Hong Kong — (SBWIRE) — 02/27/2012 — a person’s ears can detect a very wide wide range of sounds. From the beautiful notes produced by an orchestra to the loud roars of a jet engine.But for millions of people around the globe, their ears not only interpret sounds, they also produce them. these noises, which include buzzing, humming, whistling and ringing in ears, are caused by a condition called tinnitus.Although tinnitus is not a fatal condition, the symptoms caused by it can significantly impact a person’s quality of life in a very negative way. it can interrupt a person’s sleep, concentration, judgment, family relationships and employment, and can lead to depression and anxiety.In fact according to credible estimates, between 10 and 12 million Americans suffer enough from tinnitus to seek medical attention, and more than 200 million people are severely affected by the condition worldwide.In an effort to help educate the millions of people across the globe suffering from this condition, Tinnitus Magazine recently launched their official website TinnitusMagazine.com. the website features the latest information about the array of tinnitus symptoms and causes, and discusses a multitude of natural tinnitus treatment options and tinnitus remedies.Tinnitus can be caused by a range of things, including earwax build-up, an infection in the ear, hearing loss with age, loud noise exposure, changes to bones in the ear, various foods and medicines, and more.And for the large number of sufferers, the tinnitus symptoms they exhibit cannot only be annoying, but can also interfere with their ability to lead a normal, happy life.In an effort to help provide readers with some tinnitus relief, TinnitusMagazine.com presents a collection of effective, easy-to-follow treatment options.according to Neil Hendry, Editor of Tinnitus Magazine, the magazine aims to give readers up-to-date information about the most effective tinnitus remedies and discusses the availability of a natural tinnitus cure.“You don’t need to be told that tinnitus is a serious condition that can impair the quality of your life as well as those around you,” states Hendry. “We understand you want a solution, and you want one fast. Our goal is to give you the most reliable, proven tinnitus treatment options available on the market and give you hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel.”For more information, visit TinnitusMagazine.comAbout Tinnitus MagazineFounded in 2011 and headquartered in Hong Kong, Tinnitus Magazine provides the very latest information concerning tinnitus symptoms, tinnitus causes and tinnitus treatment to their readers. More information can be found on their website.

Check-ups during pregnancy tend to focus around the waist. But there’s growing debate about which mothers-to-be should have a gland in their neck tested, too.

Numerous studies since 1999 have found that an underactive thyroid can raise a woman’s risk of miscarriage, premature birth, or a lower IQ for her baby — even if it’s so mildly sluggish that she feels no symptoms.

The problem: while serious cases are treated with a hormone pill, so far there’s little evidence that treating the milder cases makes a difference. So guidelines about who should be tested vary widely.

Now a peek at prenatal testing from one of the country’s largest medical labs suggests that nearly a quarter of pregnant women are getting the simple thyroid blood test regardless of whether they have symptoms.

Researchers at Quest Diagnostics examined records for half a million pregnant women. of those who got tested, a higher-than-expected number — 15 percent — had an underactive thyroid. That’s five-fold higher than some previous estimates, partly because the way in which the condition is diagnosed has changed recently, says the study published by the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

The vast majority of those women were in the gray zone, with milder cases where no one knows for sure if a diagnosis helps or wastes money on testing and thyroid medication.

The finding adds pressure for science to settle this long-running controversy.

“We still don’t have perfect answers,” says Dr. Elizabeth Pearce, a well-known endocrinologist at Boston Medical Center, where a recent survey found widespread prenatal thyroid testing. But, “if it’s my patient in my office, or it’s me or my family member, I’m going to treat every time.”

Obstetricians seem more wary.

“There are studies on both sides of the fence,” says Dr. Dena Goffman of New York’s Montefiore Medical Center, which tests only women at high risk. “If you don’t know what to do with the results, you probably shouldn’t order the test,” she said.

