Tweet!

Since I can't get it together to post a real post these days, I've decided to go with twitter updates. Up-to-the-minute here, daily at my livejournal. Exciting!

What I'm Learning About America...

From my pharmaceutical studies, I'm beginning to realize that Americans are crazy. Seriously, there's something going on in our heads. Of the top selling drugs in 2007, 3 out of the top 10 are anti-depressants or anti-psychotics. The anti-depressants didn't surprise me that much, if you'd ask me to guess the top 10, I'd guess Cholesterol meds, allergy meds, heart meds, stomach/ibs meds, anti-depressants, and maybe a diabetes med. The anti-psychotic was an unpleasant surprise. Four of the top 25 selling medications are anti-psychotics.

Although, on the other hand, that says that people who seriously need help are getting it. I doubt there are too many people out there who see an ad for an anti-psychotic and go ask their doctor, even if they have no symptoms. I would imagine there's a small percentage of people who take anti-depressants, cholesterol meds, allergy meds, stomach/ibs meds, pain meds, etc. who may not really need medication. Maybe they really need the anti-psychotic meds!

In case anyone's interested, the top ten were:
1. Lipitor (cholesterol reducer)
2. Nexium (for heartburn)
3. Adviar (asthma)
4. Prevacid (stomach/heartburn)
5. Plavix (stops blood clots)
6. Singulair (allergy/asthma)
7. Seroquel (anti-psychotic)
8. Effexor (anti-depressant)
9. Lexapro (anti-depressant)
10. Actos (diabetes med)

(from drugs.com)

Another surprise, Viagra was number 48. I'd expected it to be higher, but I guess it has stiff competition from Cialis!!

I'm Still Here!

My absence can be explained by part lack of things to talk about, part lack of time to talk about them!

I'm finishing up my Pharmacy Tech program, I have complete 19 of the 27 study units! I started in April, it's supposedly a 9-12 month program. I took a 4-6 week break in June and July, or I'd be done already! Then I have to find a part-time job. I'm not sure how well that will work, as my only availability will be MWF from 6pm to 10/11pm and all day weekends... I can't quit my day job, because it pays twice what a tech makes!

I'm trying to figure out what I need to take to apply to real pharmacy school (to be a pharmacist). I think there's a Tues/Thurs night class I can start on, but I have to check into the pre-req's to be sure.

Miley in Vanity Fair

Jamie inspired this post with her post on Miley Cyrus...my response got a little long for a comment, and since I haven't posted in a while...

I actually don't think this picture is all that bad. Too provocative for a 15 year old, yes, and my kid wouldn't be doing it. My 7 year old and her whole class are all about Hannah Montana, and THEY were talking about it today. Of course being 7 year olds, and only hearing bits of the story, they thought she was showing her whole front, or fully naked, and I had to explain it was just her back, and that it was a bad choice by Miley and her parents.

Her parents just don't think. We went to see the 3-d movie, and I was pissed that they showed Billy Ray and Miley in the back with no seat belts. He apologized about his poor judgment after the fact, but what happened during "Idol Gives Back?" The same damn thing!!! And no one even batted an eye.

Her music that I've heard is fine, some of it (like Nobody's Perfect and Life's What You Make It) have messages I've been trying to get across to my daughter for a long time. On the tv show and in the movie, the kids aren't wearing low cut shirts or really short skirts (most of the time they had shorts on under them when they were above the knee), the worst I can say is sometimes the clothes are a little tight.

So, we'll continue to watch the shows and listen to the music, I pre-screen it all anyway. But we'll also talk about the bad choices she makes and why those choices are bad.

Hopefully Billy Ray will get his head out of his ass and rein her in, but I kind of doubt it. Which is really sad, but one of life's lessons, I suppose. We really don't need another Britney!

Really, You Should be Required to Have a License to Procreate.

(I'm on a roll, two posts in one day!!)

In my friend's son's class is a boy named Christian. They go to Christian's birthday party, and his dad at one point says, "Atticus, come here please!"
My friend asks, "Who's Atticus?"
The dad says, "Him", indicating the boy they knew as Christian.
My friend says, "Oh, I thought his name was Christian!"
Dad, in kind of a disgusted tone, "Oh that's what his MOTHER calls him. I call him Atticus. But his legal name is Hans."

This was Hans-Christian-Atticus's 6th birthday party. Apparently, they couldn't decide on a name, picked Hans, each used their preferred name. In pre-school, he went by Atticus, in Kindergarten, Christian.

And the kicker? His parents are still married. For now.

7 Random Things

Jamie at Mom Around the Clock tagged me!

Here's my facts, but I don't have anyone I'd want to tag right now!

1. I don't like drinking directly out of glass glasses. I'm terrified of them breaking in my mouth.
2. I like raw potatoes.
3. I really hate wearing socks.
4. Even though I totally love my dog and wouldn't give him up now, I still kind of wish we'd never got a dog
5. I'm very particular about how the groceries get put away, so I usually insist on doing it.
6. I can't stand nail polish on my fingers, and can't stand not to have it on my toes.
7. I don't think make up is worth the bother 90% of the time, so I don't wear any.

Not quite hell freezing over, but close...

