Mary Tyler Moore has written a memoir about her life with diabetes. Moore was diagnosed with Type 1 (formerly called Juvenile-onset diabetes) when she was 33. Quite rare, since it generally affects those under the age of 18 – though there are obvious exceptions, and Moore is a famous one. At 72, she says she manages the disease much better than she did when she was younger. At that time, she admits she often didn’t pay attention to her blood sugar like she should have, and frequently drank and smoked excessively. She’s been diligent in her care for some time, but has lost much of her vision due to nerve damage.

Moore has lost most of her vision because of diabetes-related nerve damage. [She] says matter-of-factly and with no self-pity that with type 1 diabetes, there is little chance for spontaneity in life. She chooses not to use the newer glucose monitors and insulin pumps that can reduce the burden by taking automatic readings for the patient and deliver a dose without a syringe. Instead, she still prefers using finger pricks and test tapes to measure her blood sugar and a syringe of insulin whenever it’s needed.

“You’ve got to always plan,” she says. “It is a fact of life that if someone invites you out to dinner you have to think, ‘What are they going to be doing when they serve you dinner? How quickly are they going to get it on the table from the time I arrive? When should I take my shot? What should I eat of what’s available?’ ”

She says she has learned to carry a loaded syringe in her pocket, and if she eats a little more than expected, she can give herself a quick injection of insulin to level her blood sugar. “I shoot myself right through my clothes there at the table, right here in my thigh. I seldom wear white as a result,” she says with a chuckle.

Though Moore downplays diabetes’ ravages on her eyesight and other parts of her body, it’s hard to ignore a big bandage wrapped around her left hand. “Isn’t that awful? I slammed a door — not on purpose — on my thumbnail, and I went to the doctor to show him, and it had already turned black so he had to go in there and scrape it off,” she says, indicating the area where gangrene from poor circulation — another effect of the diabetes — had begun.

But she says taking ownership of her diabetes, after many years of sidelining it and living a life that included stress and heavy social drinking and smoking, helped her grow up and learn to rely on herself. “I’ve always been independent,” she says. “I’ve always had courage. But I didn’t always own my diabetes.”

[From USA Today]

Type 1 diabetes is especially life-consuming because you can’t treat it with pills; you have to take insulin no matter what. I’m surprised Mary hasn’t gotten an insulin pump. The article doesn’t explain why, but I’m curious to know her reasoning. It can make life drastically easier for most people and it keeps blood sugar levels much more stable. They’re not without their own inconveniences, but insulin shots are still a bigger pain for most people.

The article notes that Moore walks carefully around the house because of her loss of peripheral vision. She’s diligent about her exercise, but again, has to be careful. She still works out five to six days a week, but holds the rails on her treadmill because her balance isn’t what it used to be. Everything considered, it sounds like Moore has done very well with forty years of an incredibly challenging and stressful disease. Sadly, after all that time some nerve damage is almost impossible to avoid. But all in all, it seems her health has held up remarkably well.

Here’s Mary Tyler Moore outside the Ed Sullivan Theater for the ‘Late Show With David Letterman’ in New York last night. Images thanks to WENN .

I have long said I consider Miley Cyrus to be a danger to this country. Hell, to the whole world. There are so many things that are downright evil about that girl; I wouldn’t even know where to start. Actually, I think I’d start with the 16-year-old’s creepy relationship with 20-year-old boyfriend, Justin Gaston. And the fact that her entire celebrity is built on this Disney-wholesome image, yet she and her family make no attempt to hide that she’s dating this much older guy and they have sleepovers together. Or just that I find her insanely annoying.

So it comes as no surprise that Miley is trying to give us all Salmonella. I was sure she’d use some sort of bacterial foodborne illness to bring us to our knees so she could rise to power, and I was right. Or something.

Snacks from Miley Cyrus’ “Hannah Montana” food range have been pulled from shelves due to suspected salmonella contamination.

The 16-year-old’s Hannah Montana Chocolate Granola Bars have been withdrawn from stores over a peanut scare.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued the recall notice on Friday after officials discovered the snacks contained nut products which were part of the widespread peanut recall that hit the U.S. and Canada earlier this year.

[From the San Francisco Chronicle]

As much as I wish to see Miley get some flack over this – or at least get sent to her room (without a sleepover buddy to occupy her time), obviously she’s blameless. Unless you live in China. Someone wrote to E! News and asked if they could sue Miley if they got sick. The answer was pretty cool.

