Altamonte Springs Internal Medicine

09/26/2025

08/30/2025

According to the CDC:

1. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States.

2. About 660,000 people in the United States die from heart disease each year.

3. Someone in the United States has a heart attack every 40 seconds.

4. Risk factors for heart disease include high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, and smoking.

5. Approximately 5 in 10 Americans have at least one of these risk factors.

A physical exam and simple tests, such as laboratory tests and an EKG, can help determine if you have heart disease or any risk factors for heart disease.

08/23/2025

I routinely recommend collagen to many of my patients, especially those with joint pain.

Collagen is the most abundant protein in your body and is found in tendons, ligaments, muscles, and skin.

There are many different types of collagen, but Types I, II, III, and IV are the most common.

Taken regularly, collagen may provide several of the following health benefits over time:

- relieving joint pain

- preventing bone loss

- increasing muscle mass

- improving skin, hair, and nail health

- boosting brain, heart, and gut health

Some side effects of taking collagen include bloating and heartburn.

Collagen is typically sold as a powder that has been hydrolyzed, or broken down, to facilitate easier absorption.

You can add 1 large scoop, or approximately 10 grams, to almost anything you want, such as a smoothie, your favorite beverage, or a meal.

Overall, collagen supplementation is generally safe, well-tolerated, provides multiple health benefits, and has few side effects.

08/16/2025

Dementia is the impaired ability to remember, think, or make decisions. Dementia interferes with doing everyday activities, and Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia.

Alzheimer's is a progressive disease beginning with mild memory loss, and can lead to loss of the ability to carry on a conversation and to interact with surroundings.

It involves parts of the brain that control thought, memory, and language.

Age is a significant risk factor for developing Alzheimer's. About 1 in 9 people aged 65 and older (10.7%) has Alzheimer's.

Alzheimer's is the 5th leading cause of death among adults aged 65 years or older.

It is more common among women and African Americans.

More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's. By 2050, this number is projected to rise to nearly 13 million.

Currently, there is no cure for Alzheimer's dementia, but medical and behavioral treatments can help slow or delay the symptoms.

If you or a loved one is experiencing progressive memory loss, contact your doctor today for a cognitive evaluation.

08/09/2025

Do you grind your teeth and have frequent headaches?

The problem may be due to stress, habit, or oversized and overactive masseter muscles.

The masseter muscles are two large, rectangular-shaped muscles that are located at the angles of your jaw. The masseter muscles are involved in mastication or chewing, and the movements of the jawbone and temporomandibular joint, or TMJ.

Oversized and overactive masseter muscles can cause teeth grinding or clenching, also called bruxism, and TMJ disorder. Both of these conditions can lead to frequent headaches.

If you are experiencing these symptoms, talk to your doctor or dentist.

08/02/2025

Melatonin is a hormone that is produced by the brain. Darkness causes the brain to produce melatonin, and light causes the brain to stop producing melatonin. As a result, melatonin regulates our circadian rhythm (24-hour internal clock) and synchronizes our sleep-wake cycle with night and day.

Melatonin may help to improve delayed sleep, insomnia, jet lag, and shift work disorder. The usual dose of melatonin is 1-3 mg taken 1-2 hours before sleep.

Melatonin is generally safe to take. Some common side effects include headaches and nausea. Patients should consult their doctor before starting any supplement.

In addition to taking melatonin, maintaining good sleep hygiene is important to help you fall and stay asleep.

For example, reduce your exposure at night to devices such as cell phones, tablets, PCs, and TVs. These devices emit blue light, which has been shown to negatively affect the circadian rhythm.

Also, don't read or watch TV in bed. This trains your brain to associate your bed with sleep.

If you are experiencing difficulty falling and staying asleep, talk to your doctor. You may have other medical issues causing these symptoms.

07/26/2025

It is estimated that 35% of people in the United States have Vitamin D deficiency.

In our practice, almost 80% of patients have low Vitamin D levels in their blood tests!

Vitamin D plays a crucial role in maintaining bone and muscle health. It also plays a role in the nervous and immune systems.

