Transgender

 Gender dysphoria is when a child wants to be the opposite gender.  When I was young, we had very well defined gender roles.  Girls played with dolls, wore dresses and were supposed to be dainty.   I was, none of the above.  I couldn’t see how pretending a doll was human, made any sense, I loved playing sports and with cap guns (with which my father who always wanted a boy, happily supplied me) and I hated dresses mostly because it was near impossible to ride a bike in a dress, or run around playing cowboys.  Even now at the age of 77, I always wear pants.  Of course, it’s more socially acceptable now!  As I grew older, I hated the feel of makeup on my face.  My mother tried to gently introduce me to makeup. I refused!  Even now, I wear no makeup!  When I was in the convent, I saw how lovely the Sisters looked with no makeup, so I saw no need for it.

       Finally, I told my mother I was planning to grow up to be a man.  My wise mother laughed and said, “you have no choice!”

       What the world associated with womanhood was makeup, dresses etc.  So I naturally, thought something was wrong with me.  So did my parents!  

     But when I matured, I fell in love with a super man and had a boy (who is adult now, of course).  He married and they had 4 children and we loved keeping the grandkids, overnight every weekend for many years and of course, spoiling them!  :). 

     What I had as a child, is what 80% of children get… “gender dysphoria”. It’s a stage most children pass through and probably partially due to the strict “rules” males and females are supposed to follow in our society.  Except now, should a child be suffering the very temporary condition, some parents allow the multination of their bodies and more.  It’s become a cash cow for providers of such surgeries.  But some institutes no longer do this type of surgery because studies suggest there is a higher rate of suicide among surgically altered individuals.

      Our gender is encoded in the DNA of each one of the 5 billion cells of our bodies.  That is unless the DNA can be changed, we are the gender we are born into.  Bottom line, I loved being a mother and grandmother and wife to my sweet husband (we were married 54 years until he passed away).  But I still wear pants and no makeup!  It’s called diversity of humans!

Violence in Men?

 Stephen King wrote “There is a part of a man’s soul which is stonier.”

I saw a program about a hockey player whose daughter ended up murdering him.  The jury decided it was second degree homicide and she got very little jail time which the writers of the program disagreed with, saying “he was such a nice guy, liked by everyone…” etc.

I disagree.  The most gentle man can get violent…this was even true of  my gentle husband, who on the way back from the RR museum (which was boring to our son), parked along the freeway side, ripped the 5 year old out of the back seat and gave him a very hard smack on the face, telling him to “stop crying”.  I was shocked as I totally disagree with any violence with children.  Son was fussing…well he was tired and bored at the RR museum.  I was trying to talk him out of fussing and husband lost his temper and …  And he was about the most     non-violent man I’ve ever known.  My Dad was also very non violent and yet, one day when he was verbally fighting with my mother, he came out.  I was waiting for someone to take me to an orchestra concert.  Dad asked, somewhat accusingly, “Where did you get that dress?”  (My black orchestra dress). Mom was a bit worried at what he would have said so she told me to not tell Dad about it.  Not wanting to get my mother in trouble, especially after they’d been fighting, I told him that Mom had bought it with her money.  Dad’s reaction was to slap me across the face so hard that he broke my nose.  I was in High School and that was the first time he’d ever been violent with me.  So although the hockey player was a nice guy etc., I believe he DID get violent with his SO as she accused.  The writers of the TV show didn’t agree with the verdict of the jury which gave her a short stay in jail, but I agreed with the jury.  Because even with the nicest man, as Stephan King put it “there is a part of a man’s soul which is stonier,”

O.J. Simpson - an American Tragedy

I just watched a TV show made recently, called. "OJ and Nicole: An American Tragedy".  I'm sure we all remember the football player, OJ Simpson and how he was accused of murdering his ex-wife and boyfriend.  This TV show, played the trial in which Simpson was accused.  He was later acquited because they had no evidence except a drop of Simpson's blood (he had a small cut on his finger and this was supposed to prove that he had committed a pair of very bloody murders???) and a pair of gloves supposedly left by the murderer which did not fit Simpson's large hands.  Evidence was brought forth that he had hit Nicole on some occasions but according to the photos of injuries, and considering what a strong man Simpson was, he had never delivered any serious injuries, not even bad bruises. We were never allowed to hear Simpson's side of the story.  They were divorced when the murder was committed and with a lack of evidence, Simpson was acquitted.  Later his ex-wife's family sued him for liability of the wrongful death of their daughter and sister and were awarded 33 million dollars to be paid by Simpson.  Simpson, likely broke after that, tried a robbery, was caught and went to prison for a few years.  What struck me was, if he hadn't been African American, he would have likely not been accused, let alone, instructed to basically pay what money he'd made to the family.  The show was biased against Simpson and even at that, I saw little reason why he was accused at all.  Bottom line, if he had not been African American, this case would have likely never gone to court.  I, even as a Caucasian person, am really weary of the ongoing prejudice against African Americans.  Because God made us in different colors?  Cut any of us open and we all look the same under the skin!  My heart goes out to O.J. Simpson.  Despite what was likely difficult odds, he made a great career and was a great athlete.  And got a raw deal as do many African Americans.  Like Martin Luther King's niece says "We are all of ONE race - the human race!"

