Arthritis Insight Newsletter * Vol. 5 Issue 172 November 12, 2003

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Welcome to the 172nd issue of the Arthritis Insight Newsletter. All back issues will be posted at community/newsletter
Feel free to pass this newsletter around to others who may be interested.

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The information in this newsletter should not take the place of advice and guidance from your own health-care providers. Material in this newsletter is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Be sure to check with your doctor before making any changes in your treatment plan. Information presented here is the opinion of the authors and has not necessarily been approved or endorsed by the medical advisors.

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Notes From Tina
(Tina@arthritisinsight.com)
Tina Underwood aka KrissyJo

The mail monster did it again! The ol' meanie ate our mail. If you sent us email over the weekend, you might want to resend it!

Tina's dealing with family issues this week. If everyone could send good thoughts for her daughter and nephew to get better it would be appreciated.

Not much going on this week. Started work on the website for the next Gimpfest. We're going to Boston in the spring. If you've never been to a Gimpfest you've gotta try it. Once you do you'll want to go to all of them. Should have more information for everybody next week.

-Kimmy

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Ron's Ramblin's
(Ron@arthritisinsight.com)
Ron Griffin aka IndyRon

Well, it is November and this is Indiana. I am not sure why, but with November come the gray skies which seem to last from now until May. While this is not always the best weather for my mood, I have discovered a sure fire way to lift my spirits. There is nothing like a nice cozy fire and a good book to lift me from the doldrums. I guess a bit of escapism is good for all of us when the old depression bug hits.

It has come to my attention that there has been quite a bit of dissention and disagreement concerning various ideas and statements posted on the AI message boards. I would point out that while we may not all agree with what is said on the boards that they would be a pretty dull place if there were nothing but agreement. It is important though, to keep in mind that there are ways to disagree that do not involve personal attacks. I would hope that we can all adopt a standard of TOLERANCE that will allow for the healthy discussion of ideas which might disagree with ours. If we can all view the boards as a place where we can all float ideas and explore even unpopular topics while remaining supportive of each other and of our rights to challenge even established ideas, then we will all benefit.

Remember, just because I may disagree with you, it doesnt mean that I am attacking you or belittling your thoughts. Diversity in ideas has always been a mainstay of these boards and should continue to be. Lets not let a bit of divergent thought break apart what we have all worked so hard to build.

~Ron

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Your Weekly Giggle
Headstones

Harry Edsel Smith of Albany, New York:
Born 1903-Died 1942
Looked up the elevator shaft to see if the car was on the way down.
It was.

In a Thurmont, Maryland, cemetery:
Here lies an Atheist
All dressed up
And no place to go.

In a London, England cemetery:
Here lies Ann Mann,
Who lived an old maid
But died an old Mann.

In a Ribbesford, England, cemetery:
Anna Wallace:
The children of Israel wanted bread,
And the Lord sent them manna.
Old clerk Wallace wanted a wife,
And the Devil sent him Anna.

In a Ruidoso, New Mexico, cemetery:
Here lies Johnny Yeast.
Pardon me For not rising.

In a Uniontown, Pennsylvania, cemetery:
Here lies the body of Jonathan Blake.
Stepped on the gas
Instead of the brake.

In a Silver City, Nevada, cemetery:
Here lays The Kid.
We planted him raw.
He was quick on the trigger
But slow on the draw.

A lawyer's epitaph in England:
Sir John Strange.
Here lies an honest lawyer,
And that is Strange.

John Penny's epitaph in the Wimborne, England, cemetery:
Reader, if cash thou art
In want of any,
Dig 6 feet deep;
And thou wilt find a Penny.

In a cemetery in Hartscombe, England:
On the 22nd of June,
Jonathan Fiddle Went out of tune.

On a grave from the 1880s in Nantucket, Massachusetts:
Under the sod and under the trees,
Lies the body of Jonathan Pease.
He is not here, there's only the pod.
Pease shelled out and went to God.

In a cemetery in England:
Remember man, as you walk by,
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, you soon will be.
Prepare yourself and follow me.

To which someone replied by writing on the tombstone:
To follow you I'll not consent
Until I know which way you went

Last add, from Boot Hill, in Tombstone, Arizona:
Here lies Lester Moore
One slug from a 44
No Les
No More

Check out all the jokes at:
fun/jokes
Send yours in today!

