#it’s been almost 1.5 years since my top surgery

[boyhoneypot]

so interesting how nipples move around after top surgery

[watchmegetobsessed]

“Can I be the small spoon tonight?” (Grayson Dolan)

the goofy juice inspired me, don’t blame me

word count: 1.5 k

drabble list masterlist

“Thanks for taking care of me, babe,” Grayson sighs from the hospital bed as a nurse fixes his IV up. You smile down at him warmly.

“Of course.”

It’s been only four days since he had his nose surgery and everything was going fine until one morning he woke up and one side of his nose was swollen. The doctor said he needed surgery asap to fix it up so here you are, Grayson on a hospital bed once again about to be hit by the goofy juice. Lisa has already flown back home and Ethan would have had to cancel a meeting to take Grayson to the hospital, so you said you’ll be alright on your own, taking care of your goofy boyfriend once his nose is all tamped up again.

“Alright, you ready?” the doctor appears at his bed and Grayson nods his head before reaching for your hand.

“See you in a bit,” he smiles giving your hand a gentle squeeze before he gets pushed away on his bed.

The surgery doesn’t take longer than twenty minutes, you sit in the room patiently waiting and texting Lisa to update on him. When he returns his nose is covered with bandage, eyes closed, but clearly watery as his eyelashes stick to his skin wet.

“Ay! Here’s my girl!” he mumbles barely understandably as the nurses make sure everything is alright around his bed before leaving. Pulling a chair you sit beside him, gently taking his hand in your palms.

“Hey, how are you feeling?”

His head turns in your direction, but his eyes remain closed.

“I’m feelin’ the vibes. This stuff is awesome.”

You chuckle at him patting his hand. He is a dork without this juice, but with it he is just over the top, really. His hair is a mess, he didn’t blow-dry it in the morning knowing it’d be messed up anyway during his hospital visit and to be honest, you like floppy haired Grayson. He looks cozy and cuddly.

“Babe, you’re awesome,” he sighs, eyes open only a tiny bit.

“I am?” you grin at him and he nods.

“You are and I love you so fucking much.”

“Glad to know,” you chuckle, brushing his hair out of his forehead.

“No, I mean I love you. Like, a lot.”

“Grayson, I know you love me. I love you too, but we are kind of over these statements.”

You’ve been dating him for over two years now, he first said he loved you after just one month and not even one day went by without him telling you even if it was in only a text.

“I got the best girl,” he mumbles to the nurse who quickly changes his bandage on his nose. She smiles over at you knowingly.

“She does seem like a total win.”

“That’s exactly what she is. A win,” Grayson cheers, a tear rolls down his face and grabbing a tissue you dry his cheeks. “Babe, I want to cuddle you.”

“We can cuddle as much as you want when we get home.”

“Can I be the small spoon tonight?”

You can’t push your smile down as you look at your bulky, all muscle boyfriend, asking to be the small spoon in bed tonight. It’s the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen and if his face wasn’t all messed up and swollen you’d kiss him stupid.

“Of course you can,” you smile and he lets out a satisfied sigh.

“You know, I should get some of this juice every damn day. I feel so relaxed and warm.”

“I don’t think we could deal with extra goofy Grayson every day,” you caress his cheek and fix his blanket over him that he has been slowly kicking off of his body.

“I’d be funny tho. And wakening.”

“What do you mean by that?” you furrow your eyebrows at him.

“I’m having thoughts.” His wording makes you smile as you wait for him to elaborate on it. “You’re just way too good for me, I’m like shook that you’re still dating me.”

“Don’t be silly,” you giggle.

In half an hour he is all good to leave, with the help of the nurses you dressed him and pushed him out in a wheelchair. In the meanwhile he started rambling about butterflies, potatoes and birds being weird flying puffs. Sometimes you totally lost his trail of thoughts, more focused on getting him in the car safely, which was quite the challenge. He kept unbuckling himself the moment you were about to close the door on him. It took you five tries to finally make him stay.

“I need ice-cream,” he sighs, head resting against the window, eyes closed again. Stopping at a red light you reach over and fix his shirt that rode up on his torso after his impromptu dance-off he just had a few minutes ago.

“Hey, are you undressing me?” he questions, eyebrows knit together.

“I’m doing the opposite,” you sigh, but you can’t hold your smile back.

“Oh. What a bummer.”

“Oh my God,” you chuckle at him shaking your head. Unbelievable.

Arriving back to his house Ethan is already at the driveway, waiting to help you get him inside.

“Hey, it’s my bro!” Grayson cheers seeing his brother and Ethan just stands there next to the car, staring down at his messed up twin in the car, sliding lower and lower in the seat with each passing moment.

“He is such a mess,” Ethan chuckles and you agree.

Taking Grayson from both his sides you and Ethan support him inside, barely making it to his room since he keeps wanting to collapse and sit on the floor on the way. He says he needs to be grounded, joke of the decade.

“Oh this is my room!” Grayson states once he is finally lying on his bed.

“He looks like a huge baby,” Ethan shakes his head laughing at his brother.

“Alright, thanks for the help, I’ll take care of him from here,” you tell Ethan, but it’s for Grayson’s sake. You don’t want to give his brother more to joke about once Gray’s head clears out.

“You want some water, babe?” you ask pulling a blanket over him.

“Nah. Come spoon me. You said I can be the small spoon.”

“How do you remember that?” you chuckle sighing, but kicking your shoes off anyway to get into bed with him.

“I remember everything about you.” Nuzzling his head into the pillow he brings your arms around his waist as you cuddle him from the back. “Because I love you.”

“I love you too.” Pressing a soft kiss to his shoulder you make yourself comfortable and ready to take a nap with your little patient.

“But like,” he continues. “I love you so much, I could marry you right now.”

Your eyes pop open as you replay his words in your mind. Marriage only came up a handful of times since you started dating Grayson, you both agreed you don’t want to get married for at least a few years since both of you feel like it’s just too early for that. You felt like Grayson was also kind of anxious about it even though he said he can’t wait to have a family. It made you think that there might be something about you that’s making him afraid of marriage suddenly, but this statement is odd now.

“You could?” Lifting your head you wait for his answer and you almost start thinking he is asleep, but then he mumbles something under his breath. “What? I don’t understand what you’re saying, Gray.”

“I said,” he sighs, turning a bit so now you can see his face. “Of course I could, that’s all I want in life.”

“I thought you had doubts about marriage.”

It’s probably not your best idea to start a conversation like this with him in this state, but you’re too afraid to ask him when he is sober.

“Not about marriage,” be slurs, eyes still closed as he is now lying on his back. “I’m afraid I’m not the one for you.”

Your heart sinks, but it’s also a relief. You were so afraid he changed his mind about starting a family because he didn’t see it with you, but this just put everything into a whole new perspective.

“Gray,” you gently smile at him as he opens his eyes a bit. Cupping his cheek in your hand you lean down and peck his lips shortly. “I could marry you in a heartbeat.”

“So you don’t think I’m just the guy before the one?”

“No. You are the one,” you say and you really mean it.

You’ve been feeling like you found your final destination with Grayson for a long time. Everything changed in your eyes after you realized how different life is with the right person next to you.

A tear drop rolls down his cheek and you reach for a tissue from his nightstand.

“Babe,” he breathes out as you wipe his cheeks.

“Yeah?”

“It’s not from the tampon in my nose. I just really love you.”

“And I love you too,” you smile down at him kissing his forehead. “Now get some sleep, you need to clear your head out.”

“Okay,” he sighs, eyes closing again. “Damn this juice is the good stuff,” he mumbles making you laugh once more before he finally drifts off to sleep.

-

and one nice tag for the end:  @justordinaryjen

[tabloidtoc]

National Enquirer, October 12

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Queen Elizabeth’s 73-year sham marriage to Prince Philip collapses

Page 2: Kanye West is in top-secret talks to launch his own TV network and is crowing it will be bigger than the Kardashians -- he wants it to reflect his lofty vision of what the world should be and to provide a spiritual awakening for the masses but he doesn’t realize there aren’t a lot of people who want to spend hours a day listening to him rant about how the world would be a better place if he was in charge -- meanwhile Kim Kardashian is at the end of her rope again 

Page 3: Furious Angelina Jolie is tearing into Brad Pitt’s new girlfriend Nicole Poturalski blasting her as a scheming psycho and as a borderline stalker who is dating Brad just to get famous and it’s going to end in disaster for the whole family not just him so she’s already told Brad to keep Nicole away from their kids and she’s looking to make this part of their ongoing legal case 

Page 4: Newly single Kelly Clarkson has enlisted fellow country star Maren Morris to help her find a new man -- Maren advised Kelly to use her talk show to connect with men she admires but Kelly may have taken her advice a little too literally when she had her crush Keanu Reeves on the show and was drooling all over him though she knows it’s probably wishful thinking 

Page 5: Ellen DeGeneres kicked off her new season by publicly apologizing for allegations of misconduct on her talk show but body language experts blasted her remarks as tone deaf and missing the mark totally 

Page 6: Jimmy Fallon’s wife Nancy Juvonen is furious over the time he spends nurturing his bond with close pal Kathie Lee Gifford -- Jimmy loves to reminisce about the old days at NBC with the former Today yakker especially during today’s challenging times and he worships her and he’s the only late-night host who treats Kathie Lee like an A-lister but Nancy can’t stand Kathie Lee’s constant self-obsessed talk and considers her a squeaky third wheel 

Page 7: Cher keeps trying to turn back time with plastic surgery but the results have been disastrous and although she insists her most recent work is a facelift her kisser is frozen and packed with Botox and fillers and lip injections -- she also appears to have had a nose job and a face and neck lift to achieve a smooth jawline and neck and the results have left Cher barely able to move her face and even made it difficult for her to speak let alone sing, disgraced chef Paula Deen had emergency eye surgery this summer in a desperate bid to save her sight -- Paula had been suffering from declining vision for months and was shocked when doctors told her the cornea was dying and going under the knife was necessary to save her sight 

Page 10: Hot Shots -- Tiger Woods took a brief break during practice, Leighton Meester caught some waves in Malibu, Kristen Taekman in a New York Jets bikini, Dolph Lundgren doffed his mask after leaving a lunch date in Beverly Hills, Dominic Cooper took his electric bike for a spin in London 

Page 11: Cash-strapped Tori Spelling and husband Dean McDermott are back in couples therapy and on the verge of filing for bankruptcy -- they’re in counseling for the same old stuff which is their constant fighting and spending money and work that isn’t happening -- the parents of five were hit with tax liens totaling nearly $1 million and were also sued by American Express over an unpaid credit card bill of almost $90,000 which Tori asked her mother Candy Spelling who is worth about $600 million to pay but Candy refused and after Candy revealed her plans to leave her fortune to animal charities Tori and Dean may file for bankruptcy because they both love to spend, Bravo bigwigs are hoping hotel heiress Kathy Hilton will fill the vacancy left by Denise Richards and Teddi Mellencamp on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and producers are trying to keep ratings high by getting veteran Kyle Richards to recruit sister and former castmate Kim Richards and half sister Kathy -- Kathy is said to be high on producers’ wish list because of her wit and humor and is also considered old-school Beverly Hills and show brass want her to bring a certain glamour and sophistication to the show 

Page 12: Straight Shuter -- Demi Lovato at a NYC screening party (picture), when the ball drops on New Year’s Eve in Times Square Anderson Cooper won’t be there because he would rather be at home with his baby boy, The Bachelor has cut all ties with Colton Underwood after his ex Cassie Randolph got a temporary restraining order against him, Teresa Giudice plans to move to NYC after listing her New Jersey mansion but she still wants to keep her job on The Real Housewives of New Jersey and to get around that Teresa hopes to pretend she’s moved into her brother Joe Gorga’s home in Jersey 

Page 13: John Legend revealed couples therapy helps strengthen his marriage to Chrissy Teigen and said they keep their romance going strong by communicating and being considerate and listening, Jackie Stallone was more than just Sylvester Stallone’s mom -- she was also one of the world top astrologers and psychics who predicted the fall of the Berlin Wall and Kanye West’s presidential run 

Page 14: Crime -- convicted Melrose Place killer Amy Locane is in lockup again for a fatal 2010 drunk-driving smashup that took one life and nearly took another after a New Jersey Superior Court Judge said she got off too easy by serving two years behind bars and sentenced Amy to eight more years in state prison 

