Latest from EmpowHer.com

What do You Think About the Birth Control Patch (Ortho-Evra) Debate?

alison b — Sun, 11 May 2008 20:49:35 -0600

There has been recent attention related to the birth control Ortho-Evra, known as "the patch", and some of the potential risks associated with using it.

Hormonal contraceptives, such as "the pill", "the patch", "the ring", include hormones such as estrogen, which in large doses, may have side effects including blood clots (which is why women are urged not to smoke when on hormonal contraception, as this risk increases even more). Blood clots are rare, but serious and can lead to stroke, and increased doses of estrogen are linked to increased chances of blood clots.

Why daily meditation is vital for women's health

wendy — Sun, 11 May 2008 17:36:56 -0600

To The Women of EmpowHer,

How often do you feel life has a chaotic grip on you?

When we are stressed, many of us women forget the most important person we have to care for is ourselves first and from this surplus of energy we can effortlessly give to others. If we are skimping on our daily meditation practice, we may enter our day in a blurry fog unaware of our interactions and projections towards people we are encountering.

Some people just don't get understand breast cancer

Haralee — Sun, 11 May 2008 15:47:19 -0600

I have to admit first off that I am not a big fan of NewsWeek. That being said, I read this story on the internet, not in the magazine. The story title, ‘The Deepest Cut’, by Jennie Yabroff. “The author off a new memoir talks about her decision to have her breast removed to lower her cancer risk and her desire to be a mother” http://www.newsweek.com/id/131985

The author is Jessica Quellers and her book is “Pretty is what changes”.
I was touched by the honesty in Jessica’s answers to the question posed by the interviewer, Jennie.

Aimee needs our help -- please reach out to her!

Healthy Women — Sat, 10 May 2008 16:01:37 -0600

This mom is in the throes of postpartum depression and could use a big hug from our community. Let's all visit her blog, read her story and leave her a comment to show support.

http://hopefeelsgood.blogspot.com/2008/0...

CHILDHOOD SCHIZOPHRENIA

amiep — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:41:25 -0600

CHILDHOOD SCHIZOPHRENIA
By: Amie Peters

Don't take my grandparents healthcare!

amiep — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:29:15 -0600

Congress made a solemn promise to America's seniors to supply more affordable medical care, but now they're limiting seniors' access to doctors, making it harder for them to get the care they need. Tell Congress to protect seniors' access to doctors.

With over 3.2 million baby boomer's becoming eligible for Medicare in three short years, and a government-predicted shortage of 85,000 doctors by 2020, doctor payment cuts will create an access-to-care crisis for America's seniors.

Would you want to remember every second of you life as if it had just happened?

Annefleur — Sat, 10 May 2008 12:55:44 -0600

This story fascinates me. Jill Price remembers every single second of her life as if it just happened. Every show she has seen on television, every word she has said, every action she has ever taken.

And the emotion attached is as if the actions have just happened. Time can heal none of her wounds because memories never fade and the hurt of any situation never subsides.

Fading memories are not always a bad thing. Fading memories allow us to heal after a death and move on with life. Fading memories, once so vivid, take the sting of our pain away.

'I've fallen asleep and I can't get up!'

EmpowHer — Sat, 10 May 2008 09:03:14 -0600

By Diane Mapes
MSNBC

You’re lying in bed, just starting to wake up, when you realize you can’t move. Your chest is heavy — like somebody’s sitting on it — and you’re overwhelmed with a feeling of dread.

Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye, you see something move. It’s a spider. No, two spiders. No three, four, a dozen or more. They’re big as walnuts and slowly crawling up the bed posts of your bed and onto the blankets, scuttling ever closer towards your paralyzed body.

Sound like a cross between “Fear Factor” and "The Twilight Zone?"

Protective Eyewear Key to Sports Safety -- Kids and Pros Need to Play Smart to Avoid Devastating Vision Injuries

EmpowHer — Sat, 10 May 2008 08:56:16 -0600

SATURDAY, May 10 (HealthDay News) -- Every year in the United States, about 40,000 people suffer sports-related eye injuries, says the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), which recommends that all athletes wear appropriate, sports-specific eye protection properly fitted by an eye-care professional.

Lenses made from polycarbonate materials offer the highest level of impact protection. These lenses can withstand the force of a ball or other projectile traveling at 90 miles per hour, according to the AAO.

