Beware of Health “Spell” Scams

April 16th, 2011 - Written by - 1 comment

I recently received a comment on my blog that at first seemed legit but later revealed itself as nothing more than scammy spam. The poster was explaining their life with Crohn’s Disease & how debilitating it was. There was actually a great deal of content to this comment & what the person talked about sounded rather convincing. The only problem was that near the end of the comment they started talking about how while nothing else worked, they found someone who would cast a spell for them & miraculously they started to heal from their Crohn’s Disease. What modern medicine & alternative therapies couldn’t treat, wiring a random stranger money so they could write a spell for you did.

Yeah right! Continue reading “Beware of Health “Spell” Scams” »

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the a school(Little Village Academy) in Chicago has banned kids from bring in their own lunches unless they have a medical reason to do so. While the school & the district is spinning this as being about protecting kids from bad food choices many think that the school & it’s food service provider are putting profit over pupils. The principal, Elsa Carmona, says that other schools have a similar policy, though she was unable to name which other schools have such a policy. More worrying is that the school district has no official written policy on bagged lunches, nor do they keep track of which principals have decided to do away with allowing them. Parents don’t have much choice in the matter as the school their child goes to usually depends on where they live. They may not have any recourse to send their child to another school & perhaps many aren’t going to be inclined to do so over something “petty” like the school lunch program. Continue reading “Chicago School Bans Kids From Bringing Their Own Lunches” »

Writer Lia Serbyn has written a funny, but all too real article on the toll Irritable Bowel Syndrome can take on one’s relationships.

IBS doesn’t exactly enrich your love life. It behaves like a stalker slapped with a restraining order; it’ll show up any damn time it pleases because it knows you have no serious protection against it.

Her experiences are similar to mine. Irritable Bowel Syndrome affects all relationships, not just romantic ones. Even close friends & family can seemingly turn on you, becoming frustrated with your illness. Maybe it’s a survival of the fittest animal instinct that comes into play. The desire to leave the straggling Wildebeest behind the herd as a “decoy” to the lions. Perhaps it’s not as sinister as that… Perhaps it’s just frustration. You’d love to go on that long road trip, you’d love to go over for dinner or go out to a movie, you’d love to go to the beach… But you… Just… Can’t. Continue reading “Is Irritable Bowel Syndrome Interfering With Your Relationships?” »

The Independant, a Santa Barbara based paper, has an interview with Ben Morrison, a comedian who has dealt with Crohn’s Disease since 1997.

… But for comedian Ben Morrison, who was hit with a Crohn’s disease diagnosis during his senior year of high school about a decade ago, finding humor in his situation has been the only way to stay positive and even keep the little known intestinal woe under control. He’ll be bringing his Crohn’s-related stand-up show “Pain in the Butt” to town this weekend, and he spent a few minutes chatting with The Independent last month.

Read the rest of the interview @ The Independant’s website.

You can also check out Ben Morrison’s website.

The Moose Jaw Times Herald is running a story about Melissa Rowe, a resident of Moose Jaw, Canada who is trying to raise money for a gastric neurostimulator device. It appears the local Saskatchewan healthcare system has denied her claim to get the device. The estimated cost to get the device is approximately $50,000. She is appealing the decision, so let’s hope they change their mind.

Unfortunately the paper has left out information about the actual fundraiser in the online version of the article and redirects you to buy the paper. I am sure it was probably just an oversight, but it would be nice if they’re trying to help this woman to make sure the information is on the Internet. I’ve e-mailed them to see if they can provide this information. I’ll update this post if it becomes available.

Also I’d like to point out that this shouldn’t be used as a jab against the Canadian healthcare system as it’s no cakewalk to get the the gastric neurostimulator covered by US insurance. Though it’d be nice if both systems had a smoother path.

Today Show Highlights Gastroparesis

September 2nd, 2010 - Written by - 3 comments

On Sept 2nd, 2010 the Today show ran a segment on Gentrie McKall Hansen, a girl, who recently was diagnosed with Gastroparesis & underwent surgery for an Enterra neuro-stimulator implant. I am glad Gastroparesis is getting some national attention. Her story highlights major issues with our medical system here in the United States. So many things are written off as being “in your head” or mental problems. We’re starting to have a problem with “fast food” doctors, who do not truly care about or listen to their patients or possibly are under immense pressure to push patients in & out the door. I think another story that highlights this is Michael Douglas’ recent diagnosis of stage 4 throat cancer, even though he had been trying to find the reason for his sore throat and ear ache for months, no one caught his cancer early until now. It makes me angry, isn’t the United States supposedly the best healthcare system in the world?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

References:
Gentrie’s Hunger Game
Gentrie McKall Hansen’s facebook
G-PACT
Gastroparesis & Dysmotilities Association
Living With Gastroparesis

YouTube user rickvanman has a two-part video explaining his experiences with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. He explains both the physical and mental toll IBS can take on the sufferer. I can completely relate his experiences to my own while dealing with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. You can view the videos below, also check out his IBS website.

PART 1:

PART 2:

Align Probiotic For Irritable Bowel Syndrome Update

This is a follow-up to my post “Align Probiotics Review: First Glance“. I did have some time to try out Align Probiotics and see how they worked out for me. Check out below for a week by week run-down.

Week #1

Week  #1 started out pretty well. I did notice that I was dealing with some aches and fatigue, possibly due to Align clearing out toxins or possibly due to something else entirely(I am known to get sinus infections randomly). Within a few days these aches and pains stopped. I think I did start to see some benefit from Align almost immediately. Improvements such as not having to go to the bathroom as often, bowel movements feeling more complete & perhaps even less gas/cramping. Having the pills labeled by the day of the week was pretty handy to keep on top of taking it. I tried to take it the same time each day. Continue reading “Align Probiotic For Irritable Bowel Syndrome Update” »

Tribute to The Best Toilet Paper In The World

Yes! That’s right, I am going to praise Conttonelle & their excellent Aloe & E toilet paper. Those with digestive problems are going to be using more TP than the average person. A lot of TP out there, even though it’s soft, doesn’t mean it doesn’t cause wear & tear after awhile. Plus there are some products out there that are too soft, almost like you’re using a blanket. Probably the best thing about Cotonelle Aloe & E is that it has Aloe & E in it, which is good for your skin and helps prevent irritation from occurring.

I looked high and low for an Aloe & E toilet paper product locally & Cottonelle Aloe & E was the only one I found & it works marvelously. Perhaps in your area you may have more choices, but I would strongly suggest you find one with Aloe in it or get Cottonelle Aloe & E. If you cannot find it locally you can buy :cottonelleaff: in bulk from Amazon.com, which if I didn’t have it locally, I’d probably do it.

Plus, who doesn’t like a cute puppy on the packaging :)?

Trigger Foods and Valentine’s Day.

February 16th, 2010 - Written by - Leave a Comment

Trigger Foods and Valentine’s Day.

So it was Valentine’s day last Sunday, for which I decided to make a cake for my girlfriend. Unfortunately cakes usually do not agree with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. On top of this I was making an Asian style pork roast(ginger, soy sauce, honey, garlic, etc..), rice & steamed carrots + broccoli. Overall the meal was quite good, the only problem was that pesky cake.

Trigger foods for me are usually fatty foods that are low in fiber, plus dairy is rarely good unless something has broken it down. Cheeses are okay, so is sour cream. Plain milk is a no-no. Sometimes it’s a matter of mixing a trigger food in with something so it doesn’t bother me as much. Continue reading “Trigger Foods and Valentine’s Day.” »

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