Healthy Living 2011

Inside:

Advertising Supplement to the Sun Journal, Friday, January 14, 2011

Holistic health practices: Gentle alternatives for health & well-being Doctors for adults: Internal medicine What to do about a burn What is a nurse practitioner?

Dealing with diabetes-- a daily battle

5 tips for buying exercise equipment

By Charles Oransky

As we head into the new year, many individuals will start a new exercise program. Sometimes there is not enough time to get to the gym and you sacrifice your fitness program to get other things done. Exercising at home is one option that may help you keep your fitness goals.

Home workouts allow you flexibility with your schedule, convenience and, most importantly, consistency. If you are working out at home, it is essential to have comfortable, durable, quality fitness equipment.

There are many products and brands to choose from when purchasing exercise equipment. These five tips will help you select gym equipment for your home.

1. Make sure the product is right for you. If you like to walk, get a treadmill. Bikers should get a stationary or recumbent bike. Those who are not sure about their favorite fitness activity, or who are committed to setting up their first fitness program, might want to try an elliptical machine. Make sure you get some help from an experienced salesperson in finding what equipment will work for you. The bottom line is that you should not get something that you will hate to use.

2. Make sure the product is comfortable for you. Does it feel right? Is it smooth, stable and quiet? Are the handle or side bars in the right position? Is it easy to use? Some weight

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machines are not user-friendly at all. These are things you can only find out by trying the product at a store.

3. You might want a machine that offers multiple programming and feedback. Programs can assist you in reaching your goals and also provide benchmarks along the way. The feedback information is very helpful in demonstrating progress over a period of time and is a good motivator.

4. Any fitness equipment you buy should be well-made and backed by a good warranty. Hopefully, the equipment you buy will get a lot of use and you will want to make sure that the product is up to the task. Warranties are critical if you have a problem that might call for replacement parts. A fiveyear parts warranty is very good. Some products offer even more benefits.

5. Make sure the equipment seller can offer you local service. If you have a good fitness routine going, the last thing you want is a broken down machine. Look for a dealer who can offer you prompt repair.

Remember your exercise equipment is your tool to get in shape and be healthy, so take the time to set up a home gym that induces you to work out. Happy New Year!

For more information, visit the Workout Fitness Store, 200 Gorham Rd., South Portland or online at Workoutfitness.com.

There are many products and brands to choose from when purchasing exercise equipment. Remember these five tips and consult a fitness expert before making your fitness equipment purchases.

Feature Stories & Advertising, Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine, Friday, January 14, 2011

Get to know your nurse practitioner

By Jackie Rybeck Feature Writer / Photographer

A

nurse practitioner is a re g is te re d nu r s e who has completed e x te nsi ve e du c ati o n in th e management and diagnosis of common medical conditions, including chronic illnesses. With this advanced education, nurse practitioners can provide a broad range of health care services to patients of all ages. Meet Dianne Paine: a nurse practitioner at Family Health Care Associates, a part of the Central Maine Medical Center family.

Paine said that nurse practitioners work in many different aspects of health care, some working with specific offices such as pediatrics, cardiac or dermatology; others alongside primary physicians. “At Family Health Care Associates, we see patients of all ages,” said Paine.

“Our schedules are filled with visits with newborns to the elderly. We provide well-child checks; yearly physicals; well-woman care; supportive counseling; acute visits, from a child’s ear pain to an adult with chest pain; and medication prescription and management. We also care for chronic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension and some, including myself, are also trained in minor procedures such as skin biopsies and IUD insertion.”

According to Paine, her goal is to help patients maintain the maximum stage of health possible.

“I have the opportunity to spend a lot of time educating and counseling patients on preventive care and healthy life choices.”

Another important aspect of the nurse practitioner is to maintain a close, working relationship with the physicians they work

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According to Paine, nurse practitioners have evolved into an essential role in healthcare and there are an increasing number of patients who entrust these individuals with much of their routine healthcare. with. “We work in a very collegial setting here,” explained Paine.

“The physicians we work with are always available to consult with on one of our patients, who may have a complicated health history or unusual problem. And, of course, we have multiple specialists who are available to us by phone for questions or to refer patients to as part of the CMMC family.”

