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Low potassium diet
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Diuretics are medicines that help reduce the amount of water in the body.Diuretics are used to treat the buildup of excess fluid in the body that occurs with some medical conditions such as congestive heart failure, liver disease, and kidney disea...
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Diuretics help your blood pressure go down by helping your body to get rid of extra water and salt by producing more urine.
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The purpose of a diuretic, or "water pill” is to help your body get rid of excess water and salt. Diuretics can help you feel better and have more energy. They may also help lower blood pressure.
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I had to take hydrochlorothiazide and Lasix together. After an electrolyte imbalance, my doctors told me never to take these medications again. I recently had my aortic valve replaced, and am retaining water. Are there any diuretics I can safely take?
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Some medications taken by people with heart disease to counteract water buildup in the body can remove too much potassium from the body, while others can leave too much behind.
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Diuretics are medicines that help reduce the amount of water in the body.Diuretics are used to treat the buildup of excess fluid in the body that occurs with some medical conditions such as congestive heart failure, liver disease, and kidney disea...
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A machine that extracts excess water and salt from blood may be a safer and more effective treatment option for those with excess fluid in their lungs due to heart failure.
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New research on diuretics shows they remain one of the best treatments for high blood pressure.
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Among the many types of blood pressure medications available, some have a tendency to increase blood sugar levels, but this does not necessarily lead to a higher risk of diabetes.
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I was recently diagnosed with high blood pressure. I was hoping that my doctor would prescribe a diuretic, but she said it would not be safe because I'm allergic to sulfa drugs. What do you think?
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Kidney disease is any disease or disorder that affects the function of the kidneys. This may include:.
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This guide discusses ways to recognize, prevent, and treat the most common types of kidney disease, such as kidney stones, glomerulonephritis, and chronic kidney disease.
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Detailed information on kidney disorders There are many disorders of the kidney that require clinical care by a physician or other healthcare professional. Listed in the directory below are some of the conditions, for which we have provided a brief overview.
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Detailed information on kidney conditions, including kidney function, nephrology, kidney problem causes, kidney disease symptoms, and 1 labeled, full-color anatomical illustration
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Too often, diabetes leads to kidney disease. But it doesn't have to. When kidney problems are caught early, you can take steps to prevent more serious kidney disease.
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Kidney disease is a stealth illness. It may often be silent for many years -- until it has reached an advanced stage.
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"I thought my life was perfect," Sean Elliott says, "and then one day I went to see my doctor and he told me I had a rare form of kidney disease. Suddenly, I realized that I'd have to fight a battle to save my athletic career -- maybe even my life."
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The kidneys may fail due to problems with their blood vessels or filtering units. Such problems may be caused by an illness that affects the whole body. Diabetes and high blood pressure are common examples. Filtering problems may also be caused by illnesses that harm the kidneys directly (glomerulonephritis and polycystic disease). In some cases, problems in the urinary tract may also cause kidney failure.
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Detailed information on urology, the branch of medicine concerned with the urinary tract in both genders, and with the genital tract or reproductive system in the male
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Your kidneys are located near the back of your torso, about even with the lowest ribs. One is on either side of the spine. Their main job is to clean the blood of waste products created when your body burns fuel. But they also perform other tasks. For example, they help regulate the amount of fluid in your body. If you were to drink five quarts of fluid one day and just a pint the next, your kidneys keep your body's water levels in balance despite the vast differences in intake.
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Three common signs of kidney disease are also strong risk factors for cardiovascular disease, according to a new study.
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Is there a correlation between kidney disease and loss of memory or ability to concentrate?
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A set of related cancers that form in the bone marrow and other blood-producing organs.Leukemia is named after the leukocytes, white blood cells which mutate before maturity and become cancerous. These cells reproduce rapidly, suppressing producti...
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Detailed information on leukemia, including causes, stages, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
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Leukemia is a cancer that starts in the organs that make blood, namely the bone marrow and the lymph system. Depending on specific characteristics, leukemia can be divided into two broad types: acute and chronic.
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Leukemia is a group of bone marrow diseases involving an uncontrolled increase in white blood cells(leukocytes).For information about a specific type of leukemia, see the following:.Acute lymphocytic leukemia(ALL) Acute myelogenous leukemia(AML) C...
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Cancer occurs when cells in the body begin changing in ways that aren't normal. Cancer that starts in blood cells is called leukemia.
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Leukemia is different from other types of cancer. Most cancers begin as a tumor and spread to other parts of the body. How large the tumor is and how far the cancer spreads determines the stage of the cancer. But leukemia doesn't begin as a tumor. It is in your blood, which means it is already moving throughout your body.
