Online Medical Resources
Posted on January 24, 2010
In the January 2010 issue of The Costco Connection there was an article on how more people are turning to the web for medical advice. The article states that 61 percent of individuals are using the Internet to find health information.
The couple interviewed for the article discuss how they turned to the Internet when their son was diagnosed with autism. The mother states, “By going online, we definitely went to the doctor armed with more information. It helped guide our questions, and we got better answers and a more customized treatment plan for [our son].” Shapin, Alice, The Costco Connection, January 2010.
The Medical Library Association (MLA) found that consumers who search online for information about their medical issues tend to be more satisfied with their overall medical experience. These consumers tend to be very knowledgeable about their issues and therefore, tend to be better health care consumers. Shapin, Alice, The Costco Connection, January 2010.
When we were going through our fertility treatments we used the Internet to learn about our options, different doctors, etc. We were fairly well educated before we had our first appointment with the RE, which made our experience so much more comfortable. The terminology was familiar and we were not intimated. In turn, the doctor appreciated that we understood the procedure and it made his job easier. When our twin girls were born premature we didn’t turn to the Internet, but instead used the nurses and doctors as our source for gathering information about our girls conditions and status. I always say that knowledge is power, and this is especially true in health care matters.
When you are searching online for information be sure to consider the source. Sites that are offering products for sale might be biased toward the product(s) they are selling. Generally, government, non-profit, and educational institutions provide the most unbiased information about health information.
The article offered these three medical sources:
1. MedlinePlus (http://medlineplus.gov)
2. Healthfinder.gov (http://www.healthfinder.gov)
3. Medical Library Association (http://www.mlanet.org/resources/consumr_index.html)
Shapin, Alice, The Costco Connection, January 2010.
» Filed Under Patient Advocacy, Resources | Please Share Your Thoughts; Leave a Comment!
MI Residents Take Action – IVF Treatments at Risk
Posted on January 19, 2010
Below is a copy of an email I received from RESOLVE (modified with website links for this blog post):
Dear Michigan Residents,
RESOLVE needs your urgent and immediate action on a series of bills introduced in the Michigan State Senate that will threaten access to IVF treatments, invade the privacy of patients pursuing IVF, and take away free choice over the disposition of patients’ own surplus embryos.
The Senate Health Committee is getting ready to vote on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 on Senate Bill Nos. 647, 648, 649, 650, 651, and 652.
RESOLVE is asking Michigan residents who care about open access to the best care possible to let the Committee members know TODAY that you oppose the bills!
What you can do TODAY to make your voice heard:
1. Send a letter to key State Senators. Please consider personalizing your letter by sharing some of your story.
2. Call your Senator and tell him or her to please vote against these bills. To find your Senator and their contact information, click here. Simply tell them you are a constituent and oppose the above listed bills.
3. Come to the Senate hearing at the Senate Hearing Room in Lansing:
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Time: 3: 00 p.m.
Place: Senate Hearing R oom
Ground Floor, Boji Tower
124 W. Allegan Street
Lansing , MI 48933
4. Send an email to everyone you know who is a Michigan resident and ask them to call their Senator or send the letter to the key Senators. Even if they have not been diagnosed with infertility, their voices can still be heard!
5. Post this message in your Facebook status: “Please help me fight the MI State Senate! There are six bills up for vote WEDNESDAY that will make it hard for MI residents with infertility to access IVF. Visit www.resolve.org/ta_stleg_MI for details. ”
6. Become a “Fan of RESOLVE” on Facebook for instant updates to this legislation. Click here.
At the hearing, the Committee may hear testimony both for and against the bills. The hearing is open to the public and RESOLVE encourages you to come to Lansing and attend.
For more information visit the RESOLVE website.
These bills have nothing to do with protection of infertility patients. They have nothing to do with making care better, safer or more accessible. They are about one thing: making access to IVF more difficult and preventing a fertility patient from making decisions regarding their own treatment for a disease.
No other disease is subjected to this level of governmental scrutiny. These provisions would go far beyond what is currently mandated by federal law.
Please say NO! It is important that your Senators hear from you! Visit RESOLVE to send your letter to key Senators including the Committee right now!
Thank you for taking action today!
