These are the words Dr. Oz spoke to me on Friday, February 26. I went to a recording of his show and said hello to him when the taping was over...he remembered me.
He did my open heart surgery June 15, 2009.
I told him thank you.
I told him he did a fantastic job.
I told him I feel great.
He gave me a couple of hugs and then said "Now go out and change the world"
quite a big feat!
"change the WORLD!"
well, I don't know if I can change the entire world...but I sure can at least continue to share my story.
Today's Entry
young women can have a stroke
Yes, it can happen.
Strokes are not just for older folks or people who are overweight or smokers or those who have high blood pressure or are migraine sufferers...
I was 30 when I had my stroke.
I had no family history of stoke, blood clots, heart issues...none.
Yet, I had a stroke.
One huge contributing factor: birth control (along with my 'thick blood' that the doctors found after I had the stroke...why did they not test this before I took the pill!?)
Doctors are so quick to prescribe the pill that I feel that they don't ask all of the precautionary questions or even take any precationary tests at all before handing out this extemely powerful daily drug. Since I had my stroke, I have heard more & more stories of young women who have also had a stroke because of birth control. Some have died, some paralyzed, some were lucky like me & hardly have any residual effects.
(Here is another woman's story...quite similar to mine. and another link to cnn.com on the same topic)
Awhile back, I was in one doctor's office and was talking to him about my stroke. I got on my soapbox and mentioned "If only doctors would do all of the precautionary testing on women before prescribing such a powerful drug" and he said "What, we're supposed to test every single woman that goes on the pill!?" I replied "YES! save a few lives!"
However, in addition to doctors being more careful about prescribing any old thing to their patients...we as the patient need to be careful in letting them prescribe any old thing to us.
Take charge, know your body, do your research.
I will admit, I took the pill without doing all of the precautionary research for myself. I assumed, like many of my friends and other millions of women who take it, that I would be fine. That I was immune to the small print on the prescription info sheet. Yet, I was only on the pill for a year and a half...then had a stroke.
I can't really tell you what to do with your body and what to put in it or not put in it....but I can raise awareness. Just like knowing that we need to do 30 minutes of cardio and eat our fruits and veggies each day, we need to be aware of the fine print.
Know to take care of your body, know the warning signs of a stroke. Tell your friends and neighbors...and be careful of what you put in your body.
I can not go back and change the past.
I am a young woman who has had a stroke and open heart surgery.
I now share my story, I raise awareness, I will try and do as Dr. Oz has challenged me and "go out and change the world".
postscript: I am convinced that my mom is the only one that reads my blog and I really do appreciate it Mom!, but I'm curious if there are others out there...what are your thoughts, questions, stories?
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 06, 2010
She's Here & I'm STOKED!!!!!!
My dear sweet awesome loving faithful friend had her baby today.
I AM STOKED!!!!!!!!
Laura is her name.
She is awesome!
She is long.
She's gonna be so loved by so many and her parents are gonna do a WONDERFUL job.
We love you Laura!
Welcome to the world!
February 6, 2010
7:53am
YAY!
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