Does anything affect your medication?

Talk with your doctor or pharmacist before taking medication for the first time. You need to see if there is anything you should stay away from. 1) GRAPEFRUIT Affects more than 50 drugs Makes some like Fexofendine(Allegra) for allergies less effective Makes others too strong Included is ones that lower your cholesterol like atorvastatin(Lipitor) 2) MILK Makes it harder for your body to process certain antibiotics 3) LICORICE Contains Glycyrrlizin which can weaken the effect of some drugs That includes cyclosporine which is used to keep people who have had transplants from rejecting their new organs 4) CHOCOLATE Dark chocolate, especially It can weaken the effects of drugs meant to calm you down or make you sleep, like zolpidemtartrate(Ambien) Some stimulant drugs, like Ritalin, power can be boosted. Your blood pressure can get dangerously high if you are taking an MAO inhibitor for depression. 5) IRON SUPPLEMENT Lowers effect of medicines for your thyroid like levothyroxine(synthroid) If you take a multivitamin and this medication check to see if the vitamin contain iron 6) ALCOHOL This makes certain less effective Some it makes even useless For example, some blood pressure and heart medications Others it makes stronger than they should be or cause dangerous side effects 7) COFFEE It can weaken antipsychotic drugs(lithium clozapine) It can boost the effects of others and side effects of some Included are aspirin, epinephrine(used to treat serious allergic reactions) and albuterol(taken by inhaler for breathing problems) Makes it harder for your body to taken in and use iron 8) ANTIHISTAMINES Some make high blood pressure medication less effective and raise your heart rate If you take blood pressure medication, talk to your doctor about other ways to mange your allergies. 9) ANTI-EPILEPTIC DRUGS Can make birth control pills less effective Early research shows they may make other drugs strong and cause potentially serious side effects. 10) VITAMIN K Be aware of how much vitamin K you take in if you are taking the drug warfarin. It can make the blood thinner less effective and put you at a higher risk of a dangerous blood clot. 11) GINSENG Can lower effects of warfarin, also Make you more likely to have internal bleeding if you take the blood thinners heparin or aspirin As well as, nonsteroidal anti-flammatory drugs(ibuprofen naproxen) Taking MAO inhibitors with ginseng can cause headaches, sleep problems, hyperactivity and nervousness. 12) ST. JOHN'S WORT This herbal remedy is not a proven treatment for depression or any other health condition Can make your liver release enzymes that can weaken some medicines 13) GINKGO BILOBA No research to prove it helps health conditions It can weaken the drugs used to control seizures

How Emotional Vampires Drain You

!- NO RECIPROCITY WITH THEM. You are here to fulfill their needs but they neglect yours. Everything is one-sided, favoring them. Their conversation are about them. Conversations feature them as the one and only person who is important. They control you to make themselves feel powerful and superior. 2- THEY PUT YOU DOWN AND TAKE PLEASURE IN SABOTAGING YOU. Toxic people on the higher end of the narcissistic spectrum tend to be envious of their victims. It sparks jealously in them when they see that you're thriving and successful. Rather than celebrate your success, they undermine it or attempt to diminish it. They can resort to petty ploys to do this. Whether that means praising someone else and comparing you in a demeaning manner to others. They are out to make a name for themselves. They one-up anyone who threatens to take the spotlight away from them. By Shahida Arabi

How to be a good caregiver

1- ASK QUESTIONS You have to understand his/her needs to give your loved one the best care. Take time to talk. Find out what he/she wants you to do for him/her. Don't insist your opinion is best. You can offer ideas, but listen to them. Show that you have heard by repeating back key points. 2- CREATE A SCHEDULE This gives him/her structure. Set times for meals, personal care, bedtime time, wake time,etc. 3- GET ORGANIZED In one place put prescriptions, insurance information, doctor contacts and health history. In in a folder, computer or smartphone, keep track of appointments. 4- KEEP TRACK OF MEDICINES For easy access, store all medications in one place. To keep it organized by day and night, use a pill box. 5- SIMPLY MEALS To plan ahead, do all the week's grocery shopping in one trip. If possible, cook a big batch of meals and freeze them. Adapt meals to your love one's taste, calorie and dietary needs. 6- MAKE THE HOME SAFE To help prevent shower and tub slips, install grab bars and handrails. To lighten bathroom trips, add lights along hallways and stairways. Pick up clutter. Secure rugs with tape. So your loved one does not have to stretch or climb, store often-used items within reach. To alert you, buy a fall monitor. 7- ASK FOR ADVICE Get help from a nurse, therapist or a geriatic care doctor. 8- ENCOURAGE SELF-CARE Don't let your love one's age, illness or disability take a toll on his/her self-esteem. Let them take as active a part as possible in their own care. 9- PREPARE FOR EMERGENCIES Ask the doctor what symptoms to watch for. What do you do if that happens. Keep a list of emergency names and numbers next to each phone in the home. WebMD