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Tina's Tips
Tina@arthritisinsight.com

Arthritis can affect your ability to do even the simplest of tasks. I've heard some people say, "Accept your limitations." I'm not sure accepting them is the way to go. I prefer to challenge those limitations, work around them, finding alternate ways of achieving the same goal. Every week I'll share some tips I've found to work around those annoying limitations and I hope all of you will send in your tips too. We may not be the next Martha Stewart, but sometimes the simplest things can help so much.

A great one from Virginia:

If you have trouble gripping a regular toothbrush, try an electric
one. The larger base makes it easier to hold with almost no pressure
needed. Just guide the rotating brush around your teeth. You'll get a
much better cleaning job in the bargain.

Check out more tips at living/tips.html and send in yours today to Tina@arthritisinsight.com Keep those tips coming!

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Whats New

Our Pets
Read about Tina's dog Maddy and Brianna's cat Herbie in therapeutic pets.
living/pets/therapeutic.html

Photo Album
Meet the Message Board Posters! Added Beannie :)
community/photo

Birthday Board
Added three more - when's yours?
community/birthday

Question of the Week
Fuzzy slippers and comfy jammys! What else gives you comfort when times are tough?
community/question

Photo Album
Meet the Message Board Posters!
community/question

Member Stories
Busy day! Margaret shares her story, Gill updates the Kineret Journal and Brianna's mom shares the story of young Brianna's bilateral hip replacements.
community/question

Newsletter
This week's newsletter is up and ready!
community/newsletter

News
As always, Karen has brought you all the latest news you need to be on top of your arthritis and general health.
news

Newly Diagnosed
New to the arthritis game and feeling a little lost? Our web links in the Newly Diagnosed section have been updated to help you find even more answers to your questions.
medical/new/

Message Boards
Got a question about the message board or the website? You can ask it in this thread, and find the answers to the top three questions we get from our members about the boards.
cgi-bin/wsmbb/wsmbb.cgi?RT+KYWRJLLXVS/AKFCLKZQUN+11622+0+config+1898.11622

Check out all the latest updates at
updates.html

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Arthritis Insight Chat
community/chat

Time to get the party started! Got some extra time? Can't sleep? Drop into the chatroom to talk to other members that know exactly what you're going through.

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Cooking with Char
Char LeFleur
char@arthritisinsight.com

Hello friends. This weeks column is going to be short and sweet, with a minimum of chit chat. My shoulders, elbows and wrists are flaring, and despite a pred taper and an injected elbow, typing is an adventure in pain this week.

A regular reader named Elena is the author of this weeks recipes. Thank you Elena, you have saved my aching arms this week.

Mom's Apple Salad

Cut and dice 2-3 apples depends on how many you are serving-Red delicious
works best or choose your own
1 cup of raisins
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1-1/2 Cup Miracle Whip-low fat or regular

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
Refrigerate 1 hour
Serve as dessert, snack or side dish.
Serves 4

NOTE: I eat this a lot and I find it to be really good for nausea from my
meds and when I need a mood lift. If you are unable to cut the celery, walnuts, apples-have someone do that for you! Some stores may have ingredients already cut up. I love this recipe! I eat it a lot-good vitamins here!


Easy Fruit Salad-Really easy

2 cans fruit cocktail
1 can tropical fruit mix
Maraschino Cherries- as many as you want
1/2 bag mini marshmallows
2-3 bananas cut up
1/4 cup coconut- Optional

Place ingredients in plastic container with lid
Shake
Let sit in fridge for one hour
Serves 2-3 people
You can adjust this for the amount of people served

NOTE: This makes a great quick dessert. My husband loves this recipe!

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, or have recipes that you would like to share, please send them to Char@arthritisinsight.com.

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From the NIH:
Autoantibodies Precede Disease in Lupus Patients
http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/nov2003/niams-05.htm

A new study funded largely by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) reveals that people diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus) - an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks its own tissues - have autoantibodies in their blood years before the symptoms of lupus appear. The early detection of autoantibodies - proteins that attach to the body's healthy tissues by mistake - may help in recognizing those who will develop the disease and allow physicians to monitor them before they might otherwise be noticed.

