Picture of the Day
Topic: Health & Well-being
"Hey Tige," I said to Mr. Tiger, the booby prize within, "how'ja like this picture of the day?"

'Picture of the day?' questioned the pest, 'nothing special about that picture.'

"Look again Tiger. Don't you see anything special about the picture I just uploaded?" I asked once more, even while knowing he'd give me the same answer.

'No. Just a mother holding her kid, that's all,' he impatiently responded.

"A mother nursing her kid," I corrected, "which is the point. This picture does not offend. It does not show anything under the mother's shirt, and yet," I said, "people are upset when they see a mother feeding her child in public."

'Rats,' he said, probably because his imagination kicked in. 'Let me look a little closer.'

"Look all you want Tiger, nothing is showing and so what? if it is," I said continuing with, "I'd say that it's a safe bet to say that of the mother's who nurse their babies the natural and healthy way, few, in any, are out to offend. They just want to feed their child."

'There are indecenty laws, ya know?' he said.

I then went to tell Tiger of the recent debate on Flight 6160 about the woman who was arrested for breastfeeding. "It happened on Oct. 13," I said, "Emily Gillette, 27, was nursing her 22 month old daughter on on board a Delta aircraft when she was ordered off the plane after a flight attendant told her, "You are offending me." The attendant then got a blanket for her to cover up," I added.

Tiger cut in. 'She probably wasn't being discreet,' he suggested before he questioned, 'Twenty two months old!?'

"That's right," I said thinking back to the days when I nursed my own children. "Molly was three years old before she weaned," I said. "I nursed her everywhere and never showed an exposed breast in public. Matter of fact, I've seen thousands of mothers nursing their babies and I've never been offended."

'I hope you used a blanket?'

"No. There's no need to use a blanket when the mother's shirt is hiked up just right. Besides," I said, "the baby's head covers her bare skin."

Before finishing up my post today - the day before Thanksgiving - when eating was on people's minds, I asked one more question, "Who wants a blanket over their heads while they're eating?"

I could have gone on with my rant. I could have brought up the fact that woman's breasts are used to sell everything under the sun, but no one cares - that is until - it's a mother feeding her child. Then it's offensive. I ended with a link to a Boston Globe editorial on this issue, entitled, Let nursing mothers be.

Flu shot or NOT
Topic: Health & Well-being
"Hey Tige," I said to Mr. Tiger, the stubborn and inflexible inner pest, "are you aware of the latest on the flu shots?"

'I've heard that the Center for Disease Control is urging all Americans to get their flu shots,' answered Mr. Tiger before showing off how knowledgeable he can be, 'Tamiflu, an anti influenza drug, can reduce the duration of symptoms.'

"Yes," I responded quickly, " only 50% of the time." And then without wasting mine to talk about the particulars of the neuraminidase inhibitor drug I asked another question. "But did you know that it has the harmful preservative mercury in it? And did you know that more than 100 new cases of adverse side effects have been reported?

'Mostly from kids in Japan,' answered Tiger as if that fact should immediately halt our discussion.

In spite of his callousness, I continued with, "Serious skin reactions, and bizarre neuropsychiatric events, such as delirium and hallucinations. And last year," I added to top this off, "12 deaths were said to be a reaction to taking Tamiflu."

Tiger shrugged while saying, 'What can you do?'

"When you hear all the media boosts calling for a demand for this so-called vaccine - without also mentioning the correlation between between the drug and the unusual side effects - a good first step is to ask some questions," I responded.

'I have none,' he shot back.

Instead of arguing with this kind of nonsense, I said, "Take note," as I linked to Mom's Against Flu Shots and a pasted page 1 from today's ABC News story, FDA: Tamiflu Patients Need Monitoring.

WASHINGTON Nov 14, 2006 (AP)— More than 100 recent cases of delirium, hallucinations and other unusual psychiatric behavior in Japanese patients treated with Tamiflu should have parents watching for similar reactions when treating their children with the flu drug.

