|
|
Post by angusrancher on Oct 26, 2019 13:44:06 GMT -6
|
|
|
|
Post by chuckie on Oct 26, 2019 14:00:44 GMT -6
That is pretty interesting to know.
|
|
|
|
Post by angusrancher on Nov 3, 2019 13:56:02 GMT -6
|
|
|
|
Post by farmerjan on Nov 3, 2019 21:03:58 GMT -6
Have been reading a book I just got called "The Calcium Lie II". It is very interesting about how we target one thing, insist that people need more, like calcium for bones, and ignore that there are many other minerals in the bones and that too much calcium can cause imbalances that are unbelievable.
This is a long post.....
I had an incident last week that scared the living devil out of me. I had loaded meters and all to go to work. I go to this farm the afternoon/eve before because they are over 2 hrs away and start milking at 2 a.m.. So they graciously put me up the night before so I don't have to drive it and lose most all the sleep I could get. I came in, taking a shower and was washing my hair. Bent over to rinse the soap and got a little dizzy.... okay, I hadn't eaten so thought that was it. Put the conditioner in, and finished washing and then bent over to rinse the conditioner out and all of a sudden my head got real dizzy, and my eyes pulled to the left and seemed to "lock there". Naturally, I was unable to "walk normal" because I could only see somewhat clearly out of the left corner of my eye. I managed to get dried off , then put on a t-shirt and sweats, and laid down for about 20 minutes then it seemed to clear up some. I took the computer out to the truck, and as I bent over to put it in on the seat, my eyes locked to the left again. I sat on the truck seat for a few minutes, then got scared thinking maybe it was a stroke. Called my son and said that he needed to come get me to take me to the ER because I just didn't know what was going on.
He came, got me in the truck, I was a little nauseous and we went the 30 + miles to the hospital. He had some crackers, I ate, and I took a couple sips of sprite because I felt like I was light headed and nauseous from not eating. I had no numbness, no loss of feeling , no problems talking, just the eyes seemingly locked to the left. He noticed it right off when he came to get me.
They took me in and almost immediately put me in a room, thinking stroke and that fast intervention is of course the best thing. I told my same story to the nurse, the next nurse, then the doctor. They pulled blood, sent me for a cat scan. By then my eyes were functioning. BP was 180/84, said pulse was good, blood O2 was 97.... Nothing showing up yet. Decided to do an MRI so down the hall. My eyes went left for about a minute, then went straight again. Did the MRI. Put the EKG little patches and hooked me up to the monitor and the blood pressure cuff that did it at regular intervals. NOTHING. No masses, lesions, tumors, nothing in the blood, EKG normal. Got on a tele thing with a specialist at UVA, and told the whole story again. ER dr came in, they had a conference, waiting for some expert to read the MRI and get back to them. Finally an older male nurse came in (shift change) and he said sounded like a TIA. It's like a mini stroke when maybe a little plaque in your bloodstream breaks off, travels and temporarily blocks a spot that causes it and then it passes through the system and doesn't do any damage. Can be a one time thing, can be a precursor to a possible major stroke. MRI results shows absolutely NOTHING.... Specialist decides it is a seizure, from a head injury I had over 30 years ago.... with never having a single symptom before. They decide I need to be on Keppra, which is an anti-seizure medicine... with nothing to really support that I actually had a seizure. Now, realize it is now about 9:30 p.m. I have not eaten, and I am getting really uptight and hungry. So they explain all this, and I ask if they can't find anything that really tells them there was a seizure, why do I need to take this drug. It was getting to the point that I was getting a little bent out of shape. My blood pressure is going up on the monitor too. Finally, after asking for information on the drug, which Don, the male nurse was very nice to go out and get me a print out, I gave in and said okay, I would take the IV drip that they wanted to get in me. That takes 1/2 hr. then we set and kept waiting for the dr to come back. He did and said that they couldn't really find a reason to keep me, as my blood pressure is hitting 206/92... and if I wasn't feeling any other symptoms, they would release me. They said they had called in the prescription, and I could pick it up the next day and to start on it immediately. Got discharged and we left. First thing we did was stop and get some fuel, and my son got me a sub from the SHEETZ gas station as they were the only one open. He had gone down to the hospital cafeteria earlier and said the food was pretty good and reasonable.
