Fibro what?
So I was told last September that I have fibromyalgia by my rheumatologist. I had been referred to her by my pain management doctor who had been treating me for my back pain from degenerating disks. I also had pain in lots of other places that was getting worse over the years as opposed to better. His diagnosis to my rheumatologist was myofascial pain or fibromyalgia with possible rheumatoid arthritis.Well the rheumatologist confirmed within ten minutes of meeting me that I had fibromyalgia. My pain doctor had put me on Savella, Lyrica, and Cymbalta at different times in the past to treat my pain. Those are the only medica...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - February 22, 2013 Category: Cancer Tags: symptoms fibromyalgia medication pain treatment Source Type: blogs
The Nose Knows: Smell Disorders
By Amy Campbell
Some of my favorite smells are a Christmas tree, chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven, and freshly cut pumpkins at Halloween — I can't imagine not being able to smell these delightful things. But according to the National Institutes of Health, between 1% and 2% of people in North America say they have a smell disorder. About 25% of men age 60–69 and 11% of women in this same age range have difficulty being able to smell.
Not being able to smell, either somewhat or at all, can be dangerous, as our noses alert us to smells that can signal danger, such as a fire, a gas leak, or spoiled food. ...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - February 19, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Amy Campbell Source Type: blogs
Middle-of-the-Night Insomnia: Purdue's Subjective Symptom Quiz v. My Quantified Self
I just received an email ad from Purdue Pharma entitled "Learn about a prescription treatment specifically for middle-of-the-night insomnia." It's an ad for Intermezzo, "the first and only prescription sleep aid approved by the FDA for use as needed to help treat adults with insomnia when they have difficulty falling back to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night." That last part, which I italicized, is a mouthful. So Purdue came up with "Middle-of-the-Night Insomnia," a new name that makes it sound like an "official" medical condition.In case you don't know if you suffer from "Middle-of-the-Night Insomnia,"...
Source: Pharma Marketing Blog - February 12, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Tags: Apps eMarketing mobile medical app Privacy Purdue Pharma Intermezzo Insomnia drugs Source Type: blogs
Three New Drugs for Type 2 Diabetes Approved
By Diane Fennell
On January 26, pharmaceutical manufacturer Takeda announced the approval of its Type 2 diabetes drug, Nesina (generic name alogliptin) by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It is the fourth drug in a class of medicines known as DPP-4 inhibitors, joining Januvia (saxagliptin), Onglyza (sitagliptin), and Tradjenta (linagliptin). Approved simultaneously with Nesina were the drugs Kazano (alogliptin and metformin) and Oseni (alogliptin and pioglitazone [brand name Actos]).
DPP-4 inhibitors work to lower blood glucose by blocking the action of an enzyme known as dipeptidyl peptidase 4, or DPP-4. DPP-...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - February 8, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Diane Fennell Source Type: blogs
Gray Days
It's been a rough 1.2 weeks. Begun,of course, with a sore throat & a mild cough,moved to the runny nose, followed by the 101 degree fevers & the addition of some hard core throat pain, losing my taste on Super Bowl Sunday,(I did not go to the party & how sad is that,when the whole of Baltimore was stark Raven mad?Methinks it may never happen again ) The cough set in & Sunday night I probably got two hours of sleep. Monday I went to the doc & they gave me codeine syrup & an antibiotic for my "sinus infection." Sinus infection-really? Yep,within a day my head felt like a literal bomb & the discharge turned a disgusting color...
Source: The D-Log Cabin - February 7, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: HVS Source Type: blogs
ReSound Verso IIC: Innovative Technology Meets Invisible Design
By Tammara Stender, AuD, Senior Audiologist
GN ReSound Global Audiology
Let’s face it: the competition in the hearing aid market is pretty stiff. In a market where the devices are getting smaller and smaller, the focus seems to be on the miniaturization of the hearing instrument. Design choices are paramount in this arena. But sometimes, the primary need of a prospective user gets lost in the shuffle of vying to offer the most micro-hearing aids possible. The primary motivation of the patient seeking amplification is, after all, better hearing. What many individuals with hearing loss desire when deciding to purchase h...
Source: R&D Blog - February 1, 2013 Category: ENT & OMF Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
ReSound Verso IIC: Innovative Technology Meets Invisible Design
By Tammara Stender, AuD, Senior Audiologist
GN ReSound Global Audiology
Let’s face it: the competition in the hearing aid market is pretty stiff. In a market where the devices are getting smaller and smaller, the focus seems to be on the miniaturization of the hearing instrument. Design choices are paramount in this arena. But sometimes, the primary need of a prospective user gets lost in the shuffle of vying to offer the most micro-hearing aids possible. The primary motivation of the patient seeking amplification is, after all, better hearing. What many individuals with hearing loss desire when deciding to purchas...
