Month: October 2017

Gratitude, love, and health

Celebrating the Glory of Today – Gratitude and Love

Posted on by Michelle Fritsch, Pharm.D.
Gratitude, love, and health
Gratitude for beauty and blessings improves health.

We spend so much of our time thinking about tomorrow, planning for tomorrow, working for tomorrow, hoping and dreaming for tomorrow. But tomorrow is never here, and we’ve learned that over and over.

We’ve seen so many examples lately of the value of living in the moment. There is value in loving those around you each and every day. You never know which is that last day.

Rather than be depressed about that, we can claim the joy and the opportunities of each day that presents itself to us.

Seasons of Loss

We have lost a dear friend in the last couple of weeks. He was someone who was always thinking of and giving to others. He was a very strong-in-his-faith man. He died in a freak accident doing what he does best – helping others. He was building a Habitat for Humanity house. We will never know what happened. The freak accident occurred, and he was suddenly gone.

A tiny baby died in his sleep at two months. There was so much promise there. Why was that child taken at such a young age?

Then we see the news stories of people harming one another. It seems there are more and more stories of mass deaths and of people managing conflict with murder.

The tragedies of nature have taken even more lives and wreaked havoc in many parts of the world.

It’s been such a heavy season of so many people taken at a time no one would have expected.

How do we keep moving forward?

So with that in mind, how can we live each day to its fullest? The more we live in gratitude and love and recognize the joys that are around us in spite of the tragedies, the more healthy we are.   It lowers our blood pressure and anxiety levels. It lowers our risk for heart attack and stroke.

Gratitude and Love

Gratitude and love allow us to think so much clearly. They take us out of that worry mode and in to a more creative space in our brain. We think more clearly, can be more rational, and recognize the good when our brain is fully functioning at calmer times. This calm allows our breathing to slow. It allows us to really see the things around us rather than be so focused on what’s ahead.

I encourage everyone to take a deep breath. Love on the people who are around you. Look around with joy and gratitude at the many blessings that you do have.

Remember with fond memories, and hopefully with some tears and laughter, those who we’ve lost.

Let this be a day of renewed health and joy and love.

At Meds MASH we would love to talk with you more about the benefits of gratitude and love. You can reach us at www.medsmash.com/contact; michelle@medsmash.com; or 410-472-5078.

BIBLICAL APPLICATION

As worshippers and faithful followers of Christ, we are instructed over and over the Bible to praise and worship and show our love through gratitude.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Have you tried making gratitude your very first morning event, before you even crawl out of bed? I find when I start my day in thanks it sets the tone for a much better day. I can be grateful for the fact that a whole new day is before me, and once I get started, there are SO many things to list. Even the warm bed and blankets are a gift that not everyone shares. It’s so easy to take home and family and jobs and clothes and food and friends for granted.

James 1:17 ESV

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Start your day with gratitude and joy and just see where it heads from there!

Psalm 118:24 ESV

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

When you are sad, overwhelmed, frustrated, or feeling your hope dampen, count your blessings.

Colossians 3:15-17 MSG

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

And finally, remember, His love endures forever!

Psalm 118:1-18 ESV

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Let those who fear the Lord say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free. …

Blessings,

Michelle

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Prevent falls; manage changes

Fall Changes, Falls, and Your Changes

Posted on by Michelle Fritsch, Pharm.D.
Prevent falls; manage changes
Physical changes can increase risk of falls.

In Maryland, the leaves are turning beautiful fall colors. The air is crisp more often, and that fuzzy blanket feels good at night! The move from summer to autumn makes itself known in obvious and in subtle ways.

Throughout life, your body makes changes, too. Some are obvious. Some are subtle.

Many of these changes increase your risk for falls and/or injury with a fall.

Obvious changes

  • Joints get stiffer
  • Lung capacity gradually decreases – you might get short of breath easier
  • Skin gets drier as overall body water content decreases
  • Vision changes, especially your ability to see up close
  • Skin and tissues get looser

Subtle changes

These changes are usually caught when your doctor monitors your labs, your urine, or does a physical exam.

  • Kidneys slow down
  • Liver slows down
  • Bones get less dense (hard)
  • Reflexes aren’t as quick
  • Risk for urinary track infection goes up
  • Hormone production changes – for men and women

Association with falls

As we move slower, have more joint pain, lose some of our range of motion, and reflexes slow, the risk of falls goes up. As senses such as vision, hearing, touch, smell, and even taste change, these also increase the risk of falls.

The kidney and liver changes are especially important as we think about the impact on how our body handles medications. The liver is the key organ that breaks down medicines in our body. The kidney is one of the primary ways they are then removed. So, as our kidneys and liver slow down, for many medicines, we need lower doses. Sometimes, at some point in the decline of kidneys or liver, some medications should NOT be used at all.

Falls can lead to losing your ability to walk, run, climb stairs, and be as active as you would like to be.

Remember, with accumulated years we also grow in wisdom, in maturity, and learn to count the blessings in our lives! Graceful aging is a beautiful thing. I just don’t want you to fall!

Call us at Meds MASH for a thorough assessment of your current changes, your medications, and ways to decrease your risk of falls. This is one of our specialties! Michelle is one of the creators of a comprehensive falls risk assessment.

You can reach Michelle at michelle@medsmash.com; 410-472-5078; www.medsmash.com/contact.

BIBLICATION APPLICATION

Our bodies aren’t the only things that change with time. Our Christian walk is also a journey with twists and turns. Ideally it is an uphill climb to more maturity. But without practice and several bumps in the road, it can be a very flat journey.

Ephesians 4:14-15 ESV

So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

Growing, learning, and changing take effort and dedication. Practice makes perfect. I don’t expect any of us will reach perfect until Heaven, but practice can certainly help us with improvement.

Hebrews 5:12-13 ESV

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.

To grow and change, we take risks, learn from our mistakes, and gain confidence as God sees us through each obstacle.

James 1:1-27 ESV

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. …

Romans 5:3-4 ESV

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,

Rather than avoid the changes that include hardship, know that God will get you through them, and you will grow and change in beautiful ways with each piece of the journey.

Blessings,

Michelle