Paine noted, “When I started at Family Health, there was only one other nurse practitioner. Patients just weren’t familiar with our capability.

They would ask to see an MD. Now there are four of us in the office, and it is unusual for me to meet a patient who has never had an office visit with a nurse practitioner.”

EYE TO EYE — Dianne Paine and Tucker Nelson “check” each other out.

Paine enjoys her job and, literally, getting to know her patients well.

“One of the joys of family practice is getting to care for multiple, family members,” she smiled.

“There are various challenges every day... from dealing with difficult diagnoses to changes in healthcare. These challenges are offset by the interactions with patients and knowing you have made a difference for many. With the support from colleagues and co-workers and the relationships with patients, I can’t imagine a more rewarding career choice for me.”

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Feature Stories & Advertising, Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine, Friday, January 14, 2011

Numbers of Nurse Practitioners According to the “National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses 2008: Initial Findings” (Health Resources Services Administration, 2010), in 2008, there were an estimated 158,348 nurse practitioners with credentials as NPs in the United States, an estimated increase from 141,209 in 2004.

— Courtesy of Health Resources Services Administration

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HEALTHY LIVING

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Battling burns: Facts and myths

By Duke Harrington Feature Writer / Photographer

Twice in 2010, Maine boys suffered severe burns af ter throwing gasoline on a campfire, one in Jefferson, the other in Madison.

Both were airlifted to the Boston Shriner’s Hospital and, in the latter case, the boy died of his injuries. “ Simply s t anding b ack and throwing a cup of gasoline on a fire will cause a great fireball,” said Auburn Deputy Fire Chief Geoff Low. “It can follow that trail of gas right back up to you.”

It goes without saying that

gasoline is an explosive substance – just weeks ago a Pittston man was injured when gas in a fuel filter he was changing sprayed onto a nearby hanging light. But, burns don’t require fire to be serious, or even deadly.

“We often get curious children who grab at something on the stove and pull a hot pan of soup or macaroni down on themselves,” said Jeff Chase, an emergency room nurse at Central Maine Medical Center.

According to the American Burn Association, a 140-degree liquid can cause a serious burn in less than five seconds. In 2003, the

ABA reported, 83,300 children entered ERs with burns (21,000 for scalding), at a healthcare cost of $44 million. More than 65 percent of the cases, and 90 percent of the costs, were incurred by children aged 4 and under.

Most of what he sees, said Chase, involve sunburns. “Unfortunately, there’s just not a lot we can do for that,” he said, “other than hydrate, and treat for pain, because, in a lot of cases, the patients are just miserable.”

Chase and Low agreed that the best thing for a first-degree burn – the kind that’s limited to redness and swelling – is to cool the skin under gently running water. “If you don’t cool it, it’s going to continue to burn,” said Low. “It will radiate

Auburn Deputy Fire Chief Geoff Low

and cook the tissue, as awful as that sounds.

“The one thing I would say is don’t put any ointments on it,” he added.

“There are still a lot of old wives’ tales out there about butter, or oils, and that kind of thing – don’t do any of that stuff. It can actually encapsulate the site, so it doesn’t allow any heat release and will actually help it to burn more.

Also, anytime you apply moisture other than cooling water, you actually make a medium that helps infection to get through.”

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The risk of infection is why people should do no more than cover second-degree burn – the kind in which blisters appear within minutes of the injury – or leave it open, if no sterile pad is available.

“We don’t want to break the blister if we don’t have to,” said Low, “because once you do that, you open up a port for infection.”

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bodies covered by second- and thirddegree burns. The latter is defined as when the skin is charred and pain free because nerve endings have been burned away. The American Health Institute, which provided that statistic, reported that people can survive today even after being burned over 90 percent of their skin area. The biggest problem, it pointed out, is inhalation of hot gases, an issue, Low said, firefighters are sure to cover during their annual fire prevention pilgrimages to area schools.

“The biggest thing about ‘stop, drop and roll’ is remembering to cover the face,” he said. “That’s the pathway to life.”

