Chronic Bits 

What do you want the general public to understand about your chronic condition(s)? If your condition is well-known but comes with many myths (i.e. diabetes, fibromyalgia, lupus, depression), how do you bring awareness and truth to it? If your condition isn't as well-known, how do you explain it and bring attention to it? Join us for aformal chat at the ChronicBabe Forum 6pm PT, 7pm MT, 8pm CT, 9pm ET, 10pm AT on Thursday October 27 - that's 11am in Sydney/Melbourne on Friday, October 28.

The next edition of our blog carnival will be posted on Monday, October 31, 2011 and Inspired by Halloween, the theme next time is behind the mask. We know you are doing everything you can to cope with a life with illness and showing your co-workers, family, friends and neighbors that you can manage it. But when you are all alone and your guard is down, who emerges from behind that super-coping ChronicBabe you present to the world? Who is she and what is she most concerned about? Submit your post by Friday, October 28, 2011 at 10pm CST. Send it to chronic babe @ gmail dot com. If you're not sure how the blog carnival works, visit our archive; it's FULL of good reading!

What do you want the general public to understand about your chronic condition(s)? If your condition is well-known but comes with many myths (i.e. diabetes, fibromyalgia, lupus, depression), how do you bring awareness and truth to it? If your condition isn't as well-known, how do you explain it and bring attention to it? Join us for aformal chat at the ChronicBabe Forum 6pm PT, 7pm MT, 8pm CT, 9pm ET, 10pm AT on Thursday October 27 - that's 11am in Sydney/Melbourne on Friday, October 28.

Today is Editrix Jenni's last official day of her writing sabbatical. She's looking forward to being back with you LIVE on the Twitter and whatnot. How about three cheers for creative times?! Yay! Yay! Yay!

Abraham Verghese calls for a return to the one-on-one patient exam at a recent TED talk. We agree: Just a few minutes more and a little bit more personal attention makes such a difference!

In so many ways. Check out "Stop Dragging My Heart Around."

That's the story Kerri of @sixuntilme tells recently about cake, babies and diabetes. She's right: Cake Boss, watch out!

They're offering $4,000 in cash prizes for essays about the importance of understanding the cost of health care. 

Join the wonderful Jennifer K in ONE HOUR at the Forum as she leads a formal chat with the topic "chronic illness and trauma." Thursday, October 20: 6pm PT, 7pm MT, 8pm CT, 9pm ET, 10pm ET...which is... Friday, October 21 - 11am in Sydney and Melbourne.

Join the wonderful Jennifer K tonight at the Forum as she leads a formal chat with the topic "chronic illness and trauma." Thursday, October 20: 6pm PT, 7pm MT, 8pm CT, 9pm ET, 10pm ET...which is... Friday, October 21 - 11am in Sydney and Melbourne.

At Get Better Health, @GruntDoc talks about the new inhaler rules and how he thinks they'll impact folks. (And, ahem, we agree.)

Check out what the National Organization for Women has for you...some pretty awesome resources. And take a good loook in the mirror—that's you, Babe, and you're fabulous just the way you are! Love, the team at ChronicBabe HQ

Susannah Fox at e-patients.net checks out upcoming events and celebrates the presence of patients at so many. Here at ChronicBabe HQ, we're also pleased, but as usual...we want more! We would love to see patients storm the gates at some of these events. 

They're announcing a new Health In Place (HIP) initiative. Rock! We love those disruptive women!

Shannon at Nip Pain in the Bud has a ton of useful tips for understanding your prescriptions. These are a must!

Hosted at It's Never That Easy, it's chock full of some of our favorite bloggers. Enjoy!

WebMD interviws the curvalicious actress about charity work and loving her body just the way it is, darnit!

Join a special guest hostess for tonight's formal chat at the Forum! 6pm PT, 7pm MT, 8pm CT, 9pm ET, 10pm AT - and that's 11am on Friday morning in Sydney and Melbourne.

Jane Brody of the New York Times has a story for us about using the web wisely when we're in crisis, and a book that will teach you all the details from Andrew Schorr and Mary Adam Thomas.

There are some days when even Editrix Jenni gets frustrated and blue because of chronic illness. Those days, she turns to the Brave Girls Club for support. Their uplifting messages in her inbox each day are so awesome. 

She was on last week, talking about MediClim, the service that texts you or sends an email message when atmospheric conditions might flare up your symptoms. Check out the clip AND the service! (Special thanks to Johnson & Johnson for the footage!)

If not, you're missing out. Subscribe today for free. Seriously. Do it. 

She's chatting with Kerri of @sixuntilme and Katie of @overflowingbrain about patients and organizations partnering, dogs and cats living together, you know. There are still discounts available to attendees so get planning, babes!

Blogger Steve Woodruff lost a friend recently to suicide, and it inspired him to write the true story of his own depression: Clearing Clouds. We think it's pretty inspiring. 

On recommendation from a pal, the web show Baman Piderman is on repeat here at ChronicBabe HQ. Laughter really IS good medicine!

There's new evidence that the chia seeds that make our favorite cheesy holiday gift grow hair are actually good for us to eat. Seriously! Check out the story at Chicago's Well Community site, a project of Swedish Covenant Hospital. Ch-ch-ch-yummy!

You can use CareCoach, a free service/app, to record doctor office visits and hold on to that info so you can review it later—perfect for folks who are rushed, or feeling exhausted or scared. 

Editrix Jenni was given a free FitBit at a recent conference to try out, and we have to say: LOVE the FitBit. So incredible to track activity, steps, food, exercise, sleep—everything! It's pretty fabulous. We just wanted to throw that out there for those of you who are trying to find a way to bundle all that tracking into one product.

What does this have to do with health? Well, not a ton, except music is so good for us. And she has a song called virus! And Björk is Editrix Jenni's favorite performer of all time. So, you know. LISTEN NOW.

The Wiggly Tendrils, one of our fave bands here at ChronicBabe HQ (did you know they'll make you a custom song for free if you simply ask?), have come out with a new album of songs for all kinds of everyday situations. And we have a big crush. Our advice: snag it. It's a steal for only $5. 

From HealthyWomen, one of our favorite online health resources, comes a new batch of material on rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Check it out!

Editrix Jenni is still on her month-long sabbatical, but you might see some tweets and messages; it's a miracle of technology! Robots are hard at work to keep you updated with fresh stuff from ChronicBabe all month. Yay!

Join Rachel B and the crew at the Forum this Thurday, October 6, for a LIVE chat about anything and everything! 6pm PT, 7pm MT, 8pm CT, 9pm ET, 10pm AT - which is 11am on Friday in Sydney and Melbourne.

Health magazine offers up a list of 20 celebrities who have depression. Now we wish more celebs would come out with the other conditions they face...

We're checking out Medify, a new site that makes medical research much easier to understand, search, and use for your education. Looks pretty cool, babes—check it out!