Better late than never

 General Health, My MCL, Treatments  1 Response »
Oct 102011
 

Well, I managed to survive my colonography. I’m just not sure it’s a preferred alternative to a standard colonoscopy.

I still had to go through the cleansing process, and to my surprise they still had to stick this instrument (for lack of the correct term) up my butt, in order to fill my colon with air, before starting the scan. (For some reason, I didn’t think I was going to have to endure all that.)

The hardest part was trying to relax enough to keep from pushing the “instrument” back out, which seemed like it could easily be done.

Plus, the scan had to be performed while on my stomach and back. This required me to turn over half way through the procedure, which was made more problematic by that “instrument” sticking out my backside.

I can only imagine how comical this must have all been to those in attendance.

All I will add is, if you don’t have a good reason for a colonography, e.g. an enlarged spleen, go with a colonoscopy. I think it takes less time, and you should be able to request sedation if you’re so inclined.

Now all that remains is finding out the results. I’m not in any hurry, since I’m not sure how I’ll respond or what I’ll decide to do should the results be unfavorable, so I’ll just wait for my appointment the beginning of November.

I doubt that I’d be willing to go through a colonography anytime soon, so I am hoping for the best.

Stay tuned!

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 Posted by Marc at 6:03 am  Tagged with: ,

Preparing for my colonography

 General Health, Health Care, My MCL  2 Responses »
Oct 022011
 

No, that isn’t a mistake in the title. Because of my enlarged spleen (which can get in the way of the scope), and the potential problems as a result of that, my doctor has obliged my request for a colonography in lieu of the standard colonoscopy.

The only advantage to a colonography being, I won’t have to endure the torture of having someone stick a 10 foot probe up my butt.  I still have to go through the standard cleansing process (the second most difficult part of this entire ordeal), plus if anything is discovered during the colonography, I may still have to go through the torture of a standard colonoscopy anyways.

The other problem with the colonography is I will be exposed to radiation from the CT scanning machine, which is how a colonography is performed, and all the problems associated with that. At least I’ve not been exposed to much artificial radiation in the past 8 years, having had only one CT scan, and I think one X-ray, during that time frame.

So as I sit here writing this post, not going for a bike ride, and pondering [dreading] the start of the cleansing process (which begins at 10 AM), I’m wondering if it’s even worth it. Do I really want to know if I’m any sicker than I already am?

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 Posted by Marc at 7:19 am  Tagged with: , ,

We’ve all been brainwashed

 Health Care, Life, Philosophy  1 Response »
Sep 272011
 

Admittedly it’s taken me 63+ years, but after reading James Altucher’s latest blog post, I’ve become enlightened.

Everything we’ve ever been taught, or told, our entire belief system, has been designed with one thing in mind, and that is to control our every action. It used to be religion was the only control mechanism (at least so I thought), but now that isn’t enough. It’s gone way beyond that.

From the idea of home ownership and raising a family, to the necessity of getting an education. Even the design of our health care system has all been designed for one purpose, and that is to change the way we think, and inevitably control our very being and every action.

It was L Ron Hubbard who said,

If you really want to enslave people, tell them you are going to give them total freedom

Think about it. Why is so much emphasize placed on the notion of getting a job, buying a home [with a big mortgage], raising a family, and building roots in a community? It’s simple, because once we do, “they” have us by the balls, so to speak. We’re no longer free to pursue the so called “American Dream”. We’re inextricably coupled to our homes and families. We can’t move, because we’ve literally established roots.

Even our health care system has been designed with that same purpose in mind. To control us!

I’ve often wondered why businesses don’t object to being burdened with the responsibility of insuring the health care of their employees, rather than having that responsibility dumped on the government. It certainly would increase profits. Or would it?

By tying health care to employment, employers have made it more difficult for employees to strike out on their own and compete [to pursue that "American Dream"], or even change jobs, because obtaining health insurance is either too expensive, or simply unobtainable for many due to pre-existing or chronic health problems. The current system allows employers to have greater control and influence over their employees, and artificially keeping wages down, by creating an immobile work force.

