When traveling to another country to get medical treatment, it is important that you make the necessary preparations first to stay safe and healthy. Recovery is essential, so stay away from stress by having all your things ready. Planning and making reservations early will help you eliminate other troubles and let you enjoy your vacation fully. Before you go to any new country, learn a few things first and find out what to expect during your visit.

What’s Your Reason?

Determine your primary reason for needing to go abroad to seek medical treatment. First of all, you have to consider your medical reason. Are you going to get plastic surgery? Do you have heart or liver problems? Are you only going for dental work? Do you have life-threatening disease? Do you need to have an organ replaced? Some countries are known to be experts at specific procedures, so eye on these destinations to ensure that you are dealing with competent and well-trained staff and institutions.

Some people also wish to go abroad to seek medical treatment because of the cheaper rates and the opportunity to learn more about unique cultures and religious practices. Compare prices between countries. In Asia you get to pay anywhere between 25% and 75% less than what you expect in the United States or United Kingdom. Also study the different countries and try to go to places you’ve always dreamed of visiting like Thailand, China or the Philippines.

Getting Screened

You need to go through a full physical assessment and have diagnostic tests first before going abroad. Your condition can get worse or you may develop complications from traveling or staying cramped in an airplane for several hours. Some of the known complications include clogged blood vessels, immobility and severe headache. Get two or more doctors to screen you completely and give you the thumbs up to travel to other parts of the globe before booking your ticket. Some patients are not allowed to travel unless they display normal health levels. Some of the things your doctor will check include your blood pressure, breathing, heart rate, mental ability and other physical signs.

Making Reservations

Before choosing any medical institution, make sure that it is accredited with the known agencies, such as JCI and Trent. Other national accreditations will also help, to ensure that you are only dealing with legitimate and experienced medical doctors. Also find out more about the hospital and check if they have the latest technology and equipment when dealing with your case. You can talk to a travel agent to help you book hotel reservations and other trip plans to vacation comfortably before and after the medical procedure.

Finalize all the details such as mode of transportation once you arrive, tour schedules and dining places. It is recommended that you bring at least one other person with you during your medical tour to ensure that you stay safe and healthy. Stay abroad for 3 to 10 days more after the scheduled day of treatment so that you can recuperate fully and avoid complications post-operation. A vehicle should be made ready for you once you get to the airport and at the hospital or hotel before and after the procedure.

Research more about the place you are visiting and bring the necessary items such as an alarm clock, medications, a cellular phone or your laptop, maps and money or credit cards. You might need to learn a few foreign lines to know your way around and communicate well with the locals.

Tags: Airplane, Blood Vessels, Countries In Asia, Cultures, Dental Work, Diagnostic Tests, Doctors, Headache, Immobility, Life Threatening Disease, Liver Problems, Medical Reason, Medical Tourism, Medical Treatment, Necessary Preparations, Parts Of The Globe, Philippines, Physical Assessment, Plastic Surgery, Religious Practices —

Thinning Down: Do You Need A Gastric Bypass For It?

Obesity is an increasing problem in the world today. It can’t be avoided because of our current environment of fast food and sedentary lifestyles. So what can you do about your ever-expanding flab?There’s always the constant call for exercise and dieting however, sometimes even that is not enough. This is when surgery comes in and a gastric bypass can be needed.

First of all, let’s talk about what exactly is a gastric bypass. Have you ever heard of a heart bypass? This is when surgeons stitch up you arteries to avoid the clogged vessels of the circulatory system around your heart. This is also what happens in a gastric bypass, although the operation involves your digestive system rather than your blood vessels. What the surgeons do is make your stomach smaller by making a pouch at the top of the stomach. This neatly halves your stomach capacity. Then, the surgeons would connect your small intestine to this pouch, skipping a part of it. These two changes contribute to increased weight loss by lower food capacity and lesser calorie absorption over all. Weight loss would accelerate over a three to six-month period, until your body manages to adapt to the lower energy intake.

