Bush Dodges a Shoe

The question no one seems to be asking about Bush and the Shoe Throwing Iraqi

Where was the Secret Service?

[posted by ♠ Bobblehead ♠]  

An Open Letter To Congressman Tom Tancredo

I sent this to Congressman Tom Tancredo of Colorado.

Dear Congressman Tancredo,

First off, I supported your nomination in this last election and feel you would have made a fine president. Since I live in your neighboring state of NM, issues in Colorado often mirror or affect us here as well.

As a Conservative, I have been very disappointed in the GOP lately. Results in 2008 clearly show this. Regardless of individual opinions of Governor Palin, no one in the GOP can deny that just her ideals as a CONSERVATIVE fired up the party more than Senator McCain ever could (I respect McCain but cannot say he stands for Conservative values).

I am part of a GRASS ROOTS effort to bring messages of Conservative, and even GOP at times, to the people who are on the fence. A lesson from the Obama campaign was how well he utilized the web and all of its tools. A tool he used greatly was called TWITTER. There is a growing movement in TWITTER right now called the Top Conservatives on Twitter, or #tcot. TCOT right now is the statistically highest rank topic on Twitter. Ask any of the "young 'uns" on your staff about Twitter and they will know about it. Obama sure does! So does Hillary Clinton. As a conservative, I urge you to take advantage of the new media as best as you can, have you aids get a twitter account for you, and start spreading the word to people in real time.

With much respect,
Dale Hugo

A Change in The Direction for the Atomic City

Time to Tack A New Tack

It has been a while since I posted and I decided that a change is needed.

Atomic City helped me get through a great crisis in my life. I am still not 100% recovered but I am on the way. We are still screwing around with a last few tests on my pituitary but most likely they will come back fine.

My Basilary Migraines remain and they still suck beyond belief. My balance and ear problems persist as do my hypoglycemia. However, things are not bleak. The medication I am on has stabilized my blood glucose (Proglycem). The migraine preventives kind of work. I know my triggers and my family and I are coping as best as we can.

I am sleeping, again. Atomic City started during my terrible insomnia. Now, thankfully, sleep cycle has gone to normal.

I have been extremely busy at work, sometimes putting in 16 hour days. My workouts have ceased. They will start back up, soon. I miss the gym and need it back in my life.

I have met a world of wonderful people and causes during this phase of Atomic City. I still read many of the blogs from the fine folks I have corresponded with over the past 18 months.

And what now for the Atomic City?

Atomic City on Blogger was originally set up to be more of a politically-based blog, specifically on how politics affects everyday life. As I write this:

• The first African-American (okay, 1/2 Af-Am, 1/2 white) man will take office as the President of the United States in a few weeks. People refer to him as The One. Ironically, in an attempt to battle racism, people accept him based on his ethnic origin and ignore his political standings, background, ideals, and accomplishments. His cabinet looks oddly familiar and his Chief of Staff has found himself smack in the middle of the normal Chicago swamp of politics.
• The Senate shot down then bail-out for the Big Three Automakers but Bush and the White House will probably fund it anyway. That goes AGAINST what his party has already voted on and what the people clearly have stated they do not want.
• The Federal Reserve refuses to tell the public about a TRILLION dollars it has handled. That money is YOURS and MINE, and not THEIRS.
• India and Pakistan are strutting like peacocks over the Mumbia attack. And, once again, a handful of well-trained men overcame every security measure put in place to stop such an attack. And, again, this applies to us. Taking knitting needles away from little old ladies boarding airplanes does not make us secure. Old fashioned intelligence, infiltration, and observing is what stops these attacks. Fort Dix is an example.
• As a scientist, I have little doubt the planet is growing through Climate Change. Climate Change ALWAYS occurs, every single day. Is there Global Warming? Yes, kind of. Is it caused by human activity? The scientific data says that it is doubtful or negligible, but there is no true consensus. What concerns me is the steps the US and UN governments are taking to tax and change our markets and essence based on shoddy, and even purposefully deceitful data (October's temperature ranges being replaced by September's ranges come to mind). I am not here to debate Global Warming, I am here to say EVERYBODY TAKE A DEEP BREATH before we start issuing policy from the hip.
• There is a ton of sniping between the two major parties. Yet I think they are BOTH whacked. That is why I joined the Libertarian Party. Now, I am in many ways more of a Conservative than a text-book Libertarian, but SHEESH, both major parties basically act alike but just trash the other. Enough.

