Arthritis Insight Newsletter * Vol. 6 Issue 177 January 7, 2004

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Welcome to the 177th issue of the Arthritis Insight Newsletter. All back issues will be posted at community/newsletter
Feel free to pass this newsletter around to others who may be interested.

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The information in this newsletter should not take the place of advice and guidance from your own health-care providers. Material in this newsletter is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Be sure to check with your doctor before making any changes in your treatment plan. Information presented here is the opinion of the authors and has not necessarily been approved or endorsed by the medical advisors.

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Notes From Tina
(Tina@arthritisinsight.com)
Tina Underwood aka KrissyJo

Well, once again we've managed to lose all of our email while we were on vacation. I think it's becoming a habit! If you've sent anything the past month or so that did not receive a response or that you do not see posted on the site, please resend it. Thanks!

I decided to get that new year medical insurance deductable out of the way quickly! No wasting time for me, LOL. I am having a CT myleogram today. Not exactly a fun day, but ya gotta look at the bright side. They are using general anesthesia, so I get a couple hours of pain free, drug induced haze. I'll take pain free whenever and however I can. *grin*

Well, off to the hospital. Have a great week!

- Tina

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Ron's Ramblin's
(Ron@arthritisinsight.com)
Ron Griffin aka IndyRon

I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season. It hardly seems possible that it is already January (and 2004). For a change I did make a few Resolutions for this year. I have promised myself that for every two works of fiction that I read, that I will also read at least one nonfiction.

I have managed to stock up on several Biographies that should do just fine. Who knows, I may even learn a thing or two.

I did manage to see the final installment of the Lord of the Rings movies over the holidays. That, of course, sent me back to read (for the umteenth time) the Tolkein books, and I found that I still enjoy them as much as ever. I guess there are some things that you never outgrow or get tired of.

-Ron

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Your Weekly Giggle
NEVER SAY TO A COP

1. I can't reach my license unless you hold my beer. (OK in Texas)

2. Sorry, Officer, I didn't realize my radar detector wasn't plugged in.

3. Aren't you the guy from the Village People?

4. Hey, you must've been doin' about 125 mph to keep up with me. Good job!

5. Are You Andy or Barney?

6. I thought you had to be in relatively good physical condition to be a police officer.

7. You're not gonna check the trunk, are you?

8. I pay your salary!

9. Gee, Officer! That's terrific. The last officer only gave me a warning, too!

10. Do you know why you pulled me over? Okay, just so one of us does.

11. I was trying to keep up with traffic. Yes, I know there are no other cars around.. That's how far ahead of me they are.

12. When the Officer says "Gee Son....Your eyes look red, have you been drinking?" You probably shouldn't respond with,"Gee Officer your eyeslook glazed, have you been eating doughnuts?"

Check out all the jokes at:
fun/jokes
Send yours in today!

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Tina's Tips
Tina@arthritisinsight.com

Arthritis can affect your ability to do even the simplest of tasks. I've heard some people say, "Accept your limitations." I'm not sure accepting them is the way to go. I prefer to challenge those limitations, work around them, finding alternate ways of achieving the same goal. Every week I'll share some tips I've found to work around those annoying limitations and I hope all of you will send in your tips too. We may not be the next Martha Stewart, but sometimes the simplest things can help so much.

Our tips were lost with the rest of the e-mail. If you've got one, send it on it and we'll share it next week. :)

Check out more tips at living/tips.html and send in yours today to Tina@arthritisinsight.com Keep those tips coming!

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Whats New

Member Stories
Kathleen shares her OA story. Have you sent yours in?
community/stories

Tests & Labs
We've added a new one, Urinalysis.
medical/tests/ua.html

Main Page
Who is the new cover girl?
http://www.arthritisinsight.com

Newsletter
the December 17th Issue has is now posted for your reading pleasure. Hey! Better late than never ya know!
community/newsletter

Question of the Week
Resolutions, will you share yours?
community/question

PLEASE NOTE:
We can't seem to go on vacation without losing all of our email. Yup, it happened again. If you've sent anything in that past month or so that you did not receive a reply to or that you don't see posted on the site, please resend. Sorry!