“Because fire prevention does such a good job, we don’t see the burns we used to see years ago,” said LifeFlight paramedic Lori Metayer. When serious burns do occur, she said, even when they are not immediately life-threatening,

Infection is why, as recently as the mid-’70s, burn victims often died with as little as 20 percent of their

Burns

page 5 ‰

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Feature Stories & Advertising, Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine, Friday, January 14, 2011

Keeping New Year’s resolutions

By Sam Erickson

It happens to a lot of people. Every year, the winter holidays pass and the New Year comes. It’s then that resolutions are made and, inevitably, broken shortly after.

Whether your resolution is to drop those few extra holiday pounds, stop smoking or start spending more time and energy on others, actually putting those resolutions into action, particularly in the aftermath of the holiday frenzy and the cold months of January and Februar y, can be much tougher. If you’re looking to hold true to your resolutions, here are some simple rules to help you put your plan into action.

The best way to make sure you keep your resolutions is to be realistic and have a good plan.

You can’t expec t to hold a resolution you make at 11:59 on New Year’s Eve through the rest of the year. If you are serious about your resolution, set a reasonable goal. You probably won’t be able to go from no exercise to an hour a day. It’s much more reasonable you will be able to incorporate 20 minutes every day. Instead of quitting smoking, set a realistic goal of reducing how much you smoke. It ’s also a good idea to set a time limit on your resolution, say three months.

If, after the end of that three months, you’ve accomplished your goals, there’s no reason not to make another resolution.

Make a plan for how you will accomplish your goals. If you want to save more money in the coming year, take a good, hard look at your finances and decide where that money is going to come from. Going to give up that Friday latte? Start eating at home more? This definition of your plan will benefit your implementation later on. Because old habits die hard, you may be tempted to skip that new class or indulge yourself with that latte. Use part of your plan to figure out how you’ll resist that temptation.

Humans are social creatures, so talking to others about your plan can be a great asset. They can keep you on track and check on your progress. Better yet, find a group of people that will all head to the gym at the same time and serve as a kind of mutual support network. That way, you can hold each other accountable. Often resolutions are about denying ourselves something we like, but there’s no reason not to celebrate your success from time to time.

Planning these moments to mark significant benchmarks, like losing 10 pounds, can keep you focused on the grander goals.

Changing your life takes time. It takes at least three weeks to grow accustomed to new activities, and it will take much longer, as long as six months, for that activity to really be integrated.

There will probably be times when you fail, but the important element is to get back up, recommit yourself to your goals and start again. The best way to have success is to ensure your success. If you are consistently meeting reasonable goals, you will be more likely to continue.

CMMC emergency room staff nurse Jeff Chase

Lifeflight RN/paramedic Lori Metayer

Burns

from page 4 it’s rarely the local ER where treatment occurs. A patient with second-degree burns over 30 percent of his or her body often will prompt a call for permission to fly direct to a specialized burn center in Portland or Boston.

“Hospitals are a plethora of diseases,” explained Metayer, who has flown patients with burns so severe electrodes had to be stapled to the chest, because there was no skin left on which to stick them. Burned flesh, she said, is something nobody wants to smell twice. “These are the people you really need to keep away from any kind of germ. That’s why they go to the burn centers, which exist in a kind of a bubble.”

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It’s still worth going to the ER, Chase said, even for a first-degree burn, if it covers a major joint, if it wraps all the way around a limb, or if the victim is very young or old.

For more serious burns, the key is to call 9-1-1 right away, said, Metayer, so EMTs can arrive early enough to ensure an open airway, in case of swelling.

“The big thing to remember is that, if you have questions, or even if you’re not sure, go ahead and call us,” said Low. “We’d rather come out and say, we think you can see your doctor, than to not have us and have somebody suffer needlessly, or to have an issue we could have prevented and have long-term complications from it.”

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Feature Stories & Advertising, Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine, Friday, January 14, 2011

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Dealing with diabetes a daily battle

By Duke Harrington Feature Writer / Photographer

‰ the lifestyle effect

W

hen you go blind, you miss seeing little things you once took for granted, but even more painful, said Diane Bellavance, are the little wonders you miss seeing at all.

“There were eight babies born in my family this year,” she said, choking back emotion in her New Auburn home. “I’ve never seen their faces. I’ll never know what they look like.”

