The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

After years of delay, FDA bans surgical mesh for pelvic repair

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has ordered the manufacturers of all surgical mesh products for the transvaginal repair of pelvic organ prolapse to stop selling their products in the United States beginning April 16.

The FDA said the agency “has determined that the manufacturers, Boston Scientific and Coloplast, have not demonstrated a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness for these devices.” In February, Public Citizen, a citizen advocacy organization, testified before an FDA advisory committee and urged the agency to ban the products. Public Citizen first petitioned for a ban in 2011, which the agency denied in 2014.    

“Although we welcome this long-overdue action, this ban comes too late for the thousands of women who have been irreparably harmed by these devices, long after the FDA knew the devices had ‘not demonstrated a reasonable assurance of safety,’” said Michael Carome, M.D., director, Public Citizen’s Health Research Group. “Since at least 2011, there has been clear evidence that these products are unsafe for treating pelvic organ prolapse and lack any clinically significant benefits.”

Baby boomers begin April with reflections and suggestions

April is a great month. It starts with spring and April Fools’ Day, moves to National Beer Day, World Health Day, and National Empanada Day, rushes to Tax Day, then Earth Day, and ends with Easter and Arbor Day.

Baby boomers are in a reflective mood as April begins:

Tom Sightings at Sightings Over Sixty tells us that even though he's married, there are times when he go places by himself. The store, the coffee shop, the library, the movies. Now in “If You're Alone ...,” he offers some advice for people who are wondering about going out by themselves. And the advice – or the "rules" – come from an unlikely source,

This week, Jennifer Koshak of Unfold and Begin asks a simple question. Simple, but sometimes difficult to think about. And yet this one question can help you plan your life and set your goals. What do you want your epitaph to say? Think about it, it just might change your direction.

What do we hold on to that was never ours to carry? In a short article, Carol Cassara at A Healing Spirit invites us to stop and reflect about the reasons that hard things happen.

Baby boomers also offer suggestions:

Rebecca Olkowski with BabyBoomster.com spent an afternoon at the Festival of Tea in Pasadena, California, and participated in an authentic Japanese Tea Ceremony. She learned a few things about Matcha and Pu-erh teas and now has a better understanding of how to drink them.

It’s the little annoyances of everyday life that at times consume our time, energy, and patience. Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting experienced one of these issues recently. A problem with Baer’s iPhone resulted in misdiagnoses and the suggestion to spend hundreds of dollars in lieu of repair. Read about her efforts to resolve the problem in “I-Phone I-Repair.”

On my blog, my guest blogger Sean M. Cleary, attorney, writes about the dangers of drowning during spring and summer fun.

This is the Best of Boomer Blogs #591. Click on the links above to read the articles. And, be sure to join in the conversations. Boomer bloggers love to hear from their readers.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Personal Finance Writer

Baby boomers enjoy spring

The wildflowers are blooming like crazy in Southern California due to the unusually heavy rains and mountain snows. And, so many people were flocking to see the blooming hillsides that local officials had to close down some areas because the flowers were being trampled.

Rebecca Olkowski of BabyBoomster gives us the flower report and tells us boomer bloggers are writing about how we make judgments, which fruits and vegetables have the most and least pesticides, whether age should be a consideration when electing someone to office, how yoga helps seniors, grand sitting mishaps, and good tours in a hometown.

Olkowski writes about these articles in the Best of Boomer Blogs #590. Click here to get the links to the articles. And be sure to join in the conversations. Boomer bloggers love to hear from readers.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Personal Finance Writer

Baby boomers springing forward into spring

The legislature in my state is debating whether to get rid of day light savings time. Arguments include it doesn’t save energy, some people have health effects, and it costs money due to reduced productivity.

For me, my opinion is to keep daylight savings time. I like the increased daylight in the evening. And, while it takes me a couple of weeks to go through the time change, I don’t notice it after that.

Whether daylight savings time or standard time, baby boomers keep on writing. Last week’s articles include:

• Whether baby boomers are leaving the world a better place than they found it.
• The benefits of taking walking tours.
• The challenges of replacing an old TV set.
• The ups and downs of quitting jobs in Connecticut and moving to Florida.
• How to buy a winter coat.

