Re: Fw: From Kathi & Myrl's responses& mail & Just for fun...

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My Dear Anita:

Thank you for this information. I will have a look tomorrow, I'm off to bed my back is killing me...much love....Lea

POST: From Kathi & Myrl's responses & mail & Just for fun...

Subj: Please Read From: pureheart@... I have mentioned this several times over the past few years. Icanvassed one of our lists over a years ago and came up with more thantheir figures Ironically, I have talked with three A.O. vets who havethe same thing.. Many of us have so many symptoms that look and actlike other diseases and syndromes but cannot get a dx because we do notmeet the criteria and getting the proper treatment has evaded many, onlyworsening their problems. This disease was not discovered until 1989 andit mimics the diseases we have been looking at all along. Several whohad been dx'd with MS really did not have it but did have Syndrome, "sticky blood," Antiphospholipid Syndrome and visa versa.Please consider and get tested.KathiAntiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome (APS)Primary APS: no underlying systemic disorderSecondary APS: presence of an underlying disease, most commonly SLE.Antiphospholipid antibody: two main groups.Lupus anticoagulants (LA): dRVVT used as both a screening andconfirmatory test. It is a sensitive assay, provides accurate resultsduring pregnancy. A prolonged dRVVT may be better than other tests forpredicting arterial thrombosis.Anticardiolipin antibodies (ACA):Predictive value probably rises with the titer. Both IgG and IgM ACA maycarry a risk, the correlation seems to be stronger with IgG antibodies.A mild increase involve very little risk.No direct correlation between the concentration of antibodies and extentof thrombosis.Whether elevated cardiolipin, phosphatidylserine, orphosphatidylethanolamine antibodies are a cause of stroke or are only amarker of the presence of other precursors of stroke remains unknown.Associated laboratory abnormalities: may include a prolonged activatedpartial thromboplastin time, false-positive VDRL, elevated ANA, ESR,thrombocytopenia.Finazzi et al: 360 patients with LACs or ACAs, followed prospectivelyfor a median of 3.9 years. Two independent risk factors for thromboticevents were identified: a previous history of thrombosis and thepresence of an IgG ACA titer exceeding 40 U/mL.Clinical manifestationVenous thrombosis:Most common: deep or superficial veins of the legsLess common: inferior vena cava, iliofemoral, axillary, renal, portal,hepatic, or retinal veins.Arterial thrombosis:Most common: Cerebral infarct, some strokes may be caused by cardiogenicemboli.Less common: Coronary, retinal, and visceral arteryOther symptomsCutaneous: livedo reticularis, splinter hemorrhages, leg ulcer, skininsarcts, blue toe syndromeNeuro: multi-infarct dementia, chorea, transverse myelopathy,Pseudotumor cerebri, cerebral venous thrombosisCardiac: Coronary artery disease, valve vegetations, intracardiacthrombusHematologic: Thrmobocytopenia (40% of patients), hemolytic anemiaObstetric: Late term pregnancy loss, intrauterine growth retardation.Hypertension, coronary artery disease, hyperlipidemia, cigarettesmoking, and a positive ANA are associated with an increased risk ofstroke or TIA, whereas those on aspirin plus dipyridamole were at adecreased risk.Stroke recurrence rate may be as high as 10% per year. Usually large ormedian branch artery infarcts and rarely causes lacunar infarcts.The best independent predictor of a thrombotic event is a history ofthrombosis.Cardiac valve thickening or vegetative lesions: may occur in > 30% ofpatients with primary Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome.Recurrent spontaneous fetal loss: more common in the second or thirdtrimester. Observed in 15% to 75% of Antiphospholipid antibody-positivewomen.Livedo reticularis, a lattice-like pattern of skin discoloration: mostcommon cutaneous finding, seen in up to 80% of patients withAntiphospholipid antibodies.Cutaneous ulcers, which may be refractory to treatment.APS & SLEUp to 50% of patients with SLE have antibodies to phospholipids.SLE patients with Antiphospholipid antibodies: 40% has thrombosis. SLEwithout Antiphospholipid antibodies: 12% to 18%.SLE patients have a higher incidence of cardiac valvular disease,hemolytic anemia, leukopenia, and low C4 complement levels.Tsokos et al: hemorrhagic stroke occurs more commonly in active lupus.Thrombotic stroke, possibly related to the Antiphospholipid antibody, ismore common in quiescent phases.Catastrophic Antiphospholipid antibody syndromeA rare fulminant form of the APS.Acute multiorgan system thrombosis of small and large vessels.Cutaneous ischemia-gangrene, malignant hypertension, acute respiratorydistress syndrome, central nervous system