Page 15: The gruesome house of horrors where Drew Carey’s ex-fiancee Amie Harwick brutally met her untimely end is on the market for $1.5 million and her family can’t wait to get rid of it, Shannen Doherty is in pretty good spirits amid her ongoing battle with stage 4 breast cancer according to her former Beverly Hills 90210 co-star Jason Priestley

Page 16: Cover Story -- After decades of turning a blind eye to her husband’s cheating Queen Elizabeth’s 72-year marriage has shockingly collapsed and Prince Philip is now banished to a remote cottage far away from the monarch -- despite royal courtiers painting a rosy picture of the couple quarantining together at Windsor Castle since March the truth is their marriage has been a sham for decades and they’ve been living separate lives for over 50 years and all this forced togetherness was simply too much for them -- Philip has been cheating on Elizabeth since before they were married and has several love children; he has rumored to have had flings with actress Helene Cordet and Daphne du Maurier and Pat Kirkwood and Jane Russell and Merle Oberon and Zsa Zsa Gabor and Princess Alexandria and Sacha Duchess of Abercorn and most recently Lady Penny Romsey -- there will be no divorce and they will just quietly continue their separate lives to the end of their days but the queen never wants to see Philip again 

Page 18: Larry King’s estranged wife Shawn Southwick is demanding $33,000 a month in spousal support because she claims she gave up her music and TV career to marry the frail talk show host and then raise their sons Chance and Cannon, Hollywood Hookups -- Halle Berry and Van Hunt dating, 90 Day Fiance stars Ashley Martson and Jay Smith split for good, Justin Duggar dating Claire Spivey 

Page 19: Tom Cruise is set to shoot the first major movie in outer space and he’s headed to the International Space Station in October 2021 with director Doug Liman -- the two and possibly one additional actor will hitch a ride aboard Elon Musk’s SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule to film the unnamed project, the IV needle allegedly used to administer the fatal dose of propofol to Michael Jackson on June 25 of 2009 is up for auction by the estate of the late singer’s father Joe and the chilling item used by Michael’s physician Dr. Conrad Murray is reportedly still stained with Michael’s blood -- it was submitted to the auction by Michael’s cousin Marsha Stewart who says she took it from Michael’s bedroom days after he died, Sharon Stone has pressed her lips on a long list of Hollywood hunks but picked Robert De Niro as far and away the best kisser but rated her other leading men as kind of like meh 

Page 20: Stars Playing Stars -- how they did it -- Muhammad Ali and Will Smith, Frida Kahlo and Salma Hayek, Ray Charles and Jamie Foxx 

Page 21: Marilyn Monroe and Michelle Williams, Queen Elizabeth and Helen Mirren, Billie Holiday and Diana Ross, Bob Dylan and Cate Blanchett 

Page 22: An adopted son of Mia Farrow and Woody Allen has charged it was his mother not his father who was the monster in the family -- Moses Farrow says Woody did not molest adopted daughter Dylan Farrow in 1992 and that he can no longer stay silent as Woody continues to be condemned for a crime he did not commit 

Page 26: Less than nine months after Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna died in a helicopter crash a vicious feud has ripped the family apart -- the row erupted between his widow Vanessa Bryant and her mother Sofia Laine after Sofia went on TV to publicly accuse her daughter of tossing her out of the family home -- Vanessa feels she’s already given her mom so much and then she heard through the grapevine that Sofia complained she should have more -- it does seem cold that Vanessa would take such action against her mother but she’s ready to take on anyone using her husband and child’s deaths as a selfish cash grab and that includes Sofia 

Page 27: Danny Masterson’s rape trial is looming and the Church of Scientology is doing everything in its power to back the scandal-scarred actor -- the church’s leaders have assigned their top lawyers to aid Danny who is a prominent member of the religion and the lawyers are scouring every law on the books to get the case thrown out or get him acquitted -- the church has previously been accused of trying to get the other side’s defenses dismissed or judges thrown off cases and using all manner of tactics to delay due process 

Page 28: American Life -- Bighearted ex-billionaire Chuck Feeney has spent 38 years giving away nearly all of his vast fortune and the generous do-gooder said he wouldn’t have had it any other way 

Page 29: Famed stoner Willie Nelson can’t stop sampling his own marijuana products and now friends fear the 87-year-old music legend is smoking himself to death -- Willie’s a believer in the powers of cannabis and promotes it passionately but years of smoking has done a number on his lungs and he can barely breathe at times, Julia Duffy has been keeping close a tragic heartache for more than a year -- her only son Danny Lacy committed suicide at age 29 after years of suffering from mental health issues 

Page 34: Comic Kathy Griffin has seen her popularity plummet in recent years and it’s played a role in her plans to sell her sprawling Bel Air estate -- Kathy has burned a lot of bridges and concerts and TV appearances have dried up because of her many industry conflicts so she’s trying to unload her massive manor with wine cellar and movie theater and eight bedrooms for $16 million -- she didn’t want to sell it but the cost and size have become too much for her to handle 

Page 36: Health Watch 

Page 38: CIA bigwigs once hired a psychic to determine if there was life on Mars -- the misguided mission was said to be part of Project Stargate which was launched in 1978 and somehow cost an astronomical $20 million after the CIA hired a man who claimed he could see the surface of the planet in his mind -- the unnamed man claimed he could see huge pyramids and an obelisk structure and road networks on the Red Planet as well as living creatures, John Lennon’s killer Mark David Chapman shocked the parole board when he admitted he deserved the death penalty even as he begged for his freedom at his last hearing -- his murderous motive was seeking self-glory -- the board denied his parole saying they found his statement infamy brings you glory disturbing 

Page 42: Red Carpet -- London Fashion Week 

Page 45: Spot the Differences -- Luke Bryan and his dog Choc 

Page 47: Odd List -- doctors remove granny’s football-sized tumor 

[dontcallmeashlynn-blog]

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[eighthdoctor]

top 5 dogs you have met (if that's too hard to choose, then most recent 5)

omg ok let’s start with top five:

not the dog I consider mine, but rather the first dog I ever met and therefore possibly the most influential dog in my life ever: Buster, my grandma’s english bull terrier. Very classic mostly white with some black spots on his head and back, he was about 3 months older than me. Just old enough that the last time my parents went to visit grandma before I was born, she had just gotten him and he hopped up in mom’s (very pregnant) lap and went to sleep. That set the tone for our entire relationship: I would follow him around, squealing in delight, and then he would follow me around, wagging. He put up with everything I did, which must’ve been a lot cause 2 year old Julis was a screaming animal-magnet. And yet, to the end of his life, I was his favorite person and always got a happy response no matter how old and tired he was.

My dog, more or less (”technically my parents” is a phrase I use a lot): Sydney, ostensibly 3/4 poodle, 1/4 lab (the breeder was Not Good and I have some doubts) and 100% the perfect family dog. We got her when I was 13 and she was 5 months, she’s now almost-eleven and is pretty sure she’s still about 5 months. Every training trick I know I’ve tried on her at least once, which has the honestly-accidental result of making me also her favorite person in the world. Current favorite memory is of taking 10.5 year old Sydney, 2 weeks post major-abdominal surgery, to the dog park and watching her bound around ecstatically for 90 minutes.

Third I can’t name or give much detail on, because they’re in legal limbo at the animal shelter I volunteer at, but they completely reset what I think of as a “difficult dog”, and for all the pain and terror in them, they are filled with so much love. There is very little like working through a dog’s barriers and reaching their heart, which despite everything is still filled with love and trust.

Grace* and Lily*, who were two human-reactive dogs I worked on during my dog training internship. Both were under a year old, Lily was a pit bull cross from a rescue and Grace a GSD with no particular backstory. Grace thought people were the BEST THINGS EVER and went ballistic when meeting strangers; Lily was terrified of men. All men. And terror passed into fear-aggression, and that’s when we started working with her. Both of them we used BAT (Behavioral Adjustment Training), which gave them something to focus on (me!) other than the source of their excitement/fear. Both made huge strides, and both were an excellent lesson for me in dog body language and training.

Grizzly, who’s a 2 year old St. Bernard/Rottweiler cross. I’ve know Griz literally since he was 8 weeks old; he went to puppy classes where I was interning, and now he goes to doggy daycare where I work. Griz loves dogs but is human reactive and has resource guarding issues. He’s a bag of messes because his owner doesn’t quite know what she’s doing (her go-to solution is to up his anxiety meds) but man, for dogs that taught me something, he’s sure one. You are never faster to learn about body language when there’s 120 lbs of dog trying to resource guard you from the other 10 dogs in the room.

Most recent 5:

Sydney. She’s in the room with me right now.

Chelsie/Chelsea (her owners spell it two different ways). The last dog to go home from daycare on Friday. 1.5 year Aussie. Needs a job, doesn’t have one.

Lincoln. Second to last dog to go home. 4 year old black lab. Looks like he’s show line? Complete goober. An Authentic Labrador.

Murray. 2 year old chocolate lab. Giant Line, whatever that may be: He’s in excellent shape and weighs 90 lbs. Also human reactive, so between him and Griz on Fridays, I have 0 fear of anything.

Molly. 5 month boxer/shar pei mix, made out of wrinkles and sass. I love her dearly and will love her more when she leaves the adolescent stage she’s just about to hit.

[curiosity-killed]

real fuckin long joyful/incredulous rambling below feel free to ignore

i’ve talked about this before but w/e it’s under a read more for a reason

so when i was younger, one of my very favorite ballet teachers told my parents that i was like a puppy because I just flung myself into everything regardless of the risk and then, when i inevitably fell, i bounced back up and tried again

this is one of those things that probably wasn’t meant to stick with me for the entire rest of my life but nonetheless has

in ballet, i’ve always been best at jumps and particularly good at fast jumps. the key for me is that i know my body can do it, so i do. as dumb and simplistic as that sounds, that really is how it works for me. 

petit allegro fast enough that the rest of the class is tripping over themselves? let’s throw beats into it. grand allegro so slow that the rest of the class is groaning? let’s see how high i can go. the entrechat six too difficult? fuck that, i can nail that sucker.

and 99/100 times, i’ll be grinning while i do it.

running has always been similar for me. accidentally get on the 6-mile path instead of the 3-mile path when I’m an 11-year-old in my first race? eh i’ll just keep pace with these experienced runners till i pass them. coaches put me in a 400-meter race when our top sprinter gets injured? oh fuck i have no idea where the finish line is guess i’ll just keep going till they tell me to stop. 

and it works. by my senior year of high school, I was an 8-time state qualifying runner, a soloist in the top level of my ballet studio, the 2-time cross country MVP, and a 2-year soloist in the colorguard. 

but the key component of this puppy-like mentality is confidence in my body. i knew that, even if i hit the ground hard, i could stand back up. my body was strong and i believed in my capability to get back up and try again.

that confidence started dwindling once my knee problems developed. and it continued to disappear, bit by bit, as through the years I went from having occasional pain when running to having constant pain when running or dancing  to collapsing after a race to not being able to sleep because of the pain to crying in a doctor’s office after they told me yet again there was nothing they could do and that i would just have to suck it up and be in pain for the rest of my life.

i went from knowing that i could always stand back up to not being sure if i would ever heal if i fell again. you lose a lot of confidence when you’re scared that every jump or every run might be your last.

i was peripherally aware of this occurring. or rather, of something mentally hampering my enjoyment and success in dance and running. freshman year, i waffled between forcing myself through actions that i knew would cause pain to shying away from the slightest risk. sophomore year, i simply stopped doing as many of the things that hurt as possible.

as much as i wear the title of nerd and scoff at the value society places on sports, a huge part of my identity is physical. i am a runner and a dancer - and more than that, i’m a good runner and dancer. losing that is losing part of me.

and then, this summer, something amazing happened. first, of course, something shitty happened, which was the part where i bawled in a doctor’s office while he shrugged dispassionately and stated the ever-so-comforting, “Some people’s knees just hurt.” That doctor is an absolute ass and I would still like to punch him with a chair. in the face.

But something good did come of that, which was confirmation that there is nothing structurally wrong with my knee or hip. in fact, they’re in pretty much perfect condition - which is pretty damn weird for a distance runner and ballerina. 

