Health and Wellness

Archive for the ‘Health and Wellness’ Category

What am I going to do about my back pain?

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012

1/18/2012 – See Dr. Hey and hear that the icyball has allowed me a significant quality of life until this point. Phrases like “worst stenosis of the year, but its only January” “If we didn’t see you we would have thought you were much older from your X-rays” “If you were my younger brother, I’d had the surgery” Post pics later:

$50 Copay NCBCBS Blue advantage B

$250 against $3500 deductible for back brace

What is an epidural?

1/20/2012 – First Epidural – I almost passed out. The pain became excruciating as my leg nerve blocks were “pressing in”. I said”I don’t feel well, it hurtssssss…and then the pain became a tingle. Then the right leg started to hurt excurciatingly. I didn’t think I was going to make it. The pain was so intense that I felt nausea and started sweating and had to be carted into a room and observed. Within a few minutes my BP was back to normal, but I have never felt so much pain. My nurse intimated that I was a wimp. It hurt, way more than the MRI in Dec. Humbled by the pain of the injection makes me feel like I don’t know real pain. Numb sciatic nerve and burning foot from injection lasted several hours.

$50 Copay NCBCBS Blue advantage B

1/21/2012 – Spend the day helping my son do a brake and rotor replacement on a Saab. Feeling OK without the brace. Went to church with it under a sweater and was un-noticeable. CC would regularly bring 2 blue icyballs cold in a sack inside her purse and bring them out at just the right time. In church, after we have been standing. Got bill for surgery Posterior T12 or L1-illiac wing instrumentation fusion with laminectomies. possible TLIF. Bone autograft and allograft

1/22/2012 – Finished the brake job with my son and daughter. She had her first date. Pain is minimal, although wearing brace. Horrible night sweats!

1/23/2012 – Localized pain due to the injection. Otherwise feeling good. Went a few hours without backbrace. Went swimming.

1/24/2012 – Up early, localized pain. Feeling a bit better.

2/13/2012 – Twinge, but abated with a swim, phew!

3/5/2012 – Struggling to get up stairs, hurts in the morning – hoping to swim later tonight.

3/7/2012 – Call for another injection. Try Naproxen Sodium and hold out for total 3 months between

3/9/2012 – Remarkably better on Naproxen Sodium. I swam 30 laps today (continuous for cardio) – kept up with Catherine only because we were on a time crunch.

3/30/2012 – BCBSNC won’t pay for a lidoderm patch.

4/2/2012 – Still doing remarkably well even after mowing the lawn. Yes, up hills to the point where my legs went numb from muscle pain, not nerve pain.

3/30/2012 Noticed 2 weeks of swimming ~ 1 mile 3xweek – weight is 205

5/1/2012 Swam 40 laps over a mile today.

5/7/2012 Swimming miles a week. Hope it keeps up.

5/10/2012 Wow, Took two heavy gracery bags back to our room in Atlanta (the “W”) Reverse descrimination is nice. I

5/11/2012 Walked several miles today on a treasure hunt for my wife. What fun, but the clinical trial is a NO. I do not have a disc tear, so no injections of Fiberin. Oh. Well. Not my plan. God’s plan. I walked another 20 Atlanta blocks to prove I can do whatever it takes.

5/14/2012 Having difficulty walking – loosing my breath (even after swimming 3 days in a row). Seems I may have injured abdominus rectus muscles “six-pack” and its causing smaller lung capacity.

5/22/2012 2 ESI (epidural steroidal injection) with lydocaine. Felt initially better due to the lydocaineand had cold sweats like the first in January on the first night after.

Posted in Back Pain, Health and Wellness, Pain Relief, Physical Therapy | No Comments »

How to curb spending

Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

…stop subscribing to deal sites and guys stay away from slickdeals.net and newegg

A new study by ExactTarget found more than two-thirds of Americans shopping online are baited with email first – nearly twice the rate brought in from Facebook and text messages.

It makes sense why we’re partial to the email route. It’s easy enough to mark messages as spam and ignore ones we don’t feel like reading straightaway.

But for a shopaholic, email is basically the gateway drug to overspending.

When the time comes that I actually need to shop, I’ll prowl CouponSherpa.com or Retailmenot.com for discount codes first and check to see if Ebates has a cashback offer available. I rarely turn up empty-handed.

