Everyday Stress or Something More?
Sometimes when you wake up in the morning, it can be hard to lift your head from the pillow. You hear that alarm going off and can barely reach over to hit the snooze button. When you finally make it out of bed, coffee is the first thing on your mind. It has been a busy week: you are worn out and having trouble concentrating on the day ahead!
This feeling of being worn out is your body’s way of healing during times of stress. Your body is clamoring for more rest, because in order to restore itself, the body needs to sleep. As your body begins to heal, mornings become easier and your focus improves.
But, what if it doesn’t? What does it mean if you continue to feel lethargic and drained week after week? What if your brain feels fuzzy all of the time and you find that you are constantly forgetting things because you’re so tired? At this point, there may be something more than day-to-day stress causing your fatigue. Exhaustion, either physical or mental, should not last for weeks at a time.
Fortunately, a Fatigue Panel or Adrenal Health/Stress Profile will test for a variety of potential causes. Causes of fatigue are varied. In some people, it can be caused by a disease, such as Lyme disease or mononucleosis. In other people, it can be triggered by hormone or blood sugar imbalances. And, others may discover that fatigue is a result of conditions like anemia or low iron levels.
With so many causes of fatigue, the first step to regaining your energy is knowing why you feel drained. From there, treatments that include medication, diet, exercise and lifestyle changes can be used to help you recover. Of course, resolving your fatigue won’t completely get rid of sleepy, coffee-filled mornings, but it will certainly help you restore the energy and focus that it takes to make the most of your time from morning until night.
If you have been fatigued for more than two weeks, stop in to your local Any Lab Test Now location and ask for the Fatigue Panel. Keep in mind that this test does require fasting for eight hours prior to the sample being collected. You can also inquire about our Adrenal Health/Stress Profile. Both tests are a quick, simple way to help you start the process of recovery.
What You Need to Know About Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer found in American men. Despite this, many people remain unaware of the disease and do not monitor their prostate health on an on-going basis. It is imperative that men continue to learn about prostate cancer and take the necessary steps to catch the cancer early on.
What is prostate cancer?
It is a form of cancer that grows in a man’s prostate. The prostate is an organ located just below the bladder that is responsible for the production of seminal fluid. This is a slow growing cancer that often occurs without obvious symptoms, making routine testing a critical self-care resource.
Who is at risk for prostate cancer?
All men are at risk for developing prostate cancer, although it is rare for it to occur before the age of 40. As men age, however, their risk increases. About 60 percent of cases occur in men who are over the age of 60.
While all men should be tested for prostate cancer, African American men and those with a family member who was previously diagnosed with cancer should be even more vigilant. In fact, African American males are 56 percent more likely to develop prostate cancer than Caucasian men of a similar age.
What are the symptoms of prostate cancer?
As cancer develops in this region, it often grows without noticeable symptoms. When symptoms do occur, they tend to include issues with urination and sexual function. In some cases, men may experience discomfort in their hips or lower back too.
How can men protect themselves?
Men of all ages should routinely schedule a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test. While uncommon in younger men, early testing provides a baseline against which prostate health is measured in later years. Certainly, by the age of 50, men should seek testing every two to four years.
Like most forms of cancer, prostate cancer is more successfully treated when caught in its early stages. The absence of noticeable symptoms makes it more difficult to do this, which is why testing is an important component of men’s health care. Any Lab Test Now offers a quick walk-in PSA Test that provides men insight into their prostate health and allows them to address any concerns with their doctor more quickly.
Introducing Any Lab Test Now’s Take Home Hormone Kits!
Hormones are natural chemicals that direct most of your body’s functions such as moods, sleep, hunger and your response to stress. When the body has too much or too little of a particular type of hormone, it creates a hormone imbalance, and it can cause problems that negatively impact your quality of life. People suffering from hormone imbalances often struggle to feel their best. When an imbalance is suspected, it’s important to do all you can to get to the bottom of what you’re feeling because time spent feeling ill is time you can never get back.