God, that would be fun, wouldn’t it? I mean, once you ceased to vomit your spleen out of your eye sockets. As amusing as the pretrial publicity would be—would she have to appear in wig?—the reality is, Miley Cyrus is pretty much bulletproof in this situation. She’s only a face on a package, not a peanut mogul or granola-bar maker. All that said, there’s always one exception to everything.

There is one way that Miley could, in fact, get dragged into court over offensive peanuts and sickening bar. It’s unlikely, but here goes… Do you live in China? That would help, says attorney Bill Marler, who represents victims in food-poisoning cases. “China has recently passed a law saying someone who becomes sickened from a product can sue someone who puts their name on the product or is part of the campaign for the product,” Marler tells me.

But in the U.S., Marler says, we have no such laws. “Your only recourse is against the people who made the granola bar,” Marler says, “and the company in Georgia that produced the peanuts.” In other words, unless Cyrus actually owns the facility that made the recalled item—in this case, a granola bar—her millions (or $1 billion in worth, if you believe the reports) is untouchable.

[From E!’s The Answer Bitch]

I pray, pray, pray that Miley Cyrus owns a peanut plant. I know the odds aren’t great, but I bet she’s got some random investments here and there, right? I’m just trying to protect myself in advance. You see, I have a serious peanut butter addiction. It is soul consuming. I have eaten so much peanut butter that it has given me severe digestive issues. And I’ve done it at least ten times (side note: after perusing the FDA’s website, I’ve easily eaten 7 out of 10 of the possibly tainted peanut butter items). No consequence gets in the way of me and some creamy peanut goodness. Salmonella, intestinal blockages – I don’t care, it’s absolutely worth it. But if I could potentially blame it on Miley Cyrus? That’s an actual incentive.

Mariska Hargitay isn’t taking her Law and Order: SVU co-star Ice-T’s advice to take some time and heal. Her rep confirmed that she’ll be back to filming episodes of SVU for the rest of the season. So far, Mariska has only missed one episode due to her mystery lung ailment. It’s unknown exactly what’s going on with her health, but she’s been hospitalized twice, the second time just last week. OK! has more:

Despite rumors speculating that Law and Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay would be missing the entire rest of the season due to health concerns, the actresses’ rep tells OK! not to believe the buzz.

“Not true,” says the rep of the report. “Mariska is recovering well and is returning to the show this season. She is only missing one episode.”

Mariska’s had a bumpy few months after being hospitalized for a collapsed lung in mid January. The star returned to work and seemed to be doing well, but had to visit the hospital again after experiencing some discomfort relating to the lung condition.

[From OK! Magazine]

I’m a huge fan of Mariska’s, and I feel very strongly that if my girl needs to rest and recuperate, that’s what she should be doing. SVU can’t have that many more episodes to film, so why all the drama about her coming back to work so soon? There’s obviously something wrong with her, or she wouldn’t have needed to be hospitalized a second time. There’s even a rumor going around that she needs surgery, but that hasn’t been verified by anyone close to Mariska.

Here’s Mariska and Christopher Meloni on the set of Law and Order SVU filming in SoHo on October 10th. Images thanks to BauerGriffinOnline.

Michael Jackson’s health is one of the most fascinating things to speculate about, because anything could be wrong with him at any given moment. Ever since the fake tip of his nose fell off in public, it’s been a sort of no-holds-barred public frenzy about what’s wrong with him. I mean if your nose can just fall off your face… anything can happen, right?

According to the Sun, Jacko is now suffering from a MRSA-like skin infection which is actually flesh-eating.

MICHAEL JACKSON is suffering from an acute MRSA-type skin infection which threatens to EAT his flesh. The singer has been receiving antibiotics via a drip in a bid to beat the superbug, which sources say has spread throughout his body… The stricken pop legend may have contracted the infection following plastic surgery on his NOSE, it was feared last night.

The 50-year-old Billie Jean singer is said to have a severe “staph” infection, resistant to conventional antibiotics. Experts warned it threatened to develop into a terrifying flesh-eating disorder which could kill off areas of the superstar’s skin and leave him in need of major reconstructive surgery. Jacko has been receiving antibiotics via an IV drip in a bid to beat the condition.

But the skin on his face and hands looked inflamed when he was snapped on his way to a Beverly Hills clinic during another week of intense treatment. A source revealed last night: “Michael Jackson has a severe staph infection that he contracted during work to reconstruct his nose… The disease is an MRSA-style infection because it is resistant to conventional antibiotics, so he has been visiting a clinic to get antibiotics via an IV drip.

“The infection has spread throughout his face and body and is being aggressively treated by doctors… There’s a chance it could turn into a flesh-eating disorder where it begins to kill off his skin so he’s being very carefully monitored.”

