Just In Case You Weren't Feeling 'Old Enough' Today ♥

• The people who are going to college this year were born in 1993.
• They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up.
• Their lifetime has always included AIDS.
• The CD was introduced four years before they were born.
• They have always had an answering machine.
• They have always had cable.
• They couldn't imagine life without their cell phones.
• Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show.
• They have never been without microwaves and can't cook without them.
• They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.
• They don't know who Mork was or where he was from.
• They never heard; "Where's the Beef?", "I'd walk a mile for a Camel. ", or "de plane Boss, de plane."
• McDonald's never came in Styrofoam containers.
• They don't have a clue as to how to use a typewriter.
• They use calculators, computers and the Internet in college to do all of their lessons.
• They have always had 'personal' computers.
• Search Engines have taken the place of a set of good Encyclopedias.
• Email and texting has taken the place of writing personal letters and mailing them.
• Notice the larger type? That's for those of us who have trouble reading cause we're getting 'old.'

P.S. Save the earth. It's the only planet with chocolate.

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What Is Up With The DMV?

Just in case anyone thought I was ignoring them this week that wasn't the case! I was really busy with some legal problems for my upcoming trial and I'm FINALLY done with the incompetent DMV about my drivers license.

Of course it's not just the DMV, the whole government is a horrible mess and along with our backward economy it's hard to keep up and keep your rights at the same time. In this cause I was trying after 41 years of having a good driving record with the DMV to keep my record and driving privileges after being taken to the hospital last July.

It should of been easy, at the time they had thought I had a seizure on the way to the hospital. (I was fighting for my life for God's sake!) After finding no reasons for me having seizures or any other problems before they released me they did tell me that for legal purposes they had to tell the DMV I had a seizure.

If things would of worked out the way they were suppose to, when I got the papers filled out by my doctor for the DMV it should of been over with. The Safety Division of the DMV didn't think that was good enough so they required me to have an eye and physical driving test. What’s funny is I had never had a driving test proper. I took Health & Safety in high school and Indiana didn’t require a physical driving test if you took and passed that class.

I went for the test and got a very young Asian man as my tester. He wasn't very friendly and made me nervous. Then I made the ONE stupid mistake I could of to fail the test immediately. When I made a left hand turn onto a street that was one way on one side my car tire went over the bumps on the yellow straight lines for a second. It was enough and he failed me.

No problem, I was told I could reschedule another. So I called and did so for Dec. 9th (which was the next week) so I thought I was lucky to be getting such an early appointment. I had called the DMV at their number like I was told so was I surprised! I went for the new drivers test and waited forever and finally they told me it wasn't in the computer so I didn't have a test to take.

I was so angry I had my roommate film me ranting about it in front of the DMV. I was going to get them. Gosh I was mad. They were careful not to say I was lying to them about calling the DMV for this, yet they WERE calling me a liar because they said I didn't speak to anyone or it would be in the computer. OMG!

Then I got another test date after that in the mail telling me to show up in Daly City which isn't the DMV I go to which is right by my house. I don't even know my way around Daly City. With that test date they also restricted my drivers license (which I was told wouldn't happen) to only being able to drive with someone over 24 years of age and only during the daylight. So I had to call and tell them I needed an appointment for San Mateo.

So I got my appointment in the mail for San Mateo but it wasn't until Feb. 24th at 8:45am, a long time to wait! This paperwork said my license was not restricted like I was told in the first place. Can you believe, much less follow this mess?

I was still driving my car and it's lucky I didn't get stopped because then I would of had to explain the DMV's paperwork to a cop. I can imagine how that would of went trying to explain the inefficacy of an agency that they have to back.

I am now ecstatic because yesterday I got up and took my test and passed it. They also said there were no restrictions on my license. (Hey, they are suppose to know.) Also I did really well! You can get up to 20 things wrong (unless it's a huge mistake) and my score was a low 5! I really am an excellent driver after all.

Before my test I was driving around the neighborhood and I was going through an intersection with two stop signs and two through streets. I had the right of way (it was sprinkling rain too) and a huge pick up truck (for any of you who read my dream blog) ran his stop sign and we almost had an accident. Luckily I put on my brakes gently (because it was slick) and I stopped right before I hit him. All he did was shrug his shoulders, laugh and take off. Leaving me to contemplate my upcoming drivers test and what would of happened to my test today if we had gotten in an accident.

I'm just glad this week is over and I'm done with anyone questioning me about driving my beloved car where ever I wish, anytime I wish! Our freedom to drive is only contingent to what the state we live in has to say about it and they are underfunded and understaffed. And most of them are idols besides.

It was a hectic experience but I'm done with it now and things should be back to normal with me still being able to drive legally.

DMV = Dumb Men and women, hassling you about your Vehical.

Keep On Bloggin'!

