One of the differences between my old doctor and the new one is follow up visits. My old doctor always wanted to see me after blood work to discuss adjustments in some of my medications, such as the Lovastatin and niacin I take for lipids. Lipids deal with cholesterol and triglyceride levels and the overall health of the liver. He also knew when it was time to increase my diabetes medications and when to put me on new ones. Diabetes is a progressive disease, no matter how much you try to take care of yourself. My new doctor's nurse told me, "Don't call us, we'll call you if there's a problem." That's not really what a diabetic wants to hear. Most diabetics have health insurance and they constantly see specialists, such as endocrinologists. I don't have insurance and it is a disease you can't just drop the ball on and forget about. I see one doctor and when I switched, I knew there would be a good chance that the new one wouldn't take a look at my test results unless I called and since my last tests were done, my daily blood glucose levels have gone up and I wanted to know whether I should adjust my diabetes medications. Plus, my cholesterol prescriptions have always been adjusted after blood tests.

I called my old nurse but got a different one, one I've always liked, and she is now the new nurse for the new doctor who replaced my old one. My old nurse has since left. I know, it sounds confusing. After explaining my situation and the pampering I was used to, she told me she needed to pull my file and would call me right back. She did. "You need to come in and see a doctor."

"Which doctor? The old, new one or the new, new one? Is this about the CT scan of my brain I just had?" I had one because of the problem with my blood. You see, I'm also anemic due to the blood problem and that was to make sure I had no bleeding in the brain or an aneurysm or anything.

"No, but you need to make an appointment. You decide which one you want to see."

"OK. I'll see the old, new one since she was the doctor who ordered the CT scan. Then, I'll switch over to you because I really like you."

When a nurse tells you you need to make an appointment, you know something is up. At least, when I asked her if it was bad, she said I wasn't going to die tomorrow. You gotta love those nurses.

When I saw the doctor, she told me I would have to see a hematologist about the thrombocytopenia. I recently underwent a test to determine whether I was losing blood internally, aside from the brain scan. My thyroid was also tested. All test results were negative. Now, I've hit the big time. I've got to see a blood specialist to determine why my platelet count has been consistently low. The normal reference range is 150 - 450. Mine's been running around 100. It's not just platelets, either. My red blood count (RBC) has been low, too. Same thing with my hemoglobin and hematocrit. My MCH is high. Do I know what any of this means? No, and I guess that's for the specialist to find out. In the meantime, now that I have all previous test results in front of me, I can see that my white blood count (WBC) has been dropping, too. Still within the normal reference range of 3.0 - 10.0, but it's gone from 7.41 in February of 2005 to 5.13 in June of this year. I don't want it to drop any more than that. White blood cell problems can mean leukemia - but hey - I've always been quite the optimist. To be honest though, I'm not looking forward to a bone marrow aspiration & biopsy the hematologist is sure to order. Yes, my old doctor warned me about it months ago.

"I sure hope your counts come up," he said. "You don't want to go through one of those, Dave." I can't wait to see the hematologist. No bones about it. Just the thought of it sends shivers up my spleen.

Oh yeah, my cholesterol medication was adjusted again. See? I didn't just make that phone call in vein.

For more on thrombocytopenia, click on these links:

University of Maryland Medical Center

Platelet Disorder Support Association

Medicine Plus

If you have references you would like to add, please let me know.

AFTER EACH OF THESE ARE CORRECTED

YOUR THYROID WILL RESPOND TO BOTH

TRADITIONAL AND ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES

(Fake News.  Satire.)

     To reverse declining sales, Mattel plans to manufacture a line of lead-produced toys.

     The new line of toys, called Saturnism, will be made of 100 percent lead.

     Mattel recalled more than 20 million toys in 2007 because of lead paint.

     “Since we’re being upfront and honest about this line of toys, there won’t be any recalls,” said Mario Q. Bert, Mattel CEO.

     Planned toys include:  Lead Patch Kids, Magic Lead Ball, Toxicity-in-a-Box, Doremic the Anemic, Leadgo and American Girl: The Renal Failure Collection.

     “We originally considered marketing these products to disabled children,” Bert said. “We figured lead toys couldn’t make them any worse."

     According to information leader Wikipedia, lead can cause nausea, abdominal pain, irritability, insomnia, metal taste in mouth, excess lethargy, hyperactivity, headache, seizure, coma, constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, poor appetite, weight loss, anemia and blue lines along the gums.

     Parents are unsure about the benefits of the Saturnism line.