[From the Sun]

The Sun consulted with American plastic surgeon Dr. Anthony Youn, who runs the website Celebrity Plastic Surgery. I’ve read his site for years and he’s always struck me as very fair, careful, and kind in his assessments. He definitely doesn’t seem like one of those Hollywood doctors that is just trying to get his own reality show. Dr. Youn agreed it looked like Jackson might be suffering from either a staph infection or MRSA.

US celebrity plastic surgeon Dr Anthony Youn, who has not treated Jacko but has viewed the shocking photos of the star, said: “It is possible that Mr Jackson has a staph infection or MRSA. “This is called a ‘super-infection’ because it is resistant to conventional antibiotics. It does look like his skin is red and inflamed and has become infected.

“Staph infection or MRSA is extremely worrying because it is an aggressive infection that is resistant to most conventional antibiotics… In some worse cases surgeons will have to remove the infected tissue if it dies — leaving the patient needing major reconstructive surgery. It is particularly worrying if it is on the face.”

Dr Youn, who runs The Hills Plastic Surgery and Laser Centre and is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, said: “Many people in the health-care system can contract this disease via cuts to the skin…But it is possible Mr Jackson contracted it through surgery on his nose. There are occasions where patients contract the infection during plastic surgery procedures.

[From the Sun]

Would someone with MRSA be allowed to just walk around? I realize Jackson doesn’t mingle with the general public like a lot of people do, but he could still easily infect someone. I really, truly hope that he’s just got something that’s MRSA-like. Otherwise he should be in a hospital.

As many health issues as the man seems to have, he’s managed to stick around a lot longer than most tabloid reports would have anticipated. He’s been on some version of death’s door for the better part of the last 25 years. Still, he does appear to be getting sicker and sicker, so it’s not impossible. My sister contracted some kind of exotic, unknown infection in Thailand several years ago and went through many of the things the Sun describes here, and it was tremendously frightening. Luckily she recovered and is completely healthy now, but it’s not something to take lightly. If Jackson really is sick, hopefully he’ll get himself to a hospital and stay put until he’s better.

Here’s Jacko trying to sneak out the back door of a medical building in Beverly Hills on January 14th. Images thanks to Fame.

Natalie Cole was diagnosed with Hepatitis C last year in July, which she suspects is a result of her drug use in the late 70s and early 80s. Natalie was treated with what she describes as being Chemotherapy-like injections and Ribavirin. Both of these treatments seem to be aggressive on your body, which may have contributed to her kidney failure. For several months now, Natalie has been undergoing dialysis three times a week, and she requires a new kidney. It seems that she has found a donor.

“My son [Robert, 31] may be a possible [donor] match,” she told Entertainment Tonight at the Grammy Salute to Jazz on Tuesday. “It’s very sweet and kind of strange to have people offer something like that.”

Cole, 58, who is nominated for three Grammys for her 2008 album Still Unforgettable, is virus negative after being diagnosed with hepatitis C almost a year ago. She has also struggled with kidney problems while undergoing treatment for the liver disease.

She tells ET that she’s not looking forward to the recovery time following a transplant, “but in the end it’ll be worth it.”

People

Despite Natalie’s health problems, she has toured extensively over the last six months, but was briefly hospitalized in December.

Natalie has not taken drugs since she entered rehab in 1983. Prior to that, from her time in college in the early 1970 (she’s graduated 1972), through her first marriage and birth of her son, she had a serious drug problem. In her biography titled Angel On My Shoulder she confessed to taking heroin and cocaine.

Her son Robert, 31, her only child and potential kidney donor, was the catalyst for her rehabilitation. When she and her husband were on a drug binge he almost drowned in the family swimming pool. He was six when she entered rehab.

Natalie and her son also play music together, and he plays as part of her touring band. I hope that Robert is a match for Natalie, and they can continue their music together – Natalie is nominated for her three Grammy awards for her latest album Still Unforgettable.

Natalie Cole is shown performing on 1/16/09. Credit: WENN

Jeremy Piven announced in mid December that he would drop out of the Broadway play Speed The Plow due to mercury poisoning. Producers expressed doubts that he was being sincere and threatened to sue. Now they’ve gone through with it.

The producers of “Speed-the-Plow” say they have filed a grievance with Actors’ Equity Association, the stage actors’ union, against Jeremy Piven for abruptly leaving the Broadway revival last month.

Piven quit the David Mamet comedy less than two months after it opened to favorable reviews at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The actor’s doctor said Piven was unable perform because of high levels of mercury in his system, possibly caused by eating large amounts of raw fish.

