Feb 22 - "Can You Trust Your Supplements? Yes! Schneiderman Erred!" by wilderness voice
Recently, Eric Schneiderman, the Attorney General of New York State, had six of the most popular supplements tested: ginkgo, St. John's wort, echinacea, valerian root, garlic and ginseng. Samples were purchased from each of four major retailers: GNC, Target, Walgreen's and Wal-Mart, for 24 distinct products in all. In 19 of the 24 cases. the testing did not find the DNA of the herb listed on the label. Yet, numerous independent third parties have tested such supplements. As we shall see, in the vast majority of cases, supplements have been found to contain the listed active ingredient. How can this be? It turns out that 17 of the 19 failed supplements were extracts[1]. Can an extract contain the active ingredient but not the DNA? Let's find out...
March 1 - OPEN THREAD NIGHT & POTLUCK: bring a favorite bad joke!
Mar 8 - "A Disability Analyst's POV" by NancyWH, R.N., SSA Disability Analyst
HeyMikey posted this extreemly helpful comment on the various programs run by the SSA — "This requires a fairly geeky level of understanding of how the retirement and disability programs work. But as Ross Perot said, hang in here with me for a minute... " — and then we'll explore the process I take, as a Disability Analyst, to decide if you qualify, under the rules of Social Security, to receive Soc Sec disability benefits.
Mar 15 - "High Stakes Big Drama Name Change: CFS/ME=SEID (Systemic Exertion Intolerance DISEASE)" by Besame
Whether you were diagnosed as having CFS, ME, or CFS/ME, you now have a new acronym in American medicine, and increased credibility for affliction with an actual physical disease - SEID. People with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) know the name falsely trivializes as psychosomatic imaginary illness a profoundly debilitating state of disease. As of 10 Feb 2015 that is changed. The controversy, however, rages on with new fuel added.
Details of the name change and the findings behind it, how it occurred, why it is important, materials for using the information, and reactions of researchers, doctors, and patients are the subject of this diary...
Mar 22 "Alternative Medicine: Antidote for Severe Asthma" by wilderness voice
What does it mean to be "part of mainstream medicine" or "absorbed into the standard medical canon"? It means if you go to a doctor, s/he will recommend it as a treatment... It turns out that relying upon this is every bit as dangerous to your health as uncritically accepting unsubstantiated nostrums. As we shall see, there is no substitute for doing the research. It is your body and your health...
March 29 - "Always Keep Your Sense of Humor" by Vet63
..."The more serious the illness, the more important it is for you to fight back, mobilizing all your resources-spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical." — Norman Cousins
April 5 - OPEN THREAD NIGHT & POTLUCK: theme TBA
April 12 - a diary on the cycle of stress, pain and insomnia in caregiving" by michelewln
April 19 . . . . . . . . . your diary here! - contact postmodernista
April 26 . . . . . . . . . ditto!
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