Meet The Community Support Team: Mods and Admin

[Jo*mar]

Hello NeuroTalk members,

I'm Jo -
51 yrs old, married for 28 yrs now, with 4 kids.
I had repetitive strain injuries, which over the years progressed into thoracic outlet syndrome, also some myofascial pain and c spine issues.
2003 -2005 were my worst years symptom wise, with a work comp claim and the decision to quit my job.
Somewhere in that time frame was when I found another forum community and made some good friends there and learned a lot from them.
Many of those friends have found this place too.
I hope to meet and make many more new friends as we grow this site together.

Some of my family members have a variety health conditions also, so there are many forums and topics that interest me.
I enjoy learning new things, helping and sharing information to make life better for all of us.
I'll be seeing you on the forums as we all get to know each other.
Jo

[Chemar]

Hi
my name is Cheri and I am very privileged to be part of the NeuroTalk Community Support Team.

I am first and foremost a member here, so I hope you will feel comfortable knowing you can always contact me about anything, and that I am here to help in whatever way I can.

I have a postgrad degree in Physiology, and worked for some time in Medical Research and academics. I have used that background training and experience to continue my own research into alternative and complimentary treatments.
I realise that different people respond very differently to various treatments and so I should stress that I am not anti conventional medicine, rather just pro trying to find the best ways with the least side effects to promote holistic health and healing!

I first began using online neurological forums after my youngest son was dx with Tourette Syndrome plus co-morbid OCD etc at age 10, almost 7 years ago,

We had been through a really scary time because he has extreme sensitivity to prescription meds, and every potential side effect always seems to manifest in him. Anyway, it was a real relief for me when a psychiatrist helped me wean him off the meds and, along with our Integrative medical team, provided guidance in the detoxification and nutritional supplement program that I had been researching online as a possible way to help my son with his very severe and injurious tics and debilitating OCD.

To cut a looooong story short, all has really been going really well since then, and my son's tics and OCD improved dramatically with alternative treatments.

However, last year he started having agonizing abdominal pains, and overall malaise. A colonoscopy this past summer showed that he also has Crohn's Disease.

So my research has now taken me into the realm of autoimmunity, and I am thankful that once again, we are seeing tremendously positive results in keeping the Crohn's symptoms subdued with primarily nutritional methods, along with the acupuncture and chiropracty that has also been so beneficial for his Tourette Syndrome.

On a different note, I switched career direction in 2000, and am now enjoying a home based venture as an Antiques dealer, having turned my love of collecting Art Deco glass and pottery etc into a fun online business.

Art and music are very important to me, as is my spiritual life. I am living proof of the power of prayer and God's ability to work good in and through all things.

I enjoy cats, cooking (especially Japanese & Thai food), my garden and anything creative.

My childhood was spent in South Africa, after which I studied and lived in England for many years.
For the past 16 years I have been in Florida, with my New Yorker husband, 2 sons (one a music major at college in New England) 2 cats, a JR terrier and wonderful birdlife in the woods and stream behind our home.
I have a passion for nature, and spent much of my youth in the big safe-haven game parks in Africa, absorbing the pageant of wild life. I love to travel and experience different places and cultures, and have done so extensively.

So, that's enough about me and I do look forward to getting to know you all too.

Thanks to you, DocJohn, for the way you took us all in, and for establishing our very own NeuroTalk Communities, and to you, KimmyDawn, for being the special caring person that you are, and for all the help and guidance that you provide for us.
And a personal thanks to the rest of the Community Support Team for their dedication and enthusiasm .......and to you, the members, who are the essence of what makes NeuroTalk so special.

Cheri

[DocJohn]

My name is John Grohol and I've been running online communities first in the 1980s in local BBSes (in northern Delaware, where I grew up), and then in the 1990s on Prodigy and the Internet. I got my start on the Internet in 1991 when I was looking for a depression support group online to help me deal with the suicide of my childhood best friend. I was surprised and relieved to have found one, but it took far more trouble and research than I thought most people would bother with. So I began to index whatever Internet support groups I could find (most of which were either on mailing lists or on the newsgroups). I published such lists throughout the early 1990s and then on my website, Psych Central, in 1995.

