To All Forum Participants

Dear Forum Participants,

We are sorry we have had to dramatically limit the number of questions we allow on a daily basis in this forum due to  limitations of sponsorship funding. If your organization can sponsor this Forum, we and all others that visit here would be more than grateful. Please contact us.  

Unfortunately we must ask...

-Please do not post a question under someone else's question, it will not be answered.

-If you <B> really really </B> need <I>urgent</I> medical help the Web is not the place to be, please call your personal physician or your Emergency Medical Services as soon as possible.

-If you need a second opinion, we cannot recommend a better institution than The Cleveland Clinic Heart Center.

Again, sorry for the cutbacks :(


Regards,
Med Help International

[Gina, TO CCF]

Your site is wonderful. We would all hate to see it go. You have helped and reassured so many people! I can understand that this does cost the center a considerable amount of money and time of your doctors. Someone else had mentioned charging a membership fee. Which if it was not too hefty, I don't think it would pose a problem. Anyone seriously in need would not have a problem paying the fee for piece of mind.
Just a few thoughts
Thank you for your time
Gina, ***@****

[Monique]

This is really sad. The help you offer so many people is being taken away. I wish there was a way that I could help.

Monique

[jean]

My sentiments exactly, Monique.  This site and a very few others have helped me retain my sanity quite literally while awaiting my surgery at the Clinic in two weeks to the day.  Can we get organized somehow and see if we can find sponsors etc.  My Email address is ***@****.  Let's see what we can do.  Also CCF what price range are we looking at?  Help us help you and ourselves.  This site is very needed.

[Lynne]

I'm a 29 year old female.  I've been diagnosed with costochondritis (which is inflammation of the cartilages that attaches to the sternum) last March.  Also at the same time I started having what I think are PVCs.  I had 3 ECGs done in the last year and all normal.  Sometimes I can feel a big hard beat (maybe once every two weeks).  Almost every day I can feel extra heart beats and then other times it's like (it's hard to explain) something is moving in my chest and I can feel it in my throat.  So I'm not sure if those are PVCs or not.  I guess what my question is, is it normal to notice more the PVCs if I have costochondritis?

Any information you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[D Palazzo]

Dear Sirs; My elderly mother had open heart surgery and had to have a tube put down her throat to help her breath. After having the tube removed she has now formed scar tissue in her throat. She has to go for surgery every six months to remove it because it stops her from breathing and swallowing right. My question ,is there something that can be done to stop the scar tissue other that surgery? If so could you please let us know who, what, when,and where.Thank you for your time.

[Mairead]

I am 42 years old and am currently taking medication for hypertension, I have to have a stress test done on the 20th January.  I have all the risk factors- strong family history of ischaemic heart disease, I was a heavy smoker and I have a high cholesterol level (8.7). I also have recently had a pulmonary embolism following surgery to remove my gall bladder- I have had previous embolism.  My fear is that should I need any surgery I will not be able to continue with my current job as I am a nurse.  Am I right in thinking this?

[Other resources? Forums?]

I have only recently found this site, and I see how unfortunate
it is that questions are no longer being taken. It seemed to have been and absolutely wonderful service for absolutely free and I'm sure it will be missed

Unfortunately, like others here, my specific question has not been covered at all within the archives.  Are there other question/answer forums such as this dealing with heart disease?

If not -- is there a way this forum could be redirected as some sort of 'membership' forum?  Would anyone be willing to pay a fee for the privelidge of sharing this information here

[Jim]

Why is this the only forum with the limit on questions?  The others are still taking more than 0-1 questions?

[John]

C'est le vie.

