Too much of a good thing?

 Life, My MCL, Off Topic  1 Response »
Nov 152006
 

Yesterday, I posted about an outbreak of hives I had after a lunch time run, and how good it felt to scratch.

Well this morning at 3:30 AM I was awoken by another outbreak of hives. This time it started on my left forearm and hand, it then spread to my right hand and forearm. After a little time it subsided in those areas, but has now spread to both hips and one big hive on the top of my left foot.

Well, while it certainly still feels good to scratch, at the same time, the relentlessness of the attacks are getting to be extremely annoying.

Oh, and to top it off, my wife mentioned that I need to watch for any indications of an outbreak in my throat, as if I don’t have enough to worry about already.

I have now come to the conclusion, that there may be such a thing as too much of good thing!

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 Posted by Marc at 6:29 am

Maybe even better than sex!

 My MCL, Off Topic  1 Response »
Nov 142006
 

Today at lunch time I went for a run. I’ve been trying to supplement by cycling with running, since it’s harder to get motivated to ride in the winter time. A 20 mph wind chill factor just doesn’t make for a very enjoyable ride when the temperature is already below 50°F. Even the sun doesn’t help.

After I finished my run through the sod farm and strawberry fields, near where I work, I noticed my quads were starting to itch. I didn’t think much of it at first, but as it started getting worse, I looked down, and I noticed my quads were covered in what I guessed were hives.

There are a number of things which can cause hives, two of which I have, i.e. allergy to pollen and leukemia (technically lymphoma, but no doubt related), plus it was a bright sunny day, and I do tend to sweat a lot, two other factors which can contribute to hives.

Anywaze, to get to the subject of my post, as the itching increased, I had no choice but to scratch the affected area, and I can tell you, without a doubt, there is no greater feeling than the feeling derived from scratching an itch. It’s like you don’t ever want that feeling to end.

During the time I have been writing this post, the hives have started to disappear, and the itching has dissipated substantially, but for that briefest period of time, I almost didn’t mind the attack nor did I want it to go away.

Think about it, the next time you get an itch, just how enjoyable it is to scratch.

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 Posted by Marc at 3:03 pm

Traveling overseas?

 Life, Off Topic, Restaurant Reviews  No Responses »
Nov 132006
 

I think everyone should be required to travel to at least one foreign country. It’s important for everyone in the world, to experience first hand how the rest of the world lives! You can never gain a full appreciation of how the rest of the world thinks, how they look at life, and the cultural differences that exist in the world, unless you experience it first hand.

My wife and I have been to Tahiti, Fiji twice, Bonaire, England, France and most recently Italy. I’ve also been to Okinawa, Japan (where I lived for a year and a half while in the Army), as well as Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Phillipines (when it was safe for Americans to go there) and Saba.

While there were some problems, for the most parts, the good points always outweighed the bad. And even the bad experiences represented a learning experience.

Most importantly though, visiting other countries, gives you a greater appreciation of just how good we have it in the US, as well as pointing out some of the inequities we must deal with also.

By inequites, you probably think that I am going to talk about health care. Well, you guessed wrong. While health care is a big issue of mine, what I want to talk about in this post is Continue reading »

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 Posted by Marc at 7:52 am

Ed Bradley Dies!

 Life, My MCL  1 Response »
Nov 102006
 

By now I’m sure that everyone has heard this news already, but that isn’t the reason I am posting anything on it.

The fact that he died of chronic lymphocytic leukemia is certainly pertinent to this blog, but what I thought was even more relevant was the fact that very few people, even among his co-workers, were aware of his illness.

What makes some people, myself included, keep such a thing a secret? I know I had my reasons at the time, and while I don’t go around announcing to the world that I am sick (unless of course you think of this blog as an announcement to the world), I don’t try to hide it anymore either.

Still the fact remains, that many people, who I am in continual contact with, do not know that I have Mantle Cell Lymphoma.

I just thought that was interesting. I can consider myself in the same company as Ed Bradley!

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 Posted by Marc at 11:01 am

More results are in, but this time

 Health Care, Off Topic  1 Response »
Nov 082006
 

they paint a much different picture.

Even with the senate still up for grabs, and even if the Republicans should manage to maintain control of the senate, the tone has been set, and the American people have spoken. The status quo is no longer good enough.

Now maybe we can get back to a time when fear and hatred weren’t the overriding issues, used to divert attention from the real problems facing America, like health care reform, prescription drugs costs, and HOMELAND security (not Iraqi security).

Now maybe we can get back to a time when compassion actually had meaning, instead of something used to promote a political and ideological agenda.

Yes, I’m happy now, even though I hate the winter, but there is still a lot that needs to be accomplished, and major obstacles to overcome, but for the first time in a long time, there is “light at the end of the tunnel.”

My faith in the American people has been restored!

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 Posted by Marc at 7:32 am

I’m on board the health train!

 Health Care, Off Topic  2 Responses »
Nov 012006
 

There is lots of excitement over at The Medical Blog Network. Dmitry has just unveiled his manifesto for promoting the power of the internet to transform the way we view and provide health care in the US.

Lots of important people with impressive credentials have signed on, and if you look down the list, you’ll even see my name listed there also.

So does that make me an important person with impressive credentials also?

You decide! Check it out by clicking here, or on the widget to the right!

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 Posted by Marc at 5:35 am
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