristics of the tumor itself. A small portion of the cancer that is removed during a biopsy Page 10 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Bloomington ­— May 2011

or other surgery can be submitted to a laboratory for these analyses.

The lab will analyze certain genetic features and provide the oncologist (cancer doctor) with the findings. Some of these tests will tell the physician how aggressive the cancer is, indicating the level of treatment needed to best treat the cancer. Other tests will tell the oncologist what types of cancer treatments the cancer will best respond to, allowing the oncologist to target therapy to that specific cancer. These results are obviously very valuable in determining the best course of treatment.

Some of the earliest tests in this area were for breast cancers. The OncotypeDX test has been used for several years in breast cancers that are hormone-receptor positive, early stage cancers. This 21-gene

assay provides the oncologist with a “recurrence score” that can be used to determine if an individual patient needs chemotherapy in addition to hormone therapy or if they can be treated just as effectively with hormone therapy alone. This is a great help to both the oncologist and the patient; it can keep women from getting chemotherapy if they will not derive any greater benefit from it.

Now there are additional tests to help fine-tune the diagnosis of breast cancer. One of these is the Mammostrat test. This test stratifies breast cancers into three risk groups which show how aggressive the cancer is. These risk groups are related to the chance that the cancer will spread to a distant site within the next 10 years. Again, this information aids the oncologist in determining which women will benefit from chemotherapy and which women won’t. Also, the MammaPrint test, which is used more in Europe than in the United States, is a similar test that aids in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

An interesting new test in this area is the THEROS CancerTYPE ID. This test helps pathologists determine the site of origin of cancers in which it is hard to determine the primary site. Some cancers arise in distant sites (lymph nodes, brain, other tissues) and it can be extremely difficult to determine what type of cancer they are (breast, colon, etc.) and how to best treat them. This molecular classification test can aid in the determination of the site of origin of the cancer which can result in the oncologist being able to treat the cancer more effectively according to the primary site of origin.

Another new test that is quite interesting is the ChemoFX. This test uses the actual cancer cells from the tumor specimen and tests their response to a variety of chemotherapy drugs. The results can then be forwarded to the oncologist showing which drugs the cancer re-

sponded to and which they did not respond to. This can allow the oncologist to personalize the treatment to the patient and their cancer.

There are also a number of tests that are now related to specific cancer treatment drugs. Certain drugs have been found to only be effective in cancers that have certain biomarkers. Therefore, prior to using these drugs, the oncologist will order specific tests to determine if the drug is appropriate for that patient. The best known of these tests is the KRAS test for colon cancer. This test can determine whether or not the cancer will respond to specific drugs. There are also similar tests for lung cancer, pancreas cancer, melanoma, and other cancers. Similar tests are also being used to determine the sensitivity and to predict the response that certain cancers will have to certain drugs. Finally, there are new tests that can be used to determine why some patients have so many side effects related to certain drugs and other patients don’t have as many problems tolerating those drugs.

When an oncologist sees a patient, he or she first analyzes the cancer based on the tumor size, the blood vessel involvement, the grade (how the cells look under the microscope), and whether there is spread to regional lymph nodes or distant sites. Now the oncologist can also look at the results of tests that will tell them how aggressive the cancer is, what drugs the cancer will respond to, and how the patient will react to these drugs. This will result in patients’ cancers being treated more effectively, more efficiently, and finally, more personally.

For more information, you may contact Mid-Illinois Hematology & Oncology Associates at 309-452-9701. They are located at 407 E. Vernon in Normal, Illinois.

May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 11

emotional

What is Bipolar Disorder?

Submitted by Dr. Anjum Bashir

B

ipolar disorder, formerly called manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes extreme mood swings accompanied by extreme changes in energy, activity, sleep, and behavior.

These mood swings are very different from the normal ups and downs that everyone experiences. Bipolar disorder can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even suicide, but it can be treated and people with this illness can lead full and productive lives.

People with bipolar disorder are on an emotional roller coaster.

Symptoms of mania or a manic episode include: • A long period of feeling “high,” or an overly happy or outgoing mood • Extremely irritable mood, agitation, feeling “jumpy” or “wired” • Talking very fast, jumping from one idea to another, having racing thoughts • Being easily distracted and restless • Increasing goal-directed activities, such as taking on new projects • Sleeping little • Having an unrealistic belief in one’s abilities • Behaving impulsively and taking part in a lot of pleasurable, high-risk behaviors, such as spending sprees, impulsive sex, and impulsive business investments.

Symptoms of depression or a depressive episode include: • A long period of feeling worried or empty • Loss of interest in activities once enjoyed.

Page 12 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Bloomington ­— May 2011

• Feeling tired or “slowed down” • Having problems concentrating, remembering, and making decisions • Being restless or irritable • Changing eating, sleeping, or other habits • Thinking of death or suicide, or even attempting suicide.

Some people also go through a mixed state when they have both depressive and manic symptoms at the same time. During a mixed state, symptoms often include agitation, trouble sleeping, major changes in appetite, and suicidal thinking. People in a mixed state may feel very sad or hopeless while also feeling extremely energized. Each episode of mania and depression may last anywhere from days to months. Between episodes, many people with bipolar disorder exhibit no symptoms.

Bipolar disorder is a complex mental illness that can be difficult to diagnose. It cannot currently be identified through a blood test or a brain scan although these tests can help rule out other contributing factors, such as a stroke or brain tumor. Bipolar disorder is sometimes mistakenly diagnosed as major depression, partly because people with bipolar disorder are more likely to seek help when they are depressed than when experiencing mania.

No one really knows what causes bipolar disorder, although it tends to run in families and is most likely caused by many factors that act together.

Bipolar disorder usually first develops in the late teens or early twenties and a person will likely suffer more frequent and more severe episodes if not treated. Substance abuse, anxiety disorders, and behavioral problems are also very common among people with bipolar disorder.

If you know someone who has bipolar disorder, it affects you too.

Relatives and friends must often cope with the person’s serious behav-

“It is crucial to seek help from a trained mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist, who is experienced in diagnosing and treating bipolar disorder.” ioral problems, such as wild spending sprees during mania, extreme withdrawal during depression, poor work or school performance. The first and most important thing you can do is help the person get the right diagnosis and treatment. It is crucial to seek help from a trained mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist, who is experienced in diagnosing and treating bipolar disorder. You may need to make the appointment and go with him or her to see the doctor. Offer emotional support, understanding, patience, and encouragement that they will get better.

Bipolar disorder has no cure, but it can be effectively treated. An effective treatment plan is very individualized and usually includes medication and talk therapy. Like diabetes or heart disease, bipolar disorder is a long-term illness that must be carefully managed throughout a person’s life. Unfortunately, some people suffer for years before they are properly diagnosed and treated For more information, please contact Anjum Bashir, MD at 309-531-0050. His office is located at 205 N. Williamsburg, Suite E in Bloomington.

Visit Us

In Constitution Place at

716 E. Empire, Suite 2 At the Corner of Linden and Empire, Next to Constitution Trail

Showroom hours: Monday-Friday 8 am - 5 pm

(Wed till 7 pm) www.heartlandhomemedical.net

There Are NO Monthly Membership Fees!

(Fees Based on Individual Services)

• • • •

Fitness Trainers Medical Group Exercise Golden Fitness One on One Fitness and Nutrition Training • Youth Fitness

• Theracycle Therapy • F itness Assessments and Body Composition • Travel Training • E mployee Wellness • Girls Club

Call Now for More Details

Phone: 309-829-8122 • Toll Free: 1-800-591-6203 www.heartlandfitness.org May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 13

nutritional

The Gluten “Epidemic”

Are You Tired of Being Tired?

By Dr. Thomas Rohde, Renew Total Body Wellness Center

A

llergy to gluten and celiac disease have received a lot of press lately. In the last few years I have diagnosed on average 200 people per year with a gluten problem they did not know existed as they consulted me for other health complaints. The reason is that many people who are allergic to gluten have no serious clinical symptoms, but their body is silently being damaged behind the scenes, leading to many minute clinical maladies that interfere with normal life. A major issue is that many people don’t understand the difference between gluten allergy and celiac disease.

Let me educate you.

When you eat food that you are allergic to, it causes negative biochemical reactions in your body, especially in your digestive tract and its immune system. This inflammatory stress also decreases your serotonin level, which can have marked negative impact on your mood, often leading to tiredness, difficulty with sleep, and also depression. Further, food cravings can cause you to seek out and eat sugar and carbohydrates for relief of your cravings. Ingested sugar in turn helps feed any abnormal pathogens that have taken over your intestinal flora which further boosts the inflammatory cycle.

The mechanism I use to explain this is that your body’s job is to heal itself, but the healing process takes energy. If at every meal, and even at snack times you ingest gluten you have multiple episodes throughout the day where you damage cells thereby creating an inflammatory reaction that needs repair.

This requires recurrent and chronic expenditures of energy which ultimately steals energy away from the fuel supply we would have to function normally. Daily life becomes a chore - difficult to get out of bed, to get motivated to go to work, let alone exercise, or even enjoy life. As you work to remove allergenic foods from your diet, cravings for carbohydrates will decrease, your mood will start to improve, your weight will start to drop, and your health will start to improve!

Gluten is the primary protein found in wheat, rye, and barley, as well as several other grains. The difference between wheat, (which is the major culprit in our society at number eight on the listing of most common food allergens), and other grains such as rice, corn, buckwheat, quinoa, etc. is the gluten molecule in these grains does not contain the GLIADIN molecule. Gliadin provokes the inflammatory reaction Page 14 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Bloomington ­— May 2011

in the body. Once the gliadin is ingested, it becomes soluble in water, and then it attaches to cells in the intestines and creates inflammation or an allergic reaction. If you are sensitive to this, you will then make an antibody to gliadin and your immune cells start to attack the cells that the gliadin has attached itself to. It is this autoimmune reaction that differentiates gluten allergy from celiac disease. In celiac disease the cells are treated as foreign bodies and this immune response damages those cells and surrounding tissue and has the potential to cause multiple other health problems in your body by setting up an autoimmune response where other normal cells are attacked.

Gluten sensitivity and celiac disease both inflict widespread health deterioration. These can be nutritional deficiencies leading to osteoporosis from malabsorption, depression, autoimmune disease such as type I diabetes, thyroiditis, lupus, psoriasis, etc. There are few areas of the body that gluten can’t affect in a negative way!

Most people feel a gluten-free diet is a simple answer, but this is really just the first step as up to 30% have persistent gut inflammation.

Further, the biggest long-term impediment to health is our human nature to cheat on the diet! Amazingly, when we are gluten free we feel well and any major abdominal symptoms that occur with cheating usually improve within days of returning to a strict diet. Poor compliance to the gluten-free diet is strongly associated with persistent intestinal damage and increased inflammation in the body that further damages tissue that is not so readily healed. These urges must be resisted as they steal away your longevity! The importance of healing the inflamed intestine is vital to understand.

The next step to restoration of health is to determine what other inflammatory problems exist in the intestine and correct them. Your

good bacteria, known as the microbiome or probiotics, make up much of the intestinal immune system. In gluten intolerant patients this important population of organisms is often insufficient due to the inflammation from gluten and pathogenic organisms. These probiotics must be restored to a healthy number or any attempt to achieve a healthy intestine will be unsuccessful. With persistent abnormal flora, bad bacteria, yeast, even parasites invade as the normal bacterial flora is destroyed. This is referred to as dysbiosis. These abnormal bacteria and other organisms will then actually start to suppress your intestinal immune system which is a vital defense against further illness. Eighty percent of your IgA immune system lines your intestine.

It is vital to understand that not healing the gut completely leads to further disease processes in the remainder of the body, and ultimately can lead to a shortened lifespan or an early death!

Finally, we must be able to digest our food properly and to do this we need enzymes - yet our enzymes are made from the nutrients we digest. This circular pattern is dramatically interrupted in the gluten intolerant patient. Celiacs in particular suffer from very poor absorption. Therefore it is vital to augment our diet with proper digestive enzymes as a major component of proper digestion restoration.

