Back to School...

It seems to me that there are an increasing number of vaccine stories during the back to school season. I suppose that is when they are most relevant, but the fact that we're seeing record numbers of children go unvaccinated is stunning to me. I know parents are trying to do whats right for their children, but absent a reaction or religious reason, every child should be vaccinated as much as possible.


This article has a lot of good (and scary) information on lapsing vaccines and touches a big reason to get your kids vaccinated....

The increasing number of kindergartners entering school without immunizations poses a risk to others, especially children who have legitimate medical exemptions that prevent them from getting their shots, said Linda Davis-Alldritt, a school nurse consultant at the California Department of Education.

"Disease prevention is really a very important thing," she said. "These are diseases that can be very serious, and it can cause death and it can cause long lasting illnesses."

I really can't help but feel like I'm at high risk. I guess it's a risk I must take to be part of the functioning world, but it upsets me that I might be the victim of someone else's negligent behavior.

Agoraphobia

I realize that, as I grow older, I am becoming agoraphobic. I don't like the feeling of being surrounded by people and feel the need to escape. I feel almost panicked. It's really strange and only happens in certain situations. If I'm in a crowd that's supposed to be moving but isn't, that's a big trigger for me.

I also find that I don't really like going out if there are going to be a lot of people around. I mean, I do have some legitimate reasons to not really want to go out during cold and flu season, but I feel much more inhibited by my own hangups than by any perceived danger, at least most of the time.

Today, though, I had a dude sneeze on my foot. He turned away from one group of people to sneeze on another. I mean, I guess it's good that he didn't sneeze on those other people, but still...

I see people who look really rough on the metro, too, and I can't help wanting to use copious amounts of hand sanitizer when I exit. I've been trying to remember to wash my hands before I begin working, but I'm concerned that's not enough. I do touch my face a lot, so I'm pretty sure the metro is going to be the death of me...

Is 28 too young to become a total recluse?

Marie Claire Article

Marie Claire decided to say the unthinkable.

Though breast cancer researchers and advocates perpetually plead for more money, the disease is, in fact, awash in it. Last year, the National Institutes of Health, the nation's top agency for health-related research, allocated $763 million to the study of breast cancer, more than double what it committed to any other cancer. The Department of Defense also funds breast cancer research ($150 million this year), as do several states, most notably Texas and California. All that is in addition to the money raised by the roughly 1,400 IRS-recognized, tax-exempt charities in this country devoted to breast cancer. They operate in every state and in just about every major city. The largest of them, Dallas-based Susan G. Komen for the Cure, grossed $420 million last year alone. All told, an estimated $6 billion is raised every year in the name of breast cancer. And the money keeps pouring in....

Yet what many in the breast cancer community are loathe to admit, despite all these lifesaving developments, is that, in fact, we are really no closer to a cure today than we were two decades ago. In 1991, 119 women in the U.S. died of breast cancer every day. Today, that figure is 110 — a victory no one is bragging about. Breast cancer remains the leading cancer killer among women ages 20 to 59; more than 1.4 million new cases are diagnosed annually worldwide. Roughly 5 percent, or 70,000, breast cancer patients are diagnosed at a late stage, after the cancer has metastasized — that rate hasn't budged since 1975, despite all the medical advances and awareness campaigns. For these women, the prognosis remains grim: Only 1 in 5 will survive five years out. Fundamental questions still elude researchers: Why do a third of all women considered cured by their doctors suffer recurrences? Why are breast cancer rates rising in Asia, where they've been historically low? Is it even possible to prevent breast cancer, and if so, how?

Seriously, read the whole article: Breast Cancer Society Scam - Breast Cancer Industry Scams - Marie Claire

Confessions: Follow Up

One of the reasons I think I'm finding it difficult to blog lately is that I'm wrestling with a lot of things that I just don't know how to express effectively. The medical stuff I've been dealing with has been a little distracting and disheartening, but I think that will pass.

Earlier, I confessed how difficult it has been for me to be medically compliant and deal with things as they are happening. I was putting things off and being bad about things instead of acknowledging the problem and addressing it head on. So now I have done just that. I went to see the eye doctor. My eyes are apparently just fine. She was not concerned by the degradation of my vision, as it seems to be within normal bounds of what people experience year over year. So that's a relief. She said some of the other problems could be dryness in my eyes and that an OTC eye drop may help. That is a major load off.

The other thing is the matter of the plaquenil in general. I have established through my own, though admittedly non-scientific, methods that it was making me gain weight and lose hair. I'm having my immunologist run some thyrod tests along with the compliment testing we decided to do. He thinks the compliment testing will be negative, was curious about the TSH tests, and decided to add some vitamin D testing to the mix. Now we wait to see if there's anything going on or whether it is the plaquenil, which I've started taking again. Aren't you just so proud? You should be.

I am trying to frame things in a different manner. I am starting to feel like I am finally coming into my own as a person, and I am determined to treat myself better. If the plaquenil is going to make me gain weight, then I had better get my buns to the gym. I was discussing alternative treatments with my immuno and we agreed that the weight gain is a lesser of evils compared to what may happen on other drugs. We'll ride this out until December (if possible) and see where we are when I return to the rheumatologist.

I've Got Good News

I got some exceptional news! I have been contacting my congressman's office constantly about the Medicare IVIG Access Act and I found out that Rep. Moran has decided to sign on as a cosponsor!

Dear Ms. Miller: Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding the Medicare IVIG Access Act (H.R. 1845). I appreciate learning of your interest in this legislation.