Senior author John Harley, M.D., Ph.D., of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and the University of Oklahoma, and his colleagues there and in other institutions, tested blood from 130 U.S. armed forces servicemen and women, without knowing their identities, who were once healthy but later developed lupus. Using many years of previously collected samples from the Department of Defense Serum Repository, the researchers compared samples from the lupus patients to samples from those who never developed lupus. When testing early samples from both groups, they found that those with lupus had the autoantibodies in their blood for months to years before symptoms appeared. Some of the autoantibodies, such as antinuclear antibody, had been present longer than others. The lupus autoantibodies, say the authors, tend to accumulate in the blood in a predictable pattern up until diagnosis, when the rate of new autoantibodies slows.

"We don't know whether the virtual halt in the accumulation of new autoantibodies is a result of therapy now typically used or whether the relative stability in the autoantibodies found after diagnosis is a feature of the natural history of lupus," said Dr. Harley. "Certainly, this observation reminds us of how important diagnosis is for what subsequently happens in the immune system of the patient."

NIAMS Director Stephen I. Katz, M.D., Ph.D., said "Identifying such patterns in disease progression may lead researchers to understand what causes autoantibodies to appear when they do and how they contribute to the disease." NIAMS researcher Gregory Dennis, M.D., a coauthor of the study, said, "Lupus and other autoimmune diseases often go untreated for years and are diagnosed only after damage to the body tissues has occurred. Findings such as these, which will help us identify and monitor people who may develop these diseases, are extremely valuable."

Lupus can affect many parts of the body, including the joints, skin, kidneys, heart, lungs, blood vessels and brain. People who have lupus may have many different symptoms, but some of the most common ones include extreme fatigue, painful or swollen joints (arthritis), unexplained fever, skin rashes and kidney problems. Many more women than men have lupus. It is three times more common in African American women than in Caucasian women and is also more common in women of Hispanic, Asian and Native American descent.

Other institutions taking part in the study included NIAMS, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine. Funding was also provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Center for Research Resources, both part of the Department of Health and Human Services' National Institutes of Health

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Member Stories
Margaret's Story

Hi there.

My name is margaret. I am 52 and this past three years have been one new experience after another. I was used to ten hours at least on my feet taking caring of my world for a lot of years.

Then things changed. I started having cellulites in one leg every five or six weeks and I found out the hard way about lyphedema. I know have it in both legs. I then started having pain in my knee and found out that my knee and hip are gone due to osteoarthritis.

The question of the day is this; how does one lose the weight needed before surgery when you can't walk except in the house and that has its limits.?
I am on three different pain meds and sometimes that does not even work.

But I chose not to stay in the mud puddle I am in. I am going to school for computers. I am currently trying to get a scooter and help in the house.
I try to find something each day that makes me laugh and that is helping.

To see the rest of stories go on over to:
community/stories

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Notes and Insights:

Birthday Board!
Happy Birthday to Loretta, Kathy T., Elda Boensch, Tammy aka Bandit, Karen Sears aka KaeKae, Angela M., Stacey L. and Lucy!!!
Check out all the birthdays at
community/birthday
and make sure to send them an arthritis-friendly e-card:
cgi-bin/postcards/postcard.pl

Join the Arthritis Dieters!
This is a group of people with arthritis who want to lose weight with others who know of the challenges of living with is arthritis. All those medications that make living with arthritis tolerable, but pile on the pounds. This group has been set up to give us a protected group where we can talk to others who know what it is like.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arthritis-dieters/

Wanna help?
Having surgery? Starting a new drug or treatment? Filing for disability? Keep an Arthritis Insight journal so all of our members can share and learn from your experience. If you want to keep a journal just let us know.

Write an article!
We always need articles on all subjects relating to arthritis. C'mon folks, we can't do this without you.

Ken Akers Cheer Fund
Donations to the Ken Akers Cheer Fund will be used to send flowers and gifts to those community members who are hospitalized, flaring or just in need of some good cheer.
community/kenscheerfund

Thank You!
A great big thank you to NeedaBasket.com (http://needabasket.com). NeedaBasket is now Arthritis Insight's official gift basket company. They are giving us a great discount and are donating baskets for our Arthritis Warriors.

Special Offers for Arthritis Insight Members
Whenever possible we will try get to our sponsors to agree to discounts and the like for our members. Here are our current special offers:

Sore No More (http://sorenomore.com) gel will send a free sample of the pain relieving gel to any Arthritis Insight Community Member who emails them at dma@glogerm.com.