Ways to reset after a binge

From 1% to 5% of Americans have binge eating disorder. They are some of the more than 30 million Americans who will have an eating disorder in their lifetime. 1) DON'T BEAT YOURSELF UP! Amy Pershing, the Clinical Director for the Center for Eating Disorders in Ann Arbor, MI says, "One of the things I always tell people is...you're going to binge." She goes on to say,"That's how we build resiliency, it's how we build the ability to course-correct. It's how we learn to stay in recovery." She is also a recovered binge eater. She recommends, " Beating upon yourself is really easy to do. But nothing good ever comes out of self-torture. Instead take time to care for yourself, to "befriend" your body". 2) FIND OUT WHAT WENT WRONG Before a binge, bingers often starve themselves. This sets off a cycle that is sometimes hard to break. Identify and understand whatever it is. This can help you next time. What can really help is recognizing what is happening with the binge. Then taking some steps to move forward from it. This will help you avoid it becoming a weekly occurance. Get right back on track as soon as possible. 3) STICK TO YOUR SCHEDULE To signify the end of the binge, start with brushing your teeth. Start a new commitment to health. This new commitment does not include dieting or not eating. Experts call this "restricting '. It is trying to make up for the binge. This process often leads to more binging. Get back to your normal routine especially exercise. It will help you deal with the stress of a binge. It will help your mood, too. 4) GET OUT AND ABOUT Binging is a disease of isolation. It does not take place in a restaurant or in front of others. It often helps to get out of the house and away form the refrigerator to not have another binge. Take time for something you like to do. Christine Hirsh, an administrative assistant from Cleveland Heights, Ohio explains," Once a person realizes that food isn't the only thing that you can use to take away the loneliness, the pain, the anger, the sadness- that there are so many other really great things to do. Once they realize that and they find another activity or multiple activities, it becomes easier and easier for the person to separate themselves from the food." She knows from experience because she has struggled with binge eating for years. 5) REACH OUT FOR HELP Find people that will help- family, friends and professionals. There are online groups that consist of others who struggle with binge eating that will be there for you. Written by John Donovan

What do child psychologists do when rhe child won't talk?

Question on Quora Answered by Brian Combs, Psychotherapist/Social Worker "It has been said elsewhere talking is not the primary language for children. Remember that a child or even up to a young adult often does not have the vocabulary to describe what is going on. In fact I often find that there are adults that don't have that vocabulary." "Therapists often play games but that becomes the goal of coming to therapy and little therapy gets done. It does however provide one very valuable tool. Rapport. Instead the language of children is art or play. It is possible to do full art therapy." "Play therapy for children younger than teens is excellent. The child and therapist go into a "play room" that often has a sandbox and a lot of toys that they can play with." "The child gets to play in the play room. They create their world. Sometimes it is not a pleasant world. As a therapist I have been stabbed,shot,help prisoner. I tend to be non directive in the play room. The child gets to creative his or her own world in there. I am just along for the ride. Play therapy is very powerful. Another option is "sand play". In sand play a "picture is created in a tray of sand. The idea is that a person standing by the tray will have the visual field filled with the tray. Then the picture is created with figurines. Sand play therapists accumulate hundreds of these figurines over the years. The theory behind any one of these techniques is that the child is able to access material that is below the conscious level or below the level of their ability to use words to describe. The child is able to find the healing path through this play or art." "The nice thing about art therapy and sand play is that both techniques can be used with small children right up through adults."

Ways Emotional Vampires Drain You Part I

1) THEY DEPLETE YOU EMOTIONALLY AND PHYSICALLY Your whole body reacts. Your heart beats faster, your palms become sweaty and you may get an aching sense of something not being right. Out of nowhere, you may experience pain or physical ailments. Emotionally, you feel an increased sense of hopelessness. Because of the toxic person's excessive entitlement, lack of empathy and blatant disregard for your emotions, you are unable to react constructively. You are no longer able to focus on the things that matter due to the fact they drain all your energy. Their manipulative tactics are their goal to distract you so that you no longer serving your highest good. 2) YOU MIGHT STILL FEEL AFFECTED BY THEM EVEN WHEN YOU ARE NO LONGER IN THEIR PRESENCE. You find yourself going over strange things they said or cruel things they did to you. You find yourself questioning your own reality. Severe anxiety and depression are side effects of being around them for long periods of time. 3) AFTER YOU ARE AWAY FROM THEM FOR A FEW DAYS, YOU START TO FEEL ENERGETIC. When you have removed yourself from the toxic person, you feel much lighter, happier and more productive. It is almost as if a great weight has been lifted. 4) YOU ARE LEFT FEELING DISORIENTED AND CONFUSED AFTER WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A SIMPLE CONVERSATION WITH AN EASY SOLUTION TURNS INTO A BIG DEAL. Over and over again, you find yourself explaining basic human decency, fairness and integrity. They are indifferent to the pain you may experience due to their uncalled for behavior. 5) THEY ARE LIKE A NEEDLE TO A BALLOON. They try to sabotage or undermine you when you are feeling joyful, self-assured and confident with their put-downs, criticisms or underhanded tactics. They "deflate" you.

3 Ways Your Brain Is Impacted By Heartbreak

1) EMOTIONAL PAIN FEELS LIKE PHYSICAL PAIN. Heartbreak activates similar mechanisms in the brain to those activated when we experience physical pain MRI studies of heartbroken people shows. The emotional pain people experienced, in some studies, was rated as equivalent to "nearly unbearable" physical pain. The pain of heartbreak can linger for days, weeks, and even months. Because of this, the suffering heartbreak causes can be so extreme. 2) WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS Heartbreak, studies have found, activates the same mechanisms in the brain that get activated when addicts are withdrawing from substances like cocaine and opioids. Our ability to think, focus and function in the broadest terms are impacted by these powerful withdrawal symptoms from the loss of love. 3) INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS THAT KEEP US STUCK Our brain will generate intrusive thoughts of our ex that invade our thoughts without warning when our heart is broken. It may be a snippet of conversation, a memory, a mental image of the partner or some other reminder, It interrupts us, reopens our wound, reactivates our emotional pain and triggers our withdrawal symptoms each times such a though appears. Psychology Today Guy Winch PH.D The Squeaky Wheel