The problem, it turned out, was functional. (the doctor wasn’t here for this part. after determining that i was not either a) a surgery candidate or b) an interesting enough case for a paper, he wasn’t interested) my kneecap and hip don’t quite move right, and my muscles are a bit tight. these are things that can be addressed. these are things that can be treated! (fuck you doctors of the past. fuck. you.)

and yeah, i’m basically going to have to do yoga/physical therapy every morning for the rest of my life. ideal? no. but this summer, for the first time in six years, i was pain-free. not just occasionally, not just when i slept through 10 hours of the day. almost every day. when i danced, when i hiked, when i sat on the couch. 

since returning to school, i walk up approximately 20-30 flights of stairs every day and walk 3-4 miles every day (not including running mileage). i dance twice a week and run at least once and throw in some other workout somewhere in there as well.

i don’t hurt.

i can run up the stairs.

i don’t wake up and want to cry because i hurt so much that movement seems impossible.

i about started crying this summer because - for the first time since the winter of my senior year - i could do standing bow with a straight leg and not be in pain for the rest of the day. 

and with this, suddenly, that confidence i once had, that sure knowledge that my body could do what i willed it to do, has returned.

i noticed it in ballet this summer. i took a 1.5 hr technique class en pointe and while my feet were bleeding by the end - I felt good. i was giddy. the joy had returned to dance. it had always been there, trying to slip through the fringes of the pain and anxiety and stress, but for the first time in years it was there in all its incandescent glory, a glowing warmth radiating through my chest and soul in exactly the way i remembered feeling three years ago when i stood, chest heaving, at the end of my solo and knew that my body had done what few people in the theatre could even fathom. my body was mine once more.

and now that i’ve returned to school, i’ve discovered that the same is true of running. i’ve been frustrated when i’ve run recently because dear god, body we don’t need to run at a 7:00 pace. inevitably, i’ve cut my runs short and headed home thinking that at least i ran hard if not for very long.

tonight, i said fuck it and kept running. i ran 4.05 miles at a 7:23 pace. 

that’s faster than i ran shakeouts in the peak of my varsity career in high school. and while i was winded when i pulled out of my kick, i could’ve kept going. my legs felt strong. i felt strong. and moreover, i felt like me.

it’s taken six years of doctors telling me to quit running, that i could never dance again, that i needed to pick up new hobbies, that there was nothing wrong with me, that it must not hurt that badly. and to each of them, i offer a very sincere, bottom-of-my-heart, could not be more genuine “Fuck you.” 

because my body is mine and it can do all the things i ask of it. it can climb and run and dance and jump and sit. i don’t have to hurt anymore. i don’t have to gauge whether an activity is worth the pain i know will come from it. i don’t have to measure out my life by how high my threshold is that day.

it’s mine again, and i have never felt so whole.

[fitnesshealthyoga-blog]

New Post has been published on https://fitnesshealthyoga.com/the-disturbing-links-between-too-much-weight-and-several-types-of-cancer/

The disturbing links between too much weight and several types of cancer

An image of a breast cancer tumor and its microenvironment. Tumor cells are in cyan, macrophages in red and collagen fibers in green.

An image of a breast cancer tumor and its microenvironment. Tumor cells are in cyan, macrophages in red and collagen fibers in green.

Photo: Joseph Szulczewski, David Inman, Kevin Eliceiri And Patricia Keely/Carbone Cancer Center At The University Of Wisconsin/National Cancer Institute/National Institutes Of Health

Photo: Joseph Szulczewski, David Inman, Kevin Eliceiri And Patricia Keely/Carbone Cancer Center At The University Of Wisconsin/National Cancer Institute/National Institutes Of Health

An image of a breast cancer tumor and its microenvironment. Tumor cells are in cyan, macrophages in red and collagen fibers in green.

An image of a breast cancer tumor and its microenvironment. Tumor cells are in cyan, macrophages in red and collagen fibers in green.

Photo: Joseph Szulczewski, David Inman, Kevin Eliceiri And Patricia Keely/Carbone Cancer Center At The University Of Wisconsin/National Cancer Institute/National Institutes Of Health

The disturbing links between too much weight and several types of cancer

Smoking has been the No. 1 preventable cause of cancer for decades and still kills more than 500,000 people a year in the United States. But obesity is poised to take the top spot, as Americans’ waistlines continue to expand while tobacco use plummets.

The switch could occur in five or 10 years, said Otis Brawley, a Johns Hopkins oncologist and former chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society. The rise in obesity rates could threaten the steady decline in cancer death rates since the early 1990s, he said.

Yet only about half of Americans are aware of the link between excess weight and cancer. And researchers are struggling to answer such fundamental questions as how surplus weight increases the risk of the disease and whether, conversely, losing weight helps prevent cancer or a recurrence.

Being obese and overweight – long implicated in heart disease and diabetes – has been associated in recent years with an increased risk of getting at least 13 types of cancer, including stomach, pancreatic, colorectal and liver malignancies, as well as postmenopausal breast cancer. Researchers at the American Cancer Society say that excess body weight is linked to about 8 percent of all cancers in the United States and about 7 percent of cancer deaths.

Compared with people of normal weight, obese patients are more likely to see their cancer come back and have a lower likelihood of survival. Perhaps most alarming, young people, who as a group are heavier than their parents, are developing weight-related malignancies, including colorectal cancer, at earlier ages than previous generations, experts say.

The precise link between cancer and excess weight isn’t known, but researchers are focusing on the “visceral” fat that surrounds internal organs. Rather than being a harmless glob, this fat is a “metabolically active organ” that produces hormones such as estrogen, which is associated with a higher risk of breast and some other cancers, according to the American Institute for Cancer Research, a nonprofit group that focuses on diet, nutrition and cancer.

The fat also secretes proteins that drive insulin levels higher, which may spur cell growth and increase the possibility of cancer. And it can cause chronic inflammation, another risk factor for the disease, according to the group.

“It’s a complex interplay of metabolism, inflammation and immunity,” said Jennifer Ligibel, a breast oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. “It creates an environment that is more permissive for cancer.”

About 7 in 10 Americans are overweight or obese, according to a 2015 article in JAMA Internal Medicine. People are considered overweight if they have a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29, and obese if they have a BMI of 30 or more.

The proportion of adults who are overweight has remained relatively stable in the past several decades, but the obesity rate has soared. In the early 1960s, almost 11 percent of men and nearly 16 percent of women were obese; in 2016, those percentages were 38 percent and 41 percent, respectively, according to the cancer society.

The risk of cancer rises along with excess weight. “It does appear that the risk is greater the more obese you are,” said Jonathan Wright, a urologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. There is a link between being overweight and cancer, “but it is not as strong,” he said.

The type of cancer that is most strongly associated with obesity is endometrial, which develops in the lining of the uterus. Obese and overweight women are two to four times as likely to develop the disease as women of normal weight, and the risk rises with increased weight gain, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Meanwhile, people who are overweight or obese are about twice as likely to develop liver and kidney cancer, and about 1.5 times as likely to develop pancreatic cancer than normal-weight people, according to NIH.

In addition, having too much belly fat – a larger waistline – is linked to an increased risk of colorectal and some other cancers, regardless of body weight, the cancer society said.

Several researchers are running clinical trials to try to prove what many already believe – that losing weight reduces the odds of developing cancer or having a recurrence. There are some indications they may be right – severely obese people who have bariatric surgery, for example, lessen their odds of getting cancer – but much more data is needed.

Carol Massey, who is 59 and was treated for breast cancer two years ago, is enrolled in a nationwide trial designed to see if losing weight makes it less likely breast cancer will come back. She has reduced her calorie intake, stepped up her exercise and gotten regular advice from a health coach based at Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, which is leading the Breast Cancer Weight Loss Study, or BWEL.

To be eligible for the trial, women must have a BMI of 27 or higher. The study, which will enroll about 3,100 women, will compare Massey’s group – which gets supervised weight loss and health-education materials – with a group that receives only the educational materials.

Massey, who lives in Paola, Kansas, said she quickly came to look forward to her coach’s calls, which initially were once a week. “We got to be friends, she would ask about my family,” she said. “One time, she even called me when she was on vacation in Cabo San Lucas” in Mexico.

Over time, the 5-foot-8 Massey lost 30 pounds. She is now 150 pounds.

Those are the kind of results Ligibel, the principal investigator, is hoping for. If the study shows that slimming down is associated with reduced recurrence, doctors could prescribe a weight-loss program as standard therapy for breast cancer patients – much as cardiac rehabilitation is urged for heart-attack patients. That could pave the way for insurance coverage.

Gail Folloder joined a 16-week program at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center for heavier women at high risk of breast cancer because both of her parents had had cancer and she wanted to prevent it. The 67-year-old Houston resident underwent “hunger training,” which uses continuous glucose monitoring to show participants when they need fuel and urges them to limit their eating to those times.

“The idea is to help people learn to eat only when they are really hungry,” said Karen Basen-Engquist, a behavioral scientist at the cancer center. “We eat for all kinds of reasons – sometimes because we are with other people or because we are bored or stressed.”

It worked for Folloder. “I used to say that I was hungry all the time but I really wasn’t,” she said. “Now I’m more in tune with my body.”

Besides talking to a dietitian weekly, she stepped up her physical activity by using a hula hoop and an exercise bike. Folloder, who is 5-foot-9, went from 219 pounds to 191 pounds.

The women in Folloder’s group will be compared to a “control” group that takes part in a weight-loss program but does not do blood sugar monitoring. Results are expected this year.

Fred Hutchinson’s Wright is focusing on overweight and obese men with low-grade, slow-growing prostate cancer who have decided to take an “active surveillance” approach – which involves monitoring via blood tests, physical exams and biopsies – rather than treatment such as radiation or surgery. He is investigating whether keeping patients’ glucose levels under control through weight loss will prevent the cancer from getting worse and improve survival. The goal is for participants to lose 7 percent of their body weight.

The study is based on the Diabetes Prevention Program, which showed that people at high risk for Type 2 diabetes can prevent or delay the disease by losing a modest amount of weight through dietary changes and increased physical activity.

Steve Borden, 57, enrolled in the trial, called Prostate Cancer Active Lifestyle or PALS, last November and was assigned to a nutritionist and exercise physiologist to coach him on diet and exercise.

The 5-foot-10 Borden has lost 30 pounds and now weighs 198 pounds. His target is just 1,800 calories a day, and he regularly uses the treadmill and lifts weights. He said a recent test showed his PSA – for prostate-specific antigen, which when elevated can be an indication of cancer – has dropped slightly, although his doctors don’t know whether that is connected to his weight loss.

In general, how much do people need to lose to improve their cancer odds? Ligibel of Dana-Farber said it is not clear but that data suggests a 5 percent reduction in body weight has a beneficial impact on blood sugar and inflammation.

For anyone wanting to reduce their cancer risk, avoiding weight gain in the first place is important, experts say. Brawley of Johns Hopkins said that the goal should be maintaining “energy balance” – consuming no more calories than are burned off through exercise and other activity.

Nutritionists say the key is cutting down on portion sizes, avoiding sugar and aiming for meals that are rich in vegetables, fruits and whole grains and beans and light on animal protein.

Anthony Perre, chief of outpatient medicine at Cancer Treatment Centers of America, said the Mediterranean diet – which emphasizes plant-based food, whole grains and olive oil – has been linked to improved cancer outcomes.

“But the diet that is the right one is the one that you can sustain over the long term,” he said. “Whether it’s Atkins, low-carb or low-calorie, they all work if you stick with them.”

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[grayembers]

I keep meaning to make a life update post for old friends here, but I wanted to wait until it was all good news instead of mixed, but I’m just gonna accept that won’t happen and update people anyway!

tl;dr I’m graduating with a master’s in computer science soon, job hunting sucks, theses suck don’t do grad school, I play a disgusting amount of Overwatch, and my cat is still super fluffy and great

Still together with Austin, and maybe going to visit him after I graduate. ouo  He’s a constant good presence in my life, and it’s really made me realize what healthy relationships are like lmao. Hindsight is 20/20. But yee he humors all my OT3 plotting and I get to listen to him geek out about musicals recently, it’s very cute. C:

I also have a great set of local friends here, although now I’m worried what’ll happen when I move away for a job. And one of them has been studying abroad this semester so I’ve barely seen her. But they’re all A+ people and we like to play board games and I’ve even dabbled in DnD with them.

We had a stray cat in the house for a few months last semester/into winter, but we finally found a foster group willing to take him in and look for a home even though he had FIV and is kinda old. He was definitely going to die if we hadn’t taken him in, even continued vet care and being indoors only couldn’t really cure his upper respiratory infection. My friend/housemate Michelle was pretty sad to see him go, he was kinda hers even though she knew she couldn’t realistically keep a cat right now. ;o;

I waste a lot of time playing games. Overwatch is my coping mechanism for depression, I hit level 600+ recently it’s pretty pathetic. I do some comp in mid plat, and I’ve actually made a nice set of friends to play with as well. One who happens to go to this same school (I guess we started playing together through friends of friends, but those middle links don’t play anymore) and some elsewhere. So I’m actually on Discord a lot for game reasons! And GrayEmbers#1544, happy to play with friends.