 

Preventing dementia and Alzheimer

Alsheimers and dementia are on the rise in our aging society, but scientists, not any closer to a cure, are focusing on prevention...which appears to a simply a healthy lifestyle with 150 minutes of exercise weekly, both cardio and resistance training, eating more veggies and less food with a high fat content, getting enough sleep, reducing stress, generally staying away from fast food and transfat....these things also are heart healthy and thus, one would wonder why we don’t hear this more often from medical providers....
Here is the link to the article....which is recommended reading...

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/alzheimers-dementia-aging/preventing-alzheimers-disease.htm

Marijuana not a safe drug, ongoing studies find

Ongoing studies find marijuana causes brain damage...
For those who think marijuana is a safe drug, a new article summarizes several studies, including one from 2016 which found that regular users suffered narrowing of the blood vessels to the brain, which could cause brain damage in regular users by slowing the brain’s flow...studies as early as the 1980’s found brain damage in regular marijuana users.
Article from the American Academy of Neurology in 2005....
https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/250

Here’s the link to the recent article....
https://www.amenclinics.com/blog/amen-research-marijuana-affects-blood-flow-brain/

Transgender? Johns Hopkins says biologically impossible!

"Lost in Transition" is a new show on TLC which follows several couples in long term marriages, in which the husband decides he's really female!  He then commences on a regimen of high doses of estrogen (which seriously raises the risk of breast cancer) and testosterone blockers, puts on heavy makeup and wigs etc.  The wives are all suffering... one lady says she fell in love with a guy and cannot stay with her husband who now thinks he's female.  Another lady is trying to stay with the marriage but having a rough time with it, and one of the other couples has decided to divorce if the husband "transitions".  All the wives are having a rough time with their husbands' transitions and the question lingers in my mind - "why would the husband do something like that, to the person they supposedly love and have committed their lives to?".

Statistics tell us that four times as many men, transition to females as do females to males.  Johns Hopkins medical institute reminds us that transgenderism is biologically impossible.

One question, often asked of these female wannabes, is "how long have you felt this way?"  Most of them say they had these feelings since childhood and their parents reacted in various ways.  Many parents were judgmental of their kids with transgender feelings, some becoming extremely punishing, applying the strap etc.  Which of course, did the opposite of what they intended.  The head psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins states that 80% of children have transgender feelings.  I remember I told my mother I wanted to grow up to be a male and she laughed and said I had no choice in the matter and that was that.  She was a very wise lady! 

All of these couples seem ignorant of the biological truth - that you cannot change genders because the gender is coded into all five billion cells of our bodies... simply put, in the DNA, males have an XY combination and females have an XX combination.

I have known several "transgender" males and they are still male... in their mannerisms, in the way they transact with other people, even in the way they cross their legs.

Let's look at a few "transgenders", I've known in the past.  One of them, a handsome young man, began calling himself "Alice".  I chatted with him and told him, "You know you are a handsome guy - why would you want to mutilate yourself?" Turns out, he hadn't thought he was handsome because he had a sensitive face etc.  I told him if I wasn't married, I'd go for him.  After several talks with me, he went back to being a male! 

Another, older gent, had fought in Vietnam and one order he was given was to blow away an entire village, men, women and children.  He came home and decided to be "transgender".  I asked him if it was that as a woman, he would never again have to face the horrors of war, and he admitted that was a large part of it. 

Another fellow, was confused because he was a sensitive, highly intelligent person who felt he was more female than male because of his interests.  But he felt male also and was attracted to females - he just wanted to fit in.  I had long chats with him also, assuring him that because of his very high level of intelligence, he would never fit in so he should simply deal with it.

Finally, another fellow I knew quite well, decided at one point that he was a woman - he was the owner of a bike show I frequented.  He ended up dying of breast cancer a couple of years after he "transitioned", a result of the large amounts of female hormones required in male to female trangenders.

Bottom line - these individuals, usually sensitive artistic types, need to be chatted with and reassured that instead of mutilating their bodies and dressing in costume, they should understand and celebrate the concept of human diversity.

