HEALTH'Sass

Good news for heart and stroke patients

2012-01-27T08:48:00.000-08:00

Loyola cardiologist John Moran, MD, says for patients with a familiar partner and setting, sexual activity is safe and no more strenuous than golf.

I guess that means nothing too exotic or exciting.

If you have few or no symptoms during normal activities, sex is safe, too.

In fact, sex and intimacy are important.

I would add—so is overcoming fears and misgivings. Those can cause stress, too.

And if you are recovering, ask about using Viagra or the like--I think there are some caveats.

Now—the question remains—sex or golf?

That may not be the easy call you think it is.

Reversal on diverticulosis?

2012-01-26T09:22:00.000-08:00

I was once hospitalized with horrible stomach pains—paralyzed intestine—but they also found I had diverticulosis—pouches in the colon wall that could fill up with sharp bits or crud and get infected or puncture.

Gotta love the hospital.

Anyhow, I was told to up the fiber. The paralysis gave way after 5 days on an NG tube (you so don’t want that EVER, just incidentally).

The problem is that salads and raw veggies make my stomach hurt. Irritable bowel—the diverticulosis—don’t know why.

Now…wait for it…scientists at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Med School say high fiber may raise the risk of diverticulosis.

“We may have been wrong for decades,” one doc said.

Check out the Feb issue of Gastroenterology for more.

Diverticulosis affects about one-third of adults over 60—most don’t have symptoms, just little divots in the tissue in there.

The fiber idea was to ease constipation and pressure on the colon with its little divots.

But these docs studied 2,104 patients from 30 to 80 and found that those with the lowest fiber were 30% less likely to develop diverticulosis.

They did not make dietary recommendations.

Well, I made my own—since big salads make me hurt, I don’t eat them everyday.

The catch--even with insurance sickness costs a ton

2012-01-25T10:12:00.000-08:00

People without jobs—even if they have health insurance—are less likely to go to the doctor, get checkups, and fill prescriptions.

To me this is sort of a given.

But the CDC seems surprised.

Private insurance is no guarantor of better care—well, shocking.

First, 48% of unemployed adults have insurance, the CDC says. That did surprise me—seemed like a high number. Eighty-one percent of employed adults do.

Now, some are saying (some?) that insurance reform will not make things better for the unemployed.

People can’t afford to use care—even if they are forced to buy it…

High copays, high deductibles—bills keep coming even after deductibles are met. Oh, this mess is a a tricky one.

It’s enough to make you sick.

No nap, no niceness

2012-01-24T08:55:00.000-08:00

They did a study. Of course, most Moms will tell you toddlers get cranky when they miss their naps—but Univ of Colorado researchers studied this anyhow.

Missing naps also made the tots dumber. Toddlers between 2 and a half and 3 yrs old, missing a single daily nap, had a poorer understanding of how to solve problems.

Many young children—the docs added—are not getting enough sleep. This can shape their emotional brains forever!

They tested the kids with puzzles—some of which had a wrong piece that would not go in. They studied the kids’ faces as they worked.

The ones that had missed naps had more negative emotional responses. The napped toddlers also had less “confusion” on their faces when the did the puzzles with the wrong pieces. They also tended to adapt better to the frustration.

A sleepy child may have fewer coping skills—and this can be a problem in a daycare environment.

Or—at home—the researchers concluded.

Well, yeah…

If only this ended in toddlerhood.

Vitamin D--could be too much

2012-01-23T08:52:00.000-08:00

Stephanie Desmon, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Jan 23, 2012, says Vitamin D—so lauded these days for bone health and also heart protection--can cause harm if above the low end of normal.

Increasing levels of Vitamin D in the blood are linked with lower levels of a popular marker for cardio inflammation—c-reactive protein or CRP. That sounds good—but for adults without cardio symptoms but with relatively low Vit D levels, lower levels of inflammation were found.

This led them to say that higher levels of Vit D did not curtail inflammation more. This appears in the Jan 15th American J of Cardiology.

Be sure the supplement is indicated for you. And—I would add—make sure your doctor knows about these findings.

Don't cheat the babies of food

2012-01-20T08:58:00.000-08:00

Despite WIC and other programs, according to Cincinnati Children’s, one in three families on public assistance have trouble keeping people fed—and this includes babies.

This is termed “food insecurity”—or the new term, “hunger issues.”

In America. Great, people.

Two-thirds of the families in the WIC program—basics for low-income women with children—run out of WIC-supplied formula toward the end of most months. Twenty-seven percent of these report watering down the formula or reducing feedings of babies.

In 2009, WIC decreased the amount of formula for kids over 6 mos.

Smooth move.

Doctors are being taught to ferret out food insecurity—there is a stigma attached.

I do know you can feed generic house-brand formula--by law, it was to be the same as Similac or something high life.

But you can’t not feed babies or give them basically water. Come on, what is the solution?

Three years? I don't know, girl

2012-01-19T09:36:00.000-08:00

Three years ago, according to accounts, Southern cook Paula Deen learned she had Type 2 diabetes.

Three years ago—yet I can personally recall her and her two hunky Southern “boys” slamming in the whole butter sticks and scooping in the mayo as they put together some stunningly high cal dishes.

Such as Fried Cheesecake.

This was her franchise—the whole butter stick. And condensed milk—plenty of that.

I am a large woman. I distrust fakey sweeteners and put sugar in my coffee, but we don’t eat dessert everyday. Yes, I eat fast food once a week and Italian also once a week. We don’t diet. And we are pretty big.

But I am not on TV ladling out this stuff and teaching people to make it. And we don’t have a diabetes problem—yet, anyhow.

I don’t want to judge—but Paula, three years is a long time to delay a scale-back. Now one of her sons is going to remake Mom’s recipes in yet another Food Network offering. Recipes are being tweaked at their eatery—The Lady & Sons. Never let a crisis go to waste, no matter how long it lingered..

Maybe—at least—the other half of the butter stick did not need to be thrown in—Paula would do that—“Oh, what the heck, let’s use it all, y’all.”

Wild rice? No--grass seed

2012-01-18T09:10:00.000-08:00

Want to have some laffs with the kids or at the next cocktail party? Check out the Food Fact Machine from Natural News.com.

http://www.naturalnews.com/AmazingFoodFactMachine.asp

You can click on a button that says “Generate a new fact” and you get some weird trivia with comments and answers.

Yup—wild rice is really grass—not rice. Many bottled “teas” contain no tea. Some soy protein is made with explosive industrial chemicals.

There are also downloads—“25 Amazing Facts about Food” and “25 Amazing Facts about How Food is Made and Where it Comes From.”

Is it always good to know everything? Oh—you are such a philosopher!

As for those eggs--were the chickens eating blueberries? Nah--the egg color comes from the breed and they taste like any other egg.

Can yoga wreck your body?

2012-01-17T08:21:00.000-08:00

Have you seen the recent stories in the NYT Mag (Jan 5, 2012) and elsewhere about how killer yoga is?

Apparently yoga is not for the faint-hearted and you have to be in good shape to even do it.

I went to an ashram nightly in the 1970s—yoga is more than bending into a pretzel or standing on your head. It’s meditation, chanting, breathing, centering—these don’t require physical prowess, though they can improve your physical well-being.

Beginners should go to a reputable place—the articles allege that some teachers are taskmasters—bending hapless students this way and that. I have had a teacher gently press my back or something—not torture.

Apparently, more yoga casualties are going to ERs and docs these days. They have pulled muscles and ligaments. Pop!

I know of one pose—which used to be called the Wrestler’s Bridge—with the back flat and top pf head on the ground that is really not very neck friendly.

Ramesh Bjonnes offers some tips:

Easy does it. The term asana (pose) means easily held.

Combine yoga with meditation.

Listen to your bod..pain means stop.

Yoga is not competitive.

We had some pretzel people in one class, I recall—I did not try to emulate. Now, I am such a mess I probably could not even walk in.

Time passes. It sure passed me.

Two extra legs--what's the difference

2012-01-16T09:26:00.000-08:00

We have three four-leggers around here someplace—two cats and a weird little poodle dachshund deal.

Our third cat Elsie had to be put down at 15. She was so thin, so creaky she could hardly walk. A mother-daughter vet team came to the house. I still think about my Top Cat.

Irene Kraft, LA Trim es, Jan 10, 2012, talks about the obvious fact that millions of Americans have woven animals into their families in a tight knot. I think of it was the animal faction and the human faction.

These animals don’t kill mice or bring down game—they just walk around being animals.

Like people, they can have annoying traits—the big cat has decided the litter box is a bore—yup—on the floor. The smaller cat hides all day and comes out a night when I make a bathroom run. I am a captive fur petter.

And the mutt—better believe he has quirks. Sleeps on the spaghetti of wires at my feet. All wound in, snoring. He barks at air molecules outside—there’s one! YAP YAP YAP. But at night, he sleeps under a bed pillow—all warm and drowsy…only his nose poking out.

According to this article—vets are more sensitive to what people are feeling than they used to be. Personally I wonder if this isn’t sensitivity to what people will pay for. I know—I am mean.

There are now grief support groups. You can talk about how much you loved the animal without some dope making you feel like a jerk.

There is no wrong way to grieve. Write a poem, this author suggests. Conduct a service. Keep the ashes or scatter them.

I miss my dog Spencer—my first ever dog. So much. Every day. Then I see that little nose come out from under the pillow to collect the first petting of the day, and I get up—time to feed everyone.

Keep your weird cooties at home

2012-01-13T09:23:00.000-08:00

Why do they call them “colds”? Because you don’t feel so hot? But are you sick enough to stay at least home, if not in bed?

CareerBuilder says yes—keep your crud at home. It could be the flu, also.

Yet, a recent survey showed more than 3/4s of workers came to work sick sometimes.

If you are a team leader—lead by example. Home!

Maybe you can work from home if you don’t feel too punk.

Most companies try to prevent sickness—some offer free flu shots.

Encourage people to cough into their sleeve (I have NEVER seen anyone do this, have you?)

Wash hands with soap and hot water for as long as it takes to sing the ABC song.

And clean your phone, keyboard and pen with antibacterial goop.

And stay away from coughing, sneezing people who did not read this.

Hey--this sounds like cooking

2012-01-12T08:28:00.000-08:00

I am not so much a bad cook as a non-cook. I heat up. I call out (in richer times). I had a friend who was a chef. He used to go to the market and get what was fresh and THEN decided what to make with it.

Until then, I thought even high-end restaurants had a set menu and bought the supplies to make it. This was real cooking! For that you need knowledge, techniques.

Karen Fernau wrote in this area in the AZ Republic, Jan 11, 2012. She talked about the five “tastes.”

These are sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami.

A chef said it’s science and like painting a picture.

He begins with a dominant taste. And adds the others to compliment. Cinnamon in tomato soup…or black pepper and marshmallows…

My ex- used to put cinnamon in boxed chocolate pudding and serve it at dinner parties. People raved!

Our taste buds vary—I like savory, salty. My kid and sister like sweet.

The umami thing was discovered in the late 1800s by Escoffier. It’s a savory-tasting protein. Examples: miso, beef, bacon, MSG, Parmesan.

Concentrate on taste…Don’t rule out foods. Don’t add sugar, savor natural sweetness in fruit. Cut bitterness with something else—it doesn’t like to be alone. Add sweet butter or creamy salad dressing.

Eat slowly—taste what you are eating.

Let's see--maybe we can't afford to

2012-01-11T09:35:00.000-08:00

Health care spending in 2009 and 2010 grew at the slowest rate in 50 years.

The govt (yes, ours) says it’s the high unemployment and reduced income.

In other words—even with insurance, people can’t afford to go to the doctor.

People scrimp—the govt’s word. They also mentioned financial uncertainty.

Well, yeah! Fewer hospital admissions in 2010 than 2009. Duh.

Fewer doc visits.

More people put off going to the doctor.