The unassuming thyroid — a small bow tie-shaped gland nestled in the front of the neck — plays a big role in good health for everyone. it produces hormones that regulate metabolism and can affect almost every type of tissue in the body. About 20 million Americans are estimated to have a malfunctioning thyroid that, if serious enough, can contribute to heart disease, bone-thinning osteoporosis and infertility.

An overactive thyroid, called hyperthyroidism, speeds up bodily functions, causing such symptoms as weight loss, nervousness, anxiety and increased heart rate and vision problems.

Much more common is an underactive thyroid, called hypothyroidism. it slows body functions, causing such problems as fatigue, weight gain, depression, constipation and dry skin. it even can contribute to high cholesterol, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Thyroid problems increase with age, but they affect far more women than men — and pregnancy puts extra stress on the gland.

Having enough thyroid hormones is important for fetal brain development, especially during the first trimester, when the fetus depends solely on the mother for them. the hormones also play a role in avoiding miscarriage or premature birth.

Mothers also may harbor immune system cells called antibodies that subtly attack the gland and likewise are linked to miscarriage and prematurity. Italian researchers found that treating those women lowered their risk of encountering this problem.

There is broad agreement that women with overt hypothyroidism — a seriously underactive gland — should be treated, most likely given a once-a-day hormone pill long known to be safe in pregnancy. But it takes blood testing to diagnose overt disease because even those women don’t always report the vague symptoms.

Those $25 blood tests are sure to uncover women with mild hypothyroidism, too, the people in the so-called gray zone. Some research has raised questions about whether mild cases really pose a pregnancy risk, and preliminary results from a large British study recently found no overall IQ benefit to the resulting children if their mothers had been treated.

But the damage might already have been done by the time treatment began late in the first trimester, notes Boston’s Pearce. in the U.S., doctors are anxiously awaiting a similar National Institutes of Health study; results aren’t expected until 2015.

What’s the advice until then? the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends testing only pregnant women who have thyroid symptoms, have had previous thyroid problems, or have similar autoimmune diseases such as Type 1 diabetes — those considered at risk for overt disease.

The American Thyroid Association goes further. last summer it advised also testing all pregnant women age 30 and older, and those with enlarged thyroids, previous pregnancy problems or those who are obese, says Pearce, who co-authored the guidelines.

Most guidelines cite the lack of evidence for treating mild cases. the thyroid association does urge treatment if those women harbor the worrisome antibodies.

A final tip: Pregnant women should check that their prenatal vitamins contain iodine, important for proper thyroid function, Pearce says. not all do. Most Americans get enough iodine from dairy products, bread, seafood and iodized table salt. But women need extra during pregnancy.

That intensity — Rabil refers to himself as “cutthroat determined” — has informed his approach to lacrosse and is guiding his new effort to help young people with learning differences thrive through athletics, and to raise public awareness about the need for early diagnosis and intervention.

“I want kids with learning differences to know that they can do great things,” said Rabil, who lives in Baltimore. “It may sound like a cliche, but I don’t look at my condition as a disability, but as something that made me work hard to get where I wanted to go.”

Learning disabilities are caused by differences in brain structure. Estimates vary on the percentage of Americans with a disability; government agencies cite 10 to 15 percent. The most common disability is dyslexia, an inherited disorder in which the brain does not properly recognize and process symbols, making it difficult to read and write. Those with auditory processing disorder can hear, but their brains do not properly process some sounds.

These disorders have nothing to do with a child’s vision or intelligence. there is no cure, but there are successful treatments. Katherine Schantz, principal of the private Lab School in Northwest Washington, one of the nation’s premier schools for children with learning disabilities, said that modern brain research can show how a brain has changed after specific interventions, helping target them to individuals.

Rabil, whose new foundation is starting a lacrosse program at the Lab School, knows he is one of the lucky ones. his sister, who attended Lab, has dyslexia, and his brother has auditory processing disorder. he received his diagnosis when he was young enough to avail himself of tutors, note-takers and other accommodations as he went through school, graduating from private DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville. An invaluable tool that helped him at Hopkins, he said, was the Kurzwell 3000, a program that scans a document, displays it and reads it aloud while highlighting the image of the print as it is being read.