Migraines And Migraine Art Drawn By Patients

By Sarah Chapman

Those of you that have experienced real migraines know that the terrible side effects can make normal functioning in daily life hard, if not impossible to deal with.

Classic migraines start with a warning sign called an aura. The aura often changes the way you see things. You may see flashing lights, or temporarily lose some of your vision, such as your side vision.

This is what an aura is like to one migraine sufferer.

You may also feel muscle weakness on one side of your body. You may have trouble talking or feel depressed and irritable. You could feel restless.

Auras last about 15 to 30 minutes and may occur after, before or even overlap the pain of a migraine itself. The head pain of a migraine may occur on one side of the head or both sides.

Common migraines don't start with an aura. They last longer and interfere with daily activities more than classic migraines. Usually, these are on one side of the head. The pain can last from 4 to 72 hours.

A person having a migraine may have trouble eating normal foods they usually like or keeping food down during an attack. Light and sound bother them. If you want to know more Migraine Action is a good place to start and get help if you need it.

Lewis Carroll, who wrote Alice In Wonderland had classic migraines. He also had a syndrome named after him because he suffered from a very rare type of migraine aura called Alice In Wonderland Syndrome.

Now doctors are finding out that by looking at drawings done by patients having classic migraines they can learn a lot about these terrible headaches and get an insight into what migraines might be like to each patient. These stunning pictures are from different artists who experience migraines.

 

Classic migraine art takes place during the aura which changes the way a patient see's and feels things. Doctors are continuing to study this type of art to better understand migraines and how patients feel when they have one. This way new and better migraine medicines are being made to relieve the side effects of auras and migraines.

Only 1% of us escape headaches altogether. 16 to 17% of people get a migraine headache sometime in their lives. There are over 20 million migraine attacks happening every day. Some migraines are mistaken for sinus headaches. (These numbers change each year.) 

People with migraines will look at these pictures with recognition, as they know how they suffer. I hope migraine patients get some relief from these studies that are being done. New therapies are being discovered every day.

I find the art troubling yet it's beautiful too. One can pick out similar threads that each patient feels in the artwork.

I am lucky to be in the small percentage of people who don't have headaches often and I've never had a migraine that I know of. When I do have one it makes me miserable. Mine are usually from my sinuses.

The holidays are here and there's no escaping them so I hope no one is having headaches of any kind right now! Enjoy your Friday!

One more example of aura's from a patient's point of view.

Understanding My Coma

Sometimes someone is so ill they are put into a coma to save their lives. That is what happened to me. They said I had two seizures before getting to the hospital (one in the ambulance) and my left lung was filled with vomit and had collapsed. I was spiking a high fever and phenomena was setting in. The Doctor's decided that a coma was the best way to save my life. I was put into a drug induced coma. Luckily I never needed a ventilator after they cleared my lung out. The important thing is the fact that I was put into a Coma and how it helped and effected me.

Someone who is in a coma is unconscious and will not respond to voices, loud sounds, or any sort of activity going on. Not even intense pain will bring forth a response. The person is still alive but the parts of the brain is functioning at a low level. It is working to keep your organs going and such. (Fingers crossed.)

I can tell you from first hand experience that you can't hear people when in a coma like some believe you can. Reading to someone in a coma from a book is just for your own comfort not theirs. All I remember from being in my coma was my never ending, very strange dream that I had.

My dream was unlike any other dream I ever had while sleeping normally at night. The dream was probably based on my brain reacting to the seizures, fever and trauma. It was very eerie, not unlike being in Wonderland itself. I would of never known I had passed away nor that I had a had somewhere to go back to. I dreamed about people in my life, and some that weren't yet or at all. I wish I could of recorded the imagery it was very spacy kind of creepy yet very comforting. Then I woke up. I was totally freaked out until I realized I was awake.

My dream drove me to question what really happens when you die? If I would of passed away would I have dreamed until the very last brain cell gave out? And then what? For me, being so close to death was not an empty time where I couldn't remember and ever since then it's caused me to rethink my prior beliefs. But to what?

Then there's the way I have felt since being out of the coma and hospital. As soon as I came out of the coma and the doctors started telling me what happened it was hard to believe it was so serious because even with the tubes sticking out of every orifice and then some I felt surprisingly well. I even left the hospital faster then they wanted me to. I really shocked my doctors especially since they still can't find out what caused all this to happen!

I remember reading stories about coma patients who claimed that being in a coma 'reset' their brains and bodies in a new way that hadn't been expected. I felt this way too and after having people who knew me well tell me I was like a 'new person' I decided to look into this. Unfortunately for me I couldn't find much. Most of the articles were just about comas and were all very similar. People awaking from comas did not feel this way, often having to relearn even the most basic of functions. I had been extremely lucky!