Check out all the latest updates at
updates.html

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Cooking with Char
Char LeFleur
cookingwithchar@arthritisinsight.com

Hello friends! The holidays are behind us and winter has returned all over the country. What a whacky winter this has been. Spring cant be soon enough to suit me. Once the holidays have come and gone, as far as I am concerned, it is time for spring. lol

But we have to deal with the real world and that includes cold and snow for so many of us.

Weather like that, always makes me think of meals I can prepare in the oven. Here are some really quick and easy recipes, that I shamelessly stole from the folks at Campbells. Enjoy!

Quick Mushroom Chicken Bake

Ingredients:

4 boneless chicken breast halves
Lemon pepper seasoning
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 small can sliced mushrooms, drained
2/3 cup 1% milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, crushed
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Take chicken and if pieces are large, cut into halves or thirds. Sprinkle with lemon pepper seasoning. Heat a little oil in skillet. Add chicken and brown.

2. Place chicken in baking dish. Mix soup, sliced mushrooms, milk, cheese, garlic and a little salt and pepper to taste. Pour over chicken.

3. Bake in oven @350°F. for 30 to 40 min. Serve over rice, pasta or mashed potatoes.


Quick and Easy Stroganoff

Ingredients:

1 tbs.. Vegetable Oil
1 lb. boneless beef sirloin steak strips
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Cream of Mushroom OR 98% Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 can Condensed Beef Broth
1 cup water
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 cups uncooked corkscrew pasta
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:

HEAT oil in skillet. Add beef and cook until browned and juices evaporate, stirring often.

ADD soup, broth, water, Worcestershire and pasta. Heat to a boil. Cook over medium heat 15 min. or until done, stirring. Add sour cream. Heat through. Serves 4.


Oven Chicken and Rice

Ingredients:

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Cream of Mushroom OR 98% Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 cup water *
3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 boneless chicken breast halves

Directions:

MIX soup, water, rice, paprika and pepper in 2-qt. shallow baking dish. Top with chicken. Season with additional paprika and pepper. Cover.

BAKE at 375°F. for 45 min. or until done. Serves 4.

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, or you have recipes that you would like to share, please send them to CookingWithChar@arthritisinsight.com

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Arthritis Insight Chat
community/chat

Time to get the party started! Got some extra time? Can't sleep? Drop into the chatroom to talk to other members that know exactly what you're going through.

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From the FDA:
FDA Investigating Reports of Unlicensed Influenza Vaccine
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2003/ANS01275.html

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received reports of potential distribution of unlicensed influenza vaccine in the United States. The Agency is aggressively working with State health authorities and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to investigate the source and quality of influenza vaccine being made available through unusual suppliers.

Specifically, FDA has received reports of offers to sell unlicensed influenza vaccine in the U.S., and of individuals who are not licensed health care professionals administering questionable influenza vaccine in apparent efforts to take advantage of reports that influenza vaccine is in short supply. FDA is actively investigating these reports and taking prompt action, when appropriate. For example, FDA and the Florida Department of Health worked together to prevent unlicensed product from entering the country and being offered for sale.

FDA has licensed three influenza vaccines for use in the U.S.: Fluzone, manufactured by Aventis Pasteur, Inc., and Fluvirin, manufactured by Evans Vaccines (a subsidiary of Chiron Corporation), both of which are given as injections; and FluMist, manufactured by Medimmune, which is given as a nasal spray. These vaccines are available from licensed sources, such as doctors, pharmacies and health care clinics.

CDC continues to work closely with FDA to obtain additional quantities of licensed influenza vaccine. Consumers with questions about flu vaccination itself, including who should be vaccinated or where to receive the vaccine, should ask a doctor or pharmacist. In addition, information is available on the FDA website at http://www.fda.gov/cber/flu/flu.htm, or the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/.