The question that most doctors ask before they have someone undergo all of this is very simple: do you really need it? Most doctors advise patients seeking a gastric bypass to exhaust all other forms of weight-loss options before doing this operation. It may be the safest option but it is still major surgery on a sensitive part of your body. These is still a chance for complications to set in both during and after the operation. Doctors also screen any patient wanting to have a gastric bypass you may not have a gastric bypass if you have not been obese for more than five years, are alcoholic, experiencing a psychiatric disorder and you have to be between 18 to 65 years of age.

If the patient has exhausted all other options and is eligible for a bypass then the doctor outlines exactly what happens after the bypass is done. After the surgery, the patient will stay in observation for the next three days to check for complications. He won’t be eating anything solid for awhile to let the pouch in his stomach heal. After discharge, he will also be under a rigid, progressive diet that would take him from liquid foods to solid foods in twelve weeks. The patient will also be experiencing the effects of lower energy intake: headaches and bodyaches, along with lower energy levels.

He will also have to take vitamin supplements since the part of the small intestine that is being skipped by the bypass is predominantly in charge of getting the appropriate vitamins and minerals from the food not all, of course, but a significant portion of the recommended daily allowance. The long-term effects are also there. A lower stomach capacity means you may vomit or feel abdominal pains if you eat too much or too fast.

It sounds extreme, but still, a lot of gastric bypasses are done each year it’s up to you to decide whether it is worth the risk.

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I’m sure you are quite aware of the fact that if your overweight your odds of developing Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes goes up dramatically. You also know that we aren’t talking about a few extra pounds; we are talking about 20 plus pounds. In other words we are talking about being obese. One of the best ways for you to have weight loss and lower the odds of being diagnosed with diabetes is exercise. Exercise for diabetics is critical.

Although Type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented exercise is a phenomenal way to help control insulin sensitivity throughout the body. The exertion brought forth by the exercise causes the muscles to burn the glucose more efficiently. But a great side effect of the exercise will cause your metabolism to speed up, which in turn will burn calories thus helping your body to shed those extra pounds.

You should know that even though Type 1 Diabetes cannot be prevented, it is possible to prevent Type 2. One of the first steps you must take to prevent it is commence a weight loss program that combines exercise and healthy eating. You should then follow up step 1 with the proper vitamins and herbal supplements, which in turn reduce insulin sensitivity and help in maintaining a healthy weight.

Recent studies have determined that a 30 minute walk every day can dramatically decrease the possibility of an overweight person contracting Type 2 Diabetes. The natural swing of the arms and legs will increase the circulation to the heart and lungs. This in turn will reduce the chances for heart disease and help avoid the possibility of losing circulation in the lower extremities. This is a deadly side effect of diabetes.

Diabetics and overweight people often suffer from high blood pressure. This as you know causes a shrinking of the blood vessels and restricts blood flow to the extremities of the body, particularly the lower ones. Exercise of course lowers the blood pressure and in doing so opens the blood vessels. Thus increasing the blood flow to the lower extremities; which in turn prevents the terrible damage to the toes and feet of a diabetic or overweight person.

However, this does not happen overnight and it is imperative to your weight loss and control/prevention of diabetes. Because the exercise should be done every day there are some inherent dangers which can be induced by the exercise. The good thing is if you are aware of these dangers you can stay ahead of the game.

1. If you are diabetic or borderline diabetic exercise will lower the blood sugar levels and you may become hypoglycemic. If you exercise alone always have a candy bar or a natural juice (orange juice) or other fruit juices which can quickly restore your blood sugar level.

2. Closely monitor how you feel physically during and after exercise. If you notice that you are feeling weak and drained or experience a sudden onset of hunger it’s possible your blood sugar levels are dropping below the safe level. Again go for the candy or the juices.

Weight loss and exercise for diabetics go hand in hand. It is important you work with your doctor or other professional health provider to make sure you are doing things right. You can control both weight loss and diabetes, don’t let them control you.

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