Bellavance, 58, has struggled with diabetes from age 24, when diagnosed while pregnant with her first child. Today, she takes 32 pills each day and must inject herself with three types of insulin. Sadly, all those medications have proven unequal to the ravages of this insidious disease.

Bellavance has suffered a host of complications, from memory loss, to kidney troubles, to a stroke. She has lost all feeling in her legs and fingertips. About six years ago, her vision began to fade. Today, she is totally blind in her left eye, the vision in her right reduced to ghostly shadows.

“It’s been hard, “ she said, “especially knowing that, even though I took my medications, I ate what I wanted. I should have followed my diet from the beginning, but I was fighting against myself. I was like a yo-yo with my weight, up and down, up and down. I had a deep depression at one point 13 years ago. I had a hard time accepting it.”

Geana Ferrell, a registered nurse in the Central Maine Medical Center emergency room, explained the difference between the two versions of diabetes — Type I, also know as juvenile-onset diabetes, and Type II, which is becoming endemic, affecting nearly 8 percent of the U.S. population, according to the American Diabetes Association.

“You have glucose and insulin cells and there are ‘keys’ that help unlock them, to let them connect,” she said. “In a

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MIGHTY MOM — Geana Ferrell, a registered nurse working in the Central Maine Medical Center emergency room, knows better than most how to deal with diabetes. Her twin teenage sons have struggled with the Type I version of the disease since age four.

normal person, our cells communicate very well.”

When a person consumes carbohydrates (starches and sugars), the body breaks them down into simpler forms, such as monosaccharide glucose, our principle energy source from food. This triggers the pancreas to create beta cells, which fill the blood stream with insulin, a hormone used by two-thirds of the body’s cells to absorb glucose and power their internal engines.

“In the Type II diabetic,” said Ferrell, “the body makes plenty of insulin, but there are ‘blockers’ like fat and cholesterol that won’t let the cells communicate. That’s why, when you exercise and follow your diet, you can minimize your need for insulin and oral medications, because the cells become less confused.

“With Type I, it’s almost like a cancer,” said Ferrell. “It’s an auto-immune disorder. It has nothing to do with diet and exercise. It has everything to do with the fact that the body recognizes it as a foreign substance, so the cells start to destroy themselves until the pancreas stops making insulin altogether.”

Ferrell understands the difference in diabetes types better than most. Her twin, teenage sons have battled the Type I form from age four, when one first exhibited some of the classic warning signs — frequent urination (known as polyuria), increased thirst (polydipsia), and constant hunger (polyphagia).

“What happens is that, because the glucose is not getting absorbed, your body almost tricks itself into thinking it’s starving,” said Ferrell, who knew something was up when her son began to guzzle tumbler after tumbler of water.

“You literally go into starvation mode.”

CONSTANT COUNTING — Diane Bellavance, of New Auburn, looks on while her husband, Jerry, calculates the calories and carbs she’ll consume for the day, using spreadsheet formulas he wrote for his smartphone. Because of diabetes, the couple spends “hours” each day on menu planning.

•W hether insulin is absent or incommunicado, the failure to metabolize glucose is chronic, leading to a host of maladies, as fine nerve endings get clogged with unused sugars.

• The ADA says diabetes was the 7th leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2006, by which time it was the leading cause of kidney disease and blindness in adults aged 20 to 74. Diabetics also have risk factors for heart disease and stroke four times that of healthy adults, while accounting for 60 percent of all non-traumatic lower-limb amputations. In 2007, the ADA pegged the annual medical cost of all forms of diabetes in the U.S. at $218 billion.

Feature Stories & Advertising, Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine, Friday, January 14, 2011

• Close to home, the Maine Center for Disease Control estimates that 77,219 Mainers (7.5 percent) had diabetes in 2005, double the number from a decade earlier and contributing to 9.5 percent of all state deaths that year. MaineCare has calculated that 15 percent of its FY2003 payouts (almost $243 million) were channeled toward diabetics.