Ooh, I also bought Oxygen Not Included (and convinced Austin to) the other week, which is Klei’s new game - the company that did Don’t Starve. It’s in super early alpha so tons of bugs, but I’m excited to see it grow just like I did with Don’t Starve. So much future content, and I already like it as it is.

I’m trying to shift some of my time-wasting activities to drawing and writing instead of Overwatch. Especially when I find I’m just playing and not having fun. Drew a few things recently, and have had Ryker/Veronica/Christine AU fic in the works since February (and post shit regularly on the side blog), and I’ve really been enjoying renewed character activity with Austin’s newer courier and a friend of Silt’s! Nyl/Red Lucy is the real OTP. Also, I’ve almost convinced two irl friends to play FNV, they’re probly sick of hearing me talk about it lmfao. It’ll always have a special place in my heart.

School happens. Somehow I’m going to be allowed to graduate in a few months without contributing anything useful to the world. I feel like the only thing I really learned in grad school was how academia works, so as far as Computer Science goes, I wouldn’t recommend it unless your endgoal is research or academia. Don’t get me wrong, I took some neat classes and read some really cool research, but I’d already learned most of my hard skills from undergrad so. shrugs. My research I’m being paid to do this academic year involves taking technology into hiking or outdoor settings, and I’m focusing especially on the cultural aspects of it. For example, people react very differently to a person reading a book in nature versus looking at a phone screen in nature when in reality that person could be reading an e-book, they have no idea.

Things are kind of rough again mental health wise, but I dug this hole myself by procrastinating on my thesis which I now have to write in 1.5 months, so. I want to die a lot of the time but I don’t think that’s gonna happen. But if anyone is up for ramming me with their car going 60, hmu literally.

Jobs will probably happen?? I don’t have anything lined up yet and my interests pull me in like 10 directions, but I’m looking pretty seriously into UX design stuff and possibly contracting work in tech. Dream job is still to work with virtual reality and/or gesture interfaces, but that didn’t happen in grad school (partially my own fault partially shitty circumstances) so I don’t know if I have the right qualifications.

Can’t wait to move somewhere and have a job with set hours and get more pets and build a new computer because I can.  ;~;  (No idea where yet, I just know I don’t want to go any farther south because summer is the worst.)

My older brother is getting married in November, which’ll be my third wedding of the year lol. And my Dad and stepmom moved back to the states from China! They’re in Baltimore, I’ve gone to see them once already and probably will again on the tail end of a friend’s wedding. Their dog is super cute holy shit.

Okay now that I’ve lost 90% of readers, I also lowkey wanted to mention I had top surgery over winter break, which you might be able to tell from the two selfies above. If you happen to know me irl but hadn’t heard yet, please keep it to yourself. I still identify as female and use female pronouns, but I’m absolutely loving my new chest and so happy that I saved up for it. ;u; If you’re a mutual and wanna ask particulars or about the process or anything, feel free to message me privately.

Actually, I’ve been meaning to start exercising or something because there’s actually a chance now I can completely like my body shape lmfao. Stress eating is too real though

[justnyo]

This may seem kinda cheesy but I wanted to make it fun #tbt top left of the grid I was roughly around 6 or 7 and it's a school photo. The other photos are various stages in my transition, the bottom left photo, is my most recent (almost 4 years on T, 1.5 years post top surgery). During those younger years ad a kid, I always acted as if I was a boy. Learning to pee standing up, playing house with the girls (as the daddy), playing Ken when I played Barbies with friends etc. My Dad died shortly after that school photo was taken in 1979, I was 7 years old. I was also hiding a secret that neither of my parents knew of (sexual abuse) but even before that I felt like I was a boy in a girls body and that something must've gone terribly wrong. I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and anorexia the year my Dad died and I suffered from anorexia off and into my 20s and depression into my 40s. Yes I am 45.. Fast forward to now, I was diagnosed with gender Dysphoria at age 40 and before that I came out to friends and family as Trans (created my Name which was changed in court along with my gender on April 2015, this Monday wil be 2 years since that happened). Lost a combination of friends and family, sadly the brother that raised me after my Mom died was one of the losses, although he's slowly coming around, even accepting an invitation to my wedding! I continue chant for their happiness everyday. I am at peace with the loss. I had to grow up fast due to losing both parents by the age of 12. I'm proud of the man I've always been and realized it but didn't know what being trans meant at ages 6 0r 7 but I know now. This is naturally me. I chose to share all this to inspire others that we are valid and it's okay to be who you are and not fear what others think about you. I lived so many years unhappily for others! Never again!

[queertransjew-blog]

top surgery revision recap

A little background: I had top surgery on Monday, July 17 of this year. I had a hysterectomy about 1.5 weeks later, on Friday, July 28, so I asked for the drains to be pulled the day before, even though it was a little early for the one side according to how much was draining, because I didn't want to have to deal with the drains while getting a second surgery.

On hindsight, that probably wasn't the greatest idea, considering a seroma formed on the right side, where the drains had still been outputting a little bit more. I went back and had it drained 1-2x a week for the next month, but scar tissue formed, and so I had surgery yesterday, Oct 30, to have the scar tissue taken out.

I'm not upset with my doctor for pulling the drains, and the seroma could have even happened after pulling the drains at the right time. Of course, if I could go back in time, I would've just put up with the drains through the hysterectomy, but honestly I had no idea that this was going to happen, so...

Usually, revisions can be done in-office under a local anesthetic, but my surgeon (Dr. Bluebond-Langner at NYU) thought, due to the amount of scar tissue, it would be a better idea to put me under because it would be less uncomfortable for me. Which was fine with me, I wasn't too fond of the idea of being opened up while still awake.

I had to be at the hospital at 9 am. I got there a little early, check in, was brought back, a nurse took my vitals, etc. Then, I changed into the very fashionable, one-size-fits-all hospital gown and grippy socks, and brushed my teeth, like they tell you to do. She also asked if I still had a uterus, because if so, I'd need to take a pregnancy test. But I said no, so I did not, which was pretty nice. It'd be even nicer if I didn't have to answer that question, but...

Also, my gender was marked as 'female' on my wristband, which was frustrating, and I didn't remember that being the case when I had top surgery, but it must have been? Anyway, I guess next time I get surgery there I'll have to get that fixed.

My mom was brought back to wait with me. Then, I waited a while for Dr. BL. When she came in, she looked at my chest, since she hadn't seen it since I saw her mid-September. I told her it was looking better, probably because the swelling had gone down.

She agreed. At my last appointment in her office, she'd said she may need to put a drain in after the revision to be sure that another seroma didn't happen. Understandably so, considering why go through another surgery if the same issue was just going to happen again? But I was also like, ugh. Because drains suck.

But when I saw her yesterday, she said she didn't think we needed a drain anymore, and she was just going to use glue. I imagined her glueing me together with Elmer's glue, which I'm sure isn't the reality of it, but it's a funny visual. Anyway, I was much happier about that. She marked me up, branded me with her initials on my chest, and then left.

Then, I waited a very long time for the anesthesiologist to come in. I was supposed to go in for my surgery at 10:30, but when I went into the OR, I noticed it was about 11:15, so I'm not sure what exactly caused us to be running late, but it wasn't really a big deal.

The anesthesiologist was really nice. I told her that when I had my top surgery, I had been super groggy for hours afterward and hadn't been able to stay awake. She said she would try not to have that happen again.

Then, the OR nurse came in, talked to me, asked me more questions, and then finally I said goodbye to my mom and was brought back to the OR. The nurse was really nice, we were joking with each other as we walked down the hallway. I liked her, it felt like she was making an effort to distract me which was much appreciated.

I got into the OR, laid down, and they went to work attaching me to monitors, putting compression tubes around my lower legs, etc. The anesthesiologist took 3 tries to get an IV started in my hand. I normally have bad veins, even after being hydrated and fed, so I can understand the difficulty considering I hadn't drank or eaten anything since last night, and the room was also cold.

They started me on some 'relaxation' drugs, and the anesthesiologist said she was going to give me some oxygen beforehand, but I don't remember that happening.

I just remember waking up, either when they were rolling me into recovery or just in the recovery room itself. I asked if I had a drain in (I think about three times, haha), and they said no each time. They asked how I was feeling, and I said ok, just a little nauseous, and if I was in pain, which I really wasn't. They said they could give me two things for the nausea, and I can't remember the other option, but I opted for a shot in my arm. It hurt pretty badly, like, the pain from that was worse than anything else, and my arm is still a little sore the next morning. But it worked and I was not nauseous afterward.

Then, my mom was brought back and I asked if she had talked to Dr. BL, and she said she had, that it had went really well. Then, I guess the nurses asked me mom to leave for a while and told me to try to sleep.

I slept for a little while, I have no idea how long. But then I told them I was feeling ok when a nurse came back, and they asked if I wanted to sit in a chair, and I said yes. I also told them I had to go to the bathroom so they let me do that.

I was then sat in a chair, and they asked if I wanted anything to drink, so I asked for tea. I really wanted coffee, but they said it could make me nauseous again.

They said they could give me fentanyl if I wanted it, and I said no. I just wanted tylenol. So they gave me tylenol. I'm not a fan of narcotics. Then my mom came back, and I got some graham crackers.

Then they let me get dressed, and explained to me the post-op instructions, and then I was free to go. Initially, they had told me I would need to spend 23 hours in the hospital afterward, but I think because I didn't have the drain they let me go early.

Oh, and also, my mom talked to Dr. BL after my surgery, and she said (quoted from a text from my mom): "She came Out All smiles and said it went very well took out the extra tissue which wasn’t much and said that she knows how anxious you are but it will all be fine- just give it Time".

On the way out, I got an apple juice and a Clif protein bar from the cafe. I was hungry. I also saw one of the three nurses that took care of me, since apparently they were all going on their breaks around the same time, and waved to her.

Overall, it went really well. I wasn't misgendered at all by nurses or hospital staff (at least, not to my face) like I was last time, though I think I pass a little bit better than I did in July. But all the staff who took care of me were really nice.

Then we went home and I got changed and laid in bed. I peeked at my chest, and it looked good. They told me I'm allowed to shower the next day, and Dr. Bluebond even said I could go out for Halloween if I want (I'm not going to, haha, but...).

I'm just super anxious about the seroma coming back, but I'm trying not to be, and trying to trust that my surgeon did the right thing, which I'm sure she did. I'm going to take it really easy and hang out all this week. From what Dr. BL said, it seemed like I could go back to class pretty quickly, but because I thought I was going to have a drain in, I had already told all my professors and my job that I was going to be out for about two weeks. I'd much rather chill at home than stress myself out trying to get to class all wrapped up in a compression binder and carry a bag and etc., so I'll milk my time off a little.

I'm not a fan of sitting around, but I know that not moving and relaxing is probably what's best for me at this moment. I would much rather spend this week sedentary, lying in bed and watching Stranger Things, than potentially causing another complication. I'm sure I'll be back to my normal life in no time.

I'll keep updating y'all if anything else notable happens. Right now, the best case scenario happened -- I didn't have to stay in the hospital overnight, and I don't have any drains. I can shower today, too, instead of waiting a week, like after top surgery. Of course, having to get another surgery after already having two over the summer wasn't ideal, but, things happen.

If anyone has questions, I'd be happy to answer them. I'll also maybe post some pictures once I don't have to wear the binder anymore.

I know it seems like most guys have top surgery and heal really well and quickly. But, obviously that's not the case for anyone, and while complications are super frustrating, most problems can be fixed.

---

So I wrote the above right after my surgery. It’s been almost three weeks since then. I had glue over my incisions, and at my first post-op a week after, Dr. Bluebond removed the glue. She took the foam padding out of my binder but told me to keep wearing it.

Later that day, I noticed some fluid in my chest on the side where the revision had been done. Obviously, this was worrying to me. But I put my binder on and tried to ignore it. When I took a shower later in the day, I massaged the area where the fluid was, and it all started draining out of the incision around my nipple. Which I guess was a good thing, because my chest was flat afterward.

The fluid came back the next day, and my nipple also looked pretty gross and raw, so I emailed Dr. Bluebond’s office, and was told to come in the next day. Dr. Bluebond gave me Aquacel to put on the incision, thinking that perhaps the bactroban I had been putting on the incision was irritating it. She also drained the fluid in my chest.