Vitamin D deficiency can lead to bone pain, joint deformities, muscle weakness, and mood disturbances.

Causes of Vitamin D deficiency include:

-lack of exposure to sunlight

-lack of Vitamin D in your diet

-cystic fibrosis, Crohn's and celiac disease, obesity, liver and kidney disease

-weight loss surgery

-laxatives, steroids, and certain cholesterol and seizure medications

You can prevent and treat Vitamin D deficiency by

-getting about 30 minutes of sunlight several times a week (be careful about getting too much sunlight, as this increases your risk of skin damage and cancer)

-eating foods rich in Vitamin D, such as fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, trout, sardines), mushrooms, and liver

-taking Vitamin D3 supplements (most people need 400-1000 IU daily, more if you have very low Vitamin D levels).

Call your doctor today and get your Vitamin D level tested.

07/19/2025

To Take Antibiotics or To Not Take Antibiotics.

According to the CDC:

Approximately 200 million antibiotic prescriptions are written in the U.S. each year.

At least 28% of antibiotics written in the outpatient setting are unnecessary.

The most commonly prescribed antibiotics are penicillins (eg. amoxicillin) and macrolides
(eg. Zpak).

Taking antibiotics unnecessarily can lead to significant health issues, including antibiotic resistance, intestinal problems such as abdominal pain and diarrhea, and a serious intestinal infection or colitis caused by the bacteria Clostridium difficile, which may be fatal in many patients.

Equally concerning is how often antibiotics are refilled after the initial course of antibiotics.

Patients often ask for another course of antibiotics because they still have symptoms such as a headache, a cough, or a sore throat after finishing the antibiotics.

Often, the infection is gone, and the symptoms are residual inflammation that needs time to subside. Tylenol, Advil, OTC cough and cold medicine, or gargling with salt water will usually help alleviate the remaining symptoms.

07/12/2025

Atrial Fibrillation, or A Fib, is a serious heart condition where the heart beats irregularly and faster than normal.

Symptoms of A Fib include chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations, fatigue, and fainting.

A Fib can cause blood clots to form in the heart that can then travel to the brain and cause strokes.

A Fib can also cause heart failure.

Risk factors for developing A Fib include:

age greater than 50
male
thyroid disease
high blood pressure
other existing heart conditions
lung diseases
obesity
alcohol use
sleep apnea
stress
family history of A Fib.

Treatment for A Fib includes:

preventing blood clots from forming in the heart with blood thinners such as Coumadin, Eliquis, and Pradaxa

slowing the heart rate with medicines such as metoprolol, diltiazem, and digoxin

converting the irregular rhythm back to a regular rhythm with electrical shock, ablation, or medicine.

07/05/2025

Rosacea is a common skin condition that causes blushing, visible blood vessels, and small, pus-filled bumps on the face. The cause of rosacea is unknown.

Famous people with rosacea include Bill Clinton and the late Diana, Princess of Wales. But it's most common in middle-aged white women.

Flareups can be triggered by sun exposure, red wine, spicy foods, stress, exercise, and some makeup products. There's no cure for rosacea, but treatment can control and reduce the signs and symptoms.

Rosacea can be treated with Intense Pulsed Light or IPL. The National Rosacea Society recommends that people with rosacea wear a mineral-based sunscreen with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide which can help provide a physical barrier to the sun's rays.

06/28/2025

Aphasia has been in the news a lot. But what is aphasia?

Aphasia is the inability to speak or write normally or to understand spoken or written language normally.

People who suffer from aphasia may speak in short, incomplete sentences or speak in sentences that don't make any sense. They may also be unable to understand what others are saying or writing.

Aphasia can be caused by many conditions, including:

strokes
brain tumors
head injury
dementia
seizures
migraines
severe infections

A complete history and physical exam, blood work, and brain scans may be needed to help diagnose aphasia and its underlying cause.

Treatment for aphasia will depend on its symptoms and underlying cause.

Patients suffering from aphasia should seek medical attention immediately, as the cause may be life-threatening.