dr. natalie azar. wow, emily.e any idea what was happening to you while this was going on? >> i had no idea at all. at age 27, the last thing you think of. there were some bystanders nearby who recognized signs and symptoms which i didn't know i was having. took me to a medical tent and a physician assessed my symptoms and said "i'm going to raise your arms in front of you and when i let go keep them both raised." and my left arm fell and that was the minute i knew something was wrong. it was terrifying. >> talk about your road to recovery. you're running again but talk about how you got healthy again. >> i went from living independently as a 27-year-old to moving in with my parents and spending most of the days on -- sleeping on the couch going to physical and occupational therapy. about three months after my stroke i ran for the first time on a treadmill. about half the pace i normally used to but ran for a mile and then worked up to running a half marathon 11 months after my stroke. >> dr. azar, the first thing

dr. natalie azar. thanks for being here. >> thanks for having me. >> since seven years old.crazy because you were tested how many times and they couldn't find out what it was. >> i can't even count and i had multiple misdiagnoses as well. >> and that's one of those things. so you were going through this, what kind of symptoms were you having as you were going through your life? >> i started with a lot of joint pain. >> in your legs mostly, right? >> yes, joints and muscles, sore throats and headaches. and then the symptoms sort of died down and then i had this crazy snowboarding accident in which i dislocated my hip in austria which the story is in there quite humorously and it seemed to have possibly flared up symptoms and it went cognitive issues. cognitively affected me. >> never heard of that before. just crippling at that point? >> you know, i stopped being able to read. so many strange things, along with physical symptoms. >> the pain was still there? >> the pain went up so drastically and dramatically that i would cry and my parents tried to do everything. they brough

dr. natalie azar is a rheumatologist and sees it often in her patients. >> they might present with rashes. they can present with arthritis. but actually, end up having celiac disease. >> reporter: jessica hanson said even with stomach pain, it took her six years to get diagnosed. >> no one thought to test me for celiac disease. so i had really intense stomach pain. i had bloating. all sorts of digestive issues. >> reporter: her celiac support group, she met someone whose symptoms weren't so typical. what were your symptoms? >> i had malnutrition, headaches, extreme fatigue. >> reporter: and children with celiac can suffer stunted growth. so, who should be tested for celiac? besides those with a family history? people with other autoimmune disorders like type 1 diabetes. and those with symptoms including unexplained fatigue, weight loss, weak bones, depression and infertility. then a blood test and endoscopies. for accurate results, you have to keep eating gluten. the only cure is getting rid of gluten completely. these days, not so hard. it tastes like -- better, honestly. morgan radford,

dr. natalie azar. good to have you with us.ne if this woman infected any others. but talk about this e. coli mutation and how rare it is. >> so it actually was first identified, i think, back in november in china and they identified it as well in people in europe and i believe in canada, and more recently now, so there's been concern about this for some time. this has been on our radar. this is the first known human case of this genetic mutation, which makes bugs resistant to, as you mentioned, what we call a last resort antibiotic called colistin which you might know by the name polymixin. it was approved in the 1950s but fell out of favor because it has particular toxicity side effects to the kidney and to the nerves so it's used as a last resort in cases of what we also know about those antibiotic-resistant drugs called cre. a year ago we talked about those cases of those endoscopes that were contaminated. that's where it's used. >> when we think about how we're advancing as a society, our human bodies, how bugs can advance

dr. natalie azar. we'll talk about how to protect yourself from the sun and the strong rays.> i feel like the first question should be about rep reapplying sunscreen. we just don't do it. >> no. it should be reapplied every two hours, no matter the strength. whether it's spf-30 or spf-50, it's every two hours, but also, remember to apply 15 to 20 minutes before you get out in the sun. and a big thing people have to remember, especially with their kids, after swimming or sweating, you have to reapply more frequently than every two hours in that instance. >> really? >> yes. >> more than every two hours? >> if you're sweating or swimming? yep. even if it's water-resistant. you don't want to take a chance. >> it's interesting. we went on vacation last week. i underestimated the amount of options that we have these days. >> yeah. >> sprays, creams. do you have one that you prefer? >> personally, i prefer spray for me and for my kids with a little bit of a i do prefer it because it's just easier and i can chase them around with it and i feel like i reapply more frequently because i

dr. natalie azar is here with the details. good morning, doc natalie.oma and also preventing the melanoma from coming back. is this a sign of possibly approximaa cure for melanoma? >> we're careful not to use the word cure in this instance. what we know and from this study, it is prolonging survival, which is huge. that has vastly changed the outlook for patients diagnosed with advanced melanoma, a very challenging disease to treat f we think about the stats from this study, prior to 2011, the median survival for advanced melanoma was 11 months. what they found in this study was the median survival increased to 24 months and 40% of patients were still alive after three years, which are really astonishing numbers. the take-home here for people is that rather than thinking about cancer or advanced melanoma as that dreaded death sentence -- we hate to use that word -- but rather researchers are thinking can we switch our thinking about this, that perhaps it's more a chronic disease where treatments have to be changed and modified but people can have a good

dr. natalie azar. dr.ing. >> nice to see you. >> cognitive behavioral therapy, not me, but i don't think they'd feel this would work. >> the evidence says it really does. the idea here is that it's a structured program that's replacing harmful thoughts and behaviors with ones that promote sound sleep habits. sounds very good. it's a three-pronged approach. the first thing is address the bad thought. the idea is you get nervous about sleep. i won't get to sleep, i don't wake up on time, then i'll lose my job. i have to address and change those thoughts. the second and third part really have to do more with behavioral changes. that is, it's the tips we saw. basically, getting out of bed after 20 minutes. going to bed at the same time every night. waking up at the same time every morning. associating bed with sleep and intimacy. the last one we talk about a lot are the things like no toba alcohol, caffeine before bed, avoiding the blue light of devices before bed. >> no naps. tell someone who hasn't had any s

dr. natalie azar is a nbc medical contributor.an cause up to 2 million infections per year and 23,000 deaths according to the cdc. it's not a small problem. in addition, it can lead to life-threatening, sometimes allergic reactions, drug interactions, a life-threatening diarrhea caused by a bacteria called c-diff. it's the focus of the cdc's study. >> people come in ask nd tell doctors, i need antibiotics. doctors think, i'll give them to you. it's easier than trying to explain why you don't need them. >> tom pointed out in the piece, there are a number of conditions where there is no question. you treat with antibioticantibi. bacteria pneumonia, a sore throat, as well as screen. something that is important is the sinus infection. let's say you have the congestion, nasal congestion a couple days, get better. but after ten days, you get sick when with fever of 102.2, sinus pain, pussy discharge from the nose. that viral sinus infection tu turned into a bacterial one and you need antibiotics. >> your kids are prescribed antibiotics

dr. natalie azar is a nbc medical contributor. dr. 47 million prescriptions. that's a lot. >> it is a lot. antibiotic resistant bacteria are a big problem. they can cause up to 2 million infections per year and 23,000 deaths according to the cdc. it's not a small problem. in addition to antibiotic resistance, overuse or indiscriminate use of antibiotics can lead to life-threatening sometimes allergic reactions, drug interactions, also a life-threatening diarrhea caused by a bacteria called c-diff. it's the focus of the cdc's study. >> here's the dynamic. people come in, tell their doctors, i want antibiotics, i know i need them. a lot of doctors think, you know what, i'll give them to you. it's easier than trying to explain why you don't need them. >> right. as tom pointed out in the piece, there are a number of conditions where there's really no question. you need to treat with antibiotics. bacterial pneumonia, a sore throat, strep as well as bronchitis. you can see the list on the screen. something that is important is the sinus inf