Karyn Abrahamson, FNP Joins Lakeside Women's Health Center

Lakeside Women’s Health Center has now grown! Karyn Abrahamson has joined our practice. Karyn is certified to provide family practice care. She writes prescriptions, performs history and physical exams, evaluates patients for primary health care problems and assists Dr. Holladay in providing excellent office care. Karyn has special certification in skin care and incision management as well special interest in geriatrics. We are so fortunate to have her expertise! Nurse practitioners are health care providers with a special touch. Nurse practitioners give extra attention to complete understanding of patients’ needs. Karyn focuses on preventive medical care as well as fixing the problems patients present with. Karyn will work with patients wishing extra attention for making life-changes like tobacco cessation, weight loss, diabetic control, medication adjustments. We will now be able to offer patients access to our practice more evenings, early mornings, and SATURDAYS!! We know how hard it is to be a working mother and still have time for care of ourselves! Karyn has been a lifelong resident of our area. Karyn and Tom her husband are raising their three teen-age daughters in Ludington. Please stop by and welcome our new health care provider!

HOW TO TALK ABOUT SEX WITH YOUR KIDS

Dr. Pat Grossl, PhD, returns on Monday, September 29 at 7 pm to speak to us about sex. Dr. Pat is our local sex therapist. She visits our office a few times each year to discuss topics that are important to our patients. We have requested Dr. Pat to talk about how we can make sure our kids have the correct information and mind-set to make the best choices for their lives. We look forward to learning how to keep our kids safe and healthy. Dr. Pat’s last talk was well attended. Please call 231-843-7600 to reserve your seat for this informative lecture series. A $10 reservation fee is expected to attend the talk on Monday, September 29 at 7 pm.

Chocolate is Good for You!!

Sometimes medical science finds out something really useful!! Now there are more reasons to feel good about eating chocolate. In the Journal of the American Medical Association, a letter to the editor in the May 1, 2002 issue reveals findings from the most recent research on chocolate and cardiovascular health. The letter, authored by Carl Keen, PhD, professor and chair, Department of Nutrition, professor, Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis, discusses how study participants of a pilot clinical trial who ate semi-sweet chocolate had significant reductions in "platelet activity" in their blood. Platelet activity can cause the tiny blood components to become sticky and adhere to blood vessel walls, potentially slowing blood flow and causing detrimental effects for cardiovascular health. Therefore, reducing platelet activity may contribute to the maintenance of normal blood-flow and a healthy cardiovascular system. Roberta R. Holt, Derek D. Schramm, Carl L. Keen, Sheryl A. Lazarus, and Harold H. Schmitz Chocolate Consumption and Platelet Function JAMA 2002 287: 2212-2213.

WHY DO WE WANT TO KNOW WHEN YOU LOST YOUR VIRGINITY?

Sometimes women comment on how complete our history forms are at Lakeside Women’s Health Center! Doctor Holladay tries to identify all risk factors when completing her patients’ examinations. Coitarche is the age at which a woman/ girl first has penetrating sexual intercourse. The age of coitarche is a SIGNIFICANT risk factor for cervix cancer. When a girl has penetrating intercourse at an early age, especially unprotected intercourse before she gets her first menstrual period, she GREATLY increases her risk to develop cervix cancer. Other risk factors that are age, and time-dependent are age at onset of tobacco use or marijuana use as these drugs have chemical carcinogenic activity on the cervix. Dr. Holladay appreciates her patients’ curiosity at such a “nosey” question. We respect our patients wish for privacy and protect it always. We also appreciate that this question has given us an opportunity to provide excellent care.

