I found the drugs

I found the medicine that I purchased at the farmacia the other day in San Jose that I couldn't find later. I really have no idea why I put them where I found them, it was definitely a stupid spot. The powder is similar but the pills are different (I guess they could be the same).

Although, if I had remembered, I'm sure be have been thinking it was an excellent spot.

This might not seem like a monumental post, but had I found it, that might have been enough to prevent me from my hospital visit a few days ago...

LATER: Actually, I've taken another look at the powder I found and it's not the same. The one is electrolytes and the other is an anti-diarrhrettic. I'm not saying it wouldn't have helped, just that I now know it's different...

Technorati Tags: drugs, lost, lost and found, medicine

So I had an "opportunity" to check out the Hospital in Costa Rica ...

So except for the last trip I've never had any "stomach issues" and on that trip it was very minor and passed in few days (no pun intended). This trip the same thing happened for a few days and by Friday I was feeling fine. But then Saturday came...

I think it was the water in something I ate or drank, I don't drink the water or take ice, but there are vegetables and juices and all sorts of stuff with water. It could have been the bottle of water I purchased from a street vendor on Thursday, the cellophane on the bottle seemed a little loose but the cap seemed sealed but it had crossed my mind enough to check and it seemed fine (but it's still in my head).

Let's just say Saturday morning I made a few too many trips to the restroom that I went to the farmacia before I left San Jose. I purchased some pills and some electrolyte mixture to add to water. Then I headed out to Samara still feeling lousy. When I stopped for lunch I couldn't find the medicine anywhere but then I got to my hotel I tore everything apart and still couldn't find the medicine. And, of course, all the pharmacies were closed by then.

My symptoms got worse as the day went on. That night I got up at least forty times during the night and it got worse as the night went on. The next day, Sunday, all the pharmacies and doctor's offices were closed so I head on out to the hospital in Nicoya. If I was leaving town, then I was going to see a Doctor...

The hospital in Nicoya was about what I expected not much of a building, no Air Conditioning (fortunately it had been raining and was slightly cool) and they said the Doctor's did not speak English. I checked in and sat down in the crowd. I starting translating words to Spanish so it'd go faster when I saw the Doctor. I expected to be waiting for hours but I'd say it was only about twenty minutes. The Doctor said he didn't know English but between what I wrote down and what he knew, we only had to look up a few words. He sent me for an IV and some tests; the IV was really a huge syringe and it as at least an inch-and-a-quarter around and five inches long. It wasn't too bad but it made me a little dizzy, which they didn't want to understand as they're trying to move me to the next room (when I plopped on the a chair and stopped, I think they got the hint).

All of these things had a very short wait except for waiting for the test results. The test results were at least two hours. Then waiting for the Doctor took a while which would have been fine if I could have sat down and not queued up where they had us. He prescribed what I assume to be a similar electrolyte mixture and some pills (more for the stomach pain I believe). Total time four maybe four-and-a-half hours.

The room for the IV was the nicest and I didn't even need to try and say "utilice por favor una aguja nueva"; it was a specific sentence in the Costa Rican Spanish book for the phrase "please use a new needle", I assumed it was in there for a reason. Some of the rooms were more warehouse-ish than anything with roofed cubicles in and around the building. FYI - the office for the Doctor and the syringe room were both air conditioned but that was it. I'm sure the building would freak many of you out :)

I got a receipt for the 40,000 colones (about $73) but it's lacking info so we'll see what Blue Cross does with it when I try to submit it...

So, I left there and headed towards the main highway, I would have sworn there was an "American Hotel" that I was planning to splurge for but I couldn't find it. So I drove all the way to Tamarindo (second largest city?) and grabbed the second hotel I tried (the first one was full). I was still sick for about a day and a half, but I was slowly getting better. Part of the problem was that I wasn't eating either, I normally graze and eat 4-5 times a day but I was averaging less than I meal a day. Monday night, I forced myself out for a second meal hoping only for some soup and a sandwich, and while I'd normally avoid an American chain while I vacation, the Subway fit that requirement for me. I took it back to my room and the soup was so good and I nibbled on the sandwich over the next few hours. From then on I've only been feeling better.

It's Tuesday and I'm not perfect but I'm way better. I'm eating (most of three meals I've had) and I got more of a similar electrolyte solution from the farmacia today. I've felt well enough to wander around town and the beach a few times and I'm in a hotel I really like so that makes it even better...

