##### Publishers Box #####

Medical question #2. Ovarian cysts. Part2

Polycystic ovarian syndrome is a little bit different animal actually. Here is some genetic predisposition.

Classically: an overweight young female presents with oligomenorrhea or amenorrhea, anovulation, acne, hirsutism, and or infertility.

What is what? Poly = many. Many, many, many men.
So PCOS means bunch of those bubbles in the ovaries. The follicles did not rupture on time, as they should. Oligo means a little. Meno is derived from menses. Rrhea means flow in Latin

So olygomenorrhea = flowing a little bit (less than it should).
A- is a prefix that means “No”. So, amenorrhea = no flow at all.
Hirsutism. I dont remember where it came from, but means hairy or hairiness. Actually excessive hairiness.

Causes of PCOD or PCOS (disease or syndrome) are obesity, genetic predisposition and some other causes of Luteinizing hormone (LH) excess.

There is a self-amplifying cycle:

LH stimulates theca lutein cells. Theca means sort of capsule. Doesnt really matter, just an anatomical term.
Those cells are special. They produce androstendione and testosterone. Androstendione and testosterone are actually male hormones. You know, bodybuilders use these hormones to get muscle bulk. You probably heard about those hormones. Sport doping uses testosterone.
So, athletes build their muscles and trash their liver.

Rumors say that a famous Hollywood actor used the hormones. Later he got liver transplant.
Though he always denied the use.

Anyway, female body converts androstendione into estrone (a weak estrogen). Fat cells do this. Estrone is a female hormone already.

Basically any body produces androgens (andros = man) and estrogens (female hormones). Just the proportion of those hormones makes us male or female.

The cycle happens in normal person as well.

The estrone stimulates pituitary secretion of LH.
Pituitary is a small gland in you brain. Pea Size.
Its small, but it sooooo powerful.

Pituitary has another name – hypophysis. Hypo means down, phys means growth, so this gland is growing from below the rest of the brain. Pituitary gets bunch of connections from hypothalamus.
Hypothalamus means “below thalamus”.
These two areas of brain regulate almost all the hormone production in organism.

Higher levels in brain hierarchy regulate them.

Hypophysis gets a command. Then it produces some intermediate messengers and hormones.
The hormones go into blood and control whole body.

Hormones are like orders, like messages to the rest of the body.

Brain may give quick orders: Signals go through the nerves. It is like a phone order or cablegram.

Brain also regulates organism through the hormones. This is like a mail order.
Sort of if the brain sends letters by regular mail. The hypophysis is the Post Office in this case.

PCOS kicks in when a woman is obese. There are more fat cells to convert
androstendione to estrone. Estrone has such effect that it stimulates pituitary secretion of LH.
LH in its turn goes back to those theca lutein cells we discussed and turns them on again, to produce more androstendione, which is again converted into estrone.

Self-amplifying cycle

In addition, that increased level of testosterone causes the hirsutism (she becomes hairy like a male) and acne in female.
In a normal person this cycle is probably designed to support the development of fetus.
Estrogen helps placenta to grow. Placenta supports fetal growth.

However, in a person with PCOD the cycle is going out of normal control. In this case LH causes growth of the cysts in the ovaries.

Why?

Because the corpus luteum cyst is partially made by overgrowth of those theca lutein cells. LH stimulates theca lutein cells.

Also, women with PCOS have intolerance to glucose (sugar) and resistance to insulin.
It means there is a lot of insulin (hormone that helps to utilize glucose mainly).

However excessive insulin does not work. Either receptors to insulin do not work or something else, but the glucose is not utilized. Hence, energy inside the cells drops. Hence, a big pile of other problems mounts. As if it is Diabetes Mellitus. Diabetes is a different topic of discussion. For us, it is worthwhile to mention that people with diabetes are very much prone to any infection.

PCOS causes acanthosis nigricans also. Acantocytes are special skin cells.
Nigricans means

black in Latin. That thing looks like thickened pigmented skin. When you touch it, it feels like velvet. Usually it happens in axilla, neck, below breast, in inner thigh and vulva. So, mostly all those places where skin folds.

The treatment for PCOS includes different medications: oral contraceptives, progesterone,
glucocorticoids, ketoconazole, spironolactone, cyproterone, flutamide, cimetidine, finasteride, ovarian wedge resection, laparascopic electoracutery, mechanical hair removal, etc.

All methods break the cycle of overproduction. The medications are either hormones themself or hormone-like substances that occupy receptor site and prevent regular hormone to work.

The medications act on different levels. Normal hormones have very complicated regulation. There are loops and feedbacks in the pathways.

