Reproductive Immunologists (RIs): Who are they?

This is a fairly new, and controversial field of fertility medicine. These doctors look a fertility issues from the point of view of the immune system. If you have, or have a family history of, autoimmune or immune problems such as diabetes, asthma, Lyme, fibromyalgia, thyroid problems, arthritis, this specialty may be of interest to you.

The following is a list of RIs FOR INFORMATIVE PURPOSES ONLY. This is only a starting point, please do your own research and decide. There is also a very informative yahoo group of patients of RIs.

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Information gathered for Immunologysupport group discussions... more

My mother-in-law religiously clipped out every item of the Personal Health column that Jane Brody writes in the New York Times. I used to follow her columns with some interest, but lately, I've been looking at it with a squinty eye.

Most recently, she had a column on hot flashes, the symptom that occurs at the waning end of fertility. It was called "A Chance Find, and Voilà! Goodbye, Hot Flashes. Hello, Sleep."

Basically, she talked about how, since she can't take artificial hormones like estrogen (yuck--can cause cancer) because she's already... more

Remember Goldfinger? That was the very very oooold James Bond movie, Sean Connery, etc. I have not seen it, but when I was a little kid I remember seeing some picture in LIFE Magazine of this woman all covered in gold paint, the caption said something like "skin asphyxiation by gold."

On a more mundane note, yes, your grandma was right when she ripped off all those bandaids. Your skin needs to breathe. It's a living, porous organ (it has pores!), so you might want to think twice about slathering anything that has the word PETROLATUM or any version thereof in its name,... more

(p.s. keep reading for the deep-dark confession at the end!)

I'm sure everyone's heard of that Harvard Nurse's Study that basically found out...nothing. Or, that maybe you shouldn't feel guilty about that extra bowl of Ben & Jerry's. It found, basically, that a low fat diet did NOT (so they say, although looking at how the study was conducted, I'm not 100% sure about this) help prevent breast cancer, that calcium supplements don't do jack for osteoporosis, etc., etc. Thanks a lot!

However, a clinical finding that resulted from this study that sounds pretty right to... more

The slogan for JUICE Beauty is Buy it because it's ORGANIC...Use it because it WORKS. Hey, truth in advertising, for a change. I think this is truly a good product, and not one of those where they sneak in all sorts of chemicals and add one botanical ingredient and call it "organic." I just tried their Blemish Clearing Serum for (surprise, surprise) oily/combination/problem skin.

I also get a zit or two a month (actually, now that my hormones have been nicely balanced and I zap stress with yoga, it's a much rarer event, and only one or two little pimples), the perfect... more

Here's an ad that appeared in the campus newspaper at the Ivy League university where I teach (I've done them a favor of correcting some of the punctuation):

EGG DONORS NEEDED $20,000 (PLUS ALL EXPENSES). We are seeking women who are attractive, under the age of 29, non-smoker, SAT 1300+, physically fit and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. If you have a desire to help an infertile family and would like more information, please contact us...."

$20K? SAT 1300+. The ad preceding that one requested a donor who is "slim" and "over 5'3"" They... more

I loooooove the zeitgeist of this group. I have been turning an idea about a blog friendship over and over in my head, and then I see two great posts on friends: "Speaking of Friends," from Sandra, the International Adoption blogger and "Friends," by Mo the Korean Adoption blogger.

My post is on how I am still learning to be a friend, but, thank God, my friends have a huge tolerance for my mistakes.

My parents have always been... more

There is a traditional saying, "let food be your medicine, your medicine your food."

I like to think I'm an open person, not "anti" anything, but I am anti-inflammation!

I have been writing (okay, occasionally ranting) about how our current lifestyle, even (gasp!) pasta and bread, can put a terrible strain on our immune systems, our hormones, and, not least, our fertility.

Of course, I'm a bit obsessed with inflammation, because it is a cause of many of my health and fertility problems, plus, on my husband's side of the family, they... more

Mo, our Korean Adoption blogger, posted a very thought-provoking item on whether white adoptive parents can/should wear han-bok, Korean traditional dress or dress up their Korean children in it.

Let me start by immediately veering off this subject. My husband is a professor and teaches (among other things) Native American history. The Native student group here honored all his work and advocacy by presenting him with a special gift (a... more

Yay.....Blood!

No, I haven't gone all vampire yet, actually the opposite. Needle-hating me had to have *7* tubes taken out last week, my friendly phlebotomist whistled in awe and said I held the record of most tubes taken out of one patient. She was so kind and worried about me that she went across the hall to another doctor's office and snitched a few doughnut holes for me, lest I pass out walking back to my office. Here, I decided the short term (not passing out and falling into traffic) overrode the long term (sugar, carbs, possible transfats) plus they were chocolate,... more