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This has many causes, and is not only experienced by women. The level of sexual interest starts to fall, and then continuous to decline, in men and women in their middle years. While some women undoubtedly find HRT of tremendous benefit to their sexual lives, others find it little or no help at all. It is difficult to distinguish which symptoms in women are caused by lower levels of oestrogen, and which are just the effects of ageing.

Medical causes. It is quite usual for people with various medical problems to find their interest in sex drops. This could be due to a whole range of physical disabilities, or to medical conditions they suffer from, or to medication that they take.

People, particularly men, who have had one heart attack, often have a natural fear that sexual intercourse may trigger another, and this is something your doctor (or the British Heart Foundation) can advise you about.

Gynaecological or urinary problems can make women reluctant to have sexual intercourse, and some operations can cause changes to a woman’s vagina or a man’s penis so that sex becomes difficult or impossible. Many drugs reduce sexual desire, so if you have noticed your interest in sex dropping soon after starting a different course of medicine, ask your doctor about this, and he may feel it is possible to change the prescription.

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The top of the vagina may be narrowed or shortened as a result of the hysterectomy and any scar in that area may take as long as three months to lose its tenderness and become flexible. Occasionally the hysterectomy itself leads to a prolapse of the bladder, rectum or vagina. Further surgery is then needed to reposition and anchor the organs so that they do not collapse downwards.

Various problems can occur with an abdominal scar, especially if a woman has previously had several abdominal operations (for example, Caesarean sections). The scar may be itchy or sore and the woman may think it looks unsightly. Some physiotherapists use ultrasound to soften the scar tissue and ease the soreness. The sound waves that are generated during ultrasound have a mechanical shaking effect which stimulates blood flow and cell activity in the hardened areas. Sometimes it is possible to reposition the scar or combine a number of scars during further surgery. Bruising and swelling at the site of an incision may also pose problems. The area may be drained or left to resolve itself, a process that can take several months.

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There are many causes of insomnia. The following are some of the more common causes:

1. Pseudo-insomnia. This is probably the most common cause in the normal population. These people believe they cannot sleep because of one or more of the above mentioned reasons. Their confidence to sleep is gone, and they become worried as the evening approaches since they predict they will not sleep. Because they experience insomnia in bed, some develop a phobia about their beds, as they can sleep anywhere and at any time except in bed. They may be quite happy sleeping on a sofa or in front of the television, but when they are in their beds at night they are wide awake and feel distressed.

2. Biological clock related insomnia. We all have a biological clock within us. Sometimes we have to reset out biological clock abruptly; for instance, because of jet lag or a change in shift duties, and the clock is thrown out of phase. The biological clock governs a number of biological functions in the body; the most important is the sleep pattern. The other functions are body temperature, hormonal balance, metabolic rate, urine output, stomach and bowel activity, and so on. Each biological function follows the biological clock differently, and any sudden changes to the clock throw them out of phase with each other. Besides not being able to sleep, we feel below par and are unable to function normally.

3. Situational insomnia. This is normally transient and is precipitated by some situation that a person is experiencing. Anxiety, stress, and worry of what is going to happen are typical causes of insomnia. Stress is a common cause of insomnia.

4. Physical illness. It is a fairly common practice for the sister in charge of a hospital ward to ask the resident doctor to prescribe sleeping pills for the patients just in case they cannot sleep. This is a much more common practice in nursing homes. There are two reasons why sleeping pills are prescribed in hospital. The first is that it is reasonable not to be able to sleep in hospital. You are sick and in a totally new bed in a new environment with a new routine. On top of all this there is the additional stress of your own physical illness and not knowing its outcome. The second reason is that if some patients are not sleeping they may interfere with the other patients and, in the end, no one gets any sleep.

5. Pain. We all experience pain at some stage in our lives, whether it is toothache, headache, stomach-ache, or whatever. The pain we feel drags us down, we feel awful, our whole routine is ruined. Chronic pain is even worse, as there is no escape; the pain is with the sufferer all the time. People who suffer from chronic pain may find sleep the only escape, but if they have insomnia there is no escape at all.