Now the insurance companies MAKE you go—no doctor appointment, no prescription, hope you live, see ya.

I am finally going to the eye doctor—the $35 copay made me delay most of last year.

Oh, well…this is what the word WHATEVER was invented for.

Finding a doctor

2012-01-10T08:19:00.000-08:00

They better start building more psychiatric hospitals in this fast-moving managed care environment—a doctor is in a network, you have a certain network, he or she is out, shazam, can you change networks or practices—do you want to?

Aieee.

I have been put through the trials of the damned trying to find a new eye doctor (remember my last one let his partner’s 15-yr-old son work as a tech during the summer and poke me in the eye?).

First, I went to the American Academy of Ophthalmology—looked up cornea specialists. Compared that list to providers from my Medicare Advantage plan. Even the online provider list is not accurate, and forget the printed one.

Found a guy—checked his creds with the medical board—no lawsuits. Talked my primary into referring me (3 calls). Then could not afford the $35 copay for 3 mos—referral expired.

Tabled it Started over this month. This time the primary said I had to come to her first—my insurance company wants me to come twice a yr—my insurance company? What? Anyhow, I talked her into the referral (3 calls). I would come to her when my BP pills expired.

Ooops—the doctor had left the other practice. OK—who there could see me? They named someone. I had another referral sent (2 calls). Oh, no—he was the wrong one.

I tried the practice where the first one had gone. He was not signed with my insurance. Can’t remember how many calls by then.

They recommended someone else. An optometrist. I need an ophthalmologist. OK—named someone else.

I think I am going. I have three months.

Stem cell ripoff

2012-01-09T10:35:00.000-08:00

I am not always a fan of “60 Minutes,” but they have performed a service, I think, in highlighting some utter weasels taking people’s money for bogus stem cell cures.

Check this out: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7394380n&tag=contentMain;contentAux

This is the second of two reports where vague older men tried to dance around their ignorance of medicine and defend the cruel gyps they were perpetrating on people—the latest a blind 11-old quadralplegic with cerebral palsy.

The website even had a little ADD TO CART and a PayPal option for the $5,000 this idiot wanted for some “cells” that were packed in nitrogen and then examined by doctors at Duke—mostly just debris, dead, and capable of clogging a vessel and maybe causing a stroke instead of transforming into a healthy needed cell.

These charlatans will be dealt with in the next world if not in a nice prison in this one, but please be very wary of such claims. This science is in its infancy.

Do you need a trainer?

2012-01-06T09:13:00.000-08:00

Marilyn Preston, AZ Republic, Jan 6, 2012, says she is perky as all get out. Well, how nice, Marilyn.

Anyhow, someone asked her how to choose a personal trainer—and as luck would have it, we learned that she IS a personal trainer.

A good trainer is your cheerleader, she says, your taskmaster, your coach. If you are reluctant to lift weights, a good trainer will help you select the right way to build up. Also, it’s important to lift correctly.

If the trainer keeps saying, “No pain no gain,” lose him or her, Marilyn says.

A good trainer also is a teacher—the right foods, and not cans of goo, either.

Look for a certification from the American Council on Exercise, American College of Sports Medicine, or the National Strength and Conditioning Assn.

Try the trainer out first before committing to a long program.

On "Roseanne’s Nuts," Roseanne Barr had a trainer. The woman kept making her exercise. Finally, Roseanne walked over to her car (they were outside in Hawaii working out), got in, and drove off.

The trainer asked, “Is she coming back?”

Roseanne’s boyfriend Johnny said, “I doubt it.”

But hey, you might like your trainer. Make it so.

Young at head

2012-01-05T11:02:00.000-08:00

My sister is always saying she can’t think of two things at once. I wish I could only think of two things at once.

Our brains, our brains!

Dr Wes Ashford, creator of the memory screening test, MemTrax, has 10 tips for keeping the old noggin sharp.

Take an interesting class. Do crosswords or Sudoku. And I would add—fight for your economic life.

Exercise, aerobics and strength training.

Keep making friends.

Eat your veggies. Get your Vit D levels checked, some people are low on it.

Watch your weight! Of course, why didn’t we think of that?

Wear seat belts, a bike helmet (if biking). Improve balance by brushing teeth standing on one foot.

Monitor your thyroid. Tell the doctor about muscle pains.

Watch your blood pressure. Ask your doctor about statins—and I might add, look them up yourself.

Try to get good sleep. Check to see if you have sleep apnea if you keep waking up.

Screen your memory every so often. What would be good for that—why MemTrex! www.memtrex.com.

Naturally.

Big FAT cliches

2012-01-04T09:44:00.000-08:00

In today’s Arizona Republic, there was an essay by a self-identified lawyer and jogger pretending to be obese and sneering at his pretend family for being slobs and slugs and texting and eating fast food.

This was accompanied, of course, by the picture of headless overweight women in jeans.

He even had the pretend father forget his wife’s name—I guess from some exotic form of food poisoning.

I am sick of being lectured, however supposedly cleverly, by weekend athletes. Worse—by runners, who often are every bit as fanatical as foodies. You know them—bony, staring eyes, always taking their own pulse.

I am sick of the headless fat bodies---the NYT ran one of a woman’s fat rolls in a leotard—why not a picture of a woman complete with face eating a salad—plenty of salads go into plenty of overweight people. Chew on that one!

When someone loses some weight—the big pants! OMG, the big pants. The only thing more clichéd is two people inside one pair!

And the word obesity…epidemic…blah blah…

I am sick of the whole mess.

Lunch time! And just IN TIME!

Yoops! Falling risks

2012-01-03T08:25:00.000-08:00

I am one—a Falling Risk. They put this on a big red bracelet if you enter the hospital as someone over 60.

My sister and I—and our 94-year-old mother—all mince around in a gingerly fashion, hoping not to be dashed to the floor with broken bones.

The CDC says 20K people die from falling each year.

Falling also accounts for 15% of injuries and workers comp for those still gainfully employed.

Mike Ross, author of The Balance Manual, and a exercise physiologist at Loyola, says bodily changes as you grow older increase falling risks.

Equilibrium and balance come from the inner ear and brain. As we age the eardrums thicken and balance is new precise.

Aging also breaks down cells in the nervous system—slower signals to right uourself.

To prevent falls, check your footwear—look for traction, especially on icy sidewalks.

Keep a shovel and salt handy for icy days.

Make sure your railings are strong.

Slow down—think.

As for help—see a big expanse of ice—like parking lot—ask for an arm.

Strengthen your legs—a couple of times a week, get in and out a chair repeatedly.

That last is great unless you have arthritic knees.

All I can say is take your best shot—and hope the shot doesn’t get ya.

What about those I am Falling and I Can't Get Up doodads? I can't afford it--and probably it would not work if I needed it. Look--I know how life is.

Night people, whooo are you?

2012-01-02T09:16:00.000-08:00

Tia Allbright, associate editor of CorePerformance.com, has some tips on working nights—and staying in good health.

First, there are definitely night people in this world—my daughter is one. Her Dad was one.

But trying to reverse the clock can have consequences. A recent study showed people who worked 3 or more night shifts a month were more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes.

You need to try to get steady rotations—not be all over the board. Changing every week is too often.

You need 8 hours of sleep in every 24—takes naps that add up to that, if you have to do it that way.

Avoid energy drinks. Too strong.

When you do sleep, darken the room. Use earplugs or a white noise machine.

Eat dinner before your shift and snack every two or three hours to avoid pigging out when you get off.

You can do it—in fact, it suits some people very nicely. Those would be the “owls” of this world. I know some.

Hangovers, of course

2011-12-30T09:47:00.000-08:00

Did you know that a fourth of people don’t get the classic “no loud noises” hangover? No headache, no spacey feeling into the afternoon, no vom.

Not fair, is it?

I am in the one-fourth, but don’t hate me.

Of course, this is where I tell you some neat hangover cures. I won’t even insult your intelligence by suggesting the best of all—don’t take the last six drinks.

Let’s see…well, some people take Tylenol before going to sleep—this is now considered bad because Tylenol and alcohol are some sort of lethal combo, sorta maybe.

So stick to ibuprofen.

Drink a lot of water is more advice—even while at the bar. Not sure on that one—ever done it?

Stick to clear drinks—the dark ones have cogeners, which just sound bad— you don’t want cogenors.

Eat food before toasting and drinking.

Some people swear by peanut butter sandwiches.

And of course, they say not to take the hair of the dog—but you know, I noticed over the years that people who had a Bloody Mary seemed fine in early afternoon.

Anecdotal, of course.

Sooo…cheers, my babies!

Oh--and that picture? My good-bye to 2011.

Save money, time, life itself

2011-12-29T11:32:00.000-08:00

In 2012, as usual, we can ignore all medical advice and start following all old advice—or something like that. This stuff goes in and out of season.

But I read a story recently that had a few new wrinkles in it.

First, forget loading in the vitamins. Folic acid, magnesium and zinc, in one study, actually shortened women’s lives—statistically.

Liposuction—so sad, too bad, but it just moves fat someplace else—or rather, sucks it out and it re-establishes elsewhere. You know fat—very tricky.

Household appliances may make asthma worse—it’s the electromagnetic fields moms are exposed to in the form of microwaves, vacuum cleaners, and hair dryers that gets passed to the kids.

Staring at a screen before bed keeps the sleep hormone melatonin from secreting. Keep it dark at least an hour before trying to sleep.

Pick only winning teams—cheering for a losing team can bring on an ER visit.

Watch the commute—more than 45 mins for one person can make a couple 40% more likely to split.

The bigger the city you live in, the more stress. One doc even said if everyone were born in the country, there would be 30% fewer people with schizophrenia.

I have no idea if that’s true or what you should make of all this—just thought it was interesting.

The fat trap

2011-12-28T08:59:00.000-08:00

Maybe we need to SHUT our fat trap.

That is the term NYT health reporter Tara Parker-Pope uses for the body’s built-in resistance to losing pounds permanently.

You can read the whole sad tale at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/tara-parker-pope-fat-trap.html

This is all I heard at the holiday parties—“I shouldn’t..” “I am completely stuffed…” “I will regret this…” On and on.

This fat stuff has careened out of control, so to speak. Do this, don’t do that, this person is fat, that one is…you’re doomed, you’re weak, you’re stupid.

You know a book I loved—Candy & Me: A Love Story by Hilary Liftin. Buy a used copy on Amazon. It chronicles this gal’s love of candy. She goes into each of her favorites and when and where she first savored it.

Candy—the enemy. But it’s this woman’s reason for living.

Life is short, it’s funny, it’s horrible, it’s frightening…sometimes a cookie is not evil.

Music as pain reliever

2011-12-27T08:08:00.000-08:00

I don’t know about you, but I don’t have money these days—and can’t afford doctor copays or a lot of medical nonsense. I am also not crazy about slamming in a bunch of drugs, even if they are cheap, which they seldom are.

So…I was interested in a December The Journal of Pain piece on how music can ease pain for some people.

This came from the Univ of Utah Pain Research Center. They think you can substitute a concentration on music for concentration on pain.

This takes er…concentration. The music pathways compete with the pain pathways.

At first the researchers thought those with lowest anxiety about pain would be able to switch concentration to music better—but it turned out to be the opposite. High anxiety people who could absorb themselves readily did the best.

Anxiety and absorption were linked—they may look at that more.

Do you find these science snippets interesting? I do.

No snow--just wait

2011-12-26T08:32:00.000-08:00

Well, here in the desert, the wait is long. But elsewhere there is plenty of the white stuff and it needs some relocation.

Snow shoveling injuries started in October!

Thousands of people injure themselves every winter slinging the stuff around.

Heart attacks are the least of it—7%.

The lower back is usually the focus of the agony. Muscles are cold and tight, with less blood supply—they cramp, they spasm, ouch!

