Faces of America premieres nationally Wednesdays, February 10 - March 3, 2010 on PBS: “What made America? What makes us? These two questions are at the heart of the new PBS series Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. who turns to the latest tools of genealogy and genetics to explore the family histories of 12 renowned Americans.”
Posted at Clinical Cases and Images. Stay updated and subscribe, or follow me on Twitter.
Pay women who are drug addicts to be sterilized. Good or bad? What about if men can be sterilized (and paid) too? Would that make a difference? What if committing to long-term contraception was an option – how would you feel then?
Does this smack of preserving the ultimate race, keeping quality control of babies, or a smart thing to do? Well, regardless of how you feel about it, it’s already happening in the United States, thanks to Project Prevention.
Project Prevention’s mission statement:
Project Prevention offers cash incentives to women that are addicted to drugs and/or alcohol to use long-term or permanent birth control.
Project Prevention is a national, 501 (C) 3 organization that has paid clients in 39 states and the District of Columbia.
Our mission is to reduce the number of substance exposed births to zero.
Because every baby deserves a sober start!
The organization has been subject to many criticisms, from accusations of racism to social engineering and yet, it is still here and still receiving donations from people who believe in the cause.
According to an article that appeared last year in the LA Times, the organization, created and directed by Barbara Harris, pays 300.00 for a tubal ligation (sterilization). However, women may get an IUD and receive 75.00 when the device is inserted, another 100.00 when she goes for a 6-month check up, and an additional 125.00 at the end of each year the IUD is in place.
At first glance, it’s easy to look at it through different angles. Drug-addicted mothers who get pregnant often give birth to babies who are also addicted to drugs. The babies are often underweight and sickly. Many end up having medical needs that may not have been present had the child been born of a non-addicted mother. The economic cost of caring for such babies in the “system” is astronomical, but the social cost even more so. Many of these babies end up in a foster system that is ill-equipped to deal with them. The babies grow into older children and often end up being bounced from foster home to foster home, for a variety of reasons. The life can be a horrible one for many who aren’t lucky enough to end up in foster homes that love and nurture them as a child should be loved and nurtured.
By keeping the mothers from getting pregnant in the first place, these babies wouldn’t be born. But that brings the other argument. Who are we to say who should and shouldn’t be born? What if so many of the adults who make an enormous impact on the lives of others now weren’t born because someone else made the decision that their mother shouldn’t become pregnant?
The option does seem to be attractive to many women. According to the organization’s website, over 3,000 women have been paid for either sterilization or long-term birth control.
So, what do you think about it? Good idea? Bad idea?
~~~
Image: iStock.com
Post from: Healthbolt
Atul Gawande to NPR:
Doctors are human, and that their profession is like any other.
“We miss stuff. We are inconsistent and unreliable because of the complexity of care,” Gawande says. “I got a chance to visit Boeing and see how they make things work, and over and over again they fall back on checklists. The pilot’s checklist is a crucial component, not just for how you handle takeoff and landing in normal circumstances, but even how you handle a crisis emergency when you only have a couple of minutes to make a critical decision.”
References:
Atul Gawande’s ‘Checklist’ For Surgery Success. NPR.
Related:
Posted at Clinical Cases and Images. Stay updated and subscribe, or follow me on Twitter.
We’ve got such a diverse group of people who read Simply Cooking and who are on Diabetes Daily. I’m just curious to see how many carbohydrates we eat as a group.
I’ll be honest, right now I’m going through a bit of a transition in my diet. I’m weaning Leah, which is difficult since she’s 15 months old. With that in mind, I can’t eat the same amount of carbs that I have been and maintain my current blood sugar levels. Not only will I certainly have some adjustments in my insulin levels at my next endocrinologist appointment, but I’m going to be eating way less carbs in my day to day diet.
I think that keeping it to 25-45g per meal will keep me healthy right now. How many do you eat on average in a day?
I have to admit, I did not watch the Oprah show. I had good intentions but I was too busy writing a blog post about the show before it aired. I read a few post around the Diabetes Online Community and I have to be honest. I was clapping my hands and at the same time hanging my head. I am shocked at all the comments about Type 1 vs Type 2. I am not sure, maybe I’m a bit slow but what happened to the DOC? I have never been on the T-1 or T-2 bandwagon, as far as I’m concerned we all have a issue with our pancreas and would like a cure. We let Oprah’s show divide US as community. The D-OC is BIGGER than Oprah!
I woke up at 3 am on Saturday morning. I grabbed my iphone, started drawing my feelings out on the doodle buddy app. I decided to make a slide slow of my feelings (thank you, Leeann). I know we are a strong community filled with all Type’s of diabetes, we can not and should not continue to let the media divide US.
You all are my family! I don’t care what Type you have or don’t have. Let’s continue to educate, support and kill the stigma that surrounds diabetes.
Be Blessed
Cherise
D-OC from Cherise Nicole on Vimeo.
We woke up in awe. Irish wasn’t too impressed but the little guy and I sure where. . .