6. Drug-withdrawal insomnia. It is now recognized that the modern sleeping pill is effective for

about two weeks only. These pills supress REM sleep. When the pills are stopped, the sleeper experiences a rebound of excessive REM sleep. This means the sleeper will have an excessive number of dreams and sometimes nightmares. This will be experienced as disruptive sleep and insomnia. The person who experiences drug-withdrawal insomnia believes that his innate ability to sleep is lost, for once he stops taking the pills he cannot sleep anymore. In fact, of course, he has not lost his ability to sleep. It is just that the symptom of drug withdrawal is insomnia. It is a common experience for a patient to see his doctor and say, ‘I ran out of sleeping pills two nights ago and I cannot sleep at all. I guess I do not know how to sleep anymore. Please prescribe me another 50 tablets’. This should of course be rephrased as, ‘I ran out of sleeping pills, and I cannot sleep because I am addicted to them, but once the withdrawal effect passes I will be sleeping again’. Ideally sleeping pills should not be stopped suddenly, but rather the dosage reduced gradually and finally stopped.

7. Excessive daytime sleepiness or EDS. This includes narcolepsy and sleep apnoea. Narcolepsy is abnormal sleep attacks and sleep apnoea is frequent waking at night because of an inability to breathe. Sufferers fall asleep easily in the daytime and most of them do not have the distress of not sleeping at night; hence their chief complaint is normally not insomnia.

8. Mental illness. Insomnia is a common symptom of mental illness, but frequently there are many other symptoms at the same time. This book is not written for sufferers of mental illnesses, as they always need the care of professionals. People with these conditions should not stop their medications, as very often the medications provide the only effective treatment.

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This principle is a basic part of the relaxing mental exercises. When tension predominates we can use a train of thought like this:

Relaxed.

Whole body relaxed.

Relaxation in my arm.

Feel it in my mind.

Feel my mind relaxed.

There are both physical and mental aspects to the feeling of tension. With physical relaxation the tension of our body subsides and we experience the relaxation of our muscles. Then we feel in our mind the feeling of the relaxed muscles.

Start with your arm. Feel the relaxation in it; then feel this relaxation of your arm in your mind. Be sure that you are doing it properly. Feel in your mind the relaxation that is in your arm.

Relaxation of the Face Brings Relaxation of the Mind. We use to our advantage the very close relationship between the state of the muscles of our face and the state of our mind:

Relaxed.

Legs, arms, whole body relaxed.

It is in my face.

Jaw muscles loose.

Muscles around the eyes are relaxed.

Whole face smoothes out.

Forehead relaxed—deeply.

I feel it in my mind.

In all our exercises we make sure that we maintain relaxation of the face muscles because of their effect on our mental relaxation.

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Dr. Essen makes some important exceptions to some of the fundamental principles adopted by other major clinics in Sweden, as follows:

1. Dr. Essen has a general impression, based on practical experience and existing case histories, that prolonged fasting is undesirable in the case of rheumatoid arthritis. The same is true concerning the raw, uncooked diet Although it is general observation, including his own personal experience, that fasting and raw food diets result in an immediate and striking improvement in the condition of the patient, it is all too common that prolonged, continuous treatment of this kind will very often result in a change for the worse. The reason for this is that raw vegetable juices and raw vegetables, as well as fasting, dissolve the accumulated toxins too fast and thus activate biochemical changes in the joints to such an extent that the pathologically affected joints cannot tolerate it nor can eliminative organs handle the heavy load of wastes thus thrown into the bloodstream. This invariably leads to deterioration and worsening of the condition. Raw food therapy and fast therapy, as healing measures, are very powerful curative therapies and should be employed with great caution.

Consequently, Dr. Essen recommends repeated short fasts from three to five days followed by the cleansing diet for the same length of time. The intermediate diet should consist of a mixed raw and cooked vegetable diet, well balanced and individually planned in every case to prevent detoxification from occurring too rapidly.

2. The administration of certain biological preparations (organic medicines) is of very great importance in Dr. Essen’s treatments. The biologically oriented physician in Europe has access to a growing line of new biological medicines made from organic and inorganic substances found in nature and prepared in accordance with biological principles. They are never synthetic and never toxic. Several companies in Europe specialize in the production of such remedies. The preparations most used by Dr. Essen are the well-known remedies from Weleda and Wala in Switzerland. These preparations are administered both orally and as subcutaneous injections.