That's the new advice from the Food and Drug Administration in adding a new precaution to the label of the influenza drug, prescribed about 2 million times a year in the United States.

The FDA updated the label after receiving the 103 reports of abnormal behavior, most of which involved children in Japan. Japan uses more Tamiflu than any other country in the world, with more than 30 million prescriptions since 2001. It's been prescribed about 8 million times in the U.S. since 1999.

The FDA said a relationship between the drug and the behavior had not been established and that the updated label was "intended to mitigate a potential risk associated with Tamiflu." It recommends that close monitoring of patients begin immediately after starting treatment with the drug.

The changes bring the U.S. label more in line with the Japanese one, which already warned that such abnormal behavior could occur. The previous FDA-approved label mentioned only that "seizure and confusion" had been seen in some patients.

Tamiflu is made by the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG. Roche spokesman Terence Hurley said there was no evidence the drug caused the rarely occurring adverse events.

Both Roche and the FDA also said that severe cases of the flu can spark the abnormal behavior flagged in the updated label.

Furthermore, the FDA acknowledged that stopping treatment with Tamiflu could actually harm influenza patients if the virus is the cause of delirium, hallucinations and other abnormal behavior, such as aggression and suicidal thoughts.

Health officials have been sensitive about taking any action that might dissuade people from taking Tamiflu, since the drug could play an important role in an outbreak of bird flu. The drug doesn't prevent flu but can reduce the length and severity of its symptoms.

--
page 2 continues.

Vitamin A
Topic: Health & Well-being

"Individuals deficient in Vitamin A allow conditions ideal for bacterial growth to be set up in their bodies..." - Let's Eat Right to Keep Fit, p. 56

"Hey Tige," I said to Mr. Tiger, the cootie within, "I was reading in my old but trusty Adelle Davis book last night..."

Mr. Tiger cut me off to say, 'I'd be careful there, if I were you, she's on the quack watch list.'

"Yeah I know, but there's still some darn good information in her books," I interjected before telling him what I read last night while leafing through her book. "As I was saying, I was reading Adelle Davis...'

I was cut off again. 'It's Halloween,' reminded Tiger, 'what's she got to do with Halloween? Everyone who blogs will be doing Halloween stuff today.'

"I'm going to talk about Vitamin A Tiger, and errr - well - pumpkins are a way to get it," I said thinking quick and in my best take-that-in-your-pipe-and-smoke-it voice.

'Okay, okay but leave Davis out of this conversation,' he warned trying to sway me from my intention.

"According to Adelle Davis," I began again, making sure to put plenty of extra emphasis on her name, "... a vitamin-A deficiency allows abonormalities to occur in the tissues spoken of as mucous membranes. These tissues line the body cavities such as the throat, nose, sinuses, middle ears, lungs, the gall bladder, and the urinary bladder. If the diet is adequate in vitamin A, these membranes continuously secrete a liquid, or mucus, which covers the cells and prevents bacteria from reaching them and also cleanses the surface. Furthermore, bacteria cannot live in mucus."

'And according to you?'

"According to me," I responded, "I find this very interesting because one, it relates to my entries of last week, and two, because right now I've a terrible cold with a lot of mucus - seems to hit me this way two and three times a year. And lately," I added to that, "I've noticed my eyes are somewhat inflamed in the morning with a crusty substance, which Davis mentions too. And itchy. She mentions both in regards to Vitamin A deficiency. And also, the fact that I didn't eat meat for at least 10 years - meat being a source for getting Vit A absorbed. And what's more," I said as I opened Davis' book, Let's Eat Right to Keep Fit, to page 54, "get a load of this."