And so on...

I decided to stop whining and try to make a difference. I actually joined a political party before the election, contributed to a campaign (Bob Barr, a former GOP Representative from Atlanta who was the Libertarian candidate).

I also joined a grass-roots organization called BigTent21 whose goal is to move Conservative thinking into the 21st Century. I will Twitter and will blog for under the hash #tcot as well.

Time to walk the walk for the Bobblehead.

I will still post updates on various things in my life, and will write on health and science issues that interest me or I think will be interesting.

If you are one of my "Liberal" friends, stick around. As many of you have already found out, my "Conservative" ideals are actually quite in alignment with much "progressive" ideals, just phrased differently.

Again, a million thanks to those of you who did read Atomic City as it was. The Bobblehead is still here and will continue in his way. You are welcome to continue this journey with me.

Dale Hugo a.k.a The Radioactive Bobblehead

[posted by ♠ Bobblehead ♠]

Having Bobblehead do a "Stim' Test

Your Adrenal Glands Courtesy Of Psycheducation.org

UNM wants me to do a "stim test." I assume they mean a test of Adrenal Gland function called an ACTH Stimulation Test. Essentially they will inject me with ACTH and measure my cortisol response.

This is to see what is causing my hypoglycemia. They mentioned adrenals to me. It looks like they might suspect Addison's Disease. I doubt that I have Addison's, though. Yes, I have some of the symptoms of Addison's, but many of the biggies are missing including a rise in serum potassium (mine is borderline low), abnormal cortisol (mine is normal), darkening of the skin (sorry, I am a stereotypical white boy), nausea (nope), muscle weakness (nope), salt craving (nope), low blood pressure (mine is slightly high), muscle or joint pain (nope).

Another test for Addison's is an insulin tolerance test, which I had wanted run on me in January. I think this is a better use of a test.

Well, it is me and Proglycem against the world!

[posted by ♠ Bobblehead ♠]

Pure Joy

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

I dare you to watch this and not feel good!

I stumbled across this video on NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD). What does this have to do with astronomy? Nothing. Yet it demonstrates the universal humanity of people from around the globe. Besides, Matt looks just plain goofy dancing. However, he does not care because he is to busy enjoying life.We could learn from the Matts at time...
I know, many people have already seen this on various sites but man, it makes me laugh. Also, go check out Where The Hell Is Matt. We are all human...

[posted by ♠ Bobblehead ♠]

Lemonade Life: A view into a twentysomething woman with type 1 diabetes

An Even Fresher View Than This!

Okay, stop what you are doing and go here now! Lemonade Life at http://lemonlemonade.wordpress.com/

Trust me, you will not regret it. Go on, I will wait...

I stumbled across Allison's blog while fooling around with Twitter. She is a friend of another blogger I follow (and wrote about here). Like Courtney, Allison has type 1 diabetes. Actually, and with no offense to either, big deal. One of the things I like to do is browse blogs. I see a lot of blogs about patients with one condition or another. That does not make it a good read.

What I like about Allison's (and, yes you too, Courtney) blog is that their writing gives you good insight into their lives. Allison is a woman with an interesting life who happens to also have type 1 diabetes. Her writing is refreshing and has kept me interested and smiling.

That said, Bobblehead loves the medical stuff. Allison is a die-hard diabetic awareness and cure-driven advocate. She offers a great insight into the constant day-by-day balance of her life (which is higher-paced than mine...ah, to be twenty, again) and a disease where you are constantly making sure your glucose goes neither too high nor too low.

A great example of Allison's insight is her 101 things to achieve in 1001 days list. It includes travel, volunteer time, reading, health, spirit, etc. Again, balance is a key theme in Allison's life. And, again, managing diabetes is a balancing act.

She is now officially on my blog roll and a must read. I am very impressed.

And, not to leave this triathletic, marathon running, long-distance bicycling, insulin-pump wearing, constant glucose monitoring wearing (and swearing at) blogger out, Courtney's Ride To Remedy is another must read for me.

Bravo, ladies.

[posted by ♠ Bobblehead ♠]

Back Home In The Atomic City

Get In The Truck, Boys, We are Going Home!