After making some Almond milk and cookies (which are now all gone) it was time to get outside and start the shoveling.
The snow was still coming down pretty hard and it was already noon.
The Little guys was LOVING it.
We were making some progress. 
I was responsible for the sidewalks.
Then I helped clear the plateau out of the driveway.
Seriously. It was A LOT of snow!
After we were done, it was time to play.
I got a little stuck. (Yes that’s my entire leg in the snow.) lol
Little guy felt awfully big on top of the snow mound.
And so did mom.
The sun finally came out and it was simply BEAUTILFUL!
Little guy was light enough to crawl on top.
Dad wasn’t so lucky.
We aren’t in a hilly area but we still got to go "sledding."
We ended our romp in the snow by diving off the back door. Hey, when will get this opportunity again?
It was a great.. GREAT.. day and this pictures says it all.
After we came in and warmed up I made some stuffed peppers for dinner that I can NOT wait to tell you about on GreenLiteBites. I just don’t have the energy in me to do it right now. I wonder why? ;~P
We are snowed in and it’s been awesome! I’ll post more later but I wanted to share some panoramic photos I experimented with. These were taken during and after the shoveling process which is FAR from over and the snow IS STILL FALLING!!
Click on the image for the few view and then click again depending on your browser.
Back of the house from the driveway
front of the house from the front door
Who else is snowed in?
You might’ve caught my head’s up regarding Oprah’s show on “The Silent Killer,” which aired yesterday. I did a live-chat over at HealthCentral before, during and after the show aired, and the response was anonymous: hype and sensationalism and scare-tactics all leading to gross misrepresentation of type 1 diabetes and the reality of many type 2’s. Immediately following the show I received a heart-wrenching email from a mom of a little boy with type 1 and member of the HealthCentral community, active in the Diabetes OC.
Not for kids? Really? Excuse me while I go pull my hair out – I won’t have much left after reading about this new product developed and marketed by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. What is the product? Dissolvable, flavored tobacco. A smaller company, Star Scientific Inc., is also involved as they have been marketing a similar product for about nine years already.
Now, if you go to the Reynold’s website for the product, www.cameldissolvables.com, you will see that you can’t get in without a huge song-and-dance. You either have to have a special code from one of their products, or go through a lengthy inquisition to determine (and prove) that you are over 18 years old. But, seriously, do we really believe that dissolvable, flavored tobacco strips are for the over-18 year old market?
Star Scientific’s products are available in wintergreen, coffee and tobacco flavors, while Reynolds is is test-marketing dissolvable tablets, strips and a toothpick shape called Camel Orbs, Camel Strips and Camel Sticks in mint and other flavors.
Well, let’s say that FDA has its doubts too. In their letter to the company, they wrote:
Section 907(f) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requires the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) to study “the nature and impact of the use of dissolvable tobacco products on the public health, including such use among children” and provide us with a report and recommendations. CTP is concerned that children and adolescents may find dissolvable tobacco products particularly appealing, given the brightly colored packaging, candy-like appearance and easily concealable size of many of these products. We are also concerned about the extent to which the high nicotine content and rapid dissolution of dissolvable tobacco products may facilitate initiation of tobacco use, nicotine dependence and addiction in adolescents, and may serve as a mechanism for inadvertent toxicity in children. The report and recommendations developed by the TPSAC should help CTP better understand these issues.
What is particularly interesting is the “brightly colored packaging, candy-like appearance and easily concealable size of many of these products.” Who are they trying to kid (no pun intended? Is this product really geared towards baby boomers? People in their 40s? 30s? Hardly likely.
In this article, FDA: Dissolvable Tobacco Appeals To Kids, a representative from Star Scientific is quoted as saying that the goal of flavoring of the product is to make the products taste “less harsh.” It seems that if it tastes harsh and people don’t want to use it, that may be a good thing, no?
What do you think? Is there a place for this type of product?
~~~
Image: PhotoXpress.com
Post from: Healthbolt
-I forgot to set my DVR yesterday for the Oprah show. I think it was a good thing but I will be sure to catch the Re-Run. You can check out Mike’s (The diabetic’s corner booth) take on the show– “Not an After thought”, and Kerri’s “Oprah Does Diabetes”
-Today is National Wear Red today. Heart Disease is the number 1 health threat for Women. Check out Amy’s post “It’s Heart Month” for some great information.
-Are you on twitter? Are you following Myabetic? If not you may want to. They are giving away 1 case to their 50th and 100th follower, the best part is…You get to choose the case.
Have a great weekend
Be Blessed
Cherise
We may be entering a whole new world of home videos if researchers from Indiana University Hospital in the United States have their way. If you were offered the chance to take home a video of your very own colonoscopy, would you? Would you go as far as to pay for one?
The researchers conducted a survey of patients who underwent colonoscopies to see if they would like a video and if they would be willing to pay for one. Currently, videos are done if a procedure is going to be used as a teaching tool, but otherwise, recording is not done. However, since the effectiveness of colonoscopies are one of the tests that depend on the skill of the practitioner, a number of suspicious lesions may be missed during the procedure if it is not recorded.
