Susan's Page

We came home from the hospital last week and have seen some improvement. Susan is on a strict diet and has begun physical therapy. Her homework is to practice walking (with me moving her right leg and supporting her right arm). She has several other exercises, too. She has been playing “Go Fish” with the whole family each evening and is helping our son with the crossword puzzle. She got 23 Down “Juliet’s last name” (CAPULET), and 9 Down “Century parts” (DECADE). Susan is talking fine at most times with occasional difficulty finding a certain word. She still remembers how to order people around pretty well, too. We have a long way to go, but progress is progress.

Posted by Dr. Susan Player at 11:02 AM | Permalink

Susan is out of the hospital and had a good night’s sleep. She is in good spirits, talking with her sisters and beginning a new phase of her recovery. She is speaking more easily today.

Posted by Dr. Susan Player at 01:12 PM | Permalink

Susan is currently in Tampa General Hospital for close observation. Sensation beginning to return slowly. Spirits and awareness improved over yesterday. Would have been better if the Bucs would have beaten the Falcons!

Posted by Dr. Susan Player at 11:10 AM | Permalink

Dear Patients,

You may have heard that Susan has suffered a stroke. It saddens me to tell you that this is true. I know you join me in wishing her well and I thank you greatly for your love and prayers. I cannot thank you enough. She is expected to make a full recovery, but that will take time.

Susan has helped a lot of us over the years and now she needs our help. One question that may be on your minds is, “what will happen to Susan’s office until she returns?” Well, that may be up to us, her patients. It struck me very gravely that my children need me to be very healthy, especially now. So, I would like to invite you to join me in rededicating myself to do what Susan had instructed me to do nutritionally and lifestyle-wise. Let’s follow the advice she gave us: let’s take our vitamins. Get healthy. Stay that way, because there are people that need you. Your family needs you and the community needs you.

And by improving your own health, you will help keep Susan’s office open until she returns. She will return, because we all want her to be there when we need her. Now, the best way we can help her is to follow the personal instructions she gave each of us to TAKE OUR VITAMINS.

We want to help you stay close to the ones you love.

Sincerely,

Paul Player

Posted by Dr. Susan Player at 11:07 AM | Permalink

I had a rude reminder this past week that all the people on planet Earth don’t yet know to AVOID using aluminum cookware. Here is a heads-up, as you perhaps have Thanksgiving dinner planned at a restaurant or a relative’s or friend’s home. Even many people who don’t usually use aluminum cookware sometimes compromise with turkey roasting pans or purchased pies.

Taking some extra vitamin C can help to counteract the incoming aluminum to minimize its detrimental effects on your body.

Core Level C-TR or Pedia C (for kids) from Nutri-West are both excellent supplemental sources of vitamin C. They are available at our office if you don’t already have them. The dosage would vary depending on how much aluminum intake occurs. Usually 1 – 3 near the time of the meal is good, although you may need to up to 6 or so if all or most of the foods are prepared in aluminum cookware.

~Susan

Posted by Dr. Susan Player at 04:18 PM | Permalink

I had an eye-opening experience when I did my recent grocery shopping. I compared prices on a small sample of organic foods between a big grocer and our local independent health food store. Except for the yogurt, all the other items were less expensive at the health food store, sometimes by a large amount. A three pound bag of organic Gala apples was $2 cheaper at the health food store! I truly was shocked. Having a “reputation” for being more expensive isn’t always based on fact.

Do your own comparison shopping and let me know what you find out.

Also be sure to have the list of high-pesticide foods handy when you are shopping so you spend your “organic pennies” wisely. The list may be found at:

http://www.drplayer.com/blog/2006/03/when_you_cant_buy_all_organic_1.html

~Susan

Posted by Dr. Susan Player at 02:38 PM | Permalink

I love to people watch--at the mall, at airports, all over. I have noticed that a lot of people stand or walk with their feet turning outward, instead of straight ahead. Although different imbalances can contribute to this, a common one is large intestine dysfunction. The reason is that the large intestine is related to a hip muscle whose job is to inwardly rotate the leg. If the large intestine isn’t working well, that muscle can be weak and overpowered by the outward rotating muscles, hence the outward foot positions.

This is another clue that you can use to determine if there is an imbalance in the body before it turns into a bigger problem.

Other indicators of possible large intestine dysfunction are dark circles under the eyes, less than three bowel movements per day, and soreness if you squeeze the web muscle between the thumb and index finger. If you have these conditions, let me know at your next appointment so we can get your body working better.

~Susan

Posted by Dr. Susan Player at 04:51 PM | Permalink

I don’t know about you, but I get fed up with all the drug ads that are in most magazines. At one point I had been receiving free copies of Reader’s Digest at the office. After I tore out the drug ad pages, about half the magazine was missing!

There is a publication company whose magazines have NO drug ads at all and only a few ads in total. The company is called Reiman Publications (www.reimanpub.com). They have about ten different magazines including Country, Reminisce, Birds and Blooms, and Backyard Living. Their magazines have beautiful color photos and interesting and uplifting articles. My current favorite is Country which I have available at my office.

If you want something that points out the better parts of life and the beauty around us they are a great option. With Christmas coming up, they make great gifts for relatives as well.

~Susan

Posted by Dr. Susan Player at 05:52 PM | Permalink

If you find that you are having stress reactions to the changes in the economy, I want to remind you that it is really important to keep doing the things that are successful in keeping yourself healthy. This isn’t the time to stop taking the supplements that have tested as beneficial for you. In fact, you may benefit from adding or increasing two nutrients in particular.

Core Level Magnesium helps the nervous system and muscles to relax. Core Level Thiamine is a B vitamin that is especially depleted during stressful times. Together, they can decrease or eliminate feeling on edge, not sleeping well, and being quick to anger.

When you are calm, sleeping well, and higher toned you are able to come up with creative solutions to problems.

Be sure to keep yourself well!
~Susan

Posted by Dr. Susan Player at 05:47 PM | Permalink

A study published in the June 2007 issue of the scientific journal Chest shows that the risk of asthma is one and a half times greater in babies who received more than four courses of antibiotics before age 1. Researchers reviewed healthcare and prescription databases in Manitoba, Canada of over 13 thousand children. The results showed that children who had been given antibiotics in the first year of life were more likely to develop asthma by age seven. Children in this group who were given four courses of antibiotics were most at risk.

Many conditions that children are given antibiotics for, such as ear and throat infections, can be easily addressed with natural remedies. Let’s help their future health and keep antibiotic use ONLY for those rare instances were they are truly needed.

~Susan

Posted by Dr. Susan Player at 05:46 PM | Permalink