Well, it was a helluva two weeks. But I am home as of last night. Mom and Dad Bobblehead are doing better. Medically, it was an interesting time. Yes, I will divulge some of their medical information here (nothing everyone doesn't already know), and some things will remain private.

Emotionally, it was a roller coaster. There has always been a strained relationship between myself and my parents. I also see them self destruct so it is frustrating being with them. Maybe I am not in a position to judge, but boy was it rough.

My mom ended up suffering from extreme dehydration and partial renal failure. We know she was taking a number of diuretics including an over-the-counter diet supplement called Hoodia. Her protein levels passed through her kidneys shot up and her blood CO2 levels dropped. She was incoherent for a few days. Her potassium rose significantly adding the risk of heart attack. Her sodium plummeted.

My wife, El, rushed in from Houston, TX. I was stuck in the Land of Enchantment until my own medical tests were completed.

Mother Bobblehead had fluids pumped into her. Her electrolytes were stabilized. By the time I arrived in Nocona, Texas (trust me, Nocona is about as fun as this place) she was off of all IVs and additional medications. She was having a difficult time walking, though. Her legs and feet were greatly swollen due to the edema and electrolyte imbalance.

Her feet were hurting a great deal. There was a debate on what was causing the pain. She (and I) have a history of gout. There was an assumption before I got there that gout was the culprit. I insisted a uric acid blood test be run and it came back just a tad over normal, basically inconclusive. Arthritis was another possible explanation as was just the discomfort of the edema. Finally we got her up with a walker where she started physical therapy.

A few days later, she went home. By this time Mrs. Bobblehead had returned to the kids in Houston.

Several things were blatantly apparent:

• Neither of my parents had a clear idea of which medications they should be taking.
• My mom's type 2 diabetes was under control in the hospital because we were controlling her diet.
• My Dad's Type 2 diabetes was not under control.
• Both my parents had no stamina at all or muscle tone.
• My father has very bad pain due to arthritis in his knees.
• We were not sure what the story was on my mom's kidneys.
• They were not eating well.
• Their necks hurt.
• They fall often.

Okay, where to get started...

Mrs. Bobblehead and I went through every pill bottle and sheet from doctors we could find. We called and faxed lists to various doctors. We looked at pharmacy lists. Eventually we had a comprehensive list of all medications they needed to be on. We included the dosages, the times of day, the prescribing doctors, and the reasons they were taking the medications. This was a huge endeavor (trust me) but at least we know where we stand now. Sure enough, once they got used to the right medications, they started quickly to stabilize and feel better. A shout out to CVS Pharmacy in Bowie, Texas. Six trips out there but the staff was wonderful in helping us out!

All wacky supplements went bye-bye. Now, I take a ton of supplements, but I have a clear understanding of what and why to take them. For now, they are on good multivitamins only.

I bought a crock-pot and cooked each night. There diet was controlled. All sugar candy and treats went bye-bye. Now their type 2 diabetes is looking good. Many days my mom does not need to inject any insulin at all. My dad's sugar has been consistent and reasonable (under 200). I insisted on an AI-C test for Mom. Basically, this is a test to see what your "average" blood glucose levels were over the past 30-60 days. Mom's was actually pretty good.

I took them to the local wellness center (where my mom did her physical therapy). There they did some very low impact work starting with the Nustep. By the way, I love the Nustep. It is a seated, recumbent stepper which is very low impact. I use it due to my imbalance issues. The company deserves a plug!

Anyway, their workouts helped. Yes, they were sore, but they are not used to it. Hopefully they continue to go with me gone.

I also taught them some simple McKenzie neck exercises. These saved me when I was at the Cleveland Clinic. If you have Neck or Back Pain, get McKenzie's Books:

My father had the first of three injections of collagen in his knees made from chicken parts. Honest. Scynvisc injections are often a great relief for arthritic pain in the knees. The injections were easy and he started to feel better in a few days.

I installed an alarm in case they fall. Works pretty well although it is a bit pricey.

Mother Bobblehead saw a urologist. Good news, no permanent damage to her kidneys. Even better news, her CT Scan showed no plaque build up in her aorta meaning her cardiovascular system is in good shape.

So, when I left they were in good shape. Let us hope they continue to take care of themselves.

As for me, I plan on going to the gym later....