Care giving and me

My hubby by Feb 2014, had had 3 strokes. He had lost some brain and could no longer drive, but still was a great best friend...we’re in our 51 year of marriage and both are 73 years old... what he didn’t tell me was he was suffering a lot of angina, like for 2 hours at a time. Finally, diabetic and like many men, non compliant to a healthy diet and exercise (he hates veggies and loves fast food and although he was about 30 lbs overweight, he could get away with things like pizza etc, which I hadn’t been able to eat since High School) ... I have a weak gall bladder and a hiatal hernia and a hereditary condition called eosinophilic esophagitis which causes immune challenge and narrowing of the esophagus.... He seemingly got away with his less than healthy lifestyle...he first experienced erectile dysfunction in 1994 which the doctor laughed at and offered him, Viagra...(great for a diabetic prone to heart disease right...😩😩) ED is actually was the first symptom of vascular disease and CAD... no medical provider ever warned him...so...when a toe turned black in 2016, we were totally unprepared for what was to follow....in the ER, they gave him a heart cath test (I later found out that when there is blockage in the legs, there is likely blockage in the heart - another thing no one ever warned me about) and announced to me that he needed a quadruple coronary bypass! Imagine my shock --- he walked into the hospital and seemed "OK".  *sigh*  They also did a popliteal to femoral bypass in the left groin and amputated 3 toes. He came home for a couple of days in the end of February, 2016 but with no wound care, so he came down with septicemia and osteomyelitis and back to the hospital..plus a toe on the right foot turned black!  He lived but was 8 months in the hospital and came home sort of a different person...even his voice had changed, was more high pitched, probably from intubation...and I was thrust into the role of caregiver and had no clue how hard that would be! Not only losing my best friend but tons of work, living with being very tired etc.and grieving the life we had together only a year previously.  He came home from the hospital in November 2016 and I am just getting over the grieving. The shock of a new life in the last few months...very difficult...probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever done in my life but I AM feeling better now and enjoying life more...I suffered depression though, for a long time. I want to write about this because no one prepares you for things like this, and least of all, the medical profession.  I watch TV with him...he’s lost large parts of his brain so I have to explain the story on TV to him often ...I do my workouts...40 minutes a day or 50 minutes and that’s my “me” time, important for care givers. I take a short drive in the car also some days, errands but also "Me time". I sneak some therapy in for him, like hugs for his upper body (he loves that), making him walk to the kitchen, he uses a walker, for his meals, changing his “briefs” while he’s standing up and I do have a CNA come in twice a week to give him a “bed bath.”  I take it a day at a time...sometimes an hour at a time...all we can do. Caregiving is hard! But there is life after the first difficulties.  We even go out together on mobility scooters (those are really nice) and his favorite outing is a scooter ride ending up in a fast food place (what can I say... he still loves fast food... I have been on a low fat diet since 1994 so I don't indulge except an occasional Wendy's junior frostee -only 165 calories and yes, I count my calories daily to keep my weight down - am 9 lbs below my WW goal and about 11 lbs higher than what my physician wants but frankly I don't think I'll ever get down there again. The current WW program doesn't work for me.

Gilenya (Fingolimod) for MS - worth the side effects?

Gilenya, or Fingolimod, was originally developed to treat cancer but in the trials, was considered "unsafe" (too many side effects) for cancer patients.

So now they are really pushing it (heavy TV advertising) for MS (Multiple Sclerosis).

It's, at best, what they call a "disease reducing" drug meaning, it MAY reduce the symptoms of MS and now they apparently have a couple of trials of short duration (1 or 2 years) suggesting this in some patients. Were you to read the trials, you would likely, find they were on newly diagnosed patients who don't have many relapses anyway.  But the side effects, if you read them through, should scare anyone away from this drug (especially if one considers that it was too dangerous for cancer patients!). http://gilenya.com

Here are some of the side effects...

1. the slowing of heart rate (especially after the first dose). In the safety info they warn the patient to get an ECG to make sure all is OK.  Good stuff, not! Heartrate "usually returns to normal rate". Usually is not "always" and patients are warned to immediately seek attention if they feel dizzy or tired or feel like their hearts are beating slowly. They suggest 24 hour monitoring for the first dose at least. UH, I don't think trading heart disease for a slight reduction of symptoms would be worth this drug, and living with someone with heart disease, I can attest to the fact, it's not pretty.  MS patients are often desperate enough to grab at straws... this one may not be worth grabbing at.

2. But we are not done with side effects.  People with MS tend to have a compromised immune system so I'm not sure they will be pleased to find out that Gilenya might FURTHER compromise their immune system that is, they may get other diseases (including meningitis). Just what you always wanted, right? So the safety info says to warn your doctor if you are feeling confusion, dizziness, neck stiffness, or light sensitivity. (which you can have anyway with MS).

3. Gilenya can cause a usually rare but serious illness called PML because it works by reducing ALL the lymphocyte cells in your blood.  The lymphocytes are kind of like the police officers which go through the blood stream searching for invader bacteria - they attack the bacteria before it can cause a lot of damage.  You don't want to reduce these cells.  They are important and especially in folks with weakened immune systems to begin with. Symtoms of PML can include, lack of balance, weakness on one side of your body, or trouble using your arms and legs (according to the Gilenya safety info)

4. Macular edema or swelling of the macula part of the eye can also occur with this drug, causing vision problems including blurriness, shadows or a blind spot in the middle of your eye.

5. Swelling or narrowing of the blood vessels of the brain which they warn, in the safety info, can cause a stroke (and you do NOT want a stroke which can cause serious disability ADDED to any disability MS may be causing or worse.).

6. Gilenya can also cause shortness of breath or breathing problems.

7. And liver problems - Gilenya can cause liver problems too.

8. Finally last but not least, Gilenya can cause cancer (basal cell carcinoma) so you have to be on constant cancer watch.

A no brainer is, if you are pregnant (which if you have MS you should consider NOT being), Gilenya can harm the unborn baby.

And for all these risks, you are not guaranteed, it's going to help your MS.  The safety info states it CAN cut down MS relapses by 50% - Those don't seem good odds for me.