Any Lab Test Now understands the importance of living each day to the fullest and wants to help you understand what’s going on in your body. We are happy to introduce our new convenient Take Home Hormone Kits! These simple take home kits can evaluate your hormone levels overall or can target specific issues that you may be having, including those related to:
Why do you need hormone testing? It is important to remember hormones trigger numerous vital body processes. This means that a hormone imbalance can have a myriad of symptoms. Sleep and wake cycles, metabolism, brain function, sexual and reproductive health are all controlled by the activity of these hormones.
Hormones affect both men and women. Men and women typically experience hormone imbalances differently. For men, their testosterone levels tend to decline slowly as they grow older, which can lead to a loss in muscle mass, a decrease in energy and low libido. For women, their varying levels of testosterone and progesterone, the two primary sexual hormones, can cause symptoms that mimic menopause. These women report experiencing hot flashes, lethargy, bone loss or an increase in body hair. Doctors typically treat hormone imbalances through dietary changes, vitamin and mineral supplements, changes in physical activity and hormone supplements.
If you or a loved one are experiencing symptoms of hormone imbalance, consider a Take Home Hormone Kit today. All you have to do is purchase a kit at your local Any Lab Test Now, complete the test at home at your convenience, and put the kit in the mail. Postage and shipping materials are even included with the kit!
At Any Lab Test Now, we can help you find the answers you need to finally address your troubling symptoms and live your best life!
July 28 is World Hepatitis Day! Should You Get Tested?
Understanding hepatitis can be difficult, because there are many possible triggers that can bring on the disease. Hepatitis is a blanket term that refers to inflammation of the liver, and it can be caused by ingesting certain substances, by certain illnesses that attack all body systems or by viruses that solely target the liver. Another challenge for many people with chronic hepatitis is that the symptoms are mild enough to be ignored, even as it continues to damage the liver. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that there might be as many as 5.1 million people suffering from chronic hepatitis. If you’ve noticed some concerning changes in your body and are wondering if hepatitis might be the cause, Any Lab Test Now offers simple and straightforward testing for all types of hepatitis. Here are some descriptions to help you determine whether you should get a hepatitis panel.
The liver is responsible for processing chemicals in the bloodstream and metabolizing them so they can be used or eliminated from the body. An example is the liver’s role in processing alcohol and medications; it removes the harmful byproducts of these substances from the body by sending them to the kidneys to be excreted. From the building blocks it gets from your diet, the liver also produces substances the body needs, like important proteins that form the base materials for cells.
When your liver is inflamed, it has trouble performing these functions. When symptoms present themselves, they are often fatigue, dark urine, light-colored stools, fever and jaundice. But inside your body, what is actually happening is much worse. For example, chronic, untreated hepatitis can lead to extensive liver damage, cirrhosis and liver cancer. There are vaccines for two types of hepatitis, A and B, but that leaves you unprotected from types C, D, E and G.
Mononucleosis and many autoimmune diseases can cause symptoms similar to that of the hepatitis viruses. Liver inflammation caused by one of these illnesses can be just as damaging, and needs to be treated. Only a medical exam or laboratory test can help you tell the difference between these two causes of liver damage. If you are or ever have been an intravenous drug user, or if you’ve had unprotected sex with someone who might have hepatitis, you should consider getting tested, especially because the symptoms often go unnoticed or unrecognized. Healthcare workers and people with hemophilia are also at risk of contracting viral hepatitis.
This year, World Hepatitis Day falls on July 28. To help raise awareness, and move us closer to the goal of eliminating viral hepatitis by 2030, do your part and get yourself tested. Visit your local Any Lab Test Now for a quick and easy hepatitis panel!
The Dangers of Being Vitamin D Deficient
Sunny days can make us feel amazing. Studies have proven, time and again, that a little sunshine can have a serious positive impact on your mood and mental state. And the good news is the sun can also be your best source for vitamin D! But what you may not know is that if you’re using lots of sunscreen, you may actually be vitamin D deficient regardless of how much time you spend in the sun.
Applying sunscreen daily is highly recommended for preventing skin cancer, and it’s a great idea to protect your skin from damaging ultraviolet (UV) rays. But sunscreen can also block beneficial UV light that allows the skin to make vitamin D. So if you are being too careful in the sun, you may actually be causing more harm than good.
