Archive for the ‘Lifestyle’ Category

what do you do with a fractured leg?

Sunday, September 6th, 2009

earlier this year i fractured my right leg. and then due to imbalance, i fell and fractured my right shoulder. what wonderful luck! but:

when i saw the orthopedist who diagnosed my leg fracture, he said that my right leg was now 5.5 mm shorter than the left leg. i asked what could be done. the answer “nothing”. so i was to hobble around with this limp for the rest of my life. i guess so. adjust.

i spoke with the orthopedist, the nurse in his office, the sociall worker. no one had any advice or resources to recommend. why? are they irresponsible? is it the state of health care today? why are they working in this specialty. so, as usual, i had to be my own resourceful advocate. and if it weren’t for my status and experience as a health care professional, i would be lost, having expected comptetant “professionals” to help me through this.

what i found: Feet Relief. com. they provide “in soles” for your shoes that can provide a “lift” and support. that, for me, was a temporary correction. and now i have found a company that makes all kinds of orthotics. they say that they can make for me shoe inserts that accomodate my right leg shortening, and can be purchased for all kinds of shoes. (i find athletic shoes to be comfortable and provide the best support.) well i need different kinds of support. i don’t want to wear athletic shoes to that “little black dress” occasion. so this company will apparently also create orthotics to accomodate sandals and dress shoes.

so why am i complaining? the orthotic company cannot make an appliance without an rx from my primary care md or the orhtopedist. try getting a message to them, and request that they fax an rx to the orthotic company. round and round we go. till i suppose i get furious this week and walk sweetly into their offices and ask for the referral (just please make a copy of the damned initial referral) while i wait, thank you.

Posted in Exercise, Health, Lifestyle, Nursing | No Comments »

even more to “just suppose”

Sunday, August 30th, 2009

A few weeks later I had follow up testing for two conditions. All the testing was normal. No more medical conditions? So what does one learn from this? a diagnosis requires follow up testing to confirm the diagnosis before treatment. And then, subsequant treatment requires testing to ensure treatment is efficacious.

Posted in Drugs, Education, Evaluations, Health, Lifestyle, Pharmaceuticals | No Comments »

fat foods

Sunday, August 30th, 2009

every grocery store, it seems, sells food for those watching their weight, with the implication that shoppers want and need low cal foods. but what about some of us poor souls, and bodies, wandering the earth who need to GAIN WEIGHT? where do we buy high cal foods anymore? well maybe only soda shops.

just suppose we wanted to open a franchise in a large grocery store: an aisle, a counter where the old fashioned high cal foods are sold? would we be able to do so? half in jest i asked a grocer where i usually shop. his response was “who do you think would shop that aisle, that counter? folks wanting all the tasty cals they could get!”

 

any comments or advice?

Posted in Diet, Education, Health, Lifestyle, Nutrition | No Comments »

the victim, the guinea pig caught in a web

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

4 months ago i moved to a new community, and now cannot wait to leave. not my idea of where to live. nevertheless, i have had to find a new provider for health care. he is drug happy and referral happy. so now i have been seen by a hemotologist to correct a mild anemia (with diet) and a orthopedist (have a fractured  femur  and pelvic bone, thanks to a fall in my own house! ) to be corrected by use of the leg and prn pain pills. at any rate, be careful not to get caught in the web of health care that you may never really and truly need. for an expense…see next post.

Posted in Diet, Drugs, Exercise, Health, Insurance, Lifestyle, Nutrition, Pharmaceuticals | No Comments »

Family Health and Military Deployment

Sunday, December 7th, 2008

My son was deployed to Iraq on Mother’s Day. My gift from him was a box of expensive chocolates and a big bottle of vitamins! His last words to me were “don’t cry!”. Hopefully, as a Green Beret and a combat medic he will be okay. But I can see the toll it is taking on his wife and 3 year old son. Stressed to the limit. By finances. By lots of responsibilities on a mom who is working, going to school, taking care of a child, a home, a dog, a yard.

I talked to a young neighbor the other day whose boyfriend just returned from 2 deployments. Came back with stress disorder and addictions. And now she needs to find help, not only for him, but for herself.

I sure would like to help with this effort of “helping”.  Though I applied for work with the local VA and local military fort that was theoretically recruiting, have not heard back. Despite my great education and experience, I don’t have the “connections”. I haven’t lived in this state long enough to build connections.

The weather here doesn’t help morale. This is the Pacific Northwest.  Why am I here? to be close to my daughter in law and little grandson and try to be supportive. We all want to migrate back to CA when we can. Only wildlife should live here where the sun never shines, it is always cold,  the days are short, and it rains, and everyone needs to supplement their diets with vitamin D.

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Anemia

Tuesday, November 25th, 2008

About a month ago I was diagnosed with severe anemia. I had to have a transfusion of red blood cells. I will probably have to go through this again in about six weeks. Hmm… I wonder what donors red blood cells are floating around in my veins. One of the side effects of this condition that really stresses me is hair loss and breakage. I have always had long hair. Suddenly, it comes out by the brushfull every day. I’m finding it really hard to change my self identity.

My hematologist says that he is seeing more of this condition in people my age (62). He thinks it is due to exposure over a lifetime of environmental toxins. This is not surprising since I grew up just outside of Detroit with polluted air from the auto industry. I hope the government does not bail out the American auto industry. Another possibility is a dietary cause, which is not surprising since I am returning back to a more vegetarian diet, and forgot how to do this. I was a vegetarian for years until my pregnancy and breast feeding days.