     “On one hand, I praise their honesty,” said Dakota Preston, mother.  “On the other hand I worry about the effects of lead on my children.  On my third hand, I realize lead never hurt me growing up.”

     The Saturnism line will be in stores this fall.  Look for the "Saturnism" sticker on the boxes.

     “Lead has gotten a bad rap in the media lately,” Bert said.  “We want to make lead fun again.”

I felt like the revolving door monitor. There was an inordinate amount of turnover in this company relative to the total number of employees. Check that, an inordinate amount of turnover for any company.

There were only three departments in this company and one other department in a marketing company that front-ended this company. Unfortunately for the customers, my team, and me, most of the turnover happened in the department I led and managed. Some of the turnover can be attributed to the nature of the department, since it was an entry level point for inexperienced part-time and full-time college students with limited skill sets, to launch their IT careers. I wish I could say that these were the only reasons for the high rate of turnover, but there plenty of reasons, and too many to discuss in this blog.

Resting on Laurels

In recent years and prior to my joining this company, the company had been number one in the industry in which the company competed. However, the company had lost market share to new kids on the block that were first to market with what was perceived as a far superior product, by the niche market this company catered to.

Short sightedness and the lack of planning for a foreseeable period of flat line revenue, coupled with fear or unwillingness to make capital expenditures, pigeonholed this company as a relic. Therefore, this company is playing serious catch up to regain lost ground, not to mention trying to overcome and pass the current leaders in this niche market, it appears almost insurmountable. This was a challenge that I looked forward to, but I learned as a young man not to go to a gunfight holding a penknife, unless you wanted to find out how many nails are used in your coffin.

I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up

I love the story of David and Goliath, but David was a man after God's own heart and the Spirit of the Lord was upon his life. Besides, the company was the Goliath of this niche marketplace, not David, and had become a myopic-Cyclops, unable to see beyond its own reach. A few months into my tenure at this company, it was more than evident to me how this company faltered and why the company lost its collective grip on the lifeline. Actually, it was evident to all that worked at this company.

A competitor was founded in a nearby city a short distance of 45 miles from our company straight down the California Interstate 99. Matter of fact, we hired a few employees from this nearby city to work for us. This competitor had merged with another company in a larger east-bay city, making itself even stronger and more pronounced. This competitor pays its entry level staff considerably more than the company that I worked for. Since both companies competed against other such companies headquartered in larger cities like Sacramento and San Diego, the company for which I worked, could not compete for the same workforce.

You Get Out ... What You Put In

Additionally, the companies in the larger marketplaces had to pay a higher hourly rate or salary because of their location, and they had a larger pool of candidates to hire from. We apparently could not leverage their added expense to our advantage.

In our city, this industry is small and since the market is a niche market, the company could not hire trained employees off the street or out of college, nor was the owner willing to pay the prevailing wage to ensure he had the same level playing field. The bottom dollar was always the bottom line, or was it the bottom line was always the bottom dollar. Considering the nature of the business and the clients we severed, all of the contracts were part of the public record and available to any curious George to review. It was evident to me that cash flow should not be an issue, but something was amiss.

It Takes Money to Make Money

The old adage "it takes money to make money" is true, as is the weight room axiom "no pain... no gain." Unfortunately for this company, neither of these truths held much water. I tried many times over many months to convince the owner of the necessity of growing the business by paying more to get more, but to no avail. The owner, after more than 20 years in the business had a sizable client base with probably better than 50% of the clients loyal for near as many years. That says a lot about the company, but even more about the immature market it served and lack of any serious competition for a decade or more.

The owner had a strong desire to grow his business and lamented the fact that his customer base was not comparable to the business owners of the books he avidly read. The owner wanted to run with the big boys, but didn't want to pay the price necessary to achieve that goal. When ever I spoke with the owner about anything, I tried to illustrate the need to hire additional staff, and start them at rates comparable to the rates our competitors paid their employees. I used the analogy of a new franchise sports team, such as football.

98 Pounds of Something

This company wasn't a new player in the game; this company had been around more than 20 years. However, it had just become anemic, underfed, and weak. A first year franchise football team can't expect to compete for the Super Bowl in its first year of existence. However, the football team won't be around long if it can't compete for the Super Bowl within five years, let alone after 20 years. I'm sure every franchise owner, general manager, head coach, coaching staff, and trainers, all know the short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals of the team that employs them. The ultimate goal is to develop a Super Bowl team and dynasty, but no owner would pretend to think he or she could accomplish this without making capital expenditures. It takes money to make money and it takes talent to be talented, and to beget talent.