You’ve Heard of it, But What is it Really?
Vitamin D plays an important role in our body. It is a fat-soluble vitamin that our body needs for important processes such as the absorption of calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphate and zinc – all nutrients your body needs to survive.
The sun is your body’s best and most efficient source of vitamin D. The body makes vitamin D from exposure to sunlight or UV light on exposed skin, but it can also obtain the vitamin from plants, supplements or foods fortified with the vitamin. If your body does not get enough vitamin D, you will develop a vitamin D deficiency.
Some people may be more susceptible to developing a vitamin D deficiency due to little sun exposure, diet and other factors. Sunscreen blocks UV light from being absorbed by your skin, which is why people can sometimes over-protect themselves from the sun. People who are obese, have dark skin and those who are older than 65 are also at higher risk. Symptoms may include tiredness, weakness, bone pain, general aches or even frequent infections. However, some people show no symptoms at all.
A long-term vitamin D deficiency can put you at risk for any number of dangerous and even deadly health problems including coronary artery disease, peripheral arterial disease, stroke and diabetes mellitus. A vitamin D deficiency can also cause your bones to become thin, brittle or misshapen over time. This is why it is important to know your vitamin D levels so you can take the steps to correct or prevent a vitamin D deficiency.
What Can You Do About It?
A vitamin D deficiency can be treated with increased sun exposure as well as vitamin D supplements. To reach your necessary vitamin D levels, try getting at least ten minutes of unprotected sun exposure every day — but make sure to apply the sunscreen after that!
If you suspect you may have a vitamin D deficiency, it’s important to get tested to find out for sure. Any Lab Test Now’s Vitamin D Test is a great place to start if you’d like to find out more about your vitamin D levels. By equipping yourself with the knowledge you need, you can begin taking the first steps towards better health.
Using Athletic Testing to Monitor Your Progress
Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or just starting your journey to fitness, you know that the more information you have about your performance, the easier it will be to build your diet and activity to yield maximum results. The superficial information is easy enough to get — it’s obvious when there are changes in your energy levels and appearance. But to know how your lifestyle is impacting your body’s internal systems, you need more thorough testing. At Any Lab Test Now, we have a series of tests that will help you determine where your body is starting from before you begin your fitness regimen, and ongoing testing to help you see what changes are going on under the surface as you train. Here are some ways Any Lab Test Now can help you in your athletic endeavors.
There are myriad tests you should undergo if you are starting a new fitness program, especially if you haven’t exercising regularly and are looking to make a dramatic change. In addition to giving you a full picture of the impact your current lifestyle is having on your body, comprehensive athletic testing can reveal underlying health issues that might make exercising or changing your diet challenging or risky. For example, if you have heart trouble that hasn’t been addressed, strenuous exercise can cause a heart attack. You should also get detailed information on your dietary intake by testing for nutrient deficiencies. This will help you build a targeted and detailed diet plan to meet your body’s needs.
You should continue testing to monitor your progress over time. Exercise and proper diet are known to lead to a reduction in risk factors for cardiovascular problems and metabolic disorders like diabetes, so continued testing should show a decrease in those panels. The micronutrient panel should show improvements, as should the hormone test, indicating that your body’s systems are functioning better. Another reason to continue testing is to help you make course corrections during your training. By helping you catch problems while they’re still relatively minor, these tests can save you time and discomfort, and help you keep your training on track.
This might sound complicated, but at Any Lab Test Now, we make it easy to keep track of what’s going on inside your body. So don’t stay in the dark about your health! If it’s worth going to the trouble of starting a fitness program, it’s worth knowing what would serve you best in your efforts. So find your local Any Lab Test Now to take a peek at your body’s inner workings with athletic testing!
The Importance of Cholesterol Testing
Is your heart healthy? You may think the answer is “yes”, but do you really know? If you are an American male with an average American diet and lifestyle, the odds are not in your favor. In fact, the CDC says that 73.5 million adults (31.7%) in the United States have high LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol. And of those people, fewer than 1 out of every 3 adults (29.5%) has the condition under control.
