PSA -Stay on Top of your Health

[Bill D]

I just picked up more floss yesterday. I’m even careful about what type of bottled water I drink. Apparently some are more acidic than others.

[Accumulator]

99.999% RO water for us.

Heh heh...

Accumulator: "Do my teeth show any signs of suffering from my significant citrus consumption?"

Dental Tech: "No, yours are no worse than *a normal person`s*".

No, she didn`t realize that she implied I`m abnormal but hey, I figure I am...*in a good way*

[Lonnie]

PSA is the acronym for "Public Service Announcement" (How long did it take you to figure that out, Captain Obvious?!!)

Don`t laugh! I thought is was something to do with a Prostate-Specific Antigen when I saw it was a health topic!!!

I do like the comments about dental care. My wife works in a dental office as a customer service rep and scheduler. The two dentists in her office both agree that more common health issues stem from poor dental care and health. Migraine headaches are one. The other is sleep apnea. Her office does offer a mouth device for those who "traditional" sleep apnea machines do not work well or those who are looking for alternatives to the mask.
AND, did you know some chewing gums can neutralize the acids from sodas or high-acid fruit juices, like grapefruit and orange. Wrigley`s Extra is one. The others are Orbit and Trident (the dentists preferred Trident). Chewing them after drinking a soda or juice can minimize SOME damage that acids cause to teeth. NO, it does not take the place of regular brushing and flossing. .
AND whitening type tooth pastes are extremely hard on tooth enamel and not recommended, especially if you have softer enamel.

(Edit: Yes, I corrected my mis-typed "Prostrate" to "Prostate" above. Hey, it was close and they look the same, even when I re-read it before posting! I HAVE to proofread my posts, since I do not know how to type. Thanks, Accumulator!)

[Accumulator]

Lonnie- Well, the Prostate Specific Antigen is a worthy topic of discussion too

(Your autocorrect doesn`t know from the Prostate )

[Ancient_1]

Have any of you seen you scans? After reading this post I went and looked at the scan I had done on my chest a year ago tomorrow and am surprised at how much they can make out from them. The bones in 3d look quite detailed but to me everything else looks too cloudy/blurt to really make anything out. The scan actually contains 1284 separate images.

I am pretty sure I found my heart but could not see where the stents were which I thought would stand out.

As far as my score is I have no idea and there very few comments. here is a copy of a little of it.

Calcified coronary atherosclerotic plaque is noted. Nopericardial effusion. Thoracic aorta is non-aneurysmal.

No lymphadenopathy in the chest. Unremarkable CT chest.

Primary Diagnostic Code: MINOR ABNORMALITY

Here is a couple images from it.

[Coleroad]

PSA is the acronym for "Public Service Announcement" (How long did it take you to figure that out, Captain Obvious?!!)

Don`t laugh! I thought is was something to do with a Prostate-Specific Antigen when I saw it was a health topic!!!

I thought that’s what it was going to be about too. It wasn’t just you that that that when seeing PSA.

[Sizzle Chest]

Glad your brother is OK and will be good to go. Appreciate the heads up on this test!

[JSFM35X]

The heart by pass was a Sucess for sure. The recovery from the open chest and cut to the groin is extremely painful and debilitating. He is walking as instructed and trying to keep up with the daily lung exercises they gave him to keep fluid from building up in his lungs but he tires easily just from a conversation. It’s a long road back to everyday life.

How was the outcome of your brothers surgery?

[JSFM35X]

Friends and fellow Detailer’s. I sent emails to several of my close Friends and relatives and relayed the above advice.

My brother in law jumped on it and took the test last night and He scored very poorly and is headed for a stress test on Monday.

You never know what’s going on inside. I beg you guys to just do it for your sake and for your families sake.

I’m am not a doctors or anything close to it but I’m speaking from personal experience. If you have an issue it can be fixed and if you don’t now you know.

[Tc99m]

I’m am not a doctors or anything close to it but I’m speaking from personal experience. If you have an issue it can be fixed and if you don’t now you know.

I help run a Cardiac stress lab for 11 Doctors. Even though I am not a Doctor. I deal with patients everyday. I always tell them we treat our cars better than our own bodies. And it is easier to fix a problem before rather than after.

