Whelehans Health Blog

Eamonn Brady is a pharmacist and the owner of Whelehans Pharmacy, Pearse St, Mullingar. If you have any health questions e-mail them to info@whelehans.ie  This week I discuss kidney transplant and specifically advice about medication used to prevent your body rejecting the new kidneys. Anti-rejection medication needs to be taken long term after the transplant. While I specifically deal with kidney transplants, much of the advice I give is true for any type of transplant (eg) Heart, lung, liver. With all the drugs mentioned below, regular blood tests are needed as they can cause blood problems.   Cyclosporin (Neoral®) Cyclosporin...

This is final of three articles in the Westmeath Topic on anorexia nervosa, better known simply as anorexia. Last week’s article discussed psychotherapies used for anorexia. It discussed individual therapies and group therapies. The third type is family involvement.  Family involvement The term “family work” covers any intervention that utilises the strengths and support of the family to tackle the patient’s disorder. “Family work” also tries to deal with the family’s stress due to the disorder. It includes family therapies, support groups and psychoeducational input.  Conjoint therapy The Maudsley model of family therapy and similar interventions have been found to...

This is second first of three articles in the Westmeath Topic on anorexia nervosa, better known simply as anorexia.  Differences between anorexia and bulimia People with anorexia are usually underweight while people with bulimia can often have a normal weight. Anorexia often starts earlier than bulimia. Anorexia can start early to mid-teens while bulimia may start in late teens or early twenties. People with bulimia are more likely to seek help than those with anorexia. Anorexia is associated with anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder and depression while bulimia is associated with depression, self-harm and substance misuse. More people recover from bulimia...

  This is the first of three articles in the Westmeath Topic on anorexia nervosa, better known simply as anorexia. The most shocking fact about anorexia is that it has the highest mortality of any psychiatric disorder. This does not even take into account the short and long term health problems experienced by the people who survive the condition. Anorexia nervosa has a prevalence of 0.3% in women. This may seem low, but this actually means that approximately 7000 women in the Irish Republic and about 150 women in Westmeath alone are currently battling this condition. Bulimia nervosa is five...

This is the final of a 3-part series. Causes The exact cause is not known, there may be a genetic link. Somatoform disorders represent the major form of psychosomatic illness. Somatoform disorders may be a coping strategy related to a previous life experience or trauma such as abuse or loss. It may be a learned behaviour, or the result of a personality characteristic. Research also indicates possible comorbidities with other mental health disorders, such as mood disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders, and psychotic disorders. Irrespective of causes, the symptoms are real to the person experiencing them, not imagined...