Technorati Tags: Hospital

Beautiful Day in Tamarindo!

Sorry, I've been off-line lately, I haven't had 'net access or felt well enough to do it (I've been really really sick the last few days), but I'm feeling much much better today. I'll give you the scoop on my experiences with the CR medical system later.

I'm in Tamarindo the next few days, I couldn't get the little hotel that I liked from last trip, Domus Kahuna, but I grabbed a room at the Best Western Vista Villas since I didn't feel well enough to go looking for a room (wanted a safe bet); I'd normally avoid the US chains when in Costa Rica. Turns out my room has a view of the ocean and so does the pool/returant area (which also has WiFi), it's a little bit of a hike down to the water but it's a great view :)

This is looking like one of the top weather days this trip so far! I think I just need to take it easy for a little bit still. So I'll drive into town and pick up a few things and then head down and check out the beach.

When you see a hearse....

Overheard from two old guys at the next table:

When you see a hearse heading towards the cemetery
you don't ever see an armored car following behind it!

I got a chuckle out of that...

Feeling great while traveling.

So I was feeling pretty great while I traveled this trip. The allergies weren't too bad (even with all the extra dust and strange plants) and I slept great but never long enough (even the nights when I had my own room).

But the part I really noticed was:

Still on the mend...

Haven't blogged much, since not much has been happening around here. I've been sick for the last two weeks (missed a week of work) with bronchitis with a nasty couch and even nastier congestion. I feel like I've been eating lots, but I'm down about 15 pounds from where I'm usually at.

Life's pretty good otherwise, Work hasn't been too cRaZy so I've not fallen too far behind. And I've got my next Costa Rica trip to look forward too next month.

With the snow today it seems like an extra beautifully sunny day and that always has magical healing properties...

Technorati Tags: bronchitis, congestion, cough, sick, snow

Why I hate Medco Health Mail-in prescriptions.

First of all, I love Medco for so many reasons, but the fact that all the annoying things they do basically annoy me sometimes makes me wonder if it's worth it. I'll list what I like:

The snow is beautiful here...

I'm home sick today, but the view is just gorgeous! And it's still coming down...

I've been lousy since last Tuesday and I've been home yesterday and today. Yesterday and Sunday were the worst, I'm way congested in my lungs which cuts into my sleep time, drugs help when I'm sick but sleep and Creamy Tomato Soup help the most. The doctor thinks it's something viral but still kept me on the anti-biotics she game me last week..

I wish health was more of a science (I'm serious) and we knew more about it. Like, if I had stayed home on Friday (when the cough had started getting really bad) would I have gotten better over the weekend? Or would that have been minor on my road to recovery? Or did I need to get worse to get better?

Back to the snow: It's really thick on trees and bushes and railings. It's times like this the I wish I lived with a view and I could sit by the fireplace and watch the snow fall over the landscape (and not have the "Palace Liquor & Deli" be my landscape).

Technorati Tags: landscape, sick, snow, snowfall

Busy Day

So my back and shoulder has been killing me all this week (stayed home two days). I really haven't even been on-line much since sitting at a keyboard has been uncomfortable. You know if I haven't been on-line it's gotta be bugging me...

I went to the OMT (kind of the opposite of a chiropractor, they do the muscles not the bones, Osteopathic Musculature/Manipulative Therapy?) twice this week but that's not really fixing it. The drugs that really work knock me out, so that's not a great option; I bet I've averaged 18 hours a day the last few days. So today I went to my "regular" Doctor's office, but she wasn't in (they rotate on Saturdays) but they guy who checked out took care of me, a few shots into the muscle seem to be helping.

So since I was out (and not on the dizzy drugs) it seemed like a good time to run over to work to make sure some stuff that needs to run overnight was a-okay (you can't upload if anyone is actually using it and it won't run if you don't upload it) but it looked like everything was uploaded just fine. Now I'm grabbing a Wendy's Spicy Chicken, with free WiFi (Joy & Telegraph in Redford, MI), and then a quick stop at the grocery store...

It's not really such a busy day in general, but it's pretty busy for lately...

Technorati Tags: back pain, shoulder pain

Burnt My Lip!!! Pop Tarts are Evil!

