Re: In other news...

[Jayne Kulikauskas]

"Iowacookiemom" > wrote in message
...
> ...I thought I'd interrupt the Volunteer Wars of 2003 (TM) for some
"yippees"
> from the Price family:

Way to go, Dawn and Henry!

Jayne

[Scott Lindstrom]

Iowacookiemom wrote:
> ...I thought I'd interrupt the Volunteer Wars of 2003 (TM) for some "yippees"
> from the Price family:
>
> Yippee: Henry made it through his first week of a new school in a new
> community. He amazed us with his flexibility and resilience this week. He had
> such a hard time in the new school the last time he changed that this truly
> amazed us and, I think, amazed him a little bit too :-)
>
> Yippee: For the first time in about 2 years, Henry got 100% on his spelling
> test. (Thank you, Strattera!). Seriously, he worked hard studying (in part
> because he now *can*, thanks to his ADD diagnosis and treatment) and he's so
> proud. He struggles with spelling and 40% or worse was the norm the last two
> years.
>
> Yippee: I think we found a house to buy, our old one will close (finally) on
> Monday, and I'm hoping to have a job offer today or Monday as well.
>
> We now return you to your regularly scheduled argument ;-)


But wait....you didn't say whether you were volunteering
during Henry's 1st week! Since you're not working, surely
you have time to do _that_, don't you? :-D

(Sending vibes on your job offer while I grin, duck and run ;)

Scott

[Robyn Kozierok]

In article >,
Iowacookiemom > wrote:
>...I thought I'd interrupt the Volunteer Wars of 2003 (TM) for some "yippees"
>from the Price family:

Congrats on all fronts!!

--Robyn

[Karen G]

Yay! for Dawn and the rest of the Price family. Midwesterner's always
land on their feet--some are even lucky enough to avoid the manure when
they hit the ground. ;-)

Karen G

[chiam margalit]

(Iowacookiemom) wrote in message >...
> >But wait....you didn't say whether you were volunteering
> >during Henry's 1st week! Since you're not working, surely
> >you have time to do _that_, don't you? :-D
>
> LOL! Actually I did volunteer to do the spelling test thing again, and the
> teacher said he'd need to check if that's allowed, so perhaps he or the
> principal is watching the thread to get your opinions ;-)

Tee hee hee. Interesting. I wonder if indeed there ARE confidentiality
implications that some schools are more concerned about than other
schools. Keep us up to date on what he says.
>
> I probably will volunteer more this year than I have in the past, but as others
> have pointed out this will be for my own social benefit (being new in the
> community) as much as it will be for Henry, who is generally mortified if his
> parents show up in school (I'm allowed to bring him a fast-food lunch, for
> example, but must not actually speak to him when I hand it off in the lunch
> line because, Mom, that would be, like, sooooo embarrassing!)


No kidding. You mean he admits he HAS a mom? I believe my kids like to
think they were hatched. :-) My kids would rather die than see me in a
classroom these days. Maybe this is yet another reason why
volunteerism in middle school is discouraged. It's to protect the kids
from the ravages of invasive parenting. :-)
>
> >(Sending vibes on your job offer while I grin, duck and run ;)
>
> Got the job! I'm sure it didn't hurt that one of the folks who interviewed me
> was a Wisconsin native, Scott -- so we knew right off we were both very good
> people :-)
>
Boy, in this economy to find a job right out of the gate is amazing. I
hope it's just what you were looking for.

Good luck on all fronts, but it sounds like things are really going
your way.

Marjorie

[Leah Adezio]

"Iowacookiemom" > wrote in message
...
>
> Yippee: For the first time in about 2 years, Henry got 100% on his
spelling
> test. (Thank you, Strattera!). Seriously, he worked hard studying (in
part
> because he now *can*, thanks to his ADD diagnosis and treatment) and he's
so
> proud. He struggles with spelling and 40% or worse was the norm the last
two
> years.

