Health Problems Resolved

So the health problems that Opa experienced after the cystoscopy (which I wrote about here) appear to be resolved! Although it took a couple of weeks, the Urotonic Tea seems to have worked. Opa is symptom free and back in good form! 

Update on Opa's Health

Opa has had some difficulties since his cystoscopy which was done a couple of months ago as part of his annual physical checkup. The results were good -- no signs of bladder cancer -- but he experienced some complications.

Since finishing the course of antibiotics, the incontinence has improved significantly, but there is still blood in the urine. Plus there are side-effects from the antibiotics: diarrhea, fatigue and poor appetite. Opa's not even interested in his all-time-favourite beverage, milk!

I called the clinic a couple of days ago, thinking that maybe the antibiotics didn't clear the urinary tract infection. I was told that no bacteria grew in the urine culture. This was surprising since the urinalysis revealed white blood cells which usually indicates a UTI. This was also troubling since now the most likely cause of Opa's symptoms is injury to the urethra or bladder from the cystoscopy.

Before returning to the urologist, who is likely to recommend some invasive treatment, we've decided to go the alternative medicine route.

A holistic health care professional recommended Urotonic Medicinal Tea to help soothe and heal the  urinary tract and Ultimate Flora Critical Care to restore proper digestive function and boost the immune system. Opa's iron levels tend to be on the low end of normal since he rarely eats meat, and are probably even lower now that he's had this bleeding problem for so long, so we've also added Floradix.

We were told that improvement of urinary symptoms is generally experienced in about three days with the Urotonic Tea. It's Day 2 now, so we'll see how it goes. Keeping fingers crossed!

The Red Wine Experiment

In Opa’s family, there is a high risk of cardiovascular disease. Opa himself has cardiovascular disease and had life-saving bypass surgery almost 20 years ago.  At 85, he has outlived all of his 10 siblings many of whom did not survive beyond middle age.

After the bypass surgery, Opa was prescribed the beta-blocker Sotalol to control blood pressure and the statin Lipitor to control cholesterol. Although he took these medications faithfully for more than 15 years, both his blood pressure and LDL cholesterol levels remained high. Opa was also diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) which was attributed to his diet. Four years ago, Opa decided that the side-effects of Lipitor, particularly muscle pain and fatigue, were no longer tolerable. And, against his doctor's advice, he stopped using all prescribed medications.  

Opa hardly eats any meat, but he does love cheese, cream, milk and butter. So when he discontinued the meds, I suggested that we start drinking red wine with rich meals to help lower cholesterol (and also because I happen to like red wine). He agreed even though he didn't particularly like wine and almost never drank alcohol.

Like many others, I have known for a long time that moderate drinking of red wine and other alcoholic beverages is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease. But I didn’t know how much cardio protection wine offers until today.

According to the British Medical Journal, 30 grams of alcohol a day may cause an estimated reduction of 24.7% in risk of coronary heart disease ("standard" drinks of a 5 oz glass of wine, a 12 oz can of beer, and a 1.5 oz shot of hard liquor each contain about 14 grams of alcohol).

Findings published in the American Heart Association journal showed that “drinking 1 to 2 drinks per day, 3 to 4 days per week decreased the risk of having a heart attack by as much as 32%... and was found to be associated with an approximately 20% reduction in the risk for ischemic stroke and may even be beneficial in preventing subsequent strokes.”

In regard to mortality by all causes, the American Heart Association published a 2010 review showing that moderate alcohol consumption reduces the risk of mortality by all causes by 20%. (It should go without saying, but I'll mention anyway that high levels of alcohol consumption show the opposite effect.)

But what about statins?

Statins also reduce mortality. According to a recent Cochrane review, statins reduce risk of mortality by all causes by 0.76%. Across studies, for every group of 100 patients who did not take statins, 5.17 died within a few years, and for every group of 100 patients who took statins, 4.41 died within a few years. This positive effect, although small, is greater than the findings yielded in the previous Cochrane review which showed a 0.07% reduction in mortality. Also noteworthy is that some 15% - 20% of patients using statins experience side effects; muscle aches, fatigue, liver toxicity, and memory loss are among the most recognized to date.

And beta-blockers?

 

The Journal of the American Medical Association (Jama) released a media statement in October of 2012 with this headline: Beta-Blocker Use Not Associated with Lower Risk of Cardiovascular Events. Although beta-blockers have been the standard treatment for coronary artery disease, the 2012 review showed that “beta-blocker use was not associated with a lower event rate of cardiovascular events at 44-month follow-up, even among patients with prior history of MI [myocardial infarction]. Further research is warranted to identify subgroups that benefit from beta-blocker therapy and the optimal duration of beta-blocker therapy.”

So did Opa make the right decision when he switched to wine?

Beta blockers have not been shown to have any long term cardioprotective effects. Statins have been shown to reduce the rate of mortality by nearly 1% but also have unpleasant (and sometimes dangerous) side-effects. And two drinks of red wine (or other alcoholic beverage) a few times a week have been shown to reduce the risk of mortality by 20%, the risk of heart attack by 32%, and the risk of stroke by 20%. Plus side-effects are generally pleasant. So, based on the research, it's safe to say yes, Opa made the right decision. It'a slso safe to say that he made the right decision based on the results of his check-up.

As I think I mentioned in a previous post, Opa recently returned to his doctor for a complete physical (read: he finally said yes after numerous suggestions over the past few years). Results were as follows:

· blood pressure 120/80 (normal)

· LDL cholesterol 2.1 (considered to be in the ideal range for people at risk of heart disease)

· liver function normal (confirmed by blood tests and ultrasound)

Opa’s doctor was amazed (as was I!) and wondered what might account for these results. He smiled when I suggested that it might be the red wine. His advice to Opa? “While I can’t prescribe red wine, I suggest that you just keep doing what you’re doing.”

 

I didn't mention it to the doctor, but I can't help but think that, in Opa's case, the dementia might also be a cardio protective factor. Or maybe not the dementia per se but its meditation-like, "living in the present" effects, coupled perhaps with our calm, low-stress home environment. 

 

Studies consistently show the health benefits of meditation. Most striking is a 2009 study from the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee presented to the American Heart Association. Findings from the 9-year study showed that participants with coronary heart disease who practiced meditation had 47% lower rates of heart attack, stroke, and mortality by all causes compared to nonmeditating controls.

 

Although Opa would never have been interested in meditation or concepts like "living in the present" in younger days, I don't think this research would surprise him today. In fact, if you ask him what the secret to good health is, he will invariably respond with this:

 

He might also want to add: "And maybe drink a little red wine."