More Reasons for Women to Connect: Socially Isolated Women have Increased Stroke Risk

susanc — Sat, 10 May 2008 06:36:29 -0600

How closely the body and mind are connected!

Doctors still don't know exactly why more socially isolated women suffer strokes but they do.

A study was conducted by the VA San Diego Healthcare System in California that analyzed women, their health and their relationships with the outside world.

Mood Disorders Put Breast Cancer Patients at Risk for PTSD

hernews — Fri, 09 May 2008 23:08:47 -0600

FRIDAY, May 9 (HealthDay News) -- Breast cancer patients are more than twice as likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder if they have had previous mood and anxiety disorders, new research suggests.

About 16 percent of the 74 breast cancer patients studied by researchers at the Ohio State University Medical experienced PTSD 18 months after their cancer diagnosis. These same patients were three times more likely to have had anxiety disorders.

Gold medal moms

samiam — Fri, 09 May 2008 19:00:56 -0600

08-08-08 is the magic date: when the Beijing Summer Olympics begins. There will be some gold medal moms headed that way, moms who have proven that they can have their families and still compete as elite athletes. They were probably watching Joan Benoit Samuelson, who just ran her last Boston Marathon and Olympic trials - at the age of 50! These Olympians, these moms, are incredible, and they're still pursuing their dreams with kids in tow.

HEAR THIS: Susan Dowd Stone Explains Men Also Suffer From Postpartum Depression

hernews — Fri, 09 May 2008 18:35:38 -0600

Susan Dowd Stone, MSW, LCSW, President of Postpartum Support International joined us on EmpowHer and to talk about a CBS News story that explained how men are experiencing PPD / Postpartum Depression.

HEAR THIS: Susan Dowd Stone Explains The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act That's Working It's Way Through Congress

hernews — Fri, 09 May 2008 18:15:04 -0600

Susan Dowd Stone, MSW, LCSW, President of Postpartum Support International joined EmpowHer to explain the Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act that's working it's way through the United States Congress. After hearing this interview, please click on the link below and sign the petition.

Breast Cancer Update: Vicki Totsis

tovith — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:11:27 -0600

10th May 2008

Hello everyone and thank you for all your lovely supportive replies to my introduction to Breast Cancer.

Yippeee!!! I have no further metastasies!!!

Dr. Elizabeth Vliet Featured on Blog Talk Radio!

magicpanic — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:14:32 -0600

Elizabeth Lee Vliet, MD, is the founder and Medical Director of HER Place®: Health Enhancement and Renewal for Women, Inc.®, whose programs examine and evaluate the hormone changes that affect women physically, emotionally, and socially.

The Ketogenic Diet for Epilepsy

GauguinFan — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:16:12 -0600

I thought I'd share some news coming about about treating children with epilepsy. It is based on a diet called the ketogenic diet and is based on a high fat, low carb way of eating.

At first I was thinking Atkins? South Beach? But this has nothing to do with 'diet' in terms of weight loss.

This is a doctor prescribed diet that has been seen to reduce seizures in children.

Sugar is banned completely from this diet (completely! not even regular cough syrup is allowed!) and portion are kept small to decrease the chance of weight gain (since the diet is high in fat).

What do you do when your family is different than everyone elses?

susanc — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:23:33 -0600

There is some irony in that question. What is a normal family, anyway?

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Michelle — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:15:36 -0600

I want to wish my Mom a Happy Mother's Day.

My Mom has always been there for me. She has told me from the time I was a little girl that I could do or be anything I want to be.

So, because of my Mom, here I am today with a web-based company with a motto of "strong women transforming health." That's my Mom. She's one strong woman.

Mom has always been so supportive. She's sitting here working in the office today. She donates her time to EmpowHer. She believes in what we're doing because she lives it every day. She's helping me make my dream become a reality.

Would You Trade Coffee for Cocoa?

Tina T — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:41:02 -0600

According to one study, you can apparently stave off wrinkles by drinking cocoa. It's some of the best news I’ve heard in a long time and it comes to us straight from the Journal of Nutrition. Apparently, consuming cocoa, which contains something called flavanols, improves skin texture, mainly, its density, thickness, roughness, and scaling. According to the JON article, skin’s hydration was also improved and skin water loss is decreased.

The study shows that regular consumption of a beverage rich in flavanols can help maintain skin health by improving skin structure and function.