To help assure that the influenza vaccine Americans receive is safe and effective, we recommend that health care providers purchase the vaccine from reliable sources. Careful discretion should be used in determining whether the vaccine is being sold by reputable distributors with proper evidence that the vaccine is licensed for sale in the United States. Likewise, it is also recommended that consumers obtain influenza vaccine from licensed health care providers only. Health care professionals and consumers should report any suspicious offers or practices to FDA or local health authorities.

FDA continues to monitor the situation and will provide updates as appropriate.

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Member Stories
Kathleen M.'s Story

Happy New Year! I have just finished reading the Topic of the Week: What are Flares? I've also reviewed the stories of the folks with OA, who, needless to say, have many other conditions as well. This site always provides me with an old fashioned reality check. I'm 52 years old and have OA in both hips and referred pain in both knees. My only complication is aspirin and NSAID allergy, so my medication options are limited. My orthopedic doc would LOVE to start replacing "those" hips. I have significant problems sleeping ( menopause and OA are an interesting combo...) I can no longer do the yard work and feel like the yard belongs to my yard service. I can't bear to walk around the yard and see what they have done. I can still cook and do house work--slowly. I found a research nurse position much closer to my home that isn't nearly as demanding as my previous job of 14 years. My current place of employment provides transportation around the campus!

I forgot my Tylenol last night and this morning I was incredibly stiff. I had to flag down a security guard to take me to the patient care area from my office, the vans weren't running due to the holiday. I could not keep up with the team I was supposed to be working with and felt like an idiot. ("I'll meet you upstairs--I have to take the elevator.") You can just tell people are thinking " why on earth did they hire this person?" Eighteen months ago, I would have been devastated. Developing a harder shell helps. Working makes me feel like myself and I plan to work as long as I can (you know your having a bad day, when you envy the patients with crutches!) I thought I'd had a bad day until I read the other stories! Focus on your strengths and face up to the fact that parts of your life will have to change.
Onward!


Check out all the stories and journals at:
community/stories

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Notes and Insights:

Birthday Board!
Happy Birthday to Debi Altomare aka debers!!!
Check out all the birthdays at
community/birthday
and make sure to send them an arthritis-friendly e-card:
cgi-bin/postcards/postcard.pl

Join the Arthritis Dieters!
This is a group of people with arthritis who want to lose weight with others who know of the challenges of living with is arthritis. All those medications that make living with arthritis tolerable, but pile on the pounds. This group has been set up to give us a protected group where we can talk to others who know what it is like.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arthritis-dieters/

Wanna help?
Having surgery? Starting a new drug or treatment? Filing for disability? Keep an Arthritis Insight journal so all of our members can share and learn from your experience. If you want to keep a journal just let us know.

Write an article!
We always need articles on all subjects relating to arthritis. C'mon folks, we can't do this without you.

Ken Akers Cheer Fund
Donations to the Ken Akers Cheer Fund will be used to send flowers and gifts to those community members who are hospitalized, flaring or just in need of some good cheer.
community/kenscheerfund

Thank You!
A great big thank you to NeedaBasket.com (http://needabasket.com). NeedaBasket is now Arthritis Insight's official gift basket company. They are giving us a great discount and are donating baskets for our Arthritis Warriors.

Special Offers for Arthritis Insight Members
Whenever possible we will try get to our sponsors to agree to discounts and the like for our members. Here are our current special offers:

Sore No More (http://sorenomore.com) gel will send a free sample of the pain relieving gel to any Arthritis Insight Community Member who emails them at dma@glogerm.com

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AI Help Desk
Linda Peck

Happy New Year to all . . . and here we go into a new year of computer help, tips and links to great sites on the internet. Don't forget to visit the computer help message board to ask questions - help someone else, or learn. I hope everyone's holidays were memorable and blessed.

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Q: What's the difference between Save and Save As?

A: When you use the Save command, you save your work under it's current file name. If you've never saved whatever it is you're working on before, then you'll get an opportunity to name it. When you use Save As, you get a chance to save what you're working on as a new file.

Here's an example. Let's say you're working on a word processing document. It's a new document and you decide to save it. A box comes up that lets you give it a name. Now, let's say you add something to it. If you use the Save command again, it simply saves it with no questions asked under the existing file name.