Andrew Peretz, MS, of Somers Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine Group (www.somersortho.com), says warm up first—5 or 10 minutes. March in place. Run up and down stairs.

Use the right shovel—not the one invented 100 yrs ago with the short handle and big wide surface. Get one with a curved handle and made of lighter material.

Use your leg muscles not your back.

Push snow aside if you can—don’t lift.

Use kitty litter or sand under your feet to prevent slipping.

If your doc says shoveling is OK—it is good exercise.

And that cocoa sure tastes good after.

Jump for joy, why don'tcha?

2011-12-23T08:27:00.000-08:00

When I was young, I clicked off the years from Christmas to Christmas—that was my high point. Now…the economy, the wear and tear of living…it’s sort of a job. But kids still have that sparkle.

It snows and they scream with happiness! When the radio says school is closed, they swoon! They play outside until their little hands are too cold to hold hot chocolate.

So… let’s look at it through the eyes of kids—that special excitement.

But…of course…playing outside also works off calories, Healthy Schools reminds us…to wit:

Dashing through the snow—half an hour—330 cals.

Jumping for joy…330 cals

Sledding—220 cals

Decking some halls – 120 cals

Reading stories – 30 cals

Building a snowman – 140 cals

And

Making snow angels—107 cals

Merry Christmas, all!

Someone in the hospital?

2011-12-22T08:57:00.000-08:00

Hospitals at Christmas can be sort of extra-sad. I once wanted to play with a security guard’s German shepherd when hospitalized at Easter—no one was around.

The Univ of Alabama-Birmingham has some tips if you have a relative or friend in the hospital at this giddy time of year.

This Alabama hospital system does try to cheer things up, by collecting toys and stockings for kids and maybe some music.

If the person is not in intensive care, you can bring some decorations. If the doc says OK, maybe a favorite treat or dish.

Ask if the patient can get a massage—that would be a good gift.

Or how about Skype—most hospitals have wifi.

If your friend is well provided for cheer-wise, then look for rooms with no visitors or signs of the season—maybe you can bring a little cheer there.

Under no conditions, though—The Little Drummer Boy. You have been warned.

Should you take up running?

2011-12-21T09:12:00.000-08:00

My Dad ran—before the word “jogging” was invented. My sibs run—my sister, in fact, ran everyday for 20 years. Now—two hip replacements, a sore knee, bad back…and when people tell her they run, she cannot resist warning them that they are courting disaster.

I say let people find their own disaster—no wait, I do warn against bad eye surgeons and weird approaches to atrial fib. Never mind.

Chris Sebelski, asst prof of physical therapy at Saint Louis University, says running is the sport for everyman and everywoman.

But—YOU NEED A PLAN!

First, get an overall checkup. Talk about your exercise plans, Better to prevent injuries than deal with them later.

Set realistic goals. If you are a slug, start small—running and walking. Maybe even journal what you do.

If you can’t go one day or a few days—just get back to it ASAP.

You may be hungrier—but don’t start stuffing…Eat lean meat and whole grains.

Maybe consider cross-training—some yoga or resistance (weights).

Running can be boring—go with someone. Go to different places, maybe a nearby track.

Put your times on Facebook.

And I would add—take one day off a week. Those muscle fibers need to reknit. Also—if something hurts really badly, don’t just run through it.

You could be sorry when you get old.

But in the meantime--did I mention that you will get a huge rush? Why do you think people do it?

Moms of preemies need extra care, too

2011-12-20T11:56:00.000-08:00

My niece was under two pounds—she’s now almost 40 with her own strapping son and my sister had no real problems after the birth.

But researchers at the Univ of Wisconsin-Madison says the stress of a low birth weight child can affect the mother’s health in a lot of cases.

To be low birth weight—the kid must be under 3.3 pounds. More than 63,000 such children are born each year.

The Wisconsin docs studied 297 mothers of babies under this limit (2003, 2004). Also—290 mothers of normal weight babies during the same time period.

Five years after the birth, the mothers of low birth weigh babies tended to have more physical problems.

The more time in the NICU, the more likely the mother was to have problems in five years.

The key to minimizing problems was a good social support network. Mothers need to tend to their own checkups and preventive steps.

So…mothers…the baby is not the only patient.

Seriously--220 lbs in 3 mos?

2011-12-19T07:57:00.000-08:00

I don’t usually harp on the diet thing—and I find the title THE BIGGEST LOSER disgusting, but supposedly that winner lost 220 lbs in 3 mos?

This is way more than people who have their intestines short-circuited down to nothing so they absorb almost no food.

I saw reports of people in this program—was it Medifast—that stay on the treadmill 8 hrs a day. But even then...

Also, I saw comments that this guy was sort of a jerk—thanked his wife by getting her used car.

No—I am not tossing my TV—but am unable to see how this is really possible…I guess someone documented it, right?

Well-this confirms it—men lose weight more easily than women!

Is he going to need some skin surgically lopped off--anything? This defies logic!

Music to soothe the savage Santa

2011-12-16T09:22:00.000-08:00

Feeling…um…freaked out? I’m not—life is simpler when you can’t afford gifts.

But remember—music—those beautiful carols—are healing.

The ancient Greeks and even those before them touted music as soothing—the savage beast and all that.

Low tones—stringed instruments—60 beats per minute—ah, bliss.

Of course, there are neurological reasons. They have done studies on surgical patients—hearing music through headphones resulted in better outcomes. Same for heart patients.

Music—they theorize, this is still mysterious—activates the powerful parts of the brain that respond to food, sex, and drugs.

They stuck people in a machine—yup—responding.

So…with the exception of The Little Dummer Boy—enjoy those carols. They could save your life.

"Diet" fast food--sorta

2011-12-15T09:03:00.000-08:00

Jessica Bartfield, MD, an internist specializing in nutrition and weight management (oh joy) at Loyola, says even the dreaded fast food can be OK to eat.

She favors sandwich shops that allow lots of veggie toppings and less dressing or mayo. Subway, cough Subway? (Their dressings gag me, but don’t mind me.)

A cup of soup or chili is OK No bread bowls—what were you thinking?

Always go for grilled, not fried. Hold off on cheese or dressing. I like hamburgers without cheese, which my kid thinks is positively warped.

Go for the smallest—that would be the Dollar One.

She also says save half for your next meal.

Yeah, am getting right on that one.

In DC, every place I lived had a Mickey D's in the same block. Sometimes kids would spill the shakes on the sidewalk and all day, in summer, they would not melt.

That was scary.

Followup for donors important

2011-12-14T09:11:00.000-08:00

Yes, getting a kidney is a big deal—but the donor also undergoes a big surgery and is left with only one kidney. Sometimes this fact is lost.

Docs say complications are rare for donors, but according to a story by Laura Neergaard, AP, long-term consequences for people left with one kidney are often not tracked.

Really—one doctor was quoted as saying—no one is taking care of the donor.

The United Network for Organ Sharing is thinking up some fixes for this. A checklist better explaining the potential consequences is one idea. Plus—more monitoring of donors. For instance, can donors get insurance?

In 2009, the Univ of Minnesota looked at 3,700 people who had donated a kidney---they found normal lifespans.

Now, though, donors are older, may be overweight. More African-Americans are donating. The game is changing.

Now, one study showed that a year after the surgery, the centers only know if 2/3 of the donors are alive or dead—much less more detail.

Comments are open on the new proposals through late December.

Some info here: http://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/ContentDocuments/Guidance_Post_Donation_Donor_FollowUp.pdf

Being a donor is giving the gift of life--you deserve some TLC yourself.

What if a holiday also marks a death?

2011-12-13T08:33:00.000-08:00

What if someone you loved dies at holiday time? Is the holiday forever changed—or even ruined?

Debra Gelbart writes about this in the AZ Republic, Dec 7, 2011.

The holiday—with the emphasis, the gathering of people—can intensify the loss.

You may want to change traditions—substitute new ones. Or, some people like to hang on to the old ways.

It’s important not to set things in stone—you may do it the old way for a couple of years, then maybe go away at holiday time, do something new.

The person who is not there will always be in your heart. If the customary celebrations make the loss for painful, try changing it up.

The first year, when the pain is new, try not to overdo, though.

Christmas care for caregivers

2011-12-12T08:52:00.000-08:00

The University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ says 70% of the five million people with dementia are cared for at home.

Big job! Stress, anxiety, burnout are never far.

The holiday season can really amp this up.

Some caregivers don’t want help—they don’t want to bother people or appear to wimp out.

So what can you do?

Well, first, call before coming over. If the caregiver always refuses—then show up for a SHORT visit—bring a treat.

Don’t ask what you can do—be specific. “I am headed for the store—what can I bring back?” “Want me to pop in the laundry?”

Be a good listener. Encourage the person to call.

Offer to spend the night.

Do the research for them—services in the neighborhood, including respite services.

If you ARE the caregiver, accept some help!

You are not Superman or Superwoman! Everyone needs a hand sometime.

Would you buy medicine from this guy?

2011-12-09T08:56:00.000-08:00

Connie Midey, AZ Republic, and HealthDay recently come forth on “thyroid support” supplements to “fight fatigue” and “lose weight.”

These contain the hormones T3 and T4, from chopped up animal glands.

These two hormones are supposed to be only in prescription drugs. They actually do something to ya!

Also risky are the herbs guggul, which can screw up your prescription thyroid medicine, and ashwagandha, which has not been tested much.

Also in this stuff: selenium. This can increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes.

The prescription thyroid meds or bio-identical stuff mixed by a compounding pharmacist are better if you have deficiencies.

As for losing weight, you would have to take a dangerous level of thyroid hormone.

Especially of some crap mixed in a basement in Mexico or someplace.

Come on—people—wise up.

Ranch--get out the ranch

2011-12-08T08:35:00.000-08:00

Anybody who reads this rag knows I am not the hugest fan of veggies. I eat broccoli everyday just about, but if pressed, will eat iceberg, which is like eating water…er, ice…nutritionally.

Veggies do contain bitter antioxidants—good for you, bad for bugs…Arugula, gack! Field greens—stay in the pasture.

Jennifer Orlet Fisher, director of the Family Eating Lab at Temple, has found that 70% of children have a hypersensitivity to bitterness.

Adding a small amount of dip, she says, helped these kids eat more of the good stuff. (Journal of American Dietetic Assn, December).

She looked at 152 preschoolers in Head Start who were served broccoli at snack time for 7 weeks. Adding 2.5 ounces of ranch dressing increased consumption by 80%. Low fat ranch worked, too.

I once wrote an article for WebMD that said that putting a little real butter on veggies made adults eat more. I bet ranch would work, too.

Maybe this sounds obvious, but sometimes the urge to cut out things like dressing is self-defeating and people do it anyhow.

Don't let kids play with gasoline

2011-12-07T09:27:00.000-08:00

It’s that time of year again—time to give advice on children’s toys that kill and maim. This is from the docs at Cincinnati Children’s.

First, read warning labels. These are so over the top now that they will mention every conceivable thing that could go wrong.

Buy age-appropriate—obvious.

Look for sturdy toys—ditto.

If there are little ones around under age 3—even if they are not the recipient-- make sure no little parts come off that could get in their mouths. One inch around,, three inches long minimum.

No cheesy jewelry that contains cadmium.

Under age 10? No plug-ins. Batteries only. Watch those teeny button batteries—they can get caught in the throat.

No strings more than a foot long.

Throw away plastic wrap immediately—the kid may run over and asphyxiate.

Now—how do adults get in those blister packs—besides holding a butcher knife and slashing while yelling eee, eee, die!

Are you careful with your contacts?

2011-12-06T08:38:00.000-08:00

According to a study in the Nov issue of Optometry and Vision Science (Am Acad of Optometry), a significant proportion of contact wearers are not following all the recommended steps for safe use.

Yet, more than 80% say they are.

Most of those studied in the Dallas-Ft Worth area and at a university eye clinic could name complications. 58% in D-FtW, and 91% in the clinic.