[Jacki Drewnoski]

Hi I have been having heart trouble for several years now.I have Sinus Tach,PVC( alot of them) and I also have had AFIB and Vtach.I have had many doctors run tests and try many medictions that did not help over the years.It seems to be like spells I can be good for months and then all of a sudden start up with a lot of Palpations.I am right now into a bad spell and a halter monitor was put on it was one of many that I have had over the years and what it showed was I was having an enormous amount of Pvc and small runs of v tach.I have been to cleavland university and had seen Dr.Biblow and he found a bulge on my heart and thought for sure that that was where everything was coming from so we did and Obblation only to find out of five hours of surgery that they could not get the heart to go into arrimias from the area of the bulge  so no abblation was done.I had been the first patient he had that was not able to be cured by this abblation.So basicilly he told me there was nothing we could do except treat the eppisodes as they came.Which is what i have been doing but I am know working and I can not be missing work for this.They tell me I have a healthy heart but the electrical circits that contral my heart beat are just not working.No they are planning to do another stress tes with something else so that they can make sure their is not heart disease,if there is none they will put me on a medication they might work but it is very dangerous if there is any heart disease.I have had to be hospitalized back in the 80s with a fib I was in ccu for a week and they could not get the a fib to break finnally they did.But the reason for why it happens was never found.I am at the end of my rope now.I have been everywhere and had every test you can think of to find out what is wrong with me and all I get is we just do not know enough about the electrical circut of the heart to know.I can not keep living like this I am tired all the time. I am short of breath and dizzy every time my heart is out of wack .I would like to know if you know of any one who might have an answere to this problem,or do you have any other patients that have these symptoms.I am now 42 years old and the arryhthmisa started about ten years ogo or so.I started out with just sinus tach and some pvc and know I am up to three of four different kinds of arriythmias.I am worried about blood clots everytime I have these bad spells since they last for weeks sometimes months.Any help you could give me or who you would reccomend I see would be greatly appreciated.My local Cardiolists is Dr Richard Arnott in Salem Ohio.The keep telling me that my arrithmias are not life threatning to there knowledge none has died from these but I feel my quality of life is suffering greatly and I am missing a lot of work do to this and I can not afford to loose my job. My doctor right now has me on bed rest and Xanis for 7 to 10 days to see if we can get the pvc to break.And is scedually more test.But I need to know if there have been any advancments made in this area that might possibley help me.Thank you so much and If you could get back to me as soon as possible I would really appreciate it.Thank you Jacki Drewnoski

[John McQ]

I concur with those who have expressed disapointment with the loss of an extremely valuable resource,  Just with reading those submissions even after the fact of your announcement from people requiring help, demonstrates the need of this site.

Its all very well for us to be disappointed with our loss but I feel that we should be looking for solutions to be able to continue rather than accept a defeat due to lack of funding.

I also propose that a user fee be put in place either in the form of cost per submission or a membership fee. I personally would be willing to work with an arrangement like that where everyone who uses the resource pays for it. For someone who cannot afford the fee, free access to view the forum should be allowed to review the correspondence for answeres but anyone wishing to submit information should pay the fee.

Lets work together on this.

Thank you
John McQueen

[nancy]

This forum has been very valuable especially for piece of mind.  I like the idea of a membership fee or some other way. There must be a cardiac drug company that would be able to sponsor the forum, I think that all readers should band together to keep the forun solvent.  I trained at the clinic a number of years ago and beleive in the Foundation and I hope that there is someone or organization that will keep this forum alive.  Thank you for your help in the last months and I hope that we won't loose you.
Nancy

[marie]

This forum has been so wonderful!!  When I'm expereinceing a day with really bad PVC's I just log on and instantly I'm reassured.  Please, if anyone knows of a similar sight where you can hear from others with simlar problems please let us know!!!!

I agree that a membership or user fee would be ideal!!  What can we do to put this into place??

Marie

[Bruce W.]

I also would be willing to support thru a users fee.  I think John M.'s idea of requiring a fee for posting questions, but allowing free search/review of the questions and archive is a good solution.  I'd hate to lose this site.  Unfortunately, my post is one of the ones that couldn't be taken by limits, and only got in under comments and not directly answered.

Also, I've seen some posts that refer to other forums.  Could those of you who know, please post those sites?  I've been looking for something specifically for heart disease and arrythmias (Ventricular Tachychardia) as opposed to more generic medical support areas.  Thanks!

[Med Help]

Hi Guys,

All of the forums have limits on them, some more than others, this one was set to 15 questions per day (450 questions per month) and has been forced down to 1 question per day.