I read: "...People who work in bright light, which destroys vitamin A quickly, or dim light, which requires night vision entirely, use relatively more vitamin A than do persons working in moderate light. Typists and bookkeepers who face the glare of light on white paper frequently suffer from eyestrain preventable by diets richer in vitamin A; persons who sew, read, or watch television a great deal, miners working in dim light, welders facing flashing light, photographers working both with bright lights and in darkrooms, and people living a the desert or beach, where the sunlight is reflected by white sand, often have visual difficulties because of their need for vitamin A..."

'So now you have a vitamin A deficiency?' said the pest.

"I don't know that for sure, but it certainly won't be hard to add plenty of A vitamins, more meat now that I've been eating it again, and even some cod liver oil to my daily routine - just in case. Don't forget to make note, that her discoveries were written way before computers were in everyone's homes."

'I'm making note alright. You smoke,' he jabbed. "It's more likely that that is bothering you."

"I do smoke," I said. "I've been smoking again for five years, after a 20 year hiatus. This is true, but let's follow this Vitamin A thing for a bit. I think it's important - or at least it might shed some light..."

'...on all your medical troubles,' he added for me.

"What I was going to say," I corrected, "is that Vitamin A just might be something to consider, since I didn't eat meat for 10 years."

'You ate pumpkins and other foods high in beta-carotene.'

"Right. But as Dr. Joseph Mercola, M.D maintains, "Relying on plant sources for vitamin A is not a very wise idea." His article, You Can't Get Vitamin A From Plants, goes into all the reasons," I told Tiger.

'Let's just drop this,' he ended up saying. 'We're going in circles and all I wanted was something about Halloween and not all this talk about Vitamin A.'

Before I hurriedly pasted a paragraph from Adelle Davis Revisited, I said, "Happy Halloween" and ended our discussion for the day.

Of all the vitamins, Vitamin A is probably the most important for overall health. One reason this is true is because Vitamin A strengthens the mucous membranes, keeping them coated with clear mucus that prevents bacteria from attaching to them and growing. Bacteria cannot live in this clear mucus. The mucus flows over the surfaces of the inner linings of the body, washing germs and other debris off. For a germ to try to grow in a lung with good mucus flow is like the seed of a plant trying to take root in a flowing river.

The Pineal Gland
Topic: Health & Well-being
"Hey Tige," I said to Mr. Tiger, the tyrant within, "I touched upon a subject Friday that needs to be looked at more deeply."

His razor sharp response was spit out, 'You didn't even bother to blog this past weekend. Too complicated for you honey?'

"I didn't have time yesterday or the day before Tige," I answered. To explain my absence I said, "Hubby and I were taking care of other matters. He broke his foot."

I continued in spite of Tiger's mood, "Today I want to begin to loosely tie a few things together. Let's talk about our bodies light receptor - the pineal gland - the gland that looks like an eye and is also called the seat of the soul. This gland has everything to do with our hormonal and neuroregulatory systems and it might even explain my sleep problems which we've been discussing."

Over Tiger's 'Oy,' I began by asking him a series of questions. "Did you know that light transmits instructions to the pituitary, the master gland of the endocrine system?"

'How would I know that?'

"...the pituitary, pineal, thyroid, thymus, adrenals, pancreas, ovaries?" I added to finish my sentence.

I asked another. "Did you know these chemical transmitters regulate our sleep cycles by secreting several hormones, including dopamine, serotonin and melatonin? And that light should be drastically reduced at night because the pineal gland produces melatonin during darkness, which in turn effects our circadian rhythms?"

'How would I know that?'

"Did you know that if the activity of the pineal gland, also called the third eye chakra, is suppressed by EMF's - Electromagnetic fields, that that too disrupts our bodies circadian rhythms because the pineal is controlled by the amount of light seen by the eyes each day?"

'How would I know that?'

"Did you know that light deprivation is implicated in seasonal affective disorder?"

'How would I know that?'

"Did you know that there are studies being done into seasonal alcohol dependence - fall and winter months being the months when light deficiency causes the most problems?"

'How would I know that?'

"Did you know that the pineal gland contains magnetic material and is considered the center for navigation in birds and other animals and also humans?"