Posted in Health and Wellness, Technology, Wealth Management | No Comments »

BCBSBC policy change April 1 2012

Thursday, March 22nd, 2012

Pharmacy benefits management vendor changed to Prime Therapeutics. Extended (90 day supply) requires members to visit bcbsnc.com for a listing. Use your current card until March 31 and the new one April 1 2012. Billing moved from 15th of month to 1st of month.

Posted in Health and Wellness | 1 Comment »

Gene-targeted drugs not effective for cancer treatment

Friday, March 9th, 2012

Researchers have discovered that the genetic complexities of cancer could thwart current methods of matching a patient’s tumor with targeted drugs. The study by U.K. researchers could mean that more extensive digging into the genetics of cancer will be required before dispatching targeted treatments to attack tumors, a change that could drive up the already high cost of cancer care.

With an arsenal of targeted cancer drugs at their disposal now, doctors use DNA tests, typically of a single tumor specimen from their patients, to determine which meds are the best fit to take out their tumors. Alas, U.K. researchers conducted DNA tests from multiple areas of kidney tumors and found that only one third of all the key genetic mutations were present in all tumor samples, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The study is unlikely to unhinge enthusiasm about targeted cancer meds, but the findings could prompt doctors to take extra caution before using the drugs. What’s more, the results could explain how cancers eventually bounce back after gene-targeted drug treatments, Bloomberg reported. And, rather than forming to overcome the effects of targeted drugs, the mutations that drive a cancer’s comeback could already be present before treatment with the meds.

The targeted cancer drug phenomenon has pushed many of the top drugmakers into action, with Pfizer ($PFE), Roche ($RHBBY), and Novartis ($NVS) among the leading developers of such meds. It’s probably too early to tell how the results of the U.K. study impact those companies’ fortunes, but it’s worth watching how the study impacts enthusiasm in the field.

“It’s a sobering finding,” Andrew Futreal, a co-author of the study and former director of cancer genetics and genomics at Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in London, said, as quoted by the WSJ. He added that, with just one biopsy, “you might miss the connection between the mutation and whatever outcome you are looking at.”

- read Bloomberg‘s article
- check out the WSJ piece

Posted in Health and Wellness, Pain Relief | No Comments »

Biomarker for Alzheimer – VILIP

Wednesday, March 7th, 2012

The search for Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers goes on, with a number of biomarkers beginning to emerge. The latest research focuses on biomarkers that signal damage to neurons, which might allow doctors to spot decline at an early stage. In the research published in Neurology, a team from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis measured biomarkers in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from lumbar punctures in people with very mild or mild Alzheimer’s disease over an average of 2.6 years. They measured the biomarkers visinin-like protein-1 (VILIP-1), tau, p-tau181 and Aβ42 (amyloid beta), as well as tracking changes in mental activity and memory with annual assessments.

VILIP-1 measures damage to brain cells, and tau and Aβ42 reflect the plaques starting to form in the brain. Alzheimer’s disease in people with higher levels of these biomarkers, particularly VILIP-1, progressed more quickly.

“VILIP-1 appears to be a strong indicator of ongoing injury to brain cells as a result of Alzheimer’s disease. Memory and other mental abilities declined faster in patients with the highest levels of VILIP-1,” says lead author Dr. Rawan Tarawneh, now at the University of Jordan. “In patients with early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, VILIP-1 seems to be at least as good as–and potentially even better than–the other prognostic indicators we used in the study. That could be very useful in predicting the course of the disease and in evaluating new treatments in clinical trials.”

This research is early but shows promise for predicting disease progression and prognosis, and tracking outcomes in clinical trials, and further development is under way at Washington University. However, it is still a CSF-based biomarker, and until simple blood-based biomarker tests are available, broader screening for Alzheimer’s disease to allow early diagnosis and treatment isn’t really going to be feasible.

Posted in Health and Wellness, Kewler Favorites, Technology | 1 Comment »

Buy.com – store centric sales platform

Wednesday, March 7th, 2012

Buy.com integrates with Facebook.

Facebook changes to timeline and breaks Buy.com strategy (was supposed to allow embedded shopping cart)

Buy.com create share link.

