Its that time again. The spring seminar is around the corner on April 12th 2012 at Turf valley Golf Resort on Turf valley Rd in Ellicott City. Please join us, we will be discussing Hormone Replacement, ED and Testosterone, Dementia, the HCG diet and what's new in the world of Anti-Aging. You can register and get more information at this link: http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=48uvrujab&oeidk=a07e5vhklnfb63f21a3 Or register right here on my website. We have guest speakers and exhibitors Hope to see you there! Healthily Yours Dr Tuakli

Heart Disease in Women

Remedies for the common cold

I had forgotten how miserable a cold can feel until I recently caught one from my husband. Surprisingly I rarely catch things from my patients because I am on guard but within the family it is hard not to "share the love". They say if you dont treat a cold it will last 7 days and if you treat it , it will last a week! That's true however, there is a protocol that can cut it in half, that's what I do. I really dont have the luxury of being sick for a week.
So today I am going to share with you my strategy for curing the common cold.
1.GENERAL STUFF:
Stay warm, which means bundling up until you look ridiculous.
Inhale steam for 5 to 15 minutes with you mouth open. What I find the most effective is to boil water in a big pot and sit with a towel over my head, not very attractive and it can seem to take up more time than you feel like spending but well worth the effort. There are more chic ways to do it with a fancy facial humidifier but this is what I find the most effective. Just putting a humidifier in the room doesnt do it. Steam does a variety of things: Opens up and kills viruses in your airway, makes you bring up phlegm, decrusts your nose (way more effectively than picking :) and helps you breathe better and its free!
Only drink warm liquids like tea. Even if you want to drink water dont drink anything colder than room temperature.
Avoid dairy
Lysol and Hand Sanitizer at home to avoid spreading it to loved ones
2. VITAMINS AND SUPPLEMENTS
I immediately start mega doses of vitamin C and increase my D. My patients are all familiar with our 'Viral Mix' which I give for anyone with a viral infection. I take one pack of Viral Mix plus Total Well Being. Sometimes I will add Aconitum. I only use Oscillo if I think I am dealing with the flu (body aches etc). The Wellness Complex may be helpful although I believe in using it throughout the winter for maximum health. Add Echinacea twice a day until better.
Sounds like a lot of pills, and it is, but its worth it to feel better, sooner.
3. SYMPTOMATIC RELIEF
If you dont have high blood pressure take a sudafed the first morning. This can stop your nose from running like a faucet while you are getting over your cold. The downsides of Sudafed are: It increases your blood pressure and can make your heart race. It can also make you stay awake, so dont take it late in the day. Paradoxically there are people who say it makes them drowsy but then there are people who can drink expresso before going to bed and still sleep.
Another down side is that apparently some young people have figured out ways to abuse it.
"Nyquil-like" products are not a favorite of mine, there is too much stuff mixed up in it plus it has a high alcohol content which can leave you with a hangover or headache. Try Benedryl if you really need to sleep when you have a cold.
Ibuprofen or Tylenol will help for the aches and pains.
4. PHASE 2
If you follow the above regimen you should be better in 2 days, if your symptoms are getting worse instead of better after 2 days see your doctor. What may be worse? Increasing headache, persistent temperature, discharge is becoming more colored, deepening cough.

Our Annual Spring Seminar is (almost) here again!

Whenever I go to Anti-Aging meetings and listen to the presentations and review all the exhibits I can't wait to share all the new information with my patients. This is why I hold seminars twice a year.
Science is always evolving, even a tried and true remedy may have improvements or new uses and when I do the seminar I can bring up-to-date information to people, its nothing short of exciting!
Even though I am bursting to share immediately, I think it is good that I have a little time to try out products and research more information on things I am interested in, so I have first hand experience.

In addition to dynamite information, I find good products and order them so people can try them at a discount. As my husband will attest I try EVERYTHING myself first! Some products are duds and some like my Anti-Aging serum (SAST) are brilliant, I was able to discuss creating that with a holistic biochemist 10 years ago at the Anti-Aging conference and I still swear by it!
Among other things I found some anti-wrinkle gel that is incredibly affordable and works. It is listed as Nature's Alternative to Botox and it will only be $15 at the seminar (usually $45 though some websites have it listed as high as $100!!!). And then there's the portable infrared sauna, I am loving it daily. It makes me sleep like a baby. (That's me in the sauna!).
I have had several people offer to do a testimonial regarding their Hormone Treatment and HCG weight loss programs, so there will be people who have been there and done it, that you can talk to and as usual... Zumba and Nia

All that to say, "it's Time!", the seminar will be on May 12th 2012 at Turf Valley from 9.00 to 3.00
Hope to see you there.