Bellavance said at one point her husband, Jerry, worked three jobs to cover the annual $25,000 cost of her medications. Ferrell said she spends $400 per month in co-payments on diabetic supplies for her sons, having recently been forced to forego the insulin pumps they once used as too costly, at “$2,400 every few months.”

“This is forever,” said Ferrell, “You never get a break.

That’s huge.”

Still, the cost of diabetes can be nothing compared to the required changes in lifestyle.

“I’m 58 and, look, I’m doing it now,” she said, “but it’s a little late. I’m blind and I have all these other problems. You have to control it right from the beginning. You have to control your weight and your diet.

“It’s a hard adjustment,” said Ferrell. Her sons, she added, had difficulty understanding why they had to continue the regimen even when they began to feel better. “This isn’t like cough medicine,” she told them, “you have to do this every day for the rest of your life.

Bellavance agreed. She’s lost 40 pounds in the last year, and spends hours each day calculating her calorie and carbohydrate intake with Jerry, using Excel formulas he created.

“Don’t wait,” said Bellavance. “Go to your doctor, go to your dietician, see a counselor. Write down your questions and be sure to ask them all, but don’t wait.

That’s key, don’t wait.”

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Holistic practices provide gentle alternatives for your health and well-being

By Deborah Conway Feature Writer / Photographer

The practice of holistic health is “an approach that has the freedom to work with the whole person.” Kimberley Jacques is a licensed massage therapist who recognized her call to be a part of the healing process as a child.

Stephen Kottler, HMC, who began studying homeopathy in the late 1980s, agreed. “When you treat the whole person, the whole person improves.”

Although the holistic health practitioners in Central Maine often work closely with allopaths, physicians practicing western medical techniques, their philosophy, focus and methods of

Eric Anderson, licensed acupuncturist, says that the goal of acupuncture, briefly, is to nudge the Qi back into balance. Qi, also spelled Chi, is essentially the vital energy, and flow thereof, that exists in every living thing.

Kimberely Jacques, licensed massage therapist, uses a Swedish massage technique that encourages the tissues to slide and lengthen, resulting in a lack of constriction.

treatment are vastly different.

“rebooting a computer.”

Louise Devlin, a licensed massage therapist trained by Jacques at the Spa Tech Institute in Westbrook, stated, “If the pain keeps coming back, if recurrence comes sooner than it should, or if we are not seeing a client progress, we often refer them to a medical doctor.”

According to Jacques, “One of the general differences [between the two approaches] is that holistic practices are not limited by the diagnosis.”

Swedish massage, offered by Jacques, “is the long fluid strokes that help support the systems” of the body. This technique encourages the tissues to slide and lengthen, resulting in a lack of constriction which is both “good for the immune system” and results in “increased circulation so oxygen is flowing” to all points in a body.

Polarity therapy “is a hands on modality [that acknowledges] patterns within the body that have a tendency to hold tension.”

Polarity therapy identifies points where bone, muscle and nerve connect and uses those points to “connect the different parts in that tension pattern” resulting in relief.

Jacques likened this process to

Deep tissue massage work s with specific muscles, giving the opportunity for unhealthy neuromuscular habits and patterns to be “reprogrammed.”

According to Devlin, whose techniques also include stonework and s tretching, therap eutic massage techniques are beneficial for those suffering from many conditions including fibromyalgia, chronic ne ck and shoulder pain, back and hip pain, sleep issues, multiple sclerosis and musculoskeletal problems, as well as scar tissue massage and palliative care for patients with conditions such as cancer. Jacques

added sports injuries and postural issues to that list, and noted that these techniques are also beneficial with respect to athletic training and pregnancy.

Kottler described homeopathy as “a holistic, individualized and complete system of natural medicine.” Using one of the more than 4,000 homeopathic “remedies” distilled methodically from plants, minerals, animals and chemicals, Kottler is able to treat patients who suf fer f r o m h e a d a c h e s , i ns o m n i a , infertility, anxiety, depression and hormonal changes. He also treats “conditions for which no effective treatment is available” such as viral illnesses, wounds, emphysema, multiple sclerosis, or for which prolonged or indefinite pharmacological management would otherwise be necessary, including bacterial infections, allergies and other chronic diseases. Kottler’s remedies have helped patients to avoid elective surgeries and provided palliative treatment for patients with incurable or terminal conditions.