Unfortunately if someone clicks on the [POST] Button and elects not to post, the counter still counts up :(

Couple of things to note....

(a) I'm not sure what volume the other sites can handle but the Heart Forum is handling several hundred thousand visitors per month.

(b) We (at Med Help) have been and are continuing to work hard in order to gain sponsorships for this and the other forums. At this writing we are <B>extremely</B> optimistic about some of our prospects in the near future... so take heart? (sorry for the pun!)

(c) We know that everyone's questions are somewhat unique, however, please take some extra time to research answers that are here already.. we have TENS OF THOUSANDS of items/articles.

(d) The idea of charging a membership fee has been kicked around in the past and has some negatives and positives associated with it. What we will do is put up a poll in the Forum and see what YOU guys think about it and whether you (the community) want to support this.

Thanks for letting me drone.

Regards,
Phil
Med Help

[Gunter]

Has anybody investigated commercial sponsorship? We'll put up with flashing Bank or E-trade commercials on the top of the screen if we can ge the valuable info CCF doctors provide.

[kd]

I, too, have found the information from the CCF docs to be particulary helpful to my situations.  I'm not sure about the membership fee because I really don't like the loss of anonymity.
I have been wondering for some time why there couldn't be a section before questions somewhat like they have over at the MGH neurology site:  A list of common areas of question.  I would suggest that maybe CCF could put in the definition of, say, MVP and list symptoms, etc. before the archived questions relating to the area.  That might save CCF from having to answer over and over again the same questions for (example: MVP, tachicardia, PVC, PAC, MVP microsurgery, etc.) very common concerns.  IF this could cut down the number of questions coming in, it might be more economical.
Just a thought.
kd

[Med Help]

Hi Guys,
I put the poll online this morning ... we'll see how the turnout is. If you vote a second time it is ignored, however, you can see the raw data in the 2nd and successive votes.

Regards,
Phil

[Anonymous Membership Possible??]

While membership is a great idea, if it takes anonymous posting away then it may prevent a some of people from posting. Once someone posts, their personal medical details are public for the world to see.  It terms of this forum that may be okay.  But unfortunately in the USA insurance companies can legally collect this information and deny individual policies (not group policies - group coverage is protected by federal law) to people with expensive medical conditions. Is it possible to have memberships _and_ to keep the posters identity anonymous??

[Med Help]

We will ALWAYS keep people anonymous! I was thinking just sometype of login... user id/password to get into the forum or maybe a login to post. After the login, it would be the same as it is now where you can put in your (anonymous) name when you post.

Phil

[anon]

I am very thankful for this forum and would be willing to pay the membership fee.  Then I think of those who haven't any insurance and maybe couldn't afford membership... I have seen posts from such.  Do you know if there are enough people, willing to pay for membership, to actually be able to support the forum?  Are you still seeking out, maybe, a corporate sponsorship of some sort?

[carole]

Hi, my husband has been having periodic episodes of atrial fibrulation since he was about 30 years old. He is currently on quinidine, which seems to be helping.  For several years now, we have been trying to conceive a child.  I heard on the news a few months ago that certain heart medications may affect fertility in a man (I heard specifically calcium-channel blockers, but there was also something else mentioned that I missed).  I haven't been able to find any information since.  Is there any further information out there concerning this?  Neither my husband's cardiologist or my obstetrician had any answers.

[jean]

It seems like some people want an ongoing "second-opinion" type relationship with you and some just want a one-time "is any body out there" service.  Although corporate sponsorship is a great idea and my first choice, if that doesn't prove possible, perhaps you could consider initial questions free and charge a nominal fee for the ongoing ones.  (Also, comments would be without charge, specifying that any questions asked of you in a comment would not be answered.  Then, if you wanted to respond to some comment for clarity, it would be your choice.  This way, the comments would not be viewed as a format to submit questions.)

