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National Nurses’ Week
National Nurses’ Week is celebrated annually from May 6th, also known as National Nurses Day, through May 12th, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, who is the founder of modern nursing. Be sure to thank any nurses you come across for the wonderful care that they have provided for you or wish them a Happy Nurses’ Week. We love our nurses at Sweetwater OB/GYN Associates!
BRACAnalysis® testing and consultation for the breast/ovarian gene mutation is available at Sweetwater OB GYN Associates. BRCA mutation is a mutation in either of the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. Harmful mutations in these genes produce a hereditary breast-ovarian cancer risk. Women with harmful mutations in either BRCA1 or BRCA2 have risk of breast cancer that is about five times the normal risk, and a risk of ovarian cancer that is about ten to thirty times normal. Take the quiz to find out your risk: hereditarycancerquiz.com
 Dr. Shannon Crowe has qualified as a member of the USA Triathlon team and will compete in Bellfort, France on June 1st and 2nd. Her amazing efforts will help to raise money for “Hope Endowment”, a charity that helps to nourish and nurture seriously underprivileged children. To donate please visit our web site: www.sweetwaterobgyn.com , and click the DONATE button.
www.hopeendowment.org
Did You Know ??? ... The Affordable Care Act has made birth control and permanent sterilization options available to most patients without any out of pocket expense.
Hate the bother of daily/monthly birth control? For a safe and easy permanent birth control solution consider Essure®. The procedure can be done in our state of the art facility and is hormone free, worry free, with minimal recovery time.
Schedule your appointment to discuss your birth control options today.
Women’s Health Awareness Month
May is National Women's Health Month. May 12th-18th is National Women’s Health Week, which is a weeklong health observance that is coordinated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health. This is an important time because it is dedicated to improving the health and wellness for women of all ages. As a community, we all have a role to play in women’s health. Women often serve as caregivers for families, putting the needs of their spouses, partners, children, and parents before their own. Consequently, the woman’s health and well-being becomes secondary. It is our responsibility to support the important women we know and do everything we can to help them take steps for longer, healthier, and happier lives. Women are encouraged to be more proactive about improving their own health by perform these few simple steps to help them achieve that goal:
•Receive regular annual checkups and preventive screening tests.
•Get active with at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activities each week.
•Eat healthy and avoid excessive dietary intake of fried, pre-processed foods. Portion control and healthy choices are important.
•Pay attention to mental health, including getting plenty of sleep and managing stress.
•Avoid unhealthy behaviors, such as smoking, drug use, not wearing seatbelts or bicycle helmets, texting while driving, etc.
Listed below are common screening tests. Each of these tests is critical for identifying problems early to provide women the best chance of treating any problems successfully.
Clinical Breast Exam
Gynecological Care
Pap Smear
Mammography
Colonoscopy
Blood Pressure Check
Cholesterol Screening
Colorectal Screening
Physical Check-ups
HIV and other testing for sexually transmitted diseases
Bone Mineral Density screening
Eye, ear and dental exams
A1C (blood glucose) test
Immunizations
Osteoporosis Awareness Month
Osteoporosis is a medical condition in which bones become thin, brittle, and weak. From childhood until age 30, bone is formed faster than it is broken down, and the bones become larger and denser. After age 30, bone is broken down faster than it is made. A small amount of bone loss after age 35 years is normal in all women and men. However, too much bone loss can result in osteoporosis. In someone with osteoporosis, the bones are still the same size, but the outside walls of compact bone become thinner and the holes in the inner portion of the bone, called spongy bone, becomes larger. As a result, these changes can greatly weaken the bones which can lead to easier fractures in individuals with osteoporosis.
Uncontrollable Risk Factors:
Being over age 50
Being Female
Early menopause (younger than 45 years)
Family history of osteoporosis
Caucasian race
Low body weight/being small and thin
Broken bones or height loss
History of falls
Some medical conditions can also cause bone loss and increase osteoporosis risk
Controllable Risk Factors:
Not getting enough Calcium and Vitamin D
Not eating enough fruits and vegetables
Getting too much protein, sodium and caffeine
Having an inactive lifestyle
Smoking
Drinking too much alcohol
Losing weight
Certain medications
What can you do to prevent osteoporosis?
Exercise increases bone mass before menopause and slows bone loss after menopause. Just as muscles become stronger with regular exercise, so do bones. Weight-bearing exercises have been shown to improve the strength of bones.
Increase calcium intake. Calcium, which is 38% of our bone structure, is important for strong bones. Calcium slows the rate of bone loss. If the amount of calcium in the bloodstream is too low, it will be taken from the bones to supply the rest of the body. Women aged 51 years and older need 1,200 mg of calcium daily. Good sources of calcium are dairy products, such as milk and yogurt. Other sources are leafy green vegetables, nuts, seafood, and juices and cereals that are fortified with calcium. You may need to take calcium supplements. It is important to note that your body can only absorb about 500 mg of calcium at one time. If you take more, try to divide it into two or three doses depending on the recommendations of your doctor.
Increase vitamin D intake. Vitamin D is essential for absorbing calcium. Without vitamin D, our bodies can’t use calcium properly. Your skin makes vitamin D from the ultra-violet light in sunlight. Your body is able to store the vitamin and use it later. The amount of vitamin D produced depends on a variety of factors, such as the time of day, season, latitude, skin pigmentation, and other factors. Due to concerns of skin cancer, many people stay out of the sun, cover up with clothing and use sunscreen to protect their skin. The use of sunscreen is probably the most important factor that limits that ability of the skin to make vitamin D. Because of the skin cancer risk with excessive sun exposure, most people need to get vitamin D from other sources. These methods include eating foods rich in vitamin D and/or taking vitamin D supplements. Vitamin D rich foods include: fatty fish (e.g. wild-caught mackerel, salmon, and tuna) and is also added to milk and to some brands of other dairy products, orange juice, soymilk, and cereals. Women under age 50 are advised to get 400-800 international units (IU) daily, while women over age 50 require 800-1,000 IU daily.
Get a bone mineral density test to evaluate for osteoporosis changes. A bone mineral density test measures bone mass usually in the spine, hips, and forearm/wrist, which helps your healthcare provider to detect problems before a fracture occurs. Bone density testing may be suggested for postmenopausal women who have one or more risk factors for osteoporosis. Check with your doctor to see if testing is appropriate for you at your next annual visit.
Resources:
http://www.sweetwaterobgyn.com
http://womenshealth.gov/nwhw
http://www.acog.org/For_Patients
http://www.nof.org
http://www.nursesweek.org
90-day Weight Loss Challenge Update:
 In April, our office kick-started a 90-day weight loss challenge in which many staff members incorporated a more active lifestyle with more exercise and made healthy eating choices. Thus far, the staff has lost a total of 35 lbs since the beginning of the challenge! We hope this inspires you all in being more proactive about your health by making similar healthy eating choices and becoming more active in your daily lives. For those women who are looking to help lose a few pounds, the clinic offers a weight loss program that incorporates a healthy lifestyle with a fiber-based weight loss supplement called Slim G. This supplement can sometimes be combined with other therapies for a personalized approach in achieving that woman’s weight loss goal. Please contact the clinic or set up an appointment if you are interested.
Teachers – remember to schedule your screenings, consults and surgeries for the summer months. Call (281) 242-1400 to schedule your appointment.
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