Category Archives: Uncategorized

Get a flu shot now! From OnTrack Diabetes.

When freelance writer Ginger Vieira came down with the flu 5 years ago, she followed sick day rules and managed to stay on top of her blood sugars—and out of the hospital. “I did have moderate and large ketone measurements the first few days.”

After speaking with her certified diabetes educator (CDE), Vieira increased her basal insulin dose by 20%, even though she had no appetite and wasn’t eating much. “This kept my blood sugar in range and my ketones at a minimum. Without this increase, my blood sugars were sitting well above 200 mg/dL.”

From inflatable neck traction devices to inversion tables, all the gadgets you’ve been tempted to try. From Practical Pain Management.

Warning: “Over-the-door traction devices use the patient’s own body weight and gravity to distract the cervical [upper] spine, but they go around the jaw and have been known to create TMJ [temporomandibular joint, or jaw area] problems.”

OK, never mind.

NYC City Council candidates discussed the MTA and overcrowded schools–and declared themselves outsiders. From City Limits.

“I’m an outsider,” Carroll says. “I’m the one candidate that ran in an election and won.” (Tong ran unopposed). “I listen to my constituents. My independence is also key.” His history of bipartisanship exemplifies “southern Brooklyn values. We’re proud of the fact that we work with Republicans.”

“I am the only candidate outside the establishment,” El-Yateem says. “I have never been an elected official, and never been on an elected politician’s payroll.”

“I’m an outsider with the benefit of an insider’s knowledge,” says Brannan.

I’m sensing a pattern here.

Wearable tech tackles your aching back. From SpineUniverse.

“We can engage [turn on] the smart undergarment by either tapping on a certain part of the garment, a smartphone, or even by using our own muscle activity via electrode sensors in an armband. Once the task is complete, you can just tap it again to disengage [turn it off], and you are back to normal clothing.”

Well, cool.

With these new guidelines, chronic pain patients may have a tough time finding relief. From Practical Pain Management.

Attempts to curb opioid prescribing often “inconvenience patients and doctors, increase copays, and perhaps even increase [patients’] desire to look for drugs from other sources, such as spouses, friends, or on the street,” Jeffrey Fudin, PharmD, DAIPM, FCCP, FASHP.

A City Council race gets heated. From City Limits.

Increased enthusiasm may spell trouble for the incumbent, Dr. Mathieu Eugene, who won his seat in a 2007 special election and is seeking a third full term. While Eugene won the primary handily in 2009, by 2013, his share of the vote had dwindled. “I think it’s there’s a lot of dissatisfaction with constituent services,” Solotaire says.

My profiles of library science’s movers and shakers. From Library Journal.

“Trent inspires others to think outside the box and develop partnership-based programming with a hands-on, creative focus,” Mickells says.

Rebekah Willett works to narrow the gulf between the often enclosed academic arena and the outside world.

“Adam Rogers is always working with an eye toward democratizing access to the latest technologies for our users,” says David Goldsmith, associate director for materials management at North Carolina State University (NCSU) Libraries.

Harvard Medical School and Joslin Center diabetes expert George L. King, MD discusses what he’s learned from his patients. From QualityHealth.

“It’s useless to say ‘Eat well and lose weight,’ without telling patients how to do this.”