Cushing’s iPhone/iPod Apps
Coming soon! A Cushing’s App for the iPod/iPhone. There’s a mockup you can play with at http://bit.ly/91hdQw
Right now it has Podcasts, Cushing’s News, Latest Bios, Upcoming Events, Blog, Twitter, NIH Trials, the latest posts on the Message Boards, Helpful Links, New MDs, Johns Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, PubMed, WebMD.
More may be added before this goes live later this month.
People have suggested symptoms and/or drug trackers. Robin found us a really neat way to make our own individual specially tailored apps.
The following directions are adapted from http://www.doseofdigital.com/2010/01/build-iphone-medication-tracker-10/ and could also be used to track surgeries, weight, anything you want.
How to Build Your Own iPhone Tracker/Reminder System:
1) First, go to Google Docs. Start a new spreadsheet and fill in the columns you want to track. Like this:
You can see that this example tracks weight, whether or not meds were taken, and how you feel.
2) Create a form (click “Form”–>”Create a form”). The form will already have your column headers populated as questions automatically (you don’t need to add a column for date or time, as Google will do this automatically).
You’ll then have a form like this:
You can add a little flair via the “Theme” selector.
You can also change the “Took Medication” into a multiple choice question and the “I Feel…” into a Likert scale, if you wish:
3) After you finish the form, email it to yourself. When you get the email, open it on your iPod/iPhone. Follow the link and this is what you’ll get:
Tah dah. A form on your phone that you can fill out. Fill it out and submit it. Each time you fill out the form, it automatically adds the data to the right spot in your spreadsheet. Like so:
Cool, right?
4) Wondering how your doing without having to look at the spreadsheet? No problem. When editing your form, select “More actions” –> “Edit confirmation.” Check the “Let everyone see response summary” box.
Now, every time you complete the form, you’ll get a confirmation screen with a link to a summary screen. Here it is:
5) What’s that? You don’t want to have to click a link in an email (that you’ll probably lose) every day to get to the form. Me neither. So, when you have the form open, click that little “+” sign at the bottom of the screen and you’ll get this:
Select “Add to Home Screen”. You’ll then get a screen asking you to name your icon and then you can place it anywhere on your iPod/iPhone. Viola.
Check it out…it’s even got the fancy theme to make the icon look good.
So, every time you need to record your medication (or whatever), just click the icon and fill out the form. Done.
6) Need a reminder?
Go to your Google Calendar and set up a recurring “meeting” for yourself. Like so:
Now, you’ll get an email reminding you to complete your tracker.
7) Need more help? Discuss this on the message boards.
Environmental Issues and Cushing’s
We’ve had quite a bit of discussion on this topic on the Cushing’s Help message boards lately. A few samples:
We live in a part of Ontario known as “the Chemical Valley”. We are surrounded by Dow Chemical, Imperial Oil, Dupont, British Petroleum, Shell Oil and about 12 other chemical plants.
There has been many people complaining about the high rate of cancer in our area and the government was forced to do a health study in our area but as of yet they haven’t figured out how to do the testing. My guess is they don’t want us to know how sick we really are.
We are part of the Goiter Belt which I think extends to PA. There are very few people here who do not have thyroid problems.
My 2 brothers and 2 sisters are suffering the same as I am and so are all our children! Both my parents died in their 50’s from untreated hypothyroid disease. Probably had adrenal/pituitary damage too when I think about their symptoms.
I see hypothyroid people everywhere I look and have since started checking for the hump and cushing signs.
Holy endocrine system Batman, I think we are all suffering at the hands of the Big Oil Companies. My husband works for British Petroleum!!!!
I hate to even think about it. Growing up in Buffalo – erie county new york, which is nestled between lake ontario & lake erie, I don’t believe the water is safe to drink. There are several epa areas of concern around lake ontario & lake erie. AOC’s (areas of concern) are highly polluted areas. Specificlly erie canal & buffalo river are awful. I found out some years ago that a playground that I frequented as a child was a landfill for hazardous chemicals. Now I have a pituitary tumor, coincidence? Probably not
I live near Green Bay WI, which is part of Lake Michigan. I believe our drinking water comes from the Bay. The water is polluted from the papermills (PCPs). I also did play on a heavily fertilized and treated lawn from a chemical company for at least 5 years when I was little. I had a thyroid nodule removed, hypothyroidism, and I am still in the testing phase to see if I have a pituitary tumor. My father also has hopothyroid, and seems to have kind of a hump. He has had cancer as well.
I remember the nuclear accident in the 80’s. It was really scary. I remember them saying something like it was worse than what they reported.
This is one of my future quests, I live in a town on 10,000 people and there are many cases of brain and pituitary tumors, I hear it all the time, I know of at least 3 definite pituitary cushing’s cases in my small town. My future goal when I am feeling better is to put my story in the paper, have people call me if they or someone they know has a funtioning pituitary tumor, also brain tumors and brain cancer has some large numbers too. The state sent me a letter I had to fill out when I first found out about my tumor, it was manditory, if I did not fill it out they where going to have my doctor fill it out so I did. So somewhere someone is keeping track of brain tumors in my town. I want to find out the numbers, if it is as bad as I think it is I am going to calll CDC to find out why. I also want to start a support group. But I need to feel better first because this is going to be a big undertaking.
There are many more postings on this topic.
From Wennersten: There’s something in the water
Scientists now tell us there is something in our waters that we least expected.
That “something” is a class of chemicals called endocrine disruptors, and Dr. Vicki Blazer, a fisheries biologist at the United States Geological Survey, thinks the chemicals are responsible for the high concentrations of intersex fish found in the Potomac, and other rivers in the mid-Atlantic.