As you know, this legislation would establish a Medicare demonstration project to evaluate the benefits of providing intravenous immune globin (IVIG) in the home. This proposal has the potential to save billions of dollars for Medicare. I am pleased to tell you that I have added my name to the list of cosponsors to H.R. 1845.

Thank you again for contacting me.

Sincerely, James P. Moran

Huzzah! This makes me feel like I actually matter, at least a little bit, in the whole grand scheme of how things work in Washington. Maybe, just maybe, little people can sometimes have a voice.

Diverticulosis

Diets that exclude certain things entirely have always seemed to good to be true, to me. I did South Beach once and did lose weight, but I gained it back once I went back to regular eating habits. I have always believed that lifestyle change and portion control is much more important than any sort of gimmicky diet plan.

A friend of mine is talking about eliminating gluten from her diet. Gluten is not the bad guy. I have many strong feelings about this. I think that people doing this are just a slave to the latest fad. I know folks who have to eliminate gluten due to allergy or sensitivity and I understand that it is very difficult for them. Gluten is everywhere in the food you eat, the medicine you take, even some bath products can have gluten or wheat in them.

 I take special exception to the faddish elimination of gluten in no small part because my mother has diverticulosis. You know what they think causes diverticulosis? Low carb diets and processed foods. Shocking. So you mean we should eat more whole grains,  fruits, and veggies? Not rely on processed-to-the-point-of-being-unrecognizable foods? No. Way. Because that might actually make a difference in our overall health and well being.

Yet Another Breast Cancer Post

Andrea Mitchell has announced publicly that she has breast cancer. She was kind of flippant about the whole thing, which you can read more about here. The dismissive nature of her message was very odd to me. I certainly hope she's not in some kind of denial about the routine nature of breast cancer (1 in 8 women get it, according to what she said, and then went on to make it sound instantly curable). I think it's dismissive of the pain that women feel when they go through this disease and can make it a more lonely feeling.

I feel very strongly that the conversation on health in this country is so backward. We attach ourselves so closely to outcomes that we can't have the requisite compassion for people. Yes, breast cancer is very curable, but that curative process is very difficult both physically and emotionally. I wish more people recognized that about all illnesses, not just breast cancer.

SPOILER ALERT!

After my previous rant on the subject, I thought for sure I wouldn't get these:

Ok ladies, it's that time of year again, in support of breast cancer awareness!! So we all remember last years game of writing your bra color as your status?.....or the way we like to have our handbag handy? Remember last year so many people took part that it made national news and, the constant updating of status reminded everyone why we're doing this and helped raise awareness!! Do NOT tell any males what the status' mean, keep them guessing!! And please copy and paste (in a message )this to all your female friends to see if we can make a bigger fuss this year than last year!!! I did my part... now YOUR turn ! Go on ladies...and let's have all the males guessing! .. It's time to confuse the men again (not that its really that hard to do :)) Everyone knows it makes their brains work wonders on what we're talkin about!! The idea is to choose the month you were born and the day you were born. Pass this on to the girls only and lets see how far it reaches around. The last one about the bra went round all over the world. So you'll write... I'm (your birth month) weeks and I'm craving (your birth date)!!! as your status. Example: Feb 14th= I'm 2 weeks and craving Choclolate mints!January-1week Febuary-2weeks March-3weeks April4 weeks May-6weeks June-8weeks July-10weeks August-12weeks September-13weeks October-14weeks November-16weeks December-18weeks ..Days of the month: 1-Skittles 2-Starburst 3-Kit-Kat 4-M&M's 5-Galaxy 6-Crunchie 7-Dairy Milk 8-Lollipop 9-Peanut Butter Cups 10-Meat Balls 11-Twizzlers 12-Bubble Gum 13-Hershey's Kisses 14-Chocolate Mints 15-Twix 16-Resse's Fastbreak 17-Fudge 18-Cherry Jello 19-Milkyway 20-Pickels 21-Creme Eggs 22-Skittles 23-Gummy 24-Gummy Worms 25-Strawberry Pop Tarts 26-Starburst 27-Mini Eggs 28-Kit-Kat Chunkie 29-Double Chocolate Chip Chrunchy 30 Rocky Rd 31 Milk Duds

Awww. Did I ruin the "game" and your "fun?" Perhaps you shouldn't send me these things. How about it? Sounds good to me. Yes, I realize I'm a grump. I have my reasons. See post linked above.

Confessions

Like most people, I worry about the future. My worries are a little different than those of most people, at least the ones who don't have an illness like mine...

I worry about so many things about the future. Will I be able to keep working? How long until I have to go on disability? Will anyone be around to take care of me or will they care to? If I think too much about these things, I'm pretty certain my head would just explode. Most of the time I feel pretty confident that things will work out and that there is a greater plan at work, but sometimes, it's really difficult, especially on those days when getting out of bed feels like too much.

Recently, I've noticed some visual acuity changes. I went to a shopping center ophthalmologist. He said I need to see a better one with better machines. My eyesight has deteriorated a quarter over the past year. Prior to that, it hadn't changed in over 6 years. It frightens me because plaquenil can cause these changes. So, in addition to the hair stuff (which I mentioned the other day), I am really worried about my eye sight, but I really don't want to see a doctor about it. Funny how that works, huh?

I really feel like there's a lot going on with me in an emotional sense. The thoughts of what will happen next if the plaquenil has to be stopped are frequent and scary and bring me back to those worried I mentioned earlier. What if I have to go on chemo for the autoimmune stuff? What if I have to get IVIG more frequently? Both of these are possible, maybe not probable, but I really won't know until I see an eye doctor and call my rheumatologist. I promise I will, it's just a difficult call to make. It makes me really sad.