It’s a conspiracy on a grand scale, and the American public has fallen for it, hook, line and sinker.

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 Posted by Marc at 6:25 am  Tagged with: ,

Are things really that bad?

 Food & Wine  4 Responses »
Sep 212011
 

Catal Restaurant in Downtown Disney (Anaheim, CA) just called to cancel a beer dinner they were having tomorrow night, for Oktoberfest, that Edie and I had reservations for. I was told only one other couple had made reservations.

Can you believe it? In a county of over 3 million people there weren’t 26 other people willing to pop for 50 bucks for a 5 course meal, including all the German beer you can drink, at a top notch Orange county restaurant. And there’s even free parking!

What is the world coming to? That’s never happened to me before. It just boggles my mind.

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 Posted by Marc at 4:46 pm  Tagged with: ,

Talk about a bad week

 Life  No Responses »
Sep 152011
 

First, my attempt at joining another bowling league on Monday was met with disappointment, as they already had enough bowlers. I knew that was a possibility, but I was hoping.

Next, I discovered I had an infection in my eye, which on top of me not being able to wear my contact lens in that eye, is requiring an antibiotic and steroid treatment. Fortunately [or unfortunately depending on your perspective] I have monovision (I only look out of one eye at a time), so I should be able to cope better than most with one eye. It just isn’t very comfortable. I’ll know more this AM when I go for a bike ride.

Then this morning, I discovered my bank charged me a $12 returned check fee because of an error they made in copying the routing number from a check I deposited using the Chase Mobile App on my Android cell phone. Hopefully that error can easily be rectified, but that will be the last time I use that app.

One good thing sorta, I did get my Cruz bike back this week, but it wasn’t fixed totally to my satisfaction. It will be OK, but I guess I can just add that to the list.

I’ve often heard it said, “when it rains it pours”, which it did [literally] last Saturday, so maybe that was an omen of things to come, and I have had a pretty good run as of late, so I can’t complain too much.

I’m just hoping things start improving now.

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 Posted by Marc at 6:29 am

I feel the need to rant!

 Life, Philosophy, Politics  1 Response »
Sep 112011
 

For starters, I hate people who refuse to get a flu shot, or other vaccinations for that matter. Some people think they are a conspiracy to make us sick. Others just think they don’t work. That’s one reason I stopped working. Two people in the office didn’t believe they worked. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, they think they can get the flu from a flu shot. And this is despite the fact they always got the flu (and still came to work).

I get one ever year even though most medical experts don’t believe they work on the immune compromised. Mostly I depend on others getting their flu shot to protect me. Fortunately I managed to avoid the flu this past season, and I’m hoping for the same again this flu season.

So everyone PLEASE get your flu shot! If not for yourself, then for me. :)

I also hate riding my bike in the rain. That happened yesterday, and I was not a happy camper. It wasn’t raining when I started out, and I didn’t think it was supposed to rain (although it did look pretty ominous), but somewhere along the road, I got soaked. The worst part is your shoes and feet getting soaking wet, not to mention the cold. I will admit though, the hot shower did feel pretty good afterwards.

Facebook is another thing I am learning to dislike more and more everyday. It occupies too much of some peoples time. I especially hate the re-post requests, i.e. repost if you are or know of someone with cancer, if you know someone in the military etc. and the invites to different events or whatever. If I’m interested in something, I’m sure I’ll find out about it some other way. But mostly I just don’t need to know what my friends and relatives are doing every single minute of every single day.

And finally, I hate people who think supply side economics works. (OK, You didn’t think I let you get away without at least one political rant for the day.)

I believe in demand side economics. If people want/need something bad enough [take drugs for instance], businesses [drug dealers] will pop up to supply that demand, regardless of the impediments [taxes, regulations, police] put in their way.

You can make all the widgets you want, I’m not going to buy them no matter how little they cost. (Remember the Edsel?)

But make something I need, or even just want, I will buy it regardless of the cost, that is assuming I have enough money to buy it.

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 Posted by Marc at 2:01 pm  Tagged with: , , ,
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