I do understand that I just took the Pop Tart out of toaster but it really was a few minutes before I ate it. There was no warning of "Filling May Burn Gary's Lip" or "Pop Tarts Burn" printed any where on the package, the pop tart itself or the toaster...

Do you think I have a case against Kellogg's? Or maybe against my parents/teachers for not teaching me common sense?

I still think that it should have cooled off more, the edges weren't even crispy. I do wish I hadn't ignored the pain at the time, I probably could have avoided this blister...

Technorati Tags: Blueberry Pop Tart, Burn, Burning, Kelloggs, Pop Tart

A Plethora of Things.

So I normally don't put too many topics per post, actually I generally only put one topic per post. But I've been sick and all my little post-its on things to blog about are getting too long. So I'll steal the Bullet Sunday idea from Dave for this week.

WordPress - WordPress is one of the larger blogging platforms, lots of plug-ins and looks well supported. For example, on Wednesday Matt (a WP developer) is having a WordPress 2.3 upgrade party in San Francisco

WordPress 2.3 is coming out on Monday, so come out Wednesday evening and upgrade your blog with the pros. How badly can you screw it up when the developers are right there? If you upgrade your blog before Wednesday come and help out others and make feature requests.

I think it's kind of a cool idea I'd go if I were in the area and I don't even really use it. I'm hoping I can hold off to really using it until after Lisa Sabine-Wilson's WordPress for Dummies book is published. What I don't like about WP is that it's all dynamic (but that's part of what I do like about it too). The dynamic-ness is just going to slow things down; I liked that in MT you can make some pages static and some dynamic but the cool part is MT will cache the pages once it generates them until the next post so it's semi-static. Keep in mind you break some important dynamic function, everything is probably going to break. I think my next blog experiments will be with WP....

Legion of Super Heroes - Season one was great but season two (started yesterday) has the Superman from the 41st century (actually a clone of the 21st century Superman) who has traveled back to the 31st(?) to work with Legion and (I'm assuming) the SuperBoy/Man of the 21st century. It seems like it's going to be a little two complicated. They characters seem liked the characters have gotten a little bit older too (Duo Damsel is so cute).

Snakehead - A new Alex Rider novel is coming out. They've definitely gotten better as the books went along, I recently re-read the first one and it's no where near as good as the later ones.

My Medical Tests

This is really more about health costs, not my problems. As far as I know I'm fine, but they've been trying to diagnose a minor problem (although I guess I'm not qualified to say it's "minor") so don't worry...

This is the story - I'm finally getting copies of the insurance bills for a big test (had to be unconscious for the test, I think that's the only reason it was in the hospital) and so far they total up to about $3,300! and I haven't paid a penny. Please note that this doesn't even include my initial visit to my doctor and the two visits to the specialist (which all included tests) and each of the visits each included a prescription or two (I've probably paid less than $75 for all that). That's a lot of money, and if I didn't have insurance I'd be happy to spend money on getting better but so far I don't think anything has helped (maybe I'm a little better since this started in late April but I might just be getting used to it or maybe I'd just be getting better anyways) and I don't think the tests dound anything. I'm sure the costs would be a bit less if I were paying for it out my own pocket, but still...

I can't imagine not having great insurance let alone not having insurance at all. We've got great unions in Michigan and probably even more so in the Detroit area so that's always benefitted me (medical and dental benefits). I just can't imagine not having it. I've always been very fortunate with having great health insurance and they very few times I haven't, I've not had to really use it.

I don't know the solution for health in this country but I think we need to concentrate more of the USofA resources on health. People should be able to count on good health, education and food; I think these items qualify for the whole "life, liberty and happiness" thing (I'll clarify these points if I ever run for office).

Speaking of insurance for everyone, in Michigan we've got a pretty decent Children's Health Insurance program called MiChild for only $10 a month for your child. You have to be a low income family and I'm not sure what the requirement/formula is but I thought I'd mention it since I was mentioning insurance (I guess it's only good if you actually qualify). If you have kids and no insurance in Michigan please check out this program and apply for your kids. They have a dental program that can be signed up for too.

I guess I really don't have much else to say other than I'm very fortunate in this case and very thankful for great insurance (and thankful it's not a bigger problem). It's not that I want them to find something wrong, it's just that if there is something wrong I want them to find it sooner.