A gluten-free lifestyle can be attained, normal health restored, and longevity improved with diligent attention to food choices. Let me help you restore your health!

For further information please do not hesitate to contact me at 217-864-2700 or review my web site at www.DrRohde.com.

A New Magazine For the Women of Bloomington-Normal

For All the Shades of YOU

Coming June 1

For information, please call Cheryl Eash at 309.664.2524 or email her at ceash7@gmail.com May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 15

neurological disorders

New Treatments for Parkinson Disease

By Edward W. Pegg, III, MD

WE SPECIALIZE I N M I N I M A L LY I N VA S I V E KNEE AND HIP REPLACEMENT S U R G E R Y.

The

Orthopedic Specialists THE EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONALS at Central Illinois Orthopedic Surgery deliver excellence in a wide variety of orthopedic procedures and rehabilitation treatments. Our goal is to have you back to work, out on the playing field, or just enjoying life again in minimum time with maximum results!

Lawrence A. Nord, M.D.

• Joint repair/replacement • Sports medicine • Work-related injuries • General orthopedic treatment & surgery

Brett L. Keller, D.O.

www.ciosortho.com Central Illinois Orthopedic Surger y. L.L.C.

1505 Eastland Drive, Suite 220 • Bloomington, IL 61701

Page 16 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Bloomington ­— May 2011

309-662-2278

P

arkinson disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that strikes many individuals in their 50s and early 60s. It is the result of the loss of dopamine producing brain cells. Without treatment, victims have a relentless downhill course and are bedridden in 10-15 years. In the late 1950s, Arvid Carlsson realized that dopamine was an important neurotransmitter (messenger) in the brain, not just an intermediate messenger for neurotransmitters as had been previously thought. He took slices of brain from both Parkinson patients and people unaffected by Parkinson and measured levels of dopamine in different regions. He found that Parkinson patients had deficient amounts of dopamine deep within the brain in an area called the basal ganglia.

Because dopamine itself cannot cross a boundary between the body and brain called the blood brain barrier, a precursor or building block of dopamine (L dopa) was tried. L-dopa was able to cross this blood brain barrier and could therefore be used to increase dopamine levels to treat Parkinson disease. This must have been very exciting to watch patients that had been bedridden and immovable suddenly begin to move their arms and walk. L-dopa is still the standard treatment today for Parkinson disease. Although this drug initially produced a lot of nausea and vomiting, these side effects have been controlled with the addition of other additives.

There is what is known as the “honeymoon period” where the drug is reliable, works well and the patient appears symptom free.

But there comes a time when L-dopa becomes less effective and short lived. Higher and more frequent dosing is needed. It reaches the point where side effects of the medicine can be worse than the beneficial effects of the drug.

When this point is reached, all hope is not lost. A medical device called a neurostimulator - similar to a heart pacemaker - can be surgically implanted to deliver electrical stimulation to targeted areas in the brain. The L dopa works by “turning on” downstream neurons leading to their normal functioning and movements of the body. In this case, the small electric stimuli substitutes for the dopamine and “turns on” the downstream neurons with a small electrical charge.

This procedure, called Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), is possible due to 3D imaging of the brain with sophisticated brackets that are placed around the head and the addition of CT imaging. Only two small burr holes are needed on top of the skull. Two very long thin wires are then directed down deep in the brain in an area where the dopamine is released. The wires are directed next to the neurons that the dopamine would excite. The other ends of the wires are tunneled under the skin down the head and neck to the upper chest where a battery-operated stimulator is placed.

After a week or two to allow for healing, the stimulator is activated.

It is very exciting for the patient’s family when the stimulator is first turned on. One can see a crippled and shaking family member suddenly become calm and stand and walk and be able to use their arms for fine motor tasks. By typing in DBS stimulator in Parkinson disease on youTube, one can see some of these miracles firsthand. With the changes happening in our health care system, we can only hope that these advances in medical science continue.

For more information or any neurological issue, you may contact Dr. Pegg at 309-661-7344.

Specializing in

da Vinci robotic assisted surgery including hysterectomy

Get Mom back in the fun ► Quicker recovery with a shorter hospital stay ► Significantly less pain ► Small incisions for minimal scarring ► Better outcomes and patient satisfaction

309-662-CARE (2273) Joseph Santiago, MD • Vicki Voegel, PA-C Obstetrics and Gynecology Care Associates, S.C. 1505 Eastland Drive, Suite 500 • Eastland Medical Plaza II • Bloomington

www.obgyncare.com

May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 17

headaches

A New Hope for an Old Malady

By Dr. Benjamin Taimoorazy, Guardian, Headache and Pain Management Institute

P

ain is the number one reason for patients to seek medical attention, and high on the list of painful conditions are headaches and related disorders. Headache is endorsed as a current complaint by nearly half of all adults worldwide with two in every three adults affected at some point during their lives.

This high prevalence and significant negative impact from chronic headache conditions suggest a need for effective identification and management of headache complaints in clinical practice.

For centuries this very common human malady has plagued philosophers, physicians and scientists alike. Religious, superstitious and Page 18 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Bloomington ­— May 2011

even sacrificial rituals were performed in an attempt to “expel the demons from the possessed subject.”

But with all the great strides and innovations in the field of medicine, only during the last few years has the pathophysiology underlying the mechanism of headache production come to light. In simple terms, any of the structures in the head, face and neck could potentially act as a pain generator, resulting in the production of head pain. The list may include structures within the skull such as blood vessels, the eyes, nasal sinuses, ears, teeth, the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), and ligaments and joints in the cervical spine.

It is customary to divide headaches into two broad categories: 1. Primary headaches, where there is no apparent underlying structural abnormalities, where the headache results from a neurochemical or neurohormonal imbalance in the central nervous system. Examples of primary headaches include Migraine, Tension type headache, and cluster headache.

2. Secondary headaches, where there is a structural abnormality or pathology acting as a pain generator. Examples of secondary headaches are Temporomandibular joint dysfunction, glaucoma or sinusitis, all resulting in head pain.

Affliction with headache sometimes is the source of tremendous anxiety and apprehension, but fortunately, the great majority of headaches are benign and yield themselves to a variety of treatment options. But it is critical to diagnose the true nature and the underlying pathology as many of the headache conditions share similar signs and symptoms, but require a radically different therapeutic intervention. For example, TMJ dysfunction is often misdiagnosed as migraines; or a cervicogenic headache which results from arthritic changes in the cervical facet joints may be misdiagnosed as a tension type headache.

It is only through a systematic approach, comprised of obtaining a careful history, performing a thorough physical examination, implementing appropriate and relevant diagnostic testing, and finally having an in depth knowledge of the pathophysiologic basis of disease, especially as it relates to chronic pain and headache producing conditions, that one may reach the proper diagnosis and tailor a safe and appropriate intervention to eliminate the malady.

“Only during the last few years has the pathophysiology underlying the mechanism of headache production come to light.”

This the first in a series of articles geared to increase awareness and understanding of different types of headaches and other chronic painful conditions and the available diagnostic and therapeutic options for each individual disorder.

For more information, you may contact Dr. Benjamin Taimoorazy at Guardian Headache and Pain Management Institute, 309-808-1700, www.theGuardianPainInstitute.com. This new practice is located at 2203 Eastland Drive, Suite #7, in Bloomington.

OVERWHELMED? TIRED OF BEING TIRED?

Dr. Rohde can help!

3798 E. Fulton Ave. Decatur, IL 62521 www.DrRohde.com 217-864-2700

Functional Medicine and Hormonal Evaluation May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 19

feature story

W

Extends Baby Fold Expertise to More Families

By Jen Sinclair Johnson

Page 20 — Healthy Cells Magazine

hen a Tennessee mom bought her seven-year-old adopted son a one-way ticket back to his Russian homeland with a note explaining that he was violent with severe psychopathic issues and she feared for her safety, the world was outraged. None were more concerned — or more understanding — than staff members at The Baby Fold, a non-profit organization that helps kids and teens who struggle with severe emotional and behavioral disorders often developing after trauma suffered during childhood.

What started as an orphanage in 1902 when one woman donated her home to help children, grew to meet society’s changing needs, evolving into The Baby Fold of today. Determined to never give up on a child, the staff at this multi-service agency provides adoption services, foster care, residential programs, special education, and community services funded through donations, grants, and referrals from state agencies like the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, at no or low cost to its clients.

The Baby Fold Offers Horizons Counseling to Help More Families The Baby Fold wanted to do more. After over a century of experience working with the most troubled cases, they decided to use their in-depth training and unique qualifications to help families who fall outside the non-profit’s usual time limits, income restrictions, or struggle with less severe but still vexing family issues like an adult’s anger management, a preschooler’s acting-out in day care, or a junior high school student’s trouble organizing homework.

Kathryn Donmyer, LCSW

Theresa Lawrence, LCPC

Horizons Counseling, created and staffed by The Baby Fold, provides the way to serve additional families by accepting insurance and private payments while still drawing on the resources of more than a century of experience and expertly trained counselors in the treatment of trauma, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) that can stem from childhood neglect and abuse.

It’s hard to understand how tough these disorders can be, according to Horizons Manager, Kimberley Higgins. People instinctively recognize how difficult it is to survive abuse, yet it’s harder to appreciate how removal from home, family, community, culture, and primary language may prove more traumatic from a child’s perspective than abuse.

The effects of neglect, which can inhibit a person’s ability to bond, are even harder to grasp. “Having a basis of attachment to someone is what makes you human,” according to Higgins. Developing an affinity for others starts in the first two years of life during reciprocal relationships with the adults who care for and respond to an infant’s needs. Since babies learn to connect before the cognitive areas of the brain mature, the body remembers traumatic experiences in the first areas that do develop, the limbic system, which controls emotion, the five senses (vision, hearing, taste, touch, and smell) but does not control behavior. This is why a person’s later reaction to early trauma doesn’t make sense. The memories aren’t stored rationally.

The adoptive parents of one six-year-old child learned during therapy that their son barely slept at night. Each night he hid under his bed, in fear of people arriving on elephants to hurt him. His nightmares were not unfounded. When he was a toddler, one of his mother’s boyfriends held him and his siblings at gunpoint. He remembered the traumatic event, even though he was less than two years old at the time. The memory was just stored in an illogical way.

Apparently innocent scents and events might evoke unexpected responses. A mom may hand her calm child a bowl of peas, only to have him attack her or break things without really knowing why because he’s reacting to a feeling of anger or danger.

Abused kids can be suspicious about people who are kind to them because the offenders were nice to start, buying them presents and grooming them before doing horrible things. Neglected children don’t know how to connect with others, believing that they don’t deserve love because they were inherently bad babies. The stark change from a traumatic past to a loving, adoptive family can be overwhelming for the child, making it difficult to establish a relationship.

Kathy Berry, LCPC

Kimberley Higgins, LCSW

People adopt a baby and try to parent them the way they do their birth child, but sometimes it doesn’t work. Sticker charts are ineffective, because the child won’t work for a reward he doesn’t feel he deserves. A dad may tell his daughter she did a good job, only to have her push the dog down the stairs. The child’s behavior may keep getting worse because she figures that if she doesn’t bond with her father, then he can’t hurt her. It’s as if a child is asking, “do you love me now?”

Higgins’ staff shares techniques to reach these children, and helps adoptive parents to understand that the behavior can escalate, but usually not to dangerous levels. “I tell them that there’s going to be a peak in the bad behavior, but if you can hang in there without reacting or getting upset, you can get past it.”

She knows how complex and difficult the underlying issues can be. Children can be misdiagnosed as ADHD because that’s what the behavior looks like, impulsive, distracted, and hyperactive, because their bodies are in fight or flight mode all the time. The brain floods with cortisol, the stress hormone, while soothing serotonin levels drop. Chemically, emotionally, and behaviorally, these children are different. They can’t be parented the same way as other children.

“You need someone who specializes in treating these troubled youth because the normal strategies, like rewards-based therapy, don’t work. So, the kids have a lot of failure while the adults get blamed and feel angry.”

