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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Try smaller, more frequent meals



 (The Spokesman-Review)
Peter Gott United Media

Dear Dr. Gott: My 68-year-old wife suffers from arthritis in her back and a fairly severe case of emphysema. She feels she can live with both problems if she can only eat and breathe normally while doing so. After a few bites of food, she becomes bloated and uncomfortable. All she then wants to do is lie down until the feeling passes. What’s happening?

Dear Reader: In patients with emphysema, the lungs are overexpanded and push the diaphragmatic muscles down toward the abdomen. This can affect digestion because of pressure on the abdominal organs. Arthritis, especially if it is associated with bowing of the spine, may aggravate the problem.

Finally, believe it or not, eating is exercise and may cause patients with chronic pulmonary disorders to become breathless.

Although your wife should ask her pulmonologist for specific recommendations, she may be helped by consuming smaller, more frequent, easily digestible meals and by using supplemental oxygen while she eats.

Also, if she is bothered by excessive gas (a common complication of air-swallowing), she should try an over-the-counter anti-gas remedy, such as Gaviscon or Gas-X.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Living With Chronic Lung Disease.” Other readers who would like a copy should send a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.

Dear Dr. Gott: I’ve never seen trochanteric bursitis addressed in your column. Please discuss this malady.

Dear Reader: Like every joint, the hip is covered with a tough but thin sheet of tissue called a bursa. The bursa contains the fluid that lubricates the joint.

On occasion, especially after strenuous exercise, the bursal covering will become inflamed from overuse. When this process involves the hip joint, it is called trochanteric bursitis.

The diagnosis is made by examination and X-rays, which are normal in the presence of bursitis, unless calcium deposits aggravate the pain and stiffness of the disorder.

Treatment consists of anti-inflammatory drugs, such as Advil (nonprescription) and Indocin (and others, available by prescription). Sometimes, if this therapy is ineffective, orthopedic surgeons inject cortisone into the bursa to reduce inflammation and bring relief.

Trochanteric bursitis is common, painful and treatable. Thank you for writing to remind me to discuss this affliction. You are the first person to do so.