The chemicals also prove a threat to human health, but a bit of explanation, first.
Our body’s endocrine system is a complex network of glands and hormones that regulate growth, development, and the operation of various organs. The endocrine glands (for example the thyroid, adrenal, pancreas, testes, ovaries and pituitary glands) release hormones that act as chemical messengers and regulate many life functions.
Endocrine disrupters are chemicals that interfere with this system, by either acting like a hormone, or blocking a hormone’s function. They can be natural, but many are man-made such as PCBs, dioxin, DDT and other pesticides, pharmaceuticals and plasticizers. They are found in many products, including plastic bottles, metal food cans, detergents, flame retardants, food, toys, cosmetics and pesticides. They enter the environment and are now commonly found in our streams, rivers, bays and oceans, where scientists are observing problems.
Then Great Lakes Area of Concerns shows a map of problem areas
Forty-three AOCs have been identified: 26 located entirely within the United States; 12 located wholly within Canada; and five that are shared by both countries. Two Canadian AOCs have been delisted and one U.S. AOC has been delisted leaving 30 AOCs remaining on the U.S. side of the border.
RAPs are being developed for each of these AOCs to address impairments to any one of 14 beneficial uses (e.g., restrictions on fish and wildlife consumption, dredging activities, or drinking water consumption) associated with these areas. USEPA has assigned RAP Liaisons for AOCs. Sediments have been identified as serious problems in many AOCs. AOC Principles and Guidelines have been finalized for formally delisting these areas as beneficial uses are restored.
What do YOU think? Are you in one of these areas?
Would you be interested in a Cushing’s iPhone/iPod app?
I’ve made a mockup you can play with at http://bit.ly/91hdQw
It has the podcasts, upcoming events, latest bios, newest doctors, Cushings Tweets, blog and news/abstracts.
It’s all made – I just have to pay the site to make this live.
I don’t know if it would be worth it, though – it would cost $199.
What do you think?
iPhone Medical Apps, part 2
Part one was a blog post here. That page includes comments and suggestions from readers.
National Library of Medicine Launches Mobile MedlinePlus to Meet the Health Information Needs of an On-the-Go Public
Wondering what the side effects are for your new prescription? Go to Mobile MedlinePlus (http://m.medlineplus.gov) while you’re waiting for the pharmacist to fill your order!
Or, instantly look up the symptoms of H1N1 flu if you’re at the supermarket and your child’s school calls you to tell you he doesn’t feel well.
The National Library of Medicine’s Mobile Medline Plus builds on the NLM’s MedlinePlus Internet service, which provides authoritative consumer health information to over 10 million visitors per month. These visitors access MedlinePlus (http://medlineplus.gov) from throughout the United States as well many other countries, and use desktop computers, laptops and even mobile devices to get there.
The mobile Internet audience is large and growing fast, almost doubling from February 2007 to February 2009. Some experts predict that within the next five years, more people will connect to the Internet via mobile devices than via desktop or laptop computers. People use their mobile devices to accomplish a variety of tasks, including finding health information. With this in mind, NLM developed the mobile version of MedlinePlus to bring high-quality health information to users on the go.
“We know that a huge number of people are seeking good health information on the Web, noted NLM Director Dr. Donald A.B. Lindberg. What better way to reach out to them than by offering this new mobile service, which delivers trustworthy, consumer-friendly information instantly, anywhere?”
Mobile MedlinePlus is available in English and Spanish (http://m.medlineplus.gov/spanish) and includes a subset of content from the full Web site. It includes summaries for over 800 diseases, wellness topics, the latest health news, an illustrated medical encyclopedia, and information on prescription and over-the-counter medications.
For instance, you could visit the “Talking With Your Doctor” page on Mobile MedlinePlus to learn how to get the most out of your doctor’s visit.
Mobile MedlinePlus can also help you when you’re trying to choose an over-the-counter cold medicine at the drug store.
And if you’re traveling abroad, you can use Mobile MedlinePlus to learn about safe drinking water.
Mobile MedlinePlus puts reliable health information at your fingertips.
*High resolution screen shot of Mobile MedlinePlus available upon request.
The National Library of Medicine is part of the National Institutes of Health, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the nation’s largest medical library.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation’s Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
From http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jan2010/nlm-22.htm?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Elvis, steriod-induced Cushing’s
This is an interesting article…
..The doctor’s first thought was that Elvis had had a seizure and he injected him with a stimulant to improve his breathing. Then he and Elvis’s manager dragged him into the ensuite bathroom and managed to get him into the bath, which they filled with cold water. Soon they were dressing him in his stage clothes.
Incredibly Elvis managed to perform that night, leaving Dr Nick determined to find out what had caused the handsome man he first met to degenerate into the bloated figure he had become.
Elvis himself refused to give him any clues. Finally, one of his problems was revealed – he and Priscilla were getting divorced. Three days after the final decree was issued in California, the singer, in worse condition than he had ever been, chartered a plane back to Graceland and called for Dr Nick.
This time the doctor arrived to find his patient’s face puffy, pink and almost transparent, and his stomach distended. He suspected either an allergic reaction or heart failure, especially since heart disease ran in the family.
Hospital tests established that Elvis had hepatitis, an enlarged liver ( possibly from painkillers) and Cushing’s syndrome. The last was a hormonal disease that caused bloating, and was down to the many steroids he had been taking to combat the asthma that ran in the family and his ongoing colon problems.
When Dr Nick asked him why he was also covered in bruises, Elvis tried to tell him the marks were from acupuncture needles. Finally he confessed that a couple of Beverly Hills physicians had prescribed the narcotic Demerol to cure back and neck pain, and Novocaine to reduce the pain at the injection sites…
What do you think?