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There is no sure way to prevent leukemia. In fact, most people with leukemia have no known risk factors. People can, however, make certain lifestyle choices that might lower their risk of developing leukemia.
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Detailed overview of leukemia, including types, causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
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The cells that were removed for your biopsy are looked at more closely during special tests. These tests help tell what kind of leukemia you have. The type you have affects your choices for treatment.
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Normal white blood cells help the body fight infections. Because leukemia cells are abnormal, they do not function as normal cells do. People with leukemia often find out about their disease because they may have fevers and infections.
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Certain factors can make one person more likely to get leukemia than another person. These are called risk factors. Although such risk factors do exist, a person who has one or more risk factors will not necessarily get leukemia. In fact, a person can have all the risk factors and still not get leukemia, or he or she can have no known risk factors and still get the disease.
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You have just been told, "You have leukemia.” With these 3 words, you may feel that your world has stopped. It's scary to hear. However, knowledge is powerful. It can help make a difference in how you handle your experience with leukemia.
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You will likely have physical concerns since your leukemia may cause symptoms and you may have side effects from your treatment. In this section, you'll learn more about how to respond to some of the most common ones. You will not likely have all of these side effects or symptoms. They are listed alphabetically to help you find information when you need it.
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If your doctor thinks you might have leukemia, you will have a special kind of biopsy. For it, your doctor needs a small sample of bone marrow and bone. The doctor takes these from the inside of your pelvic bone. The procedure is called a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy. In some cases, the doctor takes an aspiration from the breastbone instead. A pathologist looks at the sample under a microscope. It may take a few days for the results to come back. Then your doctor knows if you have leukemia.
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This treatment uses strong X-rays to kill leukemia cells. For leukemia, this treatment is most often used after a hematopoietic stem cell transplant. It may also be used to help control pain. In the rare cases that leukemia causes a tumor, radiation may be used to shrink it. A radiation oncologist sets your treatment plan. The plan details what kind of radiation you'll have and how long the treatment will last. This doctor can also tell you how you may feel during and after the treatment.
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No standard screening process exists for detecting early stage leukemia. Doctors often detect chronic leukemia during routine blood count checks or screening tests, such as those conducted when a person seeks employment, joins the military, is pregnant, or is about to undergo an operation.
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Targeted therapy is a new type of treatment for some types of leukemia. It's designed to "see” a certain change in a cancer cell. This is a change that makes the cancer grow, divide, repair, or "talk” with other cells. These new drugs attack only cancer cells. They destroy or slow the growth of cancer cells. But they avoid normal, healthy cells. That means this treatment tends to cause fewer and less severe side effects than other kinds of treatment. These 3 main types of targeted therapy can treat leukemia.
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Detailed information on leukemia in childhood, including symptoms, staging, diagnosis, and treatment
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Leukemia can be treated. Your treatment depends on all these things. The type of leukemia you have
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Detailed information on leukemia in childhood, including symptoms, staging, diagnosis, and treatment
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To find out whether you have leukemia, your doctor does a physical examination and other tests. Sometimes a doctor finds leukemia during a routine exam. This can happen when a person doesn't know about a problem because he or she doesn't have symptoms.
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It's normal to worry about what leukemia will mean for you and your family. You may wonder, "What are my chances of being cured?” and "How long will I live?” The answers to these questions are what you may hear healthcare experts call your prognosis. This is the likely outcome, or course, of your leukemia. Your doctor considers how likely these outcomes are for you when making your prognosis.
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Listed below are some frequently asked questions about leukemia. Q: What is leukemia?
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How you get targeted therapy depends on the kind you get. You get monoclonal therapy by intravenous (IV) needle or under the skin 3 times a week. You won't need to stay in a hospital overnight. How long each treatment lasts depends upon the dose you get. It also depends on whether you have any reactions to the treatment. If you get an IV, it may take about 2 hours. If you get an injection under the skin, it may take a few minutes.
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A clinical trial is when a new treatment is tested. It tests treatments that may work better or cause fewer problems than current treatments. A clinical trial may give you a chance to get a new treatment not yet available to the public.
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Surgery can do little to treat leukemia. For chronic leukemia, though, it is helpful in some cases. Your doctor may remove your spleen if it is swollen and pressing against other organs. Your spleen is an organ near your stomach. It helps produce white blood cells and destroy red blood cells. Another reason you may have your spleen removed is to raise levels of certain blood cells. That's because a swollen spleen can start removing too many of them from your blood.
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Treating your leukemia to get the best results is important. But your quality of life also matters. Let your doctor or nurse know if you are experiencing any side effects or discomfort. Make sure to tell your doctor or nurse how these problems affect your day-to-day life. Your healthcare team is there to help you manage your symptoms as well as to treat your leukemia.