Risk factors for complications include: “topping off” rather than replacing solution, exposing lenses to tap water, and poor hygiene.

In actuality, only 2% were doing everything they should! Only ONE patient was perfect.

Hey, I lost vision in an eye—you don’t want to. Time to rethink.

Running clubs for kids

2011-12-05T11:36:00.001-08:00

Time was, kids ran around.

Now they are in clubs to run around. Still, it’s probably good for them. Here in Chandler AZ, they run as many laps as they can in 30 minutes. This is as much about boosting brain power as cutting obesity.

Some clubs as 450 runners!

This started a decade ago. First I heard of it.

They are told to drink plenty of water, stretch, not run in the worst heat, and relax.

Kids under 13 run more more than three miles.

Kids—like horses—like to run.

Energy drinks + sports could equal danger

2011-12-02T08:31:00.000-08:00

Robyn Norwood, USA Today, says some athletes are turning not to ‘roids or blood doping, but the legal booster Red Bull.

Meaning caffeine. Lots of caffeine.

I remember a big debate on coffee when I was in HS—when could kids drink it.

Now, docs have to write in PEDIATRICS that caffeine is bad for kids and adolescents and should not be chugged during sports or physical activity.

This stuff can whack our your heart. Or even cause seizures. Trips to the ER because a kid feels "funny" also cost.

Red Bull isn’t the only one, of course. There are dozens, some containing mysterious herbs, too.

Yes, they contain less caff than a cup of ‘Bucks.

The problem is cold drinks go down faster and kids drink more than one.

Come on, parents—look into this. It also doesn’t help that some athletes and NASCAR people endorse this stuff.

HIV patients not getting best care

2011-12-01T09:24:00.000-08:00

David Brown, Wash Post, Nov 29, 2011, says only 28% of Americans with the HIV virus are getting tiptop care.

The goal is to suppress the virus so it’s no longer detectable—only a little more than a quarter have achieved that. This is according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The problem is people who don’t know they have HIV—for those in treatment, 77% have suppressed the virus.

More than 75% of those who find they have it get into care within 4 mos—but only half of those stay in care.

People drop out because they don’t like taking all the pills, the side efx, expenses and just plain denial.

The average person with HIV lives 11 yrs if not treated.

So…this is an ongoing problem.

When we lived in DC, I lost three friends to this and I can still cry my eyes out over it if I let myself.

That was in the Bad Old Days—but those could come again.

Single parents with cancer get help

2011-11-30T08:51:00.000-08:00

Even if you have no helpmate, you can get sick. Then what—what about the income, the kids, the treatments, the phone trees?

Out here in Scottsdale, we have a group called Singleton Moms to help out.

This was started in 2006 by two women who watched a 32-yr-old friend succumb.

More than 100 single parents (some men) have been helped.

They bring in maids to clean, they bring meals, they negotiate with the bureaucrats.

Each year they have a fundraising ball.

Maybe you could start something like this?

"Customized" knee replacement

2011-11-29T11:40:00.000-08:00

There are already “male” and “female” knee assemblages. Now, docs have invented the Signature Knee.

The Signature Knee is still a metal-on-metal replacement joint, but one crafted to the patient’s individual knee structure.

Before, docs did not know what they would find inside the knee, so they had to have several sizes available.

Now, the doctor and an engineer look over the patient’s MRI or CT scan and calculate the best places to drill into the femur. These plans then go to a manufacturer in Belgium where a model of the knee is built with a laser.

It takes the doc less time, and the savings offset the cost.

Some patients walk the same day.

I do think much of medicine will be more individualized—genetic tests to see which drugs will be most effective and so on. This sounds like a step in that direction.

The shampoo wars

2011-11-28T08:07:00.000-08:00

Americans sent billions down the drain last yr. In the form of shampoo.

Did you know of the cheap stuff is just as good as the pricey? You don’t have to buy at the salon.

And buying at Walmart is even cheaper.

Suave or White Rain is about a buck at W’s--$1.25 in the grocery store.

To really save money, use less. For long hair—a nickel-size amount, less for short hair.

This is especially true for salon stuff—it’s very concentrated.

Generally speaking, the lower cost ones work as well as the premiums. It might be worth more, though, to get a color-preserving shampoo.

We go to the Dollar Store and get that coconut stuff, which leaves my hair very shiny, along with some cheap conditioner.

I never rinse and repeat…that uses twice as much. Where did that get started anyhow? Someone had a genius marketing idea there. Where else do you do things twice?

Always give the dog seconds? Brush your teeth, then load up the brush again? Wash your clothes--OK, once more?

Don't mess up those white choppers

2011-11-23T09:26:00.000-08:00

Robert Preidt, AZ Republic, Nov 20, 2011, says if you pay for some expensive teeth whitening, you need to protect it by eating the right things.

It’s like losing weight—you don’t want to backslide.

Some foods keep your teeth white—firm veggies such as apples, green beans, cauliflower, carrots and celery scrape stuff off teeth.

Dairy products—cheese especially—are good for teeth.

Watch the tobacco, soy sauce, soft drinks, red and white wine, and blueberries.

Yes, white wine, too.

HAPPY T-DAY ALL!

Give us this day our glucomannan

2011-11-22T09:15:00.001-08:00

Certain noodles can help you lose the el-bees. They come from the Asian konjac plant. It’s a water-soluble fiber, also called glucomannan.

Besides noodles you can get a powder to throw on your food or in a shake.

This stuff may help you lower cholesterol, keep glucose under control, and exert a MILD effect on weight. Maybe.

At very least, it’s not harmful.

Look for shirataki or yam noodles. They may be refrigerated and packed in water.

With veggies, they may also be tasty, who knows. Have you tried them?

I am a ramen gal--probably doing nothing for me but adding too much salt.

Honey is money

2011-11-21T09:03:00.000-08:00

Yes, it comes from a bee’s bee-hind, so to speak, but it’s delish and has many good properties and uses.

First, it has antiseptic properties—you can make a bandage with honey inside for infections. They even recommended it when my kid had MRSA. Try to get Manuka UMF honey for this.

It’s pure energy—yes, a carb, but one spoonful can help you run faster and endure. It’s absorbed fast!

Put it on toast or in tea for a morning jumpstart.

It’s full of antioxidants—put some in water with lemon and drink each day. It may also have anti-cancer properties.

Hangover? Combine honey, orange juice and yogurt to chase the yuks.

It’s also good for sore throats.

Honey and vinegar are good for arthritis.

Honey and cinnamon—can stop hair loss and bad breath.

You can also make a moisturizing facial mask with it.

Sticky but good for ya.

Does a patient know best?

2011-11-18T08:42:00.000-08:00

Laura Landro, WSJ, Nov 7, 2011, says come next fall, hospitals can lose 1% of their Medicare payment if they miss quality care goals or patients give them a bad rap.

Thus—hospitals are putting personnel through customer-service training.

Patients like cleanliness, quiet and someone who listens.

The hospitals are therefore adding massage, reflexology and concerts.

Some hospitals are also instituting a program I heard about decades ago—HEART. This stands for hear the concern, empathize, apologize, respond and thank.

Some hospitals also issue “Lavender Alerts”—for families that are stressed out.

All this is to the good. People with good English skills would also be a plus. And I am not a huge fan of the hospitalist system under which your care is turned over to a strange doctor, sometimes with limited social and language skills, for the duration of your stay.

I know this is supposed to be a plus—but it has never been one for me. I had to get a hospitalist almost physically shanghaied to my room and told him, “You have to talk to me!”

Another time, a hospitalist put our mother in restraints because she was inconvenient.

Still, many experts and some doctors say patients don’t really know what is great and what isn’t. I guess there are exceptions from what you think would be best—I know many big city trauma centers in the worst parts of town and oldest buildings are the best places to be taken.

Shaking hands with food

2011-11-17T09:14:00.000-08:00

People are always wringing their hands over what to eat or not eat, what is “bad” and what isn’t.

Food is body fuel. But it is also a social ritual—and one of life’s great pleasures.

If you second guess it every second, feel guilty, hang your head, confess to people, you are leaving a lot of pleasure on the table, so to speak.

I am a big woman, always have been…I eat what I like now, don’t do the scale deal, and am trying to enjoy life. I worry, too, though—that my low income and ramen lunch EVERYDAY is wasting my time on earth with crappy, boring food.

Also I don’t cook. And my stove is on its last legs anyway…well, burners.

A columnist in our paper wrote that even though she is a perpetual dieter, she is going to eat some holiday goodies. So there!

This does not mean a whole ham or batch of cookies—but some tasty stuff.

Preferably free—at someone else’s house.

And maybe a beverage—same terms.

Join me?

Cheers!

Presents for poor old folks

2011-11-16T09:04:00.000-08:00

We are on a, ahem, limited budget, and I needed kitchen sponges for months before springing for them—kept putting them in the dishwasher to no visible effect.

My daughter was ribbing me—“I heard you in your room saying sponges, sponges.”

Banner Hospitals in this area has some ideas for us broke oldies for the hols.

First, if you know someone older who may not get to the store much or is snacking on crackers and so on for meals, look into what hot meal programs are available—just finding out for someone can be a gift!

Do they need help paying monthly bills—sit down with them and go through the mess.

What about a computer and a couple of lessons?

A booklet of coupons for rides places?

Toothpaste, floss, shampoo, that sort of thing. It may sound weird to offer that, but it might be welcomed.

Canned food? Make those shelves look loaded! (No--not cat food--unless the person has cats.)

Also a new sweater for turned-down thermostats.

And don’t forget to throw out the hook—invite them to parties and holiday meals.

Sometimes just calls are nice—if you are “wealth challenged” yourself.

Once, when I was WAY younger, someone gave me a huge carton of oranges…It seemed like a weird gift, but we ate them all! It was memorable—and yes, a little weird.

Be realistic--the blues may sneak up

2011-11-15T08:23:00.000-08:00

First, get this straight. If your family is more Jerry Springer than Rebecca at Sunnybrook Farm, you are not alone.

The holidays are tough, because family members are thrown in a room together sometimes. The big wad-up, as one woman I know calls it. Alcohol may be served. Uh-oh.

Also, you are supposed to be cheery and thrilled. You must be! What is wrong with you?

Uh, no money to buy presents, age-old gripes, perversity, who knows.

Too much sugar, food tox from rich delicious stuff, too little sleep, stomping around malls…it adds up.

Then when it’s formally over, you feel let down. Drat—not even irritation and exhaustion to look forward to.

Some tips from Banner Hospitals in Phoenix:

Remember, it’s about a birth, a great past moment.

Don’t expect much to change from last year.

Invite people who will pitch in and help. Let the slugs go to their own party (Banner did not say that, I did).

Go look at lights other people put up if you don’t feel like doing it.

Yes—it’s the end of the year, a natural time to sort of sum up and if the sum isn’t what you want, well, regroup.

You get another try.

Exercising for two

2011-11-14T09:01:00.000-08:00

We get a supplement from a local hospital in our paper, and today it quoted Tiffany Weathers, MD, an OB-GYN with Banner Ironwood Physicians on exercising while preggers.

Generally, she says, if you are healthy, you can continue to exercise. It strengthens muscles for pushing and is especially helpful if you develop diabetes during gestation.

I walked a lot—I COULD walk a lot then, well, waddle… The hip ligaments open up and soften, so you sort of roll along.

If you have been exercising all along, you can continue—maybe not the marathon like that gal of a couple of weeks ago. Walking, yoga, light aerobics.

If you have any of these problems, ask the doctor:

Preterm labor in the past.

Vaginal bleeding.

Cervical problems.

Leaking of fluid.

Shortness of breath.

Dizziness or fainting.

Slowdown of baby movement.

High blood pressure.

Do not ride horses, waterski, scuba dive, ski at high altitudes, lie on your back a lot, work out hard in hot weather.