After graduating with my doctorate in psychology in 1995 from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, I developed and built the first mental health information portal, Mental Health Net, and a Web-based mental health support community. I left that position in 1999 to join drkoop.com and built their mental health center. After that, I was involved in a number of startups, including an online therapy startup which brought me up to the Boston area. After selling that service (and taking a job in an unrelated field for a time), I did a one-year consulting gig for Steve Case's Revolution Health. I helped them understand the unique needs of mental health users, as well as trying to teach them about how an online health support community differs from many other online communities. I left that gig in Aug. 2006 to focus full-time on Psych Central, my own personal mental health website and community.

I'm married, live and work north of Boston these days, and have no less than 6 cats. Yes, you read that right (there's a story there, but I'll save it for another day). My dad also has had to cope with Parkinson's for many years now, so neurological disorders hold a special place in my heart and mind.

I'm glad you found us and hope you tell others you know if you find our community helpful...

John

[Koala77]

Hello everyone. My name is Anne and I'm a middle aged Grandma who lives in Australia. I'm married to a wonderful man who spoils me rotten, and I have one daughter, 2 step-sons, and a beautiful grandson; all of whom I love so very much. I don't have any pets at the moment but I assure you I love all animals and have been known to bring home strays, and adopt pets at the most inopportune times.

I have Multiple Sclerosis (the Remitting/Relapsing kind) and was diagnosed way back in 1977 using the MacDonald Criteria. MRIs hadn't been invented then. We didn't have the advanced testing of CSF in those days either, so it wasn't until I had my first MRI, 25 years later in 2001, that my Neurologist was finally able to confirm the MS diagnosis.

My initial major exacerbation in 1977 lasted 7 or 8 weeks, and for the next five years or so, I had flares every 4-6 months, including my first of many bouts of optic neuritis. Now after all these years, I find that relapses only occur every 2 or 3 years. Recently I've had to start using a cane for stability because of many falls, and on bad days I use a rollator.

Unfortunately I had major reactions to both the Interferons and Copaxone, so I just plod along now without any of them. The last Neurologist that I consulted suggested I may need chemotherapy if I have any more major relapses. I've not made my mind up about that yet, and I hope I never have to.

In September 2007, ill health forced my early retirement from a career of 40 years as a registered nurse. MS, multiple fractures from Osteoporosis, and two nasty cancer operations put an end to my working life. I loved my life as a nurse and I achieved everything I hoped to achieve and then some. I can't really complain about that!

I'd like to say that I'm very honoured to be asked to join the Moderating Team, and I hope that I can do a good job in this new role. Please bear with me as I "learn the ropes".

There are times when my memory isn't wonderful, or I'm in pain, and I have many problems that others with a chronic illness would understand, but these things not with standing, I hope I never lose the empathy that I feel for others.

Please feel free to contact me if you think I can help you in any way. If I had an office I'd be saying that my door is always open, but you get the idea! :D

Thank you for having me here on NeuroTalk and I look forward to meeting as many of you as I can.

[Abasaki]

Hi ALL!!!

I'm Abbie. :Wave-Hello:


Who am I?
Well that question isn’t the easiest to answer… but here it goes… I’m a Daughter, Sister, Aunt, Friend. I know those don’t really explain much. But they really are me.


Here is the me that I see:
I am athletic… I love football, baseball/softball, martial arts, bicycling, rollerblading, swimming, mountain climbing, rock climbing, kayaking, and the list goes on. (I haven’t been able to do these things for a few years…but it’s still the way I see me! J )


I love kids! I love helping kids discover their dreams and would do anything I can to help them reach their dream.

