Aches and Gains

Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) attacks the nervous system and can cause painful, stinging, needle-like sensations along with numbness and weakness. The cause is unknown, but it can be associated with HIV and Lupus. Ellen Schecter, an award-winning writer takes us through a time when she felt her life was shattered by this painful, potentially fatal disease, and then tells us how she was able to forge a new life filled with personal discovery and success. Joining us will be neurologist and Johns Hopkins expert Dr. David Cornblath who will shed light on this mysterious disorder and highlight the most beneficial treatments. To learn more about CIDP and neuropathy, visit www.neuropathy.org.

Inflicting pain and suffering on another human being reflects the brutality of torture. Part 2 of our show looks even closer at the physical and psychological consequences of persistent pain on survivors. Sharing her experience as a survivor of torture by the government of Iran, Marina Nemat has written two best-selling books about her experiences– Prisoner of Tehran and After Tehran: A Life Reclaimed. Now making her home in Canada with her family, she has been a guest speaker in support of torture survivors at many universities and conferences around the world. Dr. Ramin Asgary of the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine shares his in-depth understanding of this dark phenomenon, and guides us through efforts to heal survivors of torture.

The very word, “Torture,” conveys the stark reality of pain – pain inflicted intentionally upon another human being. Our program traces some of the cruelties suffered by victims all over the world. We’ll hear the harrowing experiences of author, Marina Nemat who endured painful foot lashings, a broken wrist, and narrowly escaped a death sentence while she was imprisoned in Iran. She’s written two best-selling books about her experiences – Prisoner of Tehran and After Tehran: A Life Reclaimed. Now making her home in Canada with her family, she has been a guest speaker in support of torture survivors at many universities and conferences around the world. Dr. Ramin Asgary founded and directed the Human Rights Program at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. He’ll help us understand this dark phenomenon, and guide us through his efforts to heal those survivors he’s been able to reach.

Our guest, Dr. Edythe Heus is an advanced chiropractor and kinesiologist. She’s also regarded as a gifted healer. Her remarkable exercise system is called Revolution in Motion. We’ll discover how people can heal old injuries, prevent new ones, and master the freedom from pain to reach an optimum level of wellness and longevity. Adding to an impressive list of testimonials will be a current client of Dr. Heus – filmmaker Sandy McLeod. She’ll share with us her personal discoveries during her journey to good health. You’ll definitely want to hear all about this “quick and gentle” approach to warding off any aches and pains.

Diabetes is the most common cause of neuropathy (nerve pain) worldwide. (www.neuropathy.org) The pain felt at the onset of this disease can be so subtle or diverse that it is often ignored by patients, or even misdiagnosed by doctors. Our special guest is very dear to us all: Leave It To Beaver’s Jerry Mathers. When he discovered he was diabetic, he decided to meet head-on the challenges of this disease and make needed lifestyle changes. Dr. Alan Berger of the University of Florida and Shands Jacksonville (one of only 15 Neuropathy Association-designated Neuropathy Centers of Excellence across the U.S.) tells us what symptoms to watch for, updates us on the latest treatments, and shares important research developments. To learn more about the various causes of neuropathy, visit www.neuropathy.org.

Prolotherapy helps stimulate the healing of chronically injured ligaments and tendons. It reduces pain and may even regenerate new tissue. Its’ becoming a valuable choice for managing and treating musculoskeletal conditions. A family practice doctor and teacher at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, Dr. Jeffrey Patterson is one of the country’s leading experts on Prolotherapy. We’ll find out more about this method of healing, along with a discussion with Troy Tousey. Troy has suffered with shoulder dislocations since he was 9 years old. The outlook for him, even with surgery was pretty grim—until he found Prolotherapy, and decided to give it a try!

How many of us take our feet for granted? Until walking, standing, balancing, even jumping for joy, becomes too painful to even think about. Then we need answers, treatment, and some sweet relief… We seek out a podiatrist. And Dr. Elliott Udell is one of the best. In fact, he’s the president of the American Society of Podiatric Medicine. Dr. Udell is board certified in Primary Podiatric Medicine and Pain Management. Over the last 30 years, he’s treated patients with a wide variety of foot pain: from bunions to gout; ankle sprains, heel pain, ulcers and foot wounds – all of them excruciating. Joining the discussion is Jim Naylor, whose athletic activity became severely limited by plantar fasciitis, an inflammation of the tendon attaching the heel bone to the base of the toes.

