Monday, July 26, 2010
Just a rant
I like my job, I really do. I work for a great company and my supervisor is one of the best that I've ever worked with. But today, well, I'm just irked. Just had a meeting with my supervisor in which I was asked to take over another project from every body's favorite admin. How this person gets away with it, I'm not sure. I mean, she's oh, so sweet and everything, but there are three admins in this department, and it's a large department. I support 25 people, the other admin supports the VP and 16 other people. Every body's favorite admin supports a district level manager and 3 people. Oh, wait, she doesn't fully support those three other people because I administer the SharePoint site for one of them and the Market Share Kit for another one. These are 2 projects that take up a great deal of my time. Now I'm being asked to administer a totally nasty sales tool database for the third person that every body's favorite admin supports. Oh yeah, and her district manager asked me on Friday to prepare a weekly report for her because I administer the database that houses the information for the report. Hmmm, so just who is ever body's favorite admin supporting? She's so sweet and sociable. She spends an hour at breakfast every morning holding court for all her fans on the floor. Then she makes the rounds of everyone on the floor, chatting for a few minutes with each of them. She must have two hours everyday for lunch; there is no other way to entertain so many people. Where would she find time to work in all those extra projects? I asked my supervisor if there was any way to push back on this one. I really don't want to take on the odious database. I pointed out, in a more professional manner my thoughts on the support situation. She said that she'd try.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Tomorrow
The oncology appointment didn't happen last week. My car decided to die on the way into work, so my oncology and nephrology appointments were rescheduled for this week. I've had another week to contemplate my questions.
I'm sad about my car, because I really liked the Santa Fe. But I have a low mileage Impala now. Not a sexy car, but it will get me to work and back...and to the doctors.
So, with all this and feeling rather low, Lizzie approached me last night to inform me that she doesn't want to go right into college. She wants to travel and feels that being a flight attendent will be a better way to do that. I wish she would use Hope and R.O.T.C. That way she could travel and go to college, she would just need to do that here in Georgia. I don't think that I'm going to be able to convince her. This is making me even sadder.
Upside is that the Impala passed emissions inspection and the mechanics didn't try to sell me on a repair. Down side, my way to bright child might not be going to college. Just sad.
I'm sad about my car, because I really liked the Santa Fe. But I have a low mileage Impala now. Not a sexy car, but it will get me to work and back...and to the doctors.
So, with all this and feeling rather low, Lizzie approached me last night to inform me that she doesn't want to go right into college. She wants to travel and feels that being a flight attendent will be a better way to do that. I wish she would use Hope and R.O.T.C. That way she could travel and go to college, she would just need to do that here in Georgia. I don't think that I'm going to be able to convince her. This is making me even sadder.
Upside is that the Impala passed emissions inspection and the mechanics didn't try to sell me on a repair. Down side, my way to bright child might not be going to college. Just sad.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Weekend with Jack
Tim and Jenn are getting a weekend break and as a bonus I have had a weekend with Jack. At two years old he is a funny active little mess. At this moment he is giving his toy motorcycle a raspberry spit bath and calling it rain. Jenn had almost completely discouraged the raspberries but this morning I needed to check his tongue after he'd bumped his chin on the table. The only way I could get him to stick it out was to get him to raspberry. Now he's brought it back with a passion. I took him to the park earlier and he started out walking around in the grass. Eventually he noticed the playground and decided that maybe it would be OK to try it out. He started slowly with the walking ramps and then decided to try a slide. After a while he got more secure on his feet and decided that the bounce ramp might be OK try and decided that he liked it. But like all two year old little boys regressed into just sitting under the playground throwing dirt. It's time to go fix dinner for him so I can keep him on his schedule. Hopefully we will have a night free of thunderstorms and he will be able to get some sleep.
