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By James H. Legge III, MSN, APRN-CNP, PMHNP, Certified Nurse Practitioner 
Psychiatric Center of Northwest Ohio 

The holiday months (mid-November to post-January) can be extremely difficult for loved ones suffering from mental illness. It’s postulated that family members and friends can reach intolerable levels of anxiety and depression during this time due to accentuated family dynamics, financial strain and other stressors.  

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By Karen L. Kier
Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU Healthwise Team 

Our House was recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and released on their Déjà Vu album in 1970.  Nash wrote the song after eating breakfast with Joni Mitchell and returning to her Los Angeles home. He went to Joni’s piano and the song just flowed in a short period of time.  The song has been used in various commercials, TV shows, and movies such as Kenmore appliances, My Girl 2, and How I Met Your Mother.

Our house is a very good place to measure blood pressure (BP) to reduce the risk of heart disease!

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Clinic provides health screenings, occasionally addresses emergencies

A five-year partnership extension has been made between Ohio Northern University’s HealthWise Mobile Health Clinic and Mercy Health-St. Rita’s Medical Center. The value of that collaboration was illustrated by a recent health emergency at a Lima, Ohio event, where the mobile clinic was staffed by ONU pharmacy students and faculty, as well as by physicians in St. Rita’s Internal Medicine residency program.

According to Raabe College of Pharmacy, the mobile health clinic was at a block party in Lima to offer free health screenings when a fourth-year pharmacy student detected high blood pressure in a woman who was 38 weeks pregnant. The team feared the cause was pre-eclampsia, a potentially fatal prenatal complication. (Continues.)

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By Julie Russell, RDN, LD, CDCES
Outpatient Dietitian/Diabetes Educator, Endocrinology & Diabetes Specialists of Northwest Ohio

It’s that time of year again and the holidays are quickly approaching. The holidays are a busy time, and it can be easy to get off track with your eating habits. Even though you get busy, don’t forget to take time to eat throughout the day. When you skip a meal, it can lead to overeating at the next meal. Try to plan out your meals for the day or, even better, the week. When you plan a meal, think of the food groups to ensure you get a balanced meal.

When attending holiday parties, be selective of your food choices. Take smaller portions by using a smaller plate. Remember, you can have leftovers at another meal, so don’t feel the need to overfill your plate. Pick your most favorite carbohydrate foods, try to keep portions to a quarter part of your plate, and fill in with non-starchy vegetables. If you are concerned that there are not going to be any healthy dishes, then bring one to share.

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Zachary Lenz, student pharmacist
With Karen L. Kier, Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU Healthwise Team

In 1967, Steppenwolf wrote their hit Born to Be Wild. The song begins by telling listeners to “Get your motor runnin’/Head out on the highway/Lookin' for adventure” and we have an image in our head; cruising down an open road in our dream car, radio playing our favorite tune and feeling the freedom of adventure. We even go back to the excitement of passing our driving test, obtaining that coveted driver’s license and gaining the independence of exploration. For some of us, it opens a conversation if it is safer to leave the car in the garage and take a ride in the passenger seat due to the use of some medications.

In September, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) released a study focusing on medications that alter road test performances among healthy older adults with good cognitive function. Based on previous literature, older adults are at a greater risk of being involved in an automotive accident compared to middle-aged adults. There could be multiple factors contributing to this claim, including being frail and having more cognitive impairment.

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By Andrius Giedraitis, MD
Pain Management, Blanchard Valley Pain Management

Chronic pain: A persistent challenge
Chronic pain is a complex and often debilitating condition that affects more than 50 million Americans nationwide. Unlike acute pain, which serves as your body’s alarm system responding to injury or illness and then typically subsides as the underlying issue heals, chronic pain lingers for an extended period, often lasting for months or years. It can manifest from head to toe, including persistent headaches and neck pain to neuropathic pain in your feet and anywhere in between. If left unchecked, chronic pain significantly impacts a person’s quality of life. It is important to understand that chronic pain is not merely a symptom but a distinct medical condition that requires comprehensive management.

Root causes and complex cases
Chronic pain can result from a myriad of underlying causes, including injury, illness, or conditions like arthritis and neuropathy. The complexity arises from the fact that often, people with chronic pain have multiple other health ailments that must be navigated and considered.

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