How stress can end up depressing your sex hormones (updated 2/12/15)

One of the unwanted side effects of chronic stress, including constant athletic over-training and competition, is impotence, loss of sex drive and few sperm, most of which are not good swimmers.  I'm not an expert on the matter but I will do my best to explain the basics of what is going on and what to do about it.

http://www.garymoller.com/single-post/2017/01/02/How-stress-including-excessive-exercise-can-end-up-depressing-your-hormones-including-your-sex-drive

About this website 

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation. Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Interview with Dr James Wilson about Adrenal Fatigue

I'd appreciate it if my clients would take a short break and watch this interview with Dr Wilson.  He's a walking, talking encyclopaedia about the human glands and eveything related to them.

Dr Wilson' interview explains so much about what affects most people nowadays, including young children.



Women take careful note of what he says about menopause.

About this website 

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation. Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Why Adrenal Treatment During Menopause?

Dr James Wilson is the World's foremost authority on adrenal fatigue. So far, I have done four training courses with him and am about to do my 5th next week.  

Menopause is a health issue that I am asked about almost daily.  Some women enter menopause very early; some sail through it barely noticing anything, other than their periods becoming irregular and then stopping completely; while others go through Hell.  

Why is there such a marked contrast between often apparently healthy women?  Well the answer may be fully, or in part, due to adrenal fatigue.  

Adrenal fatigue affects around 80% of all men and women

Adrenal fatigue is highly treatable.

In the article that follows, Dr Wilson explains the why strong and healthy adrenals are essential for sailing through menopause.

Why Adrenal Treatment During Menopause?

The adrenal glands play the most important role in helping the body transition into menopause, and maintain quality of life after menopause. During and after the menopause transition the adrenal glands are recruited to increase their contributions of hormones to make up for decreased contribution by the ovaries. Addressing the underlying cause will relieve the additional stress on the adrenal glands, and allow it to assist the body during and after the menopause transition.

Adrenal hormones are important to healthy menstruation, and stress is known to affect the menstrual cycle. The adrenal glands are the only source of testosterone in women, and after menopause are the only source of the female hormones, estrogen and progesterone. These and other adrenal hormones play a major role in menstruation, sexual function, physical and psychological well-being, and the ageing process, among other things. When these hormones are low, a number of unpleasant physical and psychological symptoms can occur. It has been observed clinically that those women who experience adrenal fatigue also experience PMS and are the ones who tend to have difficulty during peri-menopause and menopause.

When women enter peri-menopause and menopause, the ovaries slow their production of estrogen and progesterone, and the adrenal glands have to pick up the slack for menopause to proceed smoothly. If the adrenals are already fatigued, it may be more difficult to meet this extra demand for hormone production. In fact, the adrenals may become even more depleted as a result, creating a vicious cycle. Pronounced morning fatigue may be a tip-off that low adrenal function is a factor in PMS or menopausal discomfort.

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About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Advice for an exercising peri-menopausal ex-smoker who is gaining weight

Gary

I have become pre-menopausal in the last year and in May 19 last 2010 I quit smoking.  I have been exercising more (did my first tri and did not come last ) walk to and from work plus do yoga and core work most days. I have also been watching my food intake a I was aware of the potential to put on weight when giving up smoking and going in to menopause.

My question is why am I gaining weight??

 ____________________________________

Gary:
While the hormonal changes associated with menopause may be a contributor to your weight gain, I feel the main cause may be due to the adrenals and thyroid being on a "low".

I understand that you are in a stressful occupation.  Your occupation, plus other life stressors hammer the small adrenal glands that simply are not designed to handle the constant stress of modern life.  It is inevitable that these hard-working glands will eventually tire and begin to fail.

The adrenals produce over 90 different steroidal hormones.  The main one is cortisol.  Others include estrogen, progesterone and testosterone.

As an aside: With menopause, the ovaries steadily reduce production of the female hormones, estrogen and progesterone.  Interestingly, the adrenals, when in good health, step up their production of these hormones, thus reducing the severity of menopausal symptoms.  If the adrenals are in poor health, menopausal symptoms tend to be much worse, to the point of unbearable.

What has all this to do with weight gain?  Its indirect.

The adrenals secrete a hormone called cortisol.  Cortisol potentiates thyroxine, so a drop in cortisol production means the thyroid has to work harder than ever to do its job of keeping metabolism on an even keel.