Overall, how are you finding Strattera to be working out? Stephen just
began his second month on it (switching from Adderall) and I'm really liking
what I'm seeing -- the longer time frame, the mood leveling effect (really
important now because his normal 'anger response' was just becoming so
intense after David died -- certainly *normal* reactions, but *extreme* --
and now, it's making it possible for him to actually begin to open up to his
bereavement counselor)....he just seems more...well, *level*, more
cooperative, more engaged. School starts next week for us, and his
academics aren't a problem. Where I'm hoping the school benefit comes is
that he'll be more engaged socially. He's a Senior this year and I'd really
like for him to connect with *someone*, especially now that he's no longer
the New Kid in School and knows some people. The Senior Trip comes up in
December and I'd really like it if he went to the Senior Prom.

I must admit that since it's not a Schedule III, I *love* that I can just
call his pediatrician and they can call the prescription in to the
pharmacy -- no more making the mad dash home from work to pick up scripts
every single month.

The only side effect Stephen notices is that he feels a little more tired
than usual, but this also seems to be passing.

Ack...and this reminds me I've got to get his Senior portrait proofs back to
the photographer for the yearbook. :)

Leah


>
> Yippee: I think we found a house to buy, our old one will close (finally)
on
> Monday, and I'm hoping to have a job offer today or Monday as well.
>
> We now return you to your regularly scheduled argument ;-)
>
> -Dawn
> Mom to Henry, 10
>

[Iowacookiemom]

>>concerned
>>Henry may be outgrowing his dosage, although I'm reluctant to change it
>since
>>he's doing well on the low dose. He's ********* and is taking *****
>>daily.
>
>IMO, this is more information than should be shared here.
>

FWIW, Henry knew I was posting this. Does that make a difference? That said,
it really is my call what I choose to share about my kid.

-Dawn
Mom to Henry, 10

[MarjiG]

In article >,
(Iowacookiemom) writes:

>
>FWIW, Henry knew I was posting this. Does that make a difference? That
>said,
>it really is my call what I choose to share about my kid.
>

Yes, it certainly is your call, but it is in fact his information, and medical
information at that. Henry's a smart kid, but does he understand all the
possible things to consider about posting his prescription information?

Some posts in the past have been rejected because they person referred to could
possibly be identified and the information was of a personal nature. This was
(again, IMO) even more personal, and it is even easier to identify the person.


Of course, it is your call, as long as the charter allows it, and the genie is
out of the bottle in any case. If Leah is comfortable doing so, I hope she
responds to you privately. I'd hate to see someone posting medical information
here and then finding it used against them later.

-Marjorie

[David desJardins]

Marjorie writes:
> Yes, it certainly is your call, but it is in fact his information, and
> medical information at that. Henry's a smart kid, but does he
> understand all the possible things to consider about posting his
> prescription information?

She's the parent. It's her decision. I think you're way out of line
criticizing her.

David desJardins

[Iowacookiemom]

wrote:
>Yes, it certainly is your call, but it is in fact his information, and
>medical
>information at that. Henry's a smart kid, but does he understand all the
>possible things to consider about posting his prescription information?

I'm not sure I understand the significance of prescription info versus
diagnosis, overall treatment, etc. Others have posted about numerous learning
differences their kids have, on this same thread, and that hasn't been
questioned. In other threads other posters have mentioned what meds they use
for specific problems. What, in particular, pushes the button when I get to
the specifics of his dosage?

Confused,

-Dawn
Mom to Henry, 10

[Leah Adezio]

"David desJardins" > wrote in message
...
> Marjorie writes:
> > Yes, it certainly is your call, but it is in fact his information, and
> > medical information at that. Henry's a smart kid, but does he
> > understand all the possible things to consider about posting his
> > prescription information?
>
> She's the parent. It's her decision. I think you're way out of line
> criticizing her.

Indeed.

Plus, the precription information is really only going to mean something to
another person (or in this instance, another parent) who is actually
familiar with the medication being discussed.

I don't see why someone who doesn't have a child taking this medication and
would know what the dosages *mean* would really care, actually....especially
after Dawn said that that the information was posted with her son's
knowledge.