Experts in Treating the Most Troubled Kids Horizons Counseling is one of two facilities in the Central Illinois region offering Eye Movement Descent and Reprocessing therapy, or EMDR, a technique that requires extensive training to learn and additional modification for children.

It works by stimulating both the emotional and cognitive areas of the brain in order to bring the negative feelings that had been stored during early trauma up to the surface where the clients can reason through them, reduce their impact, and eliminate the triggers that result in unpredictable behavior.

“When I first came, it sounded like fringe stuff,” recalled Higgins.

Then her coworker did a session with a teenage client resulting in an amazing experience. “She was sobbing, like the perpetrator was in the room. It seems cruel to make her feel that much. But, she had to feel it for it to go away. From that point on it was the fast-forward button on therapy. The client could talk about it, and move on to regular therapy.

With children, the results are dramatic.”

May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 21

feature story

continued

Helping Families with Everyday Issues Success with the most difficult of cases means Horizons counselors have the tools to help with the less serious, but still vexing problems that plague families. Adults don’t have to struggle, hope issues go away on their own, or keep fighting the same battles with teens.

One man came to therapy for help after feeling frequent bouts of anger. When he realized it resulted from difficulties suffered earlier in life, he was able to work through his emotions. Preschoolers may have problems separating from their parents for daycare or interacting in playgroups. Parents commonly feel frustrated while trying to raise children who are self-motivated, confident, and able to meet the challenges of school and life.

Pre-adolescents and teenagers can learn to solve their own problems and to meet responsibilities without a parent resorting to anger, threats, nagging, or power struggles. Through “Love and Logic” classes, Horizons Counseling helps put the fun back in parenting by teaching parents how to diffuse arguments and conflict, remain calm, respond empathetically, and to stay connected with your child while raising them to solve their own problems.

For life’s struggles large and small, there is no single solution. But Horizons Counseling starts with a full assessment and holistic approach that draws on the wide range of expertise and in-depth training their Baby Fold affiliation has to offer.

They have separate treatment rooms for kids and adults, but use a lot of “distractors” like coloring, playdough and other “fidgets” to help Page 22 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Bloomington ­— May 2011

people stay focused, calm, and drop their defenses in order to address problems. Sessions don’t just include talk therapy, but incorporate other activities, such as “play with a purpose” to get a reluctant child looking into the therapist’s eyes, to replicate nurturing activities missed as an infant, or to develop a positive self image by setting up a challenge that isn’t much of one, which offers opportunities for success and positive reinforcement while building self esteem.

Children who have never felt safety or security have no idea what it feels like. But, once they do, they can’t go back. Higgins likens the emotional burdens that build up over time to people carrying around a backpack filled with bricks. The extra load might not necessarily stop people from functioning, sleeping, eating, working, or going to school, but it does make everything harder to do.

Horizons Counseling is uniquely positioned to unload emotional weight from the past, brick by brick, using the latest scientific research, in-depth training, and their extensive experience until ongoing services are no longer needed. The goal, according to Higgins, “is to work our way out of your life as quickly as possible.”

For more information, you may contact Horizons Counseling at 309-557-1124 www.horizonscounseling.org.

Advanced MRI generously donated the space for this feature story.

health savings account programs

When Healthcare and Politics Collide

By Dr. Larry Nord, Central Illinois Orthopedic Surgery, L.L.C

T

he solution to our expensive health care system in the United States is to make sure that all participants have “skin in the game”. Education is not enough to change the behavior of adults who are obese, yet what has been proven is that paying people to take personal responsibility for their health by implementing HSA programs works.

Everyone needs to own their own high deductible “Health Savings Account” (HSA). President Obama defines a “middle class family” as a household income between $30,000 and $100,000. According to these standards, the federal government should annually deposit $2,500/individual or $10,000/family into a HSA for a “poverty level family” whose income is below $30,000 for their health care.

The HSA would pay for health insurance premiums and other medical costs. The funds left in the HSA after the end of the year would be rolled annually to build up equity in the account for future needs.

If a family’s medical expenses exceeded the value of their HSA, the government would pick up a rising percentage of the extra cost. Once it passed a certain threshold, say $6,000 in a year, the government would pay the entire tab. By having skin in the game (money), the HSA owner would be financially encouraged to decrease their health care expenses. In addition, funds left in the HSA would continue to accumulate. Only half the excess HSA funds, after each year, could be used for non-medical expenses.

DanielCare is a state HSA program, implemented by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, who signed up 70% of its public employees. Each employee has $2,750 deposited annually into their HSA. In 2009, 94% of the employees did not spend the entire $2,750. The average amount left over in their HSA was $2,000, which they were allowed to keep. This HSA program saved Indiana $20 million or 11% of its employee health care budget. Employees with a HSA, when compared to co-workers with traditional health care insurance, reduced their hospital admissions by 50% and physician and emergency visits by 67 %. Fur-

thermore, prescription drug costs were reduced to an average $18 per prescription by increased utilization of generic medications.

RomneyCare is a state program implemented in Massachusetts. It has been a dismal failure as state health care expenditures have grown from 16 to 35%. Illinois spends 17% of its budget on health care.

Now, 97% of Massachusetts residents have health insurance: 1/2 paying nothing and 1/3 paying more as family insurance policies now cost $14,000. This is 27% higher than the national average. Health care quality has been reduced as reported by 75% of its residents. A recent study revealed that 56% of internal medicine physicians are no longer accepting new patients and the ones who do require a 7 week waiting time. The results: increased costs, reduced access to care and reduced quality of care.

ObamaCare is opposed by 59% of Americans who want it repealed, while only 39% oppose repeal. The enlightened understand that the implementation of ObamaCare will decrease access to high quality health care along with causing substantially higher health care costs.

An additional 30 million people are predicted to enter ObamaCare with 20 million (family incomes less than 133% of poverty) scheduled to be enrolled in Medicaid. Being insured does not mean you can find a primary care physician. You are insured in name only. The majority of Medicaid insured patients use the emergency room as their access to health care, because physician office Medicaid reimbursements pay less than the cost of delivering the care. Medicaid physician payments must be raised to Medicare reimbursement levels (i.e. break even) in order to correct this expensive flaw in our health care system.

We should implement a national HSA program for Medicaid and Medicare patients, as proven successful in Indiana. The government should also encourage the private sector to enroll in HSA programs via more liberal tax incentives.

For more information, please visit their website: www.ciosortho.com

Rana H. Mahmood M.D., DABPN Board Certified Neurology & Electrodiagnostics

Now accepting new patients for evaluation, care and electrodiagnostic testing for carpal tunnel, numbness, tingling, pain and pinched nerves ▲Imbalance▲Migraines▲Seizures▲MS▲Vertigo

Family Adoption

Mediation & Divorce Estate Planning Real Estate

Botox injection for neuorological disorders

Decatur Neurological Associates Outpatient Clinic at Dr. John Warner Hospital 422 West White Street, Clinton, IL 61727 Please call 217-877-5943 for an appointment *most insurance and medicare welcome

Amy L. McFarland, Attorney at Law 309-827-8900 ■ www.bloomingtonlegal.com May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 23

the drill stops here

Local Dentist Patents New Drill Stop

By Linda Hankemeier

A

true craftsman knows the importance of having the best tools available when doing important work. Dr. Emil Verban recently secured a US patent for a drill stop he designed to help dentists place dental implants with greater accuracy. The stainless steel drill stop fits like a small sleeve over the dental drill bit used to place posts for implants, giving dentists a guide for the depth of placement and greater overall confidence in their work.

Dental implants have become a common solution for helping patients resume a normal life after losing teeth to decay or accidents. To insert an implant, a dentist uses a drill to surgically place a small titanium post into the bone socket of the missing tooth. Then, the artificial tooth or teeth is placed on the implanted post.

Dental implants provide patients with a sturdy solution for eating food comfortably, avoiding further jaw bone loss, and maintaining normal speech and appearance of the mouth. Prior to implants, patients

Eckelmann-Taylor Speech and Hearing Clinic is one of the largest in the Midwest, with more than 12,000 patient visits per year. This important teaching, research, and service resource offers critical clinical services to the general public as well as the campus community.

Our Services Include: ■■ Diagnostic Speech-Language Services ■■ Speech and Language Therapy ■■ Diagnostic Hearing Testing ■■ Aural Rehabilitation ■■ Hearing Aid Dispensing

We Can Help

(309) 438-8641 www.csd.illinoisstate.edu/clinic Page 24 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Bloomington ­— May 2011

missing teeth typically saw bridgework or false teeth as their only options. Dr. Verban shared that dental implants are now viewed as a more dependable solution. Over a 10 year period, patients reported having less trouble with dental implants than bridgework, lending to greater patient satisfaction.

But, placing a post for a dental implant can be tricky.

When implanting the post, the dentist must work in three dimensions – placing the post in the precise location needed between the missing teeth, across the jaw line, and at the appropriate depth within the jaw – all while operating a dental drill. And, as Dr. Verban shared, “you can’t look in three directions at once.”

The drill stop eliminates the need for the dentist to see in the vertical direction, or the depth of the post placement. Much like the head of a screw gives a carpenter a guide for when to stop his screwdriver, the drill stop gives the dentist a guide to indicate the correct post depth has been reached, benefitting the patient through greater comfort and accuracy in implant placement. Going too deep could obviously cause damage or extensive pain to the patient.

“Many dentists see this as a safety device,” shared Dr. Verban, who said the drill stop has been well received by dentists. Other dental equipment companies have drill stops available; however, Dr. Verban’s drill stop is able to be used with equipment manufactured by several companies rather than being specific to just one.

After developing the idea for his drill stop early in his practice, Dr. Verban “tinkered” for years with various dimensions and materials, having tried such things as plastic tubing along the way.

In 2003, Dr. Verban began formally working to develop a drill stop that would meet his needs. He reached out to his orthotics representative, who gave him the name of a machinist who helped him develop a prototype. With his model finalized, he applied for a patent in 2005 and began marketing and selling the drill stop to other dentists in 2008.

Dr. Verban says he is pleased to be able to share something with other dentists that he uses routinely which has improved the quality of his overall practice.

For more information about Dr. Verban’s drill stop, or to learn more about dental implants, visit www.mcleancountydental.com or contact his office at 309-662-8448. His practice is located at 2103 E. Washington Street, Bloomington.

reap the rewards

The Hidden Health Benefits of Volunteering

By Julie Boyd, Volunteer Services, OSF St. Joseph Medical Center

V

olunteering can be an integral part of the work/life balance. While some may volunteer to give back to their community, gain experience, or meet people, there is a growing body of research that says it is also good for you by offering tangible health benefits.

Research has shown volunteering can provide many physical health benefits; including lower cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and speedier recovery from surgery. Some studies have indicated that volunteering also helps participants lose weight, reduce depression, increase mental capacity, and feel more energetic.

The health benefits of volunteering are derived primarily from two things: providing a social network for people, therefore enhancing one’s social integration, and providing a sense of purpose and positive role identification. These two very powerful things help reduce stress and serve as a buffer against disease.

Seniors, defined as persons over the age of 60, receive the most physical and mental health benefits of volunteering. Seniors are able to reap these benefits more because volunteering helps reduce the social isolation that seniors face, and often, the accompanying depression.

Volunteering also provides a positive new role in life. This is important to seniors because as we age we tend to lose our roles as parent, employee, spouse, etc.

Research also tends to emphasize the importance of a lifelong habit of volunteering. Those who volunteer throughout their lives are less likely to suffer from ill health later on. Volunteering early in life can also bring about a positive reinforcing cycle of good health. The healthier you are, the more likely you can volunteer, and the more you volunteer, the healthier you will stay.

Volunteering can help you live longer. Several studies have shown a link between lower mortality rates and volunteering. In one study, participants who were born before 1923 and volunteered were more likely to be alive than those who did not volunteer. In another longitudinal study, tracking participants from 1986 through 1994, those who volunteered had a lower mortality rate than those who did not.