Not when the old advice the MS society used to give (before they were uh, "romanced" by the pharmaceuticals) of "some sitting, some standing, some lying down" worked the best (with no medications!).  MS typically starts earlier in life than diagnosed - sometimes even in kids and runs a course of about 25 years (as long as it takes your body to replace the lyphocyte B cells some of which are affected by the virus).  It's well worth waiting it out because after it runs its course, you can pretty much regain your former health.  I know that from experience.

Buyer beware - be very careful because in today's crazy society, risky medications are being heavily sold on TV. Knowing that MS goes into arrest after 25 years, if carefully handled, may make it worth waiting for and light range of motion exercises while you are waiting, are a good idea in addition to good diet, lots of rest and patience. And perhaps not indulging in a medication which isn't all that effective and can cause side effects you don't want.

Sadly, some MS patients are desperate for immediate relief of symptoms - so they don't bother reading the small print - I met a lady who had 2 boys and was using a wheelchair.  When she told me she was on "Gilenya", I said,"But that's a risky medication." Her response?  "Who cares", she said, shrugging her shoulders.

Bottom line, medicine is a business, first and foremost.

Medications which can cause hearing loss and balance impairment...

According to an article in the AARP Magazine, certain medications, including some antibiotics used for serious infections like Septicemia, can permanently impair balance and cause hearing loss. Also included in the group of medications causing damage to hearing and balance are large amounts of pain killing NSAIDs like acetaminophen, ibuprofen etc... To check the list of medications, click here.

Essure birth control - lawsuits and many problems

Essure came out in 2002  and was touted as a permanent birth control.  What it is, is a coil placed in each fallopian tube (the passageway to the uterus).

By 2011, complaints were pouring in and an article on CNA in 2016, described some rather horrific side effects.

"Perforated organs, metal coils lodged in the colon, fetal disfigurement due to nickel poisoning, Chronic pain, bouts of depression and suicidal thoughts - it's the stuff nightmares are made of. But these are real symptoms...observed with ...a device, Essure."
(from CNA article, Dec 2015)

The Doctor who invented it, has stopped doing it and a Facebook group to list complaints has grown to 24,000 members.

The listed side effects include "mild to moderate pain and/or cramping, vaginal bleeding and pelvic or back discomfort for a few days. Some women experienced nausia and/or vomiting. In rare instances, an Essure insert may be expelled from the body."

An administrator for the Essure Problems group, said the women in the group have experienced these problems to the extreme.

And should a woman want the insert removed, might have experienced device migration with the Essure coil being embedded in the colon or somewhere in the pelvis.  Essure coils in the colon can cause a blockage.

One woman experienced bankrupcy since the removal of the Essure was not covered by insurance. Worse yet, apparently the only safe and sure way to remove the Essure coils is a hysterectomy.

There is a lot more on this device - but suffice it to say it seems like a very bad idea.  I did a Google search and the first hits to come up were all lawsuits by unhappy Essure people - so you know the attorneys are making bucks.

PPI's for GERD, can cause side effects which can be serious

PPI's for heartburn and GERD were found in a large study, to increase the risk for kidney disease according to an NIH bulletin. Interestingly enough, the prescribing info for Nexium admits kidney disease as one of several side effects. 

Among the other side effects listed in the Nexium info was "atrophic gastritis" (when you kill the stomach acid, you leave the stomach open for that).  In addition to increased fractures from  osteoporosis and more.

I suffered from severe GERD and since the 1980's, had slept sitting up to avoid stomach acid in the lungs (and was unwilling to take Nexium or any of the PPI's because of the side effects). In 2008, my hubby had an arachnoid brain bleed and I lost my appetite.  He was in the hospital for 13 days - the first night I was home alone, I slept better than I had in 20 or more years because I did not have any GERD.  That day, I had a lot less to eat.  On the second day, I decided to go on Weight Watchers (I was a member of the website) and since then, I've never had any GERD. (gastric esophageal reflux)...

Turns out being on Program with Weight Watchers causes GERD to go into remission - no medical provider had ever told me that and when I told  the medical provider I was going to at the time about this, she said "Even before you lost all the weight?"  I answered, "yes! from the first day of calorie restriction on!"

I ended up losing 106 lbs and to this day, I've kept it off - a nice side effect of being on Weight Watchers!

Bottom line, if you suffer from GERD, going on program with Weight Watchers will not only work to put it into remission from the first day but also cause weight loss and more good effects.

CoEnzyme Q10 for cancer?

According to the NIH, the supplement CoEnzyme Q10 may be effective in protecting against some types of cancer.  They write:

--- Cancer. Research suggests that low coenzyme Q-10 levels are associated with an increased risk of skin cancer. Also, early research suggests that taking coenzyme Q-10 along with other antioxidants increases survival time by 40% in patients with terminal cancer.

 Since this supplement offers all kind of other benefits (it's a great anti oxident for one), my take is can't hurt to take it daily.  It's expensive but then, protecting one's health might be worth it! :)

More Bad news about birth control meds and more

update on pills and more

Haven't updated in a while so here is a catch up....

 New birth control device has nasty side effects and is not any more effective than the BC pill (about 60%), if that.  Natural Family Planning... 95% effective and 100% safe - any reason to not switch?  Essure is an implanted device in the uterus but the small coils have been found in several other places in the body like embedded in the colon.  Other side effects women have experienced with Essure, are include perforated organs, fetal disfigurement due to nickel poisoning, chronic pain, exhaustion.