Barbara Collura
Executive Director
» Filed Under Infertility, Patient Advocacy, Resources | 1 Comment
In The Know Short Film Festival
Posted on January 13, 2010
The results for the In The Know Short Film Festival are posted. Visit the FertilityLifeLinesfilms website to view the winner and two runners up. The films are all well done and totally different. The winning film was a couple who interviewed each other; a very interesting concept!
The videos are worth sharing with friends and family who might not be familiar with infertility, treatments and the emotion that comes with the inability to conceive a child spontaneously.
Happy viewing.
» Filed Under Infertility, Personal Growth, Relationships, Resources | Please Share Your Thoughts; Leave a Comment!
21 LIFE LESSONS FROM LIVIN’ LA VIDA LOW-CARB
Posted on January 6, 2010
My friend Jimmy Moore has written his second book, 21 LIFE LESSONS FROM LIVIN’ LA VIDA LOW-CARB: How The Healthy Low-Carb Lifestyle Changed Everything I Thought I Knew. His first book was titled Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb. Jimmy lost 180 pounds in 12 months. He went from being 410 pounds to a healthy 230 (Jimmy is VERY tall).
I read Jimmy’s book with an open mind as we have been changing our diets around our house for one of my daughters who has a hard time processing wheat and other food items. Over the past year we have switched from white flour pasta to pure wheat or rice pasta. While this isn’t truly Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb lifestyle to the extent Jimmy and his wife are, it is a small step in the right direction. It has made a huge impact on how my daughter is able to process her food as well as changed our energy levels. I feel better now that we are not eating so much processed flour.
Another change in our house is a reduction in the amount of sugar we eat. Now, I’m a chocolate lover and I don’t see myself giving it up entirely, but we are watching our sugar intake more. I only buy organic sugar (which is probably still bad for you) and we use pure maple syrup in place of traditional store bought syrup and Agave sweetener in place of sugar, when appropriate.
This year I put my girls on a super vitamin as well as a pro-biotic in addition to our diet changes to help keep them healthy during cold and flu season. Their first cold, and mine too, was during the Christmas holiday. We have not experienced any flu, sore throats, ear infections, etc. I expect we’ll stay healthy through the remaining cold/flu season because we are eating healthy and supplementing our diet with vitamins. A friend of mine recently told me that his kids are in the doctors office at least 1-2 times per month with some sort of cold. Yikes!
In Jimmy’s book you’ll learn what the low-carb lifestyle really is. It doesn’t mean that you have to give up everything you love. It is not about moderation, as Jimmy discusses, although I love that term “moderation” when I consider my chocolate! I’ve tried many diets and I have failed to stick with any of them. But our lifestyle change, although not as drastic as Jimmy’s, has lasted for more than 12 months. And it has made a difference for us.
January is the time when people who want to loose weight start to read diet books or join the local gym. Instead of a diet this year, pick up Jimmy’s book so you can determine if a low-carb lifestyle will work for you.
P.S. Jimmy blogs on occasion about his experience with infertility. Please consider buying a copy of Jimmy’s book if the low-carb lifestyle is something you have been considering.
NOTE: I am not using my Amazon affiliate link to promote Jimmy’s book. I am promoting Jimmy so because I respect him and the work that he does. The links to Amazon from my blog are direct links and I will not receive any monetary benefit from the sale of this book.
» Filed Under Personal Growth, Resources | Please Share Your Thoughts; Leave a Comment!
Change is in the Air
Posted on January 1, 2010
The focus of the Twin Peas Blog and Podcast is going to be changing in 2010. For the past 2+ years I have written posts about my infertility journey as well as the premature birth of my twin girls. I’ve addressed some personal issues in addition to supporting many women and couples in the infertility community. The blog has been tremendously helpful to me as it has allowed me to express my feelings in a medium I would have never considered to use during our fertility treatments, although I see the value of the supportive online infertility community.
We all have limited time. In my case I am a mother, wife, teacher, consultant, advocate, volunteer, etc. I’ve had to make some decisions as to where my time is best spent. Before our infertility journey I was a business consultant. For the past 6 years I have been an instructor for undergrad and graduate students. I love teaching. Over the past year I have been asked to teach new classes. All of these new classes are directly related to the concepts I was using in my consulting practice. Instead of fighting the message the Universe is sending me, I’m following it. I’m jumping back into my consulting business. It feels like the right thing to do and I the ideas are flowing so naturally.
