Whether you doubt that your sadness warrants treatment (as 43 percent of women do), are embarrassed to talk to a professional (as 23 percent admit) or simply feel too apathetic or lethargic to make a visit, getting a diagnosis is first step to feeling like yourself again. Ask your physician for a referral to a psychologist or a psychiatrist or call your insurer for a list of mental health providers—you’ll be glad you did. If you aren’t struggling emotionally but suspect a friend is, tell her you sense that she’s feeling down and offer to assist her in finding a doctor. Thanks to your help, she’s likely to eventually start feeling better instead of worse. It may take a while to decide on the right course of treatment, whether it’s for you or your loved one, but in the meantime, making a few changes to your everyday habits can upgrade your outlook. Try the changes below to lift your mood, and to learn more about anxiety, depression and other emotional afflictions.

Sweat away sadness

We all know someone who says they exercise for their mental health, and guess what? Research proves they’re right! It turns out that working out may be as effective at relieving mild to moderate depression as the antidepressant Zoloft, because it stimulates the release of the feel-good chemical dopamine in your brain, according to a study from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. And you don’t need to train for a triathlon to reap the benefits. Just 30 minutes of walking a day can improve your mood. If you’d rather stretch than stride, even taking a yoga class has been proven to boost levels of a neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid that helps keep depression at bay.

Eat good food

Fish that contains omega-3 fatty acids enhances areas of the brain that affect your mood, so aim to eat a low-mercury swimmer, like wild salmon, arctic char or sardines twice a week. Have a baked spud on the side for a dose of vitamin B6, which lowers your depression risk. And foods rich in folate, such as spinach, beans and oranges, are filled with blues-busting serotonin—dig in, feel better!

Have sweet dreams

It’s not just beauty sleep—it’s happy sleep! Logging a solid seven to eight hours of rest is one of the most important things you can do for your emotional health. People who have insomnia are five times more likely to develop depression compared with those who are well-rested, a study from the University of North Texas in Denton finds. To make it easier to drift off, skip late-night TV and web surfing, jot down your worries on a notepad so you can rest with a clear mind and try soothing stretches before turning in.

Claim some quiet time

Something to contemplate: Frequent meditation is as effective as medicine at reducing bouts of depression, according to research. Yoga is a great way to clear your mind, but if you’re not the oming type, try setting aside 10 minutes in the morning to do deep breathing. Or, if you’re like me and prefer to stay in motion, try this “walking meditation:” Stride slowly for 20 minutes sans iPod. Stare at the ground 6 feet ahead and focus on the soles of your shoes lifting and dropping.

See the light

Depressed people who were exposed to a bright light for an hour upon waking up in the morning for five weeks experienced a 54 percent improvement in symptoms, according to a study from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. Try flicking on an energy light, such as the Philips goLITE BLU ($199), as you read your morning paper or answer your email.  Spending more time outside can also lift your spirits and tame stress, according to research. Read a book on a park bench during your lunch break or bike to run your errands. Stuck inside? Try to sit near a window.

Phone a pal

Not surprisingly, lonely folks are more likely to be depressed, research from the University of Chicago suggests. To feel your happiest, aim to strengthen bonds with at least three close pals. Make buddy dates by automating them—agree to meet at the gym twice a week, or gather for a night of takeout and movie watching the first Friday of each month. You’ll keep your spirits high with a little help from your friends!

What’s your stress style? Take the quiz on Self.com to find out, and learn how to cope better with anything.

For many years the country’s top hospitals were all located in the capital of Manila, but nowadays many new, modern hospitals have been built outside the capital including in Luzon and Davao. These hospitals are positioned close to tourist areas with stunning beaches. There is an array of medical services available including plastic surgery, organ transplants, hip and knee replacements, eye operations and dental care.

