Minh Ba, medicine and the midwest

Monday, July 31, 2006

Screw genetics

So I had my annual physical today...well sort of annual since it's been three years since i've gone in to the doctor's office. Not necessarily because I neglect my health, but because of this whole moving around thing and being on my parent's insurance plan. Good ole Kaiser doesn't quite have as much pull out here as it does on the west coast. So anyways, after I turned 26 this year, I got booted off the plan and had to find my own insurance. Not so bad, since I'm relatively healthy and I really only have to get the heatlh insurance for a year until I get into my internship/residency where that should be covered for me.

That's where the problem comes in. I got a cheap health insurance plan, cause I figure just that, I'm a physical specimen with no health problems. Enter: a few things I've neglected over the last couple years --> 1) My BP and possible my cholesterol 2) My inadequate sleep

Lets examine first my BP and my cholesterol. Over the last couple of years, my BP readings have been relatively high whenever I take them, either at school or in the clinic. My cholesterol too has been borderline...not quite high...just getting real close. I usually just attributed it to the ridiculously unhealthy food that I ate in the fraternity...cause we all know...Twig could cook...but he sure as hell could care less about cooking healthy...need I say Meatloaf grease...mmmmm. Well today, I was a little shocked, my BP was 154/110 at first try and 145/94 at the second try. That is horrible...that is something you might expect for a 45 yr old...not me. Enter...genetics. My dad has always been a healthy person, he works physical jobs, exercises and eats healthy...crap the man eats rice for almost every meal. Then again he has had angioplasty on his coronaries at the age of 50 and his blood pressure and cholesterol always run high. So what now for me? Well I have a few options...one ties into the second thing I've neglected which I will discuss below. In the meantime, I have to check my bloodpressure and record it several times a week and then follow up in a few months. If nothing changes...it looks like this bad boy will be starting -thiazides for blood pressure and -statins for cholesterol at an early age. You can't really fight genetics, but you might as well try to slow it down.

The second thing I've neglected has been my lack of sleep for various reasons. I'm always tired no matter how much sleep I get, for the most part I've always attributed it to school and the inconsistent sleep schedule. Next is my snoring...supposedly I snore a lot...i dunno....people tell me this...I think they are just sensitive sleepers. Hell, if they want to hear snoring, they need to spend a night with Brandon, they'll have better luck trying to sleep during an air raid. ANyways, on top if it all, I've noticed that when I wake up in the mornings coughing and hacking up a lung, my throat is usually sore, either from some reflux or because my nose is so stuffed up I do so much mouth breathing when I sleep. That would all sort of make sense then if I have some type of sleep apnea that can be explained with something being wrong with my nasal pasages. To top it off, in a sleep study last year, I was kicked out of the overnight study, when they informed me that my oxygen saturation levels dropped 10 times during the night to 85-89%...which definitely should not happen. Again...this defies all conventional medical stereotypes. Normally a person with sleep apnea will be overweight or a chronic alcoholic...obviously i'm neither. So what am I doing for this...I'm gonna try self medicating myself first with Nasocort which I received from Salwa, which is a decongestant. In addition to see if reflux is the cause of the coughing fits I started Prevacid which I received from my attending last month. On top of it all, I have a referral to see an ENT doctor sometime this month for a real sleep study evaluation. Pending the evaluation, if I do have sleep apnea, the treatments pretty much suck. I can lose weight...if i'm fat, I can stop drinking...if I really drink; since those two are out the door, i'm stuck with CPAP and surgery, if surgical intervention is what can fix things. CPAP is basically a mask that I would have to sleep with every night that would create positive pressure and a larger gradient so air will flow easier into my lungs. Surgery may be an option if I have some type of septal deviation in my nose or anything else that is obstructing the airflow, problem is, that will knock me out for a long period of time...that I just don't have to give up right now.

Well..that was my day. Now I sit and write my paper on Germany's healthcare system...fun stuff. Somehow, this assignment was given two months ago, and I thought it was smart to start it tonight....at least I have a full 24hrs to turn it in....ha....i'm a moron.

Whoa...two updates in two days...i've gone crazy. Maybe there will be another one tomomorrow....after I bring life into this world...boyaaah...deliverin babies...

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Can it get any hotter


Sunny
98°F
Feels Like
111°F
Updated Jul 19 05:25 p.m. CT
UV Index: 3 Moderate
Wind: From SSW at 8 mph
Humidity: 47%
Pressure: 29.91 in.
Dew Point: 75°F
Visibility: 8.0 miles



That "feels like" 111 degrees farenheit is no joke. Holy hell, could it get any hotter here. I was going to try to drive to Tightwad today to take pictures of the town, but I didn't want to die of heatstroke in Tightwad...although it would make a nice epitaph...

I don't know how people could survive like this without a/c...i'm getting kind of nervous about my car, because the a/c hasn't been checked in a long time, and it has been taking a much longer time to cool the car, and even then, it's still not that cool.

Oh hell...i'm going to sit here in a pile of my sweat and just enjoy the sheer stupidity of this heat.
-Dang

Monday, July 17, 2006

Holy hotness

Today the temperature in good 'ole Clinton, MO hit about 100degrees, with the heat index it got almost up to 110. It supposed to be this way for the next three to four days. All I can say, is thank God for air conditioning, and not having to pay for the bill. For those that don't know, I'm out in Clinton for my rural family practice rotation and they are kind enough to put me and another student up in an apartment for the month. It is actually a pretty decent apartment and it is well furnished, the area is also decently nice with plenty of stores and restaurants, something I didn't expect for this town. It has about 9,000 people in this town, and the town I drive to on Mondays and Wednesdays (Windsor, MO) has a total of 3,000 people. In between Clinton and Windsor is a town called Calhoun, with a whole 430 people; that's smaller than my HS graduating class. Also along the way to Windsor is a sign pointing to a town 15 miles out called Tightwad...that's right....Tightwad. I'm going to go explore it next week if I get out of clinic early.

Anyways, that's all I got time for right now, hope all is well with everyone, I will try as I always say I do to update this more...but I guess you'll just have to wait and see if I'll actually do it.

-Dang

Monday, July 03, 2006

Happy early 4th

Thought I would say happy fourth of July to everyone a day early. I just got back from Spokane yesterday for a good HS buddy's, Matt Elliotts, wedding. It sucks that I missed out on Marlow's wedding, and soon I too will miss out on Bloover's. Seems like everyone is getting hitched nowadays....yesterday I even learned that meathead just got engaged. Holy hell. Anyways, enjoy the holidays, I am currently working on my residency applications, personal statements (looking for any volunteers who wouldn't mind reading it over to proofread and critique), etc. and getting ready to go to start my rural family practice rotation in Clinton, MO on Wednesday (that is the same town where the Elks Lodge building collapsed last week). PEace out...here are some pics from the weekend to tide everyone over:

My 5:00am alarm clock

Rusty was kind enough to puke on the couch and then lick my phone

The setting Part 1

The setting part 2

My second family

Oh so confused...

Mama Elliot getting some love from her men


We're so cool...

Hear no evil....Speak no evil...
What is on my hands (aka..on my way to see no evil)

Sealing the deal...(signing his life away)

How come every one else looks normal in these tuxes...
I look like I should be serving Dim Sum at a Chinese restaurant