Newspaper Page Text
Griffin Daily News
Wednesday, July 23, 1969
THE DOCTOR SAYS
Pill Has Filled Need
Despite Adverse Effects
No scientific development
in recent years has aroused
as much controversy as the
Pill. Since it is estimated
that about eight million
women of childbearing age,
or about one in six, are tak
ing the Pill, it has undoubt
edly filled a real need and,
until something better be
comes available, it will con
tinue to be used.
At present, it consists of a
synthetic female hormone
plus progestin, a compound
that resembles a hormone
secreted during pregnancy.
As a result, the user is in a
physiological state that sim
ulates pregnancy and may
suffer some of the side
effects of pregnancy, such as
nausea .fullness of the
breasts and an increased re
tention of water in the
tissues.
Adverse effects attributed
to prolonged use of the Pill
have included clotting in the
blood vessels of the legs,
thinning of the hair, nervous
irritability, depression, head
ache, liver spots on the face
(chloasma or the mask of
pregnancy), a sensitivity to
sunlight, Raynaud’s disease
and elevated blood pressure,
to name a few.
The proportion of women
taking the Pill who develop
any of these conditions is
very low and, in many cases,
a direct causal relationship
to the drug cannot be estab
lished. But the seriousness
of some of these complica
tions warrants close medical
supervision. One study
• FOOD FOR AMERICANS
If you are feeling physical
ly weak, have lost your sense
of well-being and are having
difficulty co-ordinating your
physical movements, it is
possible you may be suffer
ing from a lack of potassi-
' A
jflßß
Dr. Ronald Okun
urn. Particularly if you are
taking diuretic medications
to lower your water and salt
content.
Instead of using pills to
overcome the lack, try eat
ing potassium-rich and low
sodium fruits, such as
prunes and prune juice,
oranges and bananas.
That is the advice of
Ronald Okun, M.D., director
of Clinical Pharmacology at
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
in Los Angeles. Dr. Okun is
also a consultant to the Cali
fornia Department of Public
Health.
“There are about 10 mil
lion people in the United
States today suffering from
hypertension (high blood
pressure). Most of them are
young, between ages of 20 to
40. Diuretics are prescribed
to reduce abnormal accumu
lation of body fluids (edema).
The medication helps remove
fluid (salt and water) from
the system, thereby aiding
in reducing high blood pres
sure,” he explains.
Sufferers from heart, kid
ney, liver, and often women
during the premenstrual ten
sion, are given diuretics,
too. The drug companies do
over SIOO million a year in
these medicines.
“But m removing excess
fluids from the body, these
medications also deplete the
potassium essential to well
being,” he states. “The ef
forts of drug companies to
make compensating potassi
um medications have not
been successful. Often they
cause ulcers in the small in-
By WAYNE G. BRANDSTADT, M.D.
shows that serious clotting
problems occur chiefly in
women whose blood is type
A. In any case, a woman
who is taking the Pill should
have a periodic checkup and
should report to her physi
cian promptly if any unusual
symptoms occur. Women
who have breast or uterine
cancer, clotting in the veins,
migraine or diabetes should
not take the Pill but should
use some other method of
contraception.
Since the Pill remains the
most effective contraceptive
yet devised, the danger must
be weighed against those of
becoming pregnant, which
may also cause clotting, kid
ney damage, high blood
pressure and headaches. Im
proved formulation of the
drugs used is the constant
aim of the manufacturers.
Perhaps the most promising
new development is a ring
pessary impregnated with
medroxyprogesterone to be
placed in the vagina five
days after the onset of a
menstrual period, kept in
place 21 days, then dis
carded. If this proves to be
effective, it will eliminate all
the hazards now rightly or
wrongly att.buted to the
Pill.
(Newspaper enterprise Assn.)
Please send your questions and
comments to Wayne G. Brandstadt,
M.D., in care of this paper. While
Dr. Brandstadt cannot answer indi
vidual letters, he will answer letters
of general interest in future columns.
Here Is a New Wrinkle:
Prunes for Hypertension
By GAYNOR MADDOX
Food and Nutrition Columnist
testines.
“In fact, the FDA insists
that the labels of such drugs
warn of the possible serious
complications and urge die
tary supplementation instead
when practical.”
That means using foods in
stead of drugs to build up
necessary potassium. The
California Heart Association
recommends the following
fruits as high in potassium
and low in salt—-prunes
and prune juice, bananas,
oranges and grapefruit
juice.
Okun, 37, and a graduate
of the University of Califor
nia School of Medicine in
San Francisco and a Fellow
in Clinical Pharmacology at
Johns Hopkins Hospital in
Baltimore, says:
“I feel there has been a
medical oversight of the im
portance of prunes rebuild
ing supplies of potassium.
Bananas and oranges we
have heard about. But now
we know that prunes and
prune juice are equally im
portant.”
Asked about low-sodium
diets for the millions who
are taking diuretics, he
warns them against eating
pickled meats, such as ham,
corned beef and smoked
tongu'e, and canned vegeta
bles since most use salt as
a preservative.
Shoe Tips Help
Land a Job
BURLINGTON, Vt. (UPI) -
“Putting your best foot
forward” means wearing the
right shoes when applying for a
job.
Clothing specialists in the
Extension Service of the
University of Vermont say that
potential employers can tell a lot
about a prospective employe by
the cut of his or her shoes.
The specialists offer these tips
to job hunters:
— Women should wear
simple, low or mid-heeled
pumps, ties or slingbacks.
— Men should check shoes for
necessary repairs to scratches,
rundown heels, dirt marks and
lack of a shine.
Sneakers are two-prong sore
spots — they’re definitely “out”
for interviews and can hurt feet
on the job because they
normally lack proper support.
Trim, neat, and well-polished
footwear is a plus. No matter
how dressed otherwise, a job
hunter looks sloppy with shoddy
or soiled shoes.
15
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