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Study: Flu shots more effective when patient is rested
ATLANTA —As flu season
approaches and people begin to think
about getting their flu shots, there is
a very simple step you can take to
make your flu shot more effective—
make sure you get a good night’s
sleep. According to the September
25, 2002 issue of the Journal of the
American Medical Association, sleep
deprivation can limit the effective
ness of the flu shot.
The study, which was funded by
the MacArthur Foundation and the
National Institute of Health, adminis
tered flu shots to two groups of
healthy men; one group had their
sleep restricted to just four hours per
night for four straight nights, and the
Health notes
Breast Cancer Support
Group
... Bosom Buddies, meets
each third Sunday of the
month at 3 p.m. at Northside
Hospital Forsyth in the library
of the 1400 Medical Office
Building. The group includes
newly diagnosed breast cancer
patients as well as some who
underwent surgery more than
20 years ago.
Support group
... called ASCEND
Autism Spectrum Community
Efforts and New Directions
for parents of children with
Autism Spectrum Disorder
has been formed in Forsyth
County. The group meets
monthly, the first Saturday
from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on
some months and the second
Tuesday from 7-9 p.m. on
alternating months. The meet
ings are at Parkway Presby
terian Church on Bethelview
Road in Cumming near Exit
13ofGa. 400.
For information, call (770)
833-9966.
Alcoholics Anonymous
... offers meetings at differ
ent locations. For meeting
times and information, call
(770) 886-0696.
Narcotics Anonymous
... offers six meetings a
week and a 24-hour Help
Line. The Help Line number
is (678) 549-2157.
Alzheimer’s support
group
... is being offered on the
third Tuesday of each month
at Tara Plantation Assisted
Living Facility, 440 Tribble
Gap Rd. in Cumming, at 6:30
p.m. For more information,
call Jeff Keim at (770) 888-
1114.
The Forsyth Disability
Coalition
... a nonprofit networking
support group for any citizen
or family member of a citizen
with a disability will have a
Nov. 23 meeting featuring
guest speaker Mike Galifian
akis on the Americans with
Disabilities Act. Meetings are
on the fourth Saturday of each
month in the 1400 Building of
the Northside Forsyth
Hospital, Teresa And Everett
Bennett Educational
Classroom at 10:30 a.m.
Special group counseling
series
... entitled “Grieving the
Loss of a Child” for parents
who have experienced the
death of a child is now being
offered on Mondays from
6:30-8 p.m. The series is at the
Hospice office, 2150 Limes
tone Pkwy, in Gainesville. The
program is free, but registra
tion is required.
To register or for more
information, call Donna Moss
at (770) 533-8888.
Grief Share seminar
... and support group meets
at 7 p.m. every Wednesday at
the Episcopal Church of the
Holy Spirit on Pilgrim Mill
Road. Grief Share features
nationally recognized experts
on grief and recovery topics.
Seminar sessions include:
• “When Your Dreams Fall
Apart”
• “The Seasons of Grief’
• “The Emotions of Grief’
• “When Your Spouse
Dies”
• “Your Family and Grief’
other group slept normally. Ten days
after the vaccination, those if the
sleep-deprived group produced fewer
than half as many flu-fighting anti
bodies. At three to four weeks fol
lowing the vaccination, though, there
were no significant differences
between the two groups. Karine
Spiegel, Ph.D., and Eve Van Cauter,
Ph.D. of the University of Chicago;
and John F. Sheridan, Ph.D., of Ohio
State University conducted the study.
“This provides additional support
to the notion that sleep has an impact
on our immune system. The study
indicates that the effectiveness of flu
vaccinations may be compromised in
those individuals who cut their sleep
and
• “Growing Through
Grief.”
For more information, call
(770) 887-8190.