Because the key to helping people learn to live and thrive with dyslexia is early detection and intervention — along with strong family support — Rabil plans to advocate with lawmakers in Maryland for universal dyslexia screening among school children. he is starting a lacrosse program at Lab and plans to raise funds for an annual scholarship there.

Philip Schultz wasn’t as lucky as Rabil. Schultz, of New York, did not learn he had dyslexia until he was in his 50s and his son, then in second grade, received a diagnosis.

As he heard the doctor describe his son’s symptoms, it sounded like his own life story. he remembers being put with other kids who had trouble learning at “the dummy table.” Held back twice and kicked out once for fighting with bullies, Schultz says he was “a big disappointment” to his parents.

But he persevered, becoming a writer who won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize in poetry. He’s authored eight books, the latest a memoir called “My Dyslexia.” his work ethic echoes Rabil’s: he writes slowly, and rewrites over and over and over.

Rabil and Schultz visited the Lab School last week as two of five honorees at the annual gala. Schultz, founder and director of the Writers Studio, a private school for fiction and poetry writing based in New York City, was most struck by the environment at the Lab School, where every student can understand what the rest are going through.

“I wonder what that would have been like, to have that kind of support, and what a difference it would have made,” he said.

In the onset of Lassa fever, the symptoms easily could be mistaken for malaria.

Anti-malarial drugs are prescribed, but the patient doesn`t seem to show improvement. the health, instead, is deteriorating.

Further actions are made to combat symptoms that mimic those of other diseases, such as yellow fever and dengue fever. but nothing seems to take as the patient quickly approaches death.

As soon as five to seven days after infection — when the telltale signs of Lassa, a viral hemorrhagic fever, present themselves — it`s often too late.

Endemic to portions of West Africa, Lassa fever is estimated to infect anywhere from 100,000 to 500,000 people on an annual basis and official projections place the mortality rate in the 2 percent to 5 percent range. However, some in the medical field say those estimates are crude and that the cases, and especially the mortality rates, are much greater with 10 times the number of fatalities.

“I think what we believe is that (Lassa fever) is severely under-tested and severely undiagnosed,” said Douglass Simpson, president and chief executive officer of Broomfield-based Corgenix Medical Corp.

Corgenix, the locally based maker of diagnostic tests, is one member of a multidisciplinary team that has spent the past six years addressing that concern.

As a result of federal funding, a team of businesses and academics have worked in Sierra Leone, Africa, and surrounding areas to develop an array of diagnostic tests for deadly Lassa fever. the program`s efforts also could result in potential therapeutics and vaccines and could play a role in the U.S. government`s biodefense efforts as well, Simpson said.

Seeing there were really no means of immediately diagnosing Lassa — let alone a dedicated treatment for the disease — the National Institutes of Health awarded a grant to Tulane University, Corgenix and others to develop new recombinant proteins and viral detection products that were deployed in Africa for clinical testing.

About $25.8 million in grants have been awarded through National Institutes of Health agencies for the three Lassa projects that started in 2005 and carry through 2015, Simpson said. of those funds, about $3 million went directly to Corgenix, he said.

The team — which also includes Autoimmune Technologies LLC, Vybion Inc. and University of California-San Diego researchers, among others — is in the middle of a five-year grant to further develop the test kits, finalize the clinical studies and move the products into commercialization.

A third arm of the program involves research dedicated to creating therapeutics and possibly a vaccine for the disease that is treated now intravenously with ribavirin — an antiviral taken orally to treat hepatitis C, Simpson said.

While the results from the program should benefit Corgenix`s earnings and could help the United States diagnose a Class a biological agent in a matter of minutes, the greater cause of saving lives and advancing the on-site technologies sit at the heart for Matt Boisen, Corgenix`s research and development manager and a lead scientist in the Sierra Leone program.

“We`re really hoping that we can find an avenue to get these diagnostics distributed throughout West Africa,” he said.