To suppress a hormone production or action, you give similar hormone or another hormone or non-hormone at all, that goes to the feedback loop and breaks it and so on. Its really long separate discussion.

Basically, you either decrease hormone production or shift ratio toward female hormones.

Another way, the best probably, is weight loss. No fat cells – no conversion of andrgoens etc. You can make conclusions yourself.
Its the first line of treatment.

For a simple follicular ovarian cyst (not PCOS) doctor rules out ectopic pregnancy. Then he may send patient home and repeat pelvic exam in 6-8 weeks. Especially, if the cyst was small, less than five cm in diameter.

For larger cysts, doctor would order pelvic ultrasound.

Most follicular cyst will resolve on their own in six to eight weeks. Though, a physician may give oral contraceptives. Again, this suppresses stimulation of cyst by hormones from the hypophysis. The hormones are named gonadotropins.

If the cyst is still there after 6-8 weeks, a suspicion arises that the cyst maybe malignant. Then doctor orders other studies. CT scan. Physician may perform surgical procedures also. He looks what is this cyst really.

Corpus luteum cyst is usually not treated. However, oral contraceptives may be used.

Rupture of any kind of those cysts leads to another story. Acute pain, bleeding into peritoneum.
Sometime bleeding is very severe and is true emergency. You need also to distinguish other process in the abdomen. For example, appendicitis looks similar. You can treat mild case of non-complicated cyst rupture with just observation. Appendicitis almost always requires surgery.

There are many other problems arise. Surgeon scratches his head: whats going on? Is this this or is this that? Here is the CT scan gives big advantage.

Now, going back to the question of Ms. L.

If the cyst was infected, I dont see a reason why a ruptured cyst wouldnt become infected.
Cyst content is very nutrient-rich. Remember? All those cells and their products are dedicated to feeding the oocyte (future baby). Should be very tasty for any bacteria.

Rupture may cause significant bleeding as well. This blood is also different from the blood in your vessels.

This blood is sitting in the pelvis, not moving, quickly clotting. Clotting prevents entry of white blood cells. “No flow” prevents entry of antibodies. Absence of flow prevents entry of other protective chemicals (complement etc).

So, it is very nutrient-rich media for bacteria growth.

They can go wild. Why not?
If a female had another pelvic infection before, that infection can flare up. In a normal person peritoneal cavity should be sterile. However, any gynecological or gastrointestinal infection may supply bacteria. Now, mix these bacteria with the content of the leaking cyst. It just destined to become infected.

Actually Ms. L later answered her own question in another e-mail. She had cysts multiple times and they became infected several times.

So, to answer the question:
Will the ruptured cyst become infected? Not necessarily. Rather not. Can it become infected?
Yes.

About the Author

Aleksandr Kavokin MD/PhD, Phila

http://www.kavokin.com
http://www.appendicitis.uni.cc/
Aleksandr Kavokin, MD1994 Russia,PhD1997 Russia – Immunology and Allergy, postdoc at Cancer Center at Med U of South Carolina, postdoc at Yale – Cardiology, Molecular Medicine. http://www.geocities.com/aging_rejuvenation/ http://www.appendicitis.uni.cc/ http://www.geocities.com/appendicitis_disease/

Coping with stress and turning back the hands of time.

Stress comes in many forms, workplace stress, family stress,grief over loss of a loved one, etc… Some can be avoided, butas we know, many cannot. Some people handle stress better thanothers, and some even thrive onit.Regardless, stress takes itstoll.

Stress has been proven to rid your body of many essentialvitamins and minerals. Particularly vitamins C, E, and B. Thisleads to lethargy, lower focussed mental activities (clinicallystress causes more erratic brain activity and a reduction inshort term and long term memory), drying out and aging of theskin (in some), and in others a increase in the sebaceous glandactivity – which usually brings postules, acne, and rosacea -which all bring more stress as we then become more entangled inhow others view our physical appearance.

We cannot stop all stress, but we can take steps to stop orlimit its toll on our skin and body. Take a full vitaminsuplament every day. Eat a well balanced diet – especially fishmeat like salmon (high in omega 3s which is proven to increasebrain function and cellular activity, but it also is proven toreduce the aging process of the skin and make cuts and bruisesheal faster). Eat more raw fruits and vegetables – atleast 5servings per day – you will see a notable difference in 4-6weeks and you will feel better (along with better colon health).Exercise more often. Aerobic exercise has been proven to releasepowerful hormones that actually counteract

the harmful chemicalsand results of stress as it will also improve your bodysabilities to cope with oxidants.