Source: R&D Blog - February 1, 2013 Category: ENT & OMF Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Dr. David H. Barlow and Aversion Therapy for Gays
Should a professional society honor a highly accomplished investigator who conducted studies in the past that would now be considered unethical? Distinguished professor and clinical psychologist Dr. David H. Barlow was recognized for his achievements by the Association for Psychological Science (APS) last year as the recipient of the 2012 James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award:David H. Barlow has made enormous theoretical and empirical contributions in many areas of clinical psychology. He is best known for his efforts to develop psychological treatments for anxiety disorders. His early work on the treatment of agoraphobia ...
Source: The Neurocritic - January 29, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
Learning About Sick Days
By David Spero
How appropriate! I was going to blog about sick days, and then I got the flu myself. I'm writing this from bed, thanks to my laptop. It's not actually much fun, but I guess I'll call it research.
It started with a sore throat and runny nose. I just thought I had a cold. Wednesday morning, I was up at my desk participating in a Webinar for diabetes educators. By the time it ended, I was feeling cold all over and started shaking. Went to bed, and haven't been able to get up since.
Besides the sore throat, there's coughing, headache, and body aches. But they're not that bad. What's bad is the fever in combinat...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - January 16, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Spero Source Type: blogs
Cough, Cough, Hack, Hack, It’s Flu Season Again
While reading one of my favorite magazines yesterday, NATURAL HEALTH, I ran across a small list of facts about the flu compiled by a fellow writer, Kate Wertheimer. Depending on your propensity for yukiness, you may want to read this list with caution however, we’re all out there together getting exposed to all those live viruses who often are being carried by folks with little if any sense about how contagious they are. We’ll get to her list later, which was compiled in New Zealand. Apparently they do a great deal of research in most countries about the strains of viruses they can and will choose for their flu inocula...
Source: Life with Chronic Pain - January 10, 2013 Category: Other Conditions Authors: admin Tags: Flu cold cough cold and flu flu and pain Source Type: blogs
Poo-Poo Platter
This article was, for some odd reason, the front page story in today's Plain Dealer. (Slow post-holiday news day?) Two gastroenterologists from New England are working on a randomized controlled trial comparing the efficacy of fecal transplantation vs placebo in cases of refractory, recurrent clostridium difficile (c. diff) colitis. What exactly is "fecal transplantation" you ask?
Just what you what might expect, alas:
Transplants can be performed in a number of ways. Most often, doctors use a colonoscopy-like procedure, sedating a patient and depositing liquified, donated stool through...
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - January 3, 2013 Category: Surgeons Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD Source Type: blogs
The Tooth Fairy- Malpractice???
Credit: Clark Dunbar/CorbisIn a new article, four London doctors warn of a professional who is committing malpractice and getting away with it: the tooth fairy. They report on an 8-year-old boy who was sent to an allergist because of his epic runny nose. Regular old medical treatment didn't work, so the next step was a CT scan. The scan showed signs of inflammation in the sinuses. But it also revealed something more surprising: a tooth in his left ear canal. It turned out that 3 years before, the boy had woken up "extremely distressed" because the tooth fairy had taken the tooth from under his pillow and ...
Source: Dental Technology Blog - January 2, 2013 Category: Dentists Source Type: blogs
FLEX Electrodes: Design Matters for Atraumaticity and Hearing Preservation
By Darla Franz
The US Food and Drug Administration approved new FLEX24 and FLEX28 electrode arrays from worldwide hearing implant manufacturer MED-EL earlier this year for use with its MAESTRO Cochlear Implant System. The first US patients began taking advantage of this new technology in July. Does electrode length really matter when it comes to cochlear implants? And does electrode design make a difference when it comes to atraumaticity and preservation of residual hearing? Research tells us they do.
The FLEX28 array is 28 mm in length and enables implantation in 96 percent of all typical cochlear anatomies, allowin...
Source: R&D Blog - November 5, 2012 Category: ENT & OMF Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
FLEX Electrodes: Design Matters for Atraumaticity and Hearing Preservation
By Darla Franz
The US Food and Drug Administration approved new FLEX24 and FLEX28 electrode arrays from worldwide hearing implant manufacturer MED-EL earlier this year for use with its MAESTRO Cochlear Implant System. The first US patients began taking advantage of this new technology in July. Does electrode length really matter when it comes to cochlear implants? And does electrode design make a difference when it comes to atraumaticity and preservation of residual hearing? Research tells us they do.
The FLEX28 array is 28 mm in length and enables implantation in 96 percent of all typical cochlear anatomies, all...
Source: R&D Blog - November 5, 2012 Category: ENT & OMF Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Tinnitus Evaluation Program Offers Treatment Measure Outcomes
By David W. Holmes, PhD
MelMedtronics will release its new Tinnitus Evaluation Program (TEP) software in October. This product is Medicare-compliant and reimbursable, creating opportunity for an untapped revenue stream in audiology and otolaryngology practices. Medicare approved a new CPT code for tinnitus evaluation (CPT-92625) seven years ago, and four evaluation requirements comply with the procedure. Frequency match, intensity match, minimum masking level, and presence of residual inhibition must be documented for patients’ tinnitus measurements.
Medicare currently reimburses an average of $67.44 (depending on geo...
Source: R&D Blog - September 26, 2012 Category: ENT & OMF Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