I had a headache, but I devoured that sub and a couple sips of the sprite. Got home, and got out of the truck and walked right in the house. Went in and went to bed because of the headache.
During the night I must've had some reaction to the IV as my arm got reddish and I must've scratched at it as there were welts from the itch, used a benedryl gel for the itch, but the color went down quickly. It was on the list of side effects. I got on the computer first thing and did some serious searching. I didn't like the side effects and I wasn't too keen on taking something that they decided I needed when they weren't even sure what had happened.
I called my chiropractor whom I trust with my life. He did more for me after my car wreck and subsequent loss of range of motion all those years ago that the conventional drs said I had to live with. They gave me an appt that afternoon and I drove down there. Was a little apprehensive about driving, but I felt pretty normal.
Told him the whole story, and after a short exam, said that a vertebrae right by the C-2 fracture that I had in that wreck 30 yrs ago, was way out of alignment. He worked on it, and another in my back that also needed adjustment. I felt immediately better, and my eyesight seemed sharper. Going back again tomorrow (Monday).
He feels that when I bent over to wash, then rinse my hair, I got it out of alignment enough to pinch a nerve and that cause the eyes to do that. Says usually it is one eye, but not unheard of. The fact that there was no loss of limb movement, no speech difficulty, no memory loss, and nothing showing up on any of the tests tells him that it was caused by the spinal cord (nerves) being compromised and pinched. I have had no problems since then.
Okay I could have a major stroke tomorrow, but it seems that this is a much more reasonable explanation because it also makes sense since I first felt it when I rinsed the shampoo out and put the conditioner in and then went completely kaflooey when I rinsed it out. Needless to say, I am going back tomorrow, and will be making a very concerted effort to get more regular adjustments. I am not going to take the prescription drug. If it is my time to go tomorrow, then so be it but I really believe it was just the pinching of the spinal cord, which affected the nerves/receptors in the brain.
Now after reading this book, I am also wondering if there might be more to my system having the trace minerals out of whack because I know I don't eat right. Cooking for one is the pitts. I have made myself a promise to start trying to make more meals and decent ones at home that are more balanced. And I am seriously looking at a hair mineral analysis, to see if there is something else way out of whack. Maybe I am supplementing some things that are just making it worse.
It's true, we try to give our animals the very best balanced nutrition and often neglect our own. Time for me to get myself back into a better direction.
|
|
|
|
Post by the illustrious potentate on Nov 4, 2019 2:12:12 GMT -6
Lot of what we "know" is getting turned on it's head. Seems that science of profit, consensus and preferred grants is catching up to us finally. We're on too many damn medications as a society. And many of the leaders of the pharmaceutical industry and the FDA have not shown themselves to be honest. |
|
|
|
Post by the illustrious potentate on Nov 4, 2019 2:36:49 GMT -6
Jan, I pray you dont experience those symptoms further. As much as we know about the neurological system, there's more we dont.
It's hard to not have a solid answer. But at the same time, from the other perspective, I'm glad that so many of the tests came up negative for you.
In regards to diet, I think even when we try to do right, that we might not be. Like the article Angusrancher posted, the margarine that was pushed to replace butter ended up being much worse for our health.
We went back to old school cooking at home. We use real butter, we use real lard and not all the vegetable oils or unsaturated fats, and we eat plenty of meats.
I sure dont think we have fewer cardiac or vascular events today than we did per same population size 40 years ago.