'How would I know that?'

"Did you know that breast cancer mortality rates are higher in the Northeastern United States than in the South and that it is suspected that light plays a role?"

'How would I know that?'

"Did you know that PMS is linked to light?"

'How would I know that?'

Did you know disturbances of pineal melatonin functions can even create learning problems - such as dyslexia?"

'How do you know all that?' Tiger finally asked.

"I don't know it Tiger," I answered truthfully. To this hypothesis I added, "It's just a good guess because I began rereading Jacob Liberman's Light - Medicine of the Future, the book I mentioned Friday. And if I'm up for the challenge, I'll touch on each of these subjects as the week unfolds and if hubby's broken foot does not cause me delay."

Tiger ended with a grunt.

I ended with a sigh of relief for having finally gotten to the computer to enter an entry.

Double Edged Sword
Topic: Health & Well-being

"Hey Tige," I said to Mr. Tiger, the pernicious pest within, "yesterday I went to my neurologist for an overview of all my tests taken this past summer - the tests I talked about before I accidently deleted my blog."

'Did you flunk?' asked the pest.

"It wasn't a matter of passing or flunking Tige," I caught myself saying, "it was to discuss the results of my two MRI's, two sleep studies, and blood work, etcetera etcetera."

'Well? Are you going to die?' he snickered.

"Not just yet," I replied back with a laugh and before adding, "It seems to me though, that many medicines are in some way detrimental to health Tige. For instance," I said thinking of the medicine prescribed to help my multiple sleeping problems, "the Kolopin, a Benzodiazapine, can be an additive time bomb which I refused to continue because I didn't want to trade one problem for another."

'A layman's opinion,' interrupted Mr. Tiger.

I didn't deny it. "That's true but I'm happy to say my doctor accepted my cautious approach regarding these selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors - SSRIs."

'Unreasonable approach is more like it,' squawked Tiger, "and now," he launched, as if reading my mind, "you're leery about taking the anti inflammatory drug your doctor suggested for your pinched nerve. How ridiculous!'

"Yessireeeee," I agreed rather than argue with someone who'd only end up calling me an alarmist. I said too, "Certainly there is groundbreaking neurological research going on as we speak, but suffice to say, instead of taking anything long term, I'll take the natural approach. Today I'm going to buy some cod liver oil - a natural anti-inflammatory."

I then posted a link to a video from Dr. Mercola's site where he explains the distortions and manipulations we face from drug companies.

Before finishing up, I ended with a snippet from a relating article I found in yesterday's Boston Globe: Study links doctor errors, bad diagnoses.

Doctors not involved with the study said the findings highlight the fact that physicians -- and patients-- need to err on the side of caution when it comes to ordering diagnostic tests, keeping detailed records and doing follow-up.

My drama
Topic: Health & Well-being



"Hey Tige," I said to Mr. Tiger, the disorder within, "I'm feeling a little better today."

'Been sick baby?' asked the beast acting as though he were my best friend. 'I noticed you didn't post yesterday,' he added in a tone that was not typically his.

"No I'm not sick!" I snapped in spite of his calm mood, "the only thing I'm sick of is the darn sleep C-PAP machine I'm trying to get used to. I was pretty close to throwing it out the window yesterday, and as a matter of fact," I added angrily and all at once, "my last three days have been nothing but one big nightmare from the moment I got up to when I'd try to go to sleep - all because of that stupid stupid mask. It's too tight - it's too loose - it's nothing but one big pain in the butt."

'Then why do you bother honey?' inquired my new good buddy, 'just tell everyone you can't do it. They'll understand after you've tried so hard for three whole nights. The C-PAP machine is just not for everyone.'