deterioration, rapidlyprogressive renal failure, infarction of the bowel, adrenal glands, orliver.High titer IgG Anticardiolipin Ab or lupus anticoagulant.Clinical manifestation may mimic thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura,disseminated intravascular coagulation, and active SLE.Morbidity and mortality rates associated with the catastrophicAntiphospholipid syndrome are high.Treatment of patients with the catastrophic APS relies on anecdotalreports.High-dose corticosteroids is generally ineffective.Cyclophosphamide has been useful in some patients.In view of the noninflammatory nature of the condition and the presenceof autoantibodies, therapy with anticoagulation and plasmapheresis isrecommended.Prevalence Of Antiphospholipid Antibodies:Presence of antiphospholipid antibodies does not necessarily indicate anincreased risk for thrombosis.The presence of ACAs is considered a risk factor for stroke, but thisassociation may be true only in patients with SLE or other autoimmunedisorders.Many well-controlled studies have found no association between ACAs andstroke in non-SLE patientsNormal healthy people1% to 14% - age relatedFields et al. found abnormal levels of IgG or IgM ACA in 12% of healthyelderly persons.Infection Syphilis, AIDS93% Lyme disease39% Mononucleosis20% Tuberculosis20% Protozoal infections, measles, chickenpox, mumps, hepatitis A,leptospirosis ?Drug induced Phenothiazines, procainamide, chlorpromazine, hydralazine,phenytoin, valproate, quinidine, propranolol, ethosuximide,chlorothiazide, oral contraceptives. Malignancy Melanoma, renal cellcarcinoma, lung carcinoma, thymoma, lymphoma, leukemia Autoimmunediseases SLE15%- 50% Sjogren's syndrome42% Rheumatoid arthritis up to 33% Posoriatic arthritis28% Scleroderma25% Mixed Connective Tissue Disease22% Giant cell arteritis, Polymyalgia rheumatica20% Behcet's disease0% - 50% Idiopathic Thrombotic Purpura30% Juvenile chronic arthritis55% Ankylosing spondylitis, polyarteritis nodosa, relapsingpolychondritis, Takayasu's arteritis, hemolytic anemia, Crohn's disease?Neurologic diseases Myasthenia gravis (68%), multiple sclerosis (29%),Guillain-Barre syndrome, transverse myelitis, Sneddon's syndrome,Dermatomyositis, polymyositis.Treatment to prevent thrombosisTreatment of patients with aPL Antibody is controversial. The problemseems to be mainly an abnormal hypercoagulable state that predisposes tothrombosis of arteries rather than true vasculitis.Asymptomatic patient with Antiphospholipid Ab: reduce risk factors forvascular disease.Those with high titers: avoid oral contraceptive.Life style change: maintain ideal weight, cholesterol level and physicalactivity.Control blood pressure, avoid smoking.? Antiplatelet agents.Treatment after a thrombotic event:Rosove & Brewer: Patients on Warfarin did better. No recurrentthrombotic event with INR > 2.6Derksen & al.: retrospective analysis.Anticoagulated: no recurrence of thrombosisAnticoagulation stopped: 50% recurrence at 2 years, 78% recurrence at 8years.Khamashta: 147 patients with APS. Treatment with intensive Warfarin withINR >3, more effective than low intensity Warfarin in preventingrecurrent thrombosis.Significant bleeding occurred in some patients with such high intensityWarfarin treatment.Further ReadingAntiphospholipid Antibody - definition & history - G. DeLoughery1999Khamashta MA, Cuadrado MJ, Mujic F, et al: The management of thrombosisin the antiphospholipid-antibody syndrome. N Engl J Med332:993, 1995Pisetsky, DS., Gilkeson G., St. Clair, EW. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.Med Clin of N America. Vol 81. No1. Jan 1997Hinchey, JA. Sila, CA . Cerebrovascular complications of rheumaticdisease. Rheumatic Diseases Clin of N America. Vol 23. No 2. May 1997.Thiagarajan, P. Shapiro, SS. Lupus anticoagulants and antiphospholipidantibodies. Hematology/oncology Clin of N America. Vol 12. No. 6. Dec1998.Petri, M. Pathogenesis and treatment of the Antiphospholipid antibodySyndrome. Med Clin of N America. Vol 81. No 1. Jan 1997.Biller, J. Antiphospholipid Antibodies and Stroke. American Academy ofNeurology Annual Meeting. 1999.http://neuroland.com/cvd/aps.htmsee also:http://www.hughes-syndrome.org/symp3.htm WHAT IS HUGHES SYNDROME? : Symptoms There are a hundred ways in which bloodclots can affect the body. Some are obvious and dramatic – for example theleg vein clot “deep vein thrombosis†(DVT) that has sometimes been linkedwith crowded conditions on long haul flights – “economy class syndromeâ€. Inother patients, especially where internal organs such as the brain are affected,the condition may be more difficult to diagnose. In others, the antibody (the stickyblood ‘tendency’) may be present without any medical problems having been seen. Inother words, there is a wide variety of clinical pictures seen with thesyndrome.1. Vein Thrombosis e.g. DVT, pulmonary