I went back the next week, and she again drained a little bit more of the fluid. I was told to keep putting the Aquacel on my incision, but to alternate it with Aquaphor.

It’s been almost a week since then. After the fluid was drained a second time, it didn’t return. My nipple has finally been healing. I truly believe Aquaphor works miracles. My chest looks great and I’m really happy with it. I have my next post-op appointment with her in a day, and I’m hoping I’ll be cleared to return to the gym.

As always, I’m happy to answer any questions. If I’m cleared to stop wearing my binder on Tuesday, I’ll also post some pictures, despite my nipple still being in the process of healing.

[brajeshupadhyay]

Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Global COVID-19 cases cross 20 million; USA tops list with over a quarter of all patients

09:48 (IST)

Coronavirus in India LATEST Updates

India reports over 53,000 new cases, takes total to 22.6 lakh

India on Tuesday reports 53,601 new cases, taking the overall tally to 22,68,675. The toll rises by 871 to 45,257. The COVID-19 included 6,39,929 active cases, 15,83,490 cured/discharged/migrated and 45,257 deaths.

09:46 (IST)

Coronavirus in Russia LATEST Updates

Russia to launch world’s first COVID-19 vaccine tomorrow, 12 August

In a race to find a vaccine that will protect people from the novel coronavirus, six candidates from around the world are now in phase three of human trials. Recent reports from Russia claim that one of their candidates has completed all three phases of human clinical trials successfully. Russia will reportedly begin producing the vaccine soon and already has plans for a massive, country-wide vaccine drive.

Russia currently has two COVID-19 vaccine candidates in the race – one, a vaccine being developed by the Vektor State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology. The second is a vaccine being produced by the Gamaleya Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology along with the Russian Defence Ministry.

Read full report here

09:36 (IST)

Coronavirus in India LATEST Updates

Urdu poet Rahat Indori tests COVID-19 positive

Urdu poet Rahat Indori has said that he has tested positive for COVID-19. “After exhibiting preliminary symptoms of the infection, I have tested positive for Covid-19. I am admitted at the Aurobindo Hospital. Pray for my speedy recovery,” he tweets.

कोविड के शरुआती लक्षण दिखाई देने पर कल मेरा कोरोना टेस्ट किया गया, जिसकी रिपोर्ट पॉज़िटिव आयी है.ऑरबिंदो हॉस्पिटल में एडमिट हूँ दुआ कीजिये जल्द से जल्द इस बीमारी को हरा दूँ एक और इल्तेजा है, मुझे या घर के लोगों को फ़ोन ना करें, मेरी ख़ैरियत ट्विटर और फेसबुक पर आपको मिलती रहेगी.

— Dr. Rahat Indori (@rahatindori) August 11, 2020

09:27 (IST)

   Coronavirus in India LATEST Updates

India, US actively exchanging information on COVID-19, says India's ambassador to US

India has a long-standing partnership with the US in the area of health & scientific research. Since initial days of the outbreak of COVID-19, our scientists and institutions have been actively engaged in exchange of information, reports ANI quoting the Ambassador of India to US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu

09:00 (IST)

Coronavirus in India LATEST Updates

Pranab Mukherjee put on ventilator support, tests positive for COVID-19

According to reports former President Pranab Mukherjee was put on ventilator support on Monday after he underwent surgery to remove a clot in his brain, sources said. Hours before the surgery, Mukherjee, 84, said he had also tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

08:45 (IST)

Coronavirus in Puducherry LATEST Updates

Two Puducherry Cabinet ministers test COVID-19 positive

Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy has said in a tweet that two of his cabinet ministers have tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday.

"Two of my ministers in the Cabinet Shri Kandasamy and Shri Kamalakannan were tested positive for Covid-1. We’re moving with public and officers in discharge of their duties I wish them well and pray GOD for speedy recovery I appeal to people moved with them go for testing," his tweet read.

Two of my ministers in the Cabinet Shri Kandasamy and Shri Kamalakannan were tested positive for Covid-19 They we’re moving with public and officers in discharge of their duties I wish them well and pray GOD for speedy recovery I appeal to people moved with them go for testing

— V.Narayanasamy (@VNarayanasami) August 11, 2020

08:38 (IST)

Coronavirus in India LATEST Updates

Key govt meeting on COVD-19 vaccine procurement to be held tomorrow

According to the Union health minister, an expert committee on vaccine administration chaired by Dr VK Paul, NITI Aayog will meet on 12 August to consider logistics, ethical aspects of procurement and administration of COVID-19 vaccine. The committee will engage with stakeholders including state governments and vaccine manufacturers, reports ANI.

08:24 (IST)

Coronavirus in US LATEST Updates

India comes a 'close second' after US in COVID-19 testing, says Trump

US President Donald Trump on Monday asserted that no other country comes close to the United States with regard to COVID-19 testing while stating that India stands second.

According to Trump, while the US has tested close to 65 million people for coronavirus, India would be second with 11 million tests.

Read full report here

08:11 (IST)

Coronavirus in West Bengal LATEST Updates

Suspension of flight services from Delhi, Mumbai to Kolkata airport to continue till 31 Aug

The suspension of flights to Kolkata from high Covid-19 prevalence cities (viz. Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Chennai and Ahmedabad) will continue till 31 August, reports ANI quoting West Bengal government.

The suspension of flights to Kolkata from high COVID-19 prevalence cities (viz. Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Chennai & Ahmedabad) will continue till 31st August: West Bengal Government pic.twitter.com/wWnTc0xQdd

— ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2020

08:04 (IST)

Coronavirus in China LATEST Updates

China reports 44 new cases today

China reported on Tuesday 44 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for August 10, compared with 49 cases a day earlier, the health authority said. The National Health Commission said in a statement, 31 of the new infections were imported cases, and the balance 13 were locally transmitted cases reported from Xinjiang region.

07:58 (IST)

Coronavirus LATEST Updates

World surpasses 20 million coronavirus cases, WHO warns against despair

The coronavirus pandemic chalked up another horrific milestone Monday as the world surpassed 20 million recorded cases of infection from the tiny killer that has upended life just about everywhere. The number as of 22:15 GMT was 20,002,577 cases, with 733,842 deaths recorded, according to an AFP tally of official sources.

In yet another staggering landmark, the death toll is expected to surpass 750,000 in a matter of days as the global health crisis that began late last year in China rages on.

Coronavirus LATEST Updates: In yet another staggering landmark, the death toll is expected to surpass 750,000 in a matter of days as the global health crisis that began late last year in China rages on

The total number of coronavirus cases in India crossed 22 lakh with a rise of 62,064 new cases on Monday, while the toll rose to 44,386 with 1,007 new deaths, the Union health ministry said.  The total tally includes 6,34,945 active cases.

India's COVID-19 recoveries crossed 1.5 million with the recovery of 15,35,743 patients in the past 24 hours, the ministry said, adding that the achievement was possible "because of the policy of testing aggressively, tracking comprehensively and treating efficiently".

"Better ambulance services, focus on standard of care and use of non-invasive oxygen have given the desired results," the ministry said.

With the highest-ever single-day number of recoveries of 54,859, the recovery rate is almost at 70 percent.

The ministry added that the record number of recoveries "have ensured that the percentage of the active cases have reduced and currently comprise only 28.66 percent of the total positive cases".

Early identification of cases has also led to a steep fall in the percentage of active cases, it said.

"Early identification helps to ensure timely and prompt isolation of the mild and moderate cases and hospitalisation of the severe and critical cases thereby leading to effective management of cases," the ministry said.

However, this is the fourth consecutive day that the COVID-19 cases have increased by more than 60,000.

As many as 4,77,023 samples were tested on Sunday, taking the total to 2,45,83,558, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Pranab Mukherjee tests COVID-19 positive

Former president Pranab Mukherjee said that he tested positive for coronavirus and requested people who recently came in his contact to get tested for the virus.

"On a visit to the hospital for a separate procedure, I have tested positive for COVID-19 today. I request the people who came in contact with me in the last week, to please self isolate and get tested for COVID-19," Mukherjee tweeted.

The octogenarian leader is the latest among many political figures in India to have been tested positive for coronavirus.

Several Union ministers including Home Minister Amit Shah, Minister of State Arjun Ram Meghwal, MoS for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary have tested positive for the virus.

Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit, Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa, Karnataka health minister B Sriramulu are among those who got infected with coronavirus.

PTI quoted that former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya as saying that he and his wife Medha had been detected with the coronavirus infection and have been hospitalised.

Additionally, earlier on Monday, Maharashtra Legislative Council member from Osmanabad, Sujitsingh Thakur, said he and some of his family members had tested positive.

The Superintendent of Police (Rural) in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr, Harendra Kumar Singh, also tested positive for coronavirus on Monday.

BS Yediyurappa 'completely' cured of COVID-19

Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa has recovered 'completely' from COVID-19 and was discharged from a private hospital nine days after being admitted, the state government said.

The 77-year old leader was admitted to the Manipal Hospital on 2 August after he tested positive for coronavirus.

"After recovering from COVID-19 completely, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has been discharged from the Manipal Hospital," an official statement said. Later, the chief minister himself tweeted about his discharge.

"Thank you everyone for your wishes and prayers. I have been discharged from the hospital and will be in self-quarantine. Deeply grateful for your affection and support. I look forward to getting back to the routine very soon," he said.

State-wise cases and deaths

Of the 1,007 new deaths on Monday, 390 are from Maharashtra, 119 from Tamil Nadu, 107 from Karnataka, 97 from Andhra Pradesh, 54 from West Bengal, 41 from Uttar Pradesh, 24 each from Gujarat and Punjab, 22 from Jharkhand, 19 from Madhya Pradesh, and 13 each from Delhi, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir.

Of the total 44,386 deaths, Maharashtra has reported the maximum of 17,757, followed by 4,927 in Tamil Nadu, 4,111 in Delhi and 3,198 in Karnataka.

There have been 2,652 fatalities in Gujarat, 2,069 in Uttar Pradesh, 2,059 in West Bengal, 2,036 in Andhra Pradesh and 996 in Madhya Pradesh.

A total of 789 people have died in Rajasthan due to the pandemic, followed by 637 in Telangana, 586 in Punjab, 483 in Haryana and 472 in Jammu and Kashmir. There have been 387 COVID-19 deaths in Bihar, 272 in Odisha, 177 in Jharkhand, 145 in Assam, 125 in Uttarakhand, 108 in Kerala.

Chhattisgarh has registered 96 deaths, followed by 87 in Puducherry, 75 in Goa, 42 in Tripura and 25 in Chandigarh. Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported 20 deaths, Himachal Pradesh reported 15, Manipur reported 11, Ladakh reported nine and Nagaland reported eight.

There have been six coronavirus deaths in Meghalaya and three in Arunachal Pradesh, while Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu reported two and Sikkim reported one.

The health ministry stated that more than 70 percent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

Maharashtra reported 9,181 fresh cases of COVID-19, taking its tally to 5,24,513. Also, 6,711 patients were discharged from hospitals, pushing up the recovery tally to 3,58,421.

There are 1,47,735 active cases in the state at present.

Meanwhile, Mumbai reported 925 new coronavirus cases and 46 deaths, taking the tally to 1,24,307 and the toll to 6,845. The number of active cases in Mumbai stood at 19,172.

Tamil Nadu reported 5,914 new cases, taking the total number of cases in the state to 3,02,815. The state reported more than 100 deaths for the eighth consecutive day, taking the toll to 5,041, a government COVID bulletin said.

The state took just 16 days to reach the three lakh-mark compared to the 22 days it had taken for the two lakh milestone on 25 July. The one lakh tally was recorded on 3 July. The 6,037 recoveries on Monday eclipsed the fresh infections and cumulatively 2,44,675 people have got cured so far.

There are 53,099 active cases in the state.

Karnataka saw a dip in daily cases, with the numbers dropping from the consistent 5,000-plus infections for the past few days to over 4,000 on Monday.

The state on Monday reported 4,267 new cases of COVID-19 and 114 related fatalities, taking the total number of infections to 1,82,354 and the toll to 3,312, the health department said.

Andhra Pradesh also saw a sharp fall from the over 10,000 cases on Sunday to 7,665 fresh cases on Monday "on the back of slimmer testing numbers," PTI reported.

The state had reported over 10,000 each for five consecutive days.

The latest bulletin said 46,999 tests, including 24,331 rapid antigens, were conducted in 24 hours ending 9 am on Monday as against 62,000-plus tests per day over the past few days. No reason was cited for the drop in number of tests, PTI reported.

