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The Obsessed Junkie

Grammy Guru ⁽⁸⁴⁶⁾ United States

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Back at You, Good Buddies

Posted Saturday, August 29, 2009 (83 days 23 hours ago.) Viewed 250 times.

I have been taking a break from nearly everything, except my day job. If I did that, my daughters would have to hire someone to take care of their three children. Not that they wouldn't. I just don't want to entrust the care of Sugarplum, Lovebug and Baby Joseph to anyone else.

Beginning on the July 4th weekend, I got illness #1, which caused illness #2, which resulted in me getting a new M.D. to replace the incompetent one I had. The good news is I found an amazing M.D., who actually takes time to address my health concerns and really listens to me. I am now on the road to recovery and ready to begin writing again.

While I was on hiatus, I read several books and want to recommend them to you. The first is the True Story of the Bilderberg Group, the second is the Great Influenza. I can only say that after reading both books, I'm sure my blood pressure shot up ten points. However, forewarned is forearmed. If you have a strong stomach for graft and corruption, these would be good books to add to your library. Another good book I read is When All Plans Fail. The M.D. who wrote the book has been present at many international disasters and offers great advice.

With the extra time I've had, I've been reading reports from online news sources. I'd like to recommend that for an accurate information on the Swine Flu vaccine, go to the americanobserver.uk., type in the words Swine Flu and read what's happened to some of the people in the clinical test groups.

Fall is in the air today, so I've decided to do something positive and productive. For me, that often means cooking and/or baking. Today it's pasta e fagioli and corn bread muffins. Dinner is at 6.

Ya all come.

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Treating and Controlling High Blood Pressure

Posted Saturday, July 04, 2009 (140 days 1 hour ago.) Viewed 614 times.

My father and brother had high blood pressure beginning in their mid thirties, but they also had defective heart mitrovalves. Over the years, they were on most of the recommended therapies for high blood pressure; however, the physicians treating them were unable to keep their blood pressure under control.

Somehow, until ten years ago, I dodged the bullet and had no blood pressure problems. Then, seemingly out of the blue, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. My blood pressure stays under control for awhile, and then suddenly skyrockets. I can be sitting at home, quietly reading and, bam! My blood pressure soars. Some people say they are not aware when their blood pressure is high. But, when my diastolic pressure is over 80, my ear drums feel as if they are going to explode. That's my cue to get out the blood pressure cuff and see how high the pressure really is.

Depending on what studies you read, most stastics say that about one in three U. S. adults have hypertension. That is a staggering stastic. I survived ovarian cancer, so I thought, ignorantly, how bad is treating my high blood pressure going to be? Wow, pass the ketchup (low sodium) and let me eat my words. I have the same issues as my sibling and father. My high blood pressure is not easily treatable. For many people, getting their high blood pressure under control can be a nightmare, even when they find a competent specialist to design the right treatment plan and prescribe the correct medications in the right dosages.

My daughter's co-worker gave her an article I highly recommend you read, if you are having difficulty getting and keeping your high blood pressure under control. My nephrologist has published many articles regarding treating high blood pressure, using different approaches, and he asked to make a copy of this article. The title of this article is "Why the Treatment of Hypertension has Become Such a Deplorable Fiasco, Part I and Part II. You may download this information from this website: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/12/03/hypertensin-part two.aspx .

I don't have a medical or science background, so some of the information in this article went over my head. However, my doctor distilled the information enough for me to understand that diagnosing the underlying cause of the hypertension is crucial, and many people who are being treated for hypertension are on the wrong medications, the wrong dosages, too many medications or all three, because the underlying cause of their disease has not been diagnosed. There is a test, Direct Renin immunoassay, that is available through Quest Laboratories which will detect the underlying cause of one's high blood pressure. If the test shows you have an excess of renin or of sodium, your treatment plan and medications can be adjusted according to your diagnosis.

Some of us must also address the issue of stress and how it can contribute to our high blood pressure problems. In my case, to help me cope with daily stress, I am going to take a class in meditation and biofeedback and am using the Resperate machine, recommended by Mayo Clinic for treatment of high blood pressure.

I wish treating medical conditions were always a straightforward matter, but that is not the case. As patients, we have to be proactive and investigate proper and current treatments for our diseases and health problems. We sometimes need to search for physicians willing to listen to our concerns and needs and to utilize treatments we believe are in our own best interests. I feel comfortable questioning my doctor if I disagree with his treatment plan. He doesn't take it personally and explains thoroughly why he's chosen a specific treatment or medication. I have refused to take specific medications due to their side effects and requested alternative tests when they are covered by my insurance and my research indicates the tests would be helpful in treating my illness. For me, this has meant finding new physicians and utilizing a combination of natural as well as conventional treatments.