I definitely think access to the forum itself should be free.  Often a person can get enough general information by reading about other people's situation to allow them to be aware of things to discuss with their own physician.  All in all, my guess is this site grew out of a marketing idea, although the educational benefits are certainly powerful.  If your referrals are up because of it, maybe it's worth maintaining in the current fashion and not charging the participants for your marketing strategy.  If not, then offering this as a public service may mean finding resources to support it, whether through corporate sponsorships, your educational budgets, or by charging.

[Alan]

I don't mind supporting this site at all, since before my surgery I did get some help with questions asked and support from others that visited the site.  What I don't understand is that I know what it costs for a site such as this and since you where only answering about 10 questions a day it does not seem like that would be a ton of work.  My thoughts on this are that I had surgery done about 4 weeks ago and my bills up to this point are in excess of $55000.00 so it seams that with this site answering questions that a certain amount of people will go to the Cleveland Hospital and therefore the profits on answering a few questions could be astronomical.  As a business man I think it would be worth it to the Clevaland Clinic to pay for this site themselves.  Well, for the help of others I hope you do continue this site.  

Thanks again

[dah]

This heart forum was been a great source of knowledge for me.  I am willing to pay a membership fee, but I would like to ask Phil a few things:  the cardiologists who answer questions on the forum must make a lot of money.  In this world of greed, why can't they volunteer some of their time?  I don't mean for them to always do this on a volunteer basis, but maybe some of them could volunteer their time for a few hours, one day a week.  I know how very busy they are.  

Although there is great money and wealth in this country, most people are not rich or even comfortable.  Even if someone has successfully managed their money in their lifetime, a serious illness could wipe out everything for them, thanks to health insurance companies. Pernaps some health insurance companies interested in "good appearances" would donate some funds to this forum.  Have you thought of asking their "marketing" departments?

Thanks for your time.

[H. Parsells]

I am a 26 year old female who was just told today that I need to have a stress echocardiogram this week. The doctor said that he heard something faint, in the distance, I think he referred to this as a myocardial infraction. He says that there is nothing to worry about, and tht many females have this and is no concern. I also have suffered from anxiety since I was 21. I was on paxil then zoloft, but decided about a year age to get of the meds cause it still did not help my thinking process. Anyways, lately I have been feeling weird, like my heart is pumping less, and sometimes it flip flops and I can feel it sort of stop and feel it in my throat. This causes more anxiety for me. I do not know if what I am feeling is anxiety induced, plus I have been under a lot of stress because I am tired of not feeling good, and I am afraid to exercise now. A huge problem I have is the fear of dying, when ever I do not feel right I think I am having a heart attack, or that my heart is just going to stop. I am nervous for this test. I do not know if anxiety and/or stress can cause ones heart to do this? I also am always dizzy and tired. I get nervous when I leave the house in fear of my heart to do this flip flops, which then causes me to feel disconnected and dizzy and weak where ever I am. My chest also feels heavy. What I am wondering is if I am concentrating to much on my heart that I am causing this myself or if something is actually wrong?

[Christine S]

I am sorry to see this forum unable to take only so many questions.  I am willing to pay an annual membership fee in order to get my questions answered, as long as it isn't too much, my main word in life is Budget, budget*S*  About how long will it take to find out if we can pay an annual fee in order to get our questions answered?  Thanks for all your help

[Pat]

any information on aorta insufficiency?  I have just been diagnosed.  Thank you.

[Monique]

To:  H. Parsells

I hope I have the right name.

You should check out the web site www. healingpanic.com. It looks to me it may be very helpful to you. I am trying it also. I have pvc's pac's and lots of funny fluttering everyday sometimes. Dont know if it is anxiety or not but it is worth a try. Maybe its all in our breathing. Please look into this. I hope it helps you.

Monique

[to: H. Parsells]

You sound exactly like me, I am 29 years old and have every symptom you describe..  I also suffer from Panic Attacks/Anxiety.  Please feel free to e-mail me, it really helps talking to people who have the same symptoms that you have.  Its like a great support system.  It seems if others don't have it there is no way to understand it.  My e-mail address is ***@****.  The stress echo was a breeze I had one about 5 months ago.  Good luck to you.