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Weekly News Summary
Karen Sears
kaekae@arthritisinsight.com

WORKERS IN PAIN COST BUSINESS BILLIONS -STUDY
Not today, boss. I've got a headache. One in eight workers is in pain and losing productive time at work, costing U.S. business an estimated $61.2 billion each year. Headache was the most common pain, followed by back pain and arthritis.
Yahoo News, Nov 11

DEPRESSION TREATMENT EASES ARTHRITIS -STUDY
Treating elderly patients for depression can help ease arthritis pain, an unexpected and hopeful finding for sufferers of the degenerative joint disease, the author of a study released on Tuesday said.
Yahoo News, Nov 11

THERAPEUTIC VALUE OF FLUDARABINE TREATMENT LIMITED IN PATIENTS WITH PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS
Significant peripheral lymphopaenia is observed with fludarabine treatment; however, only modest synovial lymphopaenia and clinical improvement occur with treatment, according to a recent American study.
Doctors Guide, Nov 11 (free registration required)

ESTROGEN DEFICIENCY MAY BE LINKED TO INCREASED RISK OF OSTEOARTHRITIS
Oestrogen deficiency may be associated with an increased risk of osteoarthritis (OA), according to the findings of a large Italian survey of menopausal women.
Doctors Guide, Nov 11 (free registration required)

PULSED SHORT WAVE DIATHERMY TREATMENT OF KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS SIMILARLY EFFECTIVE USING DIFFERENT PARAMETERS
Pulsed short wave diathermy (PSWD) using different parameters provides considerable pain relief for patients with osteoarthritis (OA), with no statistically significant differences observed between parameters, according to a new study.
Doctors Guide, Nov 11 (free registration required)

TUMOUR NECROSIS FACTOR ALPHA ANTAGONISTS PROMISING TREATMENT FOR RHEUMATOID
ARTHRITIS IN HEPATITIS C-INFECTED PATIENTS
Treatment with tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) antagonists resulted in unchanged liver-related blood tests and hepatitis C viral loads in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and hepatitis C viral infection, report researchers from the United States.
Doctors Guide, Nov 11 (free registration required)

GENETIC VARIATION IN RUNX1 BINDING SITES LINKED TO PSORIASIS, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
Genetic polymorphisms in transporter proteins that affect runt-related transcription factor (RUNX1) binding are associated with susceptibility to psoriasis and to rheumatoid arthritis, two research teams report in the December issue of Nature Genetics, published online November 9.
Medscape, Nov 10 (free registration required)

STUDY: LOW-DOSE PAINKILLERS EASY ON THE STOMACH
For most people, taking relatively low doses of aspirin, ibuprofen, or acetaminophen such as are found in over-the-counter products "carries little risk" of serious gastro-intestinal damage, a new study suggests.
Yahoo News, Nov 7

GENE MODIFIED CELL THERAPY AMELIORATES RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS IN ANIMAL MODEL
Dendritic cells that express an apoptosis-inducing protein and that target antigen-specific T cells inhibit the development of disease in an animal model of rheumatoid arthritis, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham report.
Medscape, Nov 7 (free registration required)

LUMBAR INSTRUMENTATION REMOVAL RELIEVES PAIN IN PATIENTS WITH RECURRENT LOW BACK PAIN WITHOUT PSEUDARTHROSIS
Overall satisfaction and significant pain relief were reported after instrumentation removal in patients with recurrent low back pain without pseudarthrosis, particularly in those with loose instrumentation.
Doctors Guide, Nov 6 (free registration required)

PATIENTS TAKING CELECOXIB OR NSAIDS DO NOT SUFFER MORE DYSPEPSIA AS THEY AGE
Researchers in the U.S. have dispelled fears that dyspepsia symptoms increase with age in osteoarthritis patients treated with either celecoxib or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
Doctors Guide, Nov 6 (free registration required)

More health news can be found on our site:
news/

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The A.I. Help Desk
Linda Peck

COMPUTERS 101

Q: I uninstalled a program, but every time I go to the Add/Remove Programs list, it's still there. How do I get rid of it?

A: Sometimes when you remove a program from your computer its ghost seems determined to stay on. When that happens, most people click the program, hit the Add / Remove button and end up with an error. And the program is still stuck on the list. So, is the program listing there forever? Can you ever get rid of it? YES - but you have to play around in your system registry.