It seems like yesterday (but maybe it was Monday or Tuesday) when I bragged about our great CA weather...

Today, we had a bit of a change.

It all started when I got back from lunch and the cows were looking staring crazily at me.


I knew something was up. This picture isn't nearly as freaky as it was in person, there's about 25 cows about 15 feet away from me. Thankfully, there's also a fence between us.

I thought it was the thunder and lightening, when that started 20 minutes later. Then I thought it was the hail when that started...



For san diego, it was large hail, about pea sized. It started sticking and building up. Then, about 20 minutes later, it started snowing.

Really.

I have pictures!




We had to call out the public works guys with brooms to clear the paths.



Snow does funny things to us San Diegans.



It was snowing in huge flakes. I have lived places where it snows (Utah, Colorado and Michigan), so I'm not just saying that! They let us go at 3:30, about an hour after the hail and snow started.

Save the Greyhounds!!

My Greyhound group is participating in America's Giving Challenge from Parade Magazine. The 8 charities that inspire the most people to give will each get $50,000. Plus, they get all the money donated in the challenge. It only takes $10 to count as a donor! If you have an extra $10, please consider helping us to $50,000!

http://www.networkforgood.org/pca/Badge.aspx?badgeId=110200

Right now, one of the groups big projects is renovating a recently purchased kennel to house even more dogs. Greyhound Adoption Center is one of the few groups that will take and heal injured racers. Currently, the shelter is run out of a modular trailer and the dogs live in large cages with turn out 2-3 times a day. The new shelter will have doggy condo modules, where 3-4 dogs that get along will live in a small room until they are adopted, with outside access.

Smoking

Starting January 1, a new law went into effect here in California, that you may not drive and smoke with a child under 18 in the car.

Personally, I'm all for laws restricting smoking as much as possible. I know, I know smokers have a "right" to smoke, however, of the hundreds, or maybe thousands of smokers I've seen, a bare handful get that their "right" to smoke ends where my right to breathe begins.

I put right in quotation marks in regards to smokers because while that's an argument used by smokers; I don't necessarily believe it's a right. I do however, seem to remember a certain document used to found our country guaranteeing my right to life. Since breathing is absolutely essential for life...well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see where I'm going with this...

I have asthma that's induced my environmental factors, such as smoke. One of the reasons I love California is that most public places are non-smoking. I can live a fairly normal life and not have to worry about frequent asthma attacks.

Beyond that, one set of my grandparents smoked for years, and had cancers and heart disease and other health issue which can be attributed to smoking. I do get that it's an addiction, but I don't really get how/why people start in the first place.

Yes, I have tried it. When I was in high school and right out of high school, my asthma wasn't as bad as it is now, and I've probably smoked about a half dozen cigarettes in my life. A part of me wonders if that had some effect on worsening my asthma. But it was gross, and I just fail to see the appeal.

To the few dozen smokers who are courteous about your smoking, I don't get you, but I respect your right to choose to smoke. Unfortunately, the vast majority of dumbasses who think the world is their ashtray, and the rest of us have to deal with their 'right' to smoke make it so we need laws restricting smoking. Since those laws make me able not to live my life as a hermit, damn straight I'm all for them.

On Healthcare

I read several medical blogs, the world of medicine has always fascinated me, and I'm getting ready to go back to school to get a PharmD, so that I can become a pharmacist. (Unless drugmonkey scares me off!)

Anyway, a hot topic these days is misuse of the ER. Personally, I've been to the ER a few times in my 29 years of life, once for my very first migraine, two or three times for respiratory distress (I have asthma), and once for what I thought was appendicitis and turned out to be a burst ovarian cyst. I've also taken my roommate at the time for kidney stones.

My husband has taken his daughter at least twice, once for some stomach thing that needed surgery (not a hernia), and once for high fever/ear ache/uncontrollable crying.

What do all these visits have in common? First, they all took several hours. Second, there are always a ton of not very sick looking people in there. Even though there are confidentiality rules and such, the ER's not that big of a place, so you overhear a lot. I don't understand why these people come to the ER for minor aches and pains! Sore throat with a cough but no fever? What's the emergency there? You fell 4 days ago and hurt your ankle and it hurts but there's no swelling and your x-rays are normal? Again, why are you here?

The crazy thing is, we have an urgent care facility literally across the driveway from the ER! And the wait there is usually half that of the ER. In fact when I had my abdominal pain, and what I thought was appendicitis, I actually went to urgent care, and they freaked out and put me in a wheelchair and rolled me over to the ER.

But the urgent care makes you pay for services. They're part of the same group as the ER, and do take medi-caid, medi-care and medi-cal, as well as disability, but most people have a small co-pay of $20-$75. The ER will treat you for 'free'.

I wonder if the ER had the same co-pay system, especially for non-emergency issues, would it be as crowded? Or if they could make people go to urgent care or the free clinic a few minutes away...

Until then, if we have to use the ER, we'll use our card when we sign in. If you have insurance, present your card at every opportunity. I know part of the reason I don't have to wait as long as some is because I don't go to the ER for a sore throat. But that insurance card is like a golden ticket sometimes.

In the end, it's much easier and less time consuming to go to a PCP. That whole "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" thing.