Another action of low adrenal function is copper retention due to the adrenals having less of a stimulatory effect on the liver.  Copper reduces thyroid function.  Please read this article for more about copper and thyroid function.  And this article is relevant.

Low thyroid = Weight gain, especially about the hips and waist

Tobacco contains a stimulant called nicotine.  The stimulation from nicotine may offset any depressing of metabolism from reducing adrenal and thyroid activity.  When a person gives up smoking, the low adrenal and thyroid activity may be revealed in the form of persistent weight gain no matter what.

Going on a low fat, low calorie diet will make matters worse because the calorie deprivation is sending signals to store food and not burn it.

A diet that is low in fat is, by default, deficient in the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.  These vitamins, along with cholesterol, are necessary for hormone production.  Hormones, such as estrogen, progesterone, cortisol and thyroxine.

Sounds like a recipe for excessive menopausal symptoms and weight gain!

The solution is to undertake an adrenal fatigue and thyroid recovery programme.  You will need to correspond directly with me about this because it is by prescription only.

_______________________________________

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News and Information about Menopause

Menopause is a topic that I have more and more women wrting to me about. The standard nutritional supplement advice is to regularly take Kordel's Menolife and Kordel's Evening Primrose Oil, to eat a simple, nutritious wholefoods diet and to exercise daily. This is much better advice that trying to artifically manipulate one's hormones as was attempted with hormone replacement therapy (HRT). While these supplements and supporting advice have stood the test of time, the undertanding of menopause and how to lessen the often unpleasant symptoms, such as hot flushes and fatigue continues to grow by the day.

The newsfeeders on this page are intended to keep you informed of developments as they happen, so that you gain a much deeper understanding of the issues, including new therapies.

Managing the Hot Flushes of Menopause

Hot flushes are experienced by more than 70% of menopausal women, and are one of the most common symptoms of this natural process. These occur for some time throughout menopause, lasting anywhere from 1-2 years, and even longer, up to 10 years.

What causes a hot flush?
A portion of the human brain, called the hypothalamus, contain oestrogen receptors, which help to monitor the level of oestrogen produced within the body. This particular brain centre also helps to govern a number of functions including controlling body temperature and sleep.

It is believed that during menopause, the hypothalamus detects declining oestrogen levels, which starts a cascade of hormonal events in the body. Low oestrogen levels stimulate the hypothalamus to send a message to the pituitary gland, which subsequently releases hormones to act on the ovaries. Due to the lack of eggs, the ovaries are unable to increase production of oestrogen, which signals the hypothalamus once more.


This cyclical feedback mechanism also activates the nervous system, triggering dilation of the peripheral blood vessels, especially in the face, neck, and chest. This leads to heat and redness to the skin (flushed), and is often followed by profuse perspiration.

lifestyle tips to keep a hot flush ‘cool’!
1. Manage stress - Stress is often a trigger for hot flushes
2. Wear layered clothing — Practical for managing the fluctuations in body temperature
3. Keep a small spritzer bottle handy — Helps to keep your skin moist

Meno-Life, is a special two capsule herbal formula that includes Black Cohosh, Dong Quai, Red Clover and Soy isoflavones that have been found to help manage menopause symptoms over a full 24 hours. A Daytime capsule provides support for hot flushes, mood swings and energy levels while a special Night-time capsule can help with night sweats, anxiety and relax and prepare the body for sleep.

Exercise and Menopause

Exercise may assist with reducing menopausal symptoms for the following reasons:

• Exercise may help to stabilise and reduce hormonal fluctuations, through a variety of mechanisms, including managing weight (Refer next bullet point).
• Exercise assists with weight loss and the ongoing maintenance of relatively low body weight. A lean body may produce less of the female hormones, thus reducing the severity of menopausal symptoms
• Exercise increases endurance and stamina and even increases pain thresholds
• Exercise is mentally and physically uplifting, especially if done outdoors in fresh air, natural surroundings and bright sunshine

Exercise can be divided into four highly beneficial forms:

• Aerobic such as walking, running, rowing, paddling, cycling and swimming.
• Strengthening such as lifting weights or using your own body to do exercises like chin-ups and press-ups.
• Stretching and meditative such as Tai Chi, Yoga and various stretching and toning regimes
• Socialisation and stimulating games such as tennis, soccer and dancing.

Any exercise programme should include a mix of all four during any one week. It is not advisable to be reliant on one form of exercise only which may lead to boredom, dependency and injury - so please mix it up!

Get outside and exercise as much as possible. This is most important for your physical and emotional well-being if you spend most of your working days indoors in airconditioned and artifically lit buildings.