Babysitting Workshop
... Teaches children ages
10-13 how to be prepared and
responsible babysitters. Topics
include basic child care, acci
dent prevention, medical
emergency preparedness,
home and fire safety, the 911
system and more. Participants
need to bring a doll or stuffed
animal, a sack lunch and a
drink. The cost is S2O. Classes
will be offered at North Fulton
Regional Hospital on the fol
lowing Saturdays: Nov. 23 and
Dec. 14, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
To register, call (770) 751-
2660.
Heartsaver CPR
... by American Heart
Association standards will be
offered at North Fulton
Regional Hospital. This CPR
course for the community will
provide information and prac
tice on CPR and foreign body
airway obstruction for adults,
children and infants. The one
day course will be offered on
the following Saturday, Dec.
7. Adult CPR 9 a.m. to
noon, S3O; Infant and child
CPR l-4:30 p.m., S3O.
Both classes combined, SSO.
To register, call (770) 751-
2660.
Cancer Support Group
... beginning Dec. 4 a drop
in cancer support group will
meet the first Wednesday of
every month at Northside
Hospital Forsyth l4OO
Building Bennett Education
Center Classroom A from 10-
11:30 a.m. All are welcome.
Northside Hospital
... will offer the following
seminars:
• No More Sleepless
Nights: Insomnia, Wednesday,
Nov. 20, from 1-8:30 p.m. at
the Northside/Alpharetta
Medical Campus, Bldg. C.
• Snoring and Sleep Apnea
Wednesday, Dec. 4, from 7-
8:30 p.m. at the Northside
Hospital 980 Doctors’ Centre,
Auditorium.
For more information or to
register, call Northside
Hospital Women First at (404)
845-5555 or visit our Web site
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at www.northside.com.
Children’s Diabetes
Support Group
... Do you have a school
age child with diabetes? I am
interested in forming a fellow
ship group for children and
their parents coping with this
disease. The idea is to get
together periodically for fun
events, fundraising and dia
betes advocacy work and
most importantly to let the
children know they are not
tackling this alone. We can
divide the group by age if
appropriate. This is also a
great way for teenage diabet
ics to pick up some baby-sit
ting jobs. If interested, contact
Pamela Bartz at (770) 205-
6509 or by email at
pbartz@thecambergroup.com.
Peachtree Hospice
... needs volunteers to sup
port and assist patients with a
limited life expectancy and
their caregivers. Free training
provided. Volunteers are also
needed for special events and
projects.
Call Gail Hunter at (770)
698-8785 for details on the
next training date.
The Young Women’s
Cancer Survivor Group
... meets the second
Tuesday of each month from
6:30-8:30 p.m. at Northside/-
Interchange Professional
Building, 5780 Peachtree-
Dunwoody Rd., Suite 445.
This group is for women
ages 21-38 deal with concerns
around body image, dating,
sexuality, fertility, parenting,
family and work issues.
Laurel Gulish, M.A., who
is a licensed psychotherapist,
facilitates the program.
For more information, call
(404) 845-5640 or go to
www.thewellnesscommunity
atlanta.org.
Cancer Info Line
... Northeast Georgia
Medical Center offers a cancer
information line, a free tele
phone service to Northeast
Georgia communities provid
ing education, information and
resources to cancer patients,
family members and the gen
eral public. Services include
physician and community
referrals as well as distribution
of literature, audiotapes and
short every night,” said Dr. Russell
Rosenberg, director of the Northside
Hospital Sleep Medicine Institute in
Atlanta. “Burning the candle at both
ends results in chronic sleep debt that
can cause mood impairment, poor
performance related to fatigue and
deadly consequences of drowsy driv
ing.”
According to the National Sleep
Foundation, Americans are increas
ingly becoming a sleepless society.
Sleep experts recommend seven to
nine hours of sleep per night for most
adults; however recent NSF polls
reveal that as many as 47 million
Americans are not even getting the
minimum amount of sleep they say
videos on cancer and related
services. An experienced
oncology nurse coordinates
these patient services.
