Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
According to Intellihealth, 17 million people in the US have GERD. With a population of 300 million, that's roughly 6% of the population. And apparently 16% of people with GERD have aerophagia (Comorbidity of aerophagia in GERD patients: outcome of laparoscopic antireflux surgery). So 1% of the population has GERD with aerophagia. All that's medically known about aerophagia is that "you have to realize it's happening and then you can consciously stop doing it". WRONG! I'm in a subset of that 1%, where the mechanism of the "air swallowing" taking place can't even be seen; according to my GI doctor in DE, he can usually see people "swallowing" air even if the patient isn't aware of it, with me he sees nothing and has no idea why it's happening. It's more like air "sucking". It even takes place in my sleep, I know this because sometimes I roll over in my sleep and I wake up because I start belching again, and I pass a lot of gas when I wake up in the morning. I'm pretty much a one in a million case; or at the very best, one in several hundred. So that's why I've been seeking out these medical intuitives since I've been stumping doctors right and left.
I've been telling many of my friends about my conversations with medical intuitives and some of them just think I'm nuts. When I told them that the chiropractor confirmed what one of the intuitives said was wrong with my spine, I got the response that "well, anyone could have come up with that, you just have to look in a book to figure that out" and stuff like that. Still people think it's ridiculous that these intuitives might actually know what they're talking about.. I even got, "you're a scientific mind, how can you even believe in that paranormal stuff?"
Here's my counter-response: you put your faith in what works. I've given doctors five months to do thousands of dollars worth of painful medical testing, and they couldn't figure it out. After swallowing barium, having cameras and tubes stuck up my nose and down my throat, x-rays, biopsies, CT scans, etc etc, the only thing they can find is, "your esophagus spasms and your sphincter is weak." Why that happens, they don't know. What to do other than to keep taking these medications that barely work, they don't have an answer.
If it's so easy to just "guess" what might be wrong, how come none of the doctors or specialists I've seen ever considered (or at least told me to consider) that it could be my spine, but both intuitives that I talked to noticed that I had spine problems? Now there's no guarantee getting my spine fixed will help but at least it's worth a try. How come three doctors and two gastroenterologists completely missed (or at least didn't tell me) that I'm continually sucking air into my stomach when I breathe? My GI doc in DE even said that most people with aerophagia, he can see some kind of nervous swallowing habit which is why they swallow so much air but with me he doesn't see anything, it's just happening. I'm sorry, when you get a bogus reason for why something's happening you seek out another opinion.
Footnote:
By the way, here's what has happened with the doctors I've seen since march:
Doc at student health: Prilosec hasn't helped. Refer student to gastroenterologist, possible esophageal dysfunction. (Referred)
Charlottesville GI doc: barium swallow shows reflux. Take Aciphex and Reglan, see if that helps. (Then went home)
Family doc hears me chronically belch; says, "Well that's not very socially acceptable!....You don't seem distended! Well, I have no idea!"
Doc at Johns Hopkins: You're inhaling air into your stomach. There's no medical treatment for that, it must be anxiety. Try acupuncture or hypnotism. (Tried acupuncture; didn't work)
DE GI doc: You've got esophageal spasms and a weak sphincter. But I don't know why you're inhaling air into your stomach. But you'd be miserable if you had surgery because you wouldn't be able to belch! If Reglan isn't helping I don't know what to do.
And now, back to the Charlottesville GI doc.
Like I said, I'm 1 in a million, apparently.
I've been telling many of my friends about my conversations with medical intuitives and some of them just think I'm nuts. When I told them that the chiropractor confirmed what one of the intuitives said was wrong with my spine, I got the response that "well, anyone could have come up with that, you just have to look in a book to figure that out" and stuff like that. Still people think it's ridiculous that these intuitives might actually know what they're talking about.. I even got, "you're a scientific mind, how can you even believe in that paranormal stuff?"
Here's my counter-response: you put your faith in what works. I've given doctors five months to do thousands of dollars worth of painful medical testing, and they couldn't figure it out. After swallowing barium, having cameras and tubes stuck up my nose and down my throat, x-rays, biopsies, CT scans, etc etc, the only thing they can find is, "your esophagus spasms and your sphincter is weak." Why that happens, they don't know. What to do other than to keep taking these medications that barely work, they don't have an answer.
If it's so easy to just "guess" what might be wrong, how come none of the doctors or specialists I've seen ever considered (or at least told me to consider) that it could be my spine, but both intuitives that I talked to noticed that I had spine problems? Now there's no guarantee getting my spine fixed will help but at least it's worth a try. How come three doctors and two gastroenterologists completely missed (or at least didn't tell me) that I'm continually sucking air into my stomach when I breathe? My GI doc in DE even said that most people with aerophagia, he can see some kind of nervous swallowing habit which is why they swallow so much air but with me he doesn't see anything, it's just happening. I'm sorry, when you get a bogus reason for why something's happening you seek out another opinion.
