Alcoholism The Facts or Heartburn Reflux For Dummies

Alcoholism - The Facts

Author: Donald W Goodwin

Alcoholism: The Facts deals with all aspects of the world's number one drug problem. Primarily a book for all those who have alcohol problems and for those who share their lives, it is written in a clear and lively style, and deals with all the social, psychological, and medical aspects of alcohol problems - of which alcoholism is the best-known example. In the decade since the first edition of this book was published there has been an enormous amount of scientific research into what causes some people to suffer from alcohol problems and the best treatments to offer them. Professor Goodwin explains straightforwardly and with minimal technical jargon what the results of this research mean, and how to go about getting help with alcohol problems for yourself, a relative, or friend.

Cindy L. Gilbert

This author presents readers a concise, readable volume covering basic information about this widespread illness. In 17 rather brief chapters, he is able to provide an interesting and even amusing update on alcoholism. "The author's effort here is toward bringing the reader up to date on the newest developments in the study and treatment of alcoholism. "He intends his work for a wide audience. Indeed this is a highly accessible book, largely due to the absence of technical language and the direct writing style. It is easy to imagine either a layperson or a clinician utilizing this book to find basic information about alcoholism. "The author offers his book in four sections: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Understanding Alcoholism, and Treating Alcoholism. Each section contains 4-5 chapters on issues such as the history of alcohol, symptomology of alcoholism, hereditary influences in alcoholism, and Alcoholics Anonymous. The author devotes a chapter to women and alcohol, and while it is brief, he acknowledges the discrepancy between research done on men and that done on women, which is a refreshing change. Furthermore, he debunks some myths about alcohol as well. For example, he reports a series of commonly held beliefs about female alcoholics including that they are known to have been submissive as children and rebellious as adults. He states that if every submissive child who became a rebellious adult drank too much the oceans could not contain enough alcohol to meet the demand. His review of the symptoms of alcoholism is especially concrete. It is written in such as a way as to make it easy for the reader to grasp the state of mind of the alcoholic, as well as the progression ofsymptoms. Unfortunately, while the author makes reference to numerous studies, he does not provide citations for them. Follow-up research would be difficult if one wanted to pursue a study mentioned here. "This book is a succinct summary of what is known about alcoholism at this time. Inevitably, in a book so small, some information has almost certainly been left out. However, the readability and clarity of this volume balance any informational oversights it may contain. This is the third edition of this book, and in light of the fact that the second edition was published in 1995, a third edition was almost certainly due at this time.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer: Cindy L. Gilbert, MSW, LSW (Rush University Medical Center)
Description: This author presents readers a concise, readable volume covering basic information about this widespread illness. In 17 rather brief chapters, he is able to provide an interesting and even amusing update on alcoholism.
Purpose: The author's effort here is toward bringing the reader up to date on the newest developments in the study and treatment of alcoholism.
Audience: He intends his work for a wide audience. Indeed this is a highly accessible book, largely due to the absence of technical language and the direct writing style. It is easy to imagine either a layperson or a clinician utilizing this book to find basic information about alcoholism.
Features: The author offers his book in four sections: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Understanding Alcoholism, and Treating Alcoholism. Each section contains 4-5 chapters on issues such as the history of alcohol, symptomology of alcoholism, hereditary influences in alcoholism, and Alcoholics Anonymous. The author devotes a chapter to women and alcohol, and while it is brief, he acknowledges the discrepancy between research done on men and that done on women, which is a refreshing change. Furthermore, he debunks some myths about alcohol as well. For example, he reports a series of commonly held beliefs about female alcoholics including that they are known to have been submissive as children and rebellious as adults. He states that if every submissive child who became a rebellious adult drank too much "the oceans could not contain enough alcohol to meet the demand." His review of the symptoms of alcoholism is especially concrete. It is written in such as a way as to make it easy for the reader to grasp the state of mind of the alcoholic, as well as the progression of symptoms. Unfortunately, while the author makes reference to numerous studies, he does not provide citations for them. Follow-up research would be difficult if one wanted to pursue a study mentioned here.
Assessment: This book is a succinct summary of what is known about alcoholism at this time. Inevitably, in a book so small, some information has almost certainly been left out. However, the readability and clarity of this volume balance any informational oversights it may contain. This is the third edition of this book, and in light of the fact that the second edition was published in 1995, a third edition was almost certainly due at this time.