Kerala reported 1,184 COVID-19 cases on Monday and seven fatalities that pushed the overall deaths to 115. As many as 22,620 people have recovered from the disease.

Telangana saw 1,256 new cases on Monday, taking the total infection count in the state to 80,751.

West Bengal saw the highest single-day discharge of 3,208 COVID-19 patients taking the number of recovered people to 70,328, while 2,905 new coronavirus infections were registered, state health department said.

The department in a bulletin also said that 41 patients succumbed to the disease raising the toll to 2,100. The state's caseload has gone up to 98,459, while the active cases stood at 26,031.

Delhi recorded 707 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the city's tally to over 1.46 lakh, even as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asserted that with a current recovery rate of over 90 percent, "people of the city are slowly and steadily defeating COVID-19."

The total tally rose to 1,46,134, while the toll from the disease mounted to 4,131, the bulletin said, adding that twenty fatalities have been recorded in the last 24 hours.

Antonio Banderas tests COVID-19 positive

Hollywood star Antonio Banderas said he tested positive for coronavirus on Monday, his 60th birthday. The Oscar nominee, who shared his diagnosis on social media, said he feels "relatively good" besides being more tired than usual.

"I want to make it public that today, 10 August, I am forced to celebrate my 60th birthday in quarantine, having tested positive for the COVID-19 disease, caused by the coronavirus," Banderas wrote in Spanish alongside his childhood photo on Instagram.

"I would like to add that I feel relatively good, just a little more tired than usual, and am confident that I will recover as soon as possible following medical instructions that I hope will allow me to overcome the infectious period that I am suffering, and that is affecting so many people around the planet," he added.

With inputs from agencies

via Blogger https://ift.tt/30IS7Wq

[davidchanus]

How Lehman Brothers’ collapse paved the way for MoneyLaw and the minimum wage

2008 financial crisis shaped the legal profession as we know it

Ahead of tomorrow’s anniversary of the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers, Legal Cheek‘s Alex Aldridge considers how the effect of those dramatic events continues to be felt.

Ten years ago as a junior hack at Legal Week I spent a fascinating and unsettling year covering the dramatic effect of the collapse of Lehman Brothers on the legal profession.

For a couple of weeks it looked like it might be over for corporate law firms — as their client base of banks and other financial institutions faced total wipe out. Then over the course of a bizarre fortnight governments bailed out said banks and the panic subsided.

Still, the change of mood was stark and lasting. Weeks before that fateful 15 September day you had big swinging dick partners at City law firms nonchalantly shrugging off talk of a ‘credit crunch’ as they looked ahead confidently to yet more profit and revenue rises — a happy journey that had continued more or less uninterrupted since the ‘Big Bang’ deregulation of the City (including legal services) in the late 1980s.

In the aftermath of Lehman’s fall — which no one seemed to think was possible, even as it was happening — these same individuals seemed shell-shocked. When they did surface at events, talk of growth was off the table and instead they mused about new topics such as the need for more regulation and how to deal with the coming declines in living standards. It felt surreal to hear them saying basically the opposite of what they’d been preaching a few months ago.

And then the job cuts began. Historically law has been a steady industry, protected during recession by litigation, which tends to increase in times of economic stress. But over the preceding two decades corporate law firms had significantly shifted their practices towards transactional work, which now accounted for between 70-80% of most big outfits’ revenue. With the deals having stopped flowing as financial markets seized up, there was only one solution.

For most of 2009 we wrote what felt like endless stories about big law firms cutting jobs and deferring training contracts. Trainee numbers plunged nearly 25% from a 2008 high of 6,303 to just 4,784 a year later. Some firms even dropped down to doing four-day weeks. Almost everything was bad news. My own job was reduced to a three day a week freelance contract. And, given what was happening elsewhere, I felt quite lucky.

Gradually the carnage eased. Looking back, the 2010 merger between London’s Lovells and America’s Hogan Hartson seems like a turning point as the corporate legal sector stopped shedding jobs and embarked on a period of global consolidation, which continues to this day.

But it was only getting started for the legal aid branch of the profession, which became one of the Cameron government’s number one targets for its signature policy of austerity. Funding was slashed by a third, plummeting from £2.1 billion to £1.5 billion, as the hated Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling — the first ever non-lawyer to be given the role — presided over an ideological money-saving experiment.

Whole swathes of practice areas lost state funding, while others endured squeezes so tight that they became unviable career options for most. Solicitors and barristers protested as part of the 2011-13 Occupy Movement but this resistance didn’t achieve much. Legal aid firms stopped hiring trainees, while the already struggling junior end of the legal aid bar was tipped over the edge into becoming the hobbyist quasi-profession that it mostly remains today. Wages in the sector — the minimum pupillage salary is still £12,000 while most legal aid firms start their trainees on the Law Society recommended minimum wage of £19,122-£21,561 — are still substantially below pre-financial crisis levels in real terms.

The latest comments from across Legal Cheek

In contrast, around 2013 corporate law wages started to rise again. A recovering US legal market created a new ‘MoneyLaw’ payscale that saw newly qualified lawyers at American firms paid $160,000 — a sum that rose over the course of a few years to $190,000. As these firms expanded in the UK, a weak pound meant that a handful of rookie solicitors started earning around the £140,000 mark. Magic circle and other top UK firms were pressured to up their salaries to keep attracting the best graduates. And a pay war that continues to rage saw English junior lawyer pay rise at levels that in some cases were sharply higher than inflation. Amid stagnating pay in other parts of the legal profession, a new elite was born: law’s own 0.1%.

Today, most law students — who since 2012 have of course been lumbered with £9k a year tuition fees — understandably aspire to join the corporate law firms that represent their only chance of getting on the hideously expensive London property ladder (another side effect of the 2008 financial crisis). Legal aid is the preserve of the independently wealthy or insane. Many chambers at the bar, meanwhile, are reporting a decline in interest from students, who associate them with media images of criminal barristers on strike and view the self-employed model as too risky. Training contract numbers have staged a recovery but remain lower than in 2008.

Where do we go from here?

In terms of corporate law, the rise of lawtech and the drive it has given firms to re-appraise their service delivery models is an encouraging development that promises to create new opportunities. Similarly, big firms’ increasing investment outside London as they expand regional offices to take advantage of cheaper labour could have a positive effect.

Provided the new jobs created are real lawyer career paths, rather than just paralegal roles, wealth and opportunities will be spread around the country. Trainees earning normal salaries in Leeds have a similar chance of getting on the property ladder as MoneyLaw rookies do in London — and, barring a fresh crash, the appeal of this proposition is likely to increase.

Meanwhile, IT-assisted flexible working is offering new options for millennial lawyers stranded a long commute away from their firm’s glitzy London offices. Some are even moving to cheaper areas of the country and going completely freelance as gig economy lawyers.

For publicly funded law, there are signs that some of the Cameron government’s cuts to legal aid may end up being reversed. Last month’s High Court ruling that some reforms to criminal legal aid were unlawful has been hailed as “a ray of light” by the Law Society. How much life can be breathed into a creaking system without major surgery remains to be seen. The best hope for those in the sector may be a Labour government, if it sticks to previous campaign pledges.

Amid all of this a defining moment is approaching. Get a good Brexit deal that keeps the City’s trading ties intact and the UK legal profession in its current slightly distorted but still functioning form will muddle through. Crash out without a deal and we could be looking at another Lehman moment, with a potentially very different sort of shakeout.

The post How Lehman Brothers’ collapse paved the way for MoneyLaw and the minimum wage appeared first on Legal Cheek.

from Legal News https://www.legalcheek.com/2018/09/how-lehman-brothers-collapse-paved-the-way-for-moneylaw-and-the-minimum-wage/

[tlcrescuepa]

New Post has been published on To Love a Canine Rescue

New Post has been published on https://tlcrescuepa.com/week-end-update-the-dogs-days-of-summer/

Week-End Update: The Dogs Days Of Summer

We’re well into the dog days of Summer now and the heat is sapping everyone’s energy, which means the pups are enjoying a lot of nap time dreaming of their happily ever afters. For those of you following the saga of Susie Q, she’s also doing a bit of napping while she recuperates from her emergency surgery but she’s happily being nursed back to health by her loving foster family and is recovering nicely.

Some of our pups were lucky enough to take the next step on their life’s journey and celebrate their very own “gotcha” days with their furever families.  Jo’s new family noticed the huge grin on her face and that she had the sweet & friendly temperament to match and knew she had to be part of their family. Also adopted this week were: Benny, Champ, Chloe, Cole, Jacob, Jana, Jianna (now Minnie), Opal, Pickles & Rosco!

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Benny

Champ

Chloe

Cole

Jacob

Jana

Jianna now Minnie

Opal

Pickles

Rosco

Jo

  We also received some nice updates to share with you:

Buddy FKA Tiko

Buddy FKA Tiko

“We can’t believe it’s been 2 years since we adopted Buddy (fka Tiko). We adore his goofy self!”

        River FKA Corrie & Luna FKA Maddie

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“It’s been almost 2 years since I adopted River (fka Corrie) & 1.5 years since I adopted Luna (fka Maddie) and both have since gained a (human) brother!  We welcomed Oliver in April, and despite my concerns with jealousy, especially with Luna since she’s a momma’s girl, they have adapted so well.  River especially is a big fan and has taken on the roll of protector. 

Thank you again for both of them, I couldn’t imagine my family without them. “

Hannah

Hannah

“Hanna is doing so well. Thank you for what you do. She saved me.”

          Daisy

“Daisy is settling in rather well. She loves her yard, and becoming very attached to everyone.  Slight problems with my cats, but I’m looking for a trainer to hopefully help. She went to the vet on Monday, everything looks good so far.”

Leonard aka Leo

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“Hi there!  

He is THE best dog ever. Doing SO well with potty training! Only 1 accident since we got him Saturday. He has met so many members of our family and is taking it like a champ!  

We did decide to keep Leonard as his “official” name but we are calling him Leo!  

We are working on training him and have a vet appointment for Monday! We also got pet insurance! Totally spoiled already!  

Here are a few pictures from his first weekend with us!!!!  

Thank so much for helping us get to our baby!”

  Tuck FKA Davidson

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“Tuck has been doing amazing.  He has gone from the 14lb pup that we adopted in January to a 61lb (as of Wednesday last week) pup who still considers himself small enough to sit on our laps.  😊  He will be taking his first long road trip with us to the Outter Banks in just 2 weeks for a family vacation!  I have attached some recent photos that you can share.  “ 

  Rachel

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“Rachel is doing wonderful and has quickly fit into our family.  We couldn’t have asked for a better companion.  Wanted to share that we had her DNA profile done and the biggest surprise she is almost 25% Russell terrier!  She also has hound,curly coated lab and chow.  Sharing some photos. Have a great day.”

  Ruger FKA Ruben

Ruger FKA Ruben

“Ruger is doing so great his first week with us. The vet said he is in perfect health and was very well behaved. He’s making lots of new doggie friends, and loves to sniff anyone new. He hangs out, cuddles, and sleeps through the night. We almost can’t believe how well behaved he is. Thank you to everyone that has loved him along the way, we are so grateful!”

      Ellie

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“Ellie is doing very well! (attached see photos)

My wife & I are very happy with Ellie! She doesn’t bark, jump on our furniture, grab food off the table nor does she ever mess in our home – she is well behaved!

When she came home to us she was only 36lbs, but with plenty of good high quality dog food, (4Health) & lots of love & care Ellie is now 46lbs plus.”

  Peaches FKA Jana

“Ms Peaches is a ball of fire in the back yard lol rests well and eats good too so far Abby has taught her how to climb stairs already just today and we are taking group leash walks Thank you for the reminders. All good things to get done quickly is my goal. All the best from us all”

  Marley FKA Jazz

“Jazz ( we changed her name to Marley) is doing great!!! She is a real sweet heart.  We are in love!

  Willow FKA Willa (aka Winnie)

Willow FKA Willa (aka Winnie)

“We have decided to call her Willow and she seems to respond well to it.  She is a dream!  So loving and such a good dog.  We have our first vet appointment on Thursday.   We are so lucky to have found each other.”

        Lexi FKA Gina

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“I am just sending an update on Lexi (formerly Gina).  She has settled into our lives perfectly.  She is a happy little girl with a calm, sweet disposition and also a very fast learner.  Our old girl Bella and her have become inseparable.  Lexi was crated at night for the first 4 weeks but she now sleeps on a dog bed next to Bella in our room.  She is completely trust worthy when left alone also. 