There's Gonna Be a Jailbreak

Aren't most first round draft picks chosen by the expansion teams or teams at the bottom of the standings and first in the lottery? The expansion teams pay astronomical dollars to get the key players, e.g., quarterback, running back, receiver, left tackle, center, left cornerback, nose tackle, defensive end, etc. I could go on about this, but the point I am making is that you can't expect to compete in the marketplace, let alone be number one, unless you are ready, willing, and able to crack your wallet open and spend some smart money to make money. Additionally, if you can't keep and retain the staff that is the face of your company, your company will quickly become known as a revolving door. Your clients will forget your face, your product, and your company.

Thin Lizzy

Tonight there's gonna be a jailbreak
Somewhere in this town
See me and the boys we don't like it ...

(Or is it gaining time? whatever... they're going slow.)

Back in January, right after I got hired (thus ending a seven-month period of unemployment and a piling up of low-priority cash-restricted errands) I took a bunch of my watches to a watch guy in Grand Central Station for new batteries.

Just recently, (like, over the last week and a half) one by one, they've been slowing down. Fortunately I haven't missed a bus because of it, but it has happened now three times with three watches.

Weird.

It’s like… time is changing.

Or maybe I’m changing time. I wonder if it's something happening in my body. Ooh! Could it be the iron pills? Interesting...

Speaking of time. Yesterday was my birthday. I always connect with my birthday, so it seems right to do a look back. It has been a surprising year, one that started shaky, got worse, and then slowly got better. And I am starting to settle into (as in, really wiggle around until my butt feels grounded into my big comfy but sturdy armchair) feeling good. I like where I am, where my head is, and where I am going.

I don't know how long it's been since I have felt that way. If I have ever, in fact, felt that way.

The interesting thing for me now is to read just how bad it was last year. Last year it was so bad I was worried about my birthday; I was feeling low enough that I had to brace myself for how low I might dip. I was really suffering there for awhile. I've recently been reflecting on that, and appreciating my stability. It was bad. for a long time. (far preceding and well expanding beyond the Joe issues) and, if we recall, I got myself into therapy. I’m all for therapy, and maybe I’ll go again at some point, but it’s nice not to need it.

One thing that started around a year ago was my going back to celebrating the sabbats in Wiccan rituals/circles. G'head, google. This reconnection, which is a beautiful combination of spiritual and social (in my experience it is quite blended) has tickled me awake and forward from the inside and outside too.

I lost my job last Memorial Day. Ka-thunk. Hadn't seen it coming. It intensely colored the rest of my year. I was without a full-time position for seven months. And there was this somewhat dream quality… I remember saying, well into autumn, I’m having a weird summer. It’s like… when there is a terrific overnight thunderstorm, and you spend all night anticipating the bright and sunshining dawn. And then it’s morning, and still storming. (This is especially potent if you're camping.) It was like that. Seven months of a weird summer.

My weird summer went something like this: I looked for jobs. I hid in my apartment and slept too much. I went to open mics and jams. I went to a Rocky Horror reunion. Joe and I moved back towards each other. I performed as Squeaky Fromme in an original workshop/musical about the Manson family; the role had been written with me in mind. The week I got fired Orien Rose had her accident (also heavily colored my experience. of the summer. of life.). I re-entered the world of guitars and coffee shops, as a performer. I recorded a set of voiceover demos. I went on interviews (very few). I fantasized about a life non-corporate, and moved forward on some of the things I could incorporate into that life. I started watching a new show called Mad Men. I began reading a lot about fat acceptance, health at every size, and other stuff.

Right after Labor Day, I started freelancing in the city, and after four months, just before Christmas, they made me an offer. I now have a job I like going to every day, and I've been at for four or eight months, depending on how you count.

Compared to last year, here are some things that are different; some things that are going on:

My bills are mostly paid, mostly on time. And I mostly have a sense of where I'm at with that. That second part in particular is really new.

I've read some books. I read. Not a lot and not fast, but I read now.

Joe and I broke up again. Still friends. Still want him. sort of. Not crying.

I work in Manhattan.

I’m thinking about moving. Maybe to the city, maybe a borough, maybe a more commutable location within New Jersey, maybe I’m staying put.

I have a lot of hang time with Benjamin. We’re developing an awesome relationship.

