Transcription:

RadioMD Presents:HER Radio | Original Air Date: June 18, 2015
Host: Michelle King Robson and Pam Peeke, MD

RadioMD. RadioMD.com. It's your time on HER Radio. Ask your questions or comment on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Time to Ask HER.

DR. PAM: It's your time on RadioMD for HER Radio. This is the Ask Her segment, Michelle. We've got three great questions from our listeners. So, let's just kind of hop right into it.

MICHELLE: We do.

DR. PAM: We do. They are sitting right in front of you. Right there. Do you see them?

MICHELLE: Yes, I do. Absolutely. Let's talk about the first one--which obviously we don't suffer from--which is, "What are the warning signs of depression?"

DR. PAM: You know, why women are asking this? They do this all the time to you and to me. Sometimes they get really worried about their moods. Women, especially, are subject to so much of this depression and moodiness and anxiety as well. How do you know if you're depressed? Here are some really straightforward signs and symptoms. You can't sleep or you sleep too much. It's sort of an extreme. Insomnia or hypersomnia. You can't concentrate or find that previously easy tasks – you know, the things you do all day long are just now impossible. It is just so hard to trudge through the day – hopelessness, helplessness.

That is how you feel. Can't control negative thoughts no matter how much you try. You've lost your appetite or you can't stop eating.

MICHELLE: Eating, yes, one of the two.

DR. PAM: It is the extremes all over again. It is really scary stuff for so many of these women.

MICHELLE: It is. You get short tempered, aggressive--those can be signs, too. You're consuming more alcohol, which a lot of women do. We know this, right?

DR. PAM: Substance abuse – yes.

MICHELLE: So big. And that leads to a reckless behavior. You have thoughts that life is not worth living.

DR. PAM: Then we go to the suicide place. Which is on the very darkest side of this. The warning signs of suicide include talking about killing or harming yourself. Expressing strong feelings of hopelessness or being trapped.

An unusual preoccupation with death or dying. Acting recklessly, calling or visiting people to say goodbye. Getting affairs in order. Saying things like, "Everyone would be better without me." And then it's the sudden switch from being extremely depressed to acting calm and happy. I know a lot of women who pop on over to RadioMD feel good when they know that they are not alone with these feelings.

MICHELLE: Right.

DR. PAM: That they are not alone. That there is help for them.

MICHELLE: I have had those feelings and there are lots of reasons why.

DR. PAM: Who doesn't?

MICHELLE: Right. And there are a lot of reasons why. Some of it can be hormonal – like in my case having a complete hysterectomy. It isn't sometimes what we think and so it is best to seek the help of a doctor, a physician, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, to help you identify if these symptoms are real and help you deal with them. Because most women will silently suffer which we cannot do anymore.

DR. PAM: Oh, there is absolutely no question about it. Women, if you are feeling this way and you really feel like you have a loss of control, come on. Let's make sure you get a support system put together. That means – Michelle was absolutely spot on – professional help right off the bat. Licensed social worker, counselors out there – you can reach out to a community center. Reach out to other peers. There are lots of on-lines, too, so you don't feel so alone but make sure you are getting some help. You've got to learn how to manage stress. Practice relaxation techniques. Challenge those negative thought patterns.

Make sure, also, to get some regular exercise and sleep and get your head squared away. Reframe whatever is taking place with you. Come on. You deserve a good life. Getting those resources in hand are so terribly important. This happens to all of us.

MICHELLE: It does.

DR. PAM: If you do need medication, you'll get it. But, you know, you need to get that support system in line at first. Please, please, please, promise? Alright, I heard. They all said they promise.

MICHELLE: Promise. I heard it, too.

DR. PAM: It's big and I'm glad that one of our HER Radio listeners brought this up.

MICHELLE: It's huge.

DR. PAM: I can't emphasize this enough. Michelle, you and I talk about this all the time. Fighting those moods in women. It's a huge topic.

MICHELLE: It's a huge topic on EmpowHER, too. Huge topic. We see it every day. It is always in the top three. Depression, anxiety.

DR. PAM: Easily. We'll circle back to that time and time again. You haven't heard the end of this one, ladies.

MICHELLE: No. No. No.

DR. PAM: Very significant and serious issue in a woman's life especially. And especially during her hormonal roller coaster. Oh boy, here we go. Let's go to the second question. "Can head phones cause hearing problems?" Heck yeah. Heck yeah.

MICHELLE: Huh?

DR. PAM: I know seriously. What did you say, Michelle? In The Journal of Pediatrics it's estimated that 12 ½% of children – children – age 6 to 19, are basically kids with old ears.

MICHELLE: Old ears, I love it.

DR. PAM: About 5.2 million of these kids have noise induced hearing loss. What the heck is going on? One in five teens has some form of hearing loss. That is a rate that is 30% higher than it was back in the 1990's. I mean, this is crazy.

MICHELLE: We know why, right? We know why.

DR. PAM: Well, yeah. Put those dang headphones down.

MICHELLE: Yes. It used to be – I'm going to date myself here – it used to be boom boxes. That's what we used to listen to. Or the stereo speakers in the car. Now we're listening to – we've got our headphones in and earphones. I have to tell you, I have old ears. I'm sure of it because I crank that volume up like no other. I know, it's so bad. I know it's so bad for you.

DR. PAM: Oh, gosh. Well it's the MP3 players today that produce up to 120 decibels. That is equivalent to the sound level at a rock concert. At that level hearing loss – Michelle this is so freaky – hearing loss can occur after only an hour and 15 minutes of listening to that.

MICHELLE: That is crazy. I know.

DR. PAM: The answer is, yes, you're going to have hearing loss. Here are some signs: ringing, roaring, hissing, buzzing in the ear. Difficulty understanding speech in noisy places or places with poor acoustics.

MICHELLE: That's me.

DR. PAM: Oh, yeah. What did you say again? Muffled sounds and the feeling that your ear is plugged. Listening to the TV or radio at a higher volume than in the past. I notice I do a little bit of that, too. I'm one of those people, I'm running in the park, I've got the earphone thing going. I am constantly trying to make sure and I am trying to modulate it more but sometimes it is crazy – so I've got to watch out for that. But, yes. The answer is yes, crank those suckers down. Let's go to the final question. "What is an ectopic pregnancy?" This is so important to understand.

MICHELLE: You need to answer this one.

DR. PAM: Alright, girlfriend. In a normal pregnancy your ovary releases an egg into the fallopian tubes. If the egg meets with the sperm--"Hello, sperm"--fertilized egg moves into your uterus to attach to its lining and continues to grow for the next nine months, if you have a normal pregnancy. However, in 1 out of every 50 pregnancies, a fertilized egg stays in your fallopian tube. In that case, it is called an ectopic pregnancy, or tubal pregnancy.

Sometimes this can be bad. If it ruptures this is an abdominal crisis. You absolutely have to make sure that you get right into an emergency room. Call your doctor, etc. If you feel a sharp, abrupt pain and you don't even know you're pregnant, just get on in there and make sure you're okay. Alright? That's what an ectopic pregnancy is. Make sure that you always know that you have to seek immediate medical attention. Super important.

Alright, depression – yes, we've talked about that; headphones do cause hearing problems. Come on, take those suckers off. Ectopic pregnancies, yes, 1 out of 50, so they are not unusual. It's really important that you stay right on top of them.

That's Ask Her. Keep those questions coming on down. We love them.

I'm Dr. Pam Peeke with Michelle King Robson.

MICHELLE: Dial down the volume, but don't dial down the volume of HER Radio. You're listening to HER Radio on RadioMD. Follow us on Twitter. Like us on Facebook. Stay well.