Carol Cassara of Heart·Mind·Soul writes about these articles on the Best of Boomer Blogs #587. Click here to get the links to these articles. And be sure to join in the conversations. Boomer bloggers love to hear from readers.

Copyright 2018, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Micromotivators: The guardrails for healthy behavior

By Louis Bezich, Health Care Executive and Author of “Crack the Code”

Guest blogger

What exactly are micromotivators and how do they help people sustain healthy behavior?

Micromotivators are those tiny strategies, feelings, and approaches that keep you on track every day, the guardrails of healthy behavior.

How can micromotivators help us baby boomers get and stay healthy at this stage of our lives?

5 ways that walking outdoors improves your strength

Photo: Unsplash

By Cloe Matheson, Writer

Guest Blogger

The exercise of walking has often fallen by the wayside, shadowed by popular Crossfit enthusiasts and hill runners. However, these days, a daily stroll outside is returning to its rightful place on top of the workout hierarchy.

Walking outdoors is an excellent exercise choice for people who haven’t had time to train hard, are recovering from an injury, or are just starting out on their fitness journey – but also boasts amazing strengthening benefits for the body and mind.

Would you like to feel stronger than you ever have and lower your risks common health problems by up to 40 percent? Discover the following reasons why you should start hitting the pavement on a good old walk.

Boomers offer tips for living

Baby boomers are interested in variety of topics ranging from enjoying retirement to health to fitness. Boomers don’t take life lying down. They’re out there doing things even if they’re just watching the sunset. No matter what, they’re staying active, taking charge of their mental and physical health, and living their best lives.

Rebecca Forstadt-Olkowski of Baby Boomster reports this week’s tips from boomer bloggers. They include:

Boomer bloggers inspired by end-of-summer activities and transitions

It’s hard to believe we now speak of summer – not the official astronomical season but our human timetable – in the past tense.

In my community, the Harbor Day celebration on Labor Day weekend marks the end of summer. This year, the weather was beautiful, as you can see from the photo above. Some years, I’m taking photos in the cold, wind, and rain.

• Tips for how to buy a used car on Labor Day weekend, which also are useful anytime.

• A guide for self-improvement during September, which is Self-Improvement Month.

• The fashion rules we grew up with, including don’t wear white after Labor Day.

Cybex is recalling weight-lifting equipment due to injury hazards

Cybex is recalling about 15,000 Cybex Smith Press plate-loaded weight-lifting equipment.

The weight bar can fall, posing serious injury hazards to the user.

The firm has received 27 reports of injuries, including serious injuries of paralysis and spinal fracture.

This recall involves the Cybex Smith Press model 5340, manufactured and distributed from 1989 through 1993, and model 5341, manufactured and distributed from 1993 through 2009. The models have a weight bar seated between two parallel vertical tracks on latch pins. The weight bar can be moved up and down to perform upper body and lower body exercises.

Are you in an ‘in between’ spot?

Tom Sightings of Sightings Over Sixty says he’s in an "in between" spot. Summer’s almost over, but fall hasn’t yet begun. His children and grandchildren are getting ready to go back to school, and he’s preparing to tutor kids and teach a foreign policy course at the senior center. And, although he just got back from Cape Cod, and he’s already starting to look forward to a trip to South Carolina.

Sightings says perhaps we all are in an "in between" spot.

He reports our boomer blogging group is writing about:

• Nabisco uncaging the animals on the front of the Animal Crackers box.
• Creative websites to inspire you.
• The best gear for a hike when you’re over 60.
• The recipe for healthy bones.
• A new global study that that finds that no amount of alcohol is safe.
• The benefits of hypnotherapy and the power of belief.
• How liminal space, where we feel uncomfortable but hyperaware, occurs at transitions in our lives.

Sightings reports on these articles in the Best of Boomer Blogs #561. Click here to get the links. And, be sure to join the conversations. Boomer bloggers love to hear from readers.

Copyright 2018, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist