SuziQ

For those who shop at ebay... ?and I know a lot of us do. ?:cool:

and those of you not registered at iGive...

We are registered at iGive and everytime you shop at ebay 3 pennies are donated to Cushings Support. ?I know that I have supported Cushings Support via ebay many, many times. ?Sh!! ?Just don't tell anyone.

There is a 'shopping window' that can be downloaded so that iGive comes up everytime you shop at any of the over 400 stores registered, even if you don't go directly to iGive to shop. ?

Sometimes that 'shopping window' does not show up for me.  That's when I go directly to iGive and bring up the store.  We don't get the credit unless that shopping window is on the screen.

Just a reminder...

Buttons, buttons... ?I got the buttons! ?

Mary will be back in the good ole USA tonight.  She let me know that she'll post the picture tomorrow so that everyone can see what these buttons look like.  

I think they are awesome.

Buttons, buttons... ?who wants buttons???? ? hehe.gif

First of all I want to thank Cathy Gifford for creating these fantastic buttons for us. ?They are simply awesome!!! ?For her hard work and dedication to create these buttons ~ Thank You!! ?

Not only did she create these buttons, she also spent many hours working toward the production of these buttons. ?As soon as I talk with her today; the buttons will be produced. ??I'm so excited about this. ?

What Cathy's done is something completely different from our logos.... ?She's given us the world...  

A very good article, Jen.  Think about it...  where would many of us be if we hadn't been searching the web?  If we have learned nothing else, we have learned to be aggressive about our health concerns.  

There is still an element of concern for many doctors when it comes to their patients surfing the web.  There is a lot of misinformation out there.  

We try to be so careful with what we post...  so as not to have anyone misconstrue what we say when we try to help others.  We must be doing something right...  as there are several physicans who recommend this site to their patients.

Does this mean I still have a brain?  Gads!  I know something.  Unbelieveable.  First Ace in years.

This is interesting~

(June 30) -- Daily injections of low-dose growth hormone may help overweight people lose body fat while maintaining muscle mass, according to early research from St. Louis University. Obese patients who got the injections lost modest amounts of weight, but researchers caution that it is too soon to know if the findings are significant.

The research was presented at the 85th annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in Philadelphia.

In the study, 59 people who averaged 40% above their ideal body weight were told to follow a calorie-restricted diet and exercise program. They also got either daily self-administered shots of low-dose growth hormone or placebo injections.

One-third of the original participants dropped out during the six-month treatment phase, but only one patient left the study because of side effects. The rest did not want to follow the lifestyle guidelines or give themselves the daily injections.

In earlier studies using higher doses of growth hormone, potentially serious side effects were commonly seen. These side effects included arthritis and insulin resistance, which can lead to diabetes.

Modest Weight Loss

At the end of the study, the people who got the growth hormone had lost an average of five pounds of body fat, while those who did not receive the hormone lost nothing. The growth hormone group saw a 19% improvement in HDL, or good, cholesterol levels with no change in LDL, or bad, cholesterol levels.

Lead researcher Stewart Albert, MD, says he does not believe growth hormone was directly responsible for the weight loss but it might have made it easier for people to maintain a healthier lifestyle.

"If the growth hormone had any benefit, it was to allow people to continue with the diet and exercise," Albert tells WebMD. "It may be that growth hormone has a beneficial effect on appetite control or that because people didn't lose muscle mass they were able to exercise more. It will take much larger studies to answer these questions."

Clinical endocrinologist Lawrence Frohman, MD, tells WebMD that the high dropout rate in the study and the moderate weight reductions in the growth hormone group make him skeptical about the clinical potential of this treatment.

There are numerous over-the-counter products marketed as growth hormone for weight loss, sold over the Internet or in health stores. Frohman says the products are not growth hormone and they have not been subjected to clinical scrutiny to determine if they are safe.

"Anything that is sold over the counter cannot be growth hormone, because growth hormone is regulated by the FDA," he says. "It is hard to get the actual content of what is in these products, but they are of limited to no value."

SOURCES: The Endocrine Society 85th Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, June 19-22, 2003. Stewart G. Albert, MD, professor of internal medicine, Division of Endocrinology, St. Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis. Lawrence A. Frohman, MD, clinical endocrinologist; professor of medicine, University of Illinois, Chicago.

? 2003 WebMD Inc. All rights reserved.