I haven't had the follow-up yet (in a few weeks), so I don't have a diagnosis yet, but I'm thinking if they found something from the tests or the biopsy they'd have gotten me in sooner (or called me). So I'm assuming they'll be no diagnosis, I'm guessing they'll try more drugs and if that doesn't help, maybe another similar test (yuk!) later...

Disclaimer: I'm sure at some point in the future insurance companies will be googling for pre-existing conditions on the 'net. So I almost didn't write this post. For the future googlers, to set the record straight, I confess that my problem is there is a banana growing out of my forehead, so if you are looking to insure me in the future and there is no banana that means I'm cured(!) and there is nothing preexisting...

Technorati Tags: Health Insurance, Medical Insurance, Medical Tests, MiChild, insurance

Hand Update.

So I went back to the doctor today to see what the verdict was today. And after a very long wait (I was about to go back up to the counter to remind them I was there, they were shutting down for lunch and I was the only one left not waiting for someone to come out) I got to see him. Unfortunately they didn't have an answer for me. They can see something that looks like some kind of irritation on the bone, something that looked rough or worn, but nothing that looked broke. So they see some kind of unknown problem. Of course, this doesn't help me any...

They don't really want to cut into me to look because some muscles and vessels are attached to this bone and there is always the possibility of risk when operating on that. So they don't want to do that just for some kind of fishing expedition.

So “let's run some blood tests” and see if we see something odd that might be causing/related it. It was a lot of tests, but not many tubes so I was okay with that. But I'm confident they wont find anything in my blood. Of all the quarts I've been drained of in my life, I can't think of anything they've ever found. I really thought as a result of the bone scan they'd be able to fix this and I'm disappointed that while it was obvious there was something on the scan it's not something (at this point) that they can fix.

BTW, the pot I'm talking about is a little piece of bone protruding from the palm of the hand, but I can't recall the name right now.

So I'm at the medical center...

So I'm at the pace to get a bone scan (actually this was last week, I'm just finishing up this post now). I think I mentioned I've had some on and off problems with my hand/wrist, I had a CAT scan the other week (nothing to see) and now I'm up to a bone scan. So this morning I had some radioactive “dye” (something that attaches to phosphates I believe she said) injected and they stuck me in some machine that watched me for a few minutes to see how it flows through my body. Then I had to come back in 3 hours to get more images taken, not so bad except the center is in Ypsi and I work 30 miles away (but I've gotten some e-mail done, an order done and picked up some supplies for work at Target).

Not related to the tests but in the morning I had someone in Nuclear Medicine named Kelly helping me out, now this was odd to me since I had an ex-girlfriend (fiancee actually) named Kelly who worked in the Nuclear Medicine department at a local hospital. A little bit of a coincidence, no...

So now I'm waiting to go back in. They have WiFi but I can't get past the “accept their internet policy page”. And I left my book in the car, so I'm really bored now....

So they finished the bone scan and while the image on the screen was only a few images high I could clearly see a glowing spot on my right hand where it hurts (the left hand didn't have any spots like that) so I'm hoping they can diagnose the problem or at least know where to focus the search. I go back Friday for the results...

Another coincidence (making it a weird bigger coincidence) - the afternoon Nuclear Medicine person was also named Kelly!!

On a side note, since they injected me with radioactive stuff, they mentioned that if I have to pee that I should go and not hold it in any more than necessary. Kinda made me nervous. Certainly didn't encourage me to go pee, I didn't want the radioactive “stuff” pissing passing through that part of my body...

Technorati Tags: doctor

Sleep, Eat and 'Net....

So I haven't really done much at all today. So you get an “about my day” post. I've eaten a lot (and often) and had too way much Coca-Cola (but the last few had some Capt. Morgan's in it so that's okay). And I've been on the 'net all day (at home, at Wendy's, at the bar) catching up (and fixing) on things.

I did participate in a survey that I got $25 for (it might have been $25 for Amazon.com but that's as good as cash to me). It was a survey about the new extra-secure security features in IE 7. The thing is, I'm not so worried about my information being intercepted en-route; I'm more worried about their servers being compromised after the fact (or someone losing their laptop). My real concern when shopping on-line is that “Bob's Computer Shack” is just a place that “Bob” set up so he can steal my Charge Card information (he could even have an ultra secure certificate).

