While the nation gorged itself on rugby last weekend, my attentions were elsewhere - two of the most significant anniversaries in my life fell on the same Labour Weekend.
The first was in Lake Ohau, a reunion of Heads Ball attendees from 40 years ago, when busloads (nobody could possibly drive) headed, and I use that verb after considerable thought, to Larnarch Castle to remember and relive hallucinogenic hysteria and wild untamed rock music. What times they were! I'm not saying I inhaled, but I do recall being a key player, which is pretty much all I recall, though I remember one year there was a lovely mist, and another I spent solely in the car park carrying out a scientific experiment with nitrous oxide. We sold tickets for the balls at Records Records, and always wondered why nobody tipped off the cops.
I was quaffing a slice of hazelnut cheesecake and whipped cream in the hospital cafeteria last week when a high-ranking figure on the hospital's technical side, I won't sully his CV by mentioning his name, greeted me like a long-lost brother and said he was looking forward to seeing me at Lake Ohau. "I'm not going," I said. "What?" he ejaculated, eyes popping, "You'd better damn well have a bloody good reason!"
I did. This was the second crucial anniversary: 50 years of type 1 diabetes. I wrote about this a year ago, how excited I was to be only one year away from the Sir Charles Burns Memorial Award, a silver medal, the first medal in fact I had ever won in my life. And now the 50 years are up. But financially, times have slumped. Only in Auckland, where money oozes up through the viaduct wharf like ill-gotten liquefaction, can they afford a silver medal. In Dunedin, our ratepayers kneeled in servitude after draining their children's piggy banks and cutting out wads of untaxed dollar notes from behind their wallpaper, the brave surviving diabetic receives only a paper certificate.
No matter. I took the forms to patient inquiries at Dunedin Hospital and stood triumphantly at the window. I just needed a photocopy of my admission to Wakari Hospital, in a coma, on October 22, 1961, and I was done. "Do you have personal identification?" they asked. Bwahahahahah!! Why would I lie about having diabetes for 50 years?
I felt like the winning Melbourne Cup jockey in the weigh-in room being asked to prove he wasn't a drunk who had just walked in off the street. But I went back the next day with my passbook, and all is well. The presentation will be at the annual general meeting of Diabetes New Zealand next May and there will be a photograph in the national body magazine. I may have to wear a tie.
But the party, the real celebration, was last Sunday.
In view of the staggeringly good health I have enjoyed through the 50 years, testament to my monastic diet and abhorrence of recreational substances, I asked guests, for presents, to bring the things I had missed out on all my life - Crunchie Bars, marshmallows, pavlova, Coca-Cola, milk bottle lollies, chocolate pineapple chunks ... it was a 5-year-old's dream.
Though perhaps staggeringly fine health is pushing it a little.
I was back in hospital two weeks ago for surgery, and I'm looking at my file notes from that visit right now.
Apparently I have had a gall bladder, an appendix and a colon removed, and have had a kidney put in. I am blind in one eye and barely functional in the other, and have endured clostridium difficile, Bell's palsy, two frozen shoulders, glandular fever, extranodal post transplant lymphoproliferative disorder, B-cell lymphoma, acute peritonitis, eye cataracts, Dupuytren's contracture, a peri-anal abscess, hemorrhoids, hyperlipideamia, campylobacter (twice), hypertension, pancolectomy, ileostomy and a prolapsed ileostomy.
Apart from that it's been plain sailing. I think I damn well did have a bloody good reason for not going to Lake Ohau.
2011年10月24日星期一
Not quite staggeringly good health for 50 years
While the nation gorged itself on rugby last weekend, my attentions were elsewhere - two of the most significant anniversaries in my life fell on the same Labour Weekend.
The first was in Lake Ohau, a reunion of Heads Ball attendees from 40 years ago, when busloads (nobody could possibly drive) headed, and I use that verb after considerable thought, to Larnarch Castle to remember and relive hallucinogenic hysteria and wild untamed rock music. What times they were! I'm not saying I inhaled, but I do recall being a key player, which is pretty much all I recall, though I remember one year there was a lovely mist, and another I spent solely in the car park carrying out a scientific experiment with nitrous oxide. We sold tickets for the balls at Records Records, and always wondered why nobody tipped off the cops.
I was quaffing a slice of hazelnut cheesecake and whipped cream in the hospital cafeteria last week when a high-ranking figure on the hospital's technical side, I won't sully his CV by mentioning his name, greeted me like a long-lost brother and said he was looking forward to seeing me at Lake Ohau. "I'm not going," I said. "What?" he ejaculated, eyes popping, "You'd better damn well have a bloody good reason!"
I did. This was the second crucial anniversary: 50 years of type 1 diabetes. I wrote about this a year ago, how excited I was to be only one year away from the Sir Charles Burns Memorial Award, a silver medal, the first medal in fact I had ever won in my life. And now the 50 years are up. But financially, times have slumped. Only in Auckland, where money oozes up through the viaduct wharf like ill-gotten liquefaction, can they afford a silver medal. In Dunedin, our ratepayers kneeled in servitude after draining their children's piggy banks and cutting out wads of untaxed dollar notes from behind their wallpaper, the brave surviving diabetic receives only a paper certificate.
