lifespan, rain, wtea etal

LIFESPAN
we all want to know how long we will live
this website will calculate this for you after you answer a
few questions
tell the truth now
it takes about 5 minutes to do
click www.livingto100.com to do the calculation

did it this morning
first i answered all the questions correctly and honestly
honestly
am on medicine to control both my hdl and ldl so i was able to
answer that my hdl is over 45 and my ldl is lower than 100

when the calculations were done my calculated age is 91 years old
then i went back and changed my hdl and ldl to abnormal levels like
they use to be before i took medication and changed my diet and
increased my exercise
luckily for me i hope is that i did this 25 years ago
hopefully that will help me live longer

went back and changed my cholesterol levels to where they use to
be and some of the history of what i use to do with diet and exercise
and the calculation lost several years of life expectancy

was feeling good about all this until i realized that os i probably
have alzheimers disease which is going to mess up all the work
i have been doing to take care of my health over the years
alzheimers disease will probably shorten that life span by
15-20 years

maybe i should have just enjoyed those jalapeno cheeseburgers
with extra cheese and dripping greasy fries and said the heck
with it

(my medical school friend im sure remembers eating those at lunch
time when we rotated at the va hospital)

then realized that maintaining your weight to normal, getting
exercise, eating properly, controlling your blood pressure,
controlling your cholesterol levels, avoiding excessive stress,
getting adequate sleep, not smoking, moderation of alcohol
intake, etc may turn out to be a way to delay or slow down
the onset of alzhiemers and possibly prevent some causes of it

also doing these things may also slow down the progression of
the disease once you do get it

so maybe all that work over 20+ years may help after all
if not then ......

RAIN
ok now they did a rain tease on us here
we were looking at 30-40% rain for labor day weekend
now they threw in only 10% rain for this weekend
they sure know how to make a dry thirsty area feel bad
dont they
bet they threw that in just to make us not feel so bad

looks like hurricane katia is following irenes path
and  a new tropical storm may be headed into the gulf
or are they just teasing us with that one too

my nephew he the one who did not fall into my rainwater
tank going after the limestone rock i accidentally dropped
in there is coming back soon to work on another movie
in this area

(the one he worked on before bernie should be out this fall)

last time he was here we got torrential rains that dumped
10 inches of rain at one point at our house

maybe him coming this fall will be better than a rain dance
or seeding the clouds

have emptied that tank so maybe i can talk him into climbing
down there and getting that large rock out of there
at least he wont get wet doing it

WTEA
walk to end alzhiemers for the central texas area is
saturday october 15, 2011 at 800 am

we need team members and donations for my team
organicgreendoctor.com

click here http:.walktoendalz.kintera.org/austin/organicgreendoctor2
to donate and or join my team
everyone is welcome
donations are appreciated
help us reach our goal of 20 team members and $5000 in donations

the organicgreen doctor

weather, amoeba, faster

WEATHER
dang it was hot here again
it got to 105 degrees here and will be 108 degrees today
man im cooked

looks like the end of the week is looking better here with temps
possibly down in the low to mid 90s
wonder what that will feel like

at 300 am it is 87 degrees
thats really not a good sign for what will happen today when the
sun comes up


hopefully the predicted rain will come this weekend and we will
get some relief
or
we may become a desert here

AMOEBA
this is when it happens every year
the amoeba gets in the water
it occurs in stagnant water especially in lakes ponds rivers and
especially in coves where the water gets warm and stagnant
the e coli bacteria count gets high
the amoeba naegleria fowleri eats the e coli
the higher the e coli counts the higher the amoeba counts

the stories are all the same
some child jumps in this stagnant water and the amoeba enters
the nasal passages
then a few days later fever and headache and symptoms like
the flu occur with progression to a meningitis like picture

the diagnosis is difficult to make and is almost always fatal
it is usually too late when it is finally discovered

have had the misfortune of having one patient with this disease
the diagnosis wasnt made until after the patients death
it was a very tragic effect that was difficult to prevent
the patient eventually died at a tertiary hospital

be careful swimming and diving in these types of water in this
hot dry rainless summer

