“Your liver is the primary detoxification organ, and it handles the job in two phases. In the first phase, specialized enzymes chemically alter toxic substances through oxidation or reduction, essentially breaking them down into intermediate compounds. In the second phase, a different set of enzymes attaches those intermediates to molecules like glutathione or sulfate, making them water-soluble enough to be excreted through urine or bile.

The liver and gastrointestinal tract handle the bulk of this work, but they’re not alone. Your kidneys filter about 150 quarts of blood daily, pulling out waste products and excess substances. Your lungs expel volatile compounds with every breath. Your skin pushes some waste out through sweat. Your lymphatic system carries cellular debris toward filtration points throughout your body. This is a continuous, layered process that doesn’t need a reset button.”

Science Insights (https://scienceinsights.org/is-detoxing-good-for-you-what-science-actually-says/)

First Knowing How Detox Works:

1. Supports Digestion and Gut Health:  A detox emphasizing whole foods, fiber, and hydration could definitely help the intestines eliminate waste more efficiently and reduce digestive discomfort. 

2. Encourages Healthy Eating Habits:  Periodic detoxes can help break cycles of overindulgence, that indirectly is making it easier to maintain a balanced nutrient-rich diet throughout the year. 

3. May Reduce Toxin Load:      While the body naturally detoxifies, reducing exposure to processed foods, alcohol, and the environmental toxins during a cleanse can lessen the burden on detox organs.
4. Supports Weight Management:                                                                  Some studies suggest that a nutrient- rich detox can modestly reduce BMI and waist circumference by promoting healthier eating patterns.

Keep in Mind:

Always check with your doctor or GP or special GI doctor or endocrinologist before doing this on your own especially if you have medical problems and are on medications.  You want to make sure the diet won’t cause problems with the condition you have or interact with your meds.  Always best to check with your MD or least make a tele appointment to talk to your doctor about the diet.

“Vaginal thinning of the wall or called vaginal atrophy (VA), though not as well-known as other things brought on by menopause—like hot flashes or night sweats—it’s estimated that over half of all post-menopausal women have VA.!”

Health Central (8 Signs You May Have Vaginal Atrophy)

“Vaginal atrophy used to be a medical term for thinning and drying of the vagina’s inner lining, often after menopause. Another name for it was atrophic vaginitis. These terms are no longer used. The physical changes they described are now considered to be part of a group of symptoms that affect the genitals and lower urinary tract, called genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM).”

MAYO Clinic (Vaginal atrophy – Symptoms & causes – Mayo Clinic)

Vaginal atrophy is a condition where the lining of your vagina gets drier and thinner. This results in itching, burning and pain during sex, among other symptoms. The condition also includes urinary tract problems such as urinary tract infections (UTIs) and urinary incontinence.

IBD refers to both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, however they can be distinguished from one another by their symptoms, GI involvement, biopsy, and antibody testing.

You’ve had stomach cramps for weeks, you’re exhausted and losing weight, and you keep having to run to the bathroom. What’s going on?

It could be an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).  But which one?

There are two: Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. They have a lot in common, including long-term inflammation in your digestive system. But they also have some key differences that affect treatment.

By the way, if you hear some people just say “ulcerative colitis” you have sores (ulcers) in the lining of your colon, as well as inflammation there.  With Crohn’s disease you may have ulcers.

Facts on Chron’s Disease:

• Inflammation may develop anywhere in the GI tract from the mouth to the anus
• Most commonly occurs at the end of the small intestine
• May appear in patches
• May extend through entire thickness of bowel wall
• About 67% of people in remission will have at least 1 relapse over the next 5 years

Facts on Ulcerative Colitis:

• Limited to the large intestine (colon and rectum)
• Occurs in the rectum and colon, involving a part or the entire colon
• Appears in a continuous pattern
• Inflammation occurs in innermost lining of the intestine
• About 30% of people in remission will experience a relapse in the next year

The symptoms of Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis (UC) can be similar. They include:

Belly cramps and pain, Diarrhea, Constipation, An urgent need to have a bowel movement, Feeling like your bowel movement wasn’t complete, Rectal bleeding, Fever, Smaller appetite, Weight loss, Fatigue, Night sweats, Problems with your period. You might skip them, or their timing might be harder to predict.

You might not have all of those symptoms all the time. Both conditions can come and go, switching between flares (when symptoms are worse) and remission (when symptoms ease up or stop).

Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis are most often diagnosed in teenagers and young adults — although they can happen at any age — and tend to run in families.

There are similarities between Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative colitis, which are:

1.)Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease affect men and women equally

2.)The symptoms of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are very similar

3.) Both diseases often develop in teenagers and young adults although the disease can occur at any age.

4.) The causes of both UC and Crohn’s disease are not known and both diseases have similar types of contributing factors such as environmental, genetic and an inappropriate response by the body’s immune system

There are differences between Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis and know what they are:

1.) Location –  Ulcerative colitis is limited to affecting the colon (large intestines (colon) to anus; while Crohn’s disease can occur anywhere starting from the mouth to the small intestines to the large intestines (colon) to the anus.