This year I did not write posts on either the anniversary of my weight loss surgery or on my breast/arm surgery. I am confused as to my feelings about some of the issues, but also, and I think more prominently, I am assimilated. I don't feel like a freak; I certainly don't feel a harsh sense of before and after. I've gained a lot of weight back, and I'm kind of... well, me. Ultimately, I had nothing to say this year.

I have taken some voiceover workshops, and have another one coming up.

I gig a bit more (music) and have networked a bit. I have a showcase coming up soon.

I am working on an album of my original songs. One of my songs, Stowaway's Compromise, is going to be used as the opening sequence in an independent film called From the Inside. I'm sorry but HOLY CRAP!!!

My sister and I started a blog devoted to Mad Men and it's enjoying a great deal of success and attention.

I am a lot, lot greener. I keep meaning to post about it. I have a long way to go. But I wash out ziploc bags and I carry a Nalgene and I even carry a dunkin donuts plastic cup around in my backpack even though my frigging back is very weak. Sometimes, just sometimes, I bring plastic containers from home when I go to the supermarket, and use them at the olive bar, and have even once or twice handed them to a deli guy and ask him to use it (never un-awkward). I ask for 'no bag' at a lot of stores. I carry around folded up brown paper bags from last time I bought breakfast and reuse them for this time. I try. I do. I leave all my lights on all the time. I suck about lights. But using a LOT less paper napkins and paper towels. /mini-rant.

I made my dining room into an office. Partially. And set up a 'studio corner' in my living room, complete with mike and amps.

There is more yoga. Sort of.

I date from time to time. It doesn't even always suck. I've kissed toads and princes.

My nails look great.

I’m chasing around some physical stuff, seeing doctors, trying to get a consensus as to how best I should be treated for what, (and I now know I am pretty anemic), but, and this is shocking… my migraines, which have plagued me for like thirty years, have all but disappeared.

I keep saying it, because it’s true. The motion continues to be forward. A year ago things were not good. Two years ago things were worse. This year is… a pleasure.

For the record, I had a really great birthday. Thursday night we had a nice work-people drinking thing at a very fun bar, for me and one young woman whose birthday was earlier in the week. Just a blast. My bus got me home around 11. And in a totally surprising move, I went over to the Notch. The weather was too great not too; I haven’t been going out during the week, and the Notch just sings once the bikers come out. Charlie Jones was playing, and just the right people were there. I shared a birthday shot with some folks (at midnight), and also had a super sweet, really fun encounter with someone. He and I have been quick connecting for a few years. We have plans to make plans. We’ll see. Regardless, I got my birthday kiss. And that, my friends, is the way to kick off a really great year.

(My actual birthday was fine. I was, you know, tired. Brad took me out for a lovely dinner and I was home and asleep by 10:30. Way to feel my age.)

Sometimes its hard to show emotion, when it feels like the stress of it all has made you so numb. I love her. I love her with every ounce in me.  

You are an Emic!?!? WHAT IS AN EMIC!! 

I went to the grocery store.  I think i got you about 120% in daily iron.  Raisin Bran was the winner for the most iron. 

READ THIS!  Foods that are a good source of iron include: 

• liver (preferably chicken, but any small, feathered animal will suffice, nothing bigger than a pig.) 
• lean red meats, including beef, pork, lamb
• seafood, such as oysters, clams, tune, salmon (salmon has a TON of iron), and shrimp.
• beans beans the magical fruit. including kidney, lime, navy, black, pinto, soy beans, and lentils. (Taco Bell)
• Iron fortiied whole grains, including cereals, breads, rice, and pasta. (Raisin Brane), its in a new box.
• 
  
• greens, including collard greens, kale, mustard greens, spinach, and turnip greens.
• tofu
• vegetables, including broccoli, swiss chard, asparagus, parsley, watercress, brussel sprouts
• chicken and turkey
• blackstrap molasses 
• NUTS!!! (all except tree nuts)
• egg yolks (BUT NO WHITE STUFF)
• dried fruit, such as raisins, prunes, dates and apricots.

  We cried tonight.  We got into a fight, and finally broke down to each other.  It felt really good, because we realized we need to start talking more.  I definitely agree we need time where it is just us, no TV, no facebook, no kitty, no class, just us. You and me, just talking.  I think that will be perfect for us. 

The food is in the early development stage, and a spokeswoman said the company was not ready to say whether it would be a cheese, a pasta, a granola bar or something else. But it will incorporate deworming chemicals developed by TyraTech, a company in Melbourne, Fla., that makes safe pesticides.