However, the more you volunteer, does not necessarily mean the healthier you will be. According to research, there is a volunteering threshold of about 100 hours a year, or about two hours a week, that is needed in order to gain the benefits of volunteering. Doing more than this has no positive effect on your health.

Research also shows states with a high incidence of heart disease have a low rate of volunteering among its population. According to analysis from the Center for Disease Control and the U.S. Census Bureau, a high volunteer rate is associated with a lower mortality rate.

Those states with high levels of volunteer participation also have lower mortality rates and less incidence of heart disease. (Illinois’ rate is about 26 percent, or average. Utah has the highest rate of volunteering and Nevada has the lowest.)

In reality, volunteering can be just as good for you as exercising.

A study published in the British Medical Journal followed more than 2,700 people over 65 for 13 years, comparing those who were active in

volunteering with those who did not volunteer, but exercised regularly.

The results indicated that those who were active in volunteering were just as physically healthy as those who exercised.

Because the benefits of volunteering come from forming strong social connections and networks, and positive role identification, it does not matter whether you are building houses, reading to a child or helping someone quit smoking. You can reap the rewards of volunteering regardless of the activity you choose. Start volunteering two hours of your free time each week, and you’ll start reaping the healthy rewards before you know it!

For more information on volunteering at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center and its health benefits, contact Julie Boyd at (309) 665-4745 or Julie.Boyd@osfhealthcare.org.

Dental Implants, Aesthetic Dentistry Sedation Dentistry

Emil M. Verban Jr., DDS. PC All services provided in the comfort and convenience of one location.

2103 E. Washington St. Bloomington, IL 61701

309-662-8448 Member International Team of Implantology

New Patients Welcome

www.mcleancountydental.com Free Consultations May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 25

hypnotherapy

Explaining “Unexplained” Infertility Submitted by Rick Longstreth CH, Ahhh Hypnotherapy “

U

nexplained” infertility means there is no physiological reason for a woman not to become pregnant. Although these words may strike terror in the hearts of the individuals who receive this diagnosis, it is actually good news because hypnosis is one of the most powerful processes available for conquering “unexplained” infertility.

Hypnosis is well recognized for its effectiveness in smoking cessation, weight control, stress release, and general habit changing. Interestingly, these same issues pose the biggest threat to fertility.

Stress is the top contributing factor to “unexplained” infertility. There are many causes for stress but a primary cause may be the frustration of “trying” to conceive. Some women may believe that it is very difficult to have a baby or they may become so preoccupied with becoming pregnant that they prematurely rush in for medical testing and intervention. If a woman is over 35 and assumes that she is considered “high risk”, that alone is often enough to cause emotional upset and increase stress hormones. Stress affects the hormonal system which in turn can block conception. Stressor hormones just do not contribute to a pregnancy conducive environment.

With more and more women in high stress jobs, it’s really no wonder that conception doesn’t always occur immediately (disastrous in our want-itright-now culture). Restoration of hormonal balance and eventual pregnancy may occur by utilization of hypnosis techniques and implementation of positive lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea OSA is a serious, potentially life-altering, health issue. People with this disorder stop breathing during sleep for 10-45 seconds at a time, occurring up to 400 times every night. This usually wakes the person, or their partner, resulting in neither getting enough rest.

The person having the breathing interruptions will usually not remember waking throughout the night, but may notice sleepiness during the day—or the feeling of not being able to get enough sleep.

• An estimated 5 to 10 percent of adults in the US have OSA • Of these, 85 to 90% have not been identified • Sleep apnea can affect persons of any age • It is more common among those 40 years of age or older Please contact your physician if you believe you have symptoms of sleep apnea.

Stress may also be the result of suppressed emotions. Unexpressed negative feelings and emotions hold considerable energy, which affects every cell of the body and can cause or compound reproductive problems. For example, the anguish and guilt often felt after an abortion can create extreme emotional conflict. Issues involving sexual abuse or other trauma can diminish overall feelings of safety and cause a woman to live in a perpetual state of fear. Though the conscious mind may resolve to forget or move past the incident, the subconscious mind (the emotional part of the mind) remains in conflict. The sympathetic nervous system, (the “fight or flight” response) activated during the initial experience, remains on guard, and overrides the parasympathetic nervous system, which is concerned with conservation and restoration of energy. As this condition becomes chronic, the disharmony between the nervous systems leads to a variety of stress-related symptoms including “unexplained” infertility. Hypnotherapy can provide an effective means of establishing the body’s balance and restoration and enable women to establish the level of safety essential for reproduction to occur.

In an article by Suzy Greaves entitled Can Hypnosis Help to Make You Pregnant?, Dr. Elizabeth Muir, a clinical psychologist working with hypnotherapy for infertility explains that hypnosis affects the hypothalamus—the neural center at the base of the brain linked to the pituitary gland—and controls the flow of hormones in the body. The hypothalamus is sensitive to stress and acts as a bridge between the emotional and physical, turning emotional messages into physical responses that affect hormone levels. Muir believes that the psychological issues surrounding pregnancy are not sufficiently well addressed for many women with fertility problems.

Studies conducted by Alice Domar, PhD, director of the Beth Israel Deaconess Behavioral Medicine Program for Infertility in Boston support Muir’s theory that unresolved issues about having a baby can be removed with counseling and mind/body techniques such as hypnotherapy. In the first study published in 1999 in the Journal of the American Medical Women’s Association 42% of 132 infertile women in the program conceived within six months of completing it. In the second study, published in 2000 in the journal Fertility and Sterility, 55% of the previously infertile women who met regularly in a mind/body program conceived, compared with 20% of the control group who used no mind/body techniques and who did not attend meetings.

“Optimism goes all the way with pessimism but arrives at a point far beyond it.” This philosophy is taught to persons living with cancer as they strive toward health. It is part of the ICAN program created by Dr. Scot Giles of Wheaton, IL. “The body has a natural tendency toward health and embracing an optimistic outlook supports this rebalancing.

Hypnotism is the method of teaching this principle to the mind,” says Giles. It is this same hypnotic mechanism which enables “unexplained” infertility to be resolved.

Hypnotherapy can reduce stress and increase confidence, instilling a sense of control that enables women to maximize chances of conceiving naturally and/or increase the success of medical assistance.

This article was written in part by Lynsi Eastburn, BCH, CI. For more information, you may contact Rick Longstreth, Certified Hypnotherapist, certified in Hypnofertility at 309-261-2564 or on the web at www.centralillinoishypnotherapy.com.

Page 26 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Bloomington ­— May 2011

comprehensive breast care

Role of the Breast Health Navigator

By Jolene Clifford, RN, OCN

I

f you’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer, the last thing you need to worry about is finding your way through the maze of health care systems and treatment options. If only there was someone to show you how to get what you need, tell you what to expect and ease your anxiety.

A role that has evolved to assist breast cancer patients and their families is that of the breast health navigator. A breast health navigator is often a nurse who has specialized training in breast health. Breast health navigators, also known as case managers or care coordinators, are available to provide expert knowledge to help patients and their families understand their diagnosis, treatment options, and to guide them through the various community and supportive resources available to them. Breast health navigators improve the quality of cancer care provided to patients and their families by serving as their advocate from the time of diagnosis throughout their cancer journey. As each patient is different each breast health navigator’s role also varies.

In our community the breast health navigator is a resource for patients, families, physicians and the community in understanding benign and malignant diseases, their treatment and the patient’s emotional and social recovery from the disease. She is a public educator on the early detection of breast disease and breast exam skills as well as a public advocate for the needs of breast cancer patients and their families. The breast health navigator attends the weekly multidisciplinary treatment planning sessions and follows up on physician recommendations as appropriate. She serves as a researcher in breast health and breast cancer care to keep staff and physicians up-to-date with current trends and late breaking news in breast health issues. She is a co-facilitator of the breast cancer support group.

Breast health navigators serve as liaisons between patients, families, physicians, various offices and facilities that will diagnose and treat individuals diagnosed with breast cancer. They also are aware of the community resources available to assist patients and families. The breast health navigator serves as a community partner and develops, coordinates and implements community outreach programs, support programs and services. The breast health navigator provides support for the breast cancer patient and their family in understanding and coping with the strong emotions that accompany a breast cancer diagnosis.

At the Community Cancer Center, we strive to deliver coordinated comprehensive breast care through the Comprehensive Breast Service. In addition to the breast health navigator, the service includes multidisciplinary treatment planning, genetic testing, and support services such as renew (nutrition, exercise & wellness for breast cancer survivors), Breast Cancer Support Group, Reach to Recovery®, Look Good…Feel Better®, Lymphedema Clinic, Yoga classes for breast cancer survivors, and other community education. As far as education for breast cancer patients the breast health navigator has books to give to every patient she meets. The book, “Your Breast Cancer Treatment Handbook” by Judy Kneece, RN, OCN Breast Health Specialist was made possible through grants funded by the McLean County affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

The Comprehensive Breast Services of the Community Cancer Center is committed to promoting excellence in breast health and breast care throughout education about early detection, screening, diagnosis, treatment, research and support services while assisting with access to breast health care for men and women in our community in the fight against breast cancer.

Jolene Clifford RN, OCN, CBCN, CMS is the Breast Health Navigator at the Comprehensive Breast Service of the Community Cancer Center and can be contacted by calling 309-451-8500 or email at jclifford@cancercenter.org . She is a certified oncology nurse as well as a certified breast care nurse. In addition to her certifications through the Oncology Nursing Society she is a MammaCare® Specialist. MammaCare® is a method of breast examination that was developed with the support of the National Cancer Institute.

This ad space generously donated by: Edward W. Pegg, III, M.D.

May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 27

fitness

Research on a Flexability, Toning and Balance Program for Seniors

By Susan Herrel, Research Coordinator, University of Illinois

D

r. Edward McAuley, a professor in the Exercise Psychology Laboratory (EPL) in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, has spent much of his career researching the effects of physical activity on different populations. One of his current projects will examine the effects of a home-based, DVD-delivered physical activity program that emphasizes flexibility, toning and balance (FlexToBa™) exercises designed specifically for older adults between 65 and 85 years of age.

The 2000 U. S. Census results have shown that older adults (>65) represent the fastest growing segment of the population. Now representing 35 million U. S. residents, this group will grow to nearly 87 million thanks in part to the Baby Boom generation. Medical advances have increased life expectancy and people are living longer but McAuley’s research examines what can be done to increase older adults’ quality of life (QOL) while also decreasing limitations in physical function through increased physical activity.

“Living longer does not necessarily equate with an improved quality of life,” McAuley said. “The point at which the trajectory of living longer evolves into poor quality of life is likely to differ according to the individual, and the extent to which they are able to lead a healthy lifestyle may be determined by many factors including how active they are.”

The FlexToBa DVD was funded by the National Institutes of Health and was developed specifically for this project after years of research with older adults in the Champaign-Urbana area. Dr. McAuley is currently bringing this research to the BloomingtonNormal and Springfield areas and is looking for men and women between the ages of 65 and 85 who are not already exercising regularly to participate in this research.

Qualifying participants would be randomly assigned to either an immediate exercise group, who will receive the DVD following

Visit Us Online: www.Alpha-Care.com 309-663-4680 or 800-219-1313 Page 28 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Bloomington ­— May 2011

the initial testing, or a waitlist group, who will receive the exercise DVDs at the end of the testing, 12 months later.

All potential participants will be interviewed by phone to determine if they qualify for the study and must be able to provide contact information for their physicians so that researchers may obtain medical consent for the exercise and testing that will be a requirement of the study. Testing for this project involves wearing an activity monitor for seven days. This device, much like a pedometer, measures activity levels during all waking hours. Participants also answer a series of questionnaires that have to do with their feelings, their confidence about usual activities, and their day-to-day routines. Finally, participants will also perform a series of tests of their physical functioning specifically related to flexibility, strength and balance. Researchers will be coming to the Bloomington and Springfield areas to complete these assessments this summer. If participants qualify for the study, they will be asked to complete these assessments in July and then repeat them six and 12 months later.