People may emerge from a coma with a combination of physical, intellectual and psychological difficulties that need special attention. Recovery usually occurs gradually....patients acquire more and more ability to respond. Some patients never progress beyond very basic responses, but some can recover full awareness. Regaining consciousness is not instant: in the first days, patients are only awake for a few minutes, and duration of that time awake gradually increases. In reality, the coma patient awakes sometimes in a profound state of confusion, not knowing how they got there and sometimes suffering from the inability to articulate any speech, and with many other disabilities.

This is unlike the situation in my life where I awoke from my coma and was instantly able to continue my normal life. When I woke up I was up for good and didn't relapse back into unconsciousness. I was very blessed and haven't doubted that for a second since. I was anxious to walk, speak and do everything I could to go home from the hospital. The doctors where very surprised at my state after being on death's door. I was not confused in the beginning but I couldn't remember anything that happened to me and had to be told what transpired that week and why I was at the hospital.

This is a statistic that really freaked me out! The most common cause of death for a person in a vegetative state is secondary infection such as pneumonia which can occur in patients who lie still for extended periods. For me I got pneumonia right away from swallowing my vomit and an ultra high fever so I was very lucky I had the best staff working on me at Kaiser. They saved my life.

So what I did find out after researching this is that I'm a lucky person to have come out of it like I did. It was very hard on my body and I took a month to recover from all of it fully. Even the day after I came home I felt so much better than I had in years! I couldn't put my finger on it but when other's noticed it too it confirmed what I had thought had happened. I was somehow a new person! I even looked better and I couldn't believe it.! A lot of my old pain was gone and my wrist I pinched a nerve in before had healed! The numbness was gone and I could touch type again. It was like a miracle! I felt so well that I was being more active than ever before this happened to me! What a great feeling!

From what I could tell the odds had been stacked against me. The fact that I didn't go into a coma on my own and they induced one is like arguing apples and oranges. A coma is a coma and they are very dangerous. I had several medical problems that alone could of killed me, but no. I had my dream during these goings on that helped me out a great deal. I think it helped several things for me. I know that the coma reset my brain not unlike an electrical circuit can be reset and in this case it helped me. Everyone knows the brain runs on electrical impulses. I can guess that shock therapy probably works on the brain this way as well. I do feel the two day Coma helped send me to a time before some of my injuries, before I felt so bad, it went back to a happier mental pattern in my life and all I can say is I'm super lucky and it's very awesome! I am thankful to God that I'm not learning how to tie my shoes again or walk. I am truly blessed and will not squander this new chance I have been given!

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Internet Addiction Quiz

Do you feel tethered to your computer? Do you feel like you just can't pull away and unplug? Has your time on the Internet come to replace things or relationships you once loved? If you feel like your Internet use is affecting your health and overall well-being, take this quiz. Learn the warning signs of Internet addiction.

A Growing Epidemic

Studies on Internet addiction originated in the US by Dr. Kimberly Young, who presented the first research on Internet addiction in 1996 at the American Psychological Association’s annual conference held in Toronto in her paper Internet Addiction: The Emergence of a New Disorder. Since then, studies have documented Internet addiction in a growing number of countries such as Italy, Pakistan, Iran, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Reports also indicate that Internet addiction has become a serious public health concern in China, Korea, and Taiwan.

Treatment centers have emerged across the US and abroad. Dr. Kimberly Young has likened Internet addiction to addictive syndromes similar to impulse-control disorders not unlike drug addiction. She developed the Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire (IADQ) to diagnose the disorder. Meeting five of the following symptoms were considered necessary to be diagnosed.

Internet Addiction Quiz

1. Do you feel preoccupied with the Internet, think about a previous online activity or anticipate the next online session?

2. Do you feel the need to use the Internet with increasing amounts of time in order to achieve satisfaction?

3. Have you repeatedly made unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop Internet use?

4. Do you feel restless, moody, depressed, or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop Internet use?

5. Do you stay online longer than originally intended?

6. Have you jeopardized or risked the loss of a significant relationship, job, educational or career opportunity because of the Internet?

7. Have you lied to family members, therapist, or others to conceal the extent of involvement with the Internet?

8. Do you use the Internet as a way of escaping from problems or of relieving a dysphoric mood (like feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety or depression?)

Other Symptoms Include

• Failed attempts to control behavior

• Heightened sense of euphoria while involved in computer and Internet activities

• Neglecting friends and family

• Neglecting sleep to stay online

• Being dishonest with others

• Feeling guilty, ashamed, anxious, or depressed as a result of online behavior

• Physical changes such as weight gain or loss, backaches, headaches, carpal tunnel syndrome

• Withdrawing from other pleasurable activities

I know I'm in trouble when it comes to Internet Addiction! Especially the part about neglecting sleep to stay online. What about you?

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