I hired a dog behaviorist (Cherisse from The Zen Dog Den in Lititz, PA) to help her overcome her fear of the car and I am happy to say we accomplished that in addition to perfecting her walking manners. She is a great student!  She loves fetching a ball and will drop it at your feet on command.  She is a perfect dog inside the home but she still has fears outside when she hears strange noises.  She gets scared and runs to our porch, which is her safe spot.  Although each day she gets more & more confident.  She loves dog toys and doesn’t chew them at all.  Her favorite pastime is chasing butterflies!

We also did a DNA test on her and the results are in – 50% Lab and the other 50% is equally Collie, Sheltie, Golden Retriever and Great Dane!  That is a crazy mix for a 48 lb. dog.  I would love to reach out to the family that adopted her sister, Tina, if they are willing, to see how she is doing.  You can give them my email if they are interested.  The Great Dane in her DNA might explain why her sister, Tina was so much taller, with long legs, than Lexi.  I think Lexi really missed Tina and quickly attached herself to Bella instead.

I have attached some pictures of her with Bella and also our “grand dog” Gunner, who comes to visit a lot.

We are so fortunate to have Lexi join our family!  Thank you to your organization for rescuing all the dogs that need help.”

  Bentley FKA Weston

Bentley FKA Weston

“Weston who we adopted last year is fabulous.  We have changed his name to Bentley Charles Weston.

He’s grown to be a big boy. 70 lbs and full on energy. “

        Oscar FKA Phil

Oscar FKA Phil

“Everything is going great with Oscar.  He thinks he’s a kid and has to be right in there with the kids when they are playing or swimming. He loves his brother Otis so much, they are the best of friends!”

        Bailey

“Bailey is doing great! She is such a fast learner! We are going to the vet this friday afternoon. She had a couple accidents her first day and we were getting to know each other but she is my buddy now. Only 1 accident since the first day and it happened while I was napping so no biggie. She is great on and off the leash and obeys “sit” and “come” very well. She helps me put on my socks and shoes in the morning and now rings the doggy bells on the door when she wants to go outside. She is EXTREMELY playful and fun with other dogs and people. She is awesome!”

  Abita FKA Tanya

#gallery-8 margin: auto; #gallery-8 .gallery-item float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 25%; #gallery-8 img border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; #gallery-8 .gallery-caption margin-left: 0; /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

“Our past year with Abita has been full of so much joy. I’m sure every dog parent thinks their dog is ‘the best’, and we certainly do as well. She is as ‘conversational’ as ever, and she continuously surprises us with a new howl/bark/whine/yip sound for some particular experience. Did you know that a dog could have a sound specific to playing with waves at the beach? Neither did we 🙂

Abita has been through three rounds of training classes, and is now a certified ACA Good Citizen! We of course are very proud dog parents. She will also become a ‘big sister’ when she gets a human baby sister come November 1st-ish. She has done quite well with the young babies of a few of our friends, and we are planning out how to make the transition for her as positive as possible. (We will definitely be reaching our for advice if/when we run into any issues!)

Here are a few recent pictures of her – she has grown quite a bit since we got her! A lean 55 lb now – looking back she was much smaller when we got her back at 43lb!

Hope all is well at TLC, and thanks again for putting Abita into our lives!”

[christophermwithrow]

Man Loses Almost 400 LBS

For most of us we are just trying to lose weight and get back to our former selves. Maybe it’s because as we’ve gotten older our metabolism has slowed. Or we’ve just had a baby and are wanting to shed the extra pounds.  Or maybe we’re just trying to look better on the beach. For others it may be a matter of wanting to drop a little more than just those vanity pounds.

Most of us are aware of the foods we are supposed to eat whether we want to lose 10 pounds or a hundred, right?

  We have all heard that we should watch our carbs, eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and quit the sodas. So for most of us the real challenge isn’t knowing which foods we should be eating. The real challenge is being able to change our habits.

Sal Paradiso did just that. He changed his habits and changed his life forever. There is hope for those of us wanting to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle. Sal is proof.

The reason Sal Paradiso doesn’t know exactly the amount of weight he lost is because there wasn’t a scale that would go high enough for an accurate measurement.

Below are some excerpts from WebMD which recently wrote about Sal and his extraordinary feat.

WebMD Article Reviewed by Hansa D. Bhargava, MD on March 24, 2017

He estimates it was close to 700 pounds, a weight that made everything difficult, says Paradiso, now 35. “Putting on my shoes was a struggle. Taking a shower every day was a struggle. I was basically under house arrest [since] it was such an ordeal to go out.”

His father died from a massive heart attack at 42, and Paradiso realized he was on the same path unless he made a big change. “I said to myself, ‘I need to take a drastic U-turn in my life if I’m going to make it to age 40,’” he recalls.

“Early on it was a big adjustment,” he says. “My body was so used to eating how I had been eating that it was rebelling at first. It was a rough first few weeks.” He’d crave more food at night, but no matter how miserable he felt, he wouldn’t let himself raid the fridge. “I’d tell myself, ‘I’m not working this hard to sabotage myself,’” he recalls.

Instead of giving into a craving for unhealthy food, he’d look up recipes for lighter, healthier alternatives. “That would be enough to cure my craving without blowing my calorie budget for the day,” he explains. Instead of ordering a pizza, for example, he’d top a low-carb pita with tomato sauce and some cheese.

Working out also became a challenge. Due to the excess weight he carried, his joints had degenerated. He started light walks at first. Choosing to work out in the pool to capitalize on the buoyancy of the water. Slowly increasing his workouts from 1 hour to 1.5 hours and adding additional exercises to his routine.

After receiving a surgery called vertical sleeve gastrectomy, he has managed to drop most of the weight on his own. Getting down to 309 on March 22 2017, he says he never could have imagined the success he would have when he originally decided to lose the weight.

For anyone else with 100 or more pounds to lose, here are a few tips he’s learned along the way.

1. Find a support system. Sal’s friends and family provided plenty of encouragement. He has a few longtime friends whom he’d reach out to on a daily basis for support, as well as a good friend he met in a weight loss group on Facebook. And his mom has been “a rock” in her support from the start, he says.

2. Fight for every pound. Weight loss surgery isn’t an easy way out,” Paradiso says. “It’s a tool; not a magic pill. You have to work at it, whether you’re doing it on your own or through surgery.” Stay strong, make good decisions, track what you eat, and the scale will follow suit, he says.

3. Break up your ultimate goal into small segments. No doubt it’s daunting to imagine shedding 400 pounds. What helped Paradiso was breaking it into smaller steps, like losing 50 pounds at a time instead of 400 all at once. “That makes it a lot easier to think, ‘I’ve lost 30 of 50 pounds,’ rather than ‘I’ve only lost 30 of 400 pounds,’” Paradiso says.

Most will agree. We eat what we want to eat. For some its a badge of sorts when we pack it away and everybody marvels at the appetite we have.  No one holds us accountable throughout the day when it comes to eating. There needs to be formal processes in place to obtain the results we want.

An article from the Harvard Health Blog by Julie Corliss seems to confirm this thinking.

The late Dr. George L. Blackburn, who directed the Center for Nutrition Medicine at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, treated countless overweight and obese people over his 40-plus-year career. The following are five proven strategies that many of his patients have found helpful toward their goal of lasting weight loss:

1. Make time to prepare healthy meals. Home-cooked food tends to be far lower in calories, fat, salt, and sugar than restaurant food and most processed food. But it takes time and effort to choose recipes, go to the store, and cook. Take a close look at your weekly schedule to see if you can carve out a few hours to devote to meal planning and shopping, which is more than half the battle. It could be on Sunday afternoon or in 15- to 30-minute increments throughout the week.

To save time in the kitchen, take advantage of pre-cut vegetables and cooked whole grains (like brown rice) from the salad bar or freezer case. And stock up on easy, wholesome snacks like fruit, nuts, and low-fat cheese sticks.

2. Eat slowly. The next time you sit down for a meal, set a timer (maybe the one on your kitchen stove or smartphone) for 20 minutes. That’s about how long it takes the “I’m full” message sent by the gut hormones and stretch receptors in your stomach to reach your brain. If you can spend a full 20 minutes between your first bite and your last, you’ll feel satisfied but not stuffed. Eat too quickly and you’re more likely to overeat. Tips for stretching out your mealtime include chewing each bite a little longer than usual, setting down your fork between each bite, and taking frequent sips of water during your meal.

3. Eat evenly sized meals, beginning with breakfast. Most people tend to eat a small breakfast (or none at all), a medium-sized lunch, and a large dinner. But you may be better off spreading out your calories more evenly throughout the day. For one thing, a small or nonexistent breakfast can leave you ravenous by lunchtime, which may lead you to overeat. A morning meal also helps rev up your metabolism for the day, stimulating enzymes that help you burn fat. What’s more, eating at least 450 calories per meal can help you avoid hunger between meals. If you eat a light supper (and avoid grazing late into the night; see tip 4), you may eat fewer calories overall — and actually be hungry for breakfast.

4. Don’t skimp on sleep. When you burn the midnight oil, you’re probably not also burning calories, but instead consuming too many. Many studies have linked shorter sleep duration with a higher risk of being overweight or obese. A recent review article suggests why: people who sleep fewer than six hours a night tend to have irregular eating habits — including more frequent, smaller, energy-dense, and highly palatable snacks (read: fatty, sugary foods like chips, cookies, and ice cream).

5. Weigh yourself often. If you don’t already have one, get a digital scale. Hang a calendar and pen above it, right at eye level, as a reminder to record your weight every day. Doing so only takes a few seconds and will keep you heading in the right direction. Most people find it difficult or tedious to track their calories, both from the foods they eat and those they burn via exercise. But a daily weigh-in tells you all you need to know — and the scale doesn’t lie. Also, research shows that people who weigh themselves often are more likely to lose weight and keep it off.

For most of us it’s just a matter of commitment and follow through. The science backs this up. Change your behaviors and change your outcomes. If what you are doing isn’t working, check for these tips and see which ones you can incorporate in your life today.

  The post Man Loses Almost 400 LBS appeared first on Todays Health News.

from Blogger http://christophermwithrow.blogspot.com/2017/03/man-loses-almost-400-lbs.html via IFTTT

[todayshealthnews]

Man Loses Almost 400 LBS

For most of us we are just trying to lose weight and get back to our former selves. Maybe it's because as we've gotten older our metabolism has slowed. Or we've just had a baby and are wanting to shed the extra pounds.  Or maybe we're just trying to look better on the beach. For others it may be a matter of wanting to drop a little more than just those vanity pounds.

Most of us are aware of the foods we are supposed to eat whether we want to lose 10 pounds or a hundred, right?

  We have all heard that we should watch our carbs, eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and quit the sodas. So for most of us the real challenge isn't knowing which foods we should be eating. The real challenge is being able to change our habits.

Sal Paradiso did just that. He changed his habits and changed his life forever. There is hope for those of us wanting to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle. Sal is proof.

The reason Sal Paradiso doesn't know exactly the amount of weight he lost is because there wasn't a scale that would go high enough for an accurate measurement.

Below are some excerpts from WebMD which recently wrote about Sal and his extraordinary feat.

WebMD Article Reviewed by Hansa D. Bhargava, MD on March 24, 2017

He estimates it was close to 700 pounds, a weight that made everything difficult, says Paradiso, now 35. “Putting on my shoes was a struggle. Taking a shower every day was a struggle. I was basically under house arrest [since] it was such an ordeal to go out.”

His father died from a massive heart attack at 42, and Paradiso realized he was on the same path unless he made a big change. “I said to myself, 'I need to take a drastic U-turn in my life if I'm going to make it to age 40,'” he recalls.

“Early on it was a big adjustment,” he says. “My body was so used to eating how I had been eating that it was rebelling at first. It was a rough first few weeks.” He'd crave more food at night, but no matter how miserable he felt, he wouldn't let himself raid the fridge. “I'd tell myself, 'I'm not working this hard to sabotage myself,'” he recalls.

Instead of giving into a craving for unhealthy food, he'd look up recipes for lighter, healthier alternatives. “That would be enough to cure my craving without blowing my calorie budget for the day,” he explains. Instead of ordering a pizza, for example, he'd top a low-carb pita with tomato sauce and some cheese.

Working out also became a challenge. Due to the excess weight he carried, his joints had degenerated. He started light walks at first. Choosing to work out in the pool to capitalize on the buoyancy of the water. Slowly increasing his workouts from 1 hour to 1.5 hours and adding additional exercises to his routine.

