Often these patients wind up at  an un-licensed/questionable professional,  touting questionable dietary product lines, for which they receive a sales commission-no question there.   Much of their recommended products consist of laxatives, 'colon-cleansers', stuff you see on infomercials, with spokesperson's in outdated wardrobes and hairstyles;  merely their appearance should raise the suspiscions on their validity and that of their advertised products. These products are not covered by any health plan  so they are costly to boot.

With increasing frequency, these patients seek assistance from chiropractors, holisitic/homeopathic medicine practicioners, acupuncturists.   Often such providers are a consortium of partners.  Such partnerships among disciplines have flourished lately since pooling  insurer-covered practices can be necessary in the survival of the business, and once-covered costs are no longer allowable. Any remaining gap in coverage is born by the consumer.   In practice, what was previously a chain of referrals to treat a patient, has morphed into a chain of revenue.

That's why it is so important if you, or someone you know, are exhausted, particularly after meals,  insist on blood work and digestive tests to determine, not only Celiac disease, but a host of other digestive failings/allergies, as per an earlier post on Jonathan Papernick's illness , http://blog.scanavert.com/2010/07/21/the-fine-line-between-illness-and-allergy

You may also find it worthwhile to check out a NYC Celiac Disease, and their upcoming meetup on 8/28 in LI,

http://www.meetup.com/Celiac/calendar/13799207/?a=mr1p_grp&rv=mr1pceliac

Dot had met her husband at the roller rink.    He was not your average a teenage boy on skates, but a performer in the roller rink shows.  They were introduced through her friends "who knew a fella he knew".   He was part acrobat and part dancer; he could spin and lutz and in those heavy prehistoric skates of yesteryear, swept her off her clumsy wheeled feet.   He competed professionally and after they married, she accompanied him to competitions throughout the country.      They settled in Huntington and had 3 kids, and one whose birth nearly killed them both, as they both contracted 'the staph' while in the hospital.    His affliction was on his skin, requiring huge doses of anti-biotics and hers attacked her kidney which had to be removed to save her life.   That 'birth' stood before us, now a 50 year old man with 3 kids of his own.  Just then, her teenage grandkids approached for a view of the pool and she pointed them out along with her daughter, all visiting her for the week, but no husband.   She confirmed my assumption by telling me how she lost him 22 years ago to cancer.    I  felt an unbelievable wave of grief engulf me,  the kind of feeling you might experience for someone you know, and yet I never learned his name.   I only saw him through her pride filled eyes.   So while Dot and I were strangers, and to the outward observer,  little in common with several generations between us,  I feel forever connected to her and her husband.   Never again will I visit  just Jones' Beach, but the very site and sand at the epicenter of  Dot's life, and generations of Dots and Dots' husbands.    No internet site could ever be such an embedded fabric of people's lives;  just the term "on-line community" has an oxymoronic ring to it. 

I've been told I have the 'gift of gab', but instead I just listened and a beautiful story was told.   Don't forget to tell yours, or your parents'.

But this is telling for what is lacking; where were the statistics on the Asian subjects?  Perhaps their statistics do not support this trend?  I assume that will be known when the study is published next Monday in Pediatrics, but unlike the other races cited,  the Asian diet does NOT include a high percentage of fast food.    The researchers in the study are alarmed by 'environmental factors'  but I'm unconvinced that early onset of puberty is related to a punctured ozone layer, or aerosol use.    So if diet is considered 'environmental' then I concurr.

As consumers in a grocery store, we can avoid hormonally induced, genetically modified, injected produce/products.  Fast food chains however, do not disclose where their resources are derived.   The fast food industry profits from our complacency and ignorance.  Why are we eating anything without knowing precisely, what's in that? and where'd it come from?

Perhaps McDonalds will offer a bra with your preschooler's next Happy meal!  Or a brand new marketing campaign for women wishing to be  more "endowed';  a whole new spin on the phrase, "want to super size that?"

Often the claims statement reflects the facility where manufactured, which may, or may not, also manufacture peanut or pecan products.   Ann did mention that in her area there is a local Hostess plant.   So this was a happy ending since this was a staple in her home and now she need not remove it.   But I share it to caution that you must still READ THE LABEL. Products safe in one region of the country may not be safe in another- food for thought before you send your kids off for a visit to grandma's,  or embark on vacation.     The obvious and simple fix is to introduce another barcode, but from the resistance and rationing by manufacturers, one would think barcodes were a more costly commodity than gold bullion! Where's the legislation?   Anybody out there listening GMA? NIH? FDA? CDC? ERB? - sorry - made that last one up - my initials, but you get the point.

A welcome sign then that the Melting Pot, one of my kids' top picks,  has introduced a Gluten-free menu, and after your first dining experience, mention NYMETROPARENTS.com, and receive a $25.00 coupon off your next meal, at area locations Westwood, NJ, White Plains, NY, or Darien, CT.   You can also find coupons for $25.00 at Restaurant.com which I have redeemed at the Westwood location, however this month they are sold out, so order on line at the first of the month and purchase one, my last one cost $10, but I was able to grab one for $2.00 a couple months ago.   Unfortunately, it doesn't let you specify by diet, but if you learn of a restaurant that caters to your restrictions, see if they're listed, if not, its worth contacting the management to learn why not and inform them of such a great visibility platform.

NOTE: as is our policy, ScanAvert receives NO PAYMENT  or benefit from any of the products or services featured in this blog.

After releasing our mobile service, we were inundated with requests to list mold and yeast in our drop down menu of common allergies.   We started with the 'Big 8" but after emails fraught with despair,  one woman wrote she had her lung removed due to a mold, we developed our custom diet box, so our subscribers could enter their own allergy terms.     Papernick's story is a convincing testament to 'heal thyself".    With the doctor's fee slashed to an average of $30 per patient, chances are, he/she won't remember anything in your chart unless you remind, prod, pester him/her at each visit, and likely why a condition like Papernick's went untreated for so long.   In conclusion:  be a pest, you'll live longer.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/20/for-a-celiac-sufferer-a-new-mystery-illness/

This past week I  registered a health profile with 4 separate on-line tools/websites.  A couple I could not possibly complete by myself and would need my physician, and all but one had many notes I had to fill out, so that quailty of that data would vary upon the level of education, health related and otherwise, of the person doing the data entry.   While this is just my informal review, it mirrors the focus groups' perception that healthIT in was not for 'them'.    Futher,  that  the process [decisions] "had begun[made] without them", and they were "powerless" to exert " influence".    They suggested a consumer advocate/representative was needed before being 'steam rolled' by health and government officials that don't always put the consumer's interests first.    The groups' largest concern was that their privacy was at risk from unauthorized sharing of information or hackers.

The completion and results of this survey were public a year ago yet, puzzling then, that no meaningful follow-up action has occurred from it.   If the HHS is serious about consumer participation,  it needs to address these concerns, and standardize not just the reporting of information at the healthcare professional end but the consumer end as well,  to ensure the  process of  PHR creation is simple, user-friendly and fosters adoption, and they need to do it NOW.  

http://healthit.ahrq.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_9442_909189_0_0_18/09-0081-EF.pdf

http://www.meetup.com/WestFAST/calendar/14019666/#posted.

We all benefit when we share our experiences so come join, visit and learn.   This event is being held  July 27,  in Tarrytown, NY but there are other chapters throughout the country-find yours.