If you have uncontrollable high blood pressure, take time to research your treatment options. It could literally save your life.

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Celebrating the Fourth

Posted Sunday, June 28, 2009 (145 days 22 hours ago.) Viewed 544 times.

They are almost three years old, but, to some degree, they already understand what it means to be an American. Before they were a year old, they were taken to the local Fourth of July parades and taught to stand with their hands over their hearts as the American flag passed. They know how to salute properly the veterans marching in those parades. Their parents model how to stand quietly and show reverence when our national anthem is played. They wear "Proud to be an American" tee shirts even when it isn't the Fourth of July. Their parents regularly show them the triangularly folded, glass encased flags that once adorned their grandfathers' coffins and explain their grandfathers were true superheroes.

This year they each will have their own miniature flags to wave as the parades pass by. In the years to come, they will learn how their freedom was purchased with someone else's blood and sacrifice and to never, ever take for granted the gift given to them by American patriots who valued liberty more than their own lives.

In successive years, amid the celebration of the Fourth of July events, we trust these young Americans will comprehend more fully the blessings of being an American citizen. But, as grandparents and parents, it is our responsibility to inspire them to serve their country in ways commensurable with their abilities.

Helping to keep America the land of the free is every American's ongoing duty and responsibility.

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A Widow's Plight

Posted Sunday, June 14, 2009 (159 days 17 hours ago.) Viewed 1,050 times.

Her parents wanted her to finish high school, but she insisted she would marry the wealthy young farmer at the end of the school term. Her parents reluctantly gave their consent. She was seventeen years old when she married. It was the 1940's, and marrying at such a young age wasn't an uncommon occurrence.

She was a devoted wife and mother. After farming for twelve years, the couple sold out and moved from Iowa to Texas . Her husband became a foreman on the docks in Houston . They invested in real estate and made a good living. They helped establish one of the larger churches in Houston . Life was good. They had children and grandchildren. They were married for over fifty years. Then one day, sitting in the den of their retirement home, her husband had a massive heart attack and was dead in an instant.

Those closest to Ruth knew her husband could be verbally and sometimes physically abusive. After he died, many of her friends wondered if she were glad to be free of such oppression. They need not have wondered; she was bereft without him.

She lived alone for a year, enduring bouts of depression and feelings of hopelessness. Unbelievably, many of her friends and church acquaintances did not rally to support her. One day, she went to a Parents Without Partners meeting. She was far older than most of the attendees, but she didn't care. She was still a parent and thought the meetings might be a good place to find help and support.

Almost by God's design, at that first meeting, she met, Richard, a widower who was a few years her senior. His wife of fifty years had died, and he was sad and lonely also. After the meetings, they began to talk and, eventually, had casual coffee dates. After a year of dating casually, they fell in love. He was the man of her dreams; patient, kind, loving and a better father to her children than their own father had been. He wanted to marry her, and she wanted to be his wife.

Their children thought they deserved to be happy and supported a marriage between the couple. However, when Ruth contacted her insurance carrier, they informed her that, when she remarried, she would not be covered by her deceased husband's insurance nor would she continue receiving her widow's pension.

Richard was willing to support Ruth and assume responsibility for her medical coverage; however, she knew that would create a financial burden for him. She was accustomed to receiving her widow's pension and insurance benefits as well as her deceased husband's Social Security benefits. Without that income and those benefits, they would struggle to make ends meet.

Reluctantly Ruth declined to marry Richard. They maintained their respective homes and saw one another daily, but they were never able to marry and become true partners. Both Richard and Ruth were Christians and believed that living together without being legally married was a sin.

When Richard became terminally ill and was forced to relocate to northern Texas so that one of his children could assume responsibility for his care, he lost the will to live. Ruth had become more feeble and was unable to make the two hour journey to visit him. Although they spoke by telephone every day, they missed eating together, attending church and family functions together and seeing one another every day.

Ruth lived a year and a half after Richard's demise. During that time, she often said Richard was the great love of her life, and, she wasn't sure not marrying him had been the right decision after all.

I believe it is a great injustice that Ruth had to make that decision. Marrying after her husband's death should not have disqualified her from receiving her widow's pension, her insurance benefits nor her first husband's Social Security benefits.

I wonder when these archaic Social Security laws and pension rules will change so that lonely widows, who want to have a second chance at love, can do so without having to choose between co-habiting and being legally married?

God blesses the marriage union, so why are the government and companies, that give us the pensions we've earned, so eager to deprive widows of their benefits?

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The Obsessed Junkie

Back at You, Good Buddies

Treating and Controlling High Blood Pressure

Celebrating the Fourth

A Widow's Plight

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