Life, Interrupted

Spread the word! No one who needs these wants to be surprised by a mix-up!

WebMD News Alert:

Drug manufacturer Pfizer has voluntarily recalled a million packets of Lo/Ovral-28 and generic norgestrel/ethinyl estradiol birth control pills because of a packaging mix-up. The pills, which may be out of order, could lead to unintentional pregnancy.

Although the pills are made and packaged by Pfizer, they are sold by Akrimax Rx Products and carry the Akrimax name on their labels.

Lot numbers and more details at http://www.webmd.com/sex/birth-control/news/20120201/1-million-birth-control-pill-packs-recalled?ecd=wnl_nal_wmh_020112

Not only HUGE for Lyme disease study, but also for diseases near and dear to some of you --

Bacterial antibiotic resistance genes discovered

From the Johns-Hopkins Newsletter -- By Aleena Lakhanpal
Issue date: 11/5/09

A snip:

These L-forms of various bacteria may be the underlying reason for chronic resistant and recurring diseases, such as sarcoidosis, various forms of inflammatory bowel diseases and rheumatoid arthritis.

http://tinyurl.com/yzv6kdr

Interesting -- especially because I have taken three of these, and I'm still taking one. I wonder if I could get acupuncture to work for the bad arthritis I have? I tried getting off Vioxx, and the Celebrex once each -- my hands were pretty much frozen up and unable to do anything by the tenth day. And I was still an LMT working at that point.

Of course the insurance company will pay 80% after the deductible on Celebrex. I doubt they'd pay for acupuncture. I could trade once a week for a month's Celebrex...or twice a week at the student clinic. Seriously thinking about it....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24777955/

Does anyone else ever agonize about hotel reservations? I hate to do this, and now I have to go every six months to San Francisco, and make sure that come H#$% or high water, I make the appointment. But San Francisco is expensive like you would not believe. I've gone twice, and for some reason the price of rooms is up -- Hilton has doubled for the O'Farrell location. It's enough to tempt me to go only two days -- but I can't get a Saturday overnight if I short myself, thus effecting the package price.

I've checked Priceline and Cheap Tickets -- Both hotels I'm considering have a couple of "Hotel from H#$%" experiences, despite being 4 star. I did Hilton before, but even as a package it's $800 a person this time. So, Hyatt and the former Marriott (Parc 55) are getting the hard eyeball. Doctor is on Sutter.

Actually stayed two days in South San Francisco last time, at a great Hilton Garden Inn, then dumped the car and spent one night downtown -- double the price, of course. Even the Garden in is up 50%. Is there something big in San Francisco the weekend of the 18th of October?

Study Finds That Drinking Cola May Harm Bones

According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, roughly 55% of Americans,
mostly women, are at risk of developing osteoporosis, a disease which leaves
bones weak and more likely to fracture. Complications from hip fractures are a
common cause of disability and even death in women as they age. Now, a
recent study reported in the October 2006 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
has found that drinking regular, diet, and decaffeinated cola drinks - such as
Pepsi-Cola or Coca-Cola - on a regular basis may contribute to lower bone
density and put women at increased risk for osteoporosis.

Researchers at the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts
University analyzed data from 2,500 men and women who were part of the
Framingham Osteoporosis Study. The average age of those studied was just
under 60. In women, cola consumption was associated with lower bone mineral
density at three different areas of the hip, regardless of factors such as age,
menopausal status, total calcium and vitamin D intake, or use of cigarettes or
alcohol. However, cola consumption was not associated with lower bone mineral
density for men at the hip sites, or the spine for either men or women. The results
were similar for diet cola and, although weaker, for decaffeinated cola as well.

"The more cola that women drank, the lower their bone mineral density was,"
said Katherine Tucker, PhD. study author and director of the Epidemiology and
Dietary Assessment Program at Tufts University, in a press release. "However,
we did not see an association with bone mineral density loss for women who
drank carbonated beverages that were not cola." Some research suggests that
the phosphoric acid contained in colas may block calcium absorption. Another
contributing factor may be that drinking colas is replacing low fat milk and other
healthier beverages.

"There is no concrete evidence that an occasional cola will harm the bones,"
says Tucker. "However, women concerned about osteoporosis may want to steer
away from frequent consumption of cola until further studies are conducted."

My only excuse is holiday madness, plus I will now freely admit I did too much during WFC. I had no business trying to have a party -- because I think the people who came enjoyed themselves, but I couldn't enjoy it. I didn't know the banquet was Saturday night, or I would have had a much smaller affair -- gotta have two nights for editors and agents to do their thing with clients. (I don't currently have an editor, and my agent never comes to these things. So I don't do that sort of thing.) and I never do banquet because I can't eat most of that they offer. So --

Party went well, enjoyed meeting people, and IncanDragon and BevHale were excellent hostesses, too, and I thank them for their care of my friends and acquaintances.

Got to talk with Ginjer Buchanan during the convention, and she's interested in seeing anything I have to show her. I have passed this on, and I hope that my agent has sent the new outline and chapter of the new Allie novel (SPIRIT TRACKS) to her. Ginjer did ask if I had the rights back to the other two, and I am pleased to say we did that.

I had a reading (there are advantages to knowing the concom) and to my amazement the room was nearly full. I stopped counting at 30 and tried to read well. It was the first chapter of SPIRIT TRACKS. Then I promptly panicked and fled, since I wasn't doing well and didn't want people to see the stress aphasia. But Inky tells me the reading was a good one. Maybe there are people who want to see another book.

Last week I broke down and bought a membership to WFC 2007. I don't know if I will go, but I hope to have a sale by then, and be back in The Game.

( Personal stuff behind the cut )

I actually started a new story -- it's coming out tiny pieces at a time. We'll see where it wants to go. I'm still in the darker parts of the story, in my head, and it swirls. I wanted to write something with humor in it. Just calling it the Curse Book for now.

And that's what has been happening...

Has anyone used an on-line American pharmacy to ship perishable drugs? I cannot get my meds in Austin -- probably not in Texas, I've tried College Station, where I'll be this weekend, but Walgreens has none there, either. I've waited five weeks, and learned that I must say screw the cash flow, I must buy the stuff where/when I can find it. I have a script for this, I just cannot find it. Apparently %$@#%&^ Monarch is not producing enough of this drug.

I've found a place to investigate, but I know nothing about them, and I hate to spend over $400 at a site I know nothing about . . ..

On another note, it's POURING. We may catch up to normal rainfall.

First my antibiotic is in short supply, so they change my drug. Now they want my painkiller. IIIIIIIEEEEEE! Cthulhu comes!

Group Seeks Federal Ban on Darvocet

Darvon, Darvocet and related painkillers should be phased out and eventually banned, a watchdog group said Tuesday in a government petition that cited the accidental deaths of at least 2,110 people between 1981 and 1999.

http://my.ev1.net/english/news/newsarticle.asp?articleID=50175786&subject=health