Boisen earlier this month was at his Broomfield lab preparing prototypes for Tulane University professor Robert Garry, who will travel to Sierra Leone in a couple of weeks. the stateside work of Boisen and others does not involve any live samples of the virus, but rather irradiated samples or recombinant agents, Corgenix officials said.

In the coming months, Boisen expects to return to the West African country to further pre-clinical testing. the work he`s been involved with already has left a lasting impression.

“There`s a really huge public health awareness push, especially with the health-care workers and midwives, because it could be very fatal in pregnant women,” Boisen said, noting a 90 percent mortality rate for women in their third trimester.

Boisen relayed one account of a woman in her third trimester of pregnancy who arrived very ill at the Lassa ward in the city of Kenema. She was diagnosed and treated.

But then there are the other cases — those that all too often include young children — where the sample is taken, the test is run, but the patient dies before treatment is administered.

“There`s big highs and there`s big lows,” Boisen said.

As a means of shifting that balance toward more positive results, a number of the program`s research efforts are expected to be published soon in medical journals, said Luis Branco, a scientist at New Orleans-based Autoimmune Technologies.

“There`s been really tremendous progress. I think we`ve really changed the way that Lassa virus is diagnosed and therefore treated,” he said. “… I think that we have really gleaned new insights into the virus itself and how it operates at a molecular level and, at the same time, how to use that information.”

On a local level, Branco feels the program has helped to improve infrastructure in a country still recovering from the ravages of an 11-year-old civil war. the team invested in the diagnostics, lab equipment, power supplies and also has employed locals to assist in the efforts, he said.

“We try to develop the infrastructure in the country, such that we can provide some sort of self-sufficiency,” he said.

The work for Corgenix and crew is far from over, although officials hope to have a slate of blood diagnostics — including a rapid, 10-minute test and more comprehensive, two- to three-hour tests — ready for commercialization later this year, Simpson said.

“Ultimately, where Corgenix would like to go would be to have a battery of products, perhaps even configured on the same little cassette where we could detect three or four different viruses,” he said.

Corgenix also expects to further diagnostic testing for other deadly viruses, he said.

Corgenix received the entirety of a $590,000 grant for a similarly focused Ebola virus and Marburg virus program that runs from 2010 to 2012, Simpson said.

“You`re never going to eradicate the virus,” he said. “What we want to do for the next 10 years is just get into a system where we can diagnose them quickly, treat them quickly and reduce the mortality rate.”

In the onset of Lassa fever, the symptoms easily could be mistaken for malaria.

Anti-malarial drugs are prescribed, but the patient doesn’t seem to show improvement. The health, instead, is deteriorating.

Further actions are made to combat symptoms that mimic those of other diseases such as yellow fever and dengue fever. But nothing seems to take as the patient quickly approaches death.

As soon as five to seven days after infection — when the telltale signs of Lassa, a viral hemorrhagic fever, present themselves — it’s often too late.

Endemic to portions of West Africa, Lassa fever is estimated to infect anywhere from 100,000 to 500,000 people on an annual basis and official projections place the mortality rate in the 2 percent to 5 percent range. however, some in the medical field say those estimates are quite crude and that the cases and especially the mortality rates are much greater with 10 times the number of fatalities.

“I think what we believe is that (Lassa fever) is severely under-tested and severely undiagnosed,” said Douglass Simpson, president and chief executive officer of Broomfield-based Corgenix Medical Corp.

Corgenix, the locally based maker of diagnostic tests is one member of a multidisciplinary team that’s spent the past six years addressing that concern.

As a result of federal funding, a team of businesses and academics have worked in Sierra Leone, Africa, and surrounding areas to develop an array of diagnostic tests for the deadly Lassa fever. The program’s efforts also could result in potential therapeutics and vaccines and could play a role in the U.S. government’s biodefense efforts as well, Simpson said.