You might be thinking, “So what? Who cares if my cholesterol is a little high?” YOU should care, and here’s why:
1. It can kill you. People with high total cholesterol have approximately twice the risk for heart disease as people with ideal cholesterol levels. Additionally, lowering your cholesterol can reduce your risk of having a heart attack, needing heart bypass surgery or angioplasty, and dying of heart disease.
2. Even if it doesn’t kill you, it can lessen your quality of life. You’ll suffer countless possible health problems, including chest pain, circulatory problems, digestive problems and gallstones.
So what is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a fatty substance that travels through your blood on lipoproteins and is necessary for important bodily functions such as making hormones and digesting fats. Everyone needs cholesterol, but certain factors like poor diet can cause a person to have too much of it, and this can be a very bad thing. When you have too much cholesterol in your body, or high cholesterol, it will start to build up in plaque deposits along the walls of your blood vessels. Over time, this build-up causes the blood vessels to become narrower and narrower, allowing less blood flow to reach your heart and other organs. This can cause angina or even a heart attack if an artery becomes fully blocked by plaque.
Even if you think you’re healthy, it’s a good idea to get your cholesterol checked so that you can establish a baseline for monitoring your cholesterol in the future. And if you have high cholesterol, the sooner you learn about it, the better, so that steps can be taken to lessen your risk of death from heart disease.
At Any Lab Test Now, there are several options to choose from when it comes to cholesterol testing.
Our Lipid Panel provides a comprehensive look at your cholesterol levels, including testing for your total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, HDL/LDL ratio and triglycerides. The Lipid Panel is a great option for establishing a baseline from which to continuously monitor your cholesterol levels.
href=”https://www.anylabtestnow.com/tests/cholesterol-maintenance-panel/”>The Cholesterol Medication Maintenance Panel and Basic Check-Up Panel are also excellent testing options for measuring your cholesterol levels. Talk to our experts at Any Lab Test Now to learn which cholesterol testing is right for you.
Celebrating Men’s Health Month!
Societal expectations promote the idea that men should be tough and self-reliant, causing many to avoid visiting their doctor for routine check-ups and screenings. This June, the Men’s Health Network is celebrating Men’s Health Month to raise awareness about preventable causes of death in men and to encourage men to seek screenings that can help them live longer healthier lives.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the top five preventable diseases that affect men are:
1. Heart disease. The number one killer of men is heart disease. Sadly, about 47% of the deaths from heart disease occur outside of the hospital. This means that men are not reacting to, or not experiencing, cardiac distress symptoms, like chest pain, nausea, cold sweats, upper body discomfort, lightheadedness or shortness of breath. So that men are better prepared to make a decision about seeking care, it is critical that they understand their heart health today and be aware of how it is changing over the years. We recommend you consider the LPP Basic or LPP Plus Test!
2. Cancer. While men can be affected by many forms of cancer, skin and prostate cancer are the two most common. In fact, about one in seven men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Fortunately, prostate cancer is a relatively slow-growing cancer, and with early detection survival rates after five years are at 90 percent. We recommend you consider our PSA Test.
3. Chronic lower respiratory diseases. Smoking is the primary cause of chronic lower respiratory diseases. For this reason, men should quit smoking, or work with their doctor to get help in doing so. Chronic lower respiratory disease includes both chronic bronchitis and emphysema and is commonly referred to as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
4. Stroke. Every four minutes someone in the United States dies from a stroke: strokes are also the leading cause of preventable disability in the country. Strokes are caused by blocked blood vessels or from blood leaking into the brain. A health lifestyle that limits alcohol and avoids smoking may help to prevent a stroke from occurring.
5. Diabetes. Routine monitoring of diabetes symptoms is critical for living well with diabetes. By staying on top of the body’s needs, the 1.4 million people living with diabetes can help to stave off serious complications, such as nerve and kidney damage, cardiovascular problems or death. We recommend our Glucose or Hemoglobin A1C Test!
Men may feel that society dissuades them from seeking routine medical care and screenings. In reality though, by taking advantage of walk-in tests, like those offered by Any Lab Test Now, and gathering information about their health men may actually live stronger and more self-reliant lives longer.
Do You Know the Facts About Lyme Disease?