Before we go any farther, I want to say that messing with your registry is not for everyone and should only be attempted by advanced users. If any of the information below doesn't make sense to you, it's probably NOT a good idea for you to be trying this tip. So, do this only at your own risk. If something gets messed up, I don't wanna hear about it :-)

Also, make sure you back up your registry first. If you don't know how, check out today's tip.
Here's the procedure:

1. Run your registry editor by hitting the Start button, Run, Then type:
regedit
Hit Enter.

2. Your registry editor should now be up and running. Now would be a good time to back up your registry by hitting the File menu, Export Registry. Just in case.

3. OK, now navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

4. Under this Uninstall folder, you'll see all the stuff that's listed on the Add / Remove programs list. Find the folder for the program that's stuck in your Add / Remove programs box, right-click, and select Delete from the resulting menu.
Now, go back to your Control Panel, Add / Remove programs area and you should find that extra program is now gone.

BONUS TIP

You may have already figured this out, but there's another use for this tip. If you have a program listed in the Add / Remove programs section that you DON'T ever want uninstalled, you can delete its folder from the Uninstall folder list mentioned above. That way, you (or someone else) won't accidentally remove it.

Oh, and don't worry. Deleting the folder won't remove the program, just its entry in the Add/ Remove section of the Control Panel.

Q: The other day, I was typing and went back and change a thing or two. I needed to put a space between a couple words and instead of moving the text to the right to accommodate the space, the text was overwritten! It did this no matter what letter I typed. I ended up having to re-type an entire paragraph because of it. After I rebooted, the problem was gone. Any idea why this happened?

A: Ahh, you were a victim of the Insert key! Somehow during the course of your typing, a stray finger accidentally tapped the Insert key. Normally, you can squeeze words between other words with no problem. Tap that Insert key, and you'll overwrite instead of insert. Next time that happens, just tap the Insert key again to get back to normal.

Source: Computer Tips & Techniques
http://www.worldstart.com
Copyright 2001, Worldstart - Reprinted with permission.

THIS WEEK'S CLICKS

Medical Mysteries Solved - Do you ever wonder why it hurts so much when you hit your funny bone? Or how thinking about yawning triggers a yawn? - http://my.webmd.com/content/article/74/89427.htm

Create a personalized calendar for a holiday gift at Shutterfly. I just did one and their programming is very user friendly. With the cost of ink and calendar kits, this is a very nice alternative - http://www.shutterfly.com

Beautiful, free Thanksgiving graphics for your personal use - http://www.patswebgraphics.com/thanksgiving/thanksgiving.html

Elf Balls from Kewlbox - I am totally hooked on this game - http://www.kewlbox.com/games/game.cfm?gameId=75 This is a free download and there are many other free ones that you can try as well.

Some nice, free printables and computer resources - http://www.expage.com/page/allansstuff (There are some pop-ups though.)

Don't forget about MS Office clipart - they download into your MS Clipart Library. Here's the link for Thanksgiving images - http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/results.aspx?Scope=MC&Query=Thanksgiving&CTT=6&Origin=EC010331121033

A great bargain and sale daily email, concise with no ads - sign up at the site - http://www.mybargainbuddy.com/

Do you need to buy a holiday gift for a "David?" I have two of them to buy for - here's a cool idea - http://www.davidscookies.com/

Until next week ~

The first step toward change is acceptance. Once you accept yourself, you open the door to change. That's all you have to do.
Change is not something you do, it's something you allow.

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Contribute

Have you written something you think our subscribers would like to read? Send it to Tina@arthritisinsight.com and maybe we'll use it in our newsletter.

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A Closing Thought
Moments in Life


There are moments in life when you miss someone
so much that you just want to pick them from
your dreams and hug them for real!

When the door of happiness closes, another opens;
but often times we look so long at the
closed door that we don't see the one
which has been opened for us.

Don't go for looks; they can deceive.
Don't go for wealth; even that fades away.
Go for someone who makes you smile,
because it takes only a smile to
make a dark day seem bright.
Find the one that makes your heart smile.

Dream what you want to dream;
go where you want to go;
be what you want to be,
because you have only one life
and one chance to do all the things
you want to do.

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet,
enough trials to make you strong,
enough sorrow to keep you human, and
enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily
have the best of everything;
they just make the most of
everything that comes along their way.

The brightest future will always
be based on a forgotten past;
you can't go forward in life until
you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying
and everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life so at the end,
you're the one who is smiling and everyone
around you is crying.

Don't count the years -- count the memories...........
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take; but by the moments that take our breath away!

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Arthritis Insight Newsletter Copyright 2003