Interested participants should contact Susan Herrel, research coordinator at 217/265-9848 or toll-free at 888-359-0022 or by email at herrel@illinois.edu.

better hearing

Implantable Hearing Aids

By Julie Sidak, Audiologist, Central Illinois Institute of Balance

A

number of hearing aid patients have recently asked me about the new “Esteem” hearing device. If you are a faithful listener of Rush Limbaugh (who utilizes two cochlear implants after total hearing loss due to autoimmune disease) you have heard him tout this new device on his radio program. The FDA approved its use in the USA just last year; however it has been in use in Europe for the past ten years. It is the latest in the line of implantable hearing devices, and claims to “use the natural ear as a microphone”.

Because all the parts of the Esteem are implanted, it is a totally invisible alternative to conventional hearing aids. It picks up sounds through the ear canal, thereby using the body’s natural anatomy to reduce the background noise, distortion and acoustic feedback that people may experience with non-implantable devices. Unlike conventional hearing aids, the device does not need to be removed for showering, swimming, and sleeping. During a recent US Clinical trial, people who used the Esteem device experienced a high degree of improvement in clarity of sound, understanding conversation, natural sounding voices, ability to understand speech in noise, and benefit of invisibility as compared with traditional hearing aids.

Unlike a cochlear implant, this device is fully implantable. There is no external sound processor or microphone. A tiny sound sensor is attached to the three bones in the middle ear, and picks up sound vibrations from the bones then converts these vibrations into electrical signals. These signals are then sent to the sound processor which is surgically implanted behind the ear. The sound processor filters and increases the electrical signals and sends them to a driver. This tiny driver is attached to the inner-most bone in the middle ear which converts the electrical signals back into mechanical vibrations which are sent to the cochlea (the organ of hearing). The user has a personal programmer which acts like a remote control and allows adjustment of sound.

The Esteem is for adults over 18 years of age who have stable sensorineural hearing loss. The inner ear must have normal anatomical structures, and according to the company “a patient’s ability to understand speech using the Esteem should be similar to that of using a conventional hearing aid”.

“Without treatment, people with hearing loss experience social isolation, and are more prone to psychological illness, depression, anxiety and paranoia.”

Now for the bad news. The cost of one Esteem implant ranges from $30,000 - $35,000. Add to that the cost of the surgical facility and replacement batteries. Seventy thousand dollars will purchase a lifetime of top-notch hearing aids. Insurance companies will not pay for this procedure so it is an out-of-pocket expense. However, for those who can afford the price, it appears to be another alternative for better hearing.

Hearing is an essential part of life. Without treatment, people with hearing loss experience social isolation, and are more prone to psychological illness, depression, anxiety and paranoia. Loss of hearing means loss of information, networking and economic power for an individual and the economy. There are many impressive improvements today in conventional amplification devices that are far more affordable.

See your Audiologist if you or a loved one are experiencing difficulty hearing. They are the best professional to educate you about all your options for better hearing.

For more information, contact Dr. Julie Sidak of Central Illinois Institute of Balance at 663-4900.

May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 29

interpersonal effectiveness

Better Communication Skills for Relationships

By Jonathan Marin, Ph.D., Psychology Specialists Ltd.

M

uch of life involves interacting with other people through interpersonal relationships. These relationships might be with close friends, family members, or people we know at work or school. Despite the nature of any of these relationships, it is very important for people to develop the ability to clearly communicate what they want or need in that relationship. Some examples include: asking for a raise at work, letting a teacher know you need more time for an assignment due to an unforeseen circumstance, or communicating to a fellow family member a need for help with caring for an elderly parent.

There are many reasons why individuals may struggle with asking for something or communicating their needs. First, we might not know what to specifically say. Second, we might be worried about the consequences (someone getting angry) or believe that we don’t deserve what we are asking for. Third, we might struggle with indecisiveness about what we really want or want to say. Finally, we might be in an environment that makes it difficult for us to ask for something, such as asking for a raise.

The goal of interpersonal effectiveness skills is to help us communicate our needs in such a way that is most likely to accomplish the outcome we desire. One thing to remember is that even if we ask for something in the most skillful way possible, we still may not get what we want in a relationship – and that’s okay. However, utilizing the following skills can help maximize the chances of a positive outcome.

One set of skills that can help us be effective in relationships is called DEAR MAN — an acronym for each of the following skills which can help us ask for what we want.

• DESCRIBE the current situation, telling the other person exactly what we are reacting to.

• EXPRESS our feelings and opinions about the situation. We need to assume that our feelings and opinions are not self-evident, and utilize phrases such as “I want,” “I don’t want”, instead of “You should,” or “I can’t”.

Foot pain giving you the baby blues?

Dr. Melissa Lockwood can help!

Two of the most common foot problems pregnant women experience are heel pain and swelling. Dr. Melissa has convenient treatments for both, to get you back to proved Pregnancy-ap h lis po il na and e! sandals availabl

nesting in no time!

Dr. Melissa Lockwood

309-661-9975

Evening and Saturday appointments available Page 30 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Bloomington ­— May 2011

www.heartlandfootandankle.com

10 Heartland Drive, Ste. B Bloomington

• ASSERT ourselves by clearly asking for what we want. We need to assume that others will not figure it out or do what we want unless we ask.

• R EINFORCE or reward the person ahead of time by explaining the benefits to them of you getting what you want.

•M INDFUL of our objectives, maintain our position, and not allow ourselves to be distracted. Be a “broken record”, repeating the same message over and over, and ignore any attempts by the other person to argue, attack, threaten, or change the subject.

•A PPEAR confident, with a confident voice tone, good eye contact, and no stammering, whispering, or staring at the floor.

• NEGOTIATE by giving something to get what you want.

Consider reducing your request, maintaining your “no”, but offering to do something else, or turn the issue over to the other person by saying, “what do you think we should do?”

Like anything new, it takes practice to communicate in a new way. But the benefit is better relationships with people that are important to us.

For more information you may contact Psychology Specialists at 309-706-3190 or online at www.psychologyspecialists. com. Psychology Specialists provide services to help people with all types of physical and emotional pain. They have therapists and offices throughout the Bloomington-Normal area. Dr. Jonathan Marin is a post-doctoral psychology resident.

For

Mother’s Day or Anyday

Ladies The bounce stops… with a good fitting sports bra.

28D - 54K - Anita - Fantasie - Goddess - Freya

FREE FITTINGS ANYTIME -Sports Bras - Nursing Bras - Bridal / Strapless - Swimwear Year Round

416 N. Madison, BL

309.827.0660 Hours: Tues-Sat 11am-7pm Closed Sun & Mon

Closed 5/3/11 through 5/7/11 Will reopen 5/10/11

$5 OFF

Any Purchase Over $25

Must Bring in Coupon. Exp. 5-31-11 May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 31

home buying legalities

Real Estate Realities

By Becky Wiese

M

any people who purchase a home do so without the assistance of an attorney, although most experienced realtors will advise that hiring an attorney is a good idea. Despite this, many homebuyers choose to forego the assistance of a lawyer. After all, the transaction seems straightforward enough: The buyer and seller of a piece of property agree to basic terms, there are standard forms that both realtors and title companies commonly use, and the deal is sealed.

Page 32 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Bloomington ­— May 2011

However, real estate purchases involve contracts—meaning they are legal instruments. There are inspection issues, tax considerations, escrow monies, contingency arrangements, and other considerations that affect the fulfillment or the cancellation of the contract. Hiring an attorney who specializes in real estate ensures that you have someone on your side in case something doesn’t go as expected.

Amy McFarland, a local attorney with a significant real estate practice and owner of Bloomington Legal Services, says, “People typically don’t know what they should be looking for when making what is likely to be the single largest purchase they will ever make. It’s true that ninety percent of real estate transactions proceed smoothly with the use of standard forms and agreement of terms. The danger is that you may be one of the ten percent where things don’t go as expected—often an unforeseen issue arises or there is a misunderstanding of terms.”

The pre-purchase agreement often involves numerous changes made during the negotiation process that may or may not be correctly reflected in the actual contract. It’s also not unusual for unexpected issues to surface after the home inspection. A real estate attorney can protect you from the effects of costly mistakes, errors in the documents or figures, and other problems that could lead to expensive legal action such as lawsuits and litigation. Paying an attorney for a couple of hours’ worth of reviewing documents amounts to very inexpensive insurance.

The complex legal and title issues presented in unfamiliar terms can be confusing, and the average homebuyer typically lacks the knowledge of the details and nuances of state and local real estate laws and the transfer of property rights and title. One example that Amy recently encountered involved the purchase of property prior to marriage.

“When the gentleman decided to refinance, he wanted to be sure his wife could live in the house if he should die. The title company representative told him to sign a quit claim deed, which he did right there at the closing table without consulting an attorney. Now that he and his wife are getting divorced, the property is considered ‘marital property’ because he transferred title into both names. This is considered a ‘gift’ in Illinois and he is now dealing with the unanticipated repercussions of signing a document without an attorney’s advice.”

Orthotics • Prosthetics • Pedorthics • 309-664-6930 908 N. Hershey Rd. Bloomington, IL

By Appointment

Real estate transactions are governed by federal, state, and local statutes and laws that encompass an assortment of issues regarding the acquisition, financing, development, management, construction, lease, and sale of all kinds of property. A real estate lawyer is knowledgeable about various components of transactions such as mortgages, refinancing, and tax issues. If disputes arise regarding possession, eminent domain, property taxes, nuisance, or encroachment, a real estate lawyer knows the best way to handle them. Other issues lawyers help with include broker negligence, misrepresentation, zoning issues, and disputes between owners, builders, and contractors.

A fact worth noting is that a real estate agent is prohibited by law in Illinois from providing legal counsel or serving as a legal representative.

Other professionals are involved in the purchase process, including the realtor, the mortgage expert, and a home inspector. Real estate attorneys focus on the real estate process and understand the legalities of buying and selling property better than anyone. Your lawyer will review offers you make or receive and ensure not only that your rights are protected, but also that your duties are clearly defined. A lawyer will check every detail and translate the “legalese” in order to make sure the documents carry out your actual intent and meet the requirements that will protect your investment and financial security. The bottom line is that a real estate lawyer looks out for your best interests—not the seller’s or the real estate agent’s, or the title company’s—yours.

For more information, you may contact Amy McFarland at Bloomington Legal Services, 309-827-8900, www.bloomingtonlegal.com.

She specializes in Real Estate, Estate Planning, Mediation & Divorce, Adoption and Family Law.

When one size fits all doesn’t fit...

We take care of it!

As a compounding pharmacy, we provide medications formulated to fit your specific needs. Pain management, hospice care, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, veterinary medications, and more!

And because compounding is all we do, we have the knowledge and expertise to solve your most challenging medication problems.

Doug’s Compounding Pharmacy and you—The Right Fit! We accept insurance.

Mastectomy Lumpectomy Bras & Forms Compression Garments

137 N. Market Street • Paxton Phone: (217) 379-3684 Toll Free: (877) 642-3684 www.dougsrx.com

Licensed in the State of Illinois

May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 33

women’s health

Benefits of Breast Reconstruction Following Mastectomy

By Mary Hilbert

B

reast reconstruction is a plastic surgery option many women choose to undergo following mastectomy, according to the National Cancer Institute. Mastectomy, the surgical removal of one or both breasts in order to treat or reduce the risk of breast cancer, has in some cases been shown to take a negative toll on a woman’s selfimage and sense of femininity. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reported a 10 percent increase from 2000 to 2009 in the number of reconstructive surgeries performed in the United States each year.

In 2008 alone, the ASPS reported that more than 70 thousand women in the United States underwent some form of reconstructive breast surgery. Part of the reason that more women are opting for this form of plastic surgery is that breast reconstruction has the ability to provide mastectomy patients with a higher sense of self-confidence and positive body image.