I love to travel!! My favorite place to be is the beach. I love to watch the waves as they touch the shore. :sunchair:


Sometimes I'm shy and sometimes I'm super talkative.

I love to laugh, I am a practical joker, and have been told that I sometimes have a warped sense of humor. http://th251.photobucket.com/albums/gg310/happymommmy/Smilies/th_jocker.gif (http://media.photobucket.com/image/joker%20smilie/happymommmy/Smilies/jocker.gif?o=2)

I love music of all kinds.... yes, opera and classical too.:sing:

What brought me to NT?
I was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy a while back. My doc was very honest with me, explained to me why he believed I had RSD, said that he knew only a little about RSD, sent me to other doctors to confirm his diagnosis, and then told me... "look RSD up on the web--don't read anything into what you are reading, if you have any questions bring them to me and we will go from there".

I surfed around for a few years finally finding NT... I quietly lurked around for a while, reading, and noticing I wasn't alone with my diagnosis. Though I cried knowing there were others experiencing this same "monster", it brought me great comfort to be able to see that others were experiencing some of the same symptoms.


People here at NT are GREAT!!!
I have found that we can ALL ask questions about what we are experiencing, no matter what that might be and in just a short while someone comes along to lend a helping hand.

It's great also that we ALL may be able to help someone else. We can all answer or offer a suggestion that may help or we may just offer a hug to say that we care.



I was recently asked to join the Moderator Team. This is such an honor for me. I will do the best that I can and do whatever I can to help members in any way that I can. If you need anything please don’t hesitate to ask… I can always be reached by posting to me on the board… or by PM (Private Message) if you would like.


Well, that's a little, tiny bit about me... I do hope that you will come in, grab a cup of whatever you may enjoy, sit down, talk, laugh, and even cry if you need to... we are here and I'm glad you are here too!!!!

:hug:
Abbie

[mrsD]

Hello everyone.

Most of you here know me already. I've been asked to join the team of
NeuroTalk, to help keep it working smoothly and safely. I am honored to do this, as this is what I do here for individuals who have questions about their medications or healing in general.

I've been on the Net now for just over 10 years. Back then my son was struggling with ADHD and the side effects of his medications. One of my first tasks on the Net was learning about alternative approaches to dealing with the confusing aspects of ADHD. What I found enabled my son to move past stimulant drugs, and use simple dietary changes plus some simple supplements, like flax oil and fish oil which improved his focus. I redid our
meals and pantry and all of us improved our health issues, and my son was able to discontinue his stimulants.

I have used the knowledge I have found to improve my own arthritis and neuropathy pain as well. I still use drugs carefully when I have to, but I also believe we can also work to enable our own healing and quality of life in other ways.

I will still be contributing as a poster. Members here can still PM me and ask questions on the Vitamin, Medications, and Peripheral Neuropathy, and other forums as well.
That is not going to change. If you need any help posting, or have concerns about the forums, you can contact me at any time.

mrsD

[Kitty]

First of all I'd like to say that I'm so appreciative of the invitation to join the Moderation Team.

I was dx with Multiple Sclerosis in October 2005 after a scary episode of double vision that lasted over 4 months.

A little about me. I'm 48 years young and have two sons, 26 and 22. My husband passed away suddenly in 2001. I lost my Mom and Dad in 2005 (same year I was dx with MS) and my older sister Susan in January 2007. So.....I'm no stranger to loss and grief.

In spite of it all,I'm happy. I have 2 wonderful sons, 2 sweet cats (who think they are human) and my faith. I've been in a couple of relationships since my husband's death that have disappointed me to the point of not wanting to ever marry again. I have learned that there is nothing wrong with being alone. I'm not lonely - just alone...if that makes any sense.

I feel so honored to be a part of this wonderful group of people. I consider everyone here a friend and hope you all feel the same about me.

I know MS is a serious condition and realize what it can do - but sometimes we just have to laugh in its face and let it know that it cannot take away our sense of humor.
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