The MDA is recognizing National Caregivers Month with its website Salute to Caregivers. The caregiver in my life is my husband, who I dearly love. When I have a flare up or get sick with a regular cold (which for me can become serious quickly), he’s the one that is there at my side. He does everything from help me bathe to making sure I take my medicine.

Visit the Salute to Caregivers site to meet caregivers, send an e-post card to your caregiver or one that you know, learn about resources or make a donation in honor of a caregiver. For those of us who rely on a caregiver due to chronic illness, disability or other medical problems, we thank you!

With the holidays approaching, you may be looking for a gift to show your caregiver how much you appreciate him or her. Here’s a few ideas:

A pair of comfy slippers for a female caregiver – Acorn Slippers

A pair of Bushnell Binoculars would make a nice gift too. Your caregiver can take in some birdwatching. Music is always a welcome gift. 50 Classics For Relaxation (2 CD) can be enjoyed by the both of you.

Weight loss surgery success is based on reaching a normal Body Mass Index (BMI) and the amount of time the BMI is maintained. There are a number of  factors that determine success. One is the type of surgery used, including gastric banding (LAP-BAND and REALIZE), sleeve gastrectomy, Gastric Bypass Surgery (Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass) and Biliopancreatic diversion. Next is not maintaining the eating plan your surgeon prescribes for you. Some patients do not start or continue with a physical exercise program.

Determining the right weight loss surgery for you is not a process to be taken lightly. Before you even consider surgery, look at what the National Institutes of Health guidelines are for this type of surgery:

• BMI of patient is 40 or higher (morbidly obese), or
• BMI of patient is between 35 – 40 with obesity comorbidities

You’ll need to discuss this with your doctor or surgeon first and then see if your health insurance will cover your surgery. Your surgeon will go over the different types of surgeries in detail, his or her preferences and what you feel most comfortable with. Often patients attend seminars or look for support groups to get advice. Learning as much as you can is important and feeling comfortable with your surgeon and staff is paramount.

Patients may have to deal with emotional eating, or the belief that they can eat anything because of their surgery. This is a behavioral eating issue. A therapist or support group is usually the way to deal with this type of issue. Sometimes this is a deep routed issue that can cause a patient to gain back all or most of the weight lost after  bariatric surgery.

Some patients have not been physically active because of being obese prior to their surgery. Beginning and maintaining some type of exercise program can be difficult for that reason, but it is important to keep the weight off.  Again, a support group, even if it’s not a post-weight loss surgery group, can be the answer.

Maintaining weight loss after surgery can be made easier by choosing the right surgery for you, by following the eating plan recommended by your doctor and by taking part in a physical exercise program.

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Imagine being able to keep all of your health information in a heart pendant? With your Very Special Heart™ you can. Your personal health record, including your medications, doctors’, contact and insurance information, prescription allergies, medical devices, diagnoses and conditions and your living will and health care surrogate forms, is stored using a usb drive in the pendant.

You fill out a form with the health information you want stored and it is transferred to the heart pendant. There’s even room for a dose of medication! You can wear the pendant as a necklace or use it as key chain. For men, there is a globe pendant. Besides your digital health record, you can add information such as your drivers license, passport and credit cards. This information will be password protected so you can decide who you share it with.

In order to obtain your PHR, a paramedic, emergency personnel or even your own doctor can easily access it by plugging the usb drive into a computer. You can also print your information if you wish to save time in filling out medical forms. Use this pendant if you have a medical condition, take numerous medications, have frequent changes to your medications, live in an area where natural disasters occur, etc. You can also use a Very Special Heart™ for children. Leave it with babysitters, keep their medical records up to date, and maintain health information if they have a medical condition. Useful for many people, having your health information in a heart is a new way to stay safe.

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Movember – the month originally known as November – is a fund raising event for prostate cancer awareness and research. Men start with a clean shaven face on November 1st and then grow a Mo (moustache) “to change the face of men’s health”.  You can still join Movember USA and take part in the Gala Parties, Mo Parties and Fine Line Art Exhibitions. You can win prizes by taking part in competitions, make donations and share about Movember by posting photos of you with your Mo, joining the Movember USA Facebook page and creating your own Mo Space page.

Have fun with Movember! Even women can get involved by adding a moustache to your photo using graphics or helping a team or member raise money.

Here’s a link to the Movember health checklist. Even if you don’t grow a Mo for Movember, be sure to get informed about prostate cancer.

Love Simple DVD sales (10% of proceeds) will be donated to the Lupus Research Foundation (Lupus Research Institute).

Your Indie Films/Synergetic Distribution has acquired worldwide distribution rights for the film Love Simple, directed by Mark von Sternberg. The film will be available for purchase internationally on Tuesday, November 11. The story of Love Simple is based on a woman, Seta, who has lupus and a man, Adam, who lives at home and cares for his sick father. Both meet and are not honest about their situations.

This is a romantic comedy that shows what a person with lupus goes through in her every day life. It helps raise awareness about lupus and by pre-ordering it you can help raise money for research.

If you pre-order Love Simple on Amazon.com you’ll get these offers as well:

• Pre-order Price Guarantee! Order now and if the Amazon.com price decreases between your order time and the end of the day of the release date, you’ll receive the lowest price. Here’s how (restrictions apply)
• Get $4 worth of eligible movies and TV shows from Amazon Video On Demand after you order your item. Limited to one promotional credit per customer. Here’s how (restrictions apply)
• Save up to 60% on select seasons of top TV shows, including 30 Rock, Eureka, and Friday Night Lights. Offer ends November 6, 2010.

Help support the Lupus Research Foundation and enjoy the great movie, Love Simple.