Call the cancer information
line at (770) 533-8850 or
(800) 466-4516, Monday-
Friday between 9 a.m. and
5:30 p.m.
Think First Injury
Prevention program
... Each year, about 12,000
people in the U.S. will
become paralyzed by spinal
cord injuries, and another
500,000 will acquire a brain
injury. Fifty percent of these
injuries will happen to young
people between the ages of 15
and 24.
By working with area mid
dle and high schools, a young
person with a spinal cord
injury educates students on
avoiding violence and promot
ing safety in driving, diving,
hunting, bicycle riding to
reduce the number of spinal
cord and brain injuries.
Those interested in sched
uling an injury prevention pro
gram may call Shepherd
Center’s injury prevention
coordinator at (404) 350-7469.
Diabetes Support Group
... meets each month to dis
cuss how to maintain your dia-
1 4 V‘<'*'•■ss'sv* H
they need to be fully alert the next
day.
To help get a good night’s sleep
and prepare for the flu shot, the NSF
and the Northside Hospital Sleep
Medicine Institute offers these tips:
Keep a regular sleep schedule. Go
to sleep and wake up the same time
every day, including weekends,
allowing enough time for sleep so
that you wake naturally and aren’t
sleepy during the day,or evening.
Establish relaxing bedtime rou
tines that include non-alerting activi
ties such as reading or listening to
music. Soaking in a warm bath or hot
tub can help promote sleep.
Limit eating and drinking before
betes and stay healthy. The
group meets on the second
Monday of each month at 10
a.m. at the Forsyth County
Health Department. Everyone
is invited. We cover different
topics selected by the group. A
registered dietitian leads the
group and registered nurses
are available for questions.
For more information, call
Mary Anne at (770) 535-5874.
Free Blood Pressure
Screenings
... North Fulton Regional
Hospital, in conjunction with
Senior Services North Fulton
Inc., will be sponsoring free
blood pressure screenings on
the second Tuesday of every
month from 10 a.m. to noon at
Senior Services North Fulton
Inc., 1250 Warsaw Rd.,
Roswell. No appointment is
necessary.
For additional information,
call (770) 993-1906.
Life Link
... of Georgia, the agency
that coordinates organ and tis
sue donations, is seeking vol
unteers to assist with educa
tional programs pertaining to
organ and tissue donations and
transplantation throughout
Georgia. Volunteer activities
include public speaking,
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Thursday, November 21,2002
bedtime. Avoid caffeine, nicotine and
alcohol.
Create a sleep friendly environ
ment that is cool, dark, quiet and
includes a comfortable bed. Earplugs
can help block noise and an eye
mask or dark curtains can help keep
the room dark.
For more information on how you
can get a better night’s sleep,
Northside Hospital is offering a free
seminar about Snoring and Sleep
Apnea on Dec. 4 at the 980 Doctor’s
Centre Auditorium. The seminar
begins at 7 p.m. and registration is
required.
To register, call (404) 8455555 or
visit www.nonhisdecom.
staffing information tables at
driver license offices and
health fairs, presentations to
nursing and medical staff, and
more. All volunteers will be
trained by Life Link staff.
For meeting times or more
information, contact Jeff Al-
Mashat at (800) 544-6667.
Crohn’s & Colitis
Foundation—Georgia
Chapter
... hosts free monthly sup
port group meetings across the
state. These meetings offer
support and resources to all
people who suffer from
inflammatory bowel disease,
their families and friends.
For more information, call
(404) 982-0616 or email us at
ccfa@mindspring.com.
Breast Cancer Support
Group
... meets the third Sunday
of each month at 3 p.m. in the
Bennett Professional Building
next to Baptist Medical Center
off Hwy. 20.
For information, contact
Estie Belvin at (770) 569-
1468 or Nancy Bartlett at
(770)887-3467.
For locations of other sup
port groups in Georgia, call
the main office at (770) 455-
7637. .
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