[posted by ♠ Bobblehead ♠]

Mother Bobblehead is Back Home

 

Mother Bobblehead Hates Hospital Food

She was in for almost 2 weeks but she is finally back home. She is basically through with physical therapy and getting around with a walker. Personally I believe the walker is for psycological reasons only, as she kind of carries it more than she rolls it. I suspect she will be around without a cane in a week and a half.

I signed her and Father Bobblehead up for a three month membership to the local wellness center in Nocona, TX. It is actually a beautiful facility and I suspect Mom will enjoy it. I doubt Dad goes at all.

I also ordered them one of those "I've fallen and I can't get up" alrams from Lifeline. It gets here next week. For giggles, see the original commercial at RetroJunk.

The big dogs are being good, considering they are cooped up in the (very, very large) kennel for hours at a time. I am walking and watering them constantly. They are good boys.

That's it for now. Will write more later.

Bobblehead

Proglycem Shortage Announced

Great.
The FDA announced a Proglycem shortage, the one drug I really really need for my reactive hypoglycemia.

Teva announces Proglycem drug shortage

Date Posted: July 24, 2008

Teva has announced a shortage of Proglycem (diazoxide oral suspension) due to manufacturing delays. Presently, Proglycem is still available from Teva's emergency supplies.

Proglycem is used for the treatment of hypoglycemia.

For more information call (888) TEVA-USA

Damn.
The actual FDA Announcement Here.

Bobblehead

And the latest with the Bobblehead's own Screwy Endocrine System

The latest Endocrinologist I saw at UNM is concerned that my reactive hypoglycemia may still be caused by a pituitary disorder or by a tumor secreting insulin somewhere in my body. Haven't I already been down this path?

Bobblehead

Latest on Bobblehead's Mom

Well, my mom is coherent, again. The drugs have been backing up in her system over days and days. Her protein levels are back to normal and so is her sodium and potassium. But her legs and ankles are terribly swollen with edema. She is still tired, refuses to eat, and her lower back hurts. All symptoms of renal failure and kidney damage.
The good news is we finally did confirm she saw a  nephrologist a few weeks ago. I have his name and number and we will be calling him first thing in the morning to confirm his prescriptions and to let him know a patient of his ended up in the hospital with renal failure only 2 weeks since he gave her a clean bill of kidney health.
Bobblehead

Slow Down On Atomic City

Bobblehead's mom went into the hospital for renal failure so I just drove into Nowhere Texas (Nocona). I will write more as I get a chance. Long story. Bobblelhead

What Is Wrong With People?

Will you shut up, already?

So, Bobblehead joined the countless number of individuals who went to see the Dark Knight this weekend. The movie was very good. Ledger's performance was spectacular. It is a tragedy that he burned himself out so early.

But this post is not about the movie. It is about the masses in the theater.

Bobblehead loves going to the movies. I enjoy the big screen, the sound. I just usually enjoy the theater experience.

Usually.

The theater, a fairly new one in Santa Fe,NM, was not packed but it was fairly full. There was no doubt going in to this movie that it would be violent. It also would be loud, and long. It was rated PG-13. I saw any number of 10-12 year old boys and girls with their parents. I would not have brought my 10 year old. But that was okay.

What was upsetting was the number of really young kids in the theater. Babies, 3 year olds. They were loud. They got scared and started to cry. One boy behind me spoke through the whole film. It was more than annoying.

Kid's fault? Nope. Stupid parents.

I brought my kids to some movies I wanted to see (none which I thought would be this scary) also when they were younger. And if they acted up, we went out of the theater For the most part I stopped seeing a number of films for a while that did not have some sort of talking animal in it.

Is that enough to get me upset? Nope.

The guy in front of me (he was in his sixties so the asshat should have known better) kept answering his cell phone. He did get up (in front of me) and leave the theater every time it rang. It rang four times during the movie. I had my cell phone with me. The ringer was off.

Then I think it was bathroom express. People were coming and going in and out of the theater constantly. I had to get up numerous times to let people out. I had my head and chair bumped several time from the people behind me. It was a parade.

Maybe I am slowly getting to the age where I am becoming an old fogey but what the heck? When did we become so rude? Part of watching a movie on DVD or cable is that you can do what you want in your home without bothering everyone around you (except your family, but you get bonus points for bothering them!). I enjoyed the movie but I am in no rush to run out for an opening of a big movie again anytime soon.

Hurumph!

[posted by ♠ Bobblehead ♠]