Pros: Operations such as a full set of dental implants can cost as little as US$500 dollars in the Philippines. Having medical treatment in the Philippines not only has the benefit of being inexpensive, however, but the standard of facilities is world class. Many of the new hospitals are fitted with the latest in medical technology. Private hospital rooms are similar to five-star hotel rooms, which makes the experience comfortable and stress-free. The doctors and hospital staff are renowned for being caring, skilled and possessing great English skills.

Cons: Being positioned in Southeast Asia, traveling to the Philippines from Europe or North America can be uncomfortable, with direct flights from the US taking up to 17 hours—longer with stopovers. While the tropical weather is sunny and hot—perfect for beach activities—it can sometimes make recovery from surgery uncomfortable. The country is tourist friendly and safe, but the capital of Manila can be dangerous in some areas, with muggings and pick-pocketing commonplace.

Medical Tourism in Philippines

The Philippines has long been a favorite for tropical beach holidays, but with an emerging high standard of health treatment and care and an initiative by the government, people are now seeing the country as a place to have the surgery they cannot afford at home. Many medical tour packages are now available which offer a travel and hospital service that takes care of everything from visas, airfares, accommodation, hospital costs for treatment and all transport. Medical services available include cardiology, rheumatology, cataracts surgery, knee replacements and bone marrow transplants.

Philippines Cosmetic Surgery

The Philippines has a wealth of skilled cosmetic surgeons who specialize in face lifts, rhinoplastery, abdominal tucks, liposuction and breast augmentation. Most of these operations cost a fraction of the price of those in developed counties. With many of the surgeons considered to be the best in their field, people are traveling from around the globe to have their cosmetic operations performed here.

Philippines Dental Tourism

Dental surgery in the Philippines is performed at an incredibly high standard. There are many hospitals and clinics specializing in dentistry all across the country, with several that are used to catering to medical tourists. With so many dentists and low costs of labor, dental work is particularly cheap in the Philippines. All standard procedures are available as well as more complex ones such as the fitting of dental implants and bridges.

Philippines Alternative Medicine

Alternative treatments are popular among locals in the Philippines, but the government is yet to promote this field of care to medical tourists. Medicinal plants are often used in the treatment of certain conditions, and faith healers and fringe therapies are widespread.

Philippines Health Spas

Throughout the Philippines, natural health spas and relaxation centers offering therapeutic healing of the mind, body and soul are available. Many of these centers are set in resort style grounds, near to picturesque beaches that make for a special experience at very reasonable prices compared to their western counterparts. The natural healing resorts offer alternative treatments concentrating on organic solutions. Packages that offer long stays with a detoxification process, a natural and organic diet, meditation and massages are available. After having a major operation, visiting a natural healing center that offers these services can greatly help the recovery process. Medical Tourism Philippines

The Philippine Medical Women’s Association is an organization of medical women to foster closer relationships and fellowship among all medical graduates to enrich, encourage, and empower one another in their chosen fields of practice or specialties and subspecialties so that they may be beter equipped to serve the community and the underprivileged and take an active part in national affairs speciallyy in problems that affect women, children, and the family.
Since then, the association has grown to more than 4,000 members nationwide in 45 various chapters in Metro Manila and the provinces.

The North Luzon chapter under the leadership of Dr. Manny Bautista had met
with his team to have an accurate assessment of the impact of the recent
disaster on the prospect of holding the PCP mid-year convention in Baguio
as scheduled. They have wisely deemed it prudent and appropriate to cancel
the mid-year convention that they had earnestly prepared for. At this
time, focus has to be put on the on-going relief operations.
The Board of Regents  agrees with their assessment of the situation and
has approved the recommendation to cancel the 2009 mid-year convention in
Baguio. The recommendation to cancel the convention is thus carried out.

Meanwhile, the people of north Luzon need help. We will be figuring out in
the next few days the best way to help. We are one with the people of
North Luzon – especially our colleagues there – and we intend to help
where help can make a difference. Their preparations in Baguio to welcome
us next week during the scheduled convention need not go to waste. The
comfort and relaxation that we would have enjoyed, we definitely wouldn’t
mind giving up in exchange for the comfort and relief of our unfortunate
brothers and sisters who have lost a lot more in the last few days.