Seeing there were really no means of immediately diagnosing Lassa — let alone a dedicated treatment for the disease — the National Institutes of Health awarded a grant to Tulane University, Corgenix and others to develop new recombinant proteins and viral detection products that were deployed in Africa for clinical testing.

About $25.8 million in grants have been awarded through National Institutes of Health agencies for the three Lassa projects that started in 2005 and carry through 2015, Simpson said. of those funds, about $3 million went directly to Corgenix, he said.

The team — which also includes Autoimmune Technologies LLC, Vybion inc. and University of California-San Diego researchers, among others — is in the middle of a five-year grant to further develop the test kits, finalize the clinical studies and move the products into commercialization.

A third arm of the program involves research dedicated to creating therapeutics and possibly a vaccine for the disease that is treated now intravenously with ribavirin — an antiviral taken orally to treat hepatitis C, Simpson said.

While the results from the program should benefit Corgenix’s earnings and could help the United States diagnose a Class A biological agent in a matter of minutes, the greater cause of saving lives and advancing the on-site technologies sit at the heart for Matt Boisen, Corgenix’s research and development manager and a lead scientist in the Sierra Leone program.

“We’re really hoping that we can find an avenue to get these diagnostics distributed throughout West Africa,” he said.

Boisen last week was at his Broomfield lab preparing prototypes for Tulane University professor Robert Garry, who will travel to Sierra Leone in a couple weeks. The stateside work of Boisen and others does not involve any live samples of the virus, but rather irradiated samples or recombinant agents, Corgenix officials said.

In the coming months, Boisen expects to return to the West African country to further pre-clinical testing. The work he’s been involved with already has left a lasting impression.

“There’s a really huge public health awareness push, especially with the health care workers and midwives, because it could be very fatal in pregnant women,” Boisen said, noting a 90 percent mortality rate for women in their third trimester.

Boisen relayed one account of a woman in her third trimester of pregnancy who arrived at the Lassa ward in the city of Kenema very ill. She was diagnosed and treated.

But then there are the other cases — those that all too often include young children — where the sample is taken, the test is run, but the patient dies before treatment is administered.

“There’s big highs and there’s big lows,” Boisen said.

As a means of shifting that balance toward more positive results, a number of the program’s research efforts are expected to be published soon in medical journals, said Luis Branco, scientist at New Orleans-based Autoimmune Technologies.

“There’s been really tremendous progress; I think we’ve really changed the way that Lassa virus is diagnosed and therefore treated,” he said. “… I think that we have really gleaned new insights into the virus itself and how it operates at a molecular level and, at the same time, how to use that information.”

On a local level, Branco feels the program has helped to improve infrastructure in a country still recovering from the ravages of an 11-year-old civil war. The team invested in the diagnostics, lab equipment, power supplies and also has employed locals to assist in the efforts, he said.

“We try to develop the infrastructure in the country such that we can provide some sort of self-sufficiency,” he said.

The work for Corgenix and crew is far from over, although officials hope to have a slate of blood diagnostics — including a rapid, 10-minute test and more comprehensive, two-to-three-hour tests — ready for commercialization later this year, Simpson said.

“Ultimately, where Corgenix would like to go would be to have a battery of products, perhaps even configured on the same little cassette where we could detect three or four different viruses,” he said.

Corgenix (OTCBB: CONX) also expects to further diagnostic testing for other deadly viruses, he said.

Corgenix received the entirety of a $590,000 grant for a similarly focused Ebola virus and Marburg virus program that runs from 2010 to 2012, Simpson said.

“You’re never going to eradicate the virus,” he said. “What we want to do for the next 10 years is just get into a system where we can diagnose them quickly, treat them quickly and reduce the mortality rate.”

Contact Camera Business Writer Alicia Wallace at 303-473-1332 or wallacea@dailycamera.com.

