Early holiday gift surprise
Around this time of year, it’s great to reflect on how the year’s going for you.
We’re doing the same here at Eve Was Framed.
We launched a company!
This is newsletter 21
We hosted our first in-person event - Mocktails and Conversation
And we’ve started growing our community
That’s not a bad 2022. So far…
For the time we have left this year, we’d love to reach even more folks. Many of you have referred people who have signed up. Thank you!
We want to make that easy for you and as a special thanks, we’re having an end-of-the-year swag give-away!
For every referral of yours who signs up by Dec 18, 2022, you get points to your regular referral gifts and an entry into this giveaway.
We’ll give 3 randomly selected people a swag package including:
USB Wall charger Insulated Mug
Stadium Blanket Cooler
Referring people is easy!
You can forward the newsletter and encourage them to click on the link at the bottom of the email. It’s a link unique to you! So we know who’s sending them our way.
Want to share on social media for a wider reach? Click on the “see how many referrals you have” button at the bottom. It will take you to your referral hub with easy links to share.
- Maggie Ruvoldt & Stephanie Majercik
The Tasting Menu
Dementia and Alzheimer’s - Is There a Difference?
Navigating Fertility Conversations During the Holidays
Healthy Skin Month: Basic Facts on Rosacea
Dementia and Alzheimer’s - Is There a Difference?
Alzheimer’s is a specific disease under the umbrella term Dementia.
Dementia isn’t a disease but rather a set of symptoms that include memory loss, trouble reasoning, and getting lost in familiar places. This may be due to reversible causes like an infection or progressive irreversible conditions such as Alzheimer’s.
So how do you know if it’s time to consult a doctor?
On-going signs of mild cognitive impairment are a good reason to get an assessment. Those symptoms include:
Losing track of time
Missing appointments
Having a hard time with familiar tasks
Difficulty with word recall
Those symptoms can be frightening. While we joke about “senior moments” and more people are being diagnosed with memory-related disorders, this isn’t a normal part of aging. The Alzheimer’s Association has a helpful chart of 10 early signs and symptoms and, for several, note there may be other age-related causes.
Maggie recently reflected on what she learned from her mother’s fight with Alzheimer’s. You can read about that on our website.
Resources:
Alzheimer’s Association Doctor’s appointment checklist because remembering everything to cover in a stressful situation is hard.
Healthline’s article on 11 early signs of dementia
National Institute on Aging resource site for Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias with links to several articles
Mayo Clinic’s page on dementia including conditions other than Alzheimer's
Navigating Fertility Conversations During the Holidays
It’s almost that time of year. The time single people dread going home and getting peppered with questions of the “Why are you still single?” variety. And if you happen to be in a relationship or recently got married, the conversation shifts to “so when are you having kids”.
We know that these types of questions are intrusive and we wish everyone would just stop asking. It can be especially painful if you’ve been trying to get pregnant and have been diagnosed with infertility. Many people going through fertility treatments can feel isolated from family and friends who may not know or fully understand what they’re experiencing. Relationships may even become strained.
So, as we head into this holiday season in a few weeks, we wanted to pull together some tips for how to navigate some of those conversations, if it makes sense for you.
Determine with your partner how much information to share. At the end of the day, deciding to whether or not to share any information about your fertility journey is up to you, so determine if you’re ready to share and to what level you want to let people in.
Set boundaries around how you’ll share updates. Even the most well-intentioned of our loved ones may ask probing questions out of love. If you’re going through fertility treatments, you may not want to be asked “how did it go”, “what did the results say”. Tell your friends and family that you’ll share updates when you are ready to and kindly request that they not ask about it.
Share how you’d like to be supported. Do you want people to check in on you? Do you not want to talk about it? Everyone has their own ways of working through difficult situations, so set expectations on what would be the most helpful as you continue through this journey.
Resolve - the national infertility association - has a good list of communication tips to consider.
And if you happen to be a family member or a friend of someone experiencing infertility, these tips (also from Resolve) can help you navigate conversations in a supportive, caring way.
Healthy skin month: Basic facts on rosacea
If you are 30 or over and have noticed the redness on your face, even when you haven’t been in the sun, you may have rosacea. It’s more common than we realize. Most people who get it have fair skin and are likely to have had acne.
There are four types of rosacea including ocular rosacea which causes redness, dry eyes, and a burning sensation. Each type has different symptoms and courses of treatment.
People with rosacea can experience flare-ups. Causes for these can be as diverse as hot drinks, wind, emotions, or medications. Keeping track of when you have worse symptoms may help you figure out the causes. The National Rosacea Society compiled a list of triggers based on a survey of over 1,000 patients.
Because the triggers and symptoms vary, treatment and management have to be individualized. Keeping a record of flare-up triggers can lead to lifestyle and diet changes. There are topical options and dermabrasion treatments as well.
If you’re curious about menopause and rosacea, there does appear to be a connection. Estrogen plays an important role in healthy skin. And hot flashes can be a trigger for a rosacea flare. For more specifics on menopause and rosacea, we found this article was a great resource.
Medical Term of the Week
Have you heard the words syndrome, disease and disorder tossed around and wondered the difference? We did. So here’s a trio of terms for the week.
A syndrome most commonly is a group of symptoms or results from tests that occur together. However, the underlying cause is unknown.
A disease is an illness with a known cause and it can be diagnosed. Testing can show the presence of a disease.
A disorder shows up when the body doesn’t function as it should. It is harder to measure and diagnose than a disease. As your healthcare provider works to find the underlying cause and diagnosis, they may use a disorder umbrella term. As in, “it looks like an autoimmune disorder.”
The Latest
As if clinical trials weren’t bad enough for representation, even the crash test dummys are men? There’s one design out there that is more representative of women. (from BBC)
Women facing cancer treatment aren’t always counseled on the sexual side effects. (from ITN)
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires coverage for FDA-approved contraception. Looks like not everyone is complying. (from MedCity News)