embolism ‘ Economy Class Syndrome’- thrombosis on the pill 2. Artery Thrombosis e.g. limb pain, organ thrombosis3. Pregnancy recurrent miscarriage, including LATE pregnancy loss4. Brain headache and migraine stroke and TIA memory loss balance disorder(and sometimes hearing impairment) seizures ‘atypical’ multiple sclerosisAlso:- speech disturbance movement disorder,including Chorea (St Vitus dance) ‘Déjà vu’ (absences) severe dementia (rare: untreated cases) 5. Heart and Lungs heart attacks,murmurs lung thrombosis(pulmonary embolism) Also:- shortness of breath pulmonary hypertension (raised pressure) valve failure (rare) Angina 6. Eye sudden visual loss(clots around the eye) Also:- loss of part offield of vision Dry eye(Sjogrens’s Syndrome)7. Skin ‘blotchy’ circulation (‘livedo’) Also:- skin ulcers (especially legs) cold circulation8. Kidney thrombosis in artery or vein raised blood pressure 9. Liver liver thrombosis10. Blood low platelets(occasionally)11. General 1.fatigue 2.aches and Pains 3.‘Catastrophic’ APS(widespread sudden thrombosis) 4.obstetric: Infertility Intra uterine growth retardation===========================================================Subj: More responses to the posting about the 09/29/04 call to the Claims Asst. Office From: myrlj@... Myrl,I attended the meeting in Dallas on Tues, i had to leave early, but therewas no real information given out. The most i got from that meeting wasthat if you tried to ask a question they would walk away from podium. Aboutwhat drs they are accepting or not, apparently there is not a list that Dowhas provided at this time. They did say that they had sent out around 75mil in checks as of this week. Truth of the matter is that they don't knowbull crap right now about anything. The impression i got from the meetingwas it is still totally not set up and it was confusing about a lot ofthings.....you can pass this along but leave my name off please, ThanksOne of our Readers----Myrl, I also call the claims office about every two or three weeks. I callbecause I live in a rural area and the mail service here is not really good.Mail put in other peoples boxes and so on. I call to see if they havereviewed my claim and to see if anything has been sent out. With such ashort time to answer, I figure that I had better check just in case theyhave sent anything out so I can get it taken care of. I can't get answerseither except I am up for review. I have been hearing this for the past 6months. I sent mine in to the claims office in late 2003.Joanne-----Things haven't changed. They have always been disorganized down there. Iremember the call I got on a Sat in 1996, telling me to call the ClaimsOffice the following Monday. That just happened to be a holiday so ofcourse, no one was there. When I called the next day and asked for thelady I was told to request, she told me NO ONE was there after 5 or onSaturdays and she could not figure out who would have called me or why. Shehad nothing to do with our records.And, if they ARE outsourcing our information to any foreign country, the TCCshould be hearing from us.Pam R.-----Is it possible for you to send an email to the attention of DianePendleton?? Possibly you could get an answer that way??? In country words"This is a fine kettle of fish" isn't it??Carolyn-----If the women will get a list of questions ready, I will put a questionnairetogether. PamDate of Call:Time of Call:Length of Time on Hold:Name of person to whom you speak: (In case of multiple people, list all.)List of questions: Get as much of the answer down as possible.Your comments about the interview. If this is a person who speaks with aforeign accent, indicate if you were able to understand them. Indicate ifthey were able to understand your question.------------------------------------Dear Myrl, would you put out to the group, response, please!!! First iwouldlike to thank Myrl for the work she is doing for all of us, bringing us theresponses from those who are sharing with us their stories and questions,thankyou Myrl --- then i have a question, maybe someone can answer if possible --with no list, how do we know or can find out if our doctors in our recordsand cases, are ones they will not accept, and if so, does that mean that ourcase "goes in the bin", and "no pay"??? love to all, Rinda-----------------------------------Kathi, you said "be tested by their doctors", are "their doctors", acceptedby Dow??? big question!!!! this is, again, where we need to find out"whichdoctors are accepted and which aren't"!!!! and my question is, if thedoctorsthat examined your implants for "rupture", is now, not accepted by Dow,wheredoes that leave you for the "rupture catagory", for award, if you don't haveyou implants with you, to be examined again?? can anyone comment on thisquestion, please!!! lov, Rinda------------------Myrl I believe the