Developed in the 18th century

by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, homeopathic medicine was widely used by American pioneers to treat both acute and chronic conditions and “is a safe, gentle and effective means of helping a person to heal

Holistic

page 9 ‰

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Feature Stories & Advertising, Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine, Friday, January 14, 2011

Holistic from page 8

and to achieve physical and emotional health and wellbeing.” Kottler described it as an “energy medicine” that requires patience, commitment and active participation by the patient.

Ann LoPresti, Devlin’s sister and partner at Re-Awakenings Holistic Health Ser vices in Lewiston, is a p r ac ticin g p har ma cis t w h o is also nationally cer tif ie d in Chinese herbal medicine. Using 3,000-year-old herbal preparation techniques, combined with her exper tise in Western pharmacology, LoPresti’s focus is primarily on “internal medicine,” and she has had great success with clients who suffer from digestive, menstrual and menopausal issues, as well as depression, anxiety and other conditions.

able to move the energy and bring balance, “like a tune up.”

“More often than not,” he explained, “you see a gentle, gradual recovery.”

Acupunc ture and acupressure (which does not use needles) can provide relief from digestive issues, depression, insomnia, addiction, skin conditions, physical pain, and many other conditions, and is another avenue through which a patient might avoid surgery and the side effects of medication.

A l t h o u g h a ll h o lis ti c h e a l th modalities require the ac tive participation of the individual seek ing its benef its, yoga is perhaps the most “active” of these.

According to Alice Ruvane, a certified yoga instructor with Chill Yoga in Lewiston, “The health benefits of yoga are so widely accepted that in

2008, the Department of Health and Human Services recognized yoga as an important mind-body wellness and prevention tool.”

Ruvane added, “Yoga is for every body” regardless of size, shape, age, fitness level, ability or disability. “All of the organs and body systems benefit from yoga postures and breathing practices.”

Whether working independently or together with medical providers who sp ecialize in Western m e d i c a l te c h n i q u e s , h o l is t i c health practitioners can provide individuals seeking good health, emotional well-being, and freedom from pain or other conditions with the support and relief that will help them to heal and the tools to help them maintain balance and wellness in body, mind and spirit.

Stephen Kottler, HMC, says that when you treat the whole person, the whole person improves.

LoPresti and Eric Anderson, whose practice is located in Poland Spring at the Summit Spring Holistic Health Center, are licensed acupuncturists.

According to LoPresti, the basis of acupuncture is “moving energy, releasing blocks and strengthening systems.” Although the classic texts regarding the practice of acupuncture were written in 200 -300 B.C., according to Anderson, the practice is always changing and developing.

Like other holistic health practitioners, Anderson begins treatm e nt w ith a dia gn os tic interview. His interview covers life history as well as symptoms and, guided by the three foundations of acupunc ture, enables him to diagnose the fundamental imbalance. The goal of acupuncture, briefly, is to “nudge the Qi back into balance.” Qi, also spelled “Chi,” is essentially the “vital energy,” and flow thereof, that exists in every living thing. The concept is extremely complex yet quite simple: when the Qi is out of balance the individual experiences less than optimal health. By contrast, when the Qi is in balance, this energy is able to “support the body and nature’s ability to heal.”

Using tiny needles, about the size of a human hair, and sometimes Moxa, a combustible dried herb that warms the acupuncture point, Anderson is

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Feature Stories & Advertising, Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine, Friday, January 14, 2011

HEALTHY LIVING

9

You need it: O sleep, O gentle sleep

By Rich Livingston Feature Writer

are also likelier to be involved in auto accidents, or to develop more severe and debilitating diseases.

There’s nothing like a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately, for many of us there frequently is nothing like a good night’s sleep. Enforced sleep deprivation techniques are a common form of torture, yet some estimates place the incidence of sleep disorders among the general population as high as 30 to 40%.