Minerals and Menopause

Reduced oestrogen levels can result in substantial loss of Calcium and other minerals from the bones, leading to numerous health problems, ranging including:

• heart palpitations
• blood pressure fluctuations
• adrenal and thyroid dysfunction
• muscle pain
• joint pain
• ragged nerves
• the onset of osteoporosis

Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a condition in which the bones become increasingly brittle. This can result in spontaneous fractures, especially of the hip, with crippling results.

Figures from the USA indicate that 80% of the 250,000 hip fractures reported each year, are due to osteoporosis and result in a 20% mortality rate of those affected. This is highly preventable when you follow the exercise and diet recommendations in these articles.

Calcium
Calcium absorption varies from person to person, according to genetics, but illness or disease can decrease the amount you retain. On average, only 20-40 percent of calcium you eat is absorbed and this decreases with age. Other factors that inhibit absorption of calcium include: lack of exercise, medicines, drugs, smoking, caffeine and stress. Lack of nutrients also reduces absorption of calcium, especially the vitamins C,D and K, as well as the minerals magnesium and phosphorus. So as you can see, drinking a glass of milk or popping a calcium tablet isn't enough to prevent bone loss. This is why a healthy balanced diet is so important for menopausal women.

Sources
Excellent sources include raw grass fed full cream milk products, canned sardines and salmon, cabbage and broccoli.

Magnesium
Helps to combat menopause-associated conditions like: osteoporosis, muscle and joint pain, heart palpitations, cramps, fatigue, type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, anxiety and depression. Tip: Add Epsom Salts (magnesium sulphate) to your bath, relax and soak!

Sources
Eggs, shell fish, liver, figs, lemons, grapefruit, corn, almonds, nuts, soybeans, seeds, dark green vegetables, apples.

Selenium
Helps to combat fibrocystic disease of the breast and breast cancer. Powerful anti oxidant.

Sources
Liver, shell fish, brazil nuts, wheat germ, tuna, tomatoes, broccoli.

Manganese
Helps to combat atherosclerosis, "hardening of the arteries", in later life.

Sources
Liver, shell fish, nuts, fruit, vegetables, wholegrain cereals.

Phosphorus
Helps in prevention of osteoporosis.

Sources
Meat, fish, eggs, milk, grains, nuts, seeds and beans.

Zinc
Helps to combat osteoporosis in later life.

Sources
Meat, shell fish, liver, wheat germ, pumpkin seeds, eggs.

The beef Bone Broth

The beef bone broth is the most effective way to get your daily minerals and more!

Omega 3 Oils and Menopause

Maintaining a proper balance of dietary fats may ward off much of the symptoms, including bone loss associated with menopause and post-menopausal life. Researchers have found that diets with a low ratio of omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3 fatty acids minimised the bone loss typically brought on by estrogen deficiency, which is common in post menopausal females. Omega-6 fatty acids are typically found in foods such as grains and beef, while omega-3 fatty acids are found in foods such as walnuts and salmon.

While both types of fats are essential for human health, diets with a high ratio of omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3 fatty acids are often associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. A low ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, however, is believed to promote cardiovascular health, improve memory and, as the current study shows, protect bone health.

Most menopausal women do not get an adequate supply of essential fatty acids. These fatty acids help by producing compounds similar to hormones that help maintain membrane function, cut down on swelling and inflammation, constrict blood vessels, control pain, support the body’s natural immune response, prevent blood clots, and so on.

Omega 3 fatty acids are highly beneficial for skin, hair and nails, both ingested and as a skin moisturiser applied directly to the skin twice daily.

While the traditional oil for menopause is Evening Primrose Oil, it is best to mix and match your sources including fish oil, flax seed oil, evening primrose oil, olive oil and so on. These oils are available for delivery worldwide from http://www.myotec.co.nz

Which flax oil is best for you?

Recommended Additional Tests for Assessing Menopause

In addition to any blood tests ordered by your physician, I recommend that you request a blood test of your vitamin D levels and then compare with recommendations for "Optimum" levels. Please bear in mind that "Optimum" does not necessarily equate with "Normal" ranges.




I also recommend that you order a hair tissue mineral analysis. While it is quite expensive, this test will establish accurately what your vitamin and mineral needs are for optimum health. In so doing, you will eliminate most of the guesswork and potentially save the cost of taking a whole lot of unnecessary supplements.

What is Menopause?

