One Year Later…One Year In Office
Posted by Michelle Moquin on January 20th, 2010
It was really difficult pulling myself out of bed this morning. It is rainy and blowing up a storm here in the Bay Area with high winds gusting at who knows how fast. I would’ve much rather stayed in bed and dreamt a bit more of. Not an option.
So…what to talk about this morning….
I am sure by now that all of you are well aware of the turnout for the crucial Massachusetts Senate election. Republican Scott Brown’s win replacing the late Ted Kennedy in the senate, leaves the Democrats no longer holding the majority in Congress.
Now this morning all, I seem to read about is the fingering pointing of who blew it in the campaign? Who do we blame?….Coakley? Obama?, A toxic political landscape?
Arriana Huffington believes this loss to the Democrats could be a ‘blessing in disguise for President Obama and Democrats if they actually use it to course correct before 2010.’ I love an optimistic attitude. There is always something good that comes out of, what at first doesn’t seem so.
What do you think about Arriana’s optimistic outlook?
There is the possibility that the Republicans with 41 votes, will now filibuster, blocking the health care bill. This just can’t happen.
I know the health care bill isn’t anything like it started out to be. I know that we fought for so much more to be included in the bill. But so many Americans who presently don’t have health care insurance, will now have it. That is huge in itself, as I have said before.
Do you know how many lives will be saved just because people will now be able to go to their doctor and receive care? We have no idea what life or lives will be saved because of this health care bill passing. And of those lives saved, how many of these individuals will have the chance to do something great for our country, that they may never have been able to do before simply because….well to put it bluntly, they would be dead, if this bill doesn’t pass. We have no idea what individuals are out there waiting to blossom into doctors or scientists-to-be. What individuals are destined to great leaders and heros…All they need is a chance to live.
I think in those terms. We have to think in those terms, because they are a reality.
Why would anyone, any person, whether they be a Republican, a Democrat…whatever, want to deny anyone their right to health care…their right to live and prosper and make something of themselves? When it is put so simply, I don’t see how anyone can say no. Do you?
Lastly, It is Obama’s first year as our president.
Obama warned us this wasn’t going to be easy:
…In his inaugural address, one year ago Wednesday, that all of the nation’s problems would not be solved so quickly. “They are serious, and they are many,” he said then. “They will not be met easily or in a short span of time.”
Nevertheless, most Americans skipped past that section of the speech, and focused instead on Obama’s promise to end the bitter partisan divide in Washington on the way to shaking up the system. That goodwill from the early days evaporated quickly, and the president’s approval ratings have dipped as disappointment has grown among the very independent voters who helped elect him in 2008. That’s why he very deliberately tried to recalibrate expectations at a Washington church this Sunday as he delivered remarks celebrating the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
“There was a hope shared by many that life would be better from the moment that I swore that oath,” Obama said. “Of course, as we meet here today, one year later, we know the promise of that moment has not yet been fully fulfilled. Because of an era of greed and irresponsibility that sowed the seeds of its own demise, because of persistent economic troubles unaddressed through the generations, because of a banking crisis that brought the financial system to the brink of catastrophe, we are being tested — in our own lives and as a nation — as few have been tested before.”
-CNN January 20, 2010
Readers: We can not give up. Comments? Blog me.
I’m out of here. The rain is flooding into our bedroom and duty calls.
Peace out…and stay safe and dry.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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January 21st, 2010 at 8:21 am
The Newest Approach to Male Urinary Problems
J. Stephen Jones, MD
Cleveland Clinic Foundation
f you’re a man over age 50, chances are you find yourself running to the bathroom more often than you once did.
Until recently, doctors were quick to attribute these symptoms to an enlarged prostate — a noncancerous condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) — and prescribe drugs to shrink or relax the gland, or surgery to reduce its size.
Latest development: Researchers now strongly suspect that the prostate may be only partially responsible for the symptoms usually blamed on BPH — or, in some cases, not at all. This means that many men may be able to avoid prostate surgery if the problem is properly diagnosed.
THE HIDDEN CULPRIT
Because the prostate is located next to the urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder), the flow of urine can become partially obstructed when the gland enlarges. As a result, the urinary stream becomes weaker. Other “obstructive” symptoms include hesitancy (it takes longer to start urination) and intermittency (the flow stops and starts repeatedly during urination).
