The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Page THE HERALD OUTLOOK Saturday September There are benefits and risks to surgery gott DEAR DR GOTT I m a 73year old female with emphysema heart failure hypoglycemia hiatal hernia and hypothyroidism My cardiologist wants to do an operation on the artery in my neck How dangerous is this procedure and how much recupera tion is necessary DEAR READER Without knowing what operation your cardiologist I can assess the benefits and risks of the procedure However beouse of your emphysema and heart disease you are certainly at high risk for serious complications from anesthesia You will want to be absolutely sure the operation is sary before consenting to it Why not obtain a second opinion You certainly could benefit from an other perspective The advice given by a qualified consultant would en able you to make an informed about surgery To give you more information I am sending you a free copy of my Health Report An In formed Approach To Surgery DEAR I ve been on thy roid replacement for many years and see an endocrinologist every six months A couple of years ago my white blood count dropped to the low 2 and since then has ranged be tween 2 and 500 1m afraid my immune system might not be quale to meet an emergency and that the low count indicates the early stages of some disease DEAR READER I suspect you have two different afflictions First you have an underactive thyroid gland for which you take thyroid sup plements The medicine is an unlikely cause for your low whiteblood cell count Patients with hypothyroidism sometimes have low blood counts but the counts usually return to normal once the thyroid deficiency is corrected Second your white cell count is low It should ordinarily be to 10 cells per cubic millimeter of whole blood Although a count of to 500 may be normal far you it could indicate a problem such as leu with your bone marrow The bone marrow may stop making cells if the patient has a nutritional or vita deficiency cancer immune ciency chronic infection or toxic drug reaction from penicillin for exam pie Ask your endocrinologist why your white blood cell count is low and whether more tests could indicate treatment DEAR DR GOTT have internal and external hemorrhoids that have been treated in the past by surgery My current doctor assured me he can remove the internal ones with a rub band treatment and the external ones by freezing them your opinion DEAR READER Ligatmg hemor rhoids with rubber bands or freezing them may be appropriate therapy for you Both techniques are standard they don t involve surgery and are therefore less painful safer and cheaper If your doctor is familiar with these methods take his advice DEAR DR GOTT My 79 yearold husband has a high triglyceride level and at I have a high cholesterol level We like cheese and nuts and wonder if this contributes to our prob lem Is there a medication we can take to lower our levels DEAR READER Although you and your husband have separate prob lems they may be related ol and triglycerides are the two major fats in the bloodstream High choles terol is associated with arterioscle rotic heart disease the role of high triglycerides is less clear Cholesterol is primarily a compo nent of animal fat and dairy products Therefore people on lowcholesterol diets must reduce or eliminate foods rich in the fat luncheon meats whole milk cheese butter icecream bacon and non lean cuts of red meat The small amounts of cholesterol present in other foods such as shellfish are not particularly important Therefore you should avoid cheese or at least use modest amounts of low fat cheese Your husband problem is less pie High triglycerides are often pre sent in diabetics in people who con sume alcohol and in obese patients High levels may also reflect too much fat in the diet Some medicines such as diuretics and cortisone cause an increase in triglycerides Therefore a doctor should determine if there is a secondary cause of your husbands triglyceride problem In any case he should be placed on a low fat diet Several medicines lower blood fats some affect only cholesterol some affect triglycerides and others reduce both substances Whether you and your husband should be taking such medicines is a decision best made by your doctor Both of you could benefit from cutting animal fat and other saturated fats from your ASK KATH diet where possible To give you more information I am sending you a free copy of my Health Report Right for a Healthy Heart DEAR My husband has been diagnosed with We ve tried many things and have been to many doctors Some doctors al lude to the possibility of it being in his mind but I know better Can you help us DEARREADER Fibromyalgia brositis or fibromyositis is a poorly understood affliction of unknown cause that affects adults and is marked by pain tenderness and stiff ness of muscles The hallmark of the disease is the presence of various trigger points areas of muscle that are extremely tender when pressed The major problem in diagnosing fibromyalgia is to rule out other diseases such as rheumatoid ar and polymyalgia There are no specific tests for fibro myalgia it is a diagnosis of exclusion Nonetheless it is a well recognized syndrome Your husband is not imag his symptoms Prism journal seeks fiction writers Prism international Western Canada s oldest literary journal announces its Annual Short Fiction Contest Winners will receive publication payment and first prize of or one of five second prizes of All entries must be original unpublished material available for publication in a future issue of interna tional This year s final judge will be Van Herk author of Judith The Tent Peg and No Fixed Ad dress Preliminary judging by the Prism international editorial board Entries must be typed double- spaced on by white paper There are no restrictions on form or length of stories Entrant s full rutme and address must appear on he first page of each story Works of translation are eligible All entries must be accompanied by a entry fee plus 5 for each submitted There is no limit to the number of stories which may entered entry fee must be paid only once All entrants will receive a one- year subscription issues to Prism international Current subscribers will receive a oneyear extension to their subscription Manuscripts will be returned on if accompanied by a SASE of suitable size return postage must be in Canadian stamps Interna Reply Coupons or money order US postage is not valid in Canada Entries must be marked no later than Dec l Results will be announced early in 1990 A win list will be supplied upon re quest if accompanied by a separate SASE Send entries with SASE to Fie tion Contest Prism international Creative Writing University of British Columbia E4661868 Main Mall Vancouver B C Canada V6T1W5 Bulk Foods BAKING NEEDS OPEN DAYS MOUNT N q I TIM PLAZA Of I Your Dependable Home Cleaning Service Specializing In House Cleaning For Particular People be raguu tot tomM CAU 873 Exercise Plays a Vital Role in Permanent Weight Control Aerobic exercise uses your body fat stores as its primary fuel source That means that a high percentage of the time you spend exercising is devoted to burning excess fat At Diet Center we recommend that you exercise for at least one half hour four times weekly to lose excess fat and to maintain your ideal weight Of course for your exercise regimen to be fully effective you should combine it with a nutn tionallysound diet The Diet Center KATIIY IIAIAS Dill tllllT Program provides all of the ele necessary to ensure nent weight control Stop in today and ask for a free consultation CENTER Business Number Persons 8772900 Consultation Home Number Appointment 8530780 QS Mill St Georgetown Passive Reducing Exclusive Ladies Salon Watch SPECIALS 8734907 Rear Entrance Georgetown DP THE WEEK EVERY THURSDAY HOT ROAST REEF PLATE FrfM VMMtrttM 5 MARTYS TOO RESTAURANT Market Place A 8777417 LADIES JEANS REG 95 95 DENIM SHIRTS REG 95 ESPRIT 36 DENIM JEANS JEAN SKIRTS OFF NEW HOURS Wed Thurs Fri Saturday a m5 30 10am800pm INTRODUCING BUGLE BOY CASUAL WEAR FOR MEN 20 off SHIRTS PANTS SALE ENDS OCT 2889 MYGENEMION 1 1 5 MAIN ST S GEORGETOWN Across from Knox Pres Church 87328S1