He had a point. Why bother? Losing sleep over a machine that was supposed to help me sleep certainly seemed counter productive. Wasn't the damn thing causing marks on my face and making me feel claustrophobic, in addition to it being extremely uncomfortable? And wasn't it difficult to exhale when air is being blown into my airways? And wasn't I bothering my husband with all my tossing and turning and working to get physically comfortable? Didn't he need a good nights sleep too? I said nothing as these thoughts and many others bombarded my perspective.

To Tiger I said only, "I have sleep apnea Tige and the C-PAP machine is supposed to be the best thing to treat this condition. I'll give it a few more nights."

'Suit yourself,' said Tiger, 'but I think you should consider what I have said.'

"Believe me I have," I answered but not before adding, "last night was a little better."

I ended with, "I'm sure I'll be keeping you posted."

Good Night
Topic: Health & Well-being

"The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night's sleep." - E. Joseph Cossman



"Hey Tige," I asked Mr. Tiger, the inner pest who aims to keep me from being my best self, "what is as big as a bread box and will coming to bed with me each night?"

'Your CPAP machine,' he answered before warning, 'You're not going to like it.'

"That remains to be seen," I responded thinking as I did that he was probably right. Trying to sound positive I included, "it is going to help my Sleep Apnea, which I wrote about before I accidently deleted my blog. At the time of that writing I was discovering, with the help of my neurologist, how important a good night's sleep is for our overall well being. I found out that this disorder is defined as a cessation of breath, which is, unstable breathing while asleep."

'Hmmm?' murmured Mr. Tiger just to let me know he was still there, although I doubt he was paying attention for if he was, I think he would have questioned my analysis.

I continued before he spoke up, "The Continuous Positive Airway Pressure sleep machine is a little scary to look at," I said because indeed I did look like something from outer space when I was fitted for the machine this afternoon, "I'm thinking though that if the research is correct, it'll help me wake up with more energy and reduce the fatigue that I am so familiar with."

'Poor you,' said the pest in his best syrupy voice. I knew he was ready to suggest that I should be feeling sorry for myself for having to wear this device in order to get a good night's sleep, and perhaps his tactic would have been a successful approach had I not done some reading on the subject. To counter I offered, "This piece of literature - Phantom of the Night by T.S. Johnson, M.D. and Jerry Halberstadt, has helped me see that I am not alone and that wearing the ugly CPAP headgear, with a long tube that hooks up to the actual machine, may be just what the doctor ordered."

From there I pasted a bit from introduction of Phantom of the Night before going off to get a good night's sleep - with the help of my new CPAP machine.


You can do something about fatigue
Being tired all the time is not normal or healthy, and may be dangerous--causing car crashes, for instance. You may be sleepy in the daytime for many reasons. Perhaps you are holding down two jobs or working a night shift. Maybe you just don't take the time to get the sleep you need. However, if you snore and experience daytime fatigue or you can't stop yourself from falling asleep during the day, you may be suffering from sleep apnea syndrome. This condition affects millions of people and is truly a phantom of the night--hidden from you while you sleep so you may never suspect it.
When you go to sleep, the muscles of the throat relax as a normal part of the sleep process. However, this relaxation may lead to a partial closure of the throat, causing a vibration that we hear as snoring. In individuals with sleep apnea syndrome, this relaxation progresses to the point where the passage for air is blocked completely, which stops the breath. The brain responds by waking the patient up a little to open the air passage. Breathing begins again, but the natural sleep cycle is interrupted. Sleep apnea refers to the disruption of sleep by a blockage of breathing; apnea means "without breath."

Dyslexia ~ Dyscalculia
Topic: Health & Well-being



"Hey Tige," I said to Mr. Tiger, the malaise of my inner being, "now that school is in session I want to draw upon an entry from my lost blog, written in July of 2005, about dyslexia and dyscalculia. It might help parents to recognize certain challenges their kids might be facing. It could even aid them in making a connection to how their own brain works."

'I'm only interested in the latter,' responded Mr. Tiger with a straight face.

"I'm interested too Tige," I answered keeping mine straight as well.