Dr. Essen says, “The therapeutic effect of these kinds of medications lies in the fact that they direct the life-force in the desired direction, stimulate the glands and other vital organs of the body, and accelerate the healing process. They do not alter nor interfere with normal metabolic processes, only support and activate them.”

Aside from these two exceptions, Dr. Essen’s program is in general similar to what we have described in the previous chapter: lactovegetarian diet, preferably of organically (without sprays and chemical fertilizers) grown products, fasting, enemas, therapeutic baths, physiotherapy, relaxation massage, etc.

In his practice all synthetic and chemical drugs are taboo. He warns, however, that cortisone should not be cut off abruptly. The doses should be reduced gradually until the body has time to adjust to the new situation. He replaces cortisone with biological medicines that stimulate the adrenals, hypophysis, and other endocrine glands.

In addition, he uses large doses of vitamins, particularly vitamin B-121 and large doses of vitamin E (300 milligrams a day), because of its anticollagenotic effect.2 Furthermore, he uses vitamin C (up to 1,000 milligrams orally or intravenously), also B-complex and C combination. The other remedies to note are pollen preparations, organic mineral supplements, medicinal herbs, biologically prepared elixirs, and Luvos Heilerde, a clay preparation which is very effective in absorption and elimination of toxins from the intestinal tract. To the same end he uses various preparations of lactoacid bacteria: L. acidophilus, L. thermophilus, L. bulgaris.

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What should a bystander do during a grand mal attack? The onset is often so sudden that it is difficult to do much at all in the early stage, though it may be possible to break the person’s fall. Parents or other relatives may recognize the warning signs that may occur if the generalized seizure follows a focal discharge, and so may have time to help the person to a chair or to a bed before the grand mal begins.

Don’t try to open the person’s clenched mouth. The tongue, if bitten, is bitten at the onset of the attack, so there is no point in trying to save it. If the bystander uses his own fingers to try to force the mouth open, they may well be bitten in the clonic phase. If he tries to force a spoon or pencil between the teeth, the person’s teeth may be damaged. These manoeuvres are still sometimes attempted by tradition, and sometimes, presumably, because it is assumed that the person’s blue colour and arrest of breathing are due to obstruction to the passage of air into the lungs. Attempts to ‘loosen the collar’ presumably result from the same thoughts. However, all of us have enough gaps between our teeth to allow passage of air around them as readers can readily show for themselves by clenching their teeth, pinching the nose, and breathing in. Obstruction to the airway may occur during a seizure, if the person is lying on his back. The tongue may then fall backwards into the pharynx, and, for this reason, it is worth turning someone suffering a grand mal seizure into a position halfway between lying on his or her side and face, and thumping the back so that the tongue and any dentures fall forwards. This position also has the advantage that if the person vomits, as occasionally happens, the contents of the stomach pass easily out of the mouth, and there is no danger of vomit entering the trachea and lungs.

If a grand mal seizure occurs in a public place, it usually happens that someone calls an ambulance—very often to the annoyance of the person with epilepsy, who is well on the way to recovery by the time the ambulance driver delivers him to the local hospital. There is no need to call an ambulance unless it is clear that repeated seizures are occurring.

There is usually little to be done during a partial seizure, except to stand by in a reassuring manner until seizure activity ceases. Occasionally gentle restraint may be necessary in the case of complex automatic behaviour.

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Now when it comes to osteoarthritis we’re talking about events or circumstances that shock, damage, or exert excessive pressure and wear on the joints. Even normal but vigorous sports activities, not just injuries, can trigger the arthritic process. So can an automobile accident or a fall. So can working a jackhammer or regularly operating a keyboard. The former can seriously damage your joints and the latter can result in carpal tunnel syndrome.

Things like that are not hard to identify. And what would happen if someone were to take CMO shortly after such events?

Remember, we already know the arthritic process can start when macrophages encounter damaged or unhealthy cartilage and start their cleanup job, and then report their activities back to the Memory T-cells that program autoimmune processes. Well, there it is, the beginning of the autoimmune process that can result in arthritis sometime sooner or later.

Please note that we say can, not will, because it may be that every such event does not trigger the autoimmune arthritic process. But we well know that the great majority of athletes, jackhammer operators, and joint trauma victims do eventually develop arthritis in the affected joints. We see or hear from them every day.