Questions that I never seem to ask my doctor
I have a pretty strong gag reflex, especially when I'm brushing my teeth for some reason. Whenever I go for those back teeth, well I have to fight to keep brushing. This morning, like many mornings I didn't win the battle. So, should I retake my morning pills or do I risk going without them. I can never seem to remember to ask my doctors when I'm in their offices. The question just doesn't come to mind. There are other questions that I'd like to ask, but six years after cancer treatment I'm too much of a wimp to ask. Questions like does surviving breast cancer for six years make it more likely or less likely that I'm going to have a recurrence? Since I'm genetically at risk for heart failure, is it more likely that the Adriamycin and Cytoxin will cause heart failure? Is there anything that my cardiologist should be doing to check for it? Considering that I already take the medications for heart failure for other reasons, would it make a difference? I know that my doctor would answer the question, though he sometimes colors the answer. And I'm not afraid of his reaction, but my own. Do I really want to know the answer? With that in mind, Monday's question that I'm sure will not be asked is about the late effects of Decadron on hip bones. Several of my friends who have done high doses of chemotherapy are now (six to ten years after the fact) struggling with fractured hips or hip replacement surgery. Most are not old enough for that to be an issue of aging (mid 30's - early 50's). I'm almost certain that I will get in there and decide that the subject isn't worth taking up my fifteen minutes with. I will convince myself that I have had a bone density scan and know that my hips are OK and if the Decadron is going to do damage, isn't it already determined? This is the question that I should ask, but I probably won't.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
When Heart Risk Runs in the Family
This morning this article was published in the Wall Street Journal. It's an interesting article that talks about genetic testing for family members after someone dies of sudden cardiac death. The story highlights a young mother who died suddenly and the reaction of her family to the news that the cause of her death was an undiagnosed genetic syndrome. Both of her children were tested and found to have Long QT Syndrome. I'm glad that the father of these children was wise enough to have his children tested. But I was interested in the reaction of her brothers to the news that they may have it, and their children. The article says (I'm paraphrasing because of I'm sure that the article was copyrighted.) that her brother decided that since he and his children are all healthy and active they don't need the test. He says that if he sees any signs of weakness in himself or his children he will look into it. That's just the problem with LQTS, the people who die are healthy and usually active. When you hear of an athlete who drops dead on a football field, think LQTS. The first sign this father may have that his children are in trouble is when one of them drops dead after swimming in a pool or at a soccer game. Still, he's pretty typical. My brother and sisters haven't been tested either. One of them who has a daughter says that she'd rather die suddenly than of cancer. I understand that totally, but would she rather that her daughter die suddenly of something that can be treated?
The other interesting thing for me was that the article is very clear that the cause of death was a genetic mutation that caused a fatal arrhythmia, the commenters to the article didn't seem to get that this wasn't a heart disease that was caused by environmental factors. One commenter said:
"No one wants to say goodbye to mac and cheese and fried chicken and mashed potatoes -- oh, I’m getting hungry forever. No one wants to do that."
What you eat does not effect this arrhythmia unless what you are eating is a mixture on any combination of the drugs on the five page Arizona Certs list. That, by the way is how Anna Nichole Smith and her son passed away, as well as Heath Ledger. A word to the wise, you can acquire LQTS by taking large amounts of drugs that prolong the resting phase of the heart. Many of these drugs you can buy in the pharmacy without a prescription. Let's say you have a cold and an ear infection. You may be taking Sudaphed. Your doctor gave you a prescription for a Z-pack. So you add these medications to the Lexapro and Meridia that you are already taking. All of these drugs prolong QT interval, if you take enough of them together you can die from them even if you don't have the genetic form of LQTS.
Another commenter said:
"Another emerging, and significant predictor of risk of sudden cardiac death is the Omega 3 Index, which is a measure of the concentration of the omega-3s EPA and DHA in red blood cell membranes. Studies have shown that those with a high Omega 3 Index have up to a 90% reduction in relative risk of sudden cardiac death compared to those with a low Omega 3 Index."
OK, that's interesting if you have heart disease, but this article wasn't talking about people with high cholesterol or congestive heart failure. It was discussing genetic testing for people who have a relative who died from LQTS or Brugada Syndrome. In fact it came close to seeming like an advertisement for Dr. Ackerman's Familion Test, even though it didn't mention it by name. You don't have to, the Familion Test is the only genetic test available to test for LQTS or Brugada Syndrome. The problem was that he didn't get that this is a purely genetic problem for people who carry one of many genetic mutations. There is not enough fish oil in the sea, nor olives on the trees to cure Congenital LQTS.