[steve]

To Phil of Med Help,

It is unfortunate that this board may suffer the consequences of no funding. This forum has been a great place to interact with many different people to ascertain opinions and experiences, both first hand and professional. I have found this interaction very helpful, enlightening and thought provoking. It has helped me not only understand more about the problems that I have, but because of what I have read, it has helped me make one of the most important decisions in my life.

I need to have my aortic valve replaced before the March/April timeframe and it is likely that I will have it done in the Cleveland Clinic near the end of Feburary.

I would have no problem signing up for a reasonable fee.

Would you be willing to share what the costs are for running a web page such this? Could you give a brief summation of where the overhead is for this effort?

Thanks and Good Luck resolving this problem.
Steve

[samantha]

I too, agree that this is a wonderful and informative site, and I
am most certain that you have "saved" many people lives in one way or another. Surely there are drug companies out there just waiting to advertise their newest beta blocker or antiarrhythmic.
The prices we pay for medications and top notch medical specialists leaves little room in my pocket for an annual internet site fee. Ted Turner wants every child in the world to have access to immunizations. Maybe it's a long shot but you could always put our names in the pot. Somebody will come thru.
Don't throw in the towel just yet.

[Larry]

It has been almost one year to the date that I found this site and it gave me the information to make a decision that has changed my life drastically, and without it I might not be around to type this comment.  You see I had a 5.5 assending aortic aneursym and aortic valve that was leaking.  The way my doctor told me it was a very delicate operation and not all surgeons and hospitals were qualified to do this.  I had my option of Cleveland or Rochester being close to Rochester thats what I picked.  But without this forum I would not have the information to make a decision on the type of valve and and where to have the operation.  I thank god everyday for the fine people in Cleveland and at the Mayo Hospitals that helped last Jan 99.  Iam back to work at two jobs my heart is beating as good as it was when I was born.  And my cardiologist doesnt want to see me! The coumadin and the mechanical valve are not have as bad as everyone thinks, you just get use to changing your life style. Its like the first time eating pizza you dont like it till the maybe the third time you eat pizza. Well know I smile every time the little click goes off and someone hears it for I know its working.  Keep up the good work Cleveland get back into the ball game, with either charging or have a insurance sponsor this forum its far to important in everyones life to drop this!

[Phil from Med Help]

Hi Guys,

First let me tell you that your support has been wonderful and that we are NOT closing this forum. We have had to limit the number of questions per day that are allowed. I'm really not at liberty to throw numbers out on the Net but money that would be raised via corporate sponsorship or other means will go back directly into expanding the number of questions per day.

To date there have been a few hundred responses to the Quick Poll I put online and it is interesting that around 80% of the people indicated that they would support a small membership fee.

Grassroots is always a great thing. Our concerns with the grassroots efforts then become that we don't want to get into a legal situation with "patients paying for a doctors advice" especially across state lines.

The intent of these forums are to provide general medical education and we feel that after several years of doing this, we have been very sucessful.

In any event.... I'll keep you guys posted! :)

Regards to All,
Phil

[Doug]

I would think this forum is used enough that why don't you try to get someone to do some advertising on your site?  The advertisers could pay for being on it and you could continue going.

Since this is a heart forum I would think there would be a number of companies that would be interested in advertising their products from exercise equipment to computers.

I'm not saying that those who would like to donate money shouldn't do so, but it seems to me that someone who gets their questions answered once or twice are not likely to support the site.  What people say they will do and what they will actually do are often two different things.

Personally I am interested in visiting the site on occassion to see if there are any new medical advances to deal with a benign but nagging irregular heart problem (PAC's) that I have (not as bad as it used to be).  Generally the answers have been the same.  The problem is that many people are asking the same questions that have been answered numerous times, and they could basically find their answers in the archives.

My suggestion is that you could write extensive articles on the typically asked questions, because your responses have essentially been the same.  For those people who have unusual questions or questions that are more complex I would suggest you respond to them, and then for the typical questions (palpitations) refer them to the articles written on those subjects.  But I would make them extensive and not just a few paragraphs.  Cover the angles in the questions that you get in the forum.  But also from time to time update them if something comes up that is unusual or insightful.