The pesticides, explained R. Douglas Armstrong, chief executive of TyraTech, are derived from plant oils. He would not name the plants, but compared the idea to the power of citronella to repel mosquitoes.

The oils attach to three olfactory and central nervous system receptors found only in invertebrates. When overstimulated, Dr. Armstrong said, those receptors produce unstoppable cascades of impulses in the nervous systems of insects or worms, repelling or killing them.

Dr. Armstrong compared it to ringing a doorbell so incessantly that it finally triggers a heart attack. Because vertebrates, including humans, lack these receptors, the oils are harmless to them.

They have been tested on mice, which are also vertebrates. Five days of treatment cleared them of dwarf tapeworms, TyraTech said. Tests on humans have not been done, so it is not clear what the prospective delicacies will taste like, said Sarah Delea, a spokeswoman for Kraft.

Dr. Armstrong said that different blends would work and that taste could be removed, masked with food flavors or coated with microencapsulization, as is done with medicine.

Plant oils’ killing power was discovered by accident, he added.

Essam Enan, a biochemist who is now the chief scientific officer for TyraTech, was formerly a cancer researcher studying the oils at the University of California, Davis, which is in the hot Sacramento Valley, when there was a power failure.

“Pretty soon, the other labs in the building began to close down for the day,” Dr. Armstrong said. “They had opened their windows. But there were too many flies and bugs, and it was too hot to close them.”

“But there were no bugs in Essam’s lab,” he continued. “Then he found some dead flies. That’s when he began to appreciate the potency.”

Dr. Frank O. Richards Jr., a parasitologist at the Carter Center in Atlanta, said he found the idea of a worm-killing food “interesting but not convincing yet.”

He would want to see proof, he said, that it worked on roundworms, which are metabolically different from tapeworms and much more common. And he would want proof that it killed worms, rather than just irritating them enough to make them migrate to other organs.

“We’re always interested in new worm drugs, because there isn’t a lot of research into them,” he said. “But a lot in this remains to be looked at.”

Although worm killing is a new angle for Kraft, Ms. Delea said, the manufacturer does reformulate some foods to be used in poor countries to improve health.

For example, she said, the Tang drink it sells in Asia and Latin America has extra vitamins. And the Eden brand cheese it sells in the Philippines is fortified with iodine. Iodine deficiency is the leading preventable cause of mental retardation, and it also leads to stunting and goiters.

I adopted Ralph on December 2, 2004. He'd been at the shelter since November 1998, when he was admitted at around age 3. That made him around 9 years old when I took him home. Ralph suffered from IBD (a gastro-intestinal disorder) and anemia. The anemia caused a heart murmur. One of the medications he took caused liver damage. The other suppressed his immune system, so he was constantly catching viruses and fungi, such as ringworm, getting infections, and it had induced diabetes. In fact, he spent much of his time at the shelter in ringworm isolation. At the time I adopted him, he'd spent nearly a year straight in the ringworm ward... and over 26 months of the last three years there. Because of the ringworm, when I adopted him he had to reside in my bathtub (with shower doors closed) so as not to expose my other cats. When we moved to our new house, December 27, 2004, he lived in a room in the basement.

I was determined to try another form of treatment for his problem. I changed his diet to a wholesome grain-free canned food, and supplemented with vitamin B12 injections weekly. I also weaned him off both the medications he was on. Ralph is my "poster boy" for illustrating what a HUGE difference the proper diet can make. Cats are carnivores and should not be eating foods loaded with grains. Read more at catinfo.org and catnutrition.org. The information there saved Ralph's life.

As of his vet visit on April 22, 2005, Ralphie was ringworm *and* anemia free! Yay!

He got a complete work-up in September 2005, and his heart murmur was gone and all blood values (including liver and blood glucose) were normal. No anemia, no infection - all clean! Only thing necessary was a dental, which he got. Subsequent bloodwork panels have shown some elevated white blood cell counts and globulin levels, and low potassium levels - nothing alarming.

You may notice Ralph's cloudy eye in the pictures. A veterinary opthamologist examined him and feels the cloudy eye was caused by a birth defect. That's actually good news, as it means it's unlikely to worsen over time. She thought he still had vision in both eyes, but the sight was most likely better in the clearer eye.

Ralph is always excited to greet any visitors, and patiently waits, hoping they will sit down so he can hop in their lap and purr loudly. He adores the other cats, and wrestles and cuddles daily with Louie (Aloysius) and Studley.