What is Menopause?
Menopause is the end of menstruation. The word comes from the Greek mens, meaning monthly, and pausis, meaning cessation. Menopause is part of a woman's natural aging process when her ovaries produce lower levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone and when she is no longer able to become pregnant.

Unlike a woman’s first menstruation, which starts on a single day, the changes leading up to menopause happen over several years. The average age for menopause is 52. But menopause commonly happens anytime between the ages of 42 and 56. A woman can say she has begun her menopause when she has not had a period for a full year.

What is ‘perimenopause’?
Perimenopause refers to the several years before menopause when a woman may begin experiencing the first signs of her menopausal transition. But many people use the term ‘menopause’ for both the perimenopausal years as well as the few years following menopause.

What are the signs of menopause?
Menopause is a natural process that happens to every woman as she grows older, and is not a medical problem, disease or illness. Still, some women may have a hard time because of the changes in hormone levels during menopause. There are many possible signs of menopause and each woman feels them differently. Most women have no or few menopausal symptoms while some women have many moderate or severe symptoms.

The clearest signs of the start of menopause are irregular periods (when periods come closer together or further apart), and when blood flow becomes lighter or heavier. Other signs may include some of the following:

• Weight gain
• Hot flashes
• Insomnia; night sweats
• Vaginal dryness
• Joint pain
• Fatigue
• Short-term memory problems
• Bowel upset
• Dry eyes
• Itchy skin
• Mood swings
• Urinary tract infections

Most of the time, these symptoms will lessen or go away after a woman has finished menopause.

Do all women experience menopause in the same way?
Menopause experiences are different among individual women, and also among women in different cultures and in different parts of the world. Research has shown that women’s experience of menopause can be related to many things, including genetics, diet, lifestyle and social and cultural attitudes toward older women. For example:

• Japanese women report fewer hot flashes and other symptoms
• Thai women record a high incidence of headaches
• Scottish women record fewer severe symptoms
• Greek women report a high rate of hot flashes
• Mayan women report no symptoms

Some people think the modern emphasis on youth and lack of respect for older people contributes to a more difficult menopausal transition. The typical modern diet, high in saturated fats and sugars, along with our in-active lifestyle and low childbirth rate, may also contribute to the physical complaints common to many Western women at menopause.

What is "induced" menopause?"Induced", "sudden" or "surgical" menopause happens when a woman goes through an immediate and premature menopause. This occurs when her ovaries no longer produce the hormones estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. This may be caused by:

• Surgery to remove your ovaries
• Chemotherapy
• Radiation treatment
• Ovarian malfunction

Women going through induced menopause may have more severe menopausal symptoms, and are usually treated with hormone therapy.

How should I prepare for menopause?
Menopause is one of women’s many important natural life-stages. For some, it is a challenging period of difficult physical and emotional changes. For others, it is a time of personal growth and renewal. And for many women, it is both at the same time. They don't call it "Menopausal Zest" for nothing!

Preparation and management with natural therapies centers about diet, lifestyle and exercise. These are discussed in the articles that follow.

Kordel's Menolife for the natural management of unpleasant menopausal symptoms

Kordel's Menolife is specially designed to provide for the different day and night time menopausal symptoms that women experience.
The two capsules include those herbs which have a proven history of benefit in the management of menopausal symptoms including hot flushes, night sweats, mood swings and insomnia.
For more infromation and to purchase, go here.

Dreaded droopy dick syndrome

"Dear gary,
IT is interesting to see the plethora of ads and products being promoted for the treatment of the dreaded droopy dick syndrome in the middle aged men,apart from the Viagra type products there are many natrual products such as "Horny goat weed" or "Macca"
Although I am not suffering any problems in this department yet , I very much want to look after my best mate and keep him in good working order for the coming challenges .
I was wondering if you have any experience with this problem ,and could recommend any of the natrual suppliments, or methods to prevent this from becoming a problem.

John Holmes"
__________________________
Gary Moller Comments:
John, I am pleased to know that you are without the above-mentioned matters.
There are several key factors at work that may combine to bring about declining libido in both men and women. While I am not, for one moment a medical expert on these matters, I feel I do have a reasonable grasp of some of the contibuting physiology underlying this gradual decline in sexual performance as age has its way:

• Stress, fatigue, sleep deprivation and depression
• Hum-drum relationships
• Mineral depletion; especially magnesium
• Vitamin D deficiency
• Loss of physical condition and muscle tone
• Gradual loss of circulation mostly affecting the periphery of the body
• Side effects of prescription medicines
• Hormonal changes associated with ageing

Referring directly to your question about Viagra, Horny Goat Weed and so on, these may or may not be of any use and, if they do have an effect, these should only be regarded as temporary fixes or "jump starters", since they may not deal with the underlying issues, such as stress and fatigue.

