Patricia Geraghty, NP

Patricia Geraghty, NP's Blog

  • Should you take a calcium supplement? We might finally have an answer.

    On Oct 26

    For almost a decade, when patients asked me this question, the answer was a complex story without a real conclusion. Now we might finally have an answer. First let’s take a look at how all the confusion came about.

    More than ten years ago, a group of heart...Full Post

  • Making Whole Grains/No Added Sugar Easier on a Busy Day

    On Sep 20

    When you fix something yourself, using real ingredients, you know both what you are eating and that you are getting the nutrition you want. But it goes without saying that a busy morning interferes with breakfast preparation. One solution is not to eliminate "processed fo...Full Post

  • Caregivers Get and Give Care Better As A Team

    On Sep 06

    I love taking care of women. Now many of the positives to taking care of women also apply to men, but let’s talk about women for a minute here.

    Women give care. They nurture children from the around the clock newborn routine, to the constant needs of a busy...Full Post

  • Controversy Over Calcium

    On Aug 31

    Do we need calcium? The simple answer to that is yes. Calcium allows muscles to contract. Frequently patients will say to me “I had my blood tested and I have enough calcium. I don’t need any more in my diet and I don’t need supplements.” That isn’t quite a...Full Post

  • CDC Issues Updated Guidelines for Birth Control and Migraine

    On Aug 24

    Every few years a large number of experts gather in Atlanta to discuss new evidence around family planning. The result of their careful analysis was published late July 2016. It gives us all a better and safer way to control getting pregnant. The companion...Full Post

  • Have You Been on Birth Control Pills Too Long?

    On Aug 17

    Sometimes when a patient and I are discussing her birth control, she will say “but I started the pill years ago, has it been too long?

    She is asking me is there a time limit? Is “the Pill” dangerous if used too long? Well, over all, birth control pills, patches,...Full Post

  • What is “Health Screening” and who needs it?

    On Aug 10

    As a nurse practitioner, caring for women, my assistant and I do a lot of health screening. Before I see a patient, my assistant has measured a blood pressure and recorded a body weight. I might do pap tests, order mammograms, test for sexually transmitted...Full Post

  • A Pharmacist on the Team

    On Aug 03

    I was recently asked to write a continuing education article for pharmacists. It was a privilege to share my information, specifically on the menopausal transition, and to have the opportunity to look at providing care for a different point of view, that of...Full Post

  • Journalistic Sleight of Hand; Risk of Blood Clots and the Ring

    On Jul 23

    In the December issue of Vanity Fair and in today's Huffington Post there are long articles about the risk of blood clots in the blood vessels, or venous thromboembolism (VTE) and the use of the vaginal ring birth control (Nuvaring.) These are unfortunate examples of journ...Full Post

  • Why Do Pap Smear Guidelines Keep Changing?

    On Jul 23

    Pap smear guidelines have changed repeatedly and dramatically over the last 10-15 years. This is because of the explosion of knowledge in the cause of abnormal pap smears, human papilloma virus.

    There are over a 100 strains of human papilloma virus (HPV). Some

    ...Full Post