FASTER
now in texas we get to drive 70 instead of 65 at night
legally
we were all doing it any way
wonder what they will do with all of those thousands of
signs they will remove from the highway
hope they recycle them

my wife she got a warning ticket for driving 70 on the toll
road late at night near here
how come she always gets warning tickets and the men get
the real ticket
aint right

also they who ever they are are looking at allowing
speeds of up to 85 mph
texas autobahn here we come

know that the old farmers around here arent affected by this
law at all
just get behind them when you are in a hurry and youll find out
luckily in texas if there is a shoulder the farmer will usually move
over and let you pass
and give you the friendly country wave

the organicgreen doctor

hotternhell

HOTTERNHELL
well we have finally got there in this area
its hotternhell here now
this weekend it got to 110 degrees on saturday and  to 112 degrees
on sunday and it may get close to that today

when i walk in the pastures around here i feel like im walking on a
bunch of corn flake cereal-crunch, crunch, crunch
the holes in the pastures have now become small canyons

there was an article in the paper recently about these cracks
in the soil
apparently they occur as the soil gets real dry and pulls apart
from itself
then according to the article when the rains come if they ever do
the holes (canyons) fill up with water and as the soil absorbs the
moisture the soil expands and eventually closes itself off

am sure that first inch of rain we get will just disappear and well
never know it was here
heck it so dry that even if it hailed the soil would just absorb those
big rocks of hail and they would not show up at all on the ground
or they would just melt on the way down

a sad picture in the local paper this weekend was of a farmer
feeding a cow who was stuck in the mud of an almost dry
pond bed a bottle of water
despite all the heroic efforts the cow died

there is no hay around here at all
its been shipped from far away from states like nebraska and other
northern states sometimes at 2-3 times the regular price
farmers are selling off their horses and cattle at high rates

even a rare salamander in the local austin barton creek area is
starting to dwindle away and may become extinct
thanks to this salamander many developments that would have
adversely affected the recharging of this creek and the underground
water system that many cities depend on for water were not
allowed to happen
if it dies it has not died in vain and it has kept this water situation
here from being worse

its so hot here that the local fire department went to put out a fire
that starting burning near a neighbourhood and instead of
discovering a spark that ignited it or a chain scrapping on an
asphalt road or a cigarette butt or an arsonist setting the fire
(we know it wasnt lightning) they found that nature had started it

nature had ignited a compost pile that had heated up naturally then
aided by the extreme heat were having it just spontaneously
ignited and burned the area
whoa we could be in trouble if that starts happening with all of the
compost piles we have around here

however there may be some relief here later in the week as we
have a cool spell coming through
guess thats what its called
it will be only in the upper 90s for the end of the week and for
labor day weekend
cool spell who would have thought we would call upper 90s a
cool spell

then goodbye irene
sorry you didnt come this way
then look out jose is right behind you

then tropical depression 12 has formed and seems to be following
irenes path
maybe it can be sucked this way and hit our coast gently please
and dump some rain on us

there also is a forecast of some rain chances at the end of the week
hope they did not put that there to tease us
thats just cruel

we need about 15 inches here though
bet it would not do much as the earth here will just soak it all
up like a big sponge

rain dancers get busy
any help is needed

maybe we could just take that new oil pipeline that is being
built from canada to texas and just plug it into all that water they
have in the upper northern states
bet they could make as much off the water as they would the oil

the organicgreen doctor

weather, we got next, lost medical records, fb musing

WEATHER
we have officially become the hottest summer on record
here in central texas
and there seems to be more coming as the next 7 days are
predicted to be 102 degrees or higher
dang 95 is going to seem like a cool spell when it finally
arrives here

have noticed some of the native trees and shrubs deemed the
toughest we have are starting to show the effects of the heat
and drought by yellowing its leaves
less tougher trees are dying much faster

there are fires everyday around here
luckily except for a few they have not been major ones
there is water rationing everywhere
its even stricter here at the country n

there are plans to start rolling power outages in this area soon
this will make things more uncomfortable than they already are

we need rain so

WE GOT NEXT
we got next
hurricane irene is going full blast now towards the east coast
and has little influence on our weather here
we could sure use some of its rain

there is a new tropical storm abrewing out east that may
become a storm in the next 1-2 days

we want that one please
send it our way but in a gentler form please
its our only hope to a break in this awful weather here

we got next

LOST MEDICAL RECORDS
recently a huge number of patients medical records were
accidentally released onto the internet for all to see
those may be lost forever
they are out there for everyone to access
possibly they may not be able to be totally retrieved even if
the breach is closed

in my dealings with the medical systems and insurance systems
over the last 8 months i have realized that my medical records
are zooming all over the internet from universities to research
centers to insurance companies-long term care, disability, and health

each of these companies seem to use other companies to handle
some of the data processing so multiple companies and
organizations are involved with my medical records
they are being mailed, faxed, emailed, and electronically transferred
to be permanently stored in lots of locations

one breach could release all my medical information to  the internet

thats all scary
even though most of what is happening to me medically im putting
in this blog for all to read however

most people dont want their medical information floating around
the internet for google to pick up from a search

FB MUSING
life is like a roll of toilet paper it spins faster as it gets near the end
thanks fb friend

the organicgreen doctor

this is bad, emily, bad bugs back

THIS IS BAD
the month of july was the hottest and driest on record here
in central texas
thats bad
the even badder thing is that they are predicting august will be
worse than july
so on august 1 it lived up to its prediction
official temperature was 107
and it aint goin to get better this week

guess we are going to turn into a desert here one day

EMILY
well now the new hurricane is named emily
maybe shell head this way in a few days and give us some
relief
don was a dud
just dont hit no major cities please
well watch this girl closely as it moves this way
girl dont break our heart as we need some relief

BAD BUG BACK
recently i blogged about that bad bug the silver
blister beetle
i thought we had him under control in my garden
however i was wrong

this weekend i went out to my garden to do my morning
inspection and everything looked ok
i had put flour out on my veggies to keep the beetles under
control
it worked well on the veggies as they left them along although
they may have permanently damaged my tomatoes and squash
time will tell

i went back out later in the day and the only plant i had not
put the flour on was a milkweed i planted in the garden for
the monarch butterfly
there were those dang beetles devouring the plant
they totally stripped everything off the milkweed

so i got a hand vac and sucked those suckers up and dumped
them in the green bucket of water (they cant swim good)

sorry about that monarchs
know its a bad year for you in central texas
hopefully extra watering and liquid seaweed and
fertilizer will bring back the milkweed

the organicgreen doctor

weather, flight fun

WEATHER
its so hot here this summer with the heat and the drought that
even the cactus are wilting

FLIGHT FUN
i dont like to fly
its not a fear of flying or
flight anxiety its just that
i get severe motion sickness so i have to take medicine
to prevent the motion sickness
so

as we left santa barbara at 1200 noon i took my pill that dissolves
in my mouth (thats the one that got all wet on the walk to the
airport when i left on the trip as we had a shower and i got soaked
walking from the parking lot to the terminal and found a dissolved
pill in my pocket which made for a fun flight that day)

well it happened again
not a wet pill but time caused my last flight to be a nauseating problem

heres the story
we left late and barely got to the phoenix airport in time to catch
our connecting flight home
my wife she and my motherinlaw she waited at the first plane
waiting for our unchecked luggage in a hot runway walkway
(why dont they just check those dam things for free and be
done with it)

i dashed ahead and found the gate our transfer flight was leaving
from and held my ground at the check in desk waiting for those
 two ladies
they made it barely as they were going to close the doors on us
cant they be nicer as it was their fault we were late
(as it turned out i should have just taken my time)

we all got on the plane and waited and waited in a semihot plane
how come they cant let air blow out of those little holes in the
ceiling while you are just sitting there

finally they closed the door and backed out of the terminal and
headed back to the runway then
sorry folks one of the air conditioners is out (think i had already
figured that out) and in this hot weather we
can either fly too warm or go back to the terminal and get it fixed

i voted for fixing the ac in that 113 degree phoenix weather

so we all unloaded with our bags, waited for the unchecked
luggage,and set up camp in the terminal
we watched as they worked on the plane and as they started up
the plane great bellows of smoke came out of the motors
that didnt look good
not sure i want on that plane

after a few hours there was an announcement
the plane cant be fixed
we are looking for a new plane for us to fly
but you have to go to a new gate
of course we were at 2 and had to go all the way to the last gate
which was in the 20s number
and we waited

finally after a few hours they said we have a plane and pilots
lets board
yes finally after several hours
we all got on the plane
got all loaded up
by now i met my fellow passenger and found out all about her
after all we had been sitting by each other several hours by now
we met the people next to us and in front of us
we all became friends before all this was over with

so we took off ok
my fellow passenger next to me must have partied too much
in vegas as she slept the whole time on this flight
joke was on her though
hahahhahahahahah

after an hour or hour and a half the pilot came on the intercom
thats not good
well we have a mechanical problem and we are going back
to phoenix
that sucks gosh we should have been almost all the way to
austin by now

then later he came back on in a more serious tone and said
we have had a problem with one of the landing gears coming back
up and we have had to fly in circles around phoenix since we left
to burn off fuel so we could land
the other landing gears have came down ok

so why do they have to burn off all that fuel before we land
i did not want to ask
but i could sure read between the lines

so here we go
burned off all that fuel huh
at least we werent told to bend forward and put our heads down
as we approach the landing

my fellow passenger woke up and was
getting ready to get off the plane in austin
almost didnt have the heart to tell her we were in phoenix
(now that would have been funny if we had just let her get off
without her knowing she was not in austin)
boy was she shocked when i told her the truth

so here we go again
we got off the plane (thank goodness it was a good landing)
waited to get our unchecked baggage again  that should have
been checked
and waited in the waiting area

we were told after a while that they were looking for a plane and for
new pilots (guess we wore the other ones out)
so we waited some more
then after a few more hours an announcement was made

we have a plane and pilots but we are leaving at a new gate
thats right back all the way to where we started
(if you have been to phoenix you know the distance from gate 1
to gate 20s is a long way)

we made it to the gate and waited and waited then finally we
all boarded the plane
as we took off i realized my motion sickness pill had worn off and
it was in my unchecked baggage that was in the belly of the plane
so i took deep breaths of cool air and drank ginger ale to make
it to austin
hey thats how i started this wedding journey week

so i got to meet a young girl from austin who is going to chef school
who is also working as a chief assistant in a large hotel near austin
there is hope for the future

we met a schoolteacher who was flying in to meet her husband in
austin as he was flying in from atlanta on his way to where he
teaches college
they will have a short night together as we got in at 200am

then there was the lady who was over medicated or over alcoholed
who began crying after the first plane mishap and they would not
let her back on the plane
she may be the lucky one as she may not remember any of this

what an interesting day it was
and an interesting end to our great wedding journey week

so dont expect me to fly anywhere for awhile
so i did kiss the floor of the terminal when i finally arrived here

the organicgreen doctor

dr watson i presume, new weatherman, bb

DR WATSON I PRESUME
so watson the ibm computer that beat the humans in the jeopardy
contest earlier this year is now turning his attention to being a
medical doctor

wheres he going to hang that stethoscope
wonder if he recommends take 2 aspirins and call me in the morning

the ibm folks have fed all kind of medical stuff into watson
watson excuse me dr watson has access though to the internet
and using his 15 trillion bytes of memory he can analyze the
patients history
of course he cant shake the patients hand, pat them on the back,
interact with patients in a friendly way, read their body language,
and make decisions based on this information

guess he would be like some of those doctors that we all have
seen who are like a computer with no emotions or lack of bedside
manner

there is a competitor called isabel that family docs can buy
the patient answers questions and isabel spits out the possible
diagnosis(s)
there is a thing called the art of medicine that watson and isabel
cant duplicate

is this going to walmart medical care
just go up to the dr watson booth
answer those questions
get a print out and take it to the pharmacy or get those test ordered
or stick your finger in a hole in the computer and a blood sample is
taken and analyzed and youll get a computer voice with the answer