No date for the grievance proceedings was announced.

[from Yahoo]

Hopefully it won’t take too long for the proceedings to begin. Piven has been asking for trouble for some time now. He’s either in the news for winning an Emmy on a show in which he plays a scumbag, or in the news for being an actual scumbag.

Jeremy Piven went on Good Morning America on Thursday to defend himself. The public may have believed his story if his own production wasn’t suing him. If you’re going to go on Good Morning America to defend yourself because the entire entertainment industry thinks you’re full of it, it would probably be a good idea to talk to a real doctor and get some real facts beforehand. Instead, Piven defends his rambling medial explanations by telling Diane, “I’m not a doctor – I just don’t even play one on TV.” Truer words were never said.

Note by Celebitchy: I don’t know if I believe Piven, but it’s incredibly careless for Good Morning America to quote some doctor that claims you have to have hundreds or thousands of times the limit of mercury to experience effects like that. The FDA recommends limiting consumption of certain types of fish, particularly for pregnant women and children, and misleading statements like that make it seem as if mercury is harmless when it can cause severe, long lasting health effects. If Piven is telling the truth, he’s being hampered by the fact that he’s such a douche no one will buy his story, including his employers.

Jeremy Piven is shown at the Golden Globes on 1/11/09. Credit: WENN

There has been a lot of speculation recently surrounding Steve Job’s health. In 2004, he was diagnosed with a form of pancreatic cancer and seems to have never quite recovered. In the past year or so, he has lost a significant amount of weight, but has kept relatively mum about the reason until last week when he revealed that the weight loss was caused by a hormonal imbalance. Now the issue seems more serious, as he has decided to take a leave of absence from his position as CEO at Apple.

“Team,

I am sure all of you saw my letter last week sharing something very personal with the Apple community. Unfortunately, the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well. In addition, during the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought.

In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June.

I have asked Tim Cook [Apple's COO] to be responsible for Apple’s day to day operations, and I know he and the rest of the executive management team will do a great job. As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out. Our board of directors fully supports this plan.

I look forward to seeing all of you this summer.”

[from Apple]

Considering that he had cancer, it would be hard to speculate on Jobs’ current health problems. Hormonal imbalances can mean a wide range of things, but whatever is wrong, it’s clearly serious enough for Jobs, who has always been noted as a hard worker, to take a leave of absence. After the announcement, Apple stock dropped under $80. The stock has been losing steam over the past year as questions over Jobs’ health have become more and more prevalent. Considering that the public has been associating his health with the future of Apple, it seems logical that Jobs should decide to drop off of the radar for a while – not only for his own health concerns, but also out of concern for his company.

Our thoughts go out to Steve and his family.

Note by Celebitchy: Jobs has pancreatic cancer, but has said that the tumor that was found on his pancreas in 2004 was an “islet cell neuroendocrine tumor,” which is less aggressive than other forms of pancreatic cancer.

Patrick Swayze, who recently admitted that he’s “going through hell” due to his treatment for pancreatic cancer, has been hospitalized for pneumonia, according to US Weekly. A while ago Swayze said reports about the severity of his condition were exaggerated, but he obviously has a weakened immune system due to chemo, and that leaves a person extra exposed to viruses.

Patrick Swayze has been hospitalized for pneumonia, the president of A&E announced at a panel Friday.

“Patrick has asked that I tell you that he has checked himself into the hospital this morning for observation after coming down with pneumonia,” said A&E president and general manager Robert DeBitetto. “As anyone who has had a friend or family member that has undergone treatment for cancer, chemotherapy can take a toll on you immune system. Patrick did want me to tell you that he is very sorry he couldn’t be at panel this morning, but he plans to get back to promoting The Beast as soon as he is back on his feet.”

In a ABC primetime special Wednesday, Swayze, 56, denied that he was on his deathbed but said he may have only two years to live.

“I’d say five years is pretty wishful thinking,” said the actor, whose A&E series The Beast premieres next week. “Two years seems likely if you’re going to believe statistics.

“I want to last until they find a cure, which means I’d better get a fire under it.”

[From Us Weekly]

Pneumonia can be very dangerous to anyone, but especially if you have cancer. I was in the hospital with a bout of it last winter, and it took months to fight off the lingering effects. Hopefully Patrick got to the hospital early on, which would help his outcome. It’s a miserable thing to go through, but he’s already proved that he’s incredibly tough.

Here’s Swayze on the set of ‘The Beast’ in Chicago on October 30th. Images thanks to Splash.