Congenital Long QT Syndrome is a genetic mutation in the cardiac ion channels of the heart that pre-disposes the person who has it to a fatal arrhythmia called Torsades de Pointes. Torsades de Pointes is an erratic heart beat that if it does not correct itself within minutes leads to ventricular fibrillation. If the persons heart isn't shocked back into a normal rhythm they will die in minutes. There are many triggers for Torsades de Pointes including loud noises, sudden scares, strenuous or competitive exercise (especially swimming), emotionally stressful situations, waking up from sleep, electrolyte imbalances and any one of a five page list of medications. The person who has it must be on beta-blockers for life. Some people who have it need to have an internal defibrillator placed in their heart. And they must avoid the triggers listed above.
If one of your parents has it, you are at a 50% chance of inheriting it. If you have it, each of your children have the same chance. That the brothers in this article are sticking their heads in the sand to me is absurd. That my brother and sisters haven't been tested annoys me. They don't want to know if they have it, but I wonder how they would feel if one of their children or their grandchildren died from it. I wonder how I would react. I don't think that it would be well. I mean really, how would you feel if you had a child who died of something that could be treated with a four dollar prescription.
The other interesting thing for me was that the article is very clear that the cause of death was a genetic mutation that caused a fatal arrhythmia, the commenters to the article didn't seem to get that this wasn't a heart disease that was caused by environmental factors. One commenter said:
"No one wants to say goodbye to mac and cheese and fried chicken and mashed potatoes -- oh, I’m getting hungry forever. No one wants to do that."
What you eat does not effect this arrhythmia unless what you are eating is a mixture on any combination of the drugs on the five page Arizona Certs list. That, by the way is how Anna Nichole Smith and her son passed away, as well as Heath Ledger. A word to the wise, you can acquire LQTS by taking large amounts of drugs that prolong the resting phase of the heart. Many of these drugs you can buy in the pharmacy without a prescription. Let's say you have a cold and an ear infection. You may be taking Sudaphed. Your doctor gave you a prescription for a Z-pack. So you add these medications to the Lexapro and Meridia that you are already taking. All of these drugs prolong QT interval, if you take enough of them together you can die from them even if you don't have the genetic form of LQTS.
Another commenter said:
"Another emerging, and significant predictor of risk of sudden cardiac death is the Omega 3 Index, which is a measure of the concentration of the omega-3s EPA and DHA in red blood cell membranes. Studies have shown that those with a high Omega 3 Index have up to a 90% reduction in relative risk of sudden cardiac death compared to those with a low Omega 3 Index."
OK, that's interesting if you have heart disease, but this article wasn't talking about people with high cholesterol or congestive heart failure. It was discussing genetic testing for people who have a relative who died from LQTS or Brugada Syndrome. In fact it came close to seeming like an advertisement for Dr. Ackerman's Familion Test, even though it didn't mention it by name. You don't have to, the Familion Test is the only genetic test available to test for LQTS or Brugada Syndrome. The problem was that he didn't get that this is a purely genetic problem for people who carry one of many genetic mutations. There is not enough fish oil in the sea, nor olives on the trees to cure Congenital LQTS.
Congenital Long QT Syndrome is a genetic mutation in the cardiac ion channels of the heart that pre-disposes the person who has it to a fatal arrhythmia called Torsades de Pointes. Torsades de Pointes is an erratic heart beat that if it does not correct itself within minutes leads to ventricular fibrillation. If the persons heart isn't shocked back into a normal rhythm they will die in minutes. There are many triggers for Torsades de Pointes including loud noises, sudden scares, strenuous or competitive exercise (especially swimming), emotionally stressful situations, waking up from sleep, electrolyte imbalances and any one of a five page list of medications. The person who has it must be on beta-blockers for life. Some people who have it need to have an internal defibrillator placed in their heart. And they must avoid the triggers listed above.