“It is nice for the breast cancer patients who have mastectomies to wake up and have a breast mound in place of their lost breast. New technology allows us to obtain fairly nice results with implant expander techniques. Many times the reconstructed breast has a better shape and size than the patient started with,” says Dr. Jeffrey Poulter, M.D., FACS, a board-certified plastic surgeon with The Center for Cosmetic and Laser Surgery in Peoria and Bloomington.

Page 34 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Bloomington ­— May 2011

Prior to reconstructive surgery, the plastic surgeon carefully examines the breast area as well as health history of the patient before discussing possible reconstruction options. If a woman decides that breast reconstruction is a step she is interested in taking, it is best to discuss this with both the breast surgeon and plastic surgeon, enabling them to work together in formulating the best reconstruction plan. In many cases following a breast mastectomy, health insurance will cover all or most of the procedure costs for a reconstruction.

There are various methods by which reconstruction can be achieved, although a new breast is not guaranteed to be an exact replicate of the original and may differ in both size and texture. In one reconstruction procedure, tissue flap reconstruction, the surgeon uses skin, fat and muscle from a woman’s abdomen, buttocks or back in order to recreate the breast shape. In another procedure the expander implant technique, the plastic surgeon inserts an expander under the skin, chest muscle and alloderm. The implant is a balloon-like device to be filled with saline until the patients desired size is reached over the course of several weeks in order to make room for a permanent silicone gel implant to be inserted into the breast.

Reconstruction in both methods requires more than one procedure for optimal results. The reconstruction process with expanders and permanent implants takes approximately three procedures over 6 - 9 months following mastectomy for completion and recovery. The initial surgery, usually performed in a hospital under anesthesia, starts the creation of the mound, while follow-up procedures are performed as an outpatient to place the permanent implant and to recreate the nipple and areola if the patient so desires.

Modern medicine is increasingly enhancing the comfort and quality of reconstructive procedures for patients. “Alloderm use in the expander implant technique minimizes the discomfort and extent of operation required when the expander is removed and the permanent implant is placed at the second stage. Nipple tattooing has also made great advances to provide almost a three dimensional appearance to those who are unable to have nipple reconstruction,” Dr. Poulter said.

Before undergoing reconstructive breast surgery, patients should maintain a positive outlook on the final result while at the same time remaining aware of the length of recovery time and possible complications that this optional surgery entails. At its best, reconstructive surgery provides women who have lost one or both breasts due to cancer or other illness with a renewed sense of femininity while restoring symmetry to the body. Important questions patients should consider discussing with their plastic surgeon include the number of procedures that will be required, expected healthcare costs, any discomfort or scarring that may occur as well as whether or not reconstruction will interfere with any cancer treatment.

For more information on reconstructive breast surgery options call Dr. Jeffrey S. Poulter at 309-663-1222 (Bloomington office) or 309-692-6869 (Peoria office) or online at www.drpoulter.com.

May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 35

identity theft

Protect Yourself — and Your Piggy!

Part I: The Facts

By Dena McDonald, First Farmers State Bank

Y

ou’ve worked hard to establish your good name, financially and otherwise. Unfortunately, there are people in this world who not only think that they are entitled to your money and good name, they’ll do whatever they can to obtain them, giving no thought or care to the devastation they leave in their wake. How do you protect your name? And how do you protect your piggy?

No one wants to be paranoid, and although it’s difficult to separate the facts from the hype, some things are certain. According to statistics compiled by the Federal Trade Commission, fraud percentages break down as follows:

Credit card: Gov’t document fraud: Phone/utilities fraud: Employment fraud: Bank fraud: Loan fraud:

17% 16% 15% 13% 10% 4%

Of the 1 in 10 Americans who now find themselves victims, 43% knew their perpetrator. It’s hard to imagine that a family member, friend or acquaintance has as much of a chance of stealing our identity as a nameless, faceless computer hacker, but people we know usually don’t have to work very hard to access to our information. By and large, fraudsters are looking for paths of least resistance—they seek the highest return with the least amount of effort and risk. Some people (9-18%) are victims for 4 or more years before they detect it, but according to many experts, identity theft often results from our own associations and carelessness as much as anything else. In fact, online theft activities accounted for only 11% of reported incidents. Sometimes we volunteer information that isn’t required simply because we think it is or that it no one would use it for nefarious purposes. And you’d be surprised at the informational gems that thieves can glean from our trash—documents we should have shredded or otherwise destroyed.

Who has a right to know your Social Security number?

Technically, anyone can ask for your social security number, but there are only a few entities that have a legitimate right to it. Outside of government reporting requirements, you don’t have to provide your Social Security number. Private businesses can deny you products or services or charge more for them if you don’t provide it, and you may have to show more proof of your identity or income. But if they can’t give you a good reason for needing it, you might consider taking your business elsewhere.

With regard to employment, however, it is not required to simply apply for a job. If the company makes your employment conditional upon a successful background check, they will require your social security number, but your signature is needed to permit the check. So, never release your number electronically for a background check.

Even when you visit the doctor’s office, you don’t have to fill in your Social Security number on the forms; your medical insurance carrier, however, may be a different story.

Time is money The embarrassment of being contacted by collection agencies or disqualified for a loan when you had a good credit rating is bad enough. Add to it that victims on average spend 330 hours (sometimes at the expense of their paycheck) and between $851 and $1378 outof-pocket just to resolve the matter on top of the amount stolen. The burden can be overwhelming.

So hold onto your piggy bank and important paperwork, and next month’s article will share suggestions to help safeguard your name and finances.

Dena McDonald is the Marketing and Sales Manager for First Farmers State Bank, 4001 GE Road, Bloomington. First Farmers State Bank, established in 1875, is locally owned with locations in Minier, Delavan and Bloomington and on the web at www.firstfarmers.com.

Sources: Federal Trade Commission; Department of Justice; http://EzineArticles.com/235647; http://identitytheftfixes.com; http://spendonlife.com

Page 36 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Bloomington ­— May 2011

may is better hearing month

How’s Your Hearing?

Are You Sure?

It’s Time for a Baseline!

By Danica S. Billingsly, Au.D., Bloomington-Normal Audiology

W

hen we think of hearing loss, we often associate it with advanced age. But of the more than 34 million US citizens with hearing loss, at least 10 million can attribute the loss to noise exposure. Roughly 60% of the adults with hearing loss are in the work force, and many of them have never considered seeing an audiologist for a hearing test.

A recent study by the Better Hearing Institute showed that untreated hearing loss contributes to lower productivity, performance, career success and earnings. People with untreated hearing loss lose as much as $30,000 in salary and wages annually, depending on the degree of loss. Addressing the hearing loss by using hearing aids has been shown to reduce the risk of income loss significantly. Use of hearing aids – even for persons with mild hearing loss – improves job performance, enhances communication and protects relationships, staves off depression, and increases earning potential. Yet less than 40% of Americans have addressed their hearing loss, making it one of the most commonly untreated health conditions in the country. In fact, only 15% of adults reported having had a hearing screening as part of their wellness checks, and 50% of people with untreated hearing loss have never had a professional hearing exam.

With the risks to our ears from lifelong noise exposure, certain medications, certain health conditions, and even airbags in a car accident, it is crucial that adults know where they stand before they notice a problem. In addition to the legal protection of knowing your baseline hearing level before a trauma strikes, hearing evaluations can provide valuable clues regarding overall health. In recent research, hearing loss has been associated with pre-eclampsia, early onset diabetes as well as cardiovascular disease. Documentation of your baseline status and regular re-evaluations for monitoring should be part of the routine healthcare schedule for all adults.

May is Better Hearing Month, and that is the perfect time to have a baseline done with your audiologist, or to update your testing if it has been 5 years or more since your last evaluation. Your audiologist will be able to address questions regarding earwax, tinnitus (ringing in your ears) as well as ear protection for use when swimming or for the prevention of hearing damage from noise.

Even for teenagers and young adults, it is important to pay attention to your ears – a simple pen and paper screening (such as the Five Minute Hearing Test available online at: http://www.bloomingtonnormalaudio. com/5-minute-written-hearing-test/) can often help to indicate the start of any problems before they bring more serious consequences.

This year, when you plan your dental, optical and physical check-ups, don’t forget audiological as well – hearing is a sound investment.

REMEMBER, your ears are just as important as the rest of you.

Annual Physical Eye Exam

Hearing Exam Dental Exam

You wouldn’t think twice about your eye exams. Why neglect your ears? Hearing is one of the most important senses you have. When you can’t hear properly, it affects your work, your family, and the quality of your life. Schedule your hearing baseline this May.

For more information on any hearing related issue, you may contact Bloomington-Normal Audiology at 309-662-8346 or on the web at www. bloomingtonnormalaudio.com. They are located at 1404 Eastland Drive, Suite 203 in Bloomington and 1508 Reynolds, Suite B in Pontiac.

May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 37

paleo diet

Stealth Attack of Whole Grains

By JJ Krupka, Owner/Coach, CrossFit Bloomington-Normal

I

n this third and final installment introducing you to the Paleo diet, we’re going to investigate what is probably the most important aspect of the lifestyle: avoiding grains and pseudo-grains.

I’m sure everyone has heard the mantra that whole grains are an essential part of a healthy diet. Various experts extol the virtues of increasing our consumption of whole grains and studies seem to prove that a diet high in whole grains will decrease our risk of heart disease, cancer and obesity. At first glance, grains look like an ideal source of nutrition. They have protein, good carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Upon further investigation, we see that these “wholesome” grains also contain anti-nutrients, lectins, and gluten, which actually prevents us from being able to absorb necessary nutrients and damages our digestive system thereby opening the door to increased sickness.

So what exactly are these bad compounds, and what happens when we ingest them?

Page 38 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Bloomington ­— May 2011

• First are anti-nutrients called phytates. They bind to nutrients in food and prevent digestion and absorption of key vitamins and minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, and zinc, as well as the enzymes needed for protein digestion. Unfortunately, these are the nutrients that grains contain to begin with; so depending on them for our nutrition has the opposite effect — completely devoid of nutrients.

• The next little trouble makers we have to look at are lectins. Lectin is a protein in grains that is completely resistant to cooking and digestion. It binds to the intestinal walls and damages the lining, which decreases nutrient absorption and increases inflammation in our whole body, especially joints. Inflammation is our body’s response to sickness and injury. If our body is constantly responding to enemies (grains) in our digestive tract, it won’t have anything left to help fight off sickness or repair muscle.

•F inally, we have the new Public Enemy No. 1 of the food industry — gluten. Gluten and lectins are close cousins who work together to

“‘Wholesome’ grains also contain anti-nutrients, lectins, and gluten, which actually prevents us from being able to absorb necessary nutrients and damages our digestive system thereby opening the door to increased sickness.” wage war on our body. Gluten also causes an inflammatory response in the body by blasting holes in our intestinal lining. It sounds extreme, but it’s the truth.

If lectins are like holding a firecracker in your hand, gluten is like holding a stick of dynamite. With your intestinal wall damaged, undigested food particles are allowed to enter the body. The undigested proteins cause our immune system to turn on our own tissues, producing antibodies to attack the “perceived invaders.” Compromised digestion from grain consumption can lead to autoimmunity when extended out over a lifetime. And remember, this is all due to the gluten and lectins slowly killing all the villi and microvilli that line our intestines and are responsible for digestion.

But you say, “corn, oats, and quinoa don’t have gluten”. This is true, but they have zein, proline, and saponins, which all behave in the same manner as lectin and gluten. Many people may scoff at this because, “I’ve eaten grains all my life and don’t have any of these awful

symptoms.” Everyone is different so some people simply have symptoms that are less pronounced. They can arise as acne, allergies, joint pain, hormone imbalances, or infertility to name a few. The problem is that all grains have anti nutrients and compounds that hurt your digestive tract, it just may be in different amounts If this has sparked interest and you are curious about the effect of grains on your own body, try eliminating them from your diet for 30 days, then re-introduce them and see how you feel. Most people who thought they were a-symptomatic will feel a general aching in their belly as well as an allergy flare up. That’s the sign that the attack on your digestion has begun! You may feel worse for the first week due to the detoxing, and then will begin to feel better the second week, so try to go for at least two weeks.