The National Center on Sleep Disorder Research was established by law inside the National Institutes of Health in 1993 to study what had become recognized as a growing public health problem. Busyness, stress, an aging population, increasing levels of obesity, lack of proper exercise or diet, and even electronic distractions mean that people, on average, now sleep an hour-and-a-half less than they did a century ago, according to the journal of the organization Sleepdex and corroborated by the government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There’s an economic impact from inadequate sleep since those who suffer are less productive. They

The NCSDR and CDC suggest there can be as many as 80 different types of sleep disorders and, while the prevalence of medical and societal impacts have been more widely recognized in recent years, most people who have significant disorders have not been properly diagnosed, according to Dr. Thad Shattuck, a psychiatrist and specialist in sleep medicine af filiated with the St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center’s Center for Sleep Disorders, in Auburn.

Sleep medicine as a specific discipline is a relatively new field.

“Medical science used to believe that ‘insomnia doesn’t kill,’ but now we know that it really may impact mortality. Many sleep disorders are bi-directional, and could be either the cause or effect of other illnesses,” Shattuck explained.

From occasional insomnia to the more immediately severe d is o r d e r o f sl e e p ap n e a – breathing interruptions caused by obs truc tion, which may

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causes of sleep disorders an d to d e si g n ap p ro p r iate corrective therapies. Shattuck asserted that the increasingly widespread advertising and use of sleep inducing medications is like “a Band-Aid for those with chronic sleep issues. They may be convenient, but they are not without risks of their own, especially when used more than occasionally,” he said. Even occasional insomnia can form into patterns that frustrate patients’ abilit y to get enough good,

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“The incidence of ADHD among children has been growing in recent years,” Shattuck said, but there is mounting evidence that sleep deprivation could be among the causes of that phenomenon, too. “Many kids simply have too many distractions, or too many electronic devices nearby when it’s time to sleep,” he explained, and we often aren’t aware of the amount of light or low frequency sounds such devices omit. Have you ever been awakened from a deep sleep during a power outage? If so, you know that the sudden cessation of ambient sounds and light can be as disruptive as the sudden onset of the same kinds of distractions.

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appear as snoring, and which could constitute a potentially lifethreatening condition in its own right (but which, Shattuck said has been adequately diagnosed in only 20 to 30% of those afflicted) – sleep deprivation can be a function of jet lag or shift work which can interfere with the body’s natural circadian rhythms. “Sleep problems here in Maine can be exacerbated by the seasonal affective disorder associated with limited daylight at the time of the solstice,” according to Shattuck.

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quality sleep. For many, proper treatment requires some degree of “behavioral modifications or cognitive restructuring,” Shattuck said, to achieve sustainable longterm improvements and better health and well-being.

Yet, many people experiment with self-diagnosis or something other than medical intervention in an effort to simply get a decent night’s rest. F.X. Marcotte furniture reported that the sale of highend Tempur-Pedic bedding has gone from nothing to a full third of the bedding units sold in its Lewiston store in just three years.

The use of over-the - counter “sleep aids” has proliferated, as has the dissemination of advice about such things as warm milk, melatonin (thought to be a naturopathic sleep inducement), even specialized pillows. But everyone associated with the “s l e e p i n d u s t r y,” i n c l u d i n g medical doctors with all sorts of specializations, pharmacists, mattress and pillow purveyors, even bloggers all agree that n ot g e t tin g e n o u gh sl e e p; inappropriate sleeping; even, perhaps, getting too much sleep, are all serious circumstances that could be linked to even more threatening underlying conditions.

So, the best and most universal advice is: Trouble sleeping? See your doctor. And do it soon.

Feature Stories & Advertising, Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine, Friday, January 14, 2011

Insight time: Questions & answers about internal medicine

By Dan Marois Feature Writer heart failure. I treat depression and anxiety and stress-related issues as well as neck and back and other joint pains, and headaches. COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) / asthma and other smoking-related illness are big on the list of things I see people for as well as upper respiratory symptoms.

Dr. Jeff Brown, MD, an internal medicine physician affiliated with St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, offers insight about his profession, discusses Is every patient and the conditions he treats condition different? and reveals his top Every patient I see is truly a new medical tips for 2011. patient and experience. While Is it fair to say that an internal medicine physician is trained to treat just about anything? How do you manage to keep current on so many conditions and treatment options?

