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Knowledge Is Power, and More Is Readily Available through Neonate Screening for Drugs of Abuse
Read more: Knowledge Is Power, and More Is Readily Available through Neonate Screening for Drugs of AbuseEvery single baby born in the US is required to be screened for phenylketonuria (PKU), which is “a rare condition in which a baby is born without the ability to properly break down an amino acid called phenylalanine” (Medline). Annually in the US, 1 in every 10,000 to 15,000 babies born is diagnosed with PKU…
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The Ketamine Kure Or “Here We Go Again!”
Read more: The Ketamine Kure Or “Here We Go Again!”Just as opioids weren’t a cure all, ketamine isn’t a cure all. In 2019, s-ketamine was approved for treatment-resistant depression (FDA)…and a huge warning flag should have been flown. Ketamine had already been approved in 1970, but that was for its original use for humans: an anesthetic. And in its original form it has already…
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Test It, and You Will Know
Read more: Test It, and You Will KnowHow many people have Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs)? Mental illness? Substance use disorders (SUDs)? The disease of addiction? …in the US? What about in Canada? The United Kingdom? Czechoslovakia? We think we have statistics, but as everyone knows, statistics lie. As an example, think about surveying a community regarding whether or not a sports…
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Flushing Out the Lies
Read more: Flushing Out the LiesI count people’s drinks. I don’t mean to do it, and I’m not proud of it, but I imagine it’s a learned behavior. I grew up with addiction around me, and believing that people would adhere to the limits they set for themselves was difficult, at best. So I started counting drinks, and I’ve never…
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#1 Isn’t Always A Good Thing
Read more: #1 Isn’t Always A Good ThingOn Tuesday, October 17, Mueller Communications LLC took the opportunity to point out that the United Health Foundation’s 2023 Health of Women and Children Report ranked the state of Wisconsin “last (50th) for excessive drinking among women and fourth-worst (46th) for alcohol use among youths” (Mueller email). One day later, on Wednesday, October 18, State…
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Syphilis or FASDs? Why Not Address Both?
Read more: Syphilis or FASDs? Why Not Address Both?Wisconsin is having a spate of congenital syphilis cases, so much so that Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services issued a memo to healthcare providers, including health departments and tribal health clinics, about the need to test pregnant people for the bacteria that causes the infection. The memo indicates that “The number of congenital syphilis cases…
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I’m Not Responsible for My Addiction — Or AM I?
Read more: I’m Not Responsible for My Addiction — Or AM I?Addiction is a disease just like heart disease is a disease. Both these diseases are preventable. Addiction is preventable through education and lack of use. Heart disease is preventable through following a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and not smoking. And both these diseases still occur – a lot – despite their both being preventable. So…
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Defining Recovery
Read more: Defining RecoveryI am not a person in long-term recovery, but I have not had an alcoholic beverage since August 16, 2015. The last time I was intoxicated was in 2008, I believe. It was while on a wine tour in Italy, and the grappa did me in. Not a good last day in Florence, and I…
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Luck or Fate? Do I Have an FASD?
Read more: Luck or Fate? Do I Have an FASD?This blog has been edited from the original. Last week I had the privilege of traveling to Washington, DC, to be part of FASD United’s Impact Week. I met a fellow Wisconsinite, and we started devising a plan for more advocacy in our state; I met with an aide from my Congressman’s office to discuss…
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Cold Cuts, Sushi, and Alcohol
Read more: Cold Cuts, Sushi, and AlcoholI googled the three questions below and copied the first answer that popped up: “Can I eat cold cuts while I’m pregnant?” “The safest course of action to protect your baby is to avoid deli meats until after pregnancy. If you plan to eat deli meats anyway, we highly suggest cooking them until they are steaming.…