Posted: January 26th, 2011 | Author: admin | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: pancreatic cancer symptoms | No Comments »

Pancreatic cancer is incidental to a malignant exceptional magnitude of tissue which is set in the pancreas. unfortunately, estimates call that in the Confederative States uncomparable more than forty-three thou people give be constrained by this specific state and over thirty-six thousand faculty die with the disease before the end of 2010. it is fractious to diagnose because pancreatic cancer symptoms oft do not inform until the disease is in the modern stages.

The pancreas is a real central line of the digestive grouping and regulates how the embody processes sweetener. it is also judicious for supplying the digestive juices requisite for the digestion of nutrient. Cancer can occur when the pancreas develops genetically mutated cells that outlive their time move and these cells speak to develop and accumulate forming a malignancy.

There are opposite types of pancreatic cancer because there are antithetical types of cells within the office. one type grows in cells judicious for digestive juices patch the else is causative for vasoconstrictor production. Each write of radiotelephone is related with its individualist constitute of the disease.

Definite cells pipage the ducts of this office and are accountable for digestive juices. these types of cells are commonly linked to adenocarcinomas. They may also be referred to as an secreter malignance.

Hormone producing cells are also region; specifically insulin producing cells. When these types of cells are hokey it becomes glorious as endocrine cancer. This portion write is extraordinary and affects lower than one pct of all cases.

This typewrite of cancer is oft called the silent orca because pancreatic cancer symptoms do not recognise until the stipulation is earnest. few symptoms of pancreatic cancer that are likely to be older are pain in the bunk belly that continues through to the o.k., diminution of craving, metric expiration, murder clots, incurvation and yellowing of injure and around the whites of eyes.

Tho’ these pancreatic cancer symptoms may also be connate to separate conditions, they are solemn enough to see a physician. Investigation faculty be through to conclude the fitting diagnosing. if cancer is comprise then the physician instrument dispense it a pioneer and begin needful handling.

Stages are classified in one through figure; quaternion beingness the most grave. Initiate one indicates the presence of cancer within the pancreas. Coach two includes the presence within and its distribute to meat and paper nearby with the possibility of the lymph nodes included. Travelling trinity capital that cancer has page to star gore vessels nearby and maybe the lymph nodes. Leg quatern acknowledges the distribution of disease vessel beyond and to new organs.

Surgery is a potential management if the cancer is narrow to the pancreas upon being diagnosed. Unluckily in latter stages, surgery may not be an choice and the only form of management may be ownership the somebody rich in dealings with the symptoms of pancreatic cancer. There is no way to preclude this identify of cancer, but to aid with bar it is soul to resign smoking, confirm a anicteric metric and utilize.

There are indisputable individuals who are much prospective to better this grade of cancer. Individuals over the age of threescore are some many suggestible as asymptomatic as those who get from diabetes and soul a stock record. it is advised for this foregather to pay closer tending to pancreatic cancer symptoms.

Sitting in the bathroom, I am looking apprehensively towards the pregnancy test on the bench. My heart is pounding as I reach out to turn it over. Then I let out a huge sigh of relief: I’m not pregnant.

But, of course, I shouldn’t be. That’s because I’ve had the contraceptive implant Implanon in my arm for more than a year.

This matchstick-sized rod is designed to release hormones that prevent pregnancy. Licensed in 1999, it has become a ?popular form of ?contraception, with around 800,000 women using it, according to Department of Health estimates.

Implanon: The matchstick-sized rod is implanted in the arm to release hormones that simulate pregnancy (posed by models)

After a local anaesthetic, the implant is inserted into your upper arm through a tiny cut — you can just feel it under your skin.

It works by gradually releasing the ?synthetic ?hormone etonogestrel into the bloodstream, which fools the body into believing it’s pregnant. This stops eggs maturing in the ovaries and the womb becomes a hostile environment to sperm.

Implanon is designed for women who don’t want any more children, but don’t want to be sterilised, or who want long-lasting contraception (the device lasts for three years, when you then ?simply have it replaced).

And there are lots of plus points. Unlike the Pill, very few medicines affect Implanon (St John’s Wort is one that does). Nor do you have to worry about Implanon if you have a stomach bug (unlike with an oral contraceptive).

