How do you describe your pain? Numbers on Pain Scale, Adjectives, Silly Weird Pain Faces.

How do you describe your pain? Numbers on Pain Scale, Adjectives, Silly Weird Pain Faces.

I hear it all the time from doctors and nurses: "Tell me your pain on a scale from 1 to 10". I always cringe at the thought of summarizing my pain and fatigue down to a number. I also get scared at the thought that I have never felt below a 4 or 5. How can every patient from a broken leg, to a chemo

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No Rhyme or Reason. I have done all I can do.

No Rhyme or Reason. I have done all I can do.

What to do when you have done everything, and still feel like crap. There are days when I feel really crappy. Maybe I didn’t take my meds on time or I overdid the day before. What I really hate is when I seem to have done everything right and I still feel so wrong. The other day the weather was

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The Death of a Dancer - Who am I?

The Death of a Dancer – Who am I?

I was born a dancer. Well, I guess I was born a little girl who liked to move then I became a dancer. As a baby, music soothed me and I loved to wiggle and move. My mother remembers me spinning and twirling around the house to any music that was playing on the radio. When I didn’t have music, I wo

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Doctor Dating 101: How to Find Dr. Right

Doctor Dating 101: How to Find Dr. Right

Breaking up, meeting someone new, hoping for the perfect match.  Sound familiar?  It should.  Welcome to the frustrating and sometimes catastrophic world of doctor dating. Everyone remembers their first time…the anticipation, the nerves the hope that “he” would be the one.  As the day fina

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Can you understand your doctor's handwriting? I can't! Tips to read your prescriptions

Can you understand your doctor’s handwriting? I can’t! Tips to read your prescriptions

The Latin and English abbreviations on prescription slips are “shorthand” directions for how and when a medication is to be used, and other special directions for use (for example, at bedtime, the number of times a day, orally or topically, and so on) that are put on the container’s label prep

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Survival Guidelines For Taking Your Kids To Your Doctor Appointments

Survival Guidelines For Taking Your Kids To Your Doctor Appointments

If you’re a spoonie you know that our lives are often times filled with more doctors’ appointments than we’d like. If you’re a mother you know that dragging kids to those war zones appointments can be more daunting than hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and equally as challenging as

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“Professional Patient Tip” Get Organized! Your Personal Health Record

It is important for every patient to take an active role in their own healthcare. A personal health record is designed to grow as your needs grow or your health changes, and should be updated as often as needed. It is important to record how your health changes and mark your progress. Take the firs

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“Proffesional Patient Tip” Preparing for a Doctor’s Visit

Seeing the doctor is rarely what I would call fun. You are usually there because you don't feel well and you usually fall into the following categories: Having a diasnosis you thought you had walking into a door- and possibly seeing a new doctor for a 2nd opinion, or a treatment/ investigation of s

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Patient Safety Awareness Week: March 7-13, 2010

Patient Safety Awareness Week: March 7-13, 2010

PULSE of NY Kicks off Patient Safety Awareness Week Medical errors claim more lives each year in America than breast cancer, AIDS and car accidents - combined. PULSE of NY has been working to reduce medical errors by helping patients and healthcare providers communicate more clearly. Each

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Who's Who in the Hospital?

Who’s Who in the Hospital?

With so many different medical specialties it’s easy to feel confused by the number of people who come into your hospital room to check on you. Sometimes your doctor may show up along with a whole bunch of medical students. Other times you may not recognize the person leaning over your hospital be

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