guess the dr watson ms isabelle could be available 24/7 though
maybe even be accessible by computer
could get the answer back via email, text, or watson voiced phone
reply

you have diabetes eat this diet exercise and text me or email me
at 2am on sunday night what your blood sugars are

or
from her doctor it would be like this

sorry ms smith but it seems you have diabetes like your mother did
you remember the complications she had  
lets try to prevent them in you  
lets get your husband and children involved here also
know that you have a  lot going on in your life right now but this is
important to your health
lets send your to a diabetic educator and a dietitian and let us all
work together to see if we can get this under control
good luck see you in a month and tell your family hi from us

guess there will be no hows your mom , hows school, good
soft ball game, hows your kids, you look sad, why are you so happy,
you seem confused, you look like you are angry, you seem......
that cant be programmed

dr watson or will it be dr smith

NEW WEATHERMAN
well since im retired think i will seek some summer employment
think ill interview as the weatherman on one of the local tv stations

during the summer in central texas being a weatherman is so easy
heres all the weather report you need to give

its gonna  be hot and it ant gonna rain

BB
well dirk made it last night
they finished off the heat at the heats place
dirk got mvp
sometimes to be champions you have to go through a lot of
adversity
how you respond to that adversity determines if you are a champion

not much different in real life is it

lets see if the heat 3 can overcome their adversity from losing
and see if they can respond to be champions

congrats to the mavs

the organicgreendoctor

new guidelines, another study, weather, bb

NEW GUIDELINES
new guidelines came out yesterday in an article on classification
of alzheimers disease
this is significant since the last time this was done was 1984

this article in the ny times on alzheimers guidelines does a good
job describing the new guidelines and why they are important

these guidelines were used when making my diagnosis
mild cognitive impairment amnesic type felt to be secondary
to alzheimers

the testing that is discussed in this article and the guidelines are
not all readily available but i have had them or will have them
this month

these guidelines are important as they will identify people early
with the disease
hopefully these will provide tools for family doctors to use to
identify people earlier
in my case it was good that i was identified so that i could plan
my life and that i stop practicing medicine before some harm
was caused as my disease progressed

some people dont want to know but not me
it has made my life better knowing now (have always feared it
would happen)
luckily i have disability insurance that should kick in soon to help
with my financial situation and i have long term care insurance
to cover long term care later in life and i have health insurance
(notice these need to be obtained before the diagnosis is made as
you cant get life insurance, disability insurance, long term care
insurance or health insurance with my diagnosis)

with these new classifications as more people are identified earlier
then more research can be done on those people with the
disease earlier than before

thats why the study im in now is important as they are looking at
people with normal cognition and with an early diagnosis like mine
now new drugs and new tests can be designed to attack this
disease
it wont help me but it may help you or your kids or my kids

full article if you are interested  is at
http://www.alzheimersanddementia.org/content/ncg

next week i have a mri then will do other tests later

ANOTHER STUDY
next week i will also be involved in another study in which the
university is developing an online neuropsychological test that
your family doctor or neurologist can order on you
you can go online and complete it then it is sent to a
neuropsychologist to interpret
the report is then sent to you doctor

hopefully this online test will make it easier to get tested

i will be taking the online version of the test for the study
they are doing but it may not be available to the general
public without a doctors order

if it becomes available i will blog about it

remember on these genetic tests eg huntingtons, alzheimers, etc
you dont want it done until you have all your insurances lined up as
you wont be able to get them once it is placed in your medical
records

WEATHER
this weather we are having now is scary
its hot in the mid 90s and dry and real windy
there have been fires around here this last week and there are
fires in west texas
this is summer weather in april
it doesnt bode well for this area if this continues into the summer
especially if we have no rain
the fires will only increase if this happens

this is usually the time of the year when we can leave our doors
and windows open until june when it gets hot
its one of the good things of living where we do in the spring
the wind blowing through our house cooling it off during the day
not this year
we are using our air conditioning every day

we need rain

BB
nicks just dont have it this year
mavs may make through the first round
magic won maybe they will kick in now

the organicgreen doctor