MRI Shows People Feel Pain Differently

Pain Management Involves Trust of Patient's Complaints

By Jeanie Lerche Davis

WebMD Medical News ?

June 23, 2003 -- Back pain, foot pain, head pain -- the human body is no stranger to pain. But brain scans show not everyone feels pain the same way, a new study shows.

The study, which could lead to better pain management, appears in the latest Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"We have all met people who seem very sensitive to pain as well as those who appear to tolerate pain very well," says lead researcher Robert C. Coghill, PhD, a professor of neurobiology and anatomy at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, in a news release.

Patients are asked to rate their pain -- on a one to 10 scale -- so doctors can prescribe medications for pain management. "Until now, there was no objective evidence that could confirm that these individual differences in pain sensitivity are, in fact, real," he says.

The most difficult aspect of treating pain has been having confidence in patients' reports of pain, says Coghill. These findings confirm that the level of pain intensity can be seen in brain activity.

The study itself included 17 healthy men and women who agreed to have a computer-controlled heat stimulator placed on a leg. While researchers watched each patient's brain activity -- via what's known as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) -- the device heated a small patch of their skin to a temperature most people find painful.

The volunteers reported very different experiences of pain, reports Coghill. The least-sensitive person rated the pain around "one" while the most-sensitive person rated it as a "nine."

Their brains reflected the differences, he explains. Those who gave a higher pain number had greater activation in the "pain" brain area; those with the least sensitivity had less brain activity.

The pain "experience" is likely due to a combination of factors, like the person's past experience with pain, his or her emotional state when experiencing the pain, and the person's expectations regarding pain, he adds.

In prescribing medications for pain management, doctors can trust what their patients are saying about the intensity of their pain, he says.

Thanks, Mary!

Got my number registered!

Hugs,

Sue

Telemarketers ?baaa.gif

Hopefully I'll be able to eat dinner in peace soon.

BTW, Mary, did you check out 'how to send art and logo' at the store I found?  

Hugs,

Suz

This sucks!

One of the nicest things about this store was that we didn't have to purchase hundreds of items to resell... ?

Not acceptable at all!!!!!  The logos and images belong to us!  Not Sharing or Giving Away  Thank you very much!!!!!!!!

Poop :exclaim:

Hi Lynne...  whichever Lynne you may be at the moment.   hehe.gif  I printed and read the article in the link.  What intrigued me was the following:

stress hormones can damage the hippocampus, the very part of the brain that's supposed to signal when to shut-off production of these hormones - creating a vicious cycle that degenerates the brain and diminishes the quality of life.

The hippocampus, however, is the area most damaged by cortisol.

This really hit home.  When I think of all the years (at least 12) that all this cortisol was flowing so freely in my body, I can't help but wonder how much damage has been done.  I get so frustrated when I can't remember the simplest of things.

Thanks for sharing this (I think).  :B:

Hugs,

Suz :B:

Oh Gee, I didn't know that about Amazon.  I had a problem with getting credit from them right from my first order so I switched to Barnes and Noble.  If I'm going to shop on line and I have a choice of stores with similiar or same products, you better believe I'll go with the ones who participate.  

As far as ebay goes....  I don't care if it's tax deductible or not.  I shop there and if we get pennies - we get pennies.  All pennies make dollars.  The tax deductible part is non important to me.

Oh, and Mary, the donations....  I printed all the information for us to set up CUSH as a non-profit on ebay, but we never got any further with it.  That's what I meant.  You have to remember...  I've been ill and dopey (no comments, please) with pain meds...  two thoughts together correctly are still not in my head.

Suz :look:

(The Shopping Window will *not* be activated if you click a link in an e-mail, or if the last site you visited is iGive.com.)

***Exceptions to all rules, Mary.***

I just clicked on an email link that brought up a store that's in the mall... ?and guess what?? ?It also loaded the shopping window. ?FYI - It was Omaha Steaks. ?

How I found out about the pennies on ebay was because I was shopping (shhhh!!) and I bought something now and bid on something else; the next time I logged on I had mail telling me that they'd updated my donations. ?Last I knew ebay did not give anything for bids so I had to read what's what with that. ?

I was tickled and wanted to share as I think lots of people shop on ebay. ?

**sigh** ?Still would like to set up the donations address if we could iron out all difficulties. ?

Hugs,

Sue

iGive Shopping Window is a bonus. ?If you download the shopping window you never miss out on a chance to donate money for our boards. ?If a store is a part of iGive then the shopping window knows so even if you're not at the iGive Shopping Mall, we get the donation. ?