After receiving a surgery called vertical sleeve gastrectomy, he has managed to drop most of the weight on his own. Getting down to 309 on March 22 2017, he says he never could have imagined the success he would have when he originally decided to lose the weight.

For anyone else with 100 or more pounds to lose, here are a few tips he's learned along the way.

1. Find a support system. Sal's friends and family provided plenty of encouragement. He has a few longtime friends whom he'd reach out to on a daily basis for support, as well as a good friend he met in a weight loss group on Facebook. And his mom has been “a rock” in her support from the start, he says.

2. Fight for every pound. Weight loss surgery isn't an easy way out,” Paradiso says. “It's a tool; not a magic pill. You have to work at it, whether you're doing it on your own or through surgery.” Stay strong, make good decisions, track what you eat, and the scale will follow suit, he says.

3. Break up your ultimate goal into small segments. No doubt it's daunting to imagine shedding 400 pounds. What helped Paradiso was breaking it into smaller steps, like losing 50 pounds at a time instead of 400 all at once. “That makes it a lot easier to think, 'I've lost 30 of 50 pounds,' rather than 'I've only lost 30 of 400 pounds,'” Paradiso says.

Most will agree. We eat what we want to eat. For some its a badge of sorts when we pack it away and everybody marvels at the appetite we have.  No one holds us accountable throughout the day when it comes to eating. There needs to be formal processes in place to obtain the results we want.

An article from the Harvard Health Blog by Julie Corliss seems to confirm this thinking.

The late Dr. George L. Blackburn, who directed the Center for Nutrition Medicine at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, treated countless overweight and obese people over his 40-plus-year career. The following are five proven strategies that many of his patients have found helpful toward their goal of lasting weight loss:

1. Make time to prepare healthy meals. Home-cooked food tends to be far lower in calories, fat, salt, and sugar than restaurant food and most processed food. But it takes time and effort to choose recipes, go to the store, and cook. Take a close look at your weekly schedule to see if you can carve out a few hours to devote to meal planning and shopping, which is more than half the battle. It could be on Sunday afternoon or in 15- to 30-minute increments throughout the week.

To save time in the kitchen, take advantage of pre-cut vegetables and cooked whole grains (like brown rice) from the salad bar or freezer case. And stock up on easy, wholesome snacks like fruit, nuts, and low-fat cheese sticks.

2. Eat slowly. The next time you sit down for a meal, set a timer (maybe the one on your kitchen stove or smartphone) for 20 minutes. That’s about how long it takes the “I’m full” message sent by the gut hormones and stretch receptors in your stomach to reach your brain. If you can spend a full 20 minutes between your first bite and your last, you’ll feel satisfied but not stuffed. Eat too quickly and you’re more likely to overeat. Tips for stretching out your mealtime include chewing each bite a little longer than usual, setting down your fork between each bite, and taking frequent sips of water during your meal.

3. Eat evenly sized meals, beginning with breakfast. Most people tend to eat a small breakfast (or none at all), a medium-sized lunch, and a large dinner. But you may be better off spreading out your calories more evenly throughout the day. For one thing, a small or nonexistent breakfast can leave you ravenous by lunchtime, which may lead you to overeat. A morning meal also helps rev up your metabolism for the day, stimulating enzymes that help you burn fat. What’s more, eating at least 450 calories per meal can help you avoid hunger between meals. If you eat a light supper (and avoid grazing late into the night; see tip 4), you may eat fewer calories overall — and actually be hungry for breakfast.

4. Don’t skimp on sleep. When you burn the midnight oil, you’re probably not also burning calories, but instead consuming too many. Many studies have linked shorter sleep duration with a higher risk of being overweight or obese. A recent review article suggests why: people who sleep fewer than six hours a night tend to have irregular eating habits — including more frequent, smaller, energy-dense, and highly palatable snacks (read: fatty, sugary foods like chips, cookies, and ice cream).

5. Weigh yourself often. If you don’t already have one, get a digital scale. Hang a calendar and pen above it, right at eye level, as a reminder to record your weight every day. Doing so only takes a few seconds and will keep you heading in the right direction. Most people find it difficult or tedious to track their calories, both from the foods they eat and those they burn via exercise. But a daily weigh-in tells you all you need to know — and the scale doesn’t lie. Also, research shows that people who weigh themselves often are more likely to lose weight and keep it off.

For most of us it's just a matter of commitment and follow through. The science backs this up. Change your behaviors and change your outcomes. If what you are doing isn't working, check for these tips and see which ones you can incorporate in your life today.

  Post Source Here: Man Loses Almost 400 LBS

[allgreatproductreviews]

New Post has been published on All Great Product Reviews

New Post has been published on http://allgreatproductreviews.com/u-s-wrinkle-cream-creates-international-flap-strivectin-sd-business-wire/

U.S. Wrinkle Cream Creates International Flap... StriVectin-SD | Business Wire

PARIS & SALT LAKE CITY–(BUSINESS WIRE)–It’s official. StriVectin-SD®

has been voted the #1 skin cream in France and now stands alone at the

top of the French cosmetic market. Klein-Becker’s

internationally-renowned prestige skin care cream has won top honors at

the 17th annual “Les

Grand Prix Advantages de la Beauté”

(Advantage’s Grand Prix of Beauty)

organized by the popular French magazine Advantages (from the Marie

Claire group). The award was presented in Paris…

Much to the chagrin of an audience comprised of French cosmetic giants,

the likes of Lancôme, ReVive, La Mer, L’Oréal,

Yves Rocher, and many others.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/894636&tit=NBC TODAY Show: Chemicals in Your Cosmetics? Why the …&w=144&h=78&pos=3&vid=35e152ac0b348d272514751ac8d928cc&sigr=110mh0kse&sigt=11oq7m900&sigi=12jokc0e2" title="NBC TODAY Show: Chemicals in Your Cosmetics? Why the …" data-pos="2"

What’s remarkable is the fact that

StriVectin-SD (from Salt Lake City, Utah, of all places) was selected by

French consumers over some of the cosmetic industry’s

most prestigious brands.

“This honor came as a total surprise,”

said Gina Gay who accepted the award for StriVectin and its

manufacturer, Klein-Becker. “We never

suspected we would win the highest award, the Grand Prix. I can tell you

there were a lot of shocked looks on the faces of the executives from

the major international brands when StriVectin was announced as the

winner. I mean, the mostly French audience gasped when they realized an

American product was voted the favorite cosmetic by French women. Can

you imagine?”

For the past 17 years, the publication Advantage has been

sponsoring “Les Grands Prix Advantages de la

Beauté”. This

year, 5000 French women from across the country were asked to select

their favorite beauty products based on the following criteria:

pleasure, innovation, confidence in the brand, and effectiveness. And

while there were several sub-categories (products specifically designed

for eyes, body, etc.) StriVectin took top honors.

This is the second time in less than a year that StriVectin has been

named #1 by French consumers. Last September, France’s

leading consumer magazine (60 Millions De Consommateur) named

StriVectin as the best, most effective anti-wrinkle face cream, as

judged by a panel of 264 French women…

beating the likes of Dior, Chanel, ROC, L’Oreal,

Lancôme and other high-end (and French made)

products costing as much as €142 (about

$185) per ounce.

“StriVectin had already set sales records in

the United States so we expected great results in France,”

said Ms. Gay, “But let’s

face it, French women have access to the most sophisticated cosmetics in

the world and they’re extremely skeptical

about products from America. Yet, when it comes to reducing the

appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and crows’

feet, they prefer a formula from, of all places, Salt Lake City, Utah. It’s

another chapter in the incredible StriVectin story.”

For Those Who Don’t Know the StriVectin

Story

In a remarkable turn of events, arguably one of the strangest in the

history of cosmetics, women across the country are putting a

stretch-mark cream called StriVectin-SD on their face to reduce the

appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and crows’

feet. And, if consumer sales are any indication of a product’s

effectiveness, StriVectin-SD is nothing short of a miracle. Women, as

well as a growing number of “Boomer”

men, are buying so much StriVectin-SD that finding a tube at your local

cosmetic counter has become just about impossible. Did everyone go mad?

Well…not really.

Although StriVectin-SD’s functional

components were already backed by clinical trials documenting their

ability to visibly reduce the appearance of existing stretch marks

(prominent because of their depth, length, discoloration and texture)…

the success of StriVectin-SD as an anti-wrinkle cream was “dumb

luck,” said Ms. Gay.

“When we first handed out samples of the

StriVectin formula to employees and customers as part of our market

research, the sample tubes were simply marked ‘topical

cream’ with the lot number underneath,”

Ms. Gay explained. “As the samples were

passed to friends and family, the message became a little muddled and

some people used this ‘topical cream’

as a facial moisturizer. As we began to receive feedback from users,

like ‘I look 10 years younger’

and ‘I can’t even

notice my crows’ feet’

we knew we had something more than America’s

most effective stretch-mark cream. The point was driven home as store

owners began reporting that almost as many people were purchasing

StriVectin as an anti-wrinkle cream as were buying it to reduce stretch

marks.”

Dr. Daniel B. Mowrey, PhD, Klein-Becker’s

Director of Scientific Affairs, says, “Clearly,

people were seeing results, but we didn’t

have a scientific explanation as to why this wrinkle-reduction was

occurring. “Based on the incredibly positive

reports from users and the Paris reports,”

Mowrey continues, “I started using StriVectin

myself… as an aftershave in the morning and before I go to bed at

night. And let me tell you – no one has ever

accused me of being handsome, but now I’m

happy to say that I look young and ugly rather than old and ugly. For

me, that’s a big improvement.”

Dumb Luck Strikes Again!

Then, at a meeting of the 20th World Congress of Dermatology in Paris,

France, a series of studies detailing the superior wrinkle-reducing

properties of a patented oligo-peptide “called

Pal-KTTKS” versus retinol, vitamin C, and

placebo, on “photo-aged skin”

was presented. “As luck would have it,”

Dr. Mowrey states, “the anti-wrinkle

oligo-peptide tested in the breakthrough clinical trials turned out to

be a key ingredient in the StriVectin cream.”

In the trials, subjects applied the patented peptide solution to the

crows’ feet area on one side of the face, and

a cream containing retinol, vitamin C, or a placebo to the other side.

Subjects in the Pal-KTTKS/retinol study applied the cream once a day for

2 months and then twice a day for the next 2 months. Using special image

analysis, the study’s authors reported “significant

improvement” in both the overall appearance

of skin tone and wrinkles for those women using the peptide solution.

Better yet, at the 2-month halfway point, the peptide solution worked

nearly 1.5 times faster than retinol “in

measured parameters,” and without the

inflammation retinol often causes in sensitive skin. As was expected,

the results of the remaining studies confirmed that the Pal-KTTKS

solution’s effectiveness at reducing the

appearance of fine lines and wrinkles far exceeded both vitamin C and

placebo.

A smoother, younger complexion, with less irritation and faster results –

all without expensive (and painful) peels, implants or injections.

Better than Retinol and Vitamin C, But Is StriVectin-SD Better than

Botulinum Toxin?

Dr. Nathalie Chevreau, PhD, RD, Director of Women’s

Health at Salt Lake City based Basic Research®,

exclusive distributor for Klein-Becker, explains, “Leading

dermatologists agree that Botulinum Toxin is the preferred treatment for

glabellar lines, that tiny little space of moderate to severe frown

lines between the eyebrows. But ever since it was discovered that

StriVectin could reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and crows’

feet… the kind of fine lines, wrinkles and crows feet that can add

10-15 years to your appearance and which costly medical treatments often

leave behind… skin-care professionals have been recommending, and

using, StriVectin.”

In fact, researchers believe non-invasive alternatives are better,

because, Dr. Chevreau continues, “Topical

creams and gels offer gradual, continual results, while the effects of

injections, facial peels, and dermabrasions are rougher on the skin and

wear off.” In other words, StriVectin-SD

helps give you a youthful, healthy, glowing complexion faster than

retinol, far superior to vitamin C, and without irritation, needles, or

surgery. Even better, many dermatologists and plastic surgeons recommend

StriVectin in conjunction with cosmetic procedures, including Botulinum

Toxin.

So, if you see someone applying an anti-stretch mark cream to their

face, don’t think they’ve

gone off the deep end… they may be smarter than you think.

NOTE: StriVectin is a growing international sensation, shattering

records in France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Poland, Portugal

and the Czech Republic. In the United States, StriVectin is available in

Sephora, Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue

and Macy’s, as well as dermatology and

plastic surgeon offices around the country. For more information, visit www.strivectin.com.

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.