You also don’t have to ?remember to take it. No wonder so many women like the idea of it.

But last week it emerged that hundreds of women have been permanently scarred or become pregnant after their implant ?apparently failed — 584 have reported unwanted pregnancies and 1,607 ?complained about the implant going wrong.

As well as these side effects, the National ?Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) states that almost half of women will have infrequent, ?frequent or prolonged bleeding. Up to 43 per cent stop using it within three years — 33 per cent because of irregular ?bleeding.

That’s a lot of dissatisfied customers. I am one of them. for me, Implanon has been a nightmare from day one, starting with almost ?constant heavy bleeding for the first five months, which ?inexplicably stopped suddenly.

I then had all the ?symptoms of pregnancy — sore breasts, exhaustion, going off ?certain food. This was the reason I took the pregnancy test. it was to be the first of three such scares.

It really was terrifying because I nearly ?haemorrhaged to death after giving birth to my third child (I have a son aged two, and daughters who are four and six). I’m 38, and my husband and I have no ?intention of having any more children; we’re lucky to have three who still have a mother.

Health issues aside, we simply can’t afford another child. when I first went to my GP, just a couple of months after my son Ben’s birth, Implanon seemed like the only viable option (I can’t take the Pill because, with a history of migraines, it puts you at risk of stroke).

It sounded brilliant. Quite apart from the convenience, statistically, there is no question that Implanon performs extremely well.

‘though the Pill and Implanon are quoted as being over 99 per cent effective, that’s with ?correct usage,’ says Dr Alyson ?Elliman, vice-president of the ?Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare of the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

‘The actual failure rate is more like 0.05 per cent in Implanon and 8 per cent with the Pill in real-life situations.’

Personal choice: Implanon is more convenient than taking a daily pill but can have adverse side effects (posed by model)

But there are those adverse effects. ‘Bleeding patterns may be affected,’ says Dr Elliman.

This is because the membranes ?lining the uterus can be affected. ‘but any method of ?contraception that targets egg release may cause erratic bleeding,’ she says.

Skin problems such as acne may also be ?exacerbated and you might ?experience breast tenderness.

A week after my first pregnancy scare, the bleeding started again. I was sufficiently concerned about it to return to the private gynaecologist who looked after me following the traumatic birth of my son.

He conducted various ?investigations — ultrasounds and even a biopsy — to ascertain whether something more sinister going on, but concluded that the Implanon was at fault.

He suggested that I find an ?alternative method of contraception — advice I foolishly ignored.

A few months later, I returned to my GP. The almost incessant ?bleeding was starting to affect our family life and holidays. but my GP was reluctant to remove the implant (another option, the Mirena coil, can also cause bleeding or spotting for the first six months).

My second pregnancy scare was highly traumatic and occurred a couple of months after the first. I was suffering all the symptoms, but despite taking test after test over a week, the results were all negative. but the symptoms were so strong I assumed I didn’t have sufficient ?levels of pregnancy hormones in my body to show up on the tests.

One evening I sat my ?husband down and, in floods of tears, asked him what we’d do. The thought of abortion is hideous at any time; if you have children, I think it an ?especially hard choice.

Throughout all this stress was the frustrating fact that I’d thought I was thoroughly protected.

I returned to my GP. it was time to consider other options.

‘just sit it out,’ he said, without looking up from my patient notes. ‘I’m sure it’ll all die down in time.’

‘I want to talk about sterilisation,’ I said firmly. He started and put his pen down.

‘That’s a very long and onerous process. You have to undergo all sorts of psychological assessments. You’re much better off as you are.’

I don’t believe I am. I know I don’t want any more children and I’m sure the stress of this is far worse than any of the assessments.

Of course, my experience with Implanon pales in comparison to those who actually got pregnant or badly scarred on their arms.

‘Statistically, it may be unlikely you suffer problems,’ says ?Jennifer ?Emerson of the law firm Irwin ?Mitchell, which represents a number of women affected by Implanon. ‘but if you’re one of the few who does have scarring or an unwanted ?pregnancy, it’s incredibly traumatic.’