If it’s simply impossible for you to give up bread and pasta, then try to eat them every other day or eat them less often. I love grains too but as soon as I stopped eating them, all my joint problems, acne, digestive issues cleared up and my body fat dropped. It was a question of what I liked more, bread and pasta or feeling good. Unfortunately, giving up grains is very similar to giving up cigarettes — the force is strong in those little grains!

If you missed the first two articles that covered the basics of the Paleo Diet Lifestyle, you may read it online at www.HealthyCellsMagazine.com. The next article will discuss opiate/dopamine effect of grains (ie. why people love them so much!)

For more information about the Paleo Diet or Crossfit Training, you may contact JJ Krupka at 309-662-5678 or e-mail info@crossfitbloomingtonnormal.com. Their new location is 401 Bronco Drive in Bloomington.

MRI • CT (COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY) • PET/CT • ULTRASOUND • X-RAY BONE DENSITOMETRY • DIGITAL MAMMOGRAPHY WITH CAD

May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 39

healthy feet

Baby and “Toe Woes”?

By Melissa J. Lockwood, DPM, Heartland Foot and Ankle Associates

M

cLean County and Central Illinois are blessed with two wonderful health systems – both of which are responding to the needs of our community and expanding their maternity services to further accommodate our growing population. As the 2010 census demonstrated, we are adding new ‘little people’ by leaps and bounds! Foot pain is an often overlooked problem associated with pregnancy – this tenderness is NOT a ‘growing pain’ and is something that should be treated immediately.

Due to the natural weight gain during pregnancy, a woman’s center of gravity is completely altered – pitching forward in heels is certainly no fun at those upcoming summer events! This shift in center of gravity causes a new weight-bearing stance and added pressure to the knees and feet. Two of the most common foot problems experienced by pregnant woman are ‘flat-footed walking (hyperpronation) and swelling (edema). These problems can lead to pain at the heel, arch, or the ball-of-foot. Many women may also experience leg cramping and varicose veins due to weight gain.

Because of this, it is important for all pregnant women to learn more about foot health during their pregnancy to help make this nine month period more comfortable for them.

“I can’t even see my feet to check if something is wrong!...”

Changing bodies often prevent us from paying attention to pain as we assume it is a natural part of the pregnancy process. We are often so uncomfortable in general that our feet get neglected!

Hyperpronation, also referred to as flat feet, is caused when a person’s arch flattens out upon weight bearing and their feet roll inward when walking. This can create extreme stress or inflammation on the plantar fascia, the fibrous band of tissue on the bottom of the foot that runs from the heel to the forefoot.

Hyperpronation can make walking very painful and can increase strain on the feet, calf muscles and/or back. The reason many pregnant women suffer from hyperpronation is the added pressure on the body as a result of weight gain.

Hyperpronation can be treated conservatively with medical grade inserts. These types of inserts should be designed with appropriate arch support and medial rearfoot posting to correct the over-pronation. Proper fitting footwear is also very important in treating hyperpronation. Choose comfortable footwear that provides extra support and shock absorption – athletic shoes are your friend during pregnancy!

They keep you in balance!

v

B l o o min g to n - N o rmal

Audiology Hearing Healthcare You Can Trust • • •

309•66•AUDIO

•

888•442•4545

•

(309•662•8346)

(Pontiac office and out-of-towners)

1404 Eastland Drive, Suite 203 Bloomington 1508 W. Reynolds, Suite B Pontiac Page 40 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Bloomington ­— May 2011

•

Diagnostic auditory evaluations for individuals of all ages Tinnitus evaluation and treatments Hearing conservation and protection for individuals exposed to loud environments Vestibular diagnostic and therapy services provided to assist persons with imbalance or dizziness disorders Hearing aid dispensing including hearing aid screenings, evaluations, fittings, and post-fitting counseling Repairs of most makes and models

Established 1990, locally owned and locally managed.

www.bloomingtonnormalaudio.com

It is important to treat hyperpronation for pain relief but also to prevent other foot conditions from developing such as Plantar Fasciitis, Heel Spurs, Metatarsalgia, different foot Tendonitis conditions and/or Bunions.

“I am so swollen I don’t think shoes will even fit me!....”

Edema, also referred to as swelling in the feet, normally occurs in the latter part of pregnancy. Edema results from the extra blood accumulated during pregnancy. The enlarging uterus puts pressure on the blood vessels in the pelvis and legs causing circulation to slow down and blood to pool in the lower extremities. The total water fluid in the body remains the same as before pregnancy, however it becomes displaced – especially toward our toes (the location furthest from our hearts). When feet are swollen, they can become purplish in color. Sometimes extra water is retained during pregnancy, adding to all that swelling.

Edema in the feet can be minimized by the following methods: • Elevate your feet as often as possible. If you have to sit for long periods of time, place a small stool by your feet to elevate them.

• Wear proper fitting footwear. Footwear that is too narrow or short will constrict circulation.

• Have your feet measured several times throughout your pregnancy. They will probably change sizes.

• Wear seamless socks that do not constrict circulation.

• If you are driving for a long period of time, take regular breaks to stretch your legs to promote circulation.

• Exercise regularly to promote overall health; walking is the best exercise.

• Drink plenty of water to keep the body hydrated. This helps the body retain less fluid.

• Eat a well-balanced diet and avoid foods high in salt that can cause water retention.

For more information regarding “baby toe woes”, please contact Dr. Lockwood at Heartland Foot and Ankle Associates at 309-661-9975 or www.heartlandfootandankle.com.

• Only 3T MRI scanner in

• Windows allow natural light in

Bloomington-Normal

scanner room to help reduce incidence of claustrophobia

• 99% of our patients said they would recommend Advanced MRI to a friend

• Riverscape mural creates soothing atmosphere

or family • Enhance relaxation with your • CLEAREST images in the FASTEST time • All scans are read only by Subspecialty trained radiologists

choice of Satellite radio or bring your own CD • Private & quiet setting, just steps from the parking lot to the scanner

May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 41

community cancer center

Dr. Shermian Woodhouse: A Passion for Quality of Care

By Becky Wiese

I

really, really love my job,” says Dr. Shermian Woodhouse, the first permanent onsite Medical Director of the Community Cancer Center, “because it gives me the opportunity to do exactly what I want to do,” which is to improve the quality of care for cancer patients. The opportunity to come to the Community Cancer Center to help grow the cancer care program meshed perfectly with Dr. Woodhouse’s passion.

Improving quality of care in treating cancer patients is a multifaceted topic. One that, according to Dr. Woodhouse, is an ongoing goal, not a destination. She constantly challenges herself and her staff to provide a better experience and better outcomes for patients. Three main areas draw the most attention regarding high quality service and care: staff, equipment, and safety initiatives.

“

Professional and Volunteer Staff “There’s just something that’s very special about this place,” Dr. Woodhouse declares. “I work with great people.” The well-trained and supportive staff regularly gets high scores for patient satisfaction. The Cancer Center makes it a priority to invest in the staff and continue to develop them so they can perform at a high level.

In addition to the doctors, nurses, and other support staff, the Community Cancer Center has an incredible number of dedicated volunteers. “When I saw that the Center had 150 volunteers, I thought it was a typo,” laughs Dr. Woodhouse.

State-of-the-Art Equipment Another important factor in quality of care has to do with state-ofthe-art equipment. The Community Cancer Center houses three noninvasive radiation therapy machines that offer different approaches to radiation treatment and allow physicians the opportunity to customize treatment for each patient. These technologically advanced machines include the Linear Accelerator with Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), the TomoTherapy machine, and the Cyberknife. No other facility in Central Illinois has all three options, making the Cancer Center a destination treatment center for many people.

Safety Initiatives One of the benefits of having these three options for treatment affects quality of care with regard to safety initiatives. “We are vigilant regarding the safety standards for treatment,” says Dr. Woodhouse. As

Page 42 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Bloomington ­— May 2011

technology improves and treatment methods become more refined, patient safety is thrust to the forefront. Providing the necessary amount of radiation to a tumor and only the tumor helps the patient not only by treating the disease, but also by not harming the healthy tissue surrounding it. This decreases side effects and allows the patient to feel better while being treated.

Another quality of care tactic that Dr. Woodhouse plans to expand involves a regular multidisciplinary team conference that includes surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, and other specialists involved in patient care. The team members review each case and discuss treatment plans for each new patient, allowing for conversation and direct exchange of information and knowledge among the specialists. Currently used specifically for breast cancer patients, this multidisciplinary conference model will benefit other cancer patients as well.

Facility Improvements Keeping the patient in mind is what drives the quality of care initiative, but it’s more than just medicine. Providing pleasant surroundings also affects patient comfort. For example, the room that houses the TomoTherapy machine has a skylight and a beautiful mural so that patients can look at something pleasant while undergoing treatment. Although this type of thing may seem trivial, it’s anything but trivial when you are a patient going through a challenging situation such as cancer.

The Community Cancer Center is currently involved in a financial feasibility study regarding a major expansion that will double the size of the current facility. The Center has a significant space issue, so the expansion will “allow us to do what we do even better,” says Dr. Woodhouse. Increasing the number of exam rooms and enlarging the chemotherapy treatment room are just two examples of improvements that will benefit the medical staff and improve the patient experience. The beauty of the land on which the Center sits will provide an inviting and calming influence for patients and staff alike.

Dr. Woodhouse’s ultimate goal is to make the Community Cancer Center the best it can be. “That’s what this community deserves,” she says. “And the people, both patients and staff, and the vision behind the Center inspire me to work hard toward that goal.”

For more information, you may contact the Community Cancer Center at 309-451-8500.

INTRODUCING

Dr. Keshav Joshi

The Dr. John Warner Pain Center of Central Illinois is an interventional spine and pain center dedicated to relieving both chronic and acute pain. Contact us today to find out how we can help you address your pain needs.

What We Treat:

• Back Pain • Neck Pain • Work & Sport Injuries • Cancer Pain • Head Aches/Migraines

• Myofascial Pain • Sciatica • Shingles • Post Herpetic • Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy

• Peripheral Neuropathy • Failed Back Surgery Syndrome • Phantom Limb / Stump Pain • And More…

DR. ALBERT KIM, D.D.S.

The Foehr Group would like to welcome Dr. Albert Kim to our practice!

Dr. Kim received his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California in 2005. Since graduating he has completed several Prosthetic, Surgical and Implant courses along with courses in Oral and Nitrous Sedation and Occlusion. Dr. Foehr feels very confident in his abilities and knows that he can bring some new and exciting services that we previously did not offer such as: placing of dental implants, oral surgery and oral sedation. Dr. Kim also has a family with a wife and two boys and is fluent in the Korean language. Please help welcome him to our practice and get 10% off appointments booked with Dr. Kim for mentioning this ad.

422 W e s t W h i t e Street Clinton, IL 61 7 2 7

217-937-5297

Mid-Illinois Hematology & Oncology Associates, LTD. Bloomington-Normal and the surrounding communities deserve the best cancer care.

We have continued our mission to provide that care since 1979.

State-of-the-Art Research. Utilization of a research coordinator and national research opportunities for our patients.

Dr. Pramern Sriratana

Diplomate in Internal Medicine, Hematology, Medical Oncology, Hospice & Palliative Medicine

Dr. Hwan Gon Jeong

Diplomate in Internal Medicine, Hematology, Medical Oncology

Our service is based at the Community Cancer Center.

Bloomington-Normal with satellite clinics in Pontiac, Gibson City, Clinton, Eureka, Forrest, Hopedale

Dr. John Migas Diplomate in Internal Medicine, Medical Oncology

309-452-9701

407 E. Vernon, Normal, IL 61761

www.mihoaonline.org May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 43

pharmacy compounding

One Size Does Not Fit All

By Lori L. Epps, Compounding Educator, Doug’s Compounding Pharmacy

D

o you struggle with constant pain from a past surgery, arthritis, shingles, diabetes, or other condition? If so, you are not alone. Chronic pain is a growing problem, afflicting more than one in 10 adult Americans today. Unfortunately there is no one size fits all when it comes to treating pain. Pain management must be reviewed on a case by case basis, focusing on the development of a treatment plan that is best for the individual. Pharmacy compounding offers patients an alternative. It combines the ageless practice of mixing and preparing customized medications with the latest medical knowledge and state-of-the-art technology, often providing solutions not met by commercially available product.