I’m going to continue my blog with more of an advocacy spin. I’ll be discussing many charities and how you can get involved. I’ll be sharing my story from the perspective of a patient in hopes that some of the lessons my husband and I learned can help others still in the treatment phase or those couples with a baby in the NICU.
I’m excited about the changes for the new year. I hope you find the change good too.
Happy New Year!
Kelly
» Filed Under Infertility, Personal Growth, Premature Births | Please Share Your Thoughts; Leave a Comment!
Couples Retreat
Posted on December 22, 2009
You might have seen the movie, Couples Retreat with Vince Vaughn and Jason Bateman. While I found the movie to be entertaining and funny, I also found the portrayal of infertility stress in a marriage on point (mostly). Unbeknown to their friends, Jason Bateman and his wife are considering a divorce because their marriage is being torn apart because they cannot conceive a child. They convince their friends to join them for a couples retreat in hopes that the “vacation” will save their marriage.
Infertility is one of the most challenging issues a couple must endure. There are many other issues that come from every day life. When you actually become a parent the challenges do not stop. Sometimes couples do not know what to do to help their relationship. My husband and I use counseling as one means to help us during our darkest times. I attended counseling sessions on my own and worked on creating my own happiness which spilled over into my marriage.
A friend of mine provided me with a valuable resource that might be helpful to couples struggling in their relationship. If you are serious about making your relationship better, check out Retrouvaille. I wish I had know about this service when we were struggling with infertility. It would have saved us many months of struggle! Pass this resource on to others you think might find it helpful.
» Filed Under Infertility, Marriage, Personal Growth, Relationships | Please Share Your Thoughts; Leave a Comment!
Book Recommendation – One and the Same
Posted on December 15, 2009
Author Abigail Pogrebin is an identical twin. She wrote the book, One and the Same: My Life as an Identical Twin and What I’ve Learned About Everyone’s Struggle to be Singular. As a mother of twins I experience first hand the fascination people have with multiples. While there are many wonderful things about twins, it can also be challenging for both the parents and the children. Ms. Pogrebin addresses many issues of twinship in her book and provides advice for parents of twins.
Ms. Pogrebin states, “My book takes a deep look at twins from every angle – what it’s really like to be one, marry one, raise one, and lose one. I also explore the risks of multiples and the “twin shock” of raising two at a time. I interview many twins – including football stars Tiki and Ronde Barber and remarkable twin survivors of the chilling Mengele experiments – and I also talk to twins experts, but the spine of the book is my own story, which is not a simplistic portrait of twinship.”
Read more about her book: Newsweek interview, NPR interview (includes book excerpt) and the Today Show.
Visit her website to learn more about the book or where you can purchase a copy: Abigail Pogrebin.
» Filed Under twins | Please Share Your Thoughts; Leave a Comment!
Accepting Happiness
Posted on December 1, 2009
Right now a lot of people are struggling in some aspect of their life, whether they are trying to have a baby, coming to terms with living childfree, recovering from the premature birth of a child or children, job losses, loss of home, etc. It has been an interesting time for me. About one year ago I could not say “I deserve to be happy,” without sobbing uncontrollably. It was truly ridiculous. I remember my husband staring at me like I was some weirdo he picked up off the street. He didn’t understand why I was having difficultly allowing myself to be truly happy.
After many hours of counseling I can now accept my happiness. It seems silly, though. However, looking at my childhood and family history it might make more sense. I tend to the be the black sheep of the group. My uncle and I are the only two members of my family who have a college degree. My mom was never happy in marriage. I’ve worked hard on mine so that it is. In the past I followed the family trend of being more pessimistic than optimistic. I used to feel awkward around members of my family because I was so different. But today I am more accepting of who we all are; it has made a huge difference in my interactions with everyone.
I do feel sad that it is a bad time for a lot of people. Many of my friends have been impacted by job losses or other family matters due to the economy. I too have had my share of trials over the years. At a time when I could be absorbing the negativity around me (which is what I used to do), I find myself recognizing and empathizing with others, yet staying in my place and accepting that I have the right to be happy.
Sometimes learning how to set boundaries with your family members (which can be hard to do, I know), your friends or co-workers can help protect you from absorbing their issues or their negativity. Give it a try. It just might work.
» Filed Under Personal Growth | 3 Comments
