Is It Safe to Use This Exercise Machine?
By DR GARETH SMITH
Q I HAVE high cholesterol and the doctor put me on tablets to bring it down. I thought I would be healthy and bought a rowing machine but the instructions say I need to speak to my doctor before I use it as I am on these drugs. Why is that? I thought Iwas doing the right thing.
A YOU are doing the right thing by exercising so keep up the good work.
The reason these machines have a disclaimer is that you are at higher risk of having a heart attack because your cholesterol is high and sudden increases in the amount of exercise can put a strain on the heart. The manufacturers don’t want to beresponsible for this.
The second but much rarer reason is that your tablets can lead to muscle damage if combined with other drugs – and sudden exercise also damages muscles – so they are erring on the side of caution. Take it easy with the rower and slowly build up yourstamina over a few weeks.
Q SOMETIMES when I eat I get a really bad pain under my tongue. It can last for ages depending on what I eat. My GP says it’s nothing to worry about but it can really ruin my dinner. Is there any reason I should be worried?
A THERE are two salivary glands under the tongue that produce saliva before and during meals to help with the digestion of food. Sometimes little stones can form in the gland that can lead to the duct getting blocked. The build up of saliva can lead topain and swelling under the tongue.
Sometimes sucking a sour sweet like the ones the kids seem to like can stimulate the saliva and ease the passing of any small stones. But I would suggest you get a referral to an ENT specialist for a checkup.
Q MY psychiatrist told me I have bipolar disorder and started me on a drug called Depakote. I have noticed my hair is beginning to thin, which is embarrassing as I am a woman. Could this be the drug? Otherwise I feel great on it and would be reluctant tostop it.
A UNFORTUNATELY in rare cases – as in less than one in a thousand – Depakote can cause temporary hair loss. No one knows the reason for this but the hair should grow back. But be warned – it may grow in curly.
You should definitely speak to your psychiatrist if you want to stop your tablets as doing so suddenly can lead to a relapse, which I am sure you would want to avoid. There are other mood stabilisers you could try if the hair loss is really bad.
Q MY little girl had a condition called an intussusception and she needed an operation. Will it cause her problems when she is older as they took away a bit of her bowel?
A POOR you, I am glad she came through it well.
An intussusception happens when a bit of the bowel in a baby telescopes in on itself causing a blockage – usually when the baby is being weaned.
It is obviously very distressing as it causes extreme colic. If caught very early (which most aren’t) an operation can sometimes be avoided but usually the baby needs the bit of trapped bowel removed through surgery.
The good news is that the bowel is very, very long and she won’t miss a little bit of it, so there will be no problems when she is older.
Q WILL Ginkgo Biloba help my circulation? I get terribly cold hands and feet.
A GINKGO is used to help circulation as it causes a mild dilation of the blood vessels. People also claim it improves memory and concentration due to increased blood flow to the brain. Go to your GP and see what they make of your “circulatory problem”.If you get the allclear it is certainly worth giving it a try.
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