Rating

3 Stars from Doody

Books about: The Great Awakening or The Age of Abundance

Heartburn & Reflux For Dummies (Dummies Series)

Author: Carol Ann Rinzler

If you or someone you love suffers from heartburn, you know that it can be very disruptive to your daily life. Most heartburn sufferers say it stops them from enjoying food. Others say it keeps them from getting a good night’s sleep, it makes it hard to concentrate at work, and it interferes with family activities. Sound familiar? Don’t worry. Heartburn is a pain, but it can be helped.

Heartburn & Reflux For Dummies is the plain-English guide to relief for you if you’ve been recently diagnosed with heartburn or reflux, if you suspect you may suffer from it, or if you’re concerned about your loved ones. This comprehensive book shows you how to recognize symptoms, get an accurate diagnosis, and work with a physician to receive the most effective treatment available. You’ll see how to:

• Get your symptoms under control

• Find the right physician

• Reduce stress and fine-tune your diet

• Avoid medicines that trigger upset

• Decide if surgery is right for you

This friendly guide explains what the various forms of reflux are, as all too often reflux is either self-treated or mistreated and followed by serious complications. There’s detailed information on building a comfortable lifestyle by reducing stress, improving your diet, controlling portions, and timing your meals to minimize heartburn and reflux. Plus, this sensitive guide even covers heartburn in infants, children, and the elderly. You’ll also discover:

• How to heal the esophagus of inflammation or injury, as well as manage or preventcomplications

• The latest information on prescription medications and side effects

• Healthy habits to adopt to reduce your pain triggers

• Helpful home remedies and alternative medicine

• The special risks and remedies for heartburn during pregnancy

• The side effects and complications associated with surgery

Complete with a catalog of heartburn medicines and a list of reliable Web sites for people with digestive disorders, Heartburn & Reflux For Dummies is your one-stop guide to stopping the hurt, starting to heal, and enjoying food again!

Table of Contents:

	Introduction	1
	About This Book	1
	Conventions Used in This Book	2
	What You're Not to Read	2
	Foolish Assumptions	3
	How This Book Is Organized	3
	Icons Used in This Book	5
	Where to Go from Here	6
Part I	Naming Your Pain	7
Chapter 1	Picturing Heartburn and Reflux	9
	Meeting Your Heartburn	9
	Saying hello to your fellow sufferers	10
	Quantifying your discomfort	11
	Pinning the Tail on the Heartburn Donkey	11
	Defining terms and conditions	12
Looking for Help in All the Right Places	13
	Editing the menu	14
	Looking at your lifestyle	14
	Remedying the situation	15
	Managing your meds	15
	Seeing the surgeon	15
Chapter 2	Tracking Your Digestive Tract	17
	Defining Digestion	18
	Seeing and smelling	20
	Tasting and chewing	21
	Swallowing	21
	Mixing and mashing	22
	Extracting the good stuff	22
	Creating compost	24
	Testing the Protectors	24
	Examining the LES	25
	Closing the door: Reviewing the life and times of the LES	26
	Operating out-of-bounds	27
	Suffering with a good muscle gone bad	28
Chapter 3	Cataloging the Symptoms and Hazards of Heartburn, Reflux, and GERD	31
	Tracking the Symptoms	32
	Monitoring your mouth	32
	Exploring your respiratory tract	33
	Examining the esophagus	34
	Checking your personal list of symptoms	36
	Calculating Long-Term Consequences	37
	Irritating the environment	37
	Swallowing hard	38
	Changing cells: Barrett's esophagus risk	38
	Facing the facts about esophageal cancer	39
Chapter 4	Rating Your Reflux Risk	41
	Picturing People with Heartburn	41
	Defining the terms	42
	Classifying reflux risk factors	42
	Factoring in the Family	43
	Rendering a Gender Bias	45
	Expecting trouble	45
	Linking estrogen to heartburn	45
	Mentioning Medical Risks	46
	Asthma and other respiratory problems	46
	Diabetes	46
	Hiatal hernia	47
	Scleroderma	48
	Zollinger-Ellison syndrome	48
	Weighing Weight's Weight on Reflux	48
	Counting extra pounds	49
	Linking weight and reflux	50
	Consulting contradicting evidence	51
	Pinpointing Problem Eaters	51
	Fatalistic foodies	51
	Fast Eddies	52
	Big eaters	52
	Anytime eaters	52
	Adding Up Your Own Reflux Risk	52
Part II	Eating Your Way to Relief	55
Chapter 5	Meeting Your Nutrition Needs	57
	Measuring Nutrition	57
	Beginning with the Big Guys	59
	Pumping protein	59
	Facing the fat facts	60
	Counting on carbohydrates	61
	Investigating Vitamins	62
	Fat-soluble vitamins	63
	Water-soluble vitamins	64
	Mining the Minerals	66
	Meeting the majors	68
	Tracking the traces	69
	Brushing up on the bit players	70
	Supplementing the Info	71
	Crunching the numbers	72
	Setting limits	78
Chapter 6	Fine-Tuning Your Diet	81
	Enjoying Food	81
	Explaining How Food and Drink Can Cause Heartburn	82
	Weakening the LES	83
	Making more acid	84
	Irritating your esophagus	85
	Naming the Guilty Parties	85
	Deciphering the rules of the road	85
	Shaking up the spice rack	89
	Identifying your personal troublemakers	90
	Making Meals Safer	94
	Setting a soothing schedule	94
	Slowing down the action	95
	Modifying foods and recipes	95
	Choosing the Safest Cooking Technique	96
	Looking at low-fat cooking methods	97
	Identifying added-fat cooking methods	98
Chapter 7	Reviewing Home Remedies, Alternative Approaches, and Herbal Healers	99
	Grading Granny's Goodies	99
	Neutralizing the burn	100
	Masticating relief	101
	Soothing with a mother's touch	103
	Looking for Alternatives	103
	Defining conventional medicine	103
	Taking a holistic approach	104
	Evaluating Herbal Medicine	105
	Viewing herbals and the law	106
	Looking for expert advice	107
	Classifying stomach-friendly herbals	110
	Shopping smart	112
	Linking Other Alternative Approaches to Heartburn/Reflux	114
Part III	Treating Your Middle	115
Chapter 8	Finding the Right Doctor	117
	Deciding When to See the Doctor	117
	Sorting Through the Heartburn Specialists	118
	Choosing a Doctor	119
	Basic credentials	120
	Professional associations	121
	State medical societies	122
	State health departments	124
	Going to the Doctor with Your History in Hand	125
Chapter 9	Examining Your Esophagus and Testing Your Tummy	127
	Picking Potential Patients	127
	Assessing Your Acidity	128
	Bernstein test (acid perfusion test)	129
	Ambulatory 24-hour pH monitoring	130
	Measuring Your Muscle Strength	131
	Preparing for this test	132
	Taking this test	132
	Evaluating the results	132
	Studying Your Stomach	133
	Preparing for this test	133
	Taking this test	133
	Evaluating the results	133
	Evaluating Your Esophagus	134
	Barium swallow	134