Now let's say you make a modification to the file, but you want to keep the original version as well. This is where you use Save As. When you use the Save As command, it allows you to save your current file as a new file with a new name. Now when you go to open your files, you'll find you have both the original version and the new, Saved As version.

Tip of the Week - Shut Off Script Debugging

Before I learned how to shut off this "/feature", I too would be surfing along when suddenly an error message would pop up on a website asking me if I want to debug script errors. Even if I did know how to fix the script error, all I could do is email the webmaster and hope that the next time I went they would have it fixed.

The Microsoft Script Debugger lets you test scripts developed using an ActiveX script engine, plus you can debug scripts developed with VBScript and JScript, as well as ActiveX components and Java applets. It lets you view and modify program source code, variables, and values, or control the flow and pace of how the script works. Huh? What does that mean to you? Well, unless you are a programmer with nothing to do but fix script errors on someone else's web page, then you probably want to shut this off. It's really easy to do...

Open Internet Explorer and click Tools / Internet Options, then click the "Advanced" tab. Under "Browsing", place a check next to "Disable script debugging". Click OK. Now you can visit pages with poorly written scripts and your browser will load them to the best of its ability without asking you to fix the problem. You probably won't even notice an error anyway. Here's to smooth surfing!

This week's Clicks

This site offers over 10,000 free TrueType fonts, sorted alphabetically, and is refreshingly free of the popup ads that plague many font sites. Fontsville.com offers a "custom preview" option that helps you determine which fonts suit your needs.

Have the holidays zapped your energy?

Feel renewed and revitalized in 2004

Printable lists

This year, get monthly newsletters from The Old Farmer's Almanac - you can even personalize a home page for yourself.

Until Next Week,

"We can draw lessons from the past, but we cannot live in it." -- Lyndon B. Johnson (1908 - 1973).

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Weekly News Summary
Karen Sears
kaekae@arthritisinsight.com

PAIN RELATED TO OSTEOARTHRITIS PLAYS IMPORTANT ROLE IN BOTH FUNCTIONAL STATUS AND WELL-BEING
Research data show a direct link between osteoarthritis (OA)-related pain and both psychological and physical well-being, and show a role for functional status in mediating this linkage.
Doctors Guide, Jan 6 (free registration required)

WOMEN WITH SJOGREN'S SYNDROME APPEAR TO BE ANDROGEN DEFICIENT
Women with Sjogren's syndrome (SS) may be androgen-deficient, suggests study findings.
Doctors Guide, Jan 6 (free registration required)

AGE, FEMALE GENDER MIGHT BE IMPLICATED IN AETIOLOGY OF HAND OSTEOARTHRITIS IN PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED LOWER LIMB OSTEOARTHRITIS
In patients with advanced hip or knee osteoarthritis (OA), age might play a role in the aetiology of OA of the first carpometacarpal joints (CMC-1) and the interphalangeal joints (IP), and female gender might play a role in the aetiology of IP.
Doctors Guide, Jan 6 (free registration required)

THERAPY MAY NOT HELP EARLY RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
Occupational therapy has been shown to help people who have had rheumatoid arthritis for several years or longer, but the results of a new study suggest that people in the early stages of the disease do not achieve any functional benefits.
Yahoo News, Jan 5

ISIS SAYS ARTHRITIS DRUG REDUCED SYMPTOMS IN TRIAL
Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. said on Monday its experimental drug significantly reduced symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis in a mid-stage clinical trial.
Medscape, Jan 5 (free registration required)

VIRUS SEEN IN MUSCLE FROM CHRONIC FATIGUE PATIENTS
A persistent enterovirus infection in muscles may be to blame for some cases of chronic fatigue syndrome (sometimes called fibromyalgia) and others with chronic inflammatory muscle disease, a French team reports.
Yahoo News, Jan 2

GOOD MENTAL HEALTH MAY HELP EASE CHRONIC FATIGUE
People who have good mental health and refrain from using sedatives tend to fare better with chronic fatigue syndrome than others, new research shows.
Yahoo News, Jan 2

ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION APPARENT IN PATIENTS WITH MILD RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
Young to middle-aged patients with low rheumatoid arthritis (RA) activity show evidence of endothelial dysfunction, the earliest stage of atherosclerosis, Italian researchers report. Lower brachial flow mediated vasodilation was independently predicted by LDL cholesterol, brachial artery diameter and average CRP levels multiplied by the disease duration.
Medscape, Jan 2 (free registration required)

CYTOKINE ANALYSIS NO AID IN MONITORING RESPONSE TO INFLIXIMAB FOR SPONDYLITIS
Sequential cytokine analysis does not shed any light on clinical response to infliximab treatment of ankylosing spondylitis, Canadian researchers report in the January issue of the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases. Certain baseline parameters appear to be more informative.
Medscape, Jan 1 (free registration required)

MERCK SUBMITS NEW COX-2 INHIBITOR TO FDA FOR APPROVAL
Merck & Co. Inc. on Tuesday said it submitted its new COX-2 inhibitor Arcoxia to the Food and Drug Administration to review for U.S. marketing approval.
Medscape, Dec 31 (free registration required)

KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS MOST USEFUL SITE TO DISCRIMINATE GENERALISED OSTEOARTHRITIS
In patients with generalised osteoarthritis (GOA), detection of knee osteoarthritis is the most useful site to discriminate GOA, followed by the spine and hand, based on biochemical markers for arthritis, reports a study from Japan.
Doctors Guide, Dec 31 (free registration required)

ETANERCEPT MAY HAVE CAUSED APLASTIC AANEMIA IN A PATIENT TREATED FOR ARTHRITIS
A case report of a patient describes the development of aplastic anaemia complicated by sepsis after the patient received etanercept, and this may be the first report of aplastic anaemia associated with tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) blockade.
Doctors Guide, Dec 31 (free registration required)

LOW-DOSE INTRAVENOUS CYCLOPHOSPHAMIDE APPEARS SAFE FOR TREATING SYSTEMIC SCLEROSIS
Short-term low-dose intravenous cyclophosphamide appears to be relatively safe for the treatment of systemic sclerosis, according to a new small study.
Doctors Guide, Dec 31 (free registration required)

More health news can be found on our site:
news/

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Contribute

Have you written something you think our subscribers would like to read? Send it to Tina@arthritisinsight.com and maybe we'll use it in our newsletter.

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A Closing Thought
A Parable . . .

Two cars were waiting at a stoplight. The light turned green, but the man didn't notice it. A woman in the car behind him is watching traffic pass around them. The woman begins pounding on her steering wheel and yelling at the man to move. The man doesn't move. The woman is going ballistic inside her car, ranting and raving at the man, pounding on her steering wheel and dash.

The light turns yellow and the woman begins to blow the car horn and screams profanity and curses at the man. The man, looks up, sees the yellow light and accelerates through the intersection just as the light turns red. The woman is beside herself, screaming in frustration as she misses her chance to get through the intersection.

As she is still in mid-rant she hears a tap on her window and looks up into the barrel of a gun held by a very serious looking policeman. The policeman tells! her to shut off her car while keeping both hands in sight. She complies, speechless at what is happening. After she shuts off the engine, the policeman orders her to exit her car with her hands up. She gets out of the car and he orders her to turn and place her hands on her car. She turns, places her hands on the car roof and quickly is cuffed and hustled into the patrol car. She is too bewildered by the chain of events to ask any questions and is driven to the police station where she is fingerprinted, photographed, searched, booked and placed in a cell.

After a couple of hours, a policeman approaches the cell and opens the door for her. She is escorted back to the booking desk where the original officer is waiting with her personal effects. He hands her the bag containing her things, and says, "I'm really sorry for this mistake. But you see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn and cussing a blue streak at him. Then I noticed the: "Choose Life" license plate holder, the "What Would Jesus Do" bumper sticker, the "Follow Me to Sunday School" bumper sticker, and the chrome plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk.

So, naturally . . . I assumed you had stolen the car."

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Arthritis Insight Newsletter Copyright 2004