S/ex change operations -  Johns Hopkins is still not doing "gender reassignment" surgery because they found in their studies, a greatly increased rate of suicide in post ops (suicide rate in post ops of gender reassignment surgery is 20% higher than in the general population).

Weight Loss - And in case you were thinking of using "Garcinia Cambogia" (advocated on TV) as a weight loss supplement, you might want to reconsider it - apparently recent studies found it neither safe nor effective.

Updated informed consent info on birth control meds

 Check this before you decide to take birth control meds!

Before you decide to take the Birth Control pill, you might want to view the following updated information about the risks. And even with all these risks, birth control meds are only 60% effective. Whereas Natural Family Planning is 98% effective and 100% safe. (Billings Ovulation)

1. Estrogen/progestin combination in birth control and HRT, was declared a class one carcinogen by the World Health Organization in 2005. All class 1 carcinogens have been found to cause cancer in both lab and human studies.


2. There are 12,000 lawsuits pending because of serious complications (and death) from the birth control medication, "Yaz", a 4th generation progestin (drospirenone) which has been linked to blood clots, gall bladder disease, stroke, heart attack and death in young women (ref: www.lawyersandsettlements.com)


3. With even low dose birth control, the risk of developing CVD (hypertension and stroke) is 1.9 times greater than those not taking the medication. One study found the risk of thrombosis to be 5 times greater in birth control medication consumers than in non birth control consumers. ref: (BMJ 2009;339:b2921) (British Medical Journal)


4. The birth control patch delivery system causes similar risks to the pill - Ortho McNeil the manufacturer of the patch has paid out so far, 68.7 million to settle more than 4000 lawsuits. Ortho-Evra (the patch) has also been blamed for 20 deaths.
   
   
5. And finally, "Plan B" the so called "emergency contraceptive" delivers a dosage of birth control meds which is 10 times higher, the equivalent of a month's worth of low dose birth control meds. (Polycarp Institute)

And all of this in addition to an up to 25% break through ovulation rate which will abort the embryo because it may not implant in the uterus.  Billings Ovulation (Natural Family Planning) is so easy to learn that it's taught to women in 3rd world countries and other than abstaining a few days a month, there are no pills to remember etc... it's also a mutual choice between you and your spouse which seems more the way it should be ---and safe for you and your future progeny!  Sounds like a win-win to me!

The Fountain of Youth?

A recent study in the UK involving 300 people  suggested that exercise was as effective as medications in the treatment of stroke, and heart disease.  The researchers were conservative in their conclusions and ended up stating something to the effect that folks should not quit taking their meds but it might help them a bit to exercise also.

Studies from the Cooper Institute which have been largely ignored except by exercise afficionados, are more to the point.  In comparing folks who exercise and folks who do not exercise, and specifying this to be cardio exercise (or aerobic exercise in which the individual raises the heartrate to aerobic level and keeps it there for at least 20 minutes - this includes walking, bicycling, skating etc), Cooper and others found that doing cardio exercise for 30 minutes at least 5 days a week, not only reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke and thrombosis by 40% but also can add 10-15 years to lifespan if the person keeps it up for years.

That's huge but doing cardio seems to be something many people dread doing.  They do it on and off so not consistent with it and obviously feel it's about as much fun as having a root canal.

Truth being that cardio exercise is the type of exercise that does not hurt, and includes fun activities like bicycling and skating.  Even a brisk walk can invigorate a person.

Experts tell us exercise is a habit we must work at but actually, it's more of a commitment. I feel certain that if folks knew how much of a health benefit exercise is, they'd work to do it. Unfortunately, few of us hear anything about cardio from our medical providers and when the exercise fad of the early 1990's ended, so did any mention of exercise on TV end.

Bottom line - our muscles want to be worked, our bodies not only enjoy exercise but thrive on a regular exercise program.  Exercise is the closest thing to the fountain of youth I've found.  It may not be good for causing a weight loss but it's certainly good for most anything else to do with our health.

So dust off that bicycle or those skates or your walking shoes and get some exercise in this week.  Your body will love it and so will your heart!

Tattoo's and body piercings - a good idea?

Tattoos are very much in vogue now. Years ago, they had a negative connotation and were mostly found on prisoners and merchant marines but these days, it's quite respectable to have a tattoo or two - most of the Olympic athletes have the 5 Olympic rings tattooed in a prominent place to show the world their participation in these prestigous games. And body piercings and tattoos are common in High Schoolers and young adults, who consider them "cool" - ever more so because many of the older adults around them disagree with them.

What has helped sell tattoos, are the many shows on TLC which "sanitize" them, not showing the pain sometimes lasting many hours, it takes to get one or infected tattoos or even folks who change their minds later on in life.

Just because the practice is acceptable or even stylish, is it a healthy thing to do?  

The jury is still out on whether tattoos are a good idea or not.  For example, there is no data about the long term repercussions of either body piercings or tattoo's - could either raise the risk for cancer, for example?  No one knows.  

We can't really get the answer from history although both practices are very old and were practiced in ancient societies - simply because people didn't live long enough in those societies to experience lifestyle repercussions - most died of infectious disease, most children never made it to adulthood.