You have probably heard of Lyme disease by now, and you probably think you know a few things about it. But do you really know the truth about this common disease, or have you fallen victim to believing the myths?
What is Lyme disease?
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that is spread by infected ticks when they bite you. The symptoms of Lyme disease can be tricky to spot because they are often mistaken for the flu. Symptoms can include:
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Sore muscles and joints
- A round, red rash at the site of the bite
If left untreated, Lyme disease can cause a wide range of health problems such as:
- Meningitis
- Joint pain
- Weakness and numbness of the arms and legs
- Memory problems
These health issues can appear months or even years after the initial infection occurs if not treated in the early stages of the disease. For this reason, it is extremely important to catch the disease early.
Now that you have the facts straight, let’s debunk some of those common myths about Lyme disease!
| Myth | Fact |
| All ticks carry Lyme disease. | Only two types of ticks carry Lyme disease in the U.S.: the deer tick and the Western black-legged tick. |
| If you have been bitten by a tick with Lyme disease, you will get Lyme disease. | It typically takes more than 36 hours for Lyme disease to be transmitted to you through an attached tick, so if you can find and remove the tick from your skin before then, your risk of contracting Lyme disease is low. |
| You are likely to get Lyme disease anywhere in the U.S. | Lyme disease is common in the United States but only in certain areas. Ninety-six percent of all Lyme disease cases occur in the northeastern, mid-Atlantic or north-central United States. |
| There is no cure for Lyme disease. | Lyme disease can be easily treated with antibiotics, and most long-term complications from Lyme disease are the result of not receiving treatment in the early stages of the disease. |
| You can get Lyme disease from other people. | There is no evidence that Lyme disease can be transmitted between people. Often, when two related people get the disease, it is simply because they were bitten by the same tick. |
| You will start seeing symptoms almost immediately after contracting Lyme disease. | It can take anywhere from three days to a month for symptoms to appear, and around 25 percent of cases don’t show symptoms at all. |
| If there is no rash around the site of the bite, you do not have Lyme disease. | While many people with Lyme disease do develop this round, red rash around the site of the tick bite, it does not appear in every case of Lyme disease. |
It’s important to get tested for Lyme disease as soon as possible after being bitten by a tick or if symptoms develop. By catching and treating the disease early, you may be saving yourself from a world of health problems, and that’s a fact.
Top Five Diseases That Affect Women’s Health
As women race through their days, many don’t stop to focus on their own health and well-being. For this reason, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health has designated May 8-14 as Women’s Health Week. This marks the 17th time the week has been recognized in an effort to encourage women to take ownership of their health.
While women’s health concerns may change as they age, five of the top health concerns faced by women include:
Heart disease. Heart disease accounts for more than 22 percent of female deaths according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are multiple contributing factors to heart disease: high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Exercise and other healthy lifestyle choices can help reduce your risk of heart disease.
Cancer. The Susan G. Komen foundation shares that one in eight women who lives to the age of 85 is at risk for breast cancer. Fortunately, with early detection, survival rates can be quite high. To protect themselves, women regularly should be completing self-breast exams, scheduling routine mammograms and seeking testing to see if they have any markers that could signify malignant tumors in any area of the body.
Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases. This is often more recognizable as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and includes both emphysema and chronic bronchitis. While pollutants and chemical toxins may contribute to the development of these diseases, smokers get COPD nearly 12 times as frequently as non-smokers.
Stroke. Strokes are caused by blood clots that prevent blood from reaching the brain. According to Harvard Medical School, high blood pressure is the No. 1 risk factor for developing blood clots. Be sure to have your blood pressure checked regularly, especially if you are a smoker or using oral contraception. In addition, having a healthy lifestyle, which includes not smoking, can help reduce the chance of developing a blood clot.
Alzheimer’s disease. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Age, family history and heredity are the most common risk factors. While there is still much to learn about the disease, scientists are looking at the impact of exercise, diet and brain-engaging activities as potential ways to help keep the disease at bay.
So, ladies, celebrate Women’s Health Week by becoming more informed about the state of your own health, working with a doctor to address any issues and making lifestyle changes that will help you live your healthiest life yet!