For example I sometimes shop at ebay and everytime I go there I do not go through the mall, yet iGive comes up around the website and each bid and 'buy it now' gives us credit. ?It may only be 2 or 3 pennies but those pennies all add up.

Sue :wow:

I ordered this book awhile ago and I read it..my opinion is this..it is very expensive I agree but to be honest the best info to be gotten is right here with real people suffering and who have the best knowledge..through my entire journey I believe the best doctor is ourselves!!!  Arlene

Aren't we just the cat's meow???

Sue

Thanks for posting this, Renea.  

I read it with interest...

I'm thinking we'll need something new and special for this year's annual event.  Ummm....  time to start thinking, MaryOriginal.

Suz :look:

Help, Mary!

I tried to purchase the new book on Cushings that was in the e-mail newsletter and it wouldn't let me.  Says I don't have any cookies.  So, okay, what did I do now?  Or, what do I do now?  I went to settings and checked my internet properties and read how to fix my cookies and I tried, but I still can't shop.  Doesn't make sense, especially when the top of the pages at the mall says, "HI, Sue"  

I haven't reset anything to begin with, so I don't know what happened.

Phooey.  I can't shop...

Sue

Been shopping again! ?This morning before I left for work I visited Expedia at iGive and purchased our package for Vegas. ?I'd checked several sites for flights and hotels and the ones at iGive offered the same exact deals. ?

Last night when I was talking to Jerr he told me he'd purchased new computers for his business and bought them through iGive also.

Thanks to all who shop at iGive and help to support these boards!

Sue

I read this article in our paper this morning, too.  I also read another article written by a local woman that was quite interesting and something many of us should think about...  It's about a woman's battle with endometrial cancer and some of what she's written could be vital information.  I'm going to see if I can find it on line and post the link.  I'm not good at this, but will try.

WASHINGTON (Oct. 18) - The U.S. Senate Thursday approved legislation that would double annual federal authorization for grants to companies to do research on rare diseases.

The House of Representatives earlier this month approved the measure and it now goes to President Bush for his signature.

The bill authorizes $25 million for a Food and Drug Administration grant program that lawmakers have credited with development of 23 drugs and four medical devices for so-called orphan diseases. That is up from the current $12 million authorized.

Rare, or "orphan" diseases, are defined as those affecting fewer than 200,000 Americans. The National Institutes of Health has identified more than 6,000 rare diseases that affect a total of 25 million people.

Because the market for treating each disease is relatively small, the government has created incentives for pharmaceutical companies and others to study tests and treatments for orphan therapies.

The Senate passed a separate companion bill and sent it to Bush that would establish a distinct Office of Rare Diseases within NIH. The office currently falls under the director's office.

Was shopping at iGive the other night.  Bought Don a heated mattress pad.  Oh boy!  I don't need this, but with dual control he can keep warm and I don't have to roast.  Wanted the new $30 socks for Don at Bath and Body Works but they don't have them on-line.   :con:   Chemo really dried out and hurt his feet.  I'll keep checking back until it gets too close to Christmas.  If they don't have them, then I'll have to really go to a store!  Yikes!!

Oh, well...  Christmas is coming so I'll be shopping at iGive some more real soon.

Sue :cool:

Women's Thong MaryO Note:  I don't think so!

Oh, why not??   hehe.gif  :B:

Are the stickers - stickers or clinz?

Sometimes I must be very fortunate. ?My endocrinologist spent over an hour with me on my first visit and about half an hour on my second visit. ?Those were my only visits with him before surgery.

Now, my family doctor is a different story. ?Zip in and zip out. ?Normally. ?On the day I saw him one week before my surgery, he spent a lot of time working for me. ?When I left his office almost an hour and a half later, I vowed to never get upset again if I had to wait for the doctor. ?You see, I didn't have surgery scheduled when I got there, but I was so critical that he spent all that time finding me a doctor and finding me a doctor NOW. ?I was fortunate that I did not need a neurosurgeon. ?I needed a surgeon that could remove an adrenal tumor. ?Luckily he found me one who felt confident he could do my surgery. ?The next day when I met him (between surgeries) and talked with him, I was confident he could do it. ?And he did. ?Six days later.

It is true that you don't spend much time with your doctor.  I sometimes wonder how they can diagnose us with anything as quickly as they scoot us out the door.  I feel like quality is given up for quantity most of the time.