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Young Adults with PKU: Transitioning to Life on Your Own

Recorded on 9/16/2010

PROGRAM DETAILS:

For those with PKU, life transitions can present different challenges whether you’ve been on diet your whole life or are just beginning to return to clinic as an adult.  In this Patient Power program leading experts and two inspiring young adult patients with PKU share advice and tips for entering new stages of life.  

The program begins with Kaitlyn, a 23-year-old with PKU and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Pittsburgh.  She talks about the challenges she has faced over the years and how she manages her PKU during difficult times.  Kaitlyn credits her success to her parents and also her dietitian, Nicole Payne, who joins the program.  Ms. Payne talks about the importance of teaching children about PKU from an early age and how this has led to success for Kaitlyn.

Also joining the program is Dr. Adam Rosenblatt, a neuropsychiatrist at Johns Hopkins Medicine.  He speaks in detail about the need to take control of the condition and how behavior is affected in uncontrolled PKU.  Both Dr. Rosenblatt and Ms. Payne answer listener questions and provide a great deal of advice for handling life transitions. You’ll also hear an update from Breanna Hardy, now a sophomore in college, who was featured in a 2009 Powerful Patient story.  If you’re a parent of a child with PKU, or you have PKU yourself, this program can provide valuable insight into what can be a challenging condition.

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EXPERTS & GUESTS:
Adam Rosenblatt, M.D. Adam Rosenblatt, M.D.
Director of Neuropsychiatry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Dr. Adam Rosenblatt is Director of Neuropsychiatry, Division of Geriatric and Neuropsychiatry and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.   He completed his medical degree at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine followed psychiatric residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital.  Dr. Rosenblatt is a member of the American Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry, the... more >

Nicole Payne, R.D., L.D.N. Nicole Payne, R.D., L.D.N.
Clinical Metabolic Dietitian, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
Nicole Payne is a clinical metabolic dietitian at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC of Pittsburgh and has been with the Division of Medical Genetics and PKU since 2000.   She received her Bachelor of Science degree in nutrition from Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania in 1997.  She went on to complete her nutrition residency program for dietitians... more >

Breanna Hardy Breanna Hardy,
19-year-old College Student Living Well with PKU
Breanna was diagnosed with PKU at birth. She is the third in a family of nine kids, in which two of her younger sisters have PKU. Living with PKU has never really been a problem for her, though she never liked drinking formula or taking blood tests. Breanna is now in her sophomore of college and studying to be a... more >

Kaitlyn Kormanik Kaitlyn Kormanik,
23-year-old Graduate Student Living Well with PKU
Kaitlyn is a PhD candidate in genetics at the University of Pittsburgh. Ironically, she works in a research lab at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UMPC that is run by metabolic specialist Dr. Gerard Vockley, the same specialist who oversees her care for PKU. Kaitlyn is living well with PKU as a young adult. She follows a low protein... more >

TRANSCRIPT:

  1. Introduction LISTEN
  2. Kaitlyn’s Story LISTEN
  3. Setting the Stage for Success LISTEN
  4. Tips for Transition: Taking Control LISTEN
  5. Update: Breanna Hardy LISTEN
  6. Listener Questions LISTEN

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