TV Appearance

Suzanne Somers will be on The 700 Club (I think it's the CBN network) on Wednesday, March 11. As they say, check your local listings for time and channel, and I believe if you are an online member of the CBN network website, you can access the video via the website.

Big News!!!!! We have a place to have a "discussion"!

Women's Health America has just unveiled a new area where we can discuss topics relating to bioidentical hormone replacement therapy!!! This is the only site on the web (that I've found, anyway) that offers such a service, I hope everyone will drop by, read up and leave comments. I just left a post on my personal experiences with BHRT. Here' s the link, now hurry up, get on over there!

What's the best diet?

According to Time Magazine, eating less food! Check out this article to read all about it! Now I'm off to have my protein shake (about 280 calories).

Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board

Here's a link to a great resource to finding a compounding pharmacy in your area, either to get your bioidentical hormone prescriptions refilled, or call them to see if there are physicians/healthcare providers in your area who incorporate bioidentical hormones into their practices.

For those of you in the Piedmont of NC area.....

The Compounding Pharmacy in Hickory, NC will be presenting a lecture on bioidentical hormone replacement therapy on Tuesday, March 31 at 630 pm at their facility. YOU MUST CALL to register, the number is 828-910-9365. I'm attending, and looking forward to meeting others!

Name that substance!

No, it's not the Game Show's new program! Here's the link to an article in Time Magazine about how the name of a drug, substance, or additive can affect its popularity with the public. Xylitol, by the way, the name of a sweetener substitute, you see it used a lot in sugarless gum.

Hormones and Friendship

I met up with a woman here in Charlotte who contacted me via the Oprah.com message boards. Today we had lunch together, and I had an absolutely delightful time! Friendships and connecting with others is as important as balanced hormones, and today proved that. I was so excited to share with this lady how much bioidentical hormone replacement therapy has helped me and improved the quality of my life. I know my new friend is eagerly awaiting her appointment with a local doctor who has specialized training in bioidentical hormones. My next step is to get a Meetup.com group organized in the Charlotte area for women who would like to learn more about BHRT, to share resources and stories to encourage others. Today was a terrific day!

Moving nation from sick care towards wellness care

Associated Press article talks about how we do not have health care in America, we have disease care and it's going to further deteriorate our health care system if we don't shift toward preventive care.

I don't need your germs, thanks, I'm trying to cut down---

I really admire people who are regular visitors to their local gym or health club. I have been going to our local YMCA at least 5 days a week for over two years now, and it's one of the best thngs I have ever done for myself. However, on the rare occasions when I am sick, I do myself and everyone else a the Y a favour and I STAY HOME! I just got back from my Quick Fit class, which involves circuit training---one minute aerobics, one minute weight machine. One participant in the class was obviously not feeling well, and the exertion of the workout made her cough worse, and honestly, I hated touching the machines after she was on them. I just think it's more considerate to not spread an upper respiratory infection around unnecessarily. Thanks for listening.

Great letter!

Dr. Wulf H. Utian (do you not love that first name?) is/was the Editor in Chief of Menopause Managment (a journal for doctors). I ran across this article from the N/D 2007 issue, Time for Another Letter. It's as relevant now as then. Great reading.

Doctors take decider role---

Article in Today's USA Today about how medical decisions are made. Check it out by clicking this link.

Important Legislation Proposed by California Congresswoman!

I just posted the following entry on the Oprah.com website. The link to the full text of the legislation can by found by clicking here!



I ran across a mention of this on a blog, and did a little checking-----Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) has introduced legislation to Congress (HR-584) that would mandate coverage of hormone replacement therapy by Medicare, Medicaid, and other health insurance programs. This could be very, very important. Since I cannot post the link (which is driving me nuts), Google in HR-584, Barbara Lee and Hormones, and the link to the full text of the bill should come up. I will post a link to it on my blog, which you will need to private message me to get that link! I hope Oprah's web people get a link to the legislation proposal on the site, it would be beneficial to a lot of women (and men!).
A word of caution, however, this will not solve the problem of not enough physicians in many parts of the country being knowlegeable enough to attend to the hormonal balance needs of their patients. To be honest, even if this legislation passes, many doctors who are knowledgeable about BHRT and use it with their patients will still not accept Medicare reimbursements, and I'm guessing that many more will not even consider Medicaid participation. Before you start screaming that doctors are in it just for the money, I know from personal experience that the rate of reimbursement for Medicare patients is ridiculously low, and the hoops a provider needs to jump through to get a paltry sum are simply not worth it. Many Medicare providers need to employ one person full time in their offices just to deal with the insurance hassles. Medicaid is even worse, and with the rising costs of malpractice insurance, and other costs associated with a medical practice (it is, above all else, running a small business), in many cases it is simply impossible for a practitioner to spend quality time with a patient and still keep his/her head above water financially. Add to it the mess the economy as a whole is in---- I went to a new primary care physician (I live in NC, and my hormone doctor is in CA----I needed someone local to get my blood work done) last week, and she was a half hour getting to me, and then spent 10 minutes with me ---- at a first appointment!!!!! I hate it, and thank goodness I am not treated that way by my hormone physician. He takes the time to listen to my symptoms, and trusts that I know my body better than anyone else. That 's the way medicine should be practiced, but the reality is that when an insurance company is involved, the chances of really being heard and treated holistically are slim and none.
However, the passage of this legislation is a start, and as so many of us have found, access to a provider who is willing and knowlegeable about BHRT is difficult and frustrating, so any step in the right direction gives us hope and the incentive to become better educated patients. Congresswoman Lee deserves a huge thank you note, and we need to get busy letting our representatives know how important this legislation is to millions of women and men!

Worldhealth.net Broadcasts Urgent Call to Doctors for Training to Meet the Demand for Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT).

Here's the link to the article, now we need to hope doctors read it, heed the call and take action to become knowledgable on the use of bioidenticals to treat their patients! I have heard of so many women tell me that when they bring up the subject of BHRT to their primary care physicians or gynocologists, they are either scoffed at (I think largely because the practitioner doesn't know anything about BHRT) or are told that they will not prescribe it because they don't know anything about it (at least those practitioners are being honest with their patients).

Lest we forget the men ------

and I never want to forget men, I love men! This article from the Washington Post gives us a little insight into male menopause, known as andropause. Read it with or to someone you love!

From the Washington Post---

Want to live longer, then speak up! See, it's true, women who speak up to their doctors get better health care----as chronicled in this article in the Washington Post. Check it out, then make an appointment with your doctor to discuss bioidentical hormone replacement therapy!