I am going to try to tackle each of the eight factors listed above over the next few weeks.

John, Thankyou for raising this important and topical subject.

The Myth of Osteoporosis - Book Review

It is the NZ Osteoporosis Foundation’s claim that 56% of all women over the age of 60 will have an osteoporotic fracture in their lifetime. If that is the case then where are all these people and fractures? They are very dodgy stats, grossly inflated, and based on things like small changes in vertebral shape, the inclusion of all fractures including accidents in the age groups. Amazingly, there has never been an assessment of fracture rates in NZ – these stats are based on an epidemiological study done in Dubbo NSW. People are being frightened into questionable bone mineral denisty tests and, ultimately, onto preventive medications that are of questionable effectiveness and safety.

New Zealand author and health researcher, Gillian Sanson, is now a recognised international expert on osteoporosis. Gillian began her journey of discovery when routine bone density tests revealed a disturbing rate of low bone mineral density in her family, yet no there was no unusual occurence of fractures in her family. How could this be?

Her book, "The Myth of Osteoporosis", is written for the lay person. She asks and offers answers to many pertinent questions such as: "Where are all those post-meonpausal women with osteoporotic fractures?" "Are we being conned?" I wonder. And,"Are bone mineral density tests accurate; or are they causing anxiety where there is little or no cause for concern?" "Do osteoporosis drugs do more harm than good?" "Why; despite our huge consumption of dairy foods, is osteoporosis such an issue?"

I believe that the drugging of millions of women worldwide with biphosphenate drugs may become one of the worst medical scandals in history and this book confirms that something may be amiss. Gillian Sanson is onto something. Why terrorise and drug millions of women when the jury is still out about the safety and effectiveness of these drugs? Besides: There are already more effective and safe interventions like exercise, sunlight and nutrition.

This book is compelling reading and I recommend it as compulsory reading for all women who are the primary target of what is a money making machine of immense proportions, persuasion and of doubtful benefit.

For more information about osteoporosis and related health issues and to order the book go here.

Fossy Jaw - jawbone death, bone decay, or jaw rot

"As potent inhibitors of osteoclast activity, the nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates might retard skeletal repair processes associated with trauma to or infection of the oral mucosa that involves the underlying bone. Since the jawbones are in constant use and are characterized by active remodeling, bisphosphonates might accumulate there preferentially, resulting in concentrations that exceed those found elsewhere in the skeleton. "
______________________________________
Gary Moller comments:
Losing your jaw is not pleasant. More to the point: horrific!

While this is the most commonly reported side-effect of these anti-osteoporosis drugs, I think this is only one of many possible adverse side effects that are coming to the fore. This class of drugs may be causing damage to arterial walls and kidney leading to early onset of cardiovascular disease of various forms and even dementia. Rather than preventing fractures, the longterm result may be more fractures and poor healing because the poor victim is left with old bone that does not heal.

These drugs have an estimated 1/2 life of 10 years, so if a user stopped today it could be as long as 20 years before the drug is completely eliminated.

Its not worth the risk taking these things. If you are diagnosed by a bone scan or blood test as having osteoporosis or close to it here is my advice:

• Challenge the accuracy of the test because these tests are more often unreliable than reliable.
• If you are small, the odds are the bone density test will have you with a low bone mineral density which is probably dead wrong.
• If you have been unwell or in hospital for any reason and your blood calcium levels are high (A reason for putting you on these drugs) and you are given a biphosphenate don't take it.
• Blood calcium goes through the roof if you are deprived of sunlight and unable to exercise - its a normal thing.
• Read Gillian Sanson's book about the Myth of Osteoporosis first.

Instead of taking these awful drugs that also cost a fortune:

• Insist on getting your vitamin D levels tested. If below 120 then:
• Get some sunlight on your back and tummy and thighs 3 times a week for about 10 minutes. Failing that, find a sunbed and get a few minutes that way (No burning and no excessive tanning please).
• Repeat the vitamin D test about 3 months later to see how you are going.
• Take a multi mineral like Calcium Complete daily and take cod liver oil.
• Cut right down on dairy and refined grains and eat your veges, especially ones like brocolli and cabbage.
• Walk briskly daily, do housework, dig the garden and lift light weights above your head.

