Advanced Family Medicine

New Doctor Joins AFM Dr. Shaista Quddusi is a highly respected and experienced physician, having been in practice for over two decades. Her acclaimed career in medicine began in 1988, when she graduated with her Medical Degree from the Dow Medical College. After moving to the United States, Dr. Quddusi completed her internship, residency, and fellowship with the Cook County Hospital. Driven to further her knowledge and expertise, she undertook a further fellowship with the University of Washington.

Love & Logic: Is it the Right Approach to Parenting? There’s no doubt that being a parent is a huge source of happiness, but it also represents a significant amount of responsibility. And no matter how good of a parent you might be, all parents encounter moments of doubt, anxiety, and uncertainty, which can place us outside our comfort zone and impact our personal development. In this way, because our children can help us learn more about ourselves, they can act as our teachers. At the same time though, our children deserve our  unconditional love , a huge part of which involves teaching them life’s true values and sowing the seeds of their own personal development. And in our opinion, one of the most effective tools for learning this is a parenting system known as Love and Logic. What is the Love & Logic Parenting System? Founded in 1977 by Jim Fay and Foster W. Cline,  Love and Logic  is a parenting system that focuses on practical tools and techniqu...

Stressed? Use These 4 Simple Simple Techniques to Gain the Upper Hand Stress and anxiety are challenges that nearly every one of us face at some point in our lives. After all, modern life is filled with things that can pull us in a million different directions, until we feel like we’re constantly playing catch up. In fact, 77% of Americans regularly experience physical symptoms caused by stress, 48% feel their stress has increased over the past five years, and a whopping 1/3 of us feel we’re living with “ extreme stress .” Clearly, stress is a big problem that needs to be handled in order to maximize our physical and mental wellbeing. But how? Dealing with Stress Whenever we  experience stress , the key to healthy management is based squarely on our perception. In other words, when stress occurs, we’re basically left with only 2 decisions: We take responsibility for our stress by honestly asking ourselves how we got into this situation, and what we can learn from it, ...

Menopause: How You Can Cope with Life’s Big Change When approaching menopause, many women  become anxious about the symptoms  they’ll experience during their transition, since they’ve been conditioned to expect side effects such as hot flashes, weight gain, anxiety, reduced energy, problems sleeping, and more. In other words, women think that throughout the process, they’ll be miserable—at least some of the time. But is this actually the case? Let’s take a look. Do All Women Experience Menopausal Symptoms? Menopause , which is defined as “occurring 12 months after your last menstrual period and marks the end of menstrual cycles,” is something that all women go through. And according to the article, “Menopause can happen in your 40s or 50s, but the average age is 51 in the United States.” However, just because every woman eventually goes through menopause, this doesn’t mean that each one will experience the same symptoms—or even any symptoms at all. According to...

Anorexia Nervosa: Causes, Symptoms, & Treatments What is Anorexia Nervosa? At its most basic, anorexia nervosa is mental disorder characterized by an obsessive desire to lose weight. In fact, individuals suffering from anorexia often greatly fear gaining weight, even if they are already weigh less than their physician would consider healthy or safe. As such, anorexia sufferers hold distorted body images about themselves (e.g. they feel fat when they’re actually very thin), which is what pushes them continue losing weight.  In order to force their bodies to do this, individuals suffering from anorexia can employ a variety of methods, including excessive calorie restriction or exercise, vomiting (also known as purging), as well as the use of laxatives or diuretics. In most cases, individuals with anorexia can’t control this behavior, even when It becomes life-threatening. What Are Some Signs or Symptoms of Anorexia? Unlike many other mental conditions, the onset o...

Why Influenza Vaccinations Are Important to Your Family’s Health According to the  Centers for Disease Control , anywhere between 151 and 156 million flu vaccines will be distributed this year within the United States, although not all of these doses will be used. And while this might be considered a large number, keep in mind that there are more than 316 million individuals living in this country, which means that less than 50% of the population will obtain a flu vaccine this year. Here at Advanced Family Medicine, many of our patients frequently express concern about the effectiveness of immunizations; perhaps because they received a flu vaccine in the past but still came down with the flu. On the other hand, some individuals consciously choose not to get vaccinated against the flu as they’re simply not concerned about acquiring it. Whatever your reasoning may be though, the importance of getting vaccinated against influenza this year cannot be understated. The flu seas...