I began with a paste from a Scouting magazine explaining the three dys' - Dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia. It reads as follows:

Dys’ is originally from the Greek language (dus) and refers to the notion of being difficult or hard. So when used medically, the term describes certain outcomes of conditions. Thus, dyslexia means difficulty with words, dyscalculia is a difficulty with numbers and dyspraxia is a difficulty with physical movements (although the literal translation actually means unlucky!).

'Dyspraxia?' asked Tiger after he finished reading. 'You have never written about that.'

"I haven't researched it yet Tige," I answered, "but I intent to. Meanwhile before I copy from my July 29th post of last year, you can learn a lot from these two stories of hope. They offer a wealth of information about the difference between learning difficulties and intelligence. Both the man and a woman who contributed the pieces hated school as much as I did."

Friday, 29 July 2005
Dyslexia ~ Dyscalculia TAKE TWO

"Hey Tige," I said to Mr. Tiger the dysfunctional fraction of my psyche, "have you ever heard of dyscalculia?"

"I think you mean dyslexia?' he responded.

"I mean dys-cal-cu-lia," I said breaking down the word for him, "it's an impairment of mathematical ability due to an organic condition of the brain."

"Dyslexia is similar," I explained before saying, "it's an impaired ability to comprehend written words, which is usually associated with a neurologic disorder."

'And, I know," he stated self-righteously, 'you have dyslexia.'

"And dyscalculia too," I returned, "in differing degrees." I tacked on also, "The same as most of my immediate family members."

"Today, July 29th, my sister Colleen is discussing this interesting subject over at her blog, looseleafnotes with an entry entitled, Two Heads Are Better Than One. She's also suggested an informative website detailing dyscalculia symptoms," I told Tiger.

'Isn't that nice of her,' the pest insincerely complimented.

I answered with a "yes," pretending I thought he meant it and then said, "Here ya go," with a laugh. "I've pasted the symptoms for you."


* Normal or accelerated language acquisition: verbal, reading, writing. Poetic ability. Good visual memory for the printed word. Good in the areas of science (until a level requiring higher math skills is reached), geometry (figures with logic not formulas), and creative arts.


* Difficulty with the abstract concepts of time and direction. Inability to recall schedules, and sequences of past or future events. Unable to keep track of time. May be chronically late.


* Mistaken recollection of names. Poor name/face retrieval. Substitute names beginning with same letter.


* Inconsistent results in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Poor mental math ability. Poor with money and credit. Cannot do financial planning or budgeting. Checkbooks not balanced. Short term, not long term financial thinking. Fails to see big financial picture. May have fear of money and cash transactions. May be unable to mentally figure change due back, the amounts to pay for tips, taxes, etc


* When writing, reading and recalling numbers, these common mistakes are made: number additions, substitutions, transpositions, omissions, and reversals.


* Inability to grasp and remember math concepts, rules, formulas, sequence (order of operations), and basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts. Poor long term memory (retention retrieval) of concept mastery- may be able to perform math operations one day, but draw a blank the next! May be able to do book work but fails all tests and quizzes.


* May be unable to comprehend or "picture" mechanical processes. Lack "big picture/ whole picture" thinking. Poor ability to "visualize or picture" the location of the numbers on the face of a clock, the geographical locations of states, countries, oceans, streets, etc.


* Poor memory for the "layout" of things. Gets lost or disoriented easily. May have a poor sense of direction, loose things often, and seem absent minded. (Remember the absent minded professor)


* May have difficulty grasping concepts of formal music education. Difficulty sight-reading music, learning fingering to play an instrument, etc.


* May have poor athletic coordination, difficulty keeping up with rapidly changing physical directions like in aerobic, dance, and exercise classes. Difficulty remembering dance step sequences, rules for playing sports.


* Difficulty keeping score during games, or difficulty remembering how to keep score in games, like bowling, etc. Often looses track of whose turn it is during games, like cards and board games. Limited strategic planning ability for games, like chess.