I cant say enough about meditation and prayer. Study afterstudy have proven a reduction in every skin and body malody evencancer symptoms from people that pray and meditate daily. Take20 minutes every day and do this you will also live longer.

The latest rage is skin peels for a quick fix. Skin peels willslough off the top layers of skin and reveal fresher, cleanerskin. The most effective are TCA peels and phenol peels (phenolpeels are dangerous and should only be performed by a licensedplastic surgeon). TCA, trichloroacetic acid, is a medium depthskin peel that works on the most skin ailments – aging skin, sundamage, even has been proven to treat and cure acne. No otherskin peel can safely do all that a TCA peel can.

So there you have it – clear, younger skin in 500 words. Greatadvice to follow and dont forget to always run anything new byyour doctor. They are licensed for a reason and know whats bestfor you.

About the author:

David Maillie is a chemist with over 12 years experience inbiochemical research and clynical analysis. He is an alumni ofCornell University and specializes in biochemical synthesis forpublic, private, and governmental interests. He can be reachedat M.D. Wholesale: http://www.bestskinpeel.com or by visiting orhttp://www.mdwholesale.com.

Masturbate and Feel Good

“Masturbation … is not approved of the Lord nor this church, regardless of what may be said by those whose norms are lower”, President Kimball of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (1981)

“Every sperm is sacred. Every sperm is great. If a sperm is wasted, God gets quite irate.” Monty Pythons The Meaning of Life.

A quote often used by various churches in an effort to contain illicit acts amongst its people. Every sermon on masturbation would quote it, atleast all the sermons I have heard. Under the circumstances, is it difficult to imagine masturbation as one of the biggest taboos in our society? Even today? Scientific education has done a little to change it. Does that mean men and women dont masturbate? Certainly not. 99% of men and 70% of women masturbate according to various studies. The problem lies in the acceptance of the fact that you masturbate. Let me tell you a story… a story about you.

One night you were sitting alone in your appartment eating pizza. You decided to check out some new sites on the net while you eat. So you log on to your ISP and start surfing. Inadverantely, you come across some piece of pornography(yes, the net is quite full of it!) Looking at those erotic (and often downright nasty photos) you feel a tingling between your legs. One thing leads to another and you end up spoiling your underpants. Now let me tell you another story.

One night you were sitting alone in a bar drinking beer. And then a most gorgeous person enters the bar. The person that causes tingling between your legs just looking at him or her. You decide that you cant let go of this oppurtunity to get to know this wonderful creation of god. So you move towards this person and start small talk. One thing leads to another and you end up in your appartment.

Whether you are a woman or a man, the next morning you wouldnt be jumping with joy in the first case. When you go out in the evening to meet your friends, you would not tell them about the hot site you found and how you jerked off to it. Nevertheless, in the second case, you would be telling anyone who cared to listen how you had the most wonderful experience of your life last night. Why? Well, maybe because self pleasure is, well, nothing special. You can do it anytime you want. Ofcourse seducing the person of your dreams is quite an accomplishment. No wonder you need an audience. But what if you have a friend like me. A friend who is crazy enough to ask you did you wank off yesterday night? Was it good? What would you do then? Would you tell your friend about the hot site and your experience? Would you simply say, “Yeah! It was great! What about you?” Or would you pretend nothing had happened and lie… something like you were somewhere else yesterday night, or maybe lead your friend to believe you got lucky with someone?

I am guessing you would do the latter. Most certainly you wont acknowledge the act of masturbation. Rather you would evade the question and change the topic. And when your friend tells you about a hot conquest the same night, you would wish you had a bowl of water in which you could drown. Shame and guilt would come over you and you would change the topic in double quick time. Are you crazy? Noway! You are just one of the majority. And quite a majority at that! Way more majority that what George Bush had in the last elections! The reason – social conditioning!

You are just like the boy who ran out of the cinema hall that was screening an adult film (mind you, he had no business of being there in the first place! But all the cinemas care about is the sale of their tickets!) Later in the day, the friend who had been at the movies with him, caught up with him and asked, “Why in the hells name did you run out?” The boy answered, “My mom said that if I watched a woman getting naked I would turn to stone. And damn you Harry, a part of me was already turning into stone!”

Unluckily, the social conditioning is wrong. It is as wrong as the social condition in 18-19th century India, where widows were forced to burn alive with their husbands. As wrong as the church was in burning Galileo for implying the Earth was not the centre of the universe. Lily Tomlin put it best, “We have reasons to believe that man first walked upright to free his hands for masturbation!” If god didnt want us to masturbate, maybe we would still be walking like dogs and horses!