One thing which should cause us to think twice about these decisions,  is that many folks when they get into their 30's and 40's either regret their tattoo's or actually dislike them to the point of seeking removal - removing a tattoo is a long, painful and somewhat risky process, involving several lazer treatments.  It also can get expensive.


At present, there are no guarantees that the artist who applies a tattoo to your anatomy, is working under totally sterile conditions (unless he/she is a medical professional) - and even if done under sterile conditions, you can still get a nasty infection from a tattoo or body piercing.  On TV the shows, the artists tell the clients it can take two weeks to heal totally from a tattoo.  Infected tattoos are not pretty (to put it mildly). (see photo above)

As one article puts it:

Infections from tattooing are nothing new. Hepatitis, staph infections and even the superbug known as MRSA have been tied to tattoos. Dirty needles and unsanitary conditions are often to blame.

 

Recently a rash of infected tattoos in the New York area were traced to the ink used (the tattoo artist did wear gloves and worked under sterile conditions).  The infections were traced to the water used to dilute the ink.

Infections of tuberculosis have been reported from tattoos also.

"Even if you get a tattoo from a facility that does everything right, it's not risk free," said Dr. Byron Kennedy, deputy director of the health department in New York's Monroe County. He was lead author of a report on the Rochester cases which was released by the New England Journal of Medicine in August 2012.

 Body piercings can be troublesome that way also. I've know folks who got their tummies pierced and had to remove it due to infection or inflamation.

Christians may want to give thought to the fact that tattooing is prohibited in Leviticus: 

"The Old Testament law commanded the Israelites, “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:28). "

I typically call those rules found in the O.T. a set of good health rules and generally speaking, they still are a wise plan - even in our modern society.

A writer answering issues about tattoo's and body piercing for Christians in Yahoo answers went into this in more detail.

Tattooing and body piercing is pretty and a definite form of art but personally for me, there are too many questions about the safety thereof, to take the risk.  Life is risky enough without adding risks, I'm thinking and there are many other ways to enjoy art. 

     

Why did the CEO of Planned Parenthood misrepresent the truth about Obama?

If Planned Parenthood is so great, why does the CEO have to misrepresent the truth?

In a speech which is on the net, the CEO, Cecile Richards, of Planned Parenthood, largest provider of abortions in the world, spins several myths. 

Cecile Richards is an attractive looking blond, who is 50ish and sharply dressed.

She has decided to take time off of Planned Parenthood to campaign fulltime, for Obama...Any bets that she's still collecting her salary for Planned Parenthood?  No bets! Richards, in January of 2012, defended her almost half a million bucks a year salary she gets from Planned Parenthood, saying she works hard for the bucks.

"The first act Obama signed," states Richards," was the 'Lily Ledbetter Act' allowing us to make sure that women get equal pay to men."

But this act did nothing of the sort.  It merely increased the length of the statute of limitations, according to the Wall Street Journal, allowing women who felt they were not getting equal pay, to have a longer time to sue their employers.  Most consider it an act to enhance business for attorneys!

"attorney Victoria Toensing, writing in the Wall Street Journal, said the Lilly Ledbetter act was not a big step at all, but rather a "teensy" one."

"Those rights are covered both in the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, she said. The Democrats' handiwork in 2009 'merely changed how the statute of limitations is calculated.' "

Richards continues, "Under the affordable healthcare act, health care is expanded for millions of women" (right, including coverage of abortion only some of us feel that killing an unborn baby is NOT health care!

"Romney wants to take us back, not only 4 years but 40 years.", says Richards, "He said he'll do anything he can to overturn Roe V Wade."

This, is of course, another baldfaced lie  - Romney and Ryan both believe that abortion is appropriate in cases of rape and incest which means neither favors overturning Roe V Wade which would render abortion illegal in all cases.

Then, Cecile Richards gets to the real issue when she says "of course, Romney wants to get rid of Planned Parenthood which is providing millions of women with affordable healthcare!"

This may be Richards' biggest lie.  First of all, Romney never said anything about getting rid of Planned Parenthood - he only wants to remove some of the tax payer moneys from funding it (Planned Parenthood is, at present, 98% funded by our tax dollars).  He also wants to not fund Planned Parenthood in overseas abortions.

Since Planned Parenthood's profit margin from a $500 abortion which takes all of 5 minutes is obscene, perhaps Romney feels, rightly so, our tax dollars can be better spent, like FEEDING the hungry rather than killing their progeny.

Cecile then makes a plea for campaign help and contribution bucks, reminding us that "our daughters and granddaughters' future depends on it [re-electing Obama]"

Perhaps she is telling the truth here - whom we elect might determine whether our granddaughters get a chance to live or not and whether our daughters lose their children while in the womb.
 

The hidden risks of hormonal birth control

The article, link below, below, was written by a nurse who referenced data from the Gullmacher Institute of Planned Parenthood and other scientific sources....

Is hormonal birth control safe?

First of all,read the risks - a 40% greater risk of heart attack, stroke and thrombosis  - that's on the prescribing info, that no one reads!

Secondly, the elephant in the room is that the hormones, all of them, greatly raise the risk for cancer of all kinds especially uterine and breast cancer.  Unless you listen to Dr Oz who now says the birth control meds are cancer protective!  He also advocates gastric bypass, a procedure which has been dropped by many surgeons due to the risks!