Just a suggestion.

[Sonya]

That sounds like a great idea. On AOL's "Ask A Doc", they ofen
refer you to medical information within their site such as Heart
Disease, Congestive Heart Failure and so on. The problem with that is, it is all very basic and limited information. Most patients that use this site are very educated and informed of their conditons. We look to this site for more indepth and detailed answers, not just general information that we have already been told. Also the Cleveland Doctors are very good at
refering us to the experts, not only at Cleveland but other places as well. These are the things we all appreciate that many
other sites do not offer. If you have to get advertising sponsorship, we will put up with flashing logos and click on them
to keep you in business. This site is too valuable to lose.
Keep the rhythm!

[Maria]

This is really amazing--the breakdown of this site.  I am eternally grateful to all who have posted, and the doctors who have responded.  This was an incredible coming together--an absolute wealth of information.  So sorry to see it go.  I can't believe there are no takers for ads.  If I were a pharmaceutical company, this would be the site for me.  Or any number of other services and products.  But there is no way this will survive with just one or two questions a day.

[Med Help-Phil]

Hi again everyone,

Just to re-iterate.. .we are NOT closing this forum, just limiting the number of questions per day. We *ARE* seeking support from major corporations for funding. As of this writing I do not think that we would be able to sustain the forum without corporate sponsors.

To date, the costs this forum have been underwritten from The Cleveland Clinic and we are *extremely* grateful for their generosity. Due to unforseen cutbacks at CCF this forum has taken a very large cut in funding.

Cindy and I (Co-Founders of Med Help) are very optimistic that this situation is going to be temporary :)

Regards to all,
Phil

[abc]

I think it's very unfortunate to see this forum go. I have asked questions and the doctors have kindly answered here. I cannot afford very much, but I'll put up whatever I can to maintain this forum.


Thanks.

[Carol]

The subject here is about FEES. So why are some of you (and you know who you are) posting your questions under THIS subject?? This is part of the problem. Please Post your own question under your own subject as to stay on one topic. I am sure Phil and the others at the forum would agree. As Phil previously said they wont get answered that way!

[Carol]

PS! Have you stopped taking all questions aready? If not how many questions a day are you all currently able to answer?
Thank you :-)

[To Carol from Phil]

Hi Carol,

CCF is taking one question per day currently, down from 15 per day (prior to January 1). The question of fees is indeed the real issue and it's not as simple as it appears. Some of the concerns are that if we charge a <i>membership fee</i>, whether that construes a doctor/patient contract?

Anyway, we're still vigorously working the issue.

Regards,
Phil

[To Phil from Carol]

Phil,
That makes perfect sense. I wish you the best of luck with this as I would hate to see it end.Guess I need to be lucky to be the question asker for the day! :-)
Thanks for the reply. Carol

[Carol to Phil]

Phil,
That makes perfect sense. I would hate to see this forum end. I wish you the best of luck to keep this up and running. Thanks for the reply. I guess I will have to be the lucky one to post the question of the day :-)
Carol

[brian]

The cost of the site is minimal I am sure. It is sad that your facility finds an excelant means to disperse information, and advertise there services and have not budgeted it under that account. you charge us millions of dollars every year...and you still persist in asking for more from us. Dam few Dr.s aceually earn the money they are paid. Nothing pisses me off more then to see greed run amok. The other sad thing is you believe your oun rhetoric and do not even see how pathetic this sounds.

[Louise]

Brian,If thats all you have to say you should have kept your thoughts to yourself.I only discovered this site a couple of months ago and the information here has been so much help to me, you obviously don't care what happens to this site as you only seem to care about how it will affect you financially if a fee is charged for its use. Most of us would be happy to contribute if we can carry on having the piece of mind this site brings us.

[Louise]

Brian, The only thing thats sad is you, you can't even express yourself without swearing.

[NO NAME]

I hate to see people using others comments to slam others, Please this site is for adults act like one.  If you want to argue go to another site.