It turned out that a majority of the respondents said that they would like to have a video recording of their colonoscopy, but the survey didn’t say why they would want it, curiosity? For a second opinion? For future law suits? The researchers also found that it was younger patients who would be more willing to pay for a video recording. Patients who had already had colorectal cancer and/or a family history of colorectal cancer were among those most willing.
What do you think? Would you want a video?
~~~
Image: PhotoXpress.com
Post from: Healthbolt
From the Annals of Internal Medicine:
The United States spends more on health care than other nations, yet our health outcomes remain inferior to those of many countries.
Many “accepted” perioperative practices conflict with the evidence, for example:
- Routine perioperative stress testing provides no diagnostic yield in patients at low risk for cardiac events
- Indiscriminate perioperative therapy with β-blockers can increase mortality in otherwise stable patients
Perioperative tests and treatments improve outcomes only when targeted at specific patient subsets. Implementation of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association perioperative guidelines ensures cost-effective management and promises the greatest benefit for patients.
References:
Perioperative Practice: Time to Throttle Back. Chopra, V., Flanders, S. A., Froehlich, J. B., Lau, W. C., Eagle, K. A. Ann of Int Med, 2009.
Image source: Wikipedia, public domain.
Posted at Clinical Cases and Images. Stay updated and subscribe, or follow me on Twitter.
I’m not a big football fan, but I do love getting together with friends and family for a party! As anyone with diabetes can attest to, parties like Superbowl parties are often times a disaster when it comes to keeping your blood sugar in check. Luckily, I’ve found some foods that you can enjoy and don’t have to worry about all those highs.
Any other tips for great snacks for the Superbowl?
It’s been seven years. As you all know, it is more complicated than that, but it was seven years ago on February 4th (yes, I am writing this at 11 pm) that I was admitted to the hospital through the ER with DKA.
Last year, I closed my post with a picture of my friends and I after I was released and said that I “could never have pictured my life today“. There is a lot more to the story that I want to share.
My diabetes anniversary is a bittersweet (no pun intended) time for me for more than the obvious reasons. The best friend that saved my life is no longer a part of my life. It is a long and complicated story and I am not sure I could do it justice here. And that isn’t the point anyway.
Recently I have been reading a really great book called Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist. There is a chapter called “the hook” that talks about the importance of forgiveness. She explains that when she is forgiving someone she pictures removing them from a giant hook like in a cartoon. Here are some of the best parts.
Earlier this year, a friend of mine made me really mad. Crazy mad. My (genius) therapist suggests that crazy mad is always covering over hurt and fear, so if were telling the whole truth here, she hurt me, and she made me feel scared. And thats worse that just making me mad. I felt small and scared and out of control. And I felt like my friend was making decision after decision to hurt me, Every time I heard from her or about her, it hurt. It was like there was a sharp glass on her hands, and every time she got near me, she cut me, ever if she swore she didnt mean to….I kept thinking about her, and the anger and the venom were starting to feel familiar. First I thought about what happened. And then the muscles in my neck and back scrunched up, and I felt bad at the base of my skull. Even if lots of other parts of my life were going well, there was this thing, this tightness in my shoulders and my neck. Then it got harder to breathe, and it felt like something was rotting inside me, the way something goes bad in the refrigerator…. The pain has softened ever so slightly, but it still seems like she did something wrong. How do I forgive someone who doesnt think she did anything wrong? Or who doesnt care?….This is why. Because I want my neck and my back muscles to stop hurting, to unfurl like window shades. Because I want to sleep instead of having endless imaginary conversations. Because I want my mind back. Because I want my life back. Because she is not the only one on the hook. Because every time I hang her up on that hook, the hook reaches down and grabs me, too. When I told Sarah that things had been hard in my head, I realized that Im the only one suffering right now. My anger doesnt hurt the person at whom I am very angry, but it hurts me. My friend Rory says something like bitterness is when you drink poison hoping the other person dies. My friend is doing great, I think, but I stagger around in a fog of anger and clenched jaws and fists . So I let her off the hook. I let her off once, to start, and felt pretty good about myself, until someone brought up her name at lunch, and then I got mad all over again, which threw me for a loop. I forgave her. Why am I still so mad at her?…. I realized that I had to take her off the hook every single time, not just one big time… And I still have to keep letting her off, every day, sometimes several times a day. Not for her sake, but for mine, because I want off the hook. Its hard work, and I dont want to do it, but I keep doing it. I keep letting her off the hook, because when I do, I can breathe again.
I am a different person now than I was seven years ago. In so many ways, diabetes has changed me. Some of those changes have been for the better, and some I could have done without. I think that is one of the most unique parts about being diagnosed at a later age. I can look back and see the differences so clearly.
So I’m curious. Do you think diabetes has changed who you are? Do you have the same friends that you had before you were diagnosed? And what about the hook? Do you struggle with anyone on ”the hook” in your life?