COME VISIT US AT WWW.DOCTORHOLLADAY.COM

Dr. Holladay has been developing our practice web site for a few years now. Many women have found that emailing Doctor Holladay can be a great way to communicate directly with the doctor concerns that may need extra attention. Doctor Holladay likes to use email for non-emergency communication. We usually respond within 24—48 hours to email requests. We have added forms for new patients, educational handouts on many topics, we link with the national site www.medem.com site so patients get up to date information from the American College of Ob-Gyns, the National Institute of Health, and other institutions that contribute to this excellent site. There is no charge for our internet services. Doctors wishing to refer to our practice can preview many of our worksheets and handouts before they send their patients to our office. When a new patient can fill out her paper work at home, it sure saves her a lot of time! We want our patients to have time to learn about their condition as we care for them. Doctor Holladay has uploaded many of the books that she uses in treating her patients, they can be purchased on-line or locally.

BABY MASSAGE CLASS BY SALLY CHAPONIS A SUCCESS!

We had a GREAT time at our first ever baby massage class! We had 5 babies and 7 parents attend. Everyone learned a great deal about ways to communicate through touch to our babies. We especially loved the instructions about ways to help our colicky babies pass gas!! Our babies remained calm and cooperative for OVER 20 MINUTES!! Altogether, we were impressed with how very wonderful it is to connect with our children through touch. Lakeside Women’s Health Center will offer this class again at no charge when we have enough interest. If you want to learn more about massage please contact Sally at: (231) 843-7600 We will take names for those wanting to take another baby massage class.

QUIT SMOKING NOW

Right now, you can be quitting smoking. We know you might think about it when you have to come see us, because we ALWAYS ask when you can quit! Just thinking about quitting, every time you pull a cigarette out of the pack helps you quit. Ask yourself “Is this a cigarette I REALLY need?” if you can’t go another minute without one then light it up, and smoke it. Put that cigarette out as soon as your “need” is met. Save what is left of your used cigarette to re-use, they are expensive! If you can “put it off” for a few minutes or find something else to do, delay smoking those cigarettes you don’t really “need”. Stop smoking those MINDLESS cigarettes, you know, the ones that you are just automatically putting in your mouth as you drive, watch TV, bowl with your friends. THINK ABOUT YOUR SMOKING WHEN YOU DO IT AND YOU CAN START QUITTING NOW. Make one place in your home your “smoking place”. Make smoking a conscious activity and you can start quitting!! KEEP YOURSELF AWARE OF YOUR SMOKING AND YOU CAN START QUITTING NOW!!

RESOLVE INVERTILITY GROUP MEETING AT LAKESIDE WOMEN’S HEALTH CENTER

We are glad to announce that we will have a Resolve group forming in Ludington! A wonderful woman named Sonja Mayse is starting a Resolve support group and she will have meetings at Lakeside Women's Health Center. Sonja is using a Reproductive Endocrinologist’s services in Grand Rapids and would like to have a local support group for women experiencing infertility. Her husband is working in the Middle East right now. Wanting to grow a family is a basic desire for many couples. Many women keep it a secret when they suspect they have problems conceiving. Getting your period every month when what you really want is a child can cause deep sadness and grief. Dr. Holladay has experienced this as she worked toward her conception of John Joseph. Infertility can be a major stress in a relationship! Many couples find it hard to discuss their feelings and keep a positive attitude during infertility treatments. Meeting with other women experienced with infertility issues can be VERY helpful for women working toward pregnancy. Having to track cycle length and having sex on a schedule is tricky at times!! It’s nice when you can discuss things with other women who have “been there, done that”. We have added a message forum to our web site so women can attend our meetings “on line” if they don’t have time to come to Lakeside Women’s Health Center. Family, partners, and friends can also join in at our message forums and offer their support! Infertility can be a great opportunity to clarify your motivations to be a parent, develop a deeper relationship with your spouse and to appreciate what a true miracle each baby is!! We are looking forward to the guidance and support a Resolve group can offer women in our area!! Please contact: Sonja Mayse 231-845-7557 or misona1@yahoo.com OR LAKESIDE WOMEN'S HEALTH CENTER 707 North Washington Avenue Ludington, MI 49431 Phone: 231-843-7600 Fax: 231-843-3986 Email: doctor@doctorholladay.com