Footnote:
By the way, here's what has happened with the doctors I've seen since march:
Doc at student health: Prilosec hasn't helped. Refer student to gastroenterologist, possible esophageal dysfunction. (Referred)
Charlottesville GI doc: barium swallow shows reflux. Take Aciphex and Reglan, see if that helps. (Then went home)
Family doc hears me chronically belch; says, "Well that's not very socially acceptable!....You don't seem distended! Well, I have no idea!"
Doc at Johns Hopkins: You're inhaling air into your stomach. There's no medical treatment for that, it must be anxiety. Try acupuncture or hypnotism. (Tried acupuncture; didn't work)
DE GI doc: You've got esophageal spasms and a weak sphincter. But I don't know why you're inhaling air into your stomach. But you'd be miserable if you had surgery because you wouldn't be able to belch! If Reglan isn't helping I don't know what to do.
And now, back to the Charlottesville GI doc.
Like I said, I'm 1 in a million, apparently.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Would you say baking soda is good for the soul?
If a flying shoe falls into a forest, have its wings been clipped?
When forty five neanderthals lose their jobs, has Capital One made budget changes?
If an image is cropped, can you eat it?
Is shoe-fly pie tough to catch and hard to smell?
Is Microsoft such a giant that it needs to wear a size 20 shoe?
Is Terrell Owens a receiver of footballs or egotism?
Does the AIM character really ever run?
Do Tom and Jerry ever consider adding a third to their group of dull names?
How many bites does it take for the Mozilla to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?
Do mellophones have specialized ring tones solely for them?
How many prisoners behind bars have cell phones?
Does using Excel make you work faster and does Word make you more literate?
Does PowerPoint make you feel strong?
Does the Rotunda feel just a bit too round in terms of its shape?
How many shrimp can one of us Wahoos fit in our mouths at any given time?
Do Tarheels get stuck on the ground when they play football? Maybe that's why we cream them every year.
How many pages would it take to print the facebook, and how much ink would it take?
Is an alarm clock a cause for panic that time won't stand still?
When you're in the 1% of the population that just doesn't respond to "the usual", do you feel the burn when you eat ice cream?
SO WHAT??
If a flying shoe falls into a forest, have its wings been clipped?
When forty five neanderthals lose their jobs, has Capital One made budget changes?
If an image is cropped, can you eat it?
Is shoe-fly pie tough to catch and hard to smell?
Is Microsoft such a giant that it needs to wear a size 20 shoe?
Is Terrell Owens a receiver of footballs or egotism?
Does the AIM character really ever run?
Do Tom and Jerry ever consider adding a third to their group of dull names?
How many bites does it take for the Mozilla to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?
Do mellophones have specialized ring tones solely for them?
How many prisoners behind bars have cell phones?
Does using Excel make you work faster and does Word make you more literate?
Does PowerPoint make you feel strong?
Does the Rotunda feel just a bit too round in terms of its shape?
How many shrimp can one of us Wahoos fit in our mouths at any given time?
Do Tarheels get stuck on the ground when they play football? Maybe that's why we cream them every year.
How many pages would it take to print the facebook, and how much ink would it take?
Is an alarm clock a cause for panic that time won't stand still?
When you're in the 1% of the population that just doesn't respond to "the usual", do you feel the burn when you eat ice cream?
SO WHAT??
I gotta hand it to this medical intuitive... she saw the problem area in my spine, I had it checked out by a chiropractor, and she was right, it was messed up. Now let's see if fixing it helps me....
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Since doctors have absolutely no idea what to do with me, and acupuncture didn't work either, I decided to try a completely different route. I had a phone conversation with an energy healer yesterday. Apparently you don't need to be standing next to a person to be involved in energy transference; the healer can simply focus on your energy field.
I have to say, it was a very interesting experience. She said that she's able to feel how you are feeling at any given moment, and it was true... several times during the session I felt really jittery and nervous and my heart would race and she could feel that and tried to help me calm down. So while she was scanning me she noticed some sinus problems and tried to drain them. She said that if I felt the need to wipe my nose that means it's working. After a few seconds she realized that my sinuses were dripping down my throat instead. Asking if I had a sinus infection 2 years ago, I said yes; I had a terrible infection during the second semester of my first year. The healer said that my stomach problems originated then ... so apparently I've been a ticking time bomb for a few years! And she said my stomach has been overproducing stomach acid for about a year and a half. (Funny, I've never had heartburn before March) She felt the urge to tell me... "Pli-ori"... I said, "You mean Pylori? (Referring to H Pylori bacteria, there's no bacteria called Pli-ori). I had been tested for H Pylori in a biopsy but it came back negative... maybe the biopsy missed, maybe it's worth testing for again. She also noticed some problems with my spine, although in a different place than where the last intuitive I sought out noticed them.