By definition, chronic pain is any pain lasting more than three to six months and may include neuropathic pain, musculoskeletal pain, fibromyalgia, migraines, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and cancer pain. Despite advances in research and development that have greatly enhanced the treatment of both acute and chronic pain disorders and expanded the treatment options available, many patients continue to experience inadequate relief or intolerable adverse effects.

Page 44 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Bloomington ­— May 2011

According to Kathleen Foley, M.D., a professor and neurologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, “Pain can be managed. Physicians must determine the severity and frequency of their patients’ pain experience to prescribe the most appropriate and effective pain management regimen. Pain treatment needs to be individualized.”

In addition to the use of traditional analgesics like non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs and opioids, a compounding pharmacy can provide optimal treatments that may involve the use of medications that possess pain-relieving properties, including some antidepressants, anticonvulsants, antiarrhythmics, anesthetics, antiviral agents, and NMDA antagonists. By combining various agents which utilize different mechanisms to alter the sensation of pain, smaller concentrations of each medication may be used.

Transdermal creams and gels, which are used on the skin, can be specially formulated to provide high local concentrations at the site of application (e.g., NSAIDs for joint pain); for trigger point application (e.g., combinations of medications for neuropathic pain); or in a base that will allow systemic absorption. Studies suggest that there are no great restrictions on the type of drug that can be incorporated into a properly compounded transdermal gel and, when administered transdermally, many of the adverse side effects are avoided, since they are not absorbed through the gastrointestinal system.

One patient suffering with chronic neuropathic pain reported seeing eleven doctors with no relief. When the twelfth doctor contacted a compounding pharmacy, the pharmacist suggested using a transdermal medication focusing on trigger point application. The results were astounding. “The pain and burning and not being able to find out what was wrong was so disturbing…I could not even ride in a car

“Pharmacy compounding combines the ageless practice of mixing and preparing customized medications with the latest medical knowledge and state-of-the-art technology.” without covering up. The medication on spots on my neck and back has helped so much,” said the patient.

In addition, transdermal medications provide a viable alternative for patients unable to take oral medications and can often eliminate the need for injectable therapy. When oral medications are indicated, a compounding pharmacist can tailor the strength of the dosage to meet the patient’s needs. Compatible medications may be combined into a single dose for ease of use and medicated lollipops, solutions and suspensions may be flavored to suit the patient.

By working as a team with the physician and patient, compounding pharmacies provide individualized treatment options that may help minimize the debilitating effects of chronic pain, and allow the patient to return to the workplace and everyday living.

To learn more about individualized treatment options for chronic pain involving customized medications, contact Doug’s Compounding Pharmacy at 877-642-DOUG(3684) or visit their website at www. dougsrx.com. Established in 2000, Doug’s Compounding Pharmacy, serves patients throughout the state and is located at 137 N. Market Street in Paxton.

May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 45

Feel Dizzy or Unsteady?

Audiology and Physical Therapy Working Together •A ssessment and Treatment of Patients with Vertigo Disorders • A udiologist Specializing in Evaluation and Treatment in ALL Aspects of your hearing • H earing Devices, Repairs, and Assistive Listening Devices • Physical Therapy • B alance Rehabilitation for Stroke, MS, Parkinson’s, and Peripheral Disorders • Physical Therapy for Incontinence

Central Illinois Institute of Balance is structured as a partnership of audiology and physical therapy providers who work together, utilizing a team approach to patient care. Each discipline offers expertise through advanced training and updated protocols. We believe in utilizing the gold standard in diagnostic testing of dizzy patients, using state-of-the-art equipment to determine therapy needs. Treatment protocols are used to evaluate patient improvement in objective, measurable terms.

2427 Maloney Drive • Bloomington, IL 61704 3 0 9 - 6 6 3 - 4 9 0 0 • www.dizzyil.com

Page 46 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Bloomington ­— May 2011

Arthroscopy…

“

A minimally invasive surgical procedure to treat bone and joint problems, including rotator cuff repair, and knee and shoulder instabilities.

”

Dr. Joseph Norris Specialist in Arthroscopic Surgery

2406 East Empire Bloomington

2502 East Empire Bloomington

(309) 663-9300

(309) 663-6461

May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 47

speech disorders

M

Stuttering

By Jean Sawyer, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Assistant Professor, Illinois State University

ay is designated as Better Speech and Hearing Month by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA). One speech disorder that has received a lot of press recently is stuttering, thanks to Colin Firth’s Oscar award-winning portrayal of King George VI in The King’s Speech. The film has helped bring about an awareness of the handicapping effects of this disorder and of its treatment.

Stuttering is a disorder that is often misunderstood.

People who don’t stutter sometimes throw the term around, as in “I started stuttering when I had to get up and give a talk.” They are referring to the surface features of stuttering—the repetitions of words and parts of words. The disorder has been compared to an iceberg, because those surface features are but one small part of it. The negative emotions and consequences of not being able to speak fluently are the larger part of the disorder.

One common belief is that stuttering is under the control of the person who stutters. In the King’s Speech, the king, nicknamed Bertie, was told by his father to “take his time,” “enunciate,” or “let the microphone do the work.”

In truth, one of the hallmarks of stuttering is its variability.

A person may be perfectly fluent one day, and stutter the next, and this is not something the person can control.

Stuttering affects approximately one percent of the population, which means there are approximately 3 million people who stutter in the United States, and 65 million worldwide. It is a disorder of childhood. For many, the disorder starts at around the age of three, and up to 80% of young children who stutter recover within 4 years of onset.

The exact cause of stuttering is unknown, but genetic factors play a role in conjunction with environmental factors. In the King’s Speech, Bertie recalled being pinched and neglected by a governess when he was a child. In truth, stuttering cannot be caused by something a parent did or did not do, and is not the fault of the person who stutters. A parent concerned with stuttering in a preschool child can get help by contacting the school district to have the child evaluated by a licensed speechlanguage pathologist. A speech-language pathologist who has experience with stuttering will be able to help make treatment decisions for the child.

One memorable line in the King’s Speech occurred when Bertie, in a fit of anger, told speech therapist Lio-

Trey Polesky, MSW, LSW

Individual, Couples, and Group Therapy Specializing in: > LGBTQ (Affirming) > Depression > Anxiety > Addictions > Relationship difficulties > Trauma/Abuse Insurance accepted and sliding scale rates available.

www.treypolesky.com Page 48 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Bloomington ­— May 2011

(773) 819-5428

“A parent concerned with stuttering in a preschool child can get help by contacting the school district to have the child evaluated by a licensed speech-language pathologist.” nel Logue, “I have a voice!” People who stutter do have voices, and deserve to be treated with respect. They are no different, no less intelligent, no more nervous, than people who do not stutter. If you have the opportunity to speak with a person who stutters, be a courteous listener. Listen respectfully with good eye contact and wait for the person to finish, rather than try to finish sentences.

Adults who stutter may manage their stuttering on their own, or seek help from a speech-language pathologist. They may go in and out of therapy, as Bertie did in the movie. Many adults enjoy the support and socialization of support groups, such as those sponsored by the National Stuttering Association, which is the largest support group for people who stutter in the U.S. Stuttering is treatable, but not curable. As seen in the Kings’s Speech, the therapist did not cure Bertie’s stuttering, but helped him manage it. Some of the techniques seen in the movie, such as putting marbles in the mouth or smoking to relax the muscles in the throat, are not helpful and thankfully, not in use today. But some of the techniques seen in the movie, such as managing breathing and easing into the first sounds in sentences, are helpful and used today. Speech therapy with an ASHA-certified professional can help the person who stutters manage the disorder, whether it means lessening the severity of the stuttering and/or speaking more fluently.

For more information on stuttering or any communication difficulty or concern, you may contact The Eckelmann-Taylor Speech and Hearing Clinic at 309-438-8641 located at Illinois State University. Services offered include speech, language, voice and hearing evaluations as well as individual and group treatment. Fees for service are reasonable, and a reduced fee schedule is available for those who qualify.

Ca l l n ow to s e t u p a f ree we i g ht l o s s co n s u l t at i o n / evaluation Since my sessions with Rick and using self-hypnosis on a daily basis, I have lost weight and made lifestyle changes: scheduled time for me, do weekly meal planning, watch food portions, and eat less fast/processed foods. With the help of my personal trainer, I am now flexible, physically stronger, and have more energy. My knee replacements are now responding to me and not the other way around. And, I am able to control my diabetes with minimum oral medication.

- P.M. - Bloomington Diet is a four-letter word! Are you ready to make a lifestyle change to achieve longterm weight loss? Are you ready to make 2011 the best year of your life? It could be weight loss like the client above, or any number of other things. I am here to help you achieve the you, that you want to be!

Rick Longstreth, CH

309-261-2564

2310 East Oakland Ave. Suite 11B Bloomington, IL 61701 www.CentralIllinoisHypnotherapy.com May 2011 — Bloomington ­— Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 49

Physical Therapy

MRI

SURGERY

EMG

A Full Range of Services for Your Full Range of Motion • • • • • • •

Work Conditioning Functional Capacity Evaluation Lymphedema Care Hand Therapy Aquatic Therapy Pelvic Floor Therapy Women’s Health Occupational Therapy Nicki Eisfelder, MS, OTR/L, CHT Mary Ann Meismer, OTR/L, CHT Deb Guthoff, COTA/L

Physical Therapy Rick Bauersfeld, PT Abby Holt, MS, PT, CLT Lee Noonan, PT Courtney Yamada, PT, MS Sheila Blunier, PTA

Jim Modglin, PTA Donna Noonan, PTA Anna Roten, PTA Diane Swanson, PTA Sarah Follmer, PT, DPT

Where is Your Pain?

For more information, or for an appointment, call

309-663-6461

McLean County Orthopedics (MCO) is well known in Illinois. Founded in 1976 by Dr. Jerald Bratberg, a graduate of Harvard Medical School, MCO has always attracted the finest health care professionals, including its nine physicians, 11 therapists, and over 60 employees. MCO also started and spun-off The Center for Outpatient Medicine (TCOM), which is the largest

freestanding surgery center in central Illinois and the only one certified for overnight stay.

Located across route 9 (Empire) from the old Bloomington airport, MCO treats all types of orthopedic conditions and offers a comprehensive range of services.

Most patients can call for an appointment, although there are some insurances (i.e. Health Alliance, OSF) that first require referral from a primary care physician.

2502 E. Empire • Bloomington • 61704 www.mcleancountyorthopedics.com

Page 50 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Bloomington ­— May 2011

Say Goodbye to Depression Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) for Depression

NO Seizures

FDA Approved

NO Hospitalization

NO Weight Gain

NO Anesthesia

State of the Art

NO Medications

NO Sexual Side Effects

Cutting Edge Technology NO Memory Loss

Anjum Bashir, MD Psychiatry 205 N. Williamsburg Dr. Suite E, Bloomington, IL

309-531-0050

CENTRAL ILLINOIS’ PREMIER PHYSIATRIST PRACTICE Won Heum Jhee, M.D. WHO ARE WE? Bloomington Rehabilitation Associates treat medical conditions that can cause pain or limit function.

Also called physical medicine and a rehabilitation physician, a physiatrist provides a full spectrum of care from diagnosis to treatment and rehabilitation to restore maximum health and quality of life.

WHAT DO WE TREAT? • Sports injury • Workplace injury • Stroke rehabilitation • Spinal cord injury • Chronic Pain • Brain injury • Arthritis • Cerebral Palsy • Multiple sclerosis • Carpal tunnel syndrome

1015 S. Mercer Ave. Bloomington, IL 61701

877.566.3879 309.662.7500 w w w . c i n h s.com