I have already heard hot tubs are not a good idea—you don’t want to cook the little guy or gal.

Fat banking

2011-11-11T10:45:00.000-08:00

Finally, some good use for fat.

Hope you didn’t just eat, but Wendy Schmid, Harper’s Bazaar, says the new hot happening, darlings, is banking your fat. Or more accurately, freezing it and paying someone to hang onto it.

Not fat—think of it as “cosmetic filler.” You can get someone to spackle into into your wrinks at a distant time.

A place called BioLife Cell Bank in Dallas will do the honors.

While they don’t exactly recommend “banking” the gunk in your 20s just for later use, they do say stem cells are less potent if you suck it later.

No, you don’t get liposuction—it damages the cells.

They use other techniques—a, pardon the expression, soda can’s worth can last a lifetime.

It costs $2500 for “removal.” Then count on $1700 for the first year of storage and $200 a year after.

Then, some doc has to squeeze it back in at some point.

Does it hurt? Only the walletectomy.

Still, I have found that just having a fat face smooths those wrinkles amazingly well.

The wasted bucks REALLY stinks

2011-11-10T08:55:00.000-08:00

According to Loyola, the US is winning against the evil smoking habit. Fewer people are starting, and 3 million quit a year. Still, a fifth of adults smoke. My kid is among them. She apparently started when she was 12—love those parochial schools chockful of naughty peers .

Anyhow, now that we are struggling economically (she is still at home), I took note of the fact that a pack a day runs $3,300 a year!

And it’s bad for ya, you might have heard--cancer, heart disease, blah blah.

A year after quitting, the excess risk of heart disease is half that of a smoker’s.

Twenty minutes after quitting, Loyola said, your heart rate and blood pressure drop. Twenty minutes? That makes no sense…

Moving on…

Eighty percent of lung cancer is thought to be from smoking. Quitting even 25 years before does not help ya.

That Chantix stuff can really cause you problems… Don't you love the commercial that says this stuff is great, you can still smoke for a week?

This is a mixed picture. It’s best to try to quit, I guess…think of the money if nothing else.

But I also get irritated by the national nannies who won’t let you work for them if you smoke at home and otherwise try to mind your business.

Can be many causes of knee pain

2011-11-09T09:23:00.000-08:00

Ralph Wilson, an orthopedic surgeon in Gilbert, AZ, wrote in the Chandler Republic, Nov 9, 2011, that even a finding of “bone on bone” meaning cartilage is all worn away in the knee may not be the cause of knee pain. People with bone on bone can have no pain.

Other causes of pain could be psoriasis, sciatica, or an arthritic hip. Gout can also cause it.

A Novocaine shot in the hip can help the knee in some cases.

This may mean back x-rays in addition to knee x-rays, as well as blood tests. Maybe even an MRI. That is the one I never want to get!

So I limp on.

Psoriasis? I have that. Let me check that out.

Mother's little helpers

2011-11-08T08:16:00.000-08:00

ABC News had a story on how moms are too freaked out these days to sleep without a pill.

How to make the mortgage, will the kids have a better life than the parents, why aren’t the schools teaching them anything…you can get in a hamster wheel of thoughts at night.

Especially in this disgusting economic calamity or whatever it is.

A 2007 study by the National Sleep Foundation found that three in 10 women use some sleep aid a few nights a week. This is twice as common as men doing it.

I sometimes take a melatonin. But others are taking the Big Boys—Ambien, Lunesta, Klonopin.

One woman said she was “always plugged in”—could not turn it off. She wakes in the middle of the night—and it’s all over for that night.

Some things to try instead of meds…If necessary learn to leave dishes in the sink and just go to bed.

Give yourself a half hour to unwind.

An hour before bed, make a to-do list for the next day. Then you won’t do that in your head in bed.

Put away the devices.

Get out of bed if you can’t sleep.

Even warm milk is worth a try.

I listen to my audiobooks…on an MP4 player—only the screen is lit. Turning on lights reboots you. Not good.

I used to think this was dumb

2011-11-07T09:18:00.000-08:00

I used to hear older people say all their friends were dead. I thought, wow, bummer. Now, some of mine are. And others have drifted off.

It didn’t help that I moved away from my home of 35 yrs to help take care of my own aging mother. It’s hard to keep up. Oddly, some friends from college are more in touch than people I knew in Washington more recently.

Of course, they have done studies—if you have friends, you are more connected to life and live longer. Something like that.

Recently, the Arizona Republic did a story on friending people as you grow older. They had some suggestions for getting friends.

First, you can join a career group, such as the local chamber of commerce.

You could volunteer—get out, meet people.

Go to community events.

Take a class. In DC, we had a thing called First Class—short classes in this and that.

You could maybe find friends on a social site. A couple of people called me from Facebook, asked me to lunch, then never really did it.

The best thing of all is to smile when you are out—it’s a friend magnet.

Also—don’t expect to much. Just do it to do it.

Doctors--lie down till the thought passes

2011-11-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

I can’t see well (thanks to medical care I opted to succumb to), and never could drive, so even a routine doctor visit means getting a ride from my sister, who is willing, but I don’t want to wear out the option.

Then comes the paperwork—I don’t want to put my Social…that is discussed. Then the scale—yes, all ills, every one, stem from excessive size—so this is a big issue. I will not get weighed. Blah blah…that is not pleasant.

Then the long wait in the “little room.” Cold in there.

Then the doctor comes, eager to write a script, diddle with the computer, turf me to an expensive specialist—I don’t even have the $35 copay, people, but do the referral in case my ship ever comes in.

Say I get my hands on $35, then another ride…then the specialist…first the scale…nope—blah blah... Then probably an x-ray or test, meaning a ride, waits, etc.

Then try to get the results—no news does not mean you are OK, it may mean the test was done in the wrong name, it’s on someone’s desk, etc.

They want you to come back for another copay to hear the results—no, just tell me on the phone.

THEN, a recommended approach. But what if that is something I have tried that failed me (warfarin, for instance). Try physical therapy before anything more drastic? Good idea, but rides…I would need many rides.

Surgery? Lose weight first? We have discussed already.

Ack. I hate this. Why do they want us to live so long anyhow—they can’t afford us anyway.

Just writing this makes me feel like Jabba the Noncompliant Hut!

Dutch psychologist fudged

2011-11-03T12:25:00.000-07:00

Eat this—no wait, that will kill you. Take this supplement…or wait a sec, maybe…

Who knows what to do anymore.

All we have is the faint hope that some smart scientist is spending countless lonely hours and shepherding swarms of assistants to gather data and trying to find out what works, what’s what, and what we should do.

Then—inevitably—we chip at it—did a corporation pay this researcher to nudge results its direction? Were there enough people in the study? Was it designed well? Does it mean squat? Was the study even done or was it pure fiction?

Benedict Carey, NYT, Nov 2, 2011, writes about some dude named Diederik Stapel, Tillburg University in Holland, who is being questioned about studies he did on hypocrisy, racial stereotyping and advertisements.

He, of course, hopped on a website immediately and beat his sorry little chest…”I have failed as a scientist and researcher… yick yack.”

He published more than 150 papers with “sexy” results that got publicity. He was “lord of the data,” never let any other researchers examine it (two-thirds of Dutch researchers say they don’t).

Two thousand American researchers studied by the Harvard Business School found that 70% said—anonymously—that they had cut some corners.

Statistical errors were another widespread problem. Math, people, math!

Maybe saying most people are foaming racists is “softer” than saying everyone should be piling in the vitamins, but both are sloppy!

You are wasting my time, people, and dragging down big salaries while doing it. I don’t like it.

Growing pains are real

2011-11-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

Gremlyn Bradley-Waddell, AZ Republic, Nov 2, 2011, writes that 25-40% of kids experience “growing pains.”

Usually these aches and cramps come in the night and are below the knee.

Often these arise after a very physical day. About all that can be done to prevent them is good quality, supportive shoes.

If these pains continue or extend into the morning or pop up during exercise—you might want to tell the doctor.

In the meantime, some attention, massaging the area, or some ibuprofen can help.

Smelly house

2011-11-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

Remember those house-a-tosis ads? I always think of that when I walk in—is it EW or EAU?

There is such a thing as occupancy odor—I wrote about this once for WebMD. It’s BO, PO (pet odor), fresheners, cooking, products, etc.

Febreze did a study—people don’t clean 75% of their porous surfaces—couches, rugs, pillows—regularly. These soak up stinks and hold them.

Smell is directly linked to emotion. Smell a perfume—WHAM, you think of the guy you were with or the woman who wore it.

Now, EPA people can grab some air and analyze it. They found people could not describe a smell but could tell you how it made them FEEL.

Experts say add a pleasant smell—no smell at all is described as unpleasant.

The smell you add can affect you. Peppermint lowers the error rate on boring tasks.

Osmanthus, a new, made-up scent from Asia—fruit and floral—is hot now—most people like it.

Sooo…when you come home today, see how your house makes you feel. I often feel I need more cat boxes.

Jeez, Star--don't you ever give up on the disgusting.

Toxic bosses can make us sick

2011-10-31T09:52:00.000-07:00

A mean person with no boundaries and power over us. Ah—what a dream. Madeline Vann, MPH, Everyday Health, says bosses who throw things, screamers, people who crave chaos in order to excel, all can hurt those under them.

Bullies—a lot of them—bullies with no playground. They can “correct” you in front of others, steal your ideas, talk behind your back, the possibilities are endless.

Lynn Taylor, author of Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant, is quoted as saying people spend 19 hrs a week worrying about the boss. Six of those hours are on weekends.

This can cause depression, heart problems, overeating, asthma attacks, insomnia, and the consumption of tons of sick leave.

What can you do? First see the problem for what it is—them, not you. Write everything down.

Think of the boss as a toddler—is he or she hungry, tired, overwhelmed…Maybe a juice box?

I added the juice box.

Find a trusted sounding board-OK, person who isn’t sick of hearing about this.

Or—look for a job.

The juice box sounds easier. My advice? Take it one tantrum at a time.

Actually some bosses also wrote in on this--employees who malinger, who steal, who miss deadlines, who don't shower...they had their own beefs.

You are officially off the hook for...

2011-10-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

Do you like that Suze Orman person—who screeches "DENIED" at people when they want to spend a buck? I am not a fan. But I do think we need someone to say yes or no on things. Just not her, with her orange canvas outfits.

I saw a story in Working Mother (Nov 2011) about things you can take off your To Do List. What a great idea to cut stress!

The magazine says you can remove:

Zumba Class
Scrapbooking
Learning to knit
Hosting a dinner party

These come from The Happiest Mom by Meagan Francis.

Now, I have some…

Learning to make scratch piecrust
Cooking all meals on Sunday and freezing
Dog obedience school
Weedeating

And that’s just for starters! Got some more, readers? Let’s go easy on ourselves.

By the way, Working Mother is such a good mag I still get it and my kid is almost 30. I am dropping it, though, because they went to a new design that yellow-highlights things for me in the stories. That is so dumb.

Breathe, people

2011-10-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

In the 1970s, I had a job, but also went to a yoga ashram for class every evening—we learned yogic breathing, in which your stomach comes out instead of being sucked in. The way babies breathe, their tummies going up and down.

Since women don’t like to stick their stomachs out, and since people get more stiff and armored, we gradually forget how to breathe.

Sometimes I find myself barely taking in any air—just now, for example.

We need oxygen and that mysterious prana energy stuff that suffuses us from air—this comes from pranic breathing.

A LA board-certified urologist and surgeon named Eric Robins, MD, hooked up with Master Stephen Co to emphasize therapeutic breathing.

This is called the Nine Energizing Breaths—and the book is called The Power of Prana. Robins credits this for helping his own Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

For more info on how to breathe this way, go to www.thepowerofprana.com.