Posted in Facebook, Health and Wellness, Marketing | No Comments »

How do I relieve butt pain after running?

Friday, March 2nd, 2012

From Runner’s world:

Piriformis syndrome is a frustrating condition that’s literally a pain in the butt for runners. This throbbing ache originates in the buttocks and often radiates down the legs and/or to the spine. The culprit is an overtaxed piriformis muscle (from running on uneven ground or having tight hamstrings, for example) that spasms and aggravates the sciatic nerve. This routine will help keep your piriformis strong and flexible. Do the exercises three times each week, after a run.

Bonus Postrun Relief
After a long run or intense workout, end your stretching session by placing a thermalball under your right sit bone. Put all of your weight on the ball and slowly rotate your hips to release the piriformis. Do this for several seconds, and then switch sides.

CLAM SHELL
Lie on your right side with your knees bent. Rest your head on your hand or on your arm. Contract your abs and slowly open and close the top leg 20 times. Rest and repeat; switch sides.

PIGEON FORWARD FOLD
Begin on your hands and knees. Bring the heel of your right foot in front of your left hip. Relax into this position and hold while taking 10 to 20 deep breaths. Repeat on the opposite side.

SIDE PLANK WITH LEG LIFT
Start in a plank position. Rotate your body so that you’re balancing on your right hand. Slowly, with control, lift and lower your top leg five to 10 times. Rest and switch sides.

STANDING FIGURE 4
Stand on your left leg. Rest your right foot on your left knee and do a single-leg squat. With your hands on your hips, hold this position for a few seconds. Return to start and repeat 10 times on each leg.

Posted in Back Pain, Health and Wellness, Massage, Pain Relief, Physical Therapy | No Comments »

Chronic Low Back Pain Patients (CLBP) display altered brain…

Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

Display Altered Brain Connectivity in the Default Mode Network—An Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) MRI Study

pain biomarkers:

Some people say “pain is all in the mind.” Perhaps it actually is, according to a poster on an imaging biomarker presented at the 2012 AAPM (American Academy of Pain Medicine) Annual Meeting. The researchers, from Harvard Medical School and the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, looked at the brains of people with chronic low back pain and discogenic pain along with those of healthy people using arterial spin labeling, a form of MRI that measures blood flow to particular brain regions. Comparing the images showed changes in connectivity between regions of the brain. While this is early work in a small group, the imaging technique may have potential as an objective biomarker for chronic pain. Pain biomarkers are elusive, but could be useful in diagnosis and tracking pain in clinical trials, as well as in helping patients and physicians differentiate chronic pain from psychological symptoms.

Pain in the brain

Posted in Back Pain, Health and Wellness, Massage, Military, Pain Relief, Physical Therapy | No Comments »

How do I protect my child – Internet Access: Right or Privilege

Tuesday, February 28th, 2012

Is Internet Access an inalienable right for individuals and organizations? Does net access come with responsibilities similar to driving a car, which failure to abide by can result in limiting or denying access entirely? The UN and other countries have called Internet access a basic human right. Is Internet Access a basic human right or a privilege to be earned and maintained by good behavior?

When we were young, a simple lock gave all the protection we needed and passwords were required only to enter childhood forts. Today’s connected world creates new safety risks for kids. But you can change that. Kids need security professionals, like you, to volunteer to teach them how to stay safe online and how to use the Internet in ways that won’t jeopardize their privacy or damage their reputations. A few hours of your time could mean a lifetime of safety to a child.

In the absence of personal relationships, we have no choice but to substitute confidence for trust, compliance for trustworthiness. This progression has enabled society to scale to unprecedented complexity, but has also permitted massive global failures. In a world completely reliant on technology, a cataclysmic disaster is waiting to happen. As menacing computer malfunctions pop up around the world, some with deadly results, the protagonist realizes that there isn’t much time if he hopes to prevent an international catastrophe.

Posted in Health and Wellness, Invention, Kewler Favorites, Managing Business, Marketing, Military, Pain Relief, Programming Code Help, Social Network, Wealth Management | No Comments »

Archive for the ‘Health and Wellness’ Category

Display Altered Brain Connectivity in the Default Mode Network—An Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) MRI Study

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