Ticked

I got up and headed for work about 5:45 this morning.  Just as I was getting ready to leave I started sneezing.   I sneezed all the way to work.  Then at work I was sneezing.  I sometimes have allergies, so I take a form of Zertec every morning as my doctor instructed.  On ocassion I run into something that sets off my allergies.  Sneezing, runny nose (very), watery eyes, the whole bit.  So I take an antihistamine or two in addition to the generic Zyrtec.  I did this as soon as I got to work.  After about an hour the runny nose and all slowed down and I was able to function better.   About noon, it all just started up again.  So I took a couple more antihistamines.

TickWell driving home, for some reason I felt a tiny bump under my shirt.  It was attached to my chest, just under my right nipple.  It didn’t take long to figure out that it was probably a tick that had attached itself to my body.  I couldn’t really see for sure as I was driving down the interstate.  So, as soon as I got home I took a look at it in the mirror… and sure enough it was a tick.  So I immediately Googled tick removal and found the proper way to remove a tick:

Remove a tick from your skin as soon as you notice it. Use fine-tipped tweezers to firmly grasp the tick very close to your skin. With a steady motion, pull the tick’s body away from your skin. Then clean your skin with soap and warm water. Throw the dead tick away with your household trash.

Avoid crushing the tick’s body. Do not be alarmed if the tick’s mouthparts remain in the skin. Once the mouthparts are removed from the rest of the tick, it can no longer transmit the Lyme disease bacteria. If you accidentally crush the tick, clean your skin with soap and warm water or alcohol.

Don’t use petroleum jelly, a hot match, nail polish, or other products to remove a tick.

I did just that.  It came out in two pieces, but that’s his problem, not mine.  It was a stubborn little thing.

I learned this about my tick:

  1. Are there white markings on the rear margin of the tick’s back OR a single white spot in the center of the back?

YES: This is the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum) . These ticks are common in the midwest. They have long, narrow mouthparts (as in the illustration above) and their bodies are somewhat round in shape rather than oval-shaped like other ticks. Lone star ticks can transmit tularemia and other diseases including one similar to Lyme disease but milder.

I also learned this about ticks in general:

 A tick needs a blood meal from a host in order to molt (progress to the next stage of its life cycle), and to reproduce (lay eggs).  This feeding process continues for several days to a week until the tick is fully engorged with blood.  It then releases its hold on the host, drops off, and subsequently molts or lays eggs.

I’m assuming my body was reacting to the tick by presenting the allegy symptoms.  I already feel better now that that varmint is dead.

Dave Barry’s Colonoscopy Journal:

I can vouch for the accuracy of this report.  Been there, done that.

I called my friend Andy  Sable, a gastroenterologist, to make an  appointment for a colonoscopy. A few  days later, in his office, Andy showed me a color diagram of the colon, a lengthy organ that appears to go all over the place, at one point passing briefly through Minneapolis. Then Andy explained the colonoscopy procedure to me in a thorough, reassuring and patient manner. I nodded thoughtfully, but I  didn’t really hear anything he said, because my brain was shrieking, quote,  ‘HE’S GOING TO STICK A TUBE 17,000 FEET UP YOUR BEHIND!’
 
I left Andy’s office with  some  written instructions, and a prescription for a product called MoviPrep, which comes in a box large enough to hold a microwave oven. I will discuss MoviPrep in detail later; for now suffice it to say that we must never allow it to fall into the hands of America’s enemies.
 
I spent the next several  days productively sitting around being nervous. Then, on the day before my colonoscopy, I began my preparation.  In accordance with my instructions, I  didn’t eat any solid food that day; all I had was chicken broth, which is  basically water, only with less flavor. Then, in the evening, I took the  MoviPrep. You mix two packets of powder together in a one-liter plastic jug, and then you fill it with lukewarm water. (For those unfamiliar with the metric system, a liter is about 32 gallons.) Then you have to drink the whole jug. This takes about an hour, because MoviPrep tastes – and here I am  being  kind – like a mixture of goat spit and urinal cleanser, with just a hint of  lemon.
 
The instructions for  MoviPrep, clearly written by somebody with a great sense of humor, state that after you drink it, ‘a loose watery bowel movement may result.’ This is kind  of like saying that after you jump off your roof, you may  experience contact with the ground.
 