And it may be Henry's information, but AFAIC, as a minor child, it's Dawn's
call to decide what to do with that information. (although I'm sure if he
said 'Mom, do you have to tell the group about this?' -- with the infamous
'tween eyeroll tossed in for good measure <g>, Dawn would have respected his
wishes in the matter....)

Leah

>
> David desJardins
>

[MarjiG]

In article >,
(Iowacookiemom) writes:

> What, in particular, pushes the button when I get to
>the specifics of his dosage?
>

You're right, you've shared lots of information I would not have. I think what
pushed the button this time was that you were asking someone else to post their
child's information. I thought it reasonable to point out that the idea that
sharing medical information on usenet could be considered a bad idea.
Obviously, there are those who consider that to have been a bad idea in itself.


-Marjorie

[Iowacookiemom]

>You're right, you've shared lots of information I would not have.

Yeah, I'm sure that's true. You've shared some things about your kids that I
wouldn't have shared, too. We all make those calls as we go.

> I think
>what
>pushed the button this time was that you were asking someone else to post
>their
>child's information.

What you couldn't have seen is that I replied by both email and public post --
to save time mostly. I expected (and I was right) that she'd reply with that
info, if she chose to do so, by private email).

I suppose I could have sent two different messages, but I was in a hurry and
wanted to reply to her message quickly (I was mindful school was starting soon
and she had mentioned some side effects that were troubling).

I do still think this was really mine (and Henry's) decision to make.

-Dawn

[David desJardins]

Marjorie writes:
> You're right, you've shared lots of information I would not have. I
> think what pushed the button this time was that you were asking
> someone else to post their child's information. I thought it
> reasonable to point out that the idea that sharing medical information
> on usenet could be considered a bad idea. Obviously, there are those
> who consider that to have been a bad idea in itself.

I think if you discussed the topic ("Here are some reasons I don't think
it's a good idea to post this sort of information"), then people might
still hold a different opinion than you, but at least you would be
conveying some information. Furthermore, I think there's a big
difference between "this doesn't seem like a good idea to me" (opinion)
and "you shouldn't be doing that" (criticism).

David desJardins

[Leah Adezio]

piggybacking off David's post...

"David desJardins" > wrote in message
...
> Marjorie writes:
> > You're right, you've shared lots of information I would not have. I
> > think what pushed the button this time was that you were asking
> > someone else to post their child's information.

And since *I* was the person whom she asked, I think *I'm* grown up enough
to decide for myself and *my* child if I wanted to post publically or not.

You'll note there's no such information here, but that's mainly more because
it also coincided with one of Dawn's friendly emails asking how we're doing,
so we discussed it in email.

FWIW, had there not been an email from Dawn, I would not have had a problem
discussing dosages. I don't see where discussing Strattera dosage and body
weight is any different from discussing other medications and body weight.

Me thinks there might be a 'hidden button' here -- that we're talking about
ADHD medications versus medications for what some opine to be a "real"
medical condition.

Subconscious, perhaps, but I've seen (and been on the receiving end) enough
criticism of ADHD and the medications used for its treatment to just
wonder........

Leah

[MarjiG]

In article >, "Leah Adezio" > writes:

>
>And since *I* was the person whom she asked, I think *I'm* grown up enough
>to decide for myself and *my* child if I wanted to post publically or not.
>
Of course, you and Dawn both have the ability to decide what you want to make
public. I'm not sure why some would want that to negate my being able to say I
think it is a bad idea.

>You'll note there's no such information here, but that's mainly more because
>it also coincided with one of Dawn's friendly emails asking how we're doing,
>so we discussed it in email.

Right. Dawn's already said she "posted and emailed" because she was in a
hurry, but posting, and especially if you had responded on-line might have led
to other people jumping in with their dosages, and perhaps not all of them
would have thought through whether they really wanted that information on
usenet for all time.

>
>FWIW, had there not been an email from Dawn, I would not have had a problem
>discussing dosages. I don't see where discussing Strattera dosage and body
>weight is any different from discussing other medications and body weight.