Jeremy Piven – who is now the world’s most famous thermometer thanks to writer David Mamet – got thoroughly bashed by his “Speed the Plow” cast mates. He clearly wasn’t popular with Raul Esparza and Elizabeth Moss, and they’re obviously either not buying or don’t care about his reason for leaving the play. Piven has extreme mercury toxicity, according to his doctor.

Actor Jeremy Piven apparently wasn’t so popular with his Broadway cast mates in the revival of David Mamet’s “Speed the Plow.”

After yesterday’s matinee, the remaining actors — Raul Esparza and Elizabeth Moss — bashed Piven to their audience after their curtain call.

Piven left the show last week, claiming he had mercury poisoning. He’d been playing opposite Esparza and Moss in the three character play for just a couple of months.

Sources say that when the matinee was finished yesterday, Esparza suddenly addressed the audience. (Actor Jordan Lage, Piven’s understudy, played the role of Bobby Gould.)

According to those who saw this, Esparza — famous for being outspoken — reamed Piven while Moss, my sources say, “sobbed.”

“’He said, I’m sure you’ve read the headlines about the silliness in our show.’ Then he said, ‘Today was the first time I really enjoyed playing this show. I hope you weren’t expecting a big TV star.’ It was pretty emotional.”

[From Fox News]

I’m assuming this supposed reaming involved more than what Fox quoted above. I don’t really consider that “reaming” by any measure. Nor is it “pretty emotional.” Though I’m confused about why Elizabeth Moss was crying over the whole ordeal. Perhaps just general frustration. No matter what, Esparza’s comments clearly were not said with any sympathy towards Jeremy Piven.

A lot of websites and articles seem to think his excuse is bull. And the guy does have the reputation of being a complete jerk, which I think is why people are reticent about believing him. But you’d think if Piven wanted to leave the show and was just looking for an excuse, he would have come up with something more common and easily accepted than what is now being labeled as Sushigate.

His role will be filled by Oscar nominee William H. Macy, who Fox notes has “performed the David Mamet play in the past, [and will be] taking over for the duration of the run.”

Here’s Jeremy Piven at the Primetime Emmy Awards on 9/21/08. Credit: PRPhotos

Did you know you can get mercury poisoning from eating too much sushi? Jeremy Piven now does.

Dr. Carlon Colker, a doctor who has been treating the SAG award nominee and Emmy award-winner, tells ET, “Jeremy is disappointed that members of the production staff of ‘Speed-the-Plow’ and other members of the entertainment community have not rallied behind him during this health crisis.”

Colker says, “Jeremy is suffering from extreme mercury toxicity. A major symptom of mercury poisoning is extreme fatigue. In addition, Jeremy began experiencing neuro-muscular dysfunction late last week, which led to extreme difficulty in lifting his arms and legs. Then, this past Sunday, he began feeling dizzy.” Now on enforced rest, Jeremy spent three days in the hospital recently. Colker tells ET exclusively that he is no longer in New York.

“Jeremy has been an avid sushi eater for many years, regularly eating sushi twice in one day. He has also taken certain Chinese herbs, and that, in combination with the frequent sushi consumption, could have led to these elevated mercury levels,” Colker explains. He goes on to inform ET that a test revealed that Jeremy had the highest level of mercury that he has ever seen, which amounts to six times a healthy amount of mercury, in his system.

ET via In Case You Didn’t Know

I guess David Memet, who made the joke about Jeremy leaving to ‘pursue a career as a thermometer’, is feeling a little red-faced right now.

One question that this doesn’t answer is, why aren’t his Broadway coworkers convinced he is indeed unwell with mercury poisoning. What is it about his recent behavior that makes them suspect of this doctor’s diagnosis?

What are the Chinese herbs that Piven has been taking? You can take them for just about anything, like most holistic medicines if you have a complaint someone has a natural alternative for you to try. I believe that for some people they make a big difference, and for others it seems to do nothing. You have to be careful with any kind of unregulated medication as they can have additional harmful ingredients, as Piven found out the hard way.

Note by Celebitchy: Mercury poisoning is very serious and although Piven can be a douche I think it’s unfair for people to doubt his diagnosis or make fun of him. He has a doctor vouching for him who sounds both sincere and incredibly concerned for his health. Mercury can cause madness and extreme illness. The “Mad Hatter” character is based on mercury poisoning suffered by hatters in Victorian Britain, who used mercury in the process of making hats. Many of them got very sick and became mentally ill.

Jeremy Piven is shown on 12/8/08 at a screening of The Wrestler. Credit: WENN