The social conditioning is a result of numerous myths, lies and scams perperated by numerous individuals for personal benefit. Unfortunately, this conditioning is like a hard nut, very tough to crack. However, with effort and chanelising your energies, you can break it. Remember, the nuts that crack the hardest, are often the ones that taste the best! You must be wondering, how the hell does it matter if you feel guilty about masturbation. Why should you spend time breaking this casing?

Certain psychologists believe that guilt conscious, whether sexual guilt or in any other form, is the most destructive element for your mental health. Others believe it is one of the most destructive. But the greatest effect of guilt conscious in my experience has been a lack of confidence in self. Now you are an intelligent reader. I dont need to explain you the importance of self confidence. Be it your career, relationships or any other aspect of life, lack of confidence can bring your downfall. Now I am not implying that should you start to feel more comfortable about masturbation, you would succeed in all aspects of life. But it would be a nice step to take. An useless guilt that should, and can be eradicated from your mind. Remember, an ocean is made of small droplets of water. Get rid of a drop at a time and in due time, the ocean would be empty! Ofcourse it would take several millenia! Luckily, you dont have an ocean full of guily! Just some naggings here and there!

The first step towards eradication of this guilt is knowledge. There are thousands of myths around masturbation. Most of them perperated by religion, unfortunately. But some perperated by scam runners. Lets take a look at the most important ones.

1. Masturbation is against the will of god.

Bullshit. At one point the church considered anyone who was overtly passionate to his wife an adultrater. Follow that teaching and your wife would be committing adultery! Several clergymen have

gone on record to say that not only the churchs teachings about sexuality were unrelated to the scriptures, but that they caused more harm than good amongst people. Besides, nowhere in the religious teachings of any major religions is masturbation considered wrong.

2. Masturbation will cause impotency.

Most males and even some females seem to think so. Wrong again. Lets tackle the males first. It is understandable that seeing their sperm flow out of their body, they think it may end sometime. Well, it will end one day… maybe when you are 100 years old. But until then dont worry. Your sperm bank is quite unlike Standard Chartered. You have unlimited credit here! Sperm is a completely renewable resource, renewable on an hourly basis! For women, well, there is no basis in the theory. Probably perperated by old ladies who never had an orgasm in their entire life!

3. Masturbation causes acnes, hair loss, skin diseases.

This one is my favorite. Mainly because it is one of the better scams of all times! Your social conditioning would have you believe that masturbation is bad for your health. But bad how? No one would give you a satisfying answer! Now some scam artists saw this as an good oppurtunity to sell their products like hair growth lotions, etc. Since most people start masturbating during their teens, (the times of acne and other skin problems), they would have you believe that this is caused by masturbation! Unluckily for them, this is as untrue as the sun rising from the west! Masturbation has no physical side effects!

4. Masturbating will make you thin and skinny!

Then there would be no need for diet pills and fitness regimes my friend! And most certainly 70% of USA wouldnt be overweight!

5. Only Kids masturbate!

Why would you say that? I wonder! Well quite untrue, most adults masturbate… yup even after marriage!

6. Masturbation is for males.

And it is for 70% of the women too. Thats right, two thirds of all females masturbate!

7. Only losers masturbate!

Another of my favorites. Just goes to show just how much of a taboo is masturbation! First thing, 99% of males and 70% of females have masturbated atleast once in their lives. Now that is a hell of a lot of losers dont you think! Nothing more that I can add really… this is really the epitome of insecurity amongst people regarding self pleasure.

8. Masturbation is for homosexuals.

Wow. Where did that one originate! Someone must make a etymology of these myths, would make for an interesting read! Just as untrue as all these myths, masturbation and homosexuality have nothing in common. Some people masturbate to their fantasies of opposite sex, others to their fantasies of same sex. Thats it.

9. Masturbation will make you blind!

Others claim that masturbation is bad for your eyesights. However, their claims are unsupported by facts and medical advice. I suggest you talk to your general physician and he will explain you what a load of bull this is.

10. Masturbation changes the shape of your penis

Well, it does make it rock hard. But believe me, once you orgasm, the hardness is gone! So no. Masturbation has absolutely no effect on how your penis looks.

