Nailed

Dragon Mood? -- in pain yet remorseful at my murderous reaction

While trimming a wildly overgrown vine on the side of the house, I attracted the unwanted attention of an immense and apparently ANGRY bumblebee.

Bumblebee

This bee was so aggressive I presumed it was a male, but I learned later it was most likely a female I had threatened or perhaps even disturbed her nest. She was out to GET me! She landed on one gloved hand, I brushed her away and she went right for the other gloved hand. I watched as she landed and immediately felt her stinger in the back of my hand. She actually landed stinger first and stung me through a heavy work glove!  I knocked her down and (I hate to admit it) I stepped on her and killed her.

I kept working but my hand hurt.  I eventually came in, put some Benadryl on it and finished my job.  I stupidly didn't think to try to pull out the stinger (as if I could see one without reading glasses!) and within an hour or so, my hand began to swell and itch.  I did use the old baking soda paste remedy which 'cooled' it a bit, but my hand is still swollen this morning and tender to the touch.

I bet it's been easily twenty years, maybe even twenty-five years since my last bee sting.  I remember as a child my shock that a bee would want to hurt me.  I can't say my feelings have changed over the years.

Sorry, Lady Bee, I didn't mean to disturb your nest, much less destroy you.  I'm feeling bad about that.

Exercise as a drug

Dragon Mood? -- what are the implications for me?

While surfing around the web, I ran across a site authored by a Dr. Mercola, MD. Usually I regard these types of sites as quasi-spam, but reading his content, it actually made some sense to me.

I particularly liked this quote below:

I actually view exercise as a drug with regard to being properly prescribed and having proper dosage, And it's one that you can readily substitute for some of the most common drugs used today for things like diabetes, heart disease and depression. All of these conditions will improve with exercise and with the help of an experienced natural health care clinician.

... And as I've explained on countless occasions, normalizing your insulin levels is the most important factor for optimizing your overall health and preventing disease of all kinds, from diabetes, to heart disease, to cancer, and everything in between.

It runs neck and neck with vitamin D as the two most important physical elements that you can do to improve your health.

Food Revolution

Dragon Mood? -- enthused -- sign up TODAY!

With childhood obesity and diabetes rates skyrocketing, join with Jamie Oliver and thousands of other concerned Americans to fight for our kids' health.

Sign up for Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

Breastfeeding BENEFITS!

Dragon Mood? -- pleased

There's an interesting article published by the BBC stating that breastfeeding provides health protection not only for the baby, but for the mother, as well.

Here's are some numbers to back the article's claim:

Research has found that breastfeeding reduces a woman's risk of ovarian and breast cancer and osteoporosis in later life.

And the list of benefits for the baby is long, with breast milk credited with protecting against obesity, diabetes, asthma and infections of the ear, stomach and chest.

The latest US study, by the University of Pittsburgh, focused on nearly 140,000 post-menopausal women.

On average, it had been 35 years since the women had last breastfed - suggesting the beneficial impact lasts for decades.

As well as cutting the risk of heart problems, breastfeeding for more than a year cut the risk of high blood pressure by 12%, and diabetes and high cholesterol by around 20%.

I breastfed Caroline for a year and Josh for a year, as well. I loved every minute of it. Well-l-l, almost every minute of it. But seriously, given the opportunity again, I would breastfeed my babies (or even someone else's baby -- go, Salma Hayek!) in a HEARTBEAT!

And now, thirty years after the fact, to find out that I am STILL benefiting from breastfeeding my children, well, that's like the ultimate FROSTING ON THE CAKE! It's so lovely to hear some GOOD NEWS!

Before the crack of dawn

Dragon Mood? -- concerned

At what seemed like the crack of dawn this Saturday morning (I just realized it was before the crack), S had an MRI in East Lansing this morning. Our doctor is trying to identify what is causing her chronic low back pain. After some extensive Googling efforts, we're both wondering about a prolapsed lumbar disc.