[DENISE]

Brian,

You obviously don't know much about the cost of running a web site.  This has nothing to do with greed - it's just a fact.  I just want you to know that I was fortunate enough to be treated at the Clinic and had the privilege of having a world famous surgeon operate on me (Dr. Cosgrove).  I will be forever grateful.  I only wish that Dr. Cosgrove had been able to collect his full fee, as he was deserving.  According to my insurance papers, Dr. Cosgrove only received 1/4 of what the charge was because of the contract.  He has to accept what my insurance pays.  And believe me, for the kind of work he did on me and the skill it involves, he deserved the full amount.  So, don't stand in judgement of the Cleveland Clinic - a world class teaching hospital who has rightly earned it's reputation.  I will gladly contribute support to this web site.

[amber]

I think comments that are both positive and negative should be heard. The people at Cleveland will be able to judge for themselves what we expect from them, fee or no fee. However, I do not think that arguments are appropriate. Just voice your opinions and leave it at that. We do enjoy the right to freedom of speech. Constructive criticism and not "slamming" is a little more tactful though.

[PATTY]

I agree with many of you on the user fee. I think If you ask questions you pay a fee. To log on and read the questions and answers should be free.

[question for phil]

Phil,
Can we have an update on what is going on with this site. Are we staying with one question per day or is there a possibility of getting some sponsership in the near future.

[TO ALL]

Right now, and for the next few months we (unfortunately) anticipate keeping the number of questions per day limited to 1.
:(

As for me personally, I want to keep the site totally free, both for reading/browsing and for posting questions. All our forums are set up that way. I think that it would be a shame if we limit this and the other forums to only those with the means to pay a membership fee.

Lastly keep in mind, if we did institue a pay-for-question type of service, that brings in all types of legal concerns. Doctor-Patient contracts, medical practice across state lines, etc. etc. So you can see why this is not an easy thing to accomplish.

Regards,
Phil

[Diane]

Perhaps funding from the American Heart Association or a goverment grant.  Have you investigated these avenues?

[NICOLE]

i read ealier that people were asking for similar websites..  webmd.com has a great 'member to member' section, with great message boards where you can post your question... (until this one gets cleared up of course :)

[Ahh But]

Ahh but, do you get free medical advice from the #1 Heart Center doctors at WebMD?


Jeanie

[jan to phil]

Dear Phil,
In the March 15, 2000 issue of HOSPITAL PRACTICE it says "...multibillion dollar medical Internet companies are fighting for your eyeballs."  ..."Hoping to educate you about their products, pharmaceutical giants are willing to pay handsomely for Web site banner ads."  So, why haven't you gone that route?

[Susan]

I really hope you keep the forum.  It is a great source for imformation.  I understand that It might be kind of hard to keep going without funding, but I don't think a membership fee would be the right way to go.  There are a lot of people who just can't do it no matter how low the fee.  It is a real shame that more physicions wouldn't be willing to volunteer just a little bit of thier time.  The answers that are given here help so many people.  I hope that maybe more physicions will donate some of thier time to such a good thing!!!

[Martha]

My husband and I are trying to help care for an elderly friend, who lives in a retirement home and has effectively no family. She suffered from angina for some time, and then had a heart attack which put her in the hospital.  The doctor recommended a bypass, which she agreed to reluctantly (she is 92).  I feel that she has recovered from the bypass very well, but she now seems to be confused about a lot of things, which she was not before.  As I am not a family member, and her attorney has her power of attorney for health care, I am unable to discover what sorts of drugs she is taking, but the social worker assures me that she is taking no psychotropic drugs.  Could she have had a small stroke? Is this confusion an expected outcome in one so old?  I am sorry that the site can accept only one question a day, as I need some answers.  Perhaps some of the rest of you can give me some guidance.  This is such a good site.  I have a cleft granddaughter, and the cleft lip/palate site is just full of anecdotal information - all of which threw me into a complete tizzy, and I stopped going to it.  I really feel confident in the work of the Cleveland Clinic.  thanks for letting me run on.  I would be glad to pay a registration fee or something like that for the help.