Hope you remain feeling well.
|
|
|
|
Post by ebenezer on Nov 4, 2019 5:57:23 GMT -6
Hope that you get it straightened out without repeat. Doctors "practice" based on experience and knowledge. Not all have the same of either. And practice never makes perfect in many. Another issue here: The more they align with the major health institutions the more it sees that treatment and consultation is a matter of a stop watch than patient need. Good health is a blessing that we take for granted but should not. A doctor or health professional who really listens is also a blessing.
|
|
|
|
Post by tcranch on Nov 4, 2019 7:05:43 GMT -6
Wow, Jan, that's scary! Hopefully it doesn't happen again and please keep us updated.
|
|
|
|
Post by the illustrious potentate on Nov 4, 2019 14:41:11 GMT -6
Hope that you get it straightened out without repeat. Doctors "practice" based on experience and knowledge. Not all have the same of either. And practice never makes perfect in many. Another issue here: The more they align with the major health institutions the more it sees that treatment and consultation is a matter of a stop watch than patient need. Good health is a blessing that we take for granted but should not. A doctor or health professional who really listens is also a blessing. You said a lot. |
|
|
|
Post by angusrancher on Nov 5, 2019 19:43:20 GMT -6
I hope you're doing a lot better, farmerjan.
|
|
|
|
Post by farmerjan on Nov 11, 2019 23:05:09 GMT -6
Well, I have been fine since the eye "incident" and subsequent trips to my chiropractor, and not taking any "seizure medicine".
However, all is not well here. My son managed to slip off the bed of the hydrabed, foot slipped right out from under him as he went to sort of vault off, after moving a washer and dryer on it, and fell right on his right hip. Wound up with the femur fractured just below the "ball" part of the ball and socket of the hip. Tuesday night the 5th, surgery Wed to pin (screws) it back together and now no weight bearing for at least 8 weeks. If it doesn't start to "knit" back together, as they are hoping it will, he will have to have a replacement. They will know in a few weeks.
This has thrown everything into a real tailspin. Have had a bunch of friends really jump in and help to get some things really buttoned up. Got the 2 sorghum fields no-till drilled in the last 3 days, i nbetween these guys doing their own work.
This past weekend, I got Caleb, who worked for us as a teen and in college, to come and he and I and his girlfriend got the 15 or so older heifers off the cows that should have been weaned a month ago. Got in the 18 cows from the calving field, worked 12 calves and the cows through the chute, vacc and banded the bulls, and got those 12 out to the winter pasture. Had to put up some gates along the new posts they had driven because someone hit them 2 years ago and broke them off. Hadn't gotten the fence up yet, but the older gates, some bent some, will do just fine for now and probably until next year.
Put the 6 still dry cows, plus the mommas to the weaned calves, plus 3 others that had already just calved, but were in the big field and couldn't get in until Sunday when they came down the alley on their own with their calves, into the "calving field".
Fed hay to them, hay in the back field and tomorrow I will feed some hay to the first calf heifers as there are alot of animals there and the grass is about gone. I am having to go to his house to feed his purebred chickens daily now.
He went home from the hospital on Sat., to the "girlfriends house" so not my responsibility to take care of him. He's in alot of pain and very frustrated too. Caleb and Nikki got the fence panels done in the sheep lot so they have another section of grass to eat, son had started but hadn't gotten it all done yet, to move the sheep over. Got one more lot after that, and then I will start feeding hay there, but a roll will last them quite a while.
Going to be a long hard winter at this point. I was really proud of Caleb and Nikki, we got alot done and she is a big help although hadn't been raised on a farm, but is smart and easy to work with. Picks up things fast., Said she really enjoyed the exercise, bless her heart.
I have 4 heifers that need to be moved in the next couple of days from a small pasture of a few acres as the grass is gone there. Going to take a couple of panels up there and see if they will come in for grain and I can load them and take them back to the barn with the others. Also have to go to another pasture and open up the last gate to the top field and those cows will have a couple of weeks there then will have to be brought back. Maybe tomorrow if it isn't too bad weather.