MoviPrep is a nuclear  laxative. I don’t want to be too graphic, here, but: Have you ever seen a space-shuttle launch? This is pretty much the MoviPrep experience, with you as the shuttle. There are times when you wish the commode had a seat belt. You spend several hours pretty much confined to the bathroom, spurting violently. You eliminate everything. And then, when you figure you must be totally  empty, you have to drink another liter of MoviPrep, at which point, as far as I can tell, your bowels travel into the future and start eliminating food that you have not even eaten yet.
 
After an action-packed evening, I finally got to sleep.   The next morning my wife drove me to the  clinic. I was very nervous. Not only was I worried about the procedure, but I  had been experiencing occasional return bouts of MoviPrep spurtage. I  was thinking, ‘What if I spurt on Andy?’ How do you apologize to a friend for something like that?   Flowers would not be enough.
 
At the clinic I had to sign many forms acknowledging that  I understood and totally agreed with whatever the heck the forms said. Then they led me to a room full of other colonoscopy  people,  where I went inside a little curtained space and took off my clothes and put on one of those hospital garments designed by sadist perverts,  the  kind that, when you put it on, makes you feel even more naked than when you are actually naked.
 
Then a nurse named Eddie  put a little needle in a vein in my left hand.  Ordinarily I would have fainted, but Eddie was very good, and I was already lying down. Eddie also told me that some people put vodka in their MoviPrep. At first I was ticked off that I hadn’t thought of this, but then I pondered what would happen if you got your self too tipsy to make it to the bathroom, so you were staggering around  n full Fire Hose Mode. You would have no choice but to burn your house.
 
When everything was ready, Eddie wheeled me into the procedure room, where Andy was waiting with a nurse and an  anesthesiologist. I did not see the 17,000-foot tube, but I knew Andy had it hidden around there somewhere. I was seriously nervous at this point. Andy had me roll over on my left side, and the anesthesiologist began hooking something up to the needle in my hand. There was music playing in the room, and I  realized that the song was ‘Dancing Queen’ by Abba. I remarked to Andy that, of all the songs that could be playing during this particular procedure, ‘Dancing Queen’ has to be the least appropriate.
 
‘You want me to turn it  up?’ said Andy, from somewhere behind me. ‘Ha ha,’ I said. And then it was  time, the moment I had been dreading for more than a decade. If you are squeamish, prepare yourself, because I am going to tell you, in explicit detail, exactly what it was like.
 
I have no idea. Really. I  slept through it. One moment, Abba was shrieking ‘Dancing Queen! Feel the beat from the tambourine’ and the next moment, I was back in the other room, waking up in a very mellow mood. Andy was looking down at me and asking me how I felt. I felt excellent. I felt even more excellent when Andy told me that it  was all over, and that my colon had passed with flying colors. I have never been prouder of an internal organ.

I would say “Cheers”, but  somehow the expression “Up Yours” had a more appropriate ring to it.

Thanks Joe P

Ladies discussing cosmetic surgery….

Two women were having lunch together, and discussing the merits of cosmetic surgery.

The first woman says, “I need to be honest with you, I’m getting a boob job.”

The second woman says “Oh that’s nothing, I’m thinking of having my asshole bleached!”

To which the first replies, “Whoa I just can’t picture your husband as a blonde!”

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Pregnancy, Estrogen, and Women

Bits & Pieces is proud to bring you this helpul information.

Pregnancy Q&A

Q: Should I have a baby after 35?
 A: No, 35 children is enough.
 
 Q : I’m two months pregnant now. When will my baby move?
 A: With any luck, right after he finishes college.

 Q : What is the most reliable method to determine a baby’s sex?
 A: Childbirth.
 
 Q: My wife is five months pregnant and so moody that sometimes she’s borderline irrational.
 A: So what’s your question?
 
 Q : My childbirth instructor says it’s not pain I’ll feel during labor, but pressure. Is she right?
A: Yes, in the same way that a tornado might be called an air current.
 
 Q: When is the best time to get an epidural? 
 A: Right after you find out you’re pregnant.    
 
 Q : Is there any reason I have to be in the delivery room while my wife is in labor?
 A: Not unless the word ‘alimony’ means anything to you.

 Q: Is there anything I should avoid while recovering from childbirth?
 A: Yes, pregnancy.
 