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When you are being treated for leukemia, you will likely have side effects from that treatment and also, perhaps, symptoms of the disease itself. For instance, the leukemia itself can cause symptoms such as fevers, weight loss, or bleeding. The treatments to destroy leukemia cells can harm healthy cells at the same time, and that means treatment can cause side effects.
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The hallmark of leukemia is often an increase in the number of white blood cells. It's ironic that mass production of white blood cells--your body's infection fighters--actually causes you harm. The problem is that the white blood cells made when you have leukemia may not function normally. When your body makes too many leukemic white blood cells, it doesn't make enough normal ones to fight infection. This decrease in the strength of your immune system is called immunosuppression. A weaker immune system means you are at a greater risk of getting both common infections you encounter in everyday life as well as uncommon ones.
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Once your radiation oncologist has mapped out your treatment plan, a radiation therapist treats you. There are a few ways to do that.
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If you are having targeted therapy, your healthcare team will explain its side effects and help you manage them.
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Side effects of chemotherapy depend upon the type and amount of drugs you take. They vary from person to person. Here's a list of side effects you may have with this treatment. Talk with your doctor or nurse about which might be most likely to happen to you.
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You may have heard a lot about alternative or complementary care. These are a group of practices and products that are not yet thought of as a part of standard medicine.
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You and your doctor will talk all about stem cell transplants and their side effects before you have it done. After this treatment, you will have a weakened immune system. That makes you are at greater risk for infection and other serious side effects. You must stay in the hospital for several weeks. You may also need to be in isolation after being in the hospital until your white blood cell counts start returning to normal. During this time, your stem cells are making new white blood cells. Here are some common side effects you can expect. Many of these are from chemotherapy or radiation treatments and will go away after treatment ends.
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Once you know you have leukemia, your doctor will likely do more tests. Most people need more than one.
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When many people think of cancer care, they may think of traditional treatments such as chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation. These treatments are used to get rid of cancer cells in the body. But there is another form of care that many people with cancer also receive called supportive care. Supportive care does not fight the cancer, but it can improve the overall health or quality of life for a person with cancer. It can include dealing with side effects of cancer and its treatments, such as fatigue and pain, learning about the condition and treatment, and getting nutritional and psychological support. For leukemia patients, supportive care is an important part of helping the patient get through treatment.
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Some people use statistics to try to figure out their chances of getting cancer or of being cured. Statistics show what happens with large groups of people. Because no two people are alike, statistics cannot be used to know or predict what will happen to a particular person.
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Dealing with these feelings is often easier as you learn more about your disease and get support. Doctors, nurses, and other members of your healthcare team can answer questions about your concerns. Talking with friends and relatives or getting in touch with others who have had leukemia or cancer can be helpful. Meeting with a social worker, counselor, or member of the clergy may also help. Many people with leukemia attend support groups. There they can share what they have learned about leukemia and its treatments.
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Many side effects of treatment are not serious. They end once the treatment ends. But others may develop over time or be a sign of more serious damage from treatment. For instance, chemotherapy can damage organs, such as kidneys or lungs. Also, when leukemia cells break down during treatment, they release their contents into the bloodstream. This can cause what is called tumor lysis syndrome. It can also affect certain organs. If you have a stem cell transplant, the immune system cells from a donor attack the leukemia cells. They can also attack your normal cells, causing a variety of side effects. And, in rare cases, you may develop another type of cancer as a side effect of treatment.
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Radiation affects normal cells as well as cancer cells. It may cause side effects. They depend on how much radiation you get and where you get it. Here's a list of common side effects people with leukemia may have after radiation. Ask your doctor or nurse which ones you are most likely to have.
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Hypomagnesemia means low levels of magnesium in the blood.Several conditions can cause hypomagnesemia, including:.The condition also can be caused by the use of drugs that increase urine output(diuretics).
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The binge-purge episodes are almost always kept secret, and they tend to follow a recurrent pattern with at least two episodes per week. Like anorexia nervosa, bulimia has its roots in complex social and emotional issues.
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Bulimia is an illness in which a person binges on food or has regular episodes of significant overeating and feels a loss of control. The affected person then uses various methods-- such as vomiting or laxative abuse-- to prevent weight gain.Many(...
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Detailed information on bulimia, including causes, characteristics, types, diagnosis, treatment, complications, and prevention
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Bulimia nervosa is a serious and sometimes life-threatening eating disorder affecting mainly young women. People with bulimia, known as bulimics, consume large amounts of food(binge) and then try to rid themselves of the food and calories(purge) t...