Consider the following from scientific sources :

(1)     Since 1975 there has been a 400% increase in in situ breast cancer among pre-menopausal women under 50 years old. This mirrors the increased use of birth control over these same years. In situ is a medical term which means “at the location.”

(2) >     A Mayo Clinic study confirms that any young girl or woman who is on hormonal birth control for 4 years prior to their first full term pregnancy increases their breast cancer risk by 52%.

(3)   Women who use hormonal birth control for more than 5 years are four times more likely to develop cervical cancer.

 (4)     The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a research arm of the World Health Organization, classifies all forms of hormonal contraception as a Group 1 carcinogen. This group of cancer causing agents also includes cigarettes and asbestos.

(5) Why is it that the FDA can require cigarette manufacturers to place warning labels and  real life photos of corpses on cigarette packages to warn consumers of the health dangers yet they, in turn, take an equally harmful substance (hormonal birth control) and force companies to give it away free to young girls without parental consent and woman of all ages?   For high school boys and men to take steroid drugs, it is a crime. Whereas girls and women taking steroid drugs (i.e. hormonal birth control) are now treated as if they are taking a sacred, life preserving vitamin that women cannot live without.

(6)  In October 2010 the NY Times carried an article about Hormone Replacement Therapy drugs. It quoted the America Medical Association (AMA) as warning women that these post-menopausal drugs which were originally marketed as keeping a women “young and sexy” were discovered instead to be more likely to cause advanced and deadly breast cancer.

(7) It stopped short of making one other startling revelation: The only difference between hormone replacement therapy drugs which cause deadly breast cancer and the hormonal birth control drugs (now mandated by the Obama administration) is that the birth control drugs are six times the dosage---and are the very same drug! 

Does birth control cut down the number of abortions?

Nope, not according to statistics... Planned Parenthood reports that 60% of the abortions they sell are due to failed birth control... The pill is only 60-70% effective!

Is the IUD any safer? 

According to this article, besides irritating the womb and causing a fertilized egg to abort, the IUD releases birth control hormones into the body.

Finally what about the so called morning after pill?

Well, it's 6 times the dosage of regular birth control medication.  So do the math!

The only difference between hormone replacement therapy drugs which cause deadly breast cancer and the hormonal birth control drugs ... is that the birth control drugs are six times the dosage---and are the very same drug! 

If you are a medical provider and have prescribed these medications or devices for someone who trusts you and they get a heart attack or stroke or cancer, are they going to thank you then?

This nurse asks why when we warn about cigarettes, we do not warn about the cancer risks of hormonal birth control medication...a question I've often asked also..

"Any way you name it, these hormone drugs dispense poison into a woman’s body."

Click here to read article - note article includes links to scientific sources!

Hormone discovered - now no exercise needed?

Big News flash - the discovery of a hormone which gives the benefits of exercising without exercising.

 "Just take a pill and it will be like we exercised?" asked one newscaster of Dr Steven Garner who was not associated with the study.  The doctor answered affirmatively, explaining that it switches the "bad fat" to "good fat".  "If you want to do without exercise, you would only would take this pill for 10 weeks!" continued the doctor.

"Wouldn't there be other benefits of exercise though that this hormone would not provide?" The newscaster asked.  Dr Garner admitted it did not build up muscle mass.  And when the newscaster asked how much this pill would cost, Dr Garner suggested it might be very expensive because only one pharmaceutical has the patent.

I am a strong believer in "if it's too good to be true, it probably isn't" so I investigated.  An article by Bloomberg, admitted the hormone had only been tested in mice.  That definitely, might be a problem as far as it working the same way in humans. For example, giving mice Leptin makes them slim and it was once touted as the magic obesity curing hormone yet it was very disappointing in human trials.  For some reason, Leptin doesn't have the same effect on humans as it did on the mice.  Whatever the case, the announcement that it would even be effective, let alone safe in humans was very premature.

The reality is first of all, it's unproven whether it's safe or effective in humans and Dr Garner on Fox News using buzz phrases like "all natural" and "no KNOWN side effects" is code for "we haven't really tested it and won't know about its safety or effectiveness until we market it and people live or drop dead."  

Secondly, the greatest benefit from cardio exercise is exercising the heart and no pill will do that.

Bottom line, unless you trust the pharmaceuticals with your life, pass on this one and don't throw out your treadmills or bicycles.
More than likely, this headline was more about obtaining funding for the scientists rather than a real breakthrough and nothing does that so well as an eye catching, anti-obesity headline given to the news services.

Tylenol Deadly? Not according to this study!

I find it very interesting that there is such ranting against one of the safer medications available, like Tylenol, and very little against meds like Cerebrex, or the statin drugs and ibuprofen - both of which are much more taxing on the liver than tylenol.

The latest study found that (as the headline on MSNBC read) "Even a tiny overdose of tylenol can be deadly".
 
Doing the math on this one.... The single dose of 27 grams was equal to 27,000 MG! That much of anything can be deadly!


From Google's calculator: 1 gram = 1000 mg. Extra Strength tylenol = 0.75 grams per pill, not even a gram.