If the bone does start to knit back together, then he might be into physical therapy by the end of Dec., first part of January, probably be able to go back to work in Early Feb. He has exercises he has to do now to try to keep some flexibility, but NO WEIGHT, so he doesn't disturb the newly set bone.
My ankle replacement is tenatively set for the last week of January, but may very well have to get moved back a bit. Friends are great, but I can do alot of the hay feeding myself so don't want to burden them, as there may be things that I will have to have them do, and I can feed the hay.
One saving grace; Caleb just gave his notice on the beef farm where he was working because the hours are 1 1/2 times what he was hired for, and his own cattle are suffering from the neglect. He just bought a 40 acre piece of ground that he wanted to get fenced, and has gotten nothing done. He has been unhappy that it wasn't what he was promised, and that he couldn't take care of his cows like he wanted. He has been acquiring a few here and there, over time, when money permitted. He will be starting part time as a state grader with Va dept of Ag, with possibility for full time down the road as a few are talking retirement. In the meantime, I have asked if he would work 2 half days for me/us. It will work out for both, and help him a bit financially because he is taking a pay cut to go back to part-time to do this. He can be flexible with me, and I need someone who will be able to run the skid loader to feed silage. I have never run it, could probably learn, but with the ankle and knee, would have a very hard time getting in and out of it. These weaned heifers, and some steers, in the barn will be getting some silage to keep them growing, with a little top dressing of grain, a few days a week, as well as hay.
This way I won't wear out my "welcome" with the friends; and since he has worked for us over the years, and still comes sometimes on a day we do preg checks when he can and we need him, he knows what we are doing and how. He's a good guy, have to keep after him to take care of the equipment.... but I can trust him to do what needs doing.
We still have alot of cattle at pasture, but still have grass most places... so they will be slowly getting moved to the rented "main farm" for the winter. Preg checks will need to be done, and many of those calves will get sold. There are about 30 steer calves and about 25-30 heifer calves to be moved. The steers will get sold. He and I will have to talk about when. Don't know all the bills that have to be paid, so I need to sit and talk to him so we can come up with a strategy. But for a few days things are somewhat under control. I will have to fit in some testing at dairies too.
AND the brakes faded to nothing on my little 2wd ranger truck. Thought that the engine would be put in my car; son planned to help the guy this past Friday but since he got hurt on Tuesday night that threw a monkey wrench into it. Other fellow started getting it ready to go in, and found that the oil pan had a hole in it and DUCT TAPE on the hole.....THIS IS WARRANTEED engine..... Plans were to get the car back, then do my little truck because the brakes had been losing fluid, maybe a leak in the line or a wheel cylinder... and it needs a spring replaced and some other little things. Now, down to using the big 4x4 with the bale bed, and my little 4x4 ranger in the fields and such. At least they both have heat.... the 4x4 ranger is just a rough little farm truck though, but it goes and I can use it to check cows etc.
Tomorrow want to take some salt/mineral to a few places if the weather isn't too cold/wet/rainy/snowy, and feed some hay. Got a dr appt in the morning and a chiropractor appt in the afternoon. Supposed to help haul some cattle for a friend that helped out some this weekend, on Thursday.... Not going to test if it is bitter cold, and most farms won't want to as the cows usually are off milk, the first crappy weather event....But I do have to pack the samples from the 2 farms I did today as I got home from 2+ hours away, too late to get them out to UPS, and get my stuff done here.
My ankle is going to be screaming at me.... gotta find the pain pills I try not to take, so that I can manage to get around without hurting too much to tolerate....When it rains it pours. I am just very thankful he didn't break his neck, or his back or something really horrible...
It will get done, and work out.
|
|
|
|
Post by angusrancher on Nov 12, 2019 11:28:37 GMT -6
All the doctoring sucks, and gets expensive in a hurry. Best wishes and healing to both of you.
|
|