Basically it amounts to relaxing, sitting or lying, positioning your tongue on the roof of your mouth and making sure your stomach is coming out on the inhale, meaning the diaphragm is coming down. Think of your lungs filling from the top down.

Try it up to 10 times, then repeat unless you are dizzy. Also—pregnant women should not do everything in the book—ask your doctor about it. This also applies to people with high blood pressure, or heart or lung ailments.

Still—breathing is free. Might be worth a shot.

Do not reuse needles--got that?

2011-10-26T09:48:00.001-07:00

Every time I read about infections, someone says a hospital or clinic has reused needles. Can we just agree that is really, really dumb and stupid?

Laura Landro, WSJ, Oct 25, 2011, says the Centers for Disease Control is launching a new website for cancer patients and caregivers. Prevent infections! Cancer patients are vulnerable. For one thing, chemo can lower the number of protective white cells.

And, I might add— cancer patients ENOUGH PROBLEMS ALREADY!

But patients also need to do a part to prevent infections. They need to wash their hands regularly.

Get someone else to empty the litter boxes and deal with poop.

Of COURSE—no reuse of needles. But also watch for uncapped needles lying around the treatment center.

Get a flu shot. (Read today it’s 59% effective—but better than nothing.)

Staffers are asked to get flu shots, too.

How about common sense? If your nephew is sick, don’t have him come over. Don’t go out in crowds of coughing people.

In other words, wise up.

Check out the CDC stuff at https://www.preventcancerinfections.org/

Old-age commune--with pool guy

2011-10-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

My sister and I oversee our mother’s care in assisted care—and have for 17 yrs. She cannot manage on her own.

She can pay $3000 a mo—we will never be able to when it comes our turn. And our turn is sort of here, we are both quakier that she is.

So….My friends and I jokingly talk about banding together and taking care of each other—maybe with a cute employee to fetch our prescriptions, cook, clean the pool (a must), and mix the Cosmos at twilight.

Could this happen, though? I guess it’s sort of a Golden Girls scenario with diseases and disabilities.

Could we swing it on SS? We need to do a budget.

It would have to be someplace warm…

Breast cancer followup--ask your doctor?

2011-10-24T10:27:00.000-07:00

Anahad O’Connor, NYT, Oct 24, 2011, reports on a decent-sounding study that suggests that letrozole (Femara) improves the odds of survival to a greater degree that the gold-standard followup medicine tamoxifen.

I am not a doctor, I do not play one on TV, but this may be worth talking to your doctor about.

Sixty percent of breast cancers are sensitive to estrogen or estrogen-receptor positive. This study in The Lancet Oncology, financed in part by the National Cancer Institute and yes—by the maker of letrozole—looked at 8,010 women

They followed these women for about eight years. After surgery, letrozole and tamoxifen were given some of the women alone for five years, or in sequence, first one, then the other.

The women who took letrozole five years after surgery had a 20% lower chance of recurrence and were 21% less likely to die over those who got tamoxifen alone. The combo did not lower the likelihood of recurrence or death over letrozole alone.

So…while each individual person is not a statistic—this might be worth asking about.

Secret plan to kill us

2011-10-21T10:11:00.000-07:00

I am trying to decide on a new Medicare plan—or maybe I will keep the old one. I am increasingly convinced, however, that this process is a nefarious plan to frustrate seniors and raise their BP to fatal levels.

First, I made the decision to get an HMO—a so-called Advantage plan—when my supplemental went up and up in price. I loved that supplemental—I wanted to marry it. But it was too expensive.

So…I decided to ride the Advantage plans down—the admin has vowed to gut them for being just too darn nice to us.

The Advantage plan I had in 2011 was OK—I could not afford to see a specialist ($35), but that was probably OK since they just make you feel sicker or more fat and decrepit.

But—I had a grievance against the one specialist I did see—and this plan did not give a fig. Hmmm.

Also they chirped around about how they would send a doctor to my HOUSE to assess me—thanks but no thanks.

So…I called my broker. Brokers are good, by the way, they can cut through a lot of BS.

Before he came, I called one of the plans I was considering. They had sent me a “Tool Kit.” This tool kit consisted of an alphabetical list of docs—does not help me in finding another eye doctor. Also the tool is a blank piece of paper you can write your doc’s name on and your meds—then apparently you take this to some meeting in a nearby motel—then what, I have no idea.

There was also a blank page in there for “Doodles,” it said. I like a health plan that focuses on creativity.

In the fullness of time, the broker came over and went compared apples, oranges, kiwis and bananas on several plans—bottom line, I am sticking with the one I have.

Whew. Over with and I lived.

Candy you hate? Seriously?

2011-10-20T09:59:00.000-07:00

Yup—the Loyola Center for Fitness is so worried you will bolt down the Halloween candy, it advises only buy the kind you hate.

Also, delay buying it—less time for it to call to you from the garage or wherever.

Don’t get chocolate—people eat that. That means YOU!

Eat a healthy meal so you won’t be hungry, Loyola says.

Chew sugarless gum.

Oh—and I love this one—keep the wrappers so you can see how much you ate.

Also, confiscate the candy. Dole it out for desserts.

Mom used to do that last—we found it months later, all nasty and chalky.

Loyola also says give out Halloween pencils instead of comestibles. How about stickers instead of Snickers? Raisins? Packages of microwave popcorn?

Oh, stop, stop, stop.

Fun is officially dead. RIP, fun.

Disabled can get slighted on tests, treatments

2011-10-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

David Song, writing in the Harvard Crimson, tells of a paraplegic woman who could not weigh herself to get the proper amount of chemo.

Another woman with cerebral palsy was duct taped to keep her still—they did not have Velcro straps.

OK, you already have a problem—but what if you get another one that requires treatment. Will you get it?

What if you can’t get in a scanner or MRI, or even onto a table?

Women with disabilities may not be urged to get mammograms or Paps.

Perhaps providers feel their lifespan is limited anyway.

This is pretty darn crappy when you stop to think of it!

I once saw a show where a paralyzed woman was pregnant—I wondered how she could push. They actually went to great lengths to help her—and I don’t think they just gave her a C-section.

Maybe because it was on TV?

We have to look out for this kind of thing.

You probably need a new pillow

2011-10-18T09:17:00.000-07:00

Karen Haywood Queen writes about pillows in the Costco Connection for October.

Signs you need a new pillow are: You wake up with a sore back or neck. Your pillow is so flat, you have to bend it to get any loft. Or maybe it was from a bargain bin. Or maybe you heard someplace that pillows can get infested with microscopic ickies.

A good pillow can last 20 years, a cheapie only 3.

The biggest pillow is not always the best. Seventy percent of people sleep on their side. Twenty percent on their back. Ten percent on their stomach.

A side sleeper needs the most support. A back sleeper can use a medium-firm to firm. A stomach sleeper might want a mooshier (medium density) number.

You might also want allergen-free if you suffer from sniffles. These can even contain feathers and down if done right.

Memory foam also lets air circulate—some people get hot heads.

Use a pillowcase—protects against oil and dirt. Usually you can wash a pillow if you want—check the tags. Do not wash memory foam, though.

I use a memory foam cylinder I got when I had eye surgery (http://healthsasspresents.blogspot.com) and love it. Lets my nose hang off to breathe.

I used to have a pillow named Flat Pat—good for balancing a book on. When I could no longer read books in bed (I listen now), my sister took Pat.

You don’t name your pillows? Silly puppy!

Good time--or eye infection

2011-10-17T12:15:00.000-07:00

Please do not stick weird crap into your eye. Listen to Auntie Star now. She is missing two-eyed vision and believe me, she liked having it.

I am talking about “funny” contacts for Halloween—to make you look like a bloodshot zombie, steel-eyed robot or a cat or something.

All contacts require fitting and proper care. Including ones to make you cuter or uglier.

Huge risk—huffs one doctor. You could ulcerate your cornea.

Ew—I did that because a surgeon had cut the nerve to my eye surface—had to have my eye sewn shut for 2 mos. Pretty bad, folks, although from the stares I got, I think it would be a good horror touch.

Are you seriously going to slam some plastic from Toys are Us in your eye?

If you do, don’t come crying to me.

Wait--those pills may have expired

2011-10-14T12:58:00.000-07:00

I once got a cough in the night—tried water, tea, and finally a slug of some old goo in the cabinet—which resulted in a banging case of the trots.

Don’t take expired drugs. Misty Vo wrote about this in the AZ Republic, Oct 14,
2011.

First—says Ms Vo—they determine expiration in a variety of ways. Some companies study the stability of the drug and its potency over time.

Others use mathematical formulas.

When the drug reaches the date, it does not mean it’s a placebo—it just means it may be losing effectiveness or has lost it.

Other factors besides time can be involved—was it stored in a hot place, etc.

Expire antibiotics can be weak-ish and just taunt the bugs and make them stronger for when they hop into the next person.

Or after taking weak stuff, you may take a full-strength prescription and get a bad reaction.

Liquids can get stronger—some of the filler evaporates and oopsie.

So look at those dates, people!

Life's a bowl of...

2011-10-13T10:12:00.000-07:00

CHERRIES! I love them. I will admit upfront the Cherry Marketing Institute is behind this!

Oh, so what—cherries are the bomb.

Yet—you people are slacking…the top fruits people eat are oranges, bananas, apples, and watermelon.

Still, only one in five of you are getting the 1-2 cups of fruit a day the national nannies recommend.

People have…wait for it…”Fruit Fatigue,” says Elizabeth Ward, MS, RD, author of MyPlate for Moms, How to Feed Yourself and Your Family Better.Tart cherries—not the gooey pie kind--are a good way to add “red.”

Yet people say they throw fruit out too much, it costs too much, it’s too hard to prepare, blah blah. Yes—I have said all this. Esp the cost.

Cherries have antioxidants—the good stuff.

Go to www.choosecherries.com to ideas on these little red beauties.

Yum—want some right now. What do I have in there? Bananas.

Well, I like those, too.

Visiting health service? I don't THINK so

2011-10-12T09:49:00.000-07:00

Are we too cynical? Can one be TOO cynical? Now, when I get a letter from the bank or my health plan—much less the G—I know it is not to help me and will possibly work against me.

I got a letter from my Medicare so-called “Advantage” plan saying they would call me to make an appointment for a doctor to come to my house to assess my “wellness.” Then that doctor would report back to “my” doctor about my health. Of course, I could have “my” doctor do this if I wanted.

Or I could refuse. I think that’s my choice.

What the heck is this? Send some doctor to my house—report back to the G that I am broke, poor or whatever, and fat, and limping?

Butt the heck out!

I am what doctors call noncompliant—I want a doctor who is up on the research, can point me to studies, does not automatically attribute everything to body size, in fact, who knows how hard to impossible it is to change that permanently—oh, and a doctor who speaks English well enough for me to discuss these things.

In the meantime, renew my BP pills and stay off my lawn.

But that’s me—this may appeal to some of you.

I am turning into a crank. Oh, shut up--I know I already am.

PS Not me in the pix--I never wear scarves on my head.

Knife in the heart

2011-10-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

Peanut butter is going to become scarce and spendy.

Oh, whatever! Why don’t our masters just mark up ramen to $5?

I shouldn’t give them ideas.

Seems…oh woe…there was a failure in last year’s peanut crop—too hot or something.

Peter Pan, Jif, Smuckers—the lot—are raising prices by as much as 40%!

A ton of raw peanuts has gone from $450 to $1,150!

Ninety percent of households eat the stuff—good protein source.

Oh—and this is nifty—chocolate is also on the hit list.

I notice the slant in this story, though—Huffpo—it went from a hot season to “climate change” causing all this sandwich mayhem.

Still—peanut butter…not fair!

What can you do? Stock up! The prices haven’t hit yet.

Robotic surgery--measure twice, cut once

2011-10-10T12:07:00.002-07:00

Especially if you are facing prostate surgery and especially if your doctor’s hospital has purchased robotic equipment, you may be hearing about robotic surgery.

