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The Clot Spot forums are back up and running. All they need is you! Nabble deleted our old forums so we have switched to a new service, ProBoards. The change has some great new features. The boards have more features, are easier to use, and work with the mobile app TapaTalk. The only downside is that right now the new forums are blank. I need your help to get them running again. Please click on the forums tab and see how it goes. Please let me know if you have any problems with the new boards. I look forward to seeing an active Clot Spot community again! Check out the new forums by clicking HERE!
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I want to apologize to you all for being missing in action. This is my first year as a teacher and my time is being eaten away. I will be more actively writing articles come summer. Please feel free to fill out a comment form if you need support or resources. I will keep my eye on my email for your submissions.
Student teaching is over and I am finally getting back to this website. I want to start by taking a moment to welcome all of the new Clot Spot readers. Today I want to talk about a new article that was just added to The Clot Spot. Today I wrote a lengthy post on natural alternatives to warfarin. It can be found here. I wrote this article because this is something that feel very strongly about. I use natural medicine for my migraines under supervision of my doctor. The supplements were carefully chosen and well researched. I take them, not because I am afraid of pharmaceutical preventatives, but because those preventatives simply did not work for me. Before I started taking them, I did a lot of research. I wanted to know what side effects might occur due to these supplements. After understanding my risks, I started the supplements.
I strongly encourage all of you to do this research for both pharmaceutical and natural treatments. Some natural treatments are more harmful than you can imagine. There are no requirements for supplement companies to run a disclaimer on their ads or their bottles. These companies even try to market supplements as a "drug free" alternative. Natural supplements are drugs. They have side effects. I have chosen not to use supplements that will change how my blood clots. Some of you may choose a different path. I do not trust my blood to unregulated supplements. Many of us struggle with different brands of warfarin and those variations are less than 4%! If 4% bothers your body, imagine what an unregulated variation may do to your body. Bleeding and clotting are important. I want to know how much of a substance is in me. Those natural supplements are chemicals and I want to have them carefully controlled. I do not want to bleed to death or clot due to variations in dosage. Also, I want a medication that is well tested. Recently, I read an interesting article on this topic at Slate. I highly recommend it. It got me thinking a lot about our fear of "chemicals" and "drugs". With that article and my recent addition to The Clot Spot, I want to play a guessing game. I will describe three common substances that can be used to prevent clots; you will guess what they are. Please leave your guesses in the comments. Ready? Substance #1: This substance was discovered when a farmer noticed his cows were bleeding more than a healthy cow should bleed. He did some research and found out that the cows had consumed a large amount of a certain plant while munching the grass in their pasture. This natural substance is very effective at preventing clots and is still used for this purpose to this day. Substance #2 This substance is fine when taken in certain amounts. It is very effective in preventing clots and often recommended by doctors. If the patient takes too much of this substance he or she will suffer muscle contractions, headache, seizures, nausea, and unresponsiveness. If this overdose is not addressed, it will lead to coma and death. Substance #3 This substance is starting to show promise as a means to prevent pulmonary embolism. Although the research is conflicting, some doctors are recommending that patients use this substance. This substance increases the risk of fatal bleeding. Other side effects of this substance include vomiting, stomach pain, hives, rash, facial swelling, difficulty breathing, fast heart rate, fast breathing, clammy skin, loss of hearing, and death. I will be back on to share the answers in a few days. As the Clot Spot develops, I have a few questions for everyone.
How do you like the site design? Do you have any ideas on how to make the site easier to navigate? What topics would you like to see in the future? Is the color scheme nice? How about the menu system? Let me know what you think. I have some other templates and themes that I can use here. Lastly, do you like having articles separate from the blog? I thought it would make things easier to navigate. Does it? Let me know what you think in the comments. Thanks! |
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