claims centre is no different thanthe lawyers and anyone else in the process of thisclass action it is all about money and now the claimscentre is acting almost the same it produces jobs togod knows where maybe it is outsourced who knows butthe bottom line is this will be dragged out as long asit took to get to June 1 the effective date because noone has ever given a damn about the women so why startnow.Our lawyers never in any of this process looked outfor our best interests so why would the claims centrestart now?I wonder though if the attorneys have received theremoney?I wonder how many women will be screwed over in theassessment of there claims I expect this to happenwith no doubt in my mind.When you think back over the years were we everconsulted were we ever told the truth on thesettlement agreement our attorneys told us to vote yeson NO!These class actions are only good for the attorneys,the claims centre employees and the so called peopleappointed to represent us which I have yet to see tothis day where they represented us to help us but atthe end of the day ask what they got paid for thereservices you will be amazed. Does anyone want us toreceive our money sooner than later I suspect no.Every woman should contact the claims centre and askfor an explanation of everything I would like anaccounting of the funds paid out to everyone who wasnot an implanted woman and why these were paid out soquickly.I wonder what they would do if all the women rejectedthe claims centres assessment on our claims we shoulddo it and see what happens money after all will notmake us better nor will it change what it has done tous especially the small pittance they worked so hardon in our favor to get for us.Just look at the conditions for getting a diseasepayment and the criteria was that put in place for usof for Dow? So what happens to the money that is leftover I wonder!!! Oh and has the U.S. Governmentreceived there cheque yet????----------Myrl,I made call to them a bit more than a year ago and was told that all claimswould be paid according to the dx and by the grid and there would be nofurtheractions taken either way in the case, you either met the criteria or youdidn'tand paid out expenses would have no bearing. Where things may be questioned,some women would probably be asked to see and be tested by their doctors.Kathi=============================================================Subj: Woman never got money from implant lawsuit Date: 10/2/2004 6:57:47 AM Eastern Standard Time From: myrlj@... myrlj@... Sent from the Internet (Details) Thanks to one of our sisters for sending the following. . .MyrlBrad , In Your Corner: Woman never got money from implant lawsuitFlight attendant/attorney denies misrepresentationhttp://www.kfor.com/Global/story.asp?S=2239341 BRAD EDWARDS reportsUpdated: August 31, 2004 7:40 AMAn Oklahoma woman called the In Your Corner hotline to say she they had won a big lawsuit involving silicon breast implants. Although she won, she said she never received the money the court awarded, and now she can't even find the attorney who represented her. Patty Haggerty noticed she started having health problems after receiving the silicone implants: aching joints, pain in the hands, and general malaise discomfort. A doctor told her she was feeling the effects of the silicone.Now, she just wants them out so she can regain her health. That decision prompted her to join the class-action lawsuit against Dow Corning, the company that made the silicone implants.A settlement had been reached in which Dow was to compensate the women. First, her attorney Larry Muse had the women go to a doctor for an examination. That was Haggerty's first bad experience."This is a terrible story," Haggerty said. "So those of us, we disrobed, and we talked about it later, but he [a man] examined us and then left and about fifteen minutes later a physician comes in. I said, 'Who was the man that just came in?' And no one knew who it was."The women never got an answer.And now, years later, Haggerty said she and the ladies she knows have never received one cent of the lawsuit settlement money. And worse, Haggerty claims she can't find her attorney, Larry Muse."Phone calls, email addresses, those have come back undeliverable," she said. "At this point I do not know where he is."And Haggerty said he has all her records for the lawsuit settlement. She contacted another attorney who she said found some surprising news about her supposedly missing attorney."He no longer has an office," she said. "Apparently he works as a flight attendant for Southwest airlines."Attorney Larry Muse had sent his clients an e-mail saying he was still flying, but was semi-retired from his law practice Muse said he was still working the breast implants claims. He listed a phone number where he could be reached, but Haggerty said she