The recent disasters have taught us important lessons; we have become more
sensitive to the misfortune of others. We should also learn one important
thing: WE ARE LEADERS. WHAT WE HAVE HAD IN THE LAST FEW DAYS ARE
OPPORTUNITIES TO LEAD.

Kudos to all!

Eugene Ramos

It is with great pride and honor to introduce the First International Symposium on Neurocritical Care of St. Luke’s Medical Center which will be held on January 14 and 15, 2010 in Manila, Philippines.   The symposium will provide participants a unique opportunity to get an update on the remarkable developments in neurocritical care. Leading scientists and clinical experts will present the state of the art in basic and clinical research in neurocritical care and patient management.

We look forward to welcoming you to the symposium. We hope that this meeting will be a memorable experience for all of you, where you will be able to further friendships and strengthen scientific collaboration.

Yours sincerely,

Lina C. Laxamana, MD, Program Director

With the country’s most advanced and most comprehensive diagnostic and treatment facilities, our team of neurologists and neurosurgeons offer diagnostic evaluation, consultation and management to a wide range of pediatric and adult neurological diseases of the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves or muscles.

Patients can avail of the Institute’s facilities like the Neurocritical Care Unit, Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratory, Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, Acute Stroke Unit, Neuro-Ophthalmology Service, and Hearing and Balance Disorders Laboratory. The country’s first Comprehensive Stroke Services offers Brain Attack Prevention and an Acute Brain Attack Program specially designed to meet the needs of patients.

The Institute’s Neurosurgery Section pioneered in minimally invasive neurosurgery in the country. It is the country’s leading and most experienced team performing Stereotactic Radio Surgery, Endoscopic and Keyhole Neurosurgery as well as Cerebrovascular, Epilepsy and Spine Surgery, Image-Guided Surgery, and Pediatric and Functional Neurosurgery.

The Neurocritical Care Unit provides monitoring for potential deterioration, administration of emergency medications and intensive care of critically-ill neurologically-impaired patients. Similarly, a special Acute Stroke Unit is a specialized unit for the comprehensive treatment of patients with acute stroke.

Epileptics can now look forward to a multi-disciplinary service dedicated solely to their care through the Institute’s Comprehensive Epilepsy Program. This program offers a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic services which includes an Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, also the first of its kind in the country which accurately diagnoses seizure types, a very important step in determining treatment strategy. Other diagnostic and ancillary procedures available are equipment for video-EEG monitoring, portable teledigital EEG, anti-epileptic drug level determination, epilepsy surgery, ketogenic diet treatment program, and Vagus Nerve Stimulation.

In partnership with the Research and Biotechnology Division, the St. Luke’s International Institute of Neurosciences established the Stroke Data Bank to fully understand and effectively fight stroke or “brain attack”, one of the leading causes of disability and mortality worldwide. At St. Luke’s Medical Center alone, more than 600 strokes are admitted annually. The Stroke Data Bank aims to determine the epidemiology of the stroke and its subtypes in the hospital-based population, analyze the effect of established and less established risk factors in the development of stroke, determine the short and long-term prognosis after a stroke including risk of recurrence, compare efficacy of different treatment modalities for acute and non-acute stroke, estimate enrollment of stroke patients in future clinical trials, and disseminate information about stroke prevention to the public, as well as report the results of the study to the local and international medical community.

As the country’s leader in the field of Neurosciences, the Institute is also home to five highly specialized centers manned by experts trained locally and abroad. One of these is the Comprehensive Brain Tumor Center which provides a comprehensive and coordinated multidisciplinary approach to the care of adult and pediatric patients with brain and spinal cord tumors, and systemic cancer. The Center is manned by the Brain Tumor Board which is composed of specialists from neurology, neurosurgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology, neuroradiology, nuclear medicine, neuropathology, psychiatry, pain management, and nursing.