But could CMO have nipped it in the bud? The answer is, as before, probably. There’s very likely a matter of timing involved. If a course of CMO capsules were taken only once before the whole macrophage cleanup action was completed, then the ongoing cleanup process would continue to affect the Memory T-cells and the autoimmune arthritic process would probably still be triggered.

But if the course of CMO capsules were taken after the whole macrophage cleanup process was completed, then it would probably correct the existing Memory T-cell programming and halt the arthritic process before it ever reached a stage where any symptoms would ever become evident. That would be true, of course, only if their were no additional traumas or damage to the areas.

On the other hand, for those who suffer repeated joint trauma, it is likely that taking CMO a couple times a year could well prevent arthritis from ever occurring. Or it could be taken after the events are no longer likely to occur – like retiring from football or changing jobs.

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Symptom

Red patches, blisters, or spots on the skin

Home care

If die rash causes itching, have the child take warm baths, or apply a soothing lotion such as calamine.

Precautions

-    Do not be concerned about a rash that disappears within a few days and does not recur.

-    Certain distinctive rashes are symptoms of specific diseases. A rash that j is a symptom of a disease will disappear when the disease is identified and treated.

A rash is a skin eruption which appears as red patches, blisters, or spots. It is often accompanied by itching. A rash can affect a limited area or be widespread over extensive areas of the body.

A rash can be caused by exposure to the sun, heat, cold, chemicals in household products, or fabrics such as wool. Certain foods – strawberries, for example – also produce rashes in people who are sensitive (allergic) to that particular food. These rashes are often known as allergic rashes; the rash is a symptom of the allergy.

A rash can also appear as a symptom of a disease, in which case the rash is usually characteristic of the disease producing it. Distinctive rashes appear as symptoms of (among other diseases) measles, rubella (German measles), chicken pox, and shingles, all of which are infectious diseases. Certain sexually transmitted diseases such as herpes and syphilis also display distinctive rashes.

A rash often disappears when its underlying cause disappears or is successfully treated.

Signs and symptoms

The rash itself is obvious, but the cause may not be so easily identified. A rash caused by a disease will be accompanied by other symptoms.

Home care

You need not be too concerned about a rash that appears and then disappears within a couple of days and does not recur. If the rash causes itching you can apply a soothing lotion like calamine. Another suggestion is to have the child take a warm bath. A rash that recurs may indicate an allergy. If you cannot immediately identify the allergy-causing substance (a certain food, for instance), have the child checked out by a doctor. You can only avoid the allergy-causing substance in the future if you know what it is. If the child has a rash accompanied by other symptoms, consult the doctor.

Precautions

• A rash that lasts for a few days and has no identifiable cause should be seen by a doctor.

• Certain types of rashes are warning signs of specific infectious or sexually transmitted diseases.

Medical treatment

The doctor may prescribe a soothing lotion for minor itching caused by a rash. In allergy-caused rashes the doctor will try to identify the allergy-causing substance. If the rash is caused by a disease, the doctor will diagnose and treat the disease.

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It seems like when AIDS came on the scene in the early 1980s we pretty much forgot about all the other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). But they didn’t forget about us. STDs are a hidden epidemic, newly infecting 12 million Americans a year. They haven’t gone away.

Here’s a roster of the heavy hitters.

Herpes simplex 2. This version of herpes may have found a home by now in as many as one in four sexually active men, two-thirds of whom don’t know they have it. When the characteristic open sores show themselves in the genital area, that’s when you can usually catch it-or give it. “But you can also actually pass it on to a sex partner when a lesion is nowhere in sight,” says Dr. William Kassler of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “That’s what has everybody concerned. We think it’s what’s fueling the herpes epidemic.”

Chlamydia. It’s the fastest-spreading STD, infecting as many as four million men and women a year. It’s a particularly insidious one, too, since men don’t have symptoms about a quarter of the time, and women three-quarters of the time. When symptoms do show up, you’ll probably experience either a genital discharge, painful urination, or both. Chlamydia also, though rarely, can cause painful or swollen testicles. Chlamydia is a bacterial infection, so it’s curable with antibiotics-if you know that you have it.

Genital warts. Its given name is human papillomavirus, or HPV. The symptoms are what its nickname implies-warts on the anus, penis, or scrotum. About a million Americans join the HPV club each year. They never leave it.