	Upper GI series	135
	Upper endoscopy	136
Chapter 10	Prescribing Relief	139
	Noting the Cost of Heartburn Help	139
	Aiming for Neutrality with Antacids	140
	Describing how antacids help	141
	Naming the antacid ingredients in antacid products	142
	Reviewing other ingredients in antacid products	144
	Blocking the Burn	147
	Separating prescription and OTC H2 blockers	148
	Counting drawbacks	150
	Slowing the Pump	153
	Defining PPIs	154
	Comparing PPIs	154
	Listing potential problems	156
	Interesting Interacting	158
Chapter 11	Avoiding Problem Pills	163
	Pinpointing Potential Problems	163
	Naming Medicines That Loosen the LES	164
	Antiasthma drugs	165
	Anticholinergics	165
	Antidepressants	165
	Antihypertensives	166
	Anti-Parkinson medication	167
	Female hormones	167
	Narcotics	168
	Nitrates	169
	Sedatives and tranquilizers	169
	Targeting Traffic Stoppers	169
	Listing Irritating Drugs and Supplements	170
	Analgesics	171
	Antibiotics	171
	Bone builders	172
	Other esophagus irritators	172
	Nutritional supplements	172
	Naming Medical Conditions That May Make Meds Stick	173
	Minimizing the Heartburn Effects of Essential Medicines	174
	Read the label	174
	Don't chew the pills	174
	Don't take your pill lying down	174
	Don't forget the water	175
	Eat a little	176
Chapter 12	Exploring Surgical Options	177
	Nominating Candidates for Heartburn Surgery	178
	Meeting medication malcontents	178
	Assessing esophagus damage	179
	Considering other factors	180
	Taking the surgery option off the table	181
	Setting a Surgical Schedule	181
	Selecting a surgeon	182
	Prepping for surgery	182
	Cutting and Pasting: Fundoplication	183
	Opening moves	185
	Working the inside track	186
	Meeting the Morning After	187
	Returning to the real world	188
	Eating again	188
	Reaching Home Base	189
	Swallowing hard	189
	Reprising reflux	190
	Floating on bloat	190
	Balancing Risks and Benefits	190
	Peering into the Reflux Crystal Ball	191
Seeing future No. 1192
Seeing future No. 2192
Seeing future No. 3192
Part IV	Creating a Comfortable Lifestyle	193
Chapter 13	Building a Better Body	195
	Answering Question Numero Uno: Who's Overweight?	195
	Calculating your BMI	196
	Figuring out where your figures fit	199
	Choosing a Healthful Weight Control Program	200
	Counting calories	200
	Carbing down the pounds	202
	Using protein to fight fat	204
	Examining all those other weight-loss diets	207
	Making a sensible weight-control choice	208
	Working Off Your Reflux	209
	Eating smart for a comfortable workout	211
	Adapting your exercise to your heartburn	212
	Recognizing when exercise may not bother your reflux	214
	Setting sensible exercise standards	214
Chapter 14	Healing Heartburn with Healthy Habits	217
	Snuffing Out Heartburn	217
	Linking tobacco to heartburn	218
	Leaving a losing habit	220
	Writing a word to the willing	222
	Toasting the Pain-Free Life	224
	Explaining why alcohol raises your risk of reflux	224
	Defining a drink	225
	Getting a Good Night's Sleep	226
	Picking a comfy position	227
	Altering your eating habits	229
	Medicating nocturnal reflux	230
Chapter 15	Stressing Stress Relief	233
	Stressing the Importance of Stress	233
	Activating Your Adrenals	234
	Considering the cortex	234
	Looking into the medulla	235
	Getting ready for "fight or flight"	235
	Linking Stress to Heartburn	237
	Hitting your GI tract with hormones	238
	Bodies behaving badly	238
	Unlocking Your Stomach from Your Stress	239
	Examining antireflux anti-stress therapy	239
	Reading the AHRQ report	240
	Finding a solution	241
Chapter 16	Fashioning (and Furnishing) a Comfortable Life	245
	Burning Your Bra and Loosening Your Belt	245
	Looking Good, Feeling Fine	247
	Running down perfume's effects	248
	Questioning the accuracy of cosmetic label terms	248
	Finding the facts on ingredients and label terms	249
	Reducing reactions to cosmetics	250
	Finding Furniture That Fights Heartburn	251
	Picking a proper chair	251
	Making your bed for a good night's sleep	252
Part V	Meeting the Special Cases	255
Chapter 17	Handling the Heartburn of Pregnancy	257
	Are All Pregnant Women at Risk for Reflux?	257
	Altering your insides	258
	Raging hormones	260
	Avoiding Unnecessary Tests	261
	Determining Safe Remedies	262
	Reviewing the ABCs of drugs for pregnant women	262
	Rating reflux drugs	264
	Filling in the (prescription) blanks	266
	Becoming a research person	267
	Examining home remedies	267
	De-Linking Your Lifestyle from Your Reflux	267