[Lonnie]

...

You never know what’s going on inside. I beg you guys to just do it for your sake and for your families sake.

I think you have a good health point and it is one of the reasons insurance companies will pay for regular/routine heath exams or physicals and SOME post-exam screenings or tests. Is their a fear of finding out something is wrong? Of course there is. Is there a fear of being financially ruined because of a particular diagnosis? Sometimes the stress from "how-am-I-going -to-pay-for-this" brings on is worse than the diagnosis and its effects!

I will say this: I AM A HEALTH HYPOCRITE (idiot wound be more accurate, Captain Obvious). Many (most) of my "health issues" are self-induced. What you eat, what you do or don`t do (like regular exercise) all play a huge part to our overall health. I know what to do or not to do; it`s just easier to take a prescribed medication to "treat" a health condition. We in the United States are seeing a slight change in the medical profession from that of treating health problems to preventing health problems and, hence, the ensuing cost of health care to individuals. We can ALL rant and rave about the high cost of health care and why it is happening (malpractice and liability law suits, new drug development cost and prices, non-payment of bills passed one to those who do; take your pick), but the bottom line is: YOU are responsible for your own heath and safety. We KNOW what to eat and what foods are good for you and how much to eat. We KNOW drinking too much alcohol and caffeinated drinks is bad and we do not simply drink enough water in a day or that we need to exercise rather than watch TV or play a video game. We KNOW you should wear your seat belt when driving or not talk with a cell phone when behind the wheel. We KNOW you need to wear ear plugs when operating loud machines or devices (like buffers or shop vacs!) or wear personal protection equipment (PPEs, like latex gloves, eye shields or goggles, respirator masks, and/or steel-toed shoes) when working in such environments. The question is: do you do it?? And if you are genetically prone to a heath condition, what are you doing to minimize or even prevent its effects??
It is true what humorist Will Rogers said many years ago, " I guess common sense ain`t so common!"

My apology to the original poster (OP) JSFM35X, as this "Public Service Announcement" (PSA) was also about what happened to your younger brother while exercising. We think we are doing the right thing to take care of ourselves, but some unforeseen health crisis arises. I do hope he is better.

[Liz@Autopia]

I help run a Cardiac stress lab for 11 Doctors. Even though I am not a Doctor. I deal with patients everyday. I always tell them we treat our cars better than our own bodies. And it is easier to fix a problem before rather than after.

Years ago I worked in a large office building that was just across the street from another very similar looking large office building which housed mostly medical offices. At least a few times a week, we`d get some flustered, frustrated, out of breath person walking through the door wanting to know if this was Dr. So and So`s office where they had an appointment for a stress test. I`d politely tell them "No, I`m sorry, but I believe that may be across the street." They would then usually grumble something about how they had spent the last 30 minutes driving around trying to find the place, then walked 10 minutes through the huge parking lot, and now they were going to be late.

I always kind of wondered if Dr. So and So`s staff purposely gave really bad directions just to make sure the patients would be good and stressed out by the time they showed up for their stress test.

[Tc99m]

I always kind of wondered if Dr. So and So`s staff purposely gave really bad directions just to make sure the patients would be good and stressed out by the time they showed up for their stress test.

Those kind of patients don`t get on a treadmill. We do pharmacological stress test for those who are unable to walk.

However, some people will surprise you. I had a 93 year old women walk for 6 minutes. For comparison the average range is 4-10 minutes.

[Accumulator]

Ancient_1- To this layman it sounds like you`re not in immediate peril, but what do I know?!?

Well, one thing I *do* know is that your Doc, and/or his people, need to do a far better job of communicating with you. I`m a fan of not leaving the office without a complete understanding of *everything*. You shouldn`t have a single Q when you leave, just answers.

[Accumulator]

Lonnie- If people really *DO* know what they oughta do/don`t, then...well, gee, what the....

I kinda figure most people are happily (for now, until it catches up with them) ignorant, otherwise they`d do better. I might oughta keep thinking that lest I get even less sympathetic towards people`s problems...