Posted in Diet, Drugs, Health, Lifestyle, Nutrition | No Comments »

Scoliosis and what to do…

Thursday, May 29th, 2008

My scoliosis was first diagnosed when I was in college, way back in the 60’s. It is lumbar, one of the worst kinds. It didn’t bother me for years; I made it through 2 pregnancies with no pain. And then lo and behold, I lifted some heavy bags 4 years ago, felt a “pop” and here we go. Found  a pain specialist at a major medical center. Surgery is on his mind. Not for me. No one is touching my spine with a knife!

So my solution: an occasional 1/2 pain pill during bad days. A 1/2 muscle relaxant on bad nights so I can sleep. But the very best!! yesterday I had a private bikram yoga class taught by the teacher and founder at the local center who has scoliosis too. What a great relief from stretching out those muscles and vertebrae. I will be going back and taking classes.

The bottom line: lots of folks have scoliosis. I would recommend anything before, or instead of, surgery. I also found that over the counter Icy Hot does almost as well as medications. Heat helps too. The yoga teacher works in a highly heated and humid room. How can you help relaxing?

Why do I have scoliosis? I attribute it to the fact that the “girls” in my generation did no exercise. We read and studied while the boys all played sports. As an adult I was a runner for 30 years, but it was too late then to reverse the damage, and may even have made it worse.

The bottom line: if you have this condition, try anything but surgery. And keep the young ladies in your life physically active. My daughter in law was a basketball star and is now a runner. Lucky her!

Posted in Drugs, Exercise, Health, Lifestyle, Pharmaceuticals | No Comments »

More About Diagnoses And Pharmaceuticals

Friday, November 16th, 2007

To those of you who have read my blog, I apologize for repetition. But some issues just don’t go away.

I just heard an ad on tv for health insurance plans to supplement what medicare offers. First of all, just what does medicare offer? And what about the 47 million of us who have no health insurance and are not yet ready for medicare? The ad was about a certain supplemental insurance company, and it was recommended that you discuss this plan with your “doctor” who will help you decide if this plan it right for you. Yah sure! Since when do “doctors” recommend health insurance plans? Well, someone is getting a kick back here from an insurance company. You need to count on your friends and colleagues for this kind of advice: not your “doctor” and not the insurance companies!

All research must be taken with a grain of salt. I was recruited, years ago, for the Nurses’ Health Study. After filling out their questionnaire, I received a letter informing me that I was ineligible as a participant since I had taken steroids. I had  never taken steroids in my life! I didn’t write back because I didn’t have the time (full time working mom, grad student, with two little boys). So now I look at all health care research with more acute skepticism.

As for HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy), I did that for about 5 years, then quit cold turkey because my gynecologist told me she could not in good faith prescribe it anymore. I have a friend who has been “tapering off” HRT for the 3 years I have known her. Tapering off HRT? No need to. Doing this will not affect your blood pressure and heart rate, and will probably do nothing except have you discontinuing HRT.  I can only suspect that her gynecologist is her age as well, and the looks of skin and hair are more important than the total health picture? Or maybe not? Maybe it doesn’t matter if we do HRT or not? Once again, conflicting conclusions from research.

There is a lot of spurious, and confounding, information in these studies…I am a medical professional, but also a skeptic. I have attended prestigious universities, have worked at prestigious universities. But that doesn’t mean anything. What is important is the integrity of their representatives,  their scientists, of their reporting of results of their studies. They need to be honest, not just writing what the public wants to hear.

So now we need drugs to fall asleep, drugs to stop restless leg, drugs to make us “regular”? Soon we will need drugs to wake up, get our legs going, and be able to use the bathroom normally?

Have we forgotten to eat a normal, well balanced diet, with fiber,  that would prevent some of these “problems” in the first place? Have we forgotten to just go to sleep to some nice music at 10pm after walking the dog in fresh air? And though I am lax myself about taking vitamins, popping a pill or two each day, if it doesn’t burn up your stomach (drink plenty of water), you won’t have legs that fly around or get stiff and achy, most likely.

Posted in Diet, Drugs, Education, Exercise, Health, Insurance, Lifestyle, Nursing, Nutrition, Pharmaceuticals | 1 Comment »

No Health Insurance

Tuesday, October 16th, 2007

Thankfully the democratic party candidates are in tune with the fact that we have 47 million Americans without health insurance, sometimes due to job elimination, like myself. And health insurance is not affordable without assistance from an employer, except for the very wealthy, and those that have spouses and domestic partners whose insurance they can tag on to.

And why is health insurance beyond our reach? Obviously, the insurance industry wants profits by driving up rates. And I believe that the pharmaceutical companies are creating diagnoses, and recommending drugs, that we all “need! “Just ask your provider,” whoever that is…

And who are two strong lobbies: the insurance industry and the pharmaceutical companies? And who is helping to finance most of the presidential aspirants?

What on earth is a “nervous breakdown”? why can’t people sleep at night? what is “restless leg syndrome”? Where did this stuff all come from? We should all be taking 21 drugs each day? Oh, and you need a stool softener, and laxative for breakfast that may make you “regular”. And a daily decongestant, whereas just being in a vertical position and blowing your nose in the morning may work just fine. Why? Why not choose a healthy lifestyle instead?

Why not jog or walk your dog (you would both benefit), stretch, swim, eat properly i.e. a diet rich in fruits, veggies, grains? Try to avoid anything but the essential drugs that you really need to stay alive.

All of these drugs, too many drugs, interact with each other, and can kill you. Less is better.

Posted in Diet, Drugs, Exercise, Health, Insurance, Lifestyle, Nutrition, Unemployment | 1 Comment »