Author: Annie

My nursing career ended when I was diagnosed with lupus. Armed with a few almanacs and a thesaurus, I stuffed myself at the banquet table; began another career as a freelance writer, and advocate for people with chronic illnesses. This blog showcases my healthcare knowledge and combines it with my writing background. anowlin@mac.com
ALL POSTS, HEART, Immune, LUNGS, Posts, POTPURRI, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Pericarditis?

Annie

This morning the doctor said your husband has pericarditis, but he didn’t explain more.  Briefly, ‘peri’ refers to surrounding, ‘cardio’ refers to the heart, ‘itis’ suggests inflammation. Put together: ‘something that surrounds the heart is inflamed. In pericarditis, it is the fluid-filled sac, the pericardium that is inflamed and irritated sac; this is called pericarditis Of the numerous conditions that cause this, I’ll name four. heart attack, heart surgery, infection, other inflammatory conditions, such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.  When the layers of the pericardial.sac rub together they cause a lot of pain. This pain can be so great that … Continue reading Pericarditis?

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The A, B, Cs of vaccination.

Annie

For a year, we masked, social distanced, washed down surfaces, barely lived, and stayed home all the time. Sometimes we learned things about each other that bored us to tears! Some even said we might need to mask-FOR LIFE! Occasionally, we learned that a bit of witchcraft could cure COVID-19: take this root and that potion, and the virus will go away on its own if you stand on your head and cough. More than 200,000 American deaths and well over a million worldwide deaths later, and the virus showed no signs of ‘going away on its own.’ Businesses were … Continue reading The A, B, Cs of vaccination.

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Amino Acid derivative promises to be the fountain of Youth?

Annie

Over years, our cells sustain damage from ‘free radicals’ which build up from toxic waste in our bodies. It is the job of anti-oxidants to prevent this. Blueberries have a healthy dose of anti-oxidants and contribute to slowing this process, but their help is limited. Free-radicals can cause a myriad of health problems; from daytime sleepiness to heart disease, sleep disorders and strokes.To name but a few. The most potent antioxidant known is L-ergothioneine. Recently scientists, researchers and doctors studied and tested a derivative of L-ergothioneine called MitoPrime R.. This very powerful anti-oxidaznt was developed ten years ago and has been researched by hundreds of specialists. The substance has … Continue reading Amino Acid derivative promises to be the fountain of Youth?

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Autoimmunity, meet COVID!

Annie

Who knows? Who knows what the long-term effects of having recovered from COVID infections are? One symptom of COVID is the effect it has on our lungs and in some cases, people need be hospitalized and in severe cases be placed on a ventilator. What’s a ventilator? It’s a machine that can breathe for you so your lungs can rest and heal from COVID-19. The people who are at most risk for this complication of COVID-19 are those over 65, have pre-existing health conditions, have autoimmune diseases and the infirm. Many look askance at someone who mentions a product on … Continue reading Autoimmunity, meet COVID!

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Autoimmunity and insurance

Annie

Today, approximately 6 millions of people with TRICARE East Insurance will have insurance coverage for AVISE testing. What? Yes, members of TRICARE East will have access to all of the laboratory testing if their physicians want them to have blood tests to determine the presence or absence of lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. They have also become known for the development of bloodwork to rule “in” a diagnosis of Fibroymalgia. What does this mean? The sooner you have a diagnosis for those strange symptoms of, Sjogren’s Syndrome, Multiple sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis or ulcerative colitis, the sooner effective, life-altering … Continue reading Autoimmunity and insurance