What’s new: Other urinary problems, called “irritative” symptoms — urgency (a strong, sudden need to urinate)… frequency (repeated trips to the bathroom)… and nocturia (excessive need to urinate at night) — are now believed, in some cases, to be only indirectly related to an enlargement of the prostate and/or may have more to do with the bladder.
One possible reason: When the prostate compresses the urethra and obstructs urinary flow, the bladder may not empty completely. Bladder muscles grow stronger to overcome the obstruction, possibly making the bladder harder to control.
DIAGNOSING THE PROBLEM
Prostate enlargement can be diagnosed with a digital rectal examination (the doctor inserts a gloved finger into the rectum and feels the prostate). But prostate size alone can be misleading — it’s only when the gland grows inward that the urethra becomes compressed and urinary problems develop.
Although other tests are available to check urinary and bladder function, the majority of doctors simply suggest a trial of prostate medication. If a prostate drug relieves the symptoms, the diagnosis can be safely assumed to be BPH.
THE TRADITIONAL APPROACH
The majority of men with obstructive symptoms (slow start, slow stream and/or incomplete emptying) get relief from two types of medication commonly used for BPH. The drugs work in different ways — one type may help when the other fails, and both types used together may be more effective than either alone.
Alpha blockers, such as terazosin (Hytrin), alfuzosin (Uroxatral), doxazosin (Cardura) and tamsulosin (Flomax), relax the smooth (involuntary) muscles in the prostate and the neck of the bladder, loosening their grip on the urethra. These drugs usually relieve urinary symptoms within one week. Side effects: Low blood pressure when you stand up and/or dizziness. These side effects typically resolve within three days. Caution: Alpha blockers can cause complications during cataract surgery. If you take an alpha blocker, tell your doctor before undergoing a cataract operation.
5-alpha reductase inhibitors, such as finasteride (Proscar) and dutasteride (Avodart), interfere with the conversion of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone, the active form of the hormone that stimulates the prostate to grow. These drugs can shrink the gland and are particularly useful when the prostate is very large. But they can take months to work — and are often less effective than alpha blockers. Side effects: Decreased libido and impotence in 3% to 10% of cases.
THE NEW APPROACH
In a groundbreaking study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 879 men who had both obstructive and irritative urinary symptoms were divided into groups that were given the prostate drug tamsulosin… tolterodine (Detrol), a drug for overactive bladder (a condition that causes urinary frequency, urgency and/or nocturia)… a placebo… or both drugs.
The bladder drug, the prostate drug and the placebo were equally effective in reducing both types of urinary symptoms. The drug combination, however, was significantly more effective than either drug alone — symptoms improved in 80% of men who received it.
Self-defense: If you experience urinary frequency, urgency and/or nocturia that has not been adequately relieved by the use of prostate drugs alone, see a urologist to determine whether a combination of prostate and bladder drugs may help.
SURGICAL OPTIONS
If an overactive bladder drug doesn’t bring relief within two months, and prostate drugs do not do so within a few months, surgery may be necessary.
Options include…
Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) is the most effective for BPH and rarely requires repeat surgery. Instruments inserted through the urethra remove parts of the prostate to widen the path for the flow of urine. It requires general or spinal anesthesia and a hospital stay. Complications: Impotence and urinary incontinence rarely occur.
Transurethral microwave therapy (TUMT) uses a microwave antenna that produces heat to shrink the prostate. It does not require anesthesia and can be performed in a doctor’s office. TUMT generally is less effective than TURP, and some men require further treatment within several years. Complications: Similar to those with TURP, though even less common.
Photo vaporization prostate (PVP) is a type of laser therapy that precisely targets the part of the prostate that the surgeon wants to destroy. Like TUMT, repeat treatment can be required. PVP is performed on an inpatient or outpatient basis. Complications: Similar to those with TURP, though even less common.
Health interviewed J. Stephen Jones, MD, vice chair of the Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. He is the author of The Complete Prostate Book: What Every Man Needs to Know (Prometheus) and author of more than 60 scientific papers on prostate and bladder diseases.
January 21st, 2010 at 8:26 am
The world is so large it scares me. We moved from the US to Israel 4 years ago. I am now 19. I have finished a year in the military here. I want to go home so bad. There seems to be no hope for peace here.
If I could be a Girlz, I would gladly do whatever it takes to rid the earth of violent men, jews and arabs alike.
Think of me, Michelle.
Amita