Bits and Pieces: New Discoveries

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So here are some of the things I've been reading and contemplating amidst my efforts to keep my Christmas preparations on track.

Coffee for Hepatitis C?

Here is a good reason to keep visiting my local Starbucks or Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf on a regular basis. Research published in the November 2010 issue of the journal Hepatology shows that regular coffee drinking, equivalent to 3 cups a day, results in slower disease progression in person who has Hepatitis C related fibrosis or cirrhosis. Of particular interest to me, drinking coffee seems to prevent the development of hepatocellular carcinoma, a.k.a. liver cancer.

I've written before how having both Hepatitis C and Type 2 diabetes puts me at increased risk for developing liver cancer and how concerned I am about this. While it seems that one large cup of coffee is my limit for caffeine for the day, this research has convinced me that cutting back on my coffee intake is probably not a wise choice for me.

Tracking My Fibromyalgia Symptoms

My friend the Fibrochondriac is looking for a hi-tech way to track her daily fibromyalgia symptoms. I remembered that I was doing this online for awhile, but then realized that I was doing this as a participant in the Fibromyalgia Wellness Project research project, which stopped collecting data in September 2010.

So I embarked on a search for either an online program or a smartphone app to do this. Unfortunately, I didn't find exactly what I was looking for. I got close with the online fibromyalgia, dysautonomia and pain trackers at MedHelp.org and the Illness Tracker app for Blackberry or iPhone.

None of these are quite what I had in mind, but I did uncover a promising lead after contacting the good folks over at WellApps. They already have a fab app for tracking GI symptoms (take note those with IBS) on Andriod, Blackberry and iPhone and have plans to create an app for fibromyalgia in 2011. They promised to keep me in the loop and I promise to share new developments with you here at OMA&P!

This concludes another edition of Bits and Pieces. I'm off to bake some homemade sugar-free gingersnaps which I am using as the crust for a no-bake ginger pumpkin pie. I hope all your holiday preparation are coming along well too and you've set aside some time to both rest and enjoy the season.