And I don't see where discussing someone else's medical information on usenet
is appropriate.
>
>Me thinks there might be a 'hidden button' here -- that we're talking about
>ADHD medications versus medications for what some opine to be a "real"
>medical condition.
>
>Subconscious, perhaps, but I've seen (and been on the receiving end) enough
>criticism of ADHD and the medications used for its treatment to just
>wonder........
>
Not that I don't think ADHD is real, but I do think that some schools push for
a diagnosis (and prescription) because that's the easy solution. I do believe
there are kids medicated for ADHD that do not have it, because the school
wanted to solve a problem.

-Marjorie

[MarjiG]

In article >, David desJardins
> writes:

> Furthermore, I think there's a big
>difference between "this doesn't seem like a good idea to me" (opinion)
>and "you shouldn't be doing that" (criticism).
>

Really? Which category is " I think you're way out of line
criticizing her." in?

-Marjorie

[Leah Adezio]

"MarjiG" > wrote in message
...
> In article >, "Leah Adezio" >
writes:
>
> >
> >And since *I* was the person whom she asked, I think *I'm* grown up
enough
> >to decide for myself and *my* child if I wanted to post publically or
not.
> >
> Of course, you and Dawn both have the ability to decide what you want to
make
> public. I'm not sure why some would want that to negate my being able to
say I
> think it is a bad idea.
>
> >You'll note there's no such information here, but that's mainly more
because
> >it also coincided with one of Dawn's friendly emails asking how we're
doing,
> >so we discussed it in email.
>
> Right. Dawn's already said she "posted and emailed" because she was in a
> hurry, but posting, and especially if you had responded on-line might have
led
> to other people jumping in with their dosages, and perhaps not all of them
> would have thought through whether they really wanted that information on
> usenet for all time.

Then that's *their* problem, isn't it?

One of the best axioms I've heard is from a woman I know on another
newsgroup. Simple, and to the point: "Manage your own damn Usenet."
>
> >
> >FWIW, had there not been an email from Dawn, I would not have had a
problem
> >discussing dosages. I don't see where discussing Strattera dosage and
body
> >weight is any different from discussing other medications and body
weight.
>
> And I don't see where discussing someone else's medical information on
usenet
> is appropriate.
> >
> >Me thinks there might be a 'hidden button' here -- that we're talking
about
> >ADHD medications versus medications for what some opine to be a "real"
> >medical condition.
> >
> >Subconscious, perhaps, but I've seen (and been on the receiving end)
enough
> >criticism of ADHD and the medications used for its treatment to just
> >wonder........
> >
> Not that I don't think ADHD is real, but I do think that some schools push
for
> a diagnosis (and prescription) because that's the easy solution. I do
believe
> there are kids medicated for ADHD that do not have it, because the school
> wanted to solve a problem.

And given the full battery of tests that should be done in order to get a
proper ADHD diagnosis, I would say flat out that you're wrong. Schools
can't "push" for a diagnosis -- and especially not for a prescription. They
can recommend an evaluation based on behaviors observed, but that's *it*.

This is *exactly* what I'm talking about -- people who get their opinions on
ADHD from the mass media --- usually presented by those with an anti-med
bias (Breggin and the like, for example) and then spout off about something
they know *nothing* about.

Guess I wasn't that far off base, after all.

Wish I weren't, but I'm not surprised.

Leah

>
> -Marjorie
>

[just me]

"Hillary Israeli" > wrote in message
...
> So, out of curiosity, if someone asked "what kind of doxycycline dose did
> your doctor prescribe to treat your Lyme disease," you'd think it
> inappropriate for discussion on Usenet? I find that interesting. Certainly
> it does bug me when people take the advice of random strangers over that
> of their hired professionals, but at the same time, there's that whole
> "information wants to be free" thing :)


We have found, over and over again, the information obtained through
discussions on or through disease/support news groups has expanded the
information which the docs had and has led to more appropriate treatment
choices being made for us. I suspect that the HMO's rampant in the US are
*contributing* to the apparent failure of doctors in the US to actively
pursue many symptoms to the point where they are diagnosed and treated well,
but that is a long dissertation that probably belongs on a different news
group.

-Aula