This is not a robot clanking in and leaning over the table—it’s robotic arms and tools being manipulated by a surgeon at the computer.

Recently, a writer friend working in a hospital PR dept told me they were really touting the robot and she wasn’t so sure it was always the better option. She was conflicted.

Gary Schwitzer wrote about this in his HealthNewsReview blog.

His take was that the manufacturers of the robots were VERY interested in this technology being offered, recommended, and used. He cited a study in the Journal for Healthcare Quality on 400 randomly selected hospital websites on robotic surgery. About 41% of hospital websites talk about it. Of these, 37% put it on their homepage, with ¾’s using manufacturer photos or linking to a company website.

No websites mentioned risks.

Robotic surgery has jumped by 400% in the last 4 years. Proponents say it’s more precise, requiring smaller incisions and shorter hospital stays.

Others say these surgeries take longer, cost more, and the patient is under longer.

Randomized studies showing benefits are non-existent.

New does not always mean better—one doctor reminds us.

So…Look into this if it’s recommended. Who is saying it’s better--the hospital or some copy the maker wrote. See how many the doctor has done—some of this training is in weekend courses…

This is your body!

Rake those leaves--forget the gym

2011-10-07T10:14:00.000-07:00

Exercise does not have to be some hothouse deal in the gym amongst the hardbodies.

You can do yardwork, for instance.

Now is the time for it. Those leaves won’t take themselves. And let’s face it, leaf blowers are just plain dumb.

You should be happy to be outside in nature. They say.

Double digging a bed is work! Stretch first, warm up.

Concentrate on deep breathing.

Rake right-handed 15 times—left-handed 15.

Get the kids out there. There is a link between ADHD and too little time outside.

Plants are good for people’s mental health—why else bring flowers to hospitals?

Try to switch up on activities—don’t get blisters.

If you have allergies—take a Bendryl but still get out there.

Try to keep it healthy—see a bug, don’t reach for poison, rinse it off a plant with water.

And by all means—put a bench outside—sit, enjoy your efforts.

My brother used to rake leaves and sit in the pile and read.

Not just for cantaloupes

2011-10-06T10:19:00.001-07:00

Listeria is out there killing people. No, it’s not some unshaven sociopath—it’s a pathogen. A bacterium.

And it’s not usually on veggies and fruit as in the Colorado cantaloupe outbreak—it’s usually on meat and cheese.

Deli meat is a huge culprit—sitting around with surface area breeding this stuff. The meat in the packages is less prone.

The listeria bacteria get on workers’ hands and onto food. Cold does not kill it. It creeps into slicers behind the counter.

Watch unpasteurized cheeses—can be lurking.

Keep meat and veggies separate.

Listeria is less likely to get ya than e.coli and salmonella—still, another bad actor on the scene.

Listerosis, by the way, can be fatal, as this cantaloupe thing has shown. Most likely to die are infants, old people, and people with bad immune systems.

There is a new food safety law with more inspections of delis, but money is short and it may not be fully funded.

As is happening a lot these days. So we play Sandwich Roulette.

Aw, it's not that bad--just don't go to really creepy looking delis.

Will it hurt?

2011-10-05T09:47:00.000-07:00

I got my flu shot—I heard on the news that they were using a smaller needle that barely hurt. It didn’t hurt much or even at all…So get one.

But as for other “procedures,” as doctors like to call disgusting things, some really do hurt. Is it better to know what you’re in for?

Health Dialog has now whipped up something called the HD Care Compass, telling you what to expect from cardiac caths, colonoscopy, gall bladder surgery, knee and hip replacement and other “procedures.”

Go to: http://www.hdcarecompass.com/.

Usually a doctor will tell you about this stuff—or make that, sometimes the doctor will tell you. I have had many instances of not being told.

That is why I wrote my facedown recovery paper—http://healthsasspresents.blogspot.com—for one.

Sometimes, the doctor does not know—he or she has probably never had what you are getting.

Just sayin’.

For some reason this makes me think of a really stupid test I had once for reflux--they forced radioactive orange juice into my chest with a belt around my ribs--I left the room. Now THAT needed some preparation. And I didn't have reflux!

This is getting old

2011-10-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

Man, oh, man—the limping, gimping and nod. Getting “on.” We are, but we don’t want to look it. Or feel it.

Well, good luck.

Everyday my email is bulging (figuratively) with nostrums to make me look younger or correct my impudent joints.

Wendy Schmid, Harper’s Bazaar, quotes a Harvard geneticist as saying aging is treatable. Hmmm. Turns out he is referring to resveratrol—the red wine stuff—and some stuff called TA-65.

Resveratrol is a polyphenol that activates enzymes called sirtruins, which tend to slow down in midlife. These dealies promote cell survival and even makes your bod think it’s dieting and exercising when it’s not.

Ooops—statements like that make me hair stand up.

Maybe it does cut inflammation and thus wrinkle production. In mice.

TA-65 is from T.A. Sciences—it comes from the astragalus root, an antioxidant. This may lengthen the time between cell divisions and thus cell death.

But cell life length can also be a factor in cancer cells—so this could turn precancerous into cancerous.

More research needed. Also this stuff costs thousands of dollars a year.

Some docs are popping the resveratrol. Me, I await the next news story of unintended consequences. If I live long enough.

Maybe a glass of wine would be nice.

Doctor nurse?

2011-10-03T08:53:00.000-07:00

Gardiner Harris, NYT, Oct 1, 2011, says some nurses are getting doctorates and being called “Doctor.”

The nerve.

But, hey, why not? We need all the health care pros we can get—and this will continue into the future.

Nurses, pharmacists, physical therapists—all are claiming the title doctor.

Of course, the physicians are not pleased.

The nurses say the title helps them get administrative positions in hospitals. But it also helps with getting legislatures to give them the power to prescribe.

The physicians say patients will be confused. So they are pushing those same legislatures to limit who can be called doctor.

Also at issue—who does the patient see first—usually the “doctor.” But often now—physician assistants and advanced practice nurses. It’s a team now.

But it’s easier to get the title for some professions. Six to eight years of study for pharmacists, physical therapists and nurses—twice that for physicians. In 2004, pharmacists needed a doctorate. By 2015, PTs will need one.

There are many levels in between—specialized training for nurses, say, in epidemiology.

Many observers don’t see the benefit to the patient of a nurse with a doctorate and one with a master’s.

Twenty-three states already allow nurses to practice without a physician overlooking their decisions.

Nurses don’t want to be doctors, according to one expert—if they did, they would go to medical school.

Is anything EVER that simple?

Grrr...freaking out

2011-09-30T12:19:00.000-07:00

If you read this site now and then, you know I am a total hysteric.

I am not centered. I am not calm. I am not sanguine. I am not even particularly rational.

The only thing left is funny and with some common sense sprinkled in.

My internet connection has been down for 4 hours. Imagine my state.

The first two hours were OK—I breathed deeply. I contacted the phone company—they offered to email me when it came up. Well, if they could frickin’ email me, I would know it was up, wouldn’t I?

Then…I said, OK will do desk work. I did desk work.

More desk work.

Desk work is so weird—there is no typing.

So I wrote this.

I cursed the day electricity was invented. That made me feel a little better. Actually a lot better—I like gravity, but electricity has kicked up some problems.

I tried breathing again. Nothing.

Why are some of us such idiots? Man, I would be rich if I knew that.

I do know with all our tweeting twatting phoning commenting browsing surfing texting sexting drilling down blogging—this is gradually killing us, not enlightening us.

Ommmmm.

So now I am one with everything?

Well, everything would include internet—so no.

By the way, do you think it’s true that the internet is God’s brain?

Docs may overdo it--they admit it

2011-09-29T10:03:00.000-07:00

According to a survey of primary care physicians in Archives of Internal Med (Sept 26), many believe they provide too much medical care—and that malpractice reform and realignment of financial incentives would prevent this.

What the US pays per patient is twice that of the average industrialized country.

A large part of this is unnecessary.

Six hundred twenty-seven doctors were surveyed.

Nearly half—42%--said they were providing “too much” care.

Twenty-eight percent said they were more “aggressive” than they would like.

Why? Well, three-quarters said to protect themselves against lawsuits. Clinical performance measures, said 52%, made them do more than strictly necessary.

Doctors believe they are paid to do more and exposed to punishment if they do less.

You know what frosts me—when they do these big expensive things, such as MRIs, then don’t send the results to other specialists and these are repeated—and patients just go along, la-de-dah, my doctor must really care about me—ANOTHER MRI, my my.

A doctor asked to comment on this study said longer time with patients and increased communication could substitute for excessive testing. The patient would feel cared for at less expense.

Fewer people have insurance, those who do are hosed

2011-09-28T10:10:00.000-07:00

I don’t get it. Somehow it’s ducky that “kids” can stay on their parents health policies—couldn’t a healthy 20-yr-old maybe do better on an individual policy—paid by the parent of the child? Sounds like a big gift to the insurance co’s to me.

Also, as many Americans are inching along trying to survive, those with jobs are being whacked with bigger insurance costs, bigger copays, deductibles, coinsurance…on and on.

Up 10% this year—why? Can anyone say why? Because they can? Because they want to have it as high as possible before someone starts looking at it again in 2012?

Personally, on Medicare Advantage, I can’t go because specialists are $35. My insurance is for some big baddie hitting me. I am not even sure it includes a flu shot—after four calls.

Bah! Every time I see an insurance envelope for Mom, for me—I think, “Aw, Jeez, this won’t be good.”

Could your kid have a bum ticker?

2011-09-27T10:13:00.000-07:00

The Pediatric Heart Center of Children’s Hosp at Montefiore in NYC is worried about the heart ills than can befall kids coming back to school.

And you thought those vaccinations were the big woo.

People with heart probs in the family should be extra careful to get the kids checked.

Sudden Cardiac Death on the playing field—yes, it sounds bad and is bad—is devastating. It’s the leading cause of death in young athletes—not gangs or car wrecks.

Sometimes it's triggered by genetics—so that has to be taken into consideration.

I remember my parents getting bent out of shape because I was told I had a heart murmur—95% of these are nothing. But this can come from a defect or functional problem. Doctor!

Schools should have automatics external defibrillators on hand and staff should be trained to use them. Getting shocked into a normal rhythm, however, is a dice roll—it works a minority of the time, but should be an option to try.

Parents should also learn pediatric CPR. Do you know it?

OK—scared to...um...death? Now, do something about some of this!

Too much optimism sucks

2011-09-26T11:06:00.000-07:00

When people tell me to think positively--I say, "I am POSITIVE I am depressed."

Alina Tugend, NYT, Sept 23, 2011, like me, is optimism-challenged. Expect the worst, I say, and when it happens, at least you were right!

But society values optimism…unicorns, Winnie the Pooh, the disease is gone, you can sell your house.

Yet, the numbers show Americans haven’t been this bummed about the economy in three decades. Fewer than 20% expect their finances to improve (Thomson-Reuters-Univ of Mich).

Optimism (they say) is not about repeating cloying stuff to yourself—everyday in every way I am getting better and better.

One expert says optimists think of bad things as temporary—pessimists the opposite.

Pessimists often do what I call catastrophize—generalize the specific to a huge generalization. My friend put me on voicemail—my friend hates me…that sort of thing.

Still, the experts say EXTREME optimism is not good.

An extreme optimist may think he or she is living way longer than health would dictate. Or think they don’t need savings—things will work out.

In the end, both come out the same, apparently. Too much faith in the future, no safety net. Too little—why bother with a safety net.

Oh, man.

That glass half empty-full gambit--I don't even think there is a glass anymore.

They call that thinking outside the glass.

What comes next

2011-09-23T09:44:00.000-07:00

A hospitalization, a surgery—what are you looking at when the fun wears off?