We are trained to treat all adult problems both in an office or clinic. When patients are sick enough to be in the hospital, we treat them there as well. We are all required a certain amount of CMEs (Continuing Medical Education credits) per year. My program comes in the mail and has abstracts of recent articles and then I listen to tapes of physicians who critically review them.

Describe a typical day.

I get to the office after 7 a.m. and review some lab reports that may have come in overnight and sign notes that I’ve dictated. Then, I go to the hospital to see my in-patients. At 8:30 a.m., I see patients in the office until between 5 and 6 p.m. Between patients, I review medical issues that patients have called in and discussed with my nurses. Then, I go to the hospital again to see how my patients’ day went.

What kinds of conditions do you treat?

The most common conditions are follow - up for diab etes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia (high blood cholesterol), coronary artery disease, and congestive

the problems may be the same, people are just so different in how they respond to things physically and emotionally that it is always a challenge. It is all about really listening to a patient as they describe their story/problem. I first rule out the most serious or worrisome possibilities and then help find ways to give relief for their condition.

More and more patients are going to the Internet for medical information.

Has this hindered or helped you in your job as a physician?

I think that patients educating themselves only helps when they bring their questions to me. Just because it is in print does not mean it is accurate. Just because researchers say something is backed by a study does not mean the article is good or that is unbiased. Many studies are supported by large pharmaceuticals and may be biased.

What are the top five bits of medical advice for our readers to help them become healthier in 2011?

1. Watch your saturated fats including cheese, high fat ice cream, many chocolates and pastries/cookies. Cheat every once in awhile, but not too often. Share a dessert when eating out. Bring home leftovers if portions are large.

2. Get regular aerobic exercise

Feature Stories & Advertising, Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine, Friday, January 14, 2011

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3. Find time to do things you enjoy. Find time to spend with those you love.

4. I f something is different in your health, give your doctor a call to see if it needs to be evaluated further.

5. Take your prescribed medicine.

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And what about the personal side of Jeff Brown, MD, internal medicine physician?

My wife is a nurse who has worked part-time at my practice. I was married in 1990. I have 2 stepchildren, ages 30 and 26, and I have two grandchildren. I have one daughter who is now 18 and looking at colleges. I love to read novels, exercise a few days a week, listen to music, snow shoe in the woods, and spend time with family which includes my seven-year-old, five-pound, toy poodle, Rosie.

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I came here in 1994. Before this, I worked eight years at Buffalo General as an assistant professor teaching residents and medical students in clinics along with my own practice.

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Find quality instructors: The instructors guiding your workouts should have the proper training and experience to give you an advantage to succeed in reaching and even exceeding your own personal health,

wellness and feel-good goals. Find a fitness studio with an atmosphere and environment that is high energy and family oriented. For more information about SPQR Fitness Studio, please call 754-9411.

You don’t have to follow trends such as banning carbohydrates, eating grapefruits for ever y meal or drinking protein shakes.

Healthy everyday living is about making small steps that progress into strides toward meeting or exceeding your personal goals.

Set personal goals: Your own personal health and wellness goals may be about losing weight, fitting into those skinny jeans, maintaining weight or just feeling good about yourself. You need a clear mind when setting fitness goals, otherwise your body may be taken over by venomous, almost life-threatening, negativity that results in bad food choices, laziness and overall ‘blues’ emotions.

If you keep your body at absolute peak fitness, you will start to feel confident and happiness will seep through your pores. This is what makes us healthy.

Set wellness goals: This begins with ‘WE.’ Let someone into your life – a family member, a friend – to keep you on the straight and narrow path, even when times are tough. Struggles, just like with everyday life, are going to make an appearance as you work toward your goals.

Whether your struggle is in the shape of a plateau, or if it is deeper, such as disappointment, your motivator will be there, to remind you that you are doing a great job with a pat on the back or a shove to get back to class.

Set workout goals: Make the most of your workout. Group fitness classes are the perfect motivator – an instructor, leading and pushing you to push yourself. Fit in one hour of total body enlightenment, a ‘group’ effort that reminds you that you are not alone in your battle for health and wellness.

12 HEALTHY LIVING

Feature Stories & Advertising, Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine, Friday, January 14, 2011