could never get an answer.I finally reached Muse through that number and requested an interview about Haggerty's settlement case. Haggerty claimed she learned through the lawsuit claims office that Muse had never even filed her claim. Muse denied that.So I asked him, "What's not true?""I have filed her case," Muse said.I followed up with another, obvious questions: "Why would she say that you had not?""She doesn't understand," said Muse, who did admit through a name mix up that he had failed to file Haggerty's damages for her implant claim. He denied that working as a flight attendant interfered with his legal work."I don't think so. No," he said. "I fly three days a week and I'm home the other four."The attorney/flight attendant agreed to give Haggerty her lawsuit records and she has chosen to move on to another attorney, who told me Haggerty still has time to file her claim and collect money she is due from the lawsuit, maybe even this year.I'm Brad , In Your Corner.Attorney Muse maintains his more than 200 clients are being handled correctly.============================================================Subj: Insurers "said the breast was an organ with no function. Date: 10/2/2004 6:59:15 AM Eastern Standard Time From: myrlj@... Thanks to one of our sisters for sending the following. . .Myrl Insurers "said the breast was an organ with no function. Yet they paid for penile reconstruction and penile implants," says Horner, MD, a plastic surgeon, reflecting on historical inequities in women's health care. http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subj: Dow Corning plans silicone materials plant in China From: myrlj@... Thanks to , for sending the following . .MyrlDow Corning plans silicone materials plant in Chinahttp://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/9/24/business/8970295 & sec=businessHONG KONG: Dow Corning Corp., a venture between Dow Chemical Co. and CorningInc. that makes silicone-based products, plans to set up a silicone rawmaterials plant in Shanghai, chief executive Burns said.The company aims to build the plant, a venture with Wacker-Chemie GmbH ofGermany, "before the end of the decade," Burns said in a televisioninterview in Hong Kong. She didn't give investment details. Production willbe for the local market, she said."We have very strong double-digit growth here in China and have had over thepast three or four years, " Burns said. The country, which doesn't provide adetailed breakdown of sales, draws more than 35% of its income from Asia,she said.Dow Corning, the world's largest supplier of silicone, and other companiesare seeking to increase income from China, the world's seventh-largesteconomy. The country is using lending and investment restrictions as itseeks to slow growth to 7% this year from 9.1% in 2003.There is increasing demand in China from the construction, automotive andelectronics industries, Burns said. The company is investing in finishingproducts in China and is opening a second technical service laboratory inShanghai, she said. - Bloomberg============================================================The Dysfunctional Section of a Hallmark Store...>1. I always wanted to have someone to hold, someone to love. And now>that you've come into my life...> (Inside card) - I've changed my mind.>> 2. I must admit, you brought religion into my life...> (Inside card) - I never believed in Hell until I met you.>> 3. As the days go by, I think how lucky I am....>(Inside card) - That you're not here to ruin it for me.>> 4. Congratulations on your promotion. Before you go....>(Inside card) - Will you take the knife from my back? You'll probably>need it again.>> 5. Someday I hope to marry...>(Inside card) - Someone other than you.>> 6. Happy Birthday! You look great for your age....>(Inside card) - Almost lifelike!>> 7. When we were together, you said you'd die for me...>(Inside card) - Now we've broken up, I think it's time to keep your>promise.>> 8. We've been friends for a very long time...>(Inside card) - What do you say we stop?>> 9. I'm so miserable without you...>(Inside card) - It's almost like you're still here.>> 10. Congratulations on your new bundle of joy....>(Inside card) - Did you ever find out who the father was?>> 11. You are such a good friend. If we were on a sinking ship and there>was only one life jacket...>(Inside card) - I'd miss you terribly and think of you often.>> 12. Your friends and I wanted to do something special for your>birthday...>(Inside card) - So we're having you put to sleep.>> 13. Happy Birthday, Uncle Dad!>(Available only in Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas)>> 14. Looking back over the years we've been together, I can't help but>wonder...>(Inside card) - What was I thinking?>> 15. Congratulations on your wedding day!...>(Inside card) - Too bad no one likes your husband.>