Guest guest Posted August 31, 2008 Report Share Posted August 31, 2008 Hi Everyone, We're an intelligent group of people and we all share a common bond: Juvenile Arthritis. This group is a place to share the knowledge we have, and to hopefully learn more, about juvenile arthritis. A wise person once said something along the lines of ... a little bit of knowledge can be a very dangerous thing. I believe that a person should gather as much reliable information as possible, from many trustworthy sources, before making any important decision. I don't wish to appear argumentative or disrespectful of anyone's beliefs and I am most certainly not here to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't do, but I do feel that it's important for people to be aware of 'both sides of a story', especially before making a decision about their child's health and well-being. If we know the facts, we can look at the pros and cons and become better able to weigh the risks and benefits. Which is why the majority of my posts on the diagnostic and therapeutic agents used in rheumatology are from peer-reviewed research published in respected medical and scientific journals. We get to see the good, the bad, and the ugly. For instance, in studies to examine drugs we get details about side effects that occurred in the test population, even if they wasn't necessarily related to the agent being tested - as well as the rates and types of purported benefits. " The devil is in the details " , some people say, and as much as I dislike having to appear yet again as the 'devil's advocate' I do believe that it's important to disclose current mainstream opinion when unconventional methods of diagnoses or treatment are discussed on this board. I don't want anyone to be misled. Therefore, I've put together a message titled, " Mainstream Thoughts on the Alcat Test " and will be sending it out right after this one. Aloha, Georgina Re: Hanna's Ped appt So glad to hear that this appt went well. How much weigh has Hannah lost? Did you know the thyroid tests can fluctuate? Aundrea has had these done a few times and one time they came back on the border of being concerning but all the two other times they were normal. Were you able to speak to someone about ordering the alcat test? I sure would be interested to know how that would turn out for Hannah. (Aundrea 13 fibromyalgia/gerd) > > We had an awesome visit with Hannah's ped today for her annual physical. Obviously we talked about all her issues. He's pleased with her asthma (first time ever). He is not as concerned about her weight loss as the GI doctor was because she does not look like she's underweight and is mostly muscle. He agreed with having her take the Carnation Instant breakfast every day (even told her to make a smoothie out of it). He is adding a daily mulit-vitamin with iron and a calcium supplement. He will recheck her weight in one month. The hope is she stays the same (he said he would not be concerned with even a 1-2lbs more weight loss, but more than that would be very concerning). > > As far as her joints go, he was totally open to all of the suggestions we brought back from conference. He is checking her cholesterol (for the weight issues). He also ordered a full thyroid panel (I believe it is 4 separate tests). We then talked about the parathyroid, which is not his area. I called my endocrinologist friend and he suggested that a calcium and vitamin D level be checked first. If those are normal there is no need for parathyroid. So the ped called me this evening and added those too. He is checking into where around here we can have a bone density done. Our clinic does not have the software for anyone under 18. So that is in process, but on hold too. He is going to hold off on ordering any MRI's until he sees the results of the bone density. He also agreed that she could very well have " mechanical arthrits " . Again he will wait for the bone density. > > He also checked her skin for those strange spots she has. He will be watching them and told her to wash the spots with Head N Shoulder's shampoo. There is a derm problem that this helps. > > So overall a great visit. Will keep you posted on the results. > > Beth & Hannah, 11, unspecified arthritis; asthma; gerd; migraines; stomach ulcers > Sending prayers & happy thoughts, > Beth > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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