There are loads more of these myths circulating around the world. If you have a query about masturbation, ask me, I would happily lay your fears to rest. My email is advice@pornographytimes.com

Now lets move on in an attempt to get rid of your guilt. Clearly, all the reasons that made masturbation such a taboo are baseless. So why should you feel guilty about something that is normal and actually healthy? Healthy? Yes that too! This January, I recieved an email from a woman who had some major problems in her marriage. Due to her career and that of her husband, their sexual life was inexistant. Both held jobs in big MNCs and were frequently out of town. Sometimes, they would see each other once a month! Nevertheless, they were very much in love. Her problem was, that inspite of all their love, they were getting into petty fights with each other. The woman was even experiencing problems during work, getting angry for no apparent reasons, shouting on her team. Her temperament was a creation of the stress caused by extensive work and lack of pleasurable activities. Add to that sexual frustration.

My advice to her was twofold. First, I told her that she would have to slow down, and so should her husband. They must make time for their hobbies, maybe try and get in some physical exercise when they could. Most certainly, they needed to see more of each other. They should onsider talking off a couple of days and just be together. Second, while she was alone, she should consider fantasy therapy. Namely, reading erotic novels, watching erotic movies… exciting herself and eventually masturbating as regularly as she could. Three months later, I recieved a thank you letter from her. Apparently she had put my advice to practice (which is quite rare!) and it had actually helped. (Which is not so rare!)

How did masturbating help her? Because most of her problems arose from stress and lack of physical activities. And masturbation, like sex, is the perfect medicing. When you orgasm, your mind gets cleared of the regular day to day problems. Your body gets excited and the blood flow increases. Sometimes, you even sweat! A complete and perfect exercise for those with lack of time!

The next step in getting rid of your guilt is self belief. Something, no outsider can help you with. Here is what I would counsel. Read as many articles on the internet as you can relating to masturbation. Just so that you know that I am not bullshitting you. Any queries you have, dont be afraid to ask me or another sex advisor on any of the reputed websites. Remember, the first step is knowledge and the second step is belief. And knowledge leads to belief. Good Wanking!

Jessica Stumper is a columnist for The Pornography Times (http://www.pornographytimes.com/) .She is an experienced sexologists and runs her own sex advice column. She can be contacted at jessicastumper@pornographytimes.com

How to Avoid Becoming a Fitness Failure

When it comes to fitness, no one likes being a failure, yet more than half of new exercisers quit their program within the first six months. With a little help you can ensure youre not one of them. Give these ideas a try as you begin your exercise program for the new year.

Set goals

If you dont know where you are going, how will you know when you get there? Setting short-term and long-term goals may increase your chance of success. Your goals must give a clear picture of the end-point to work towards. Use the SMART model, your goal should be Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound. Without these you’ll never know if you have achieved the goal. You can’t just say “lose weight or gain energy.” Instead say, “I will lose 10 pounds in 12 weeks by doing strength training 3 times a week and cardio 3 times a week.”

Go for variety

Whether you do a home workout or belong to a gym, build your routine on cross-training to keep things fresh and interesting, and keep yourself from developing an injury. Frequently vary the order of your exercises and mix in dumbbells, barbells, resistance tubing, machine or body weight exercises. Dont be afraid to take a class.

Track your progress

Write down your measurements and weight at the beginning of your program. Keep a workout log and use it. Seeing results is a great motivator. At least once a month, re-measure and review your log to see advances in your aerobic fitness, strength, flexibility and body composition.

Seek out support

A workout partner with similar goals and a positive attitude can make your workout more fun. knowing you are accountable to another person can be a great motivator too. So can working with a certified personal trainer.

Devise a backup plan

Time and access are the largest obstacles to fitness, and even

devoted exercisers experience lapses. Dont use these as excuses to avoid exercise. Having some portable home workout gear like a stability ball, resistance tubing, jump rope, and dumbbells, will allow you to work out while traveling, at home or even at work. With limited time, focus on compound

movements for the largest muscle groups and superset 2 for opposing muscle groups. A brief but intense workout can be accomplished in a few minutes.

Just do it

While pumping iron may not be right for everyone, the idea being active is. Find something you enjoy doing that elevates your heart rate and challenges you most days of the week. Also pay attention to how you feel. If you are like most people in as little as three weeks you will find yourself

sleeping better and feeling more rested.

The information contained in this article is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended to provide medical advice. If you are sedentary or over 40 please get clearance from a doctor before starting an exercise program.

© Rick DeToma

About The Author

Rick DeToma is a fitness coach, and trainer who specializes in home workouts. Contact Rick for a no obligation telephone fitness assessment at: http://www.tailored-fitness-home-workouts.com/contact.html

Get more tips like these by subscribing to Tailored Fitness News http://www.tailored-fitness-home-workouts.com/newsletter.html

You have permission to publish this article electronically, without changes of any kind, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included, and remain working hyperlinks. Please send a copy of the URL where you have posted this article.