Another center of excellence under the Institute is the Comprehensive Sleep Disorders Center which offers a multi-disciplinary team approach to sleep disorders using the combined expertise and experience of neurologists, pulmonologists (adult and pediatric), psychiatrists, and otorhinolaryngologists, all of whom are board certified in their fields of specialty with a common subspecialty in Sleep Medicine. The center boasts of a computerized sleep monitoring system as well as a six-week Insomnia Treatment Program which is a comprehensive approach using a broad range of treatment modalities with proven efficacy.

St. Luke’s Memory Center is a hospital-based multi-disciplinary service providing a range of detailed assessment, management and advisory services for individuals with memory complaints and dementia. The Memory Center handles patients, young or old, with memory disorders or in various stages of dementia. It is part of treatment continuum in collaboration with the hospital’s geriatric, neurologic and psychiatric services.

The Memory Enhancement Program (MEP), a hospital-based out-patient plan, provides detailed diagnosis and Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy for individuals with memory and associated cognitive difficulties. Experts in charge of the program include neurologists, psychologists, nurse clinicians, an occupational therapist, and a data manager.

The Movement Disorders Center is a facility for the clinical assessment and management of various movement disorders with particular emphasis on Parkinson’s Disease, tremor disorders, myoclonus, chorea, dystonia, tic disorders, and tardive syndromes. The Center has state-of-the-art neurophysiological equipment which greatly fosters the detailed study of various movement disorders. Effective management of various movement disorders is stressed, utilizing the latest knowledge in pharmacotherapy, physical and occupational therapy, psychotherapy and, when applicable, surgery.

Created for the interdisciplinary evaluation and management of children and adolescents up to 18 years of age who manifest developmental or behavioral problems in the cognitive, motor, communicative and/or academic realms is the Neurodevelopmental Center. Some indications of developmental disabilities are poor head control at three months of age, failure to sit alone at 10 months, tantrums, hyperactive/uncooperative or oppositional behavior, poor eye contact, short attention span, and repetitive/unusual behavior not found in other kids of the same age.

St. Luke’s Neurodevelopmental team of physicians, child neurologists, neurophychologists, speech-language pathologists, clinical psychologists, occupational therapists, educational specialists, social workers and nurses provide such services as: neurodevelopmental screening/surveillance of high risk neonates, infants and young children; neurodevelopmental evaluation of infants and young children; child psychiatric evaluation and counseling; neurophysiological evaluation; speech-language evaluation and therapy; occupational therapy; and music and play therapy.

The Mood Clinic was created to provide a comprehensive treatment approach to patients with mood disorders. With people leading very stressful lives, more cases of depression have been reported. Not too many people know that depression is a treatable illness involving an imbalance of brain chemicals called neuro-transmitters. It is not a character flaw or a sign of personal weakness. The Clinic also serves as a liaison with other mood programs locally and internationally. It also aims to generate research studies involving mood disorders.

Your doctor (health care provider) should perform a complete foot exam at least once a year. Call or see your doctor if you have cuts or breaks in the skin, or have an ingrown nail. Tell him if your foot  changes color, shape, of just feels different.

There are many things you can do to keep your feet healthy:
* Keep your blood sugar within target range
* Check your feet everyday
* Be more active.
* Wash your feet everyday.
* Keep your skin soft and smooth. Rub a thin coat of lotion over the tops and bottoms of your feet, but NOT between your toes.
*Trim your toenails straight across and file the edges with an emery board.
* Wear shoes and socks at all times. Never walk barefoot. Wear comfortable shoes. Check inside your shoes before wearing them. Make sure the lining is smooth and there are no objects inside.

Reference: The American Diabetes Association

Incretin-Based Therapy in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Advancing Treatment, Improving Outcomes

Gabriel V. Jasul Jr., MD, FPCP, FPSEM
Clinical Associate Professor, UP College of Medicine
Endocrinology Training Officer, St. Luke’s Medical Center