Description
Respond to at least two of your colleagues’ posts on two different days and provide additional insight that might be useful and appropriate for the issue addressed. Use your learning resources and/or evidence from the literature to support your position.
Respond to these two post below; thanks
PART 1: Osteoporosis:
Osteoporosis is a progressive bone disease that weakens the bones and increases the risk of fractures. It is a “silent disease,” because bone loss occurs without symptoms. Osteoporosis affects mostly older women, but prevention started when you are younger. No matter your age, you can take steps to build bone mass and prevent bone loss. Broken bones from osteoporosis cause serious health problems and disability in older women. For post-menopausal women diagnosed with osteoporosis, bone loss is typically caused by decreased estrogen levels and advanced age (Eghbali et al., 2022).
You may not have any symptoms of osteoporosis until you fracture a bone. A fracture can happen in any bone of the body. Fractures are most common in the wrists, hips, and spine. Osteoporosis in the spine can cause serious problems for women. A fracture in this area can happen during the day-to-day activities like climbing stairs, lifting objects, or even bending forward to pick something up. Fractures in the spine can cause it to collapse and bend forward. If this happens, you may get any or all the following symptoms:
- Curve in the back
- Loss of height
- Back pain
- Hunched posture
- Sloping shoulders
Recommended diagnostic tests:
- History and physical examination to assess risk factors (smoking, activity, alcohol use, and nutritional status)
- Bone density test to see how strong or weak your bones are.
- Central dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). A DXA is a special type of x-ray of your bones (Naseed et al., 2021).
Your doctor may also use other screening tools to predict your risk of having low bone density or breaking a bone.
Common treatment for osteoporosis:
Your doctor may prescribe medicine to prevent more bone loss or build new bone mass. The most common types of medicine to help prevent or treat osteoporosis include:
- Calcitonin- A hormone made by your thyroid gland that helps regulate calcium levels in your body and builds bone mass. Taking calcitonin can help to slow down the rate of bone loss.
- Menopausal hormone therapy– This is often used to treat menopausal symptoms; menopausal hormone therapy may also help to prevent bone loss. The Food and Drug Administration recommends taking menopausal hormone therapy at the lowest dose that works for your menopause symptoms for the shortest time needed. Menopausal hormone therapy may raise your risk of a blood clot, heart attack, stroke, breast cancer, or gallbladder disease (Eghbali et al., 2022).
- Bisphosphonates- (Actonel, Fosamax, Boniva, Reclast, Aredia)- Help treat bone loss. They may also help build bone mass.
- Denosumab- An injectable drug that may help reduce bone loss and improve bone strength if you are past menopause and at a higher risk for broken bones from osteoporosis.
- Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs)- (Tamoxifen, Evista, Duavee, Osphena, clomiphene, Toremifene)- Helps to slow the rate of bone loss after menopause. SERMs can activate estrogen receptors in the bones. Normally, estrogen helps women build and maintain strong bones. But after menopause, estrogen levels in the body can drop. This can lead to a loss of bone density and lower the risk of bone fractures.
- Parathyroid hormone / teriparatide- Injectable form of human parathyroid hormone. It helps the body build up new bone faster than the old bone is broken down.
Other suggestions to treat osteoporosis is getting more calcium, vitamin D, and physical activity (Ziebart et al., 2022).
There are risks with taking any kind of medicine. Calcium is found in your bones and teeth. It helps build bones and keeps them healthy. Your body also uses calcium to help your body clot and your muscles contract. If you don’t get enough calcium each day from the foods you eat, your body will take the calcium it needs from your bones, making your bones weak.
Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium from the food you eat. Just eating foods with calcium is not enough. You also need to get enough vitamin D to help your body use the calcium it gets. Your skin makes Vitamin D when it is exposed to the sunlight. In general, you need 10-15 minutes of sunlight to the hands, arms, and face 2-3 times a week to make enough vitamin D . The amount of time depends on how sensitive your skin is to light. It also depends on your use of sunscreen, your skin color, the season, the latitude where you live, and the amount of pollution in the air. You can also get vitamin D from foods such as milk or vitamin supplements (Cox & Hooper, 2021).
References
Cox, S., & Hooper, G. (2021). Improving bone health and detection of osteoporosis. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 17(2), 233–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2020.05.008
Eghbali, T., Abdi, K., Nazari, M., Mohammadnejad, E., & Gheshlagh, R. (2022). Prevalence of osteoporosis among iranian postmenopausal women: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Medicine Insights: Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Disorders, 15, 117954412110724. https://doi.org/10.1177/11795441211072471
Naseed, M., Mir, F., & Nazir, I. (2021). Comparison of radiographic singh index with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scan in diagnosing osteoporosis. Matrix Science Medica, 5(1), 17. https://doi.org/10.4103/mtsm.mtsm_41_20
Ziebart, C., MacDermid, J., Furtado, R., Pontes, T., Szekeres, M., Suh, N., & Khan, A. (2022). An interpretive descriptive approach of patients with osteoporosis and integrating osteoporosis management advice into their lifestyle. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2022.2070976
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that effects both men and women. This disorder is marked by neurological changes that are noticeable in behavior, simply put. The behavior changes range from a patient staring into space (focal seizure) rendering the patient with a decreased level of awareness or possible loss of consciousness, to tonic-clonic seizures which leads to convulsions, and no ability to respond to commands (Mayo Clinic, 2022). Seizures can be caused by trauma, drug or alcohol use, or cessation, flashing lights, cancer, fever, as well as other reasons, and many times seizures have an unknown cause (Mayo Clinic, 2022). In this discussion I will focus on women that sufferer from epilepsy.
Testing and diagnosis
The first step to testing and diagnosing a patient with seizures is by taking a detailed medical history. The second step is by performing a physical exam, which the provider will look at temperature, any injuries or abnormalities, or by actually witnessing the seizure in some cases, for instance in the emergency department. The provider can order an electroencephalogram, EEG, which evaluates brain waves, and any possible abnormalities (Johns Hopkins, 2022).
Treatment
Epileptic patients typically take medications such as Depakote, Keppra, and Phenytoin, and sometimes Gabapentin (Women & Epilepsy, 2002). These medications are common medications that are ordered by a neurologist, to treat women that suffer from epilepsy.
Special Considerations
This population should discuss any possibility of increased seizures around menstruation, with their provider (Compagno, et al., 2020). These patients can put a plan in place if they notice increased seizures before or during periods, and may be told to take an additional medication, or extra medication around the patients menstrual calendar (Compagno, et al., 2020). Patients can also be instructed to buy a medical bracelet that identifies the patient as an epileptic.
References
Compagno Strandberg, M., Söderberg, L. K., Kimland, E., Dahlin, M., & Källén, K. (2020).
Evidence‐based anti‐seizure monotherapy in newly diagnosed epilepsy: A new
approach. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, 142(4), 323–332.
https://doi.org/10.1111/ane.13312
Johns Hopkins Medicine. Electroencephalogram. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-t…
Mayo Clinic. Seizures. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seizure/symptoms-causes/syc-20365711#:~:text=Focal%20seizures%20result%20from%20abnormal%20electrical%20activity%20in,a%20change%20or%20loss%20of%20consciousness%20or%20awareness.
Women & epilepsy. (2002). National Women’s Health Report, 24(1), 1. Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/women-…