One theory about those unwanted pregnancies is that the device wasn’t inserted properly; sometimes it is not released from the applicator.

Scarring may be caused if the device is inserted too deeply. Implanon can’t be detected by X-rays, so there is no way of ?finding it without an operation under general ?anaesthetic.

In one case handled by Irwin Mitchell, the device was inserted so deeply it couldn’t be found by the nurse.

‘The poor woman went through the ordeal of a nurse cutting deeper and deeper into the tissue before she realised that it had been wrongly inserted into the muscle in her arm,’ says Jennifer Emerson.

‘In these cases, the patient may need to have surgery under ?general anaesthetic to remove the implant, which carries risks and leaves scarring.’

Dr Elliman puts such problems down to a lack of training rather than the implant itself and is calling for a nationally recognised standard of training.

Yet not all medical professionals are convinced by Implanon. a ?leading gynaecologist, Dickinson Cowan from the Portland Hospital, says he has ‘reservations’.

‘I don’t use it myself, but have removed one from a patient who suffered incessant and heavy bleeding.’

He points out that if Implanon suits the patient then fine, but ?suggests there are superior ?alternatives.

‘I don’t understand why women wouldn’t simply opt for the Mirena coil — which releases progesterone locally in the lining of the womb — rather than having something which affects your whole body.’

Dr Elliman suggests that last week’s news reports about adverse effects of Implanon are unhelpful: ‘Women who were perfectly happy with their ?contraception will be ?worrying and those considering ?contraception might decide against it.’

Yet many women have been ?traumatised by its use. Who knows how many have suffered severe side-effects or pregnancies and not reported them?

As all the doctors concur, contraception is a ?personal choice. for me, Implanon was the wrong one.

Though I believe mine was ?correctly inserted, it has caused an awful lot of trouble and pain. and, 18 months later, I am going to have it removed. Sterilisation seems the easier option.

IMPORTANT HEALTH INFORMATION FOR BABY BOOMERS

many baby boomers suffer from a breathing disorder called COPD or “chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder”. According to recent research the number of baby boomers suffering from the condition is expected to increase as the boomers age.

A new large international study conclude that the incidences of COPD is likely to be a doubling of the previous estimates and that the majority of sufferers are undiagnosed and untreated

Smoking is the number one cause of COPD and it is imperative for people with breathing problems such as shortness of breath and wheezing to be tested for COPD, particularly if they have a history of smoking and are over 40.

Statements from medical professionals indicate that many suffer COPD in silence. it creep up on people and many blame their symptoms on aging.

Numbers published earlier this year by the medical journal The Lancet found that about 11.5 per cent of men and 8.5 per cent of women suffer from COPD.

“The devastating impact of COPD must be taken seriously.”

COPD is a gradual destruction of the lungs by noxious fumes and it is irreversible.

While COPD is not curable, the symptoms can be treated, especially if the condition is detected early. Early detection of COPD can significantly improve outcomes and quality of life for patients

There are puffers and inhalers similar to those used by people with asthma that help with breathing. (However, the conditions are very different: Asthma is lung inflammation, often triggered by allergies.)

People with COPD can also undertake exercise programs and pulmonary rehabilitation programs. In the advanced stages, sufferers can also use supplemental oxygen in a portable tank.

Do you have COPD?

Here is a brief Lung Health Test designed to help people recognize the symptoms of COPD.

People who are over 40

and are current or former smokers should visit their doctor if

they answer “yes” to any of the following questions:

Do you cough regularly?

Do you cough up phlegm regularly?

Do even simple chores make you short of breath?

Do you wheeze when you exert yourself, or at night?

Do you get frequent colds that persist longer than those of other people you know?

The doctor will perform a spirometry test, which involves blowing into a tube to measure lung function.

If you are a candidate for COPD you should see your doctor as soon as possible.

Source: The Lung Association

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