Neck pain is a common condition that almost 75% of people experience at some point in life. The joints, intervertebral discs, nerves, and muscles of the neck can all lead to pain. Women, older adults, and those involved in whiplash injuries from car accidents are at increased risk. The good news is that if we develop neck pain, most of us will recover. Jennifer Grey, the co star of Dirty Dancing and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off joins us, and takes us down her path of overcoming neck pain that almost paralyzed her, to winning Dancing with the Stars in 2010. Contributing expert, Dr. Ralph Justiz then shares his expertise on the best treatments for neck pain.

The headlines say that obesity is a death sentence. It can lead to hypertension, diabetes, and even cancer. However, exercise can help overweight people live a longer life than even thin people who don’t exercise at all. Jeanette DePatie (A.K.A. “The Fat Chick”) is a plus sized, certified fitness instructor. She helps those who haven’t worked out in years to safely start and continue an exercise program. Students range in age from 4-84, face chronic disease like pain, and have limited motion from age, muscle or ligament damage, or overuse injuries. She’s seen firsthand how chronic pain sufferers can improve their lives with regular exercise that’s moderate and fun. Her student, Yvonne is also plus sized, and shares the enormous benefits of exercise on her knee and foot pain.

Sickle Cell Disease affects 1 in 375 African Americans in the United States. It also occurs in ethnic groups from South and Central America, the Mediterranean, and India. A process called sickling causes severe throbbing and gnawing pain in the back, joints of the hands and feet, long bones, and abdomen. Children as young as 1yr of age may begin having these painful episodes called a crisis, lasting for hours to even days. Albert Johnson, better known as Prodigy, an American rapper and author of the book, My Infamous Life shares his personal story of living with the pain of sickle cell anemia. Dr. William Zempsky, Head of the Division of Pain Medicine at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center then provides “up to date” recommendations on preventing and treating sickle cell crises.

In Part 2 of our show, Mike Hill (director, writer, and producer) shares some powerful, behind the scenes moments that he experienced while filming this compelling documentary, Life Before Death. Dr. Kathleen Foley then gives us the hope we need to ease our fear of dying a painful death.

Life Before Death (/www.lifebeforedeath.com) is a moving documentary film that premiers February 1 of this year. It’s already won four awards including a Prestige Award, Best of Show in the Best Shorts Competition, an Accolade Award, and The Indie Fest Award. The film features the worldwide battle by physicians and nurses to stop the epidemic of pain that threatens to condemn one in every ten of us to die a painful death. Through the eyes of patients and their families, we experience very personally the agony of not having essential pain medicines like morphine, as well as the life-restoring effects that morphine can offer. Mike Hill, the director, writer, and producer joins us to share his vision for the film. Then Dr. Kathleen Foley, cancer pain & palliative care specialist, and featured expert in the documentary discusses solutions to this problem of universal dimensions.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) affects over 2 million people, and is one of the most costly diseases to our nation’s health care system. It’s more prevalent in women, often strikes the joints of the hands and feet, and causes crippling pain. Amye Leong, President and CEO of Healthy Motivation was just 18 years old when she was diagnosed with RA, and became wheelchair bound within 6 years. She takes us from barely being able to put a fork in her mouth to running her own consulting firm today. Dr. Vibeke Strand, consultant, rheumatologist, and adjunct clinical professor at Stanford University then provides cutting edge information on new diagnostic tests and ground-breaking therapies for this disease.

In the second of our 2 part series on sexual pain, we’ll delve more deeply into Jessica’s story and discover how correcting her hip problem allowed her to live virtually pain free. Dr. Deborah Coady then provides new information on the best treatments for sexual pain in women.

You may be shocked to find out that up to 20% of women have had sexual pain during their lives. That’s higher than the percentage of adults with asthma, cancer, or heart disease. Today, we’ll discuss a subject that’s considered “untouchable” and “taboo” by patients and doctors alike. We’ll break that silence by learning about the causes and treatments for sexual pain. Our first guest, Jessica shares for the first time in public, how she’s endured 5 years of misdiagnosed vulvar pain resulting in a lack of sexual intimacy. We’re then joined by Dr. Deborah Coady, author of, “Healing Painful Sex” and one of the few gynecologists specializing in the treatment of sexual pain.