Syphilis. This one has been rockin’ longer than Mick and Keith. It’s one of the more manageable STDs these days since it usually makes its presence known via a painless chancre on the penis and exits promptly with antibiotics. Ignore it, however, and it can result in blindness, heart disease, and death.

Gonorrhea. The symptoms are similar to those of chlamydia. Also like chlamydia, the symptoms sometimes fail to show up. The clap gets about 800,000 Americans each year but succumbs nicely to antibiotics.

Hepatitis B. Like HIV, it’s found in blood, semen, and vaginal secretions and is spread through sexual contact and shared needles. Unlike HIV, it usually clears itself up in a month or two. But this kind of hepatitis needs medical attention because possible liver damage puts you at risk for cirrhosis or liver cancer.

You can keep from getting any of these STDs by following much the same safe-sex guidelines that you do for AIDS-careful partner selection, mutual full disclosure before sex, and a strict adherence to condom use, says Dr. Kassler.

And for most STDs, you have an option you don’t have with AIDS-getting rid of it. “The thing to do is recognize the symptoms of STDs, go to a doctor, and get them treated,” Dr. Kassler says. “The earlier you get them taken care of, the safer you are.”

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Exercise

Exercise is also highly beneficial, as it can help alleviate period pains by increasing circulation to the pelvic region. Exercise can also reduce stress and it is well known that exercise releases brain chemicals called endorphins which make us feel calmer, happier and more alert.

Exercise alone has been shown to have a very positive effect on people suffering from depression, stress, anxiety and insomnia and it is now often recommended as part of the treatment for these problems. Stress can have a direct effect on fertility so it is important to find ways of dealing with it.

Exercise can also have a direct effect on controlling oestrogen. A fascinating study, reported in the US Journal of the National Cancer Institute, showed that women who exercised for around four hours a week had a 58 per cent lower risk of breast cancer and those who routinely exercised for between one and three hours a week had a 30 per cent lower risk.169 Regular exercise seems to modify a woman’s hormonal activity in a beneficial way. We know that extremes of exercise alter the menstrual cycle dramatically – many women athletes, for instance, don’t have periods at all. So moderate routine exercise may suppress the production (or overproduction) of hormones, reducing a woman’s exposure during her lifetime. Some breast cancers are oestrogen-sensitive so it makes sense that if the hormone levels are more balanced then the risk of developing breast cancer will be lower. This knowledge is also valuable in other conditions where excess oestrogen may be a problem (e.g. PCOS, fibroids and endometriosis).

Herbs

Herbs can have a tremendous impact on these three conditions. If your problem is long-standing, it may be worth asking a medical herbalist for a private consultation.

• Agnus castus (vitex/chasteberry) is one of the most important herbs for female hormone problems. It stimulates and normalizes the function of the pituitary gland, which controls and balances the hormones in the body. Agnus castus works by restoring the balance, whether it is a hormone deficit or an excess.

• Milk thistle is an excellent herb for the liver and a number of studies have shown that its use can result in an increase of new liver cells to replace old damaged ones. Silymarin is the collective name for the substances found in milk thistle that produce this beneficial effect.

• Dandelion also helps cleanse the liver, the major organ of detoxification, which gets rid of accumulated ‘old’ female hormones.

Essential fatty acids

Our bodies produce beneficial prostaglandins from essential fatty acids. These prostaglandins help reduce period pains and they also have an anti-inflammatory effect which is especially beneficial for endometriosis sufferers.

Zinc and vitamin B6 are also important for the correct metabolism of fatty acids and their conversion to beneficial prostaglandins (PGE1 and PGE3). However, certain prostaglandins (PGE2) can have a negative effect in large amounts. They are highly inflammatory, and can cause swelling and pain and also thicken the blood.

In a 1998 study, women with endometriosis were asked to eliminate caffeine, to control blood sugar (and the over-excretion of insulin), and to supplement with essential fatty acids. The doctors found that by making these simple dietary changes, the women experienced a significant decrease in their symptoms. The control of blood sugar is also central to the dietary treatment of PCOS.

To ease fertility problems naturally, you need to:

• eliminate caffeine

• reduce or eliminate saturated fats

• eliminate alcohol

• get your weight within a BMI of 20-24.

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