Ah, after care. I once wrote part of a book on “care between the venues,” meaning the discharge instructions from ERs, hospitals, or rehab centers either to other facilities or to the patient’s home.

There are many possibilities for errors in this. Often, meds given in the facility are sent with the patient in bottles or prescription form. Should the patient take the meds already at home, prescribed by various doctors, or the new ones? Surely not both…but often this is hazy.

I have a relative facing knee surgery—one website said no driving for 2 weeks—her doctor says 4 weeks.

I was facing horrible eye surgery and was told I had to be facedown for a week or more. I had no idea what this meant. The internet yielded no info—just offers from commercial companies to rent me various weird pieces of furniture to keep my head down.

I was so confused and terrified, I sent my bouncy dog to a friend’s and he ended up dead—the dog and the friendship, both.

My advice when leaving a facility is to ask questions, get clarifications—try to do this before a surgery when you feel clear and able to think…

Try to amass the supplies you need for wound care, if that is an issue. Thrash things out with the insurance company while you are pain free or feeling lucid.

I can at least help on how to do “facedown recovery”—this is used after detached retina and macular hole surgery. I interviewed top docs (not mine) and wrote up their ideas, plus my own—and I put in pictures. I like pictures, don’t you?

You can get it for a nominal fee of $10.

Now I may need to do one on knee surgery.

Order FACEDOWN now…

Self-treating pain

2011-09-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

My relatives and pals and I are all gimping around and ooo-ing and ow-ing…is it the
“Arthur-it-is” as we used to joke (when it was funnier)? Probably. I also stepped on my foot wrong and now it hurts or threatens to. Everyone I know has some back pain.

Apart from the usual mantra of lose weight and sleep at night (both tall orders), what can a person do?

In the book End Back and Neck Pain by Vincent Fortanasce, DPT, David Gutkind, and Robert Watkins, MD, they recommend deciding if you are feeling pain—or is it stiffness? Pain means a cold pack, but stiffness can respond to heat. Heat promotes circulation to the area, carrying off substances in your muscles from spasms. If you use a heating pad on your back, be careful not to have it too hot or to fall asleep—people get burned from those!

Analyze your activities. Maintain activities you can tolerate. Poor posture may be an element.

Properly done exercise can almost work magic. Common sense + professional instruction.

Sleep well. When you sleep deeply, you get painkilling serotonin. If you are anxious or angry, painy cortisol spurts.

Long slow stretches before sleeping have a neurological effect.

My sister scoffed at all this….but when I spray hot water on my knees in the morning, I swear they squirt out more goo inside and hurt less.

Pie-schmy

2011-09-21T10:18:00.000-07:00

Not just for carving or pie anymore. That’s old school.

Dr Helen Lee, a ChicagoHealers.com practitioner, says the jolly orange fruit is full of nutrients—Vit C, E, iron, zinc, magnesium, potassium, all those antioxidants, and lutein for eyes…to name a few.

Pumpkin also aids kidney, bladder, and prostate function.

The seeds kill tapeworms. Ew.

The seeds also are high in protein.

Take raw pumpkin seeds as a snack or put them in trail mix.

Make the pie—but also eat the filling as pudding, pancakes, in waffles.

Or bake or brown pumpkin with spices and put it in risotto, chili, rice and pasta.

This ought to start you off… http://www.pumpkinrecipes.org/

Is it lunch time?

Thinking inside the ring

2011-09-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

My sister and I go out to lunch with Mom every Saturday and right outside in the mall is a boxing gym. Boxing is popular—if it ever wasn’t.

Max Jerner, AZ Republic, Sept 11, 2011, says fitness centers and gyms are nicheing out big time.

Instead of big layouts with juice bars and every machine under the sun, centers are opening that concentrate on:

Low cost. Short or no contracts.

Doing the Crossfit system—a strength and conditioning regimen. The spaces are called “boxes.” So this would be “think inside the box.”

Working with a personal trainer, such as FIIT.

Suspension exercises with ropes and pulleys.

Centers for older people or larger people.

People are tired of paying for pools, racquetball courts, daycare, and other frills they don’t use.

I can see that. I sure wouldn’t want to groan and sweat next to some studmuffin.

Easier but a bad idea

2011-09-19T11:29:00.000-07:00

The American Academy of Pediatrics says kids should stay in rear-facing car seats until they are 2 years old.

The Univ of Mich did a look-see and found that 73% of parents in their sample turned the kid around before that age. About a third turned them around before age 1.

Rear-facing is five times safer for toddlers. In a crash, the child’s back spreads out the force if the baby is facing the rear. If he or she is facing forward, the force goes along the straps.

Almost ¾ of the parents got info on when to switch the child from the instruction manual—which says 20 lbs. BUT—this does not mean change to forward facing—it means get a convertible seat that faces either way.

If you are short on funds, forget the infant seat and go straight to convertible, which can be used as the child gets older.

I have also seen commercials for a seat for kids up to 4 feet tall.

Yes, it’e easier to put in a pacifier or make faces at a fussy baby if the child is facing forward—but resist the temptation.

What, us worry?

2011-09-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

Ken Alltucker, AZ Republic, Sept 11, 2011, says getting foreclosed can be bad for your health.

One for The Big Book of Duh.

Foreclosures are up—the banks backed off for a while then resumed tossing people out.

A show is starting on Discovery—where people buy foreclosed homes—sorta like Pawn Stars or Storage Wars. That’s a perky idea.

I know someone who was foreclosed who is still getting letters from the homeowners association saying pay this, a lien on that, we hate you, etc—and she is long out of the apt and done with bankruptcy.

Anyhow, economists at Princeton and Georgia State linked foreclosures with hospital admittance increases in AZ, CA, FL and NJ.

High foreclosures—more stress-related illnesses, with the biggest impact in people 20 to 49.

Yeah, not sleeping, all that crying, that can’t breathe all the way in feeling, overeating or no appetite—it can’t be good.

And it’s not like this is ending.

Care about your care--harder than it sounds

2011-09-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

Recently, Laura Landro wrote about a site called Care About Your Care, careaboutyourcare.org.

Care about your care…hmmm…well, we do, or should, but this is complicated.

I sort of am skeptical of care these days. Out here, we seem to have pretty rushed, non-English speaking, or disappearing doctors that leave the insurance or practice in a twinkling.

So that is hard to care about.

The hospitals are creepy germ boxes with 10-hr waits.

They run tests over and over, so you figure someone is amortizing a machine or something. But if the results are all in one place, on a computer, you figure someone will leverage those against you somehow by denying insurance, making it cost more, or having some nurse call and nag you.

Americans get immunizations only 55% of the time. The shingles vaccine you have to order somehow and get it sent to a fridge at your doctor—devilishly difficult.

Everyone from the president’s wife down tells you to lose weight (you, not her).

Sooo…when you think of the doctor, does Dr Welby come to mind, or a failed surgery or some cluster-you-know what?

The site, Care About Your Care, is amazingly candid: Its tenets are:

Care Varies
More is not better.
It’s a coin toss.
We get what we pay for.
We know what works.
Finding the right fit is key.
And it’s up to you.

Darn, back to that. I care—but I doubt. At least, I am not alone.

Plantar's fasciitis--ouch!

2011-09-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

I had this once… the fascia, or thin tissue that fastens the heel bone to the metatarsals in the ball of the foot, gets inflamed. Sometimes there is a sharp bone fragment called a spur.

You first feel it when you get up, then it lessens, then if you walk or run, it starts up again during the day. Usually this is caused by walking on cement.

You need to support the hurting fascia with some heel supports from a doctor or drugstore.

Ice the area by rolling the arch over a bottle of frozen water.

Learn a good Achilles tendon stretch that will not stress this sore tissue.

Maybe you can wear a splint or boot at night—ask your doctor.

I wrote about this some years ago on this site…
http://healthsass.blogspot.com/2006/11/magic-little-exercise-to-prevent-heel.html

I don’t have a picture of the exercise…but some people seem to have figured it out.

Check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2KkdMlqRZU

Are your devices remodeling you?

2011-09-13T09:34:00.000-07:00

Those two in the pix look normal, don't they? Don't be fooled!

Phyllis Korkki, NYT, Sept 10, 2011, says we are turning into crabbed little trolls from all our electronic devices. Our hands are claws, our thumbs becoming huge and scary, giving small children nightmares.

Well, not the last part.

But people are straining their bodies to carry around heavy laptops and type with their thumbs.

Still, I interview via phone—I get the old ones, with a clunky receiver so it will sit in the crook of my neck—eBay, look under Vintage. I hate headphones.

Korkki says laptops are jot ergonomic at all. Place the keyboard in typing position—oops the screen is not in viewing position.

Touch screen are hard and don’t move down like keys. They can hurt fingers.

And our thumbs! They have three bones, not two. They are vulnerable. You can get tenosynovitis—it hurts.

Try to figure out what you are doing that is causing the strain.

Living! That’s what I am doing!

At the moment, I have hard-wooden-chair-butt from not using the desk chair that plunges down.

What a deal.

Someone sick? Become a "Friend of..."

2011-09-12T09:30:00.000-07:00

Dear Abby ran a letter the other day from someone whose friend had had a stroke. His wife was caring for him, and working, cooking, everything. The wife said friends often asked if they could help. Then did nothing.

So they formed a “Friends of Jim” group. Everyone committed to 2 hrs a month. The time slots are set and recorded.

Could you do something like this in your life?

I remember a contemporary of mine who was sick 20 yrs ago—pancreatic cancer. Her girl friends spent time with her like this—did her laundry, light housekeeping, chitchat, took her to doctors.

Some people don’t have children who can or would do this.

And—if you want to look at it like this—in some cases, the commitment will be limited because the person’s lifespan may be limited.

Sad, but true—but a big help while it lasts.

Medical tweetment

2011-09-09T11:31:00.000-07:00

Does your doctor(s) wield the old electrons now? My current primary is some woman from India, the second one from there, I have gone once, name starts with a K, but I don’t remember her using the computer. The attendant who “roomed” me did, maybe.

Is medicine getting even more impersonal? Ya think?

The NYT Well Blog took this up—people didn’t like doctors entering info into the computer without ever looking at them, much less touching their bodies.

This can happen in the hospital—so-called hospitalists may never talk to you at your sickest and scaredest—just check your “numbers” in the hall at the nurse’s station. Often the info is entered in the hall—the computer cart is too big for bedside.

I had an eye surgeon once who would not type or could not—probably would not. He used voice recognition and kept crossly trying to make the computer type his words…He never talked to me about my ruined eye—sent a letter instead to the referring doctor (who did not know me)…”I had the pleasure to see Miss Lawrence and…” When the computer could not spell a term, he would say, TRY AGAIN..[pause]…TRY AGAIN! Eventually, I guess, the little scamp spelled the word.

What a farce. My eye ended up blind. Not that the two things are connected, but I sure wanted to sue as much for this as anything else.

Yes, electronic records can be helpful if you show up at the hospital and can’t remember why you came last time or was it the time before. They can help with bad handwriting and probably keep some medicine from killing you.

But even in the hospital—they ask you stuff…Do you still live at… Are you still self-employed… Did you have a flu shot?

You tell me if your computer is so smart!

Speaking of germs

2011-09-08T10:21:00.001-07:00

See below—the little buggers are still a threat.

Bryan Alexander, USA Today, wrote an amusing story on the cast of the new movie CONTAGION, starring Matt Damon.

They became so germ-conscious they could hardly make a move, much less a movie.

The movie features a woman eating nuts from a bowl in a bar and transmitting the crud that way. No one would touch nuts on the set.

The director said the movie would do for elevator buttons what Jaws did for swimming.

The consultant was Laurie Garrett, author of The Coming Plague. She would not hug or shake hands. “We have to observe social distancing,” she said.

The director got freaked about how many people had touched the camera.

They wiped down their hotel rooms, the remotes from the TVs.

Sometimes thinking is the worst impediment to life. Just sayin’.