Sensory and NEW!

Dragon Mood? -- loving sensory things

Can you imagine the pleasure of a BRAND NEW sensory experience at the ripe age of fifty-four? Allow me to enlighten you!

S and I were up north this past weekend (Cisco, too!).     Saturday evening, we went to Michelle and Jim's home for supper (Michelle is S's sister). Dinner was fashionably late (ten o'clock), but while dinner cooked, Jim introduced us to this vibrating spider-like contraption that you or another person can use to stroke your hair and scalp. (I thought of YOU, Lina!) It was WONDERFUL! Most relaxing! I think we may have to ask Santa for one in our stocking!

The OTHER sensory experience I had that night was ear candling. I had never heard of it before Saturday night. Simply never heard of it. Jim came out of the bedroom or bathroom with this 10 or 12" long tapered candle-looking like thing. It actually felt like waxed cloth or waxed heavy paper that was spiraled into a long, slender conical shape. You could see through it from one end to the other.

I laid on the sofa on my side with my head relatively horizontal. Jim took a paper plate, made a nickel-sized hole in the center, placed the ear candle through the hole, lit the top of the cone and gently placed it in my ear. I really can't say that I experienced any sounds or smells with the procedure, although after about ten minutes I felt some pressure inside my ear and pushed the ear candle away from my head slightly.

When he was done, he showed me that there was this pale yellowish powder inside the hollow candle. This was (supposedly) the stuff that the ear candle had drawn out of my ear, wax and dirt and dead cells, I guess. I tapped some of it into my hand, smeared it on my palm and smelled it. It smelled waxy and slightly burnt, but it certainly didn't have the smell of the detritus that comes out of one's belly button or behind your ears when you haven't washed for several days. It didn't smell funky at all.

I will admit that I had my reservations about ear candling's efficacy, but I also was enjoying Jim's ministrations. Being the go-for-the-gusto dragon that I am, I asked him if he would do my other ear too? Sure, he replied.

So, he did the other ear, with pretty much the same results. Pale yellowish powder, no funky smell.

When we got home, I googled ear candling and got an EARFUL (ha-ha). Here's what one typical site said:

Why Ear Candling Is Not a Good Idea

"Ear candling," also known as auricular candling or coning, refers to various procedures that involve placing a cone-shaped device in the ear canal and supposedly extracting earwax and other impurities with the help of smoke or a burning wick. The origins of candling are obscure. Ancient Tibet, China, Egypt, the pre-Columbian Americas, and even the mythical city of Atlantis are cited as possible contributors. The procedures supposedly create a low-level vacuum that draws wax and other debris out of the ear canal. Some proponents even claim that impurities are removed from the inner ear, the facial sinuses, or even the brain itself, all of which are somehow connected to the canal.

... Since wax is sticky, the negative pressure needed to pull wax from the canal would have to be so powerful that it would rupture the eardrum in the process. However, candling produces no vacuum. Researchers who measured the pressure during candling of ear models found that no negative pressure was created. The same investigators candled eight ears and found that no ear wax was removed and candle wax was actually deposited in some of them!

The Bottom Line

For most people, ear wax moves along the ear canal and eventually makes it to the outside, taking with it any accumulated dirt or other matter. Compacted ear wax should be removed by a physician or other health professional using legitimate instruments. Candling is both ineffective and dangerous.

(sigh) So much for new sensory experiences, huh! I probably won't do any more ear candling. I'm glad I can say that I tried it though. But, then there's that vibrating spider thing ...

Christmas at Eastertime ...

Dragon Mood? -- enjoying shiny new things

Christmas at Eastertime ... or what's the Easter Bunny doing in a Santa suit? Actually, my stepson, Mark, and his wife Lindsey and Toddler Preston gave me a very generous gift certificate to a national bookstore at Christmas. This past weekend, S and I were tired of doing the I'm-unemployed-we-must-be-frugal thing and took ourselves to this store and SPLURGED!