2.)  In Crohn’s disease, there are healthy parts of the intestine mixed in between inflamed areas. Ulcerative colitis, on the other hand, is continuous inflammation of the colon.

3.)  Ulcerative colitis only affects the inner most lining of the colon while Crohn’s disease can occur in all the layers of the bowel walls.

How to get Diagnosed: 

Since the differences between the two conditions mostly revolve around where in the digestive system inflammation happens, the best way for a doctor to give you the right diagnosis is to take a look inside.  To look inside is either a endoscopy or colonoscopy    depending on where the M.D. thinks the disorder is located.

Prior to these invasive tests the M.D. might order:

X-rays that can show places where your intestine is blocked or unusually narrow.

Contrast X-rays, for which you’ll swallow a thick, chalky, barium liquid so doctors can see how it moves through your system.

CT scans and MRIs to rule out other conditions that might cause symptoms similar to an inflammatory bowel disease.

After the M.D. see’s something on these tests indicating more invasive tests now he or she may order:

Endoscopy, in which a doctor uses a tiny camera on a thin tube to see inside your digestive system.

Specific types of endoscopy can be:

• Examine lower part of your large intestines. Your doctor will call this test “sigmoidoscopy”.
• Look at your entire large intestine. This is a colonoscopy.
• Check the lining of the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum. This is an EGD (esophagogastroduodenoscopy).
• Additional testing to look at your small intestine using a pill-sized camera. This is often called pill, or capsule, endoscopy.
• See the bile ducts in the liver and the pancreatic duct. This test is called ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography).

Scientists are working to make two blood tests better at helping to diagnose ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s. They check on levels of certain antibodies found in the blood:

The appendix is a small pouch attached to the large intestine. The appendix is a small, finger-shaped pouch of intestinal tissue located between the small intestine (cecum) and large intestine (colon). The appendix is a small finger-shaped tube that branches off the first part of the large intestine.

Appendicitis (means append=appendix and itis=inflammation.  Appendicitis causes pain in your lower right abdomen. However, in most people, pain begins around the navel and then moves. As inflammation worsens, appendicitis pain typically increases and eventually becomes severe.

Although anyone can develop appendicitis, most often it occurs in people between the ages of 10 and 30. Standard treatment is surgical removal of the appendix.

Signs and symptoms of appendicitis may include:

• Sudden pain that begins on the right side of the lower abdomen
• Sudden pain that begins around your navel and often shifts to your lower right abdomen
• Pain that worsens if you cough, walk or make other jarring movements
• Nausea and vomiting
• Loss of appetite
• Low-grade fever that may worsen as the illness progresses
• Constipation or diarrhea
• Abdominal bloating
• Flatulence

The site of your pain may vary, depending on your age and the position of your appendix. When you’re pregnant, the pain may seem to come from your upper abdomen because your appendix is higher during pregnancy.

Strongly suggestive of appendicitis is pushing down on the R lower quadrant and upon letting go the pain is severe compared to when pushing down.  It is called “rebound effect”.

Diagnostic Tests for confirming appendicitis:

• Blood test. This allows your doctor to check for a high white blood cell count, which may indicate an infection.
• Urine test. Your doctor may want you to have a urinalysis to make sure that a urinary tract infection or a kidney stone isn’t causing your pain.
• Rectal exam
• Imaging tests. Your doctor may also recommend an abdominal X-ray, an abdominal ultrasound, computerized tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to help confirm appendicitis or find other causes for your pain.

Treatment:

Appendicitis treatment usually involves surgery to remove the inflamed appendix. Before surgery you may be given a dose of antibiotics to treat infection.  There are times though antibiotics may only be used and the MD see’s if the appendicitis is resolved; it depends on the MD and the severity of the appendicitis.

Surgery to remove the appendix (appendectomy)

Appendectomy can be performed as open surgery using one abdominal incision about 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) long (laparotomy). Or the surgery can be done through a few small abdominal incisions (laparoscopic surgery). During a laparoscopic appendectomy, the surgeon inserts special surgical tools and a video camera into your abdomen to remove your appendix.

In general, laparoscopic surgery allows you to recover faster and heal with less pain and scarring. It may be better for older adults and people with obesity.

But laparoscopic surgery isn’t appropriate for everyone. If your appendix has ruptured and infection has spread beyond the appendix or you have an abscess, you may need an open appendectomy, which allows your surgeon to clean the abdominal cavity.

Expect to spend one or two days in the hospital after your appendectomy.

Draining an abscess before appendix surgery

If your appendix has burst and an abscess has formed around it, the abscess may be drained by placing a tube through your skin into the abscess. Appendectomy can be performed several weeks later after controlling the infection.

Things to remember in life:

• “Wearing clothes that are too tight can lead to several health issues, including digestive problems, yeast infections, and nerve compression.
• Repeatedly wearing overly tight clothing can restrict blood flow and compress nerves, potentially leading to lasting health effects.
• While occasionally wearing tight-fitting clothes is unlikely to cause significant harm, it’s important to pay attention to your body and avoid clothing that causes discomfort, pain, or restricted breathing.”

Healthline