Stage 4 Breast Cancer in a 28 year old

My second patient of this New Year was a young lady of 28 with breast cancer that has already spread to her lymph nodes. A lump was found by her husband who advised her to get it checked out, for someone so young with a 3 year old son, she seemed incredibly calm. Waiting until the end of the Holidays she and her husband showed up first thing on Monday morning. I thought back to my last blog of 2010 and thought even with the mammogram schedule I follow, she would have been dead long before she 'qualified' for a mammogram. This case shows that self breast exam is still critical, yet the preventive Task Force advises against teaching our patients to do them. I cannot fathom the basis for that recommendation.
When young people get cancer it is somehow even more scary.
At the Anti-Aging conference I went to in December there was a talk given by the surgeon who has done the most robotic surgeries on the prostate in the world. He told us of his frustration with the new recommendations not to do Prostate cancer screening through the blood with the PSA test. He said the youngest case of Prostate cancer he had ever seen was in a 31 year old male whose Primary Care Physician had accidentally checked off a PSA test on his routine lab work. His Insurance company said they would not pay for the test because he shouldn't have had it at his age. "Even though it showed I have Prostate cancer he asked?"
What is the world coming to? Are people getting cancers earlier or are we just picking them up sooner? Not sure but PLEASE pay attention to your health and if anything doesn't feel right, get it checked out, no matter what narrow minded people( even Doctors) may say. Did I mention I'm running for 'Most Popular Doctor this year??

Best Wishes,
Be Well and Be Safe

Dr. Tuakli

Happy New Year! "New" resolutions ........again

So another year is here and probably another series of resolutions. I think I have gone into defensive mode because I actually don't consciously make New Year's resolutions anymore. We tell ourselves why make them we will just break them anyway and then feel worse!
At the same time, let's think about the 'pros' of making resolutions. Would it not be a wonderful thing if politicians and other big wigs could join us the 'small fry' in reviewing what mistakes we made the year before and vow to rectify them? But then again, maybe politicians are a bad example, they rarely admit that they have made a mistake unless they are caught (literally) with their pants down and then they are more focused on damage control. Sorry, I digress.
New Year's resolutions do have their place however, even if they are soon to be broken. The traditional one is the Diet and then of course to Quit smoking. As many people as I have seen make these resolutions and there have been hundreds, there are always some, no matter how few, who actually stick with them. For these people making a resolution was life altering. Sometimes starting down the path of your resolution with baby steps ends up in major gains in your health and general outlook on life.
Be positive! At least you meant well! Sometimes being positive can be the difference between life and death, literally.
When I start my patients on the HCG diet (Yes, I am an ardent believer in the results) , I ask them to make a 3 point Affirmation (resolution if you will) they say it in the morning before they start their day. The 3 points are: Firstly: today is Day X.... why? because it reminds you of how much you have already achieved and that you are on the path to finishing. 6 weeks after all is not a life sentence. Secondly: enumerate the reasons why YOU want to lose weight (I want to fit into the gown I wore 2 years ago, versus, my co-workers keep bugging me to lose weight) and Third and finally "I am worth it!" The reason I have my patients do this is because if you start the day positive you can put a spring in your step, and actually achieve your goal instead of thinking " Oh Dear! Do I really have to follow that diet again today! As you can imagine, if you start the day on the negative you are less likely to succeed.
There are many examples I can give you such as cutting down red meat and cholesterol, to smile more, take more time off and de-stress etc but the point is, for whatever period of time you follow the new resolution (join the gym!) at least you can say you made the resolution, its better than shunning the idea altogether.
So verbalize some good changes you would like to make a one of these days it will actually happen. As a physician I am hoping there will be some health centered resolutions in there too.
Happy New Year, let's not be afraid to make resolutions! Cheers to your Health and Longevity
Sincerely,
Dr Tuakli

Mammograms and Breast Cancer prevention

The nice thing about blogging is that I can have an opinion and express it as such. This may be in direct contrast to the official 'recommendations' of the medical establishment.
A case in point are the new mammogram recommendations. Last year someone who was writing an article for 'Good Housekeeping' called me and asked how the new recommendations would change my practice. I told her honestly, they wouldn't.
My response must have been either uninteresting or not politically correct as it wasnt published!

Now that Breast Health awareness month is back (October) I get asked this question again quite a bit.
As far as I'm concerned the new recommendations dont make sense and I believe if my patients see the facts they will agree.
Some of the most egregious recommendations include: discouraging women from doing their own self breast exam and not starting mammograms until the age of 50. Do these jokers know how many of my patients would have been dead by now if I followed these recommendations?

While glancing through a recent edition of Family Practice News I noticed a reference to a study done in Michigan, with more than 5000 women, which agrees with me. The study was reported at the symposium of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. It found that many breast cancer patients would have more advanced disease and face harsher treatment if the recently updated screening guidelines of the US Preventive Services Task Force were widely adopted.
In women under 50, 48.3% of breast cancers were detected by mammography, 46% by palpation.
The speaker concluded that " you are better off if you can have your cancer detected by mammography .....you will have more options and likely need less aggressive treatment......we would support the societies that continue to recommend annual screening mammography starting at age 40"

Do not misunderstand me, mammograms are not perfect and there is some radiation exposure but if you have breast cancer they definitely beat the alternative! I think if you are under 50 you can work it where you can get more thermograms and less mammograms but you still need to get that baseline mammogram to know where you stand. They dont hurt anymore and can be life saving.
Breast cancer treatment has come a long way but we still have a long way to go to eradicate the disease.

Prevention is ALWAYS better than cure.

Stay Well

Dr Tuakli