Here's what I got:

• A copy of the book, Prediabetes What You Need to Know to Keep Diabetes Away by Gretchen Becker


• A copy of the book, The First Year Type 2 Diabetes by Gretchen Becker


• The DVD Qigong Beginning Practice which will hopefully enable me to relearn the qigong I began several years ago

I'm excited about my gifts and am looking forward to reading them and watching them here in the weeks to come.

Insomnia

Dragon Mood? -- not sleepy now!

Recently, I've been jumping into bed between 10 and 11, falling asleep almost immediately and not waking up until S's alarm goes off at 8 o'clock. And rather than feeling rested, my body stills feel tired, longing for more sleep. What's going on?

Well, I don't have an answer for that yet, but I see my doctor Friday afternoon, and you can bet, I'll be asking her.

I just got the results from my labwork today in the mail and one possible culprit has been eliminated. It isn't my TSH, thyroid stimulating hormone. That's in the range considered normal.

My hemoglobin is actually a bit high. How ironic (yes, pun intended)! Amazing what no monthly bleeding will do for you! Two other components of my white blood cells are out of the normal range, one high and one low. I'll find out more about with Dr. Wendy.

(heavy sigh) And yes, my glucose is still slightly elevated: 110. Normal range is between 65 and 99. Damn! I can already hear the doc and my kids singin' their favorite song: "Exercise!"

Pre-diabetes Panel Report

Dragon Mood? -- dragons & glucose?

Attempting to be an informed consumer and personal health advocate, I subscribe to a regular email newsletter from the American Diabetes Association. Here is an excerpt regarding pre-diabetes (my current and hopefully only diagnosis) from an article:

Panel Agrees on Whom to Test, How to Treat Pre-Diabetes

People who have pre-diabetes should undergo intensive lifestyle interventions, and possibly drug therapy, to reduce their risk of developing diabetes, as well as their long-term risk for developing diabetic complications, according to a consensus statement being published in the March issue of Diabetes Care.

A seven-member panel of experts convened by the American Diabetes Association last year developed these guidelines and others geared toward people who exhibit early metabolic abnormalities. The panel's report grew out of concerns arising from the growing epidemic of type 2 diabetes, which now affects more than 20 million Americans. The disease is expected to continue increasing dramatically worldwide over the next two decades.

Type 2 diabetes is frequently preceded by one of two conditions together thought of as "pre-diabetes." These conditions -- called impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) [I have IGT] -- are similar in that they represent a state of abnormal glucose regulation that is not yet high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes but is too high to be considered normal. While these two states may affect different groups of people, both ultimately lead to type 2 diabetes in the majority of cases. However, previous studies, including the Diabetes Prevention Program, have demonstrated that lifestyle interventions aimed at weight reduction and increased physical activity, and medications, can substantially reduce the development of diabetes.

The panel convened over a three-day period in 2006 to answer questions such as how IFG and IGT differ; whether they should be treated (and how); and who should be screened for these conditions. The answers to these and other questions are included in the 7-page consensus statement.

The report's recommendations include:

• Lifestyle interventions (losing 5-10 percent of body weight and moderate intensity physical activity for at least 30 minutes per day) for any person exhibiting IFG or IGT, to prevent/delay the onset of diabetes and to help reduce the long-term risk of developing diabetic complications.
  
  
• Making weight loss and obesity prevention priorities in the United States because of the strong association between obesity and type 2 diabetes. The panel advised intensive weight-loss counseling for those who need it; changes in school-based meals and exercise programs; community infrastructure changes that are conducive to frequent exercise; and legislation that promotes a healthy lifestyle.
  
  
• The use of metformin as optional drug therapy, limited to those with both IFG and IGT who also have one or more additional high risk factors, because it has been shown to be most effective for these populations.
  
  
• Screening for IFG/IGT for anyone who is at risk for diabetes.