Doctor's Column: Can I get pregnant with one fallopian tube?

Dear doctor, some doctors today have gone native and are practicing herbal medicine. Others behave like the so-called medieval doctors. Quite a good number have brought in their trade antics reminiscent of witch doctors.

I am saying this because recently, I took my mother to a physician and was surprised when he gave her a drug called boniva and told her to take it early morning at least 30 minutes before breakfast and remain standing for two hours after taking it! Is this not strange?
Emmanuel Noel Kyasanku

Dear Emmanuel, our bones have calcium containing building blocks which means remodelling is always taking place with some calcium going in and some going out. In young people, more calcium goes in than comes out resulting in bone growth. In adults, the calcium that goes in matches what goes out.

In women, after menopause, and many elderly people, more calcium comes out leading to smaller and weaker bones (osteoporosis). Drugs like boniva help slow down loss of calcium.

The tablets should be taken at least 60 minutes before the first food or drink, or medications of the day to avoid interference with the absorption of the drug because its own absorption from the intestine is poor.

Also, the drug should be swallowed with plain water while one is in an upright position, in order to be certain that the tablets get into the stomach. If the tablets stick in the oesophagus, they can irritate it.

For the same reason, patients should not lie down for 60 minutes after taking the drug because the tablets are more likely to stick in the oesophagus when one is lying down. It not only irritates the oesophagus, but also the mouth and throat. This is why one should remain standing or seated upright after taking the tablets. These are not witch doctor antics like you think.

Dear doctor, I have been sick for over a year now. Over time, I have been diagnosed with different diseases including malaria, typhoid, bruccella and now kidney infection.

I feel a lot of pain and on-and-off heat in my stomach, get constipation and diarrhoea. Sometimes, my faeces are like goat droppings. My temperature is high, I have on-and-off fever, general body weakness, a pale scaly skin, heart burn and of recent, I feel something stuck in my throat. What is the problem?
Anonymous

Dear Anonymous, it is usual for anybody suffering from a multitude of medical conditions to fear for his life and become stressed and anxious.

Stress and anxiety commonly lead to bowel habit changes (constipation resulting in goat-like droppings and diarrhoea) apart from general body weakness, heart burn and a lump in the throat that cannot go (globus pharyngeus).

Brucellosis, malaria and kidney disease can be handled by your doctor to stem the anxiety and its symptoms.

You may also require services of a professional counsellor.

Although heartburn may be associated with a stressful life, it may be a sign of peptic ulcers which also require proper investigation and treatment.

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