At the end of it, I asked her why I'm breathing into my stomach, she said that there's a flap in my throat to separate the windpipe/esophagus that isn't working properly (I'm thinking she's talking about the epiglottis) and said it might be infected. And she gave me a list of herbal supplements that can fight the bacteria. Hopefully. Well, I'm seeing the Charlottesville doc on Tuesday, maybe he has some ideas too....
All in all, I'd say it was a worthwhile experience. I'd definitely do it again if I could afford to do it multiple times, but I don't make very much money! :P
I have to say, it was a very interesting experience. She said that she's able to feel how you are feeling at any given moment, and it was true... several times during the session I felt really jittery and nervous and my heart would race and she could feel that and tried to help me calm down. So while she was scanning me she noticed some sinus problems and tried to drain them. She said that if I felt the need to wipe my nose that means it's working. After a few seconds she realized that my sinuses were dripping down my throat instead. Asking if I had a sinus infection 2 years ago, I said yes; I had a terrible infection during the second semester of my first year. The healer said that my stomach problems originated then ... so apparently I've been a ticking time bomb for a few years! And she said my stomach has been overproducing stomach acid for about a year and a half. (Funny, I've never had heartburn before March) She felt the urge to tell me... "Pli-ori"... I said, "You mean Pylori? (Referring to H Pylori bacteria, there's no bacteria called Pli-ori). I had been tested for H Pylori in a biopsy but it came back negative... maybe the biopsy missed, maybe it's worth testing for again. She also noticed some problems with my spine, although in a different place than where the last intuitive I sought out noticed them.
At the end of it, I asked her why I'm breathing into my stomach, she said that there's a flap in my throat to separate the windpipe/esophagus that isn't working properly (I'm thinking she's talking about the epiglottis) and said it might be infected. And she gave me a list of herbal supplements that can fight the bacteria. Hopefully. Well, I'm seeing the Charlottesville doc on Tuesday, maybe he has some ideas too....
All in all, I'd say it was a worthwhile experience. I'd definitely do it again if I could afford to do it multiple times, but I don't make very much money! :P
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
"A cancer" - Howard Eskin, 610 WIP, on Terrell OwensI've been a huge Eagles fan since Donovan McNabb was drafted. And it was awesome to have Terrell Owens on the Eagles last year to go 13-1 with him during the regular season to help the Eagles finally get to the Super Bowl.But T.O. is just making me sick! How do the Patriots win the Super Bowl each year? They play a team game, an unselfish style of play. They don't have individuals who put themselves above the team, they have a team. The Eagles had that last year, they played a team game. Yes, the Donovan-T.O. chemistry last year was great but the Eagles managed to survive and finally win the NFC championship game without Owens.I think the Eagles do need talent to make it to the Super Bowl and win it; the offense got creamed by Carolina's defense in the NFC championship game in 2004. But they also need team chemistry, which is why the Patriots are always able to win it. T.O's whining about his being "underpaid" $49 million is ruining the chemistry on the Eagles. He blows off autograph sessions and ignores the fans. The fans are the reason he has a job!! On 8/10, T.O. left the Eagles camp after an argument with coach Andy Reid. That's it, I've had it with this guy. On 610 WIP, Howard Eskin referred to him as a "cancer". I buy that. No crap. Gee, what's more important, getting more money than a "measly" $49 million, or winning the Super Bowl? I'd much rather make $49 million and win the Super Bowl than get more money and play on a lousy team! And another thing.... Jerome McDougle was shot in Florida and could have died. T.O. just doesn't get it... one of his own teammates was fighting for his life, and he's whining that he's not the richest WR in the game. Give me a break. We don't need that attitude on the Eagles. We like the talent, but the attitude tears the chemistry apart, and without chemistry you've got nothing. Just ask the Lakers and the Yankees. With the loss of WR Todd Pinkston, Terrell Owens' value is increased to the Eagles, talent wise. But the Eagles need a team game and they ain't got it with that attitude.My advice to the Eagles: if you can find any other team outside the division who wants this guy, trade him for one of their receivers. The Eagles do need some kind of receiver with Todd Pinkston out for the season.One thing that Howard Eskin said is that the Eagles shouldn't trade or cut him, just let T.O. suffer. That's a mistake. The first priority for the Eagles is to do what's best for the team. And having that whiner on the team isn't best for the Eagles. They gotta rebuild. Don't sit him and let him suffer.... ship him out of town. Someone else has got to want that level of talent... let his ego be someone else's problem.
