Antidote Clinical Trial Search Widget

I wanted to make you all aware of a really cool widget called the Antidote Clinical Trial Search widget.  Because of the size of the widget, I was not able to include it in the sidebar, so I have included it as its own tab below the header of my blog.  

I know that often times patients are interested in getting involved in clinical trials, but have absolutely no idea how to find them.  This widget allows you to search for clinical trials in your area by searching your condition, entering your zip code, distance from you, your age and sex.  You can do all of that within the widget.  It will not navigate away from my blog until it shows you a list of results, which you can explore to see if you qualify.   

If you are interested in participating in clinical trials, I highly recommend using this as a resource.  

Road ID Medical Alert Bracelet And IPhone App*

Today I am reviewing both the Road ID bracelet and the Road ID IPhone app. 

Road ID Bracelet

While I have purchased other medical alert bracelets in the past, Road ID bracelets are significantly less money, seem more functional, and are a bit more durable for daily wear than some of the others I have had in the past.  If you’re so inclined you can also get the silicone bracelet in the awareness color of your illness, as they have a variety of colors and styles you can pick from (if that’s your thing). 

The other thing that I really like about the Road ID concept is that if you purchase the interactive version, which I did, you are able to put all of your information online.  This costs $9.99 a year to maintain (the first year is free and if you purchase additional IDs, you get an additional year included), but you can change and update the information all the time, which is especially great if you have frequent medication changes, additional diagnoses, etc.

Information you can put into your interactive profile include personal identification, including vitals and government identification, emergency contacts, allergies, current medications, medical conditions, medical history, insurance information, physician information, address(es), passport information, and miscellaneous information.  

In an emergency, the interactive version comes with a special serial number and pin. There is also a phone number and website.  In an emergency, emergency responders can call or log in with your unique serial number and pin, and have access to all of the information you have saved online.  If you get the original version, you can customize the information engraved on the bracelet – and that’s all you get – no information database.

Road ID App

The great thing about the Road ID app is that you can put your ICE – in case of emergency – contacts into your phone.  You can then save your contacts as the special lock screen that the app provides, which includes your name, location (city and state), and up to three ICE contact names, phone numbers, and relationship, and important medical information. 

This is really handy, especially considering that it occurred to me that while I have my ICE people designated in my contacts, emergency personnel could not get to my contacts because my phone is locked.  That’s why it is so great to have that information set as your lock screen.  Then you can be sure that unless your phone totally dies, in case of an emergency, those contacts will be easily accessible to others. 

 The app also provides something called an e-crumb, in which you can input details about when you are working out so you can notify specific contacts about your whereabouts, and they can track you on a map in real time.  It also has a stationary alert, so if there is no movement detected after a certain amount of time, a message will be sent to any contacts you have listed to be notified.

 

I tried the e-crumb.  It is impressive and quite accurate as far as location.  Personally, however, I don’t think I will really use the e-crumb, but it’s great for people who are active.  I think the lock screen in and of itself is a great thing.  And I guess it sort of depends on what your goal is.  For someone who is really active and wants to be easily identified if something happens while they are running, it’s great.  For someone who is chronically ill, the lock screen is probably more useful than the e-crumb feature.

I am definitely a convert to Road ID products.  While they were really designed with super active people in mind, I think they are great for those of us who want things for everyday that provide us with peace of mind should anything happen to us.

For more information on all road ID products, visit http://www.roadid.com/.

Thanks to Road ID for giving me the opportunity to share their great products with my readers!

* I had already purchased my own Road ID bracelet, but Road ID was generous enough to provide a $35 e-certificate for one lucky reader of my blog.  I also mentioned Road ID in my Some Of My Favorite (Chronically Ill) Things For This Holiday Season  post.  

Tracking Bodily Functions: Important Or Too Much?

Ah, the information age.  But when is all just it too much?

The web provides endless information, especially as far as medical topics are concerned.  There are blogs that help patients create community, there are medical institution websites and the like. 

As I’ve mentioned before, with the advent of electronic medical records and e-prescribing, doctors and patients can connect in unprecedented ways, and patients have unparalleled access to their medical record and can interface with it. However, there are flaws with these systems.  They’re only as perfect as the people that create and utilize them.

Almost anything you can think of is available; from the ridiculous and absurd to the amazingly helpful.

But I warn you, this is a shitty subject…

In my post about Nurse Ratched, I talked about my difficulties with chronic constipation, and the fact that she was holding me back from getting the medication that my doctor felt would work for me. Well, as it turns out, and contrary to the cranky nurse’s opinion, my insurance very quickly approved the prior authorization for Amitiza.

And guess what? I started taking Amitiza, and I started pooping. Sorry if that’s TMI, but it’s the truth.

And what is a girl to do when she goes from “stopped up” to “moving smoothly”? 

Well, celebrate of course!  Give me a gold star for every BM! 

On a whim, I decided to see if there was some sort of App that would allow me to track my bowel movements.

Gross, maybe, but useful, yes.

The fact that an App even exists says that there are other people – at least one other person – on the planet that thinks this is important, too.

As I found, there are actually several Apps available for this purpose, and it depends on how technical you want to get about it (for example, also allowing you to track water and fiber intake). 

But I will warn you, when you are doing an ITunes search with terms such as stool, bowel, and poop, you will have to sift through a lot of random, weird crap (no pun intended). 

So getting back to the original question, when is it important to track your bodily functions and when is it just overkill? 

It’s one thing if a doctor specifically asks you to track your fat intake, calories, fiber, or even blood pressure.  But what about when you aren’t specifically asked or told to keep track of something? 

For me, I felt that it was important to keep track so that when I see my GI doc next month, I can very surely tell him that things have vastly improved.  They still aren’t perfect, but I’ll definitely take what I can get at this point.

In some ways, this whole process feels very obsessive to me. The second I’m out of the bathroom, I’m entering the information into my IPhone.  It gives new meaning to having your entire life on your phone.   

And is it sad that going to the bathroom has become the most exciting part of my day?  It’s sadder that I can tell you what day and at what time the dirty deed took place, and the quality of it, according to the Bristol Stool Scale. 

Yes, people, this is my life.