 Q : Do I have to have a baby shower?
 A: Not if you change the baby’s diaper very quickly.
 
 Q : Our baby was born last week. When will my wife begin to feel and act normal again?
A: When the kids are in college.
 
 10 WAYS TO KNOW IF YOU HAVE ‘ESTROGEN ISSUES’
  1. Everyone around you has an attitude problem.
 2. You’re adding chocolate chips to your cheese omelet.
 3. The dryer has shrunk every last pair of your jeans.
4. Your husband is suddenly agreeing to everything you say.
 5. You ‘re using your cellular phone to dial up every bumper sticker that says: ‘How’s my driving-call 1- 800-‘.
6. Everyone’s head looks like an invitation to batting practice.
 7. Everyone seems to have just landed here from ‘outer space.’
9. You’re sure that everyone is scheming to drive you crazy.
10. The ibuprofen bottle is empty and you bought it yesterday.

 TOP TEN THINGS ONLY WOMEN UNDERSTAND
 10. Cats’ facial expressions.
 9. The need for the same style of shoes in different colors.
 8. Why bean sprouts aren’t just weeds.
 7. Fat clothes.
 6. Taking a car trip without trying to beat your best time.
 5. The difference between beige, ecru, cream, off-white, and eggshell.
4. Cutting your hair to make it grow.
 3. Eyelash curlers.
 2. The inaccuracy of every bathroom scale ever made.
 
 AND, the Number One thing only women understand:
 
 1. OTHER WOMEN

Thanks Joe P

Doctors answering your questions….

From The Guardian.co.uk:

Ever wondered if doctors are frightened of catching what you’ve got? What their notes really mean? Or how to get round their receptionist? We asked five doctors to spill the beans.

Dr Everything General practice
Dr Child Paediatrics
Dr Cancer Oncology
Dr Gynae Women’s health
Dr Mind Psychiatry

Here are a few questions:

Why do patients have to sit for so long in waiting rooms?

Dr Everything In general practice it may well have to do with a number of factors, such as the GP starting late or the GP dealing with emergencies. And not all problems can be shoehorned into a 10-minute consultation. Many are complex – mental-health issues, grief, cancer and sick children to name but a few. Some GPs teach their patients to book double appointments if their problems are tricky, while others may have queues of patients checking about the flu.

Dr Gynae Patients are often given appointment times of 15 minutes earlier than their actual appointment to compensate for parking problems at hospitals.

Dr Child Doctors often arrive late at clinic because of work commitments on the ward or elsewhere, or following a desperate bid to squeeze in lunch. Some clinics have a crazy system whereby everyone arrives at once and is seen on a “first come, first served’ basis. This is worth complaining about.

Dr Cancer Usually because someone has allocated too-small time slots, or because members of the team are away. If you have had to wait, don’t berate the doctor as it only slows things down even more.

Are you annoyed when a patient wants a second opinion?

Dr Mind I welcome second opinions.

Dr Gynae I am slightly irritated if it seems the patient has a lack of confidence in me.

Dr Cancer No. I think it is important for the patient to have complete trust in their doctor and their treatment.

Dr Child If the request comes in the context of genuine concern, that’s fine. Most patients here will be seen by more than one doctor anyway.

Dr Everything Definitely not. If I am proved right, that can be an ego rush; but the most valuable times are when I am wrong, and I can figure out how it could have gone better and what I didn’t know. Good patient relationships have come out of me replying honestly about where I think things went wrong and what I would do to improve the situation.

Have you ever had to fire a patient?

Dr Gynae No.

Dr Everything Some longstanding GPs have, but so far I have not. Patients get fired for repeatedly failing to attend appointments, violence, verbal abuse, drug misuse and deliberately misleading or manipulating staff.

Dr Mind Certainly I have, particularly when patients become overattached or excessively demanding.

Dr Cancer No, but I’ve been tempted at times.

More

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Water

One glass of water shuts down midnight hunger pains for almost 100% of the dieters in a recent University study.

 Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.

 Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.

 A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen.

 Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

 Are you drinking the amount of water you should every day?
 

(No kidding, all of the above is true!) 

Then  of course, too much water may have strange side effects.

 Now that I have your attention, go get another glass of water… BUT BE VERY
  CAREFUL….

Water oveload

Thanks Joe P