But tonight I need to drive to Ypsi to get a CAT scan of my hand. It's been bugging me and it's time to get it looked at. My problem is with chronic problems like this is they tend to not find a cause, which means they can't find a solution. He has said he doesn't think it's anything carpel-tunnel or repetitive anything-ish.

So I cleaned up my web site and tried to make it more XHTML compliant (total pain in the ass). But Technorati hasn't been indexing me lately and I can't figure out why and Googling-around I some people report that as a possible reason. But Overall people seem pretty dissatisfied on updated with Technorati updates. I know without any effort I used to show up all the time. I ping the heck out of them and I just don't show up, not sure why, everypne else just seems to look at my RSS/Atom feeds and index me just fine.

Oh, and I've been keeping an eye on Woot since they've got a Woot-off today. I did get a bluetooth Keyboard/Mouse that I've missed a few other times but I missed the ever elusive Bag of Crap....

Technorati Tags: Technorati Tags

Jonesing for a Coke

So I gave up Coca-Cola for a few weeks for several reasons. It's on my list of 101 in 1001 to try and see how if it makes me feel any better or sleep any better, etc. I chose this time just to hopefully have less sugar/caffine in my body to maybe stay healthier for the holidays (especially since I'm hosting Christmas for 25-ish people on Saturday). I'm not allowed to substitute other (inferior) caffeinated drinks or extra amounts of chocolate, etc.

Well, the health thing didn't work out since I got sick a few days later (last week) and don't know if I slept better due to the illness or the decrease of sugar/caffine. No friends or coworkers have noticed I seemed to be less hyper :)

But I do get cravings for Coke, even when I haven't removed it from my intake. But the other day at McDonald's I got my number three which includes a drink, fries a Quarter Pounder with cheese, no pickles or mustard for those of you who may not know what a McDonald's is, let alone what a #3 is. And as I took a drink of my soda I realized I was taking a really really long drink through the straw and it was tasting really really good. And then I realized why, I accidentally got a Coke. So while I hate to be wasteful, I went and dumped it out and got a Sprite instead. The Sprite just wasn't the same...

So I've got two more days to go. Actually, about two days and five hours. And I'm really ready for it. And I know I need to try this experiment again sometime, the getting sick really through off the results the “experiment”. But I think I'm gonna stick it out for a few more days just because I can. Maybe...

The LifeStraw

Over 6,000 people die a day (most of them children) from water releated illnesses. These folks have created The LifeStraw, a straw about the size of a small clarinet that can be worn about the neck and weighs about 0.095 Kg (3.3 ounces). It'll filter 2 liters (half gallon) a day for about a year! And they only cost about $3 each.

Over a billion people in the world don't have safe drinking water! (Drinking salt water will reduce the life expectancy in half).

More info (from the FAQ):

Hiccups are gone (Knock on wood).

They're gone!! They lasted about 32 hours on and off (mostly on), I've never had anything like that happen before (maybe an hour). Thank you for all of the suggestions, unfortunately not a single cure worked. My solution that always usually works is to get a full glass of water, put your mouth on the far side of the glass and drink from the far side of the rim; this has generally been my fail safe cure all but not this time...

I really thought I was going to go to some 24 hour clinic last night, it was that bad (some weird burping got mixed into it too). I finally took a variety of stomach medicines (Zantac and Tums) and I really think the Gatorade helped. I was still hiccuping when I went to sleep but I've been fine so far this morning. Fortunately they were gone by the time I read Dave's suggestion from Boing Boing from yesterday's post (I'm not sure if I was that desperate).

Hiccups for almost 24 hours now! HELP!

So I've had hiccups for almost 24 hours and I've tried all sorts of suggestions. None have helped. They've stopped occasionally, but not at any of the times I tried any home remedies...

Starting and stopping seems to be completely random. Any thoughts???

Things I've tried:

Lots of water...

So three weeks ago I started making sure I was drinking at least a half-gallon (2 liters) of water a day. I hear I don't drink “enough” (whatever that is) and I drink lots of soda and juice (mostly Coca-Cola and OJ). I do drink more water now than in other points of my life (which used to be never). It was one of the items on my 101 in 1001 things list. After 3 weeks I've got some results/conclusions:

Lots of water (and goofy marketing)

So as we all know, metric is going to take the word by storm one of these days). HA!