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Bulimia nervosa is a disorder in which food intake gets out of control. Having this eating disorder is nothing to be ashamed of. Talk to your doctor or another person you trust. You may find it's a relief just to tell someone.
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Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating and engaging in inappropriate ways of counteracting the bingeing(using laxatives, for example) in order to prevent weight gain. The word"bulimia" is the Latin form of the Greek wo...
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Detailed information on bulimia, including causes, characteristics, types, diagnosis, treatment, complications, and prevention
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Bulimia nervosa is a serious and sometimes life-threatening eating disorder affecting mainly young women. People with bulimia, known as bulimics, consume large amounts of food(binge) and then try to rid themselves of the food and calories(purge) b...
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Detailed information on bulimia, including causes, characteristics, types, diagnosis, treatment, complications, and prevention
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Bulimia nervosa is a serious and sometimes life-threatening eating disorder affecting mainly young women. People with bulimia, known as bulimics, consume large amounts of food(binge) and then try to rid themselves of the food and calories(purge) b...
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Detailed information on bulimia, including causes, characteristics, types, diagnosis, treatment, complications, and prevention
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Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by frequent episodes of binge eating, which are followed by purging to prevent weight gain. During these incidents, unusually large portions of food are consumed in secret, followed by compensato...
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Detailed information on bulimia, including causes, characteristics, types, diagnosis, treatment, complications, and prevention
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Diarrhea is loose, watery, and frequent stool. Diarrhea is considered chronic(long-term) when you have had loose or frequent stools for more than 4 weeks.Stools- watery; Frequent bowel movements; Loose bowel movements.Diarrhea in adults is usually...
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Detailed information on diarrhea, including causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
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Fanconi''s syndrome is a set of kidney malfunctions brought about by a variety of seemingly unrelated disorders. Kidney malfunction leads to excessive urine production and excessive thirst, resulting in deficits of water, calcium, potassium, magnes...
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Fanconi syndrome is a disorder of the kidney tubes in which certain substances normally absorbed into the bloodstream by the kidneys are released into the urine instead.Fanconi syndrome can be caused by faulty genes, or it may result later in life...
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Bartter syndrome refers to a rare group of conditions that affect the kidneys. People with Bartter syndrome have a loss of potassium(hypokalemic alkalosis) and a rise in the hormone aldosterone.
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The effect of alcohol consumption on the body depends on how often it is consumed, how much, and the alcohol content of the drinks. Frequent alcohol use may encourage alcohol dependence or alcoholism.
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Alcohol use involves drinking alcohol, which is produced by fermenting the starch or sugar in fruits and grains.Beer consumption; Wine consumption; Hard liquor consumption.People have been drinking alcoholic beverages since prehistoric times. The ...
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This report includes information on recognizing the symptoms of problem drinking, treatment techniques, coping with a loved one's drinking, and overcoming denial.
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Researchers at the Harvard Medical School have discovered that the herb kudzu can curb the urge to drink alcohol.
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Alcohol is considered a drug because it depresses the central nervous system and can disrupt mental and motor skills, as well as damage internal organs when used excessively.
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It helps to understand why and when you drink if you are going to successfully reduce the amount of alcohol you consume.
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As a woman, your body is much more sensitive to the effects of alcohol and more easily damaged than a man's body. Because women have less water in their body than men, alcohol doesn't dilute as much and more of it gets absorbed into the blood. That's why women suffer greater physical damage and often become more intoxicated than men when they drink identical amounts of alcohol.
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A Harvard Medical School physician answers your question about forsaking the potential health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption.
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Excessive drinking can cause potentially fatal conditions, not only high blood pressure, but also damage to the brain, heart or liver; diabetes and stroke.
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Is there any connection between rheumatoid arthritis and alcohol consumption? Does a prior history of waterborne hepatitis predispose a person to RA?
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Tips for avoiding the worst consequence of holiday overindulgence.Drinking fluids may help with the morning-after misery from getting drunk.
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If you drink, you most likely want to drink reasonably and responsibly. But what are the factors that can help you keep a check on your blood-alcohol content so you don't embarrass yourself or, worse, hurt yourself or others?
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Alcohol-dependent employees incur twice the health care costs of the average employee, are more likely to steal from their employers, are more likely to be involved in workplace accidents and are five times more likely to file worker's compensation claims.
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Fasting is voluntarily not eating food for varying lengths of time. Fasting is used as a medical therapy for many conditions.
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Fasting is voluntarily not eating food for varying lengths of time. Fasting is used as a medical therapy for many conditions.
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The term fasting refers to voluntarily or involuntarily going without food. A person may fast voluntarily because of an eating disorder, as a dietary practice related to religious proscriptions, or for health reasons, such as weight loss or intern...
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