If one of your parents has it, you are at a 50% chance of inheriting it. If you have it, each of your children have the same chance. That the brothers in this article are sticking their heads in the sand to me is absurd. That my brother and sisters haven't been tested annoys me. They don't want to know if they have it, but I wonder how they would feel if one of their children or their grandchildren died from it. I wonder how I would react. I don't think that it would be well. I mean really, how would you feel if you had a child who died of something that could be treated with a four dollar prescription.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Twizzler and M&M kind of afternoon
I was in the office this morning when a reminder flashed up in my Outlook. I had completely forgotten that I was supposed to get my mammogram today. So, I hurried over to the doctor's office and got there just in time for the appointment. The doctor has a new receptionist and a new assistant, both are a vast improvement over the two they replaced. The radiologist informed me that they had a transformer explode over the weekend and the interruption in electrical power was causing problems with some of their equipment. Fortunately it was not the mammogram machine or the ultrasound. But it was causing some chaos with their scheduling. It's fine. An average wait there is usually around 3 hours so I knew going in that I would be there for a while. After the mammogram, I was asked to go to the exam waiting area to see the doctor. It's unusual to see the doctor before the ultrasound, but with the information that I had about the scheduling problems I wasn't anxious. I chatted with the surgeon while she did the exam. Since I'm not having any problems the chatter was about more personal things. I mentioned that we are expecting Matt home in a few weeks, and she told me that her teen was wanting to join the Army. He's a smart kid, so it would make sense to go R.O.T.C through college and then join. That way he'd go in as an officer. She said that her son won't even consider it, he is wanting to go to basic next summer so that he can go into the Army as soon as he graduates from high school. I told her to take him to an Army recruiting station. The recruiter knows that the Army is in need of soldiers with a higher education and will talk him into going to college first. She asked me how to find a recruiter and I told her where one was located. She wrote it down. After the exam I went to the ultrasound waiting room and was told that I could leave after the ultrasound. I was surprised that the ultrasound tech kept pointing and clicking during the exam, that is never a good sign. After she finished she asked me to go to the consultation waiting room, and I started getting panicky. That waiting room is the most gloomy place. Women and their spouses go there to wait to get bad news. I don't like going there. I was there for a few minutes when the new assistant came and gave me the all clear letter. Nothing was wrong. I don't know if the ultrasound tech was seeing something unusual, or if they just needed a few minutes to type up the all clear letter. Either way, I got the all clear and I'm NED (No Evidence of Disease) for the fifth year in a row. In celebration I'm having a snack of M&M's and Twizzlers this afternoon.
Next week I go visit my oncologist for a check up. Hopefully I will forget that appointment until the reminder pops up on Outlook so I won't spend the week imagining everything that can go wrong.
Next week I go visit my oncologist for a check up. Hopefully I will forget that appointment until the reminder pops up on Outlook so I won't spend the week imagining everything that can go wrong.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Just to get the record straight
Danielle:
I'm glad that you stumbled on my blog because you read what I really think about your behavior toward your family. If I had said it to your face, you wouldn't have listened and you would be just as angry as you are now. To set the record straight, I'm not a snake and there is no woodpile. Just because we hung around in the same group doesn't make us friends. When was the last time you called me just to chat, or when did we ever go to a movie or lunch? You probably know far more about me from reading my blog than you do from the years we spent in the group at karaoke together. The night you read about was the night that I took a critical look and decided that I don't like the things you do and I don't want to be your friend. And you are so disinterested in a friendship with me that you haven't even noticed that I've been giving you the cold shoulder for months. I feel for David and your kids, but I'm not upset that you ratted out my blog. Mostly I'm glad that you read my opinion and know how I feel.
I'm glad that you stumbled on my blog because you read what I really think about your behavior toward your family. If I had said it to your face, you wouldn't have listened and you would be just as angry as you are now. To set the record straight, I'm not a snake and there is no woodpile. Just because we hung around in the same group doesn't make us friends. When was the last time you called me just to chat, or when did we ever go to a movie or lunch? You probably know far more about me from reading my blog than you do from the years we spent in the group at karaoke together. The night you read about was the night that I took a critical look and decided that I don't like the things you do and I don't want to be your friend. And you are so disinterested in a friendship with me that you haven't even noticed that I've been giving you the cold shoulder for months. I feel for David and your kids, but I'm not upset that you ratted out my blog. Mostly I'm glad that you read my opinion and know how I feel.
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