Calcium and Vitamin D Deficiency linked to PMS

A study conducted by the University of Massachusetts in Amherst that stated women with a higher intake of calcium and vitamin D are at a lower risk for the anxiety, depression, headaches and abdominal cramps associated with premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
The report said up to 20 percent of women experience symptoms severe enough to meet the definition of premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, including anxiety, depression, headaches and abdominal cramps. The study looked at the diets and supplement use of 1,057 women aged 27 to 44 years who reported developing PMS over the course of 10 years. The same data was compared to that taken from another group of 1,968 women who reported having no symptoms of PMS or only minimal symptoms.
____________________
Gary Moller Comments: The list of ailments that has vitamin D deficiency implicated as a leading factor grows by the day. If you are a woman who suffers unduly from PMS, go see your Dr and ask to have your vitamin D levels tested. If the reult that comes back is less than 50, you definitely have something to work on. If your Dr wants you to take a vitamin D pill, consider the natural alternative first. The way Nature intened is to go and sunbathe a few minutes each side 3-4 times a week.

Sunbathing is a safe way to boost your D levels because your body has natural mechanisms for limiting over-production from sunlight. These mechanisms do not work with medication. Take care not to sunburn and get your D levels retested at regular intervals so that you know how effective your measures are.

Chronic Pain Syndromes

"Dear Gary,
I was sorry I missed hearing you speak... I have had polymyalgia for 2 years and am on Prednisone 11mg daily, but it is barely keeping it under control and I will probably have to increase it. Can you please send some information that might help?"
"M"
__________________________
Gary Moller comments:
I have been dealing with chronic pain syndromes for the last 30 years. These conditions present in various forms including polymyalgia, RSD, RSI and fibromyalgia.

These are characterised by disabling painful and inflamed muscles, tendons and joints that do not readily resolve despite medications, remedial exercise or rest. An episode of ill health or an injury might have been the precurser for the condition that may continues on with a life of its own.

These aliments are more common in women than men. There would appear to be an association in some cases with menopause. There are no known cures as such - just mangement and it runs its course, be that months or even years. I have been taking a renewed interest in these conditions, partly because I have had so many inquiries about them lately.

It is still early days; but I am highly suspiscious of two factors at play which, if properly dealt with, may asssist a healthy resolution.

Vitamin D deficiencyVitamin D has a growing list of health benefits, and "D" deficiency is associated with muscle and joint pain as well as immune system dysfunction. The people commonly afflicted by fibromyalgia and similar conditions tend to be office workers, women in their 50's and others who may have gone for long periods of deprivation of sunlight. An episode of illness, including hospitalisation sees to that.

Recent investigations of clients with "myalgic" conditions have returned positive blood test results for serious vitamin D deficiency. All that must be seen now is what happens over a year or so with deliberate boosting of vitamin D levels.

Mineral and vitamin DeficienciesMuscles and circulation do not function properly if minerals, especially magnesium and calcium are deficient. From work with athletes, I am aware of how common this health problem is and how easily a person can become deficient. Poor circulation, fluctuating blood pressure, aching muscles and joints eventuate. This may be accentuated by deficiencies in vitamins, the B Group in particular. It is too early to tell, but supplemetning with vitamins and minerals along with boositing vitamin D levels may be of benefit as would adding omega 3 oils like Evening primrose, flax seed or fish oil to the diet.


Menopause
If the sufferer is a woman 50 years old or so, strategies to alleviate menopausal symptoms is an obvious action.

What about exercise?
Exercise, other than gentle and preferably done in a pool is of little benefit if the body's anabolic processes are faulty. Attention to diet, vitamin D levels and some supplementation will eventually have the body in a position to build its strength and vitality in response to exercise.

With all good things, these natural approaches require time and patience - several months or more for any lasting benefits to show. These "healthy measures" are complementary to medical treatment and which one should continue and be subject to ongoing review.

Prednisone and other medicines
Should you keep taking Predisone or any other prescribed medicines for chronic pain syndromes? The answer is "Yes!" if you already are. Some medicines like Prednisone, especially if you have been taking a lot of it for more than a few months, should never be stopped suddenly. If you are wanting to reduce your medication, get started by getting on a regime of vitamin and mineral supplementation, get your vitamin D levels measured via your doctor, take measures to boost your "D" if needed and give these time to take effect - then talk to your doctor about the possibility of a gradual cessation.

Discuss with your doctor before starting.