The leading causes of death in the United States (U.S.) are heart disease and strokes.…
Author: Emma Yasinski
I am a freelance science and medical journalist, fascinated by how the scientific process leads to incredible discoveries, but also can lead to publication bias leaning toward positive findings and minimizing negatives. With a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Lafayette College and a Master’s in Science and Medical Journalism from Boston University, I’ve written about clinical trial transparency, organ donation, and basic molecular biology for publications like The Scientist, The Atlantic, Undark.org, Kaiser Health News, and more. At MedShadow, I research and write about the sometimes unexpected ways that medicines can affect us, and what we can do if and when it does.
Monitoring Crucial Side Effects of PrEP
Most of PrEP’s side effects are relatively mild and dissipate within a few months. However, these drugs can come with rare but serious risks.
Usually, our immune systems protect us from all kinds of outside invaders like the bacteria that causes strep throat and the virus that causes COVID, but what happens when our immune system’s highly-specialized antibodies, white blood cells, and inflammatory molecules glitch and turn against us, attacking our body’s own tissues and organs? We get autoimmune diseases. There are 80 types of autoimmune diseases, and they’re often difficult to diagnose. The symptoms of autoimmune diseases can vary widely based on the parts of the body that are affected. Often, the symptoms of autoimmune diseases, like painful swelling and inflammation, change from…
Olivia Walker was diagnosed with Lupus when she was just 6 years old. Over the past 25 years, she’s been prescribed “nearly everything on the market.” For the most part, that consists of over the counter painkillers, corticosteroids, and hydroxychloroquine (yes, the one that some thought could help treat COVID early in the pandemic.) Just recently, she started taking Benlysta (belimumab), a drug approved in 2011 specifically for lupus. “It has been my favorite of the treatments I’ve taken over the last 25-plus years,” she says. “I find myself having more energy and fewer symptoms.” But Walker is Black, and…
It took seven years for Madeline Shonka to be diagnosed with lupus. Unfortunately, her struggles didn’t end there. The side effects of medications for lupus that her healthcare providers prescribed were often debilitating side effects, such as weight gain, rashes and even difficulty managing anger. Then, over time, her physicians tested different, better-suited treatments on Shonka. She found that certain new habits, like light exercise, made a big difference in her quality of life. She then founded Co-immunity, which hosts support groups for patients with chronic illnesses, so that they can share their experiences. What Is Lupus? Lupus is an…
Madeline Shonka told MedShadow it took her years to get an accurate lupus diagnosis. Even then, she had to go through trial and error with many different combinations of medications for treatment, all the while trying to decipher the best lifestyle changes to manage her condition. For example, she eventually discovered that making time for light exercise had a huge positive impact on her quality of life. Jill Dehlin, an RN who suffers from migraines, told MedShadow that tracking her symptoms helped immensely. “I recommend to everyone that I speak with to keep a journal or diary and keep track…
When viruses, bacteria and other foreign pathogens enter our bodies, our immune system fights back with inflammation — changes in blood flow and a rush of immune cells that allow it to locate and destroy the intruders. As long as the inflammation quickly retreats when it’s no longer needed, this natural process is paramount, and healthful. However, sometimes inflammation sticks around. Chronic inflammation has been linked to a variety of diseases, including some cancers and Alzheimer’s. It’s also a driving force in autoimmune diseases like Type 1 diabetes and lupus. Such foods as sodas, sugars, highly processed carbohydrates and red…
Doctors: Side Effects of HIV Drug Can Be Managed
Two patients have reportedly been cured of the HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) through bone marrow transplants intended to treat their cancer. A third was cured without the transplant. For most people, however, the disease still requires lifelong treatment, often with a combination of multiple drugs, which can lead to multiple HIV drug side effects. The first drugs for HIV didn’t do much to prolong people’s lives, says Edwin Bosa-Osorio, MD, a family physician at Community Health of South Florida. Over time, though, researchers learned that the most effective approach to managing the disease was for patients to take an amalgam…
Lifestyle Changes and Rheumatoid Arthritis
RA meds can be harsh. Try these 7 lifestyle changes to manage RA and improve your life.
Treating Osteoporosis Without Bisphosphonates Lara Pizzorno minces no words when explaining why she didn’t want to take a class of drugs called bisphosphonates when she got a surprising diagnosis of osteopenia – weak bones, but not osteoporosis – at age 43. “You only need them if you want to accumulate crummy brittle bones,” said the editor of Longevity Medicine Review and author of the book Your Bones: How You Can Prevent Osteoporosis and Have Strong Bones for Life Naturally. R. Keith McCormick puts it this way in his book, The Whole Body Approach to Osteoporosis: “Using bisphosphonates is like your…
Less than 40% of senior adults report adverse events they experience with a medication to their doctor. A retrospective study looked at 860 people 70 and older who were living in their community and had multiple health issues. They were asked if they had experienced a list of symptoms, whether a symptom bothered them, if they thought it was related to a medication and if they had talked about it with their doctor. Results showed that the main reasons patients didn’t tell their doctor about adverse events was that they thought it was related to their old age and they…
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