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Functional Neurological Disorder – The illness you didn’t know existed

Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) is a problem with the functioning of the nervous system and how the brain and body send and receive signals. Physical and/or psychological risk factors can cause functional symptoms which include a variety of physical, sensory and cognitive symptoms that have yet to be explained by a recognized disease. Symptoms - Paralysis/weakness - Non epileptic seizures - Gait and balance problems - Headaches/migraines - Chronic pain - Involuntary movements/tremors - Tics - Visual changes - Speech changes; slurred, stutter, gibberish, loss of ...

Health Matters: Challenging cure for deadly diabetes

ESCANABA — The numbers regarding the global incidence of diabetes are terrifying. This disease of excessive sugar in the bloodstream is well known for the many complications occurring too frequently. Some of them are well recognized and generally common knowledge, like the heart problems and blindness. Amputation of a limb is another concern, performed too often, but is a consequence that is preventable 85% of the time. Pre-diabetes, in which the body is starting to experience problems with glucose management, will be present in 2 out of every 5 Americans within the next ten years. ...

Health Matters: Varied treatments for a bunion

ESCANABA — Another reader asks “My mother has really bad bunions. Her big toe is sitting on top of the other toes. It looks terrible and causes her pain. My bunion is really mild. Is surgery the only treatment?” Dr. McLean responds: As recently discussed, bunions can lead to a variety of complaints, from a deformed second toe to low back pain. Certainly, bunions can cause pain over the bump on your foot, as is predictable. That is an essential component of this common deformity, a bony prominence at the base of the big toe. Shoes aren’t made to fit this bone ‘poking’ out of ...

Health Matters: Dermatoporosis – A new but emerging diagnosis

ESCANABA — America is aging, with more people becoming “senior citizens” than ever before. The U.S population is older today than it has ever been. And with these years come certain inevitable concerns, illness and disease being chief among them. Thoughts will typically turn to osteoporosis and the potential for broken bones which occur too easily in this population. But other systems in the body are affected by the passage of time. Usually given only casual thought (except for the cosmetic effects, of course), changes to our skin are significant. Greater attention has been ...

Health Matters: Early diagnosis of artery disease is rare

ESCANABA — The years are hard on the harly diagnosis of artery disease rareuman body. Examples of this fact are plentiful, from chronically aching knees to the wrinkled skin of our later years, there being many consequences to the passing years. Some of these changes are blatantly obvious, like aging skin to gray hair, there for all the world to see. But also judge: our culture is fixated on youth, little weight given to the wisdom provided by time. Some manifestations to our health are not so obvious. One of the most serious but also best hidden is the reduction in blood flow to all ...

VA offers tele-benefits appointments weekly

IRON MOUNTAIN — The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Detroit Regional Office in partnership with the Iron Mountain VA Medical Center and its community-based outpatient clinics offers tele-benefits calls each Monday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET to answer VA benefits questions. VBA can assist veterans and their caregivers, survivors, or dependents with filing a VA disability claim, checking claim status, answering PACT Act questions, verifying benefits or amount letters, requesting forms or letters, and helping dependents and survivors with inquires. The VBA Detroit Regional Office ...