Now if those folks took 24 grams of tylenol over "several days" (how many days "several days" meant isn't mentioned) but say they mean 14 days so that's 24/14 = 1.7 grams a day or 1700 mg so... if they broke it up into 4 doses, that would be 425 mg per dose.

It's true that this is a tiny over dose - your liver can only handle 325 mg at a time.

But then, do we know what other drugs these folks had been taking? They could have been taking statin drugs which are very hard on the liver. Marajuana, medical or not, is hard on the liver. Splenda and Nutrasweet really tax the liver as does Alcohol - which can be a liver killer - did they sequester these folks and give them two weeks of a healthy diet to make sure their livers were "clean"? Seems not.

"Staggered overdose patients may have fared less well because they did not receive the appropriate treatment soon enough, or because they had been drinking alcohol along with acetaminophen, he said."

Looking at the study, we find that they took 663 patients over a 17 year period having liver problems. Then somehow accessed how much tylenol they'd been taking (probably from hospital records which would be what the people self reported and people tend to understate what meds especially OTC's they are taking).

Then, looked at how many died.

But one may ask, how do they know it was the tylenol which caused the damage since there are so many other medications and substances people use which also cause liver damage?
Epidemiological studies are notoriously inaccurate because they never have sufficient amount of information on the cohort to make a good analysis.

A good example of this is the deviation in the results of the epidemiological studies on low dose birth control (for hormone replacement therapy) which found that birth control hormones greatly lowered the risk for heart attack and stroke, and the clinical studies on birth control hormones for HRT which found that these hormones greatly raised the risk for heart attack, stroke and thrombosis as well as significantly raised the risk for breast cancer.

Epidemiological studies can be misleading in other ways - they often can be manipulated to conclusions desired by those funding the studies. For example if they asked how many of those folks rode bicycles when they were kids, they would likely find that most or all of them did. Using the logic of the study they could then, reason that riding a bicycle when you are a kid burns your liver as an adult! No wonder Phillip Johnson a doctor of law, quipped that if lawyers used the same logic as scientists, they'd be laughed out of court! :)

A couple of months ago, a friend of mine collapsed with a heart attack from the medication she was taking. She didn't tell me what it was but I suspect something like Celebrex which raises the risk for heart attack. She was fine and then, suddenly, she keeled over. Of course, she's 78 years old so she could have had a heart attack anyway even without the medications. Hard to tell. If we don't get something else, we will get a heart attack sooner or later. Age 78 is pretty close to the expected lifespan of women in the USA and she also has had a lot of stress in her life since she was forced to move several times etc.

My spiritual advisor, a Jesuit priest, on Warfarin, was found in a pool of blood - brain bleed. He died in the hospital 2 hours later. The reason he was on Warfarin was because 2 years before I met him, in his mid 70's, he had been put on Vioxx. After two weeks of no arthritis pain, he keeled over suddenly, with a heart attack. A fit, active man who rode his bicycle at least once a week or so, he didn't expect a heart attack and attributed it to the drug, but again, it could have been that the occasional exercise he got, wasn't enough to really protect his heart, plus the extreme stress he was under, trying to keep working and being forced to retire because of his age.

It's true the warfarin saved him from another heart attack. He died of a brain bleed instead. I remember his arms being a sort of purplish from the obvious internal bleeding going on. Warfarin is also still used as "rat poison". We must ask if it is compartimentalizing too much to say that we should give one drug which works well for what it's specified but produces side effects which can be equal or worse than that from while the person is being "saved".

Nancy Rogers, MD, in her book, NO MORE HEARTBURN, observed that medicine seems to all too often treat one thing which is broken in the body by breaking something else.
Epidemiological studies are advantageous for making good news headlines as they use large numbers of people in the cohort and most folks don't question how the study was constructed so being published all over the world in the news media can open the door for large grants for the the researching scientists. One scientist told me "of course epidemiological studies are baloney sausage, but if they come out with a result we like, then we use them." :( As ex-NASA climatologist reminded, "Scientists are human too!" (Roy Spencer, PhD, CLIMATE CONFUSION, NY 2008)
I like this recommendation in the article:

"Acetaminophen also appears in combination with other drugs in certain prescription products. In January the Food and Drug Administration asked all manufacturers of acetaminophen to lower the dose in a single tablet to 325 mg. Even at this dose, patients who took two tablets every four hours for 24 hours would be at risk for a staggered overdose, Lenchus said."

I hope this goes through. Lately I've only been able to find Tylenol Regular, 325 mg a pill in house brand. I agree here. 1 pill, 4 times a day is about all a person wants to take. Of the pain meds, Tylenol in the proper quantities is about the safest and a whole lot safer than aspirin (which to me, is like playing Russian Roulette because if you do get a brain bleed from aspirin, you have only a 20% chance of surviving). Not withstanding aspirin can also cause a severe gastrointestinal bleed (1 in 1000 says the Bayer company) and microbleeds in the brain (one UK study found that a large percentage of those who took the daily aspirin got these).

I think more than tylenol, that ibuprofen, statin drugs, alcohol and aspartame are what is a huge factor in the increased incidence of liver damage we are seeing. As for this study, it sounds rather poorly designed to me!

But it did make a good news story! Which is of course, the bottom line.