No matter. I took the forms to patient inquiries at Dunedin Hospital and stood triumphantly at the window. I just needed a photocopy of my admission to Wakari Hospital, in a coma, on October 22, 1961, and I was done. "Do you have personal identification?" they asked. Bwahahahahah!! Why would I lie about having diabetes for 50 years?
I felt like the winning Melbourne Cup jockey in the weigh-in room being asked to prove he wasn't a drunk who had just walked in off the street. But I went back the next day with my passbook, and all is well. The presentation will be at the annual general meeting of Diabetes New Zealand next May and there will be a photograph in the national body magazine. I may have to wear a tie.
But the party, the real celebration, was last Sunday.
In view of the staggeringly good health I have enjoyed through the 50 years, testament to my monastic diet and abhorrence of recreational substances, I asked guests, for presents, to bring the things I had missed out on all my life - Crunchie Bars, marshmallows, pavlova, Coca-Cola, milk bottle lollies, chocolate pineapple chunks ... it was a 5-year-old's dream.
Though perhaps staggeringly fine health is pushing it a little.
I was back in hospital two weeks ago for surgery, and I'm looking at my file notes from that visit right now.
Apparently I have had a gall bladder, an appendix and a colon removed, and have had a kidney put in. I am blind in one eye and barely functional in the other, and have endured clostridium difficile, Bell's palsy, two frozen shoulders, glandular fever, extranodal post transplant lymphoproliferative disorder, B-cell lymphoma, acute peritonitis, eye cataracts, Dupuytren's contracture, a peri-anal abscess, hemorrhoids, hyperlipideamia, campylobacter (twice), hypertension, pancolectomy, ileostomy and a prolapsed ileostomy.
Apart from that it's been plain sailing. I think I damn well did have a bloody good reason for not going to Lake Ohau.
The first was in Lake Ohau, a reunion of Heads Ball attendees from 40 years ago, when busloads (nobody could possibly drive) headed, and I use that verb after considerable thought, to Larnarch Castle to remember and relive hallucinogenic hysteria and wild untamed rock music. What times they were! I'm not saying I inhaled, but I do recall being a key player, which is pretty much all I recall, though I remember one year there was a lovely mist, and another I spent solely in the car park carrying out a scientific experiment with nitrous oxide. We sold tickets for the balls at Records Records, and always wondered why nobody tipped off the cops.
I was quaffing a slice of hazelnut cheesecake and whipped cream in the hospital cafeteria last week when a high-ranking figure on the hospital's technical side, I won't sully his CV by mentioning his name, greeted me like a long-lost brother and said he was looking forward to seeing me at Lake Ohau. "I'm not going," I said. "What?" he ejaculated, eyes popping, "You'd better damn well have a bloody good reason!"
I did. This was the second crucial anniversary: 50 years of type 1 diabetes. I wrote about this a year ago, how excited I was to be only one year away from the Sir Charles Burns Memorial Award, a silver medal, the first medal in fact I had ever won in my life. And now the 50 years are up. But financially, times have slumped. Only in Auckland, where money oozes up through the viaduct wharf like ill-gotten liquefaction, can they afford a silver medal. In Dunedin, our ratepayers kneeled in servitude after draining their children's piggy banks and cutting out wads of untaxed dollar notes from behind their wallpaper, the brave surviving diabetic receives only a paper certificate.
No matter. I took the forms to patient inquiries at Dunedin Hospital and stood triumphantly at the window. I just needed a photocopy of my admission to Wakari Hospital, in a coma, on October 22, 1961, and I was done. "Do you have personal identification?" they asked. Bwahahahahah!! Why would I lie about having diabetes for 50 years?
I felt like the winning Melbourne Cup jockey in the weigh-in room being asked to prove he wasn't a drunk who had just walked in off the street. But I went back the next day with my passbook, and all is well. The presentation will be at the annual general meeting of Diabetes New Zealand next May and there will be a photograph in the national body magazine. I may have to wear a tie.
But the party, the real celebration, was last Sunday.
In view of the staggeringly good health I have enjoyed through the 50 years, testament to my monastic diet and abhorrence of recreational substances, I asked guests, for presents, to bring the things I had missed out on all my life - Crunchie Bars, marshmallows, pavlova, Coca-Cola, milk bottle lollies, chocolate pineapple chunks ... it was a 5-year-old's dream.
Though perhaps staggeringly fine health is pushing it a little.
I was back in hospital two weeks ago for surgery, and I'm looking at my file notes from that visit right now.
Apparently I have had a gall bladder, an appendix and a colon removed, and have had a kidney put in. I am blind in one eye and barely functional in the other, and have endured clostridium difficile, Bell's palsy, two frozen shoulders, glandular fever, extranodal post transplant lymphoproliferative disorder, B-cell lymphoma, acute peritonitis, eye cataracts, Dupuytren's contracture, a peri-anal abscess, hemorrhoids, hyperlipideamia, campylobacter (twice), hypertension, pancolectomy, ileostomy and a prolapsed ileostomy.
Apart from that it's been plain sailing. I think I damn well did have a bloody good reason for not going to Lake Ohau.
2011年9月29日星期四
Doctors Urges For Physical Exercise
Dr Igbinovia Imuentinyan, a consultant at Wuse General Hospital Abuja told newsmen that the lack of physical exercise had been identified as one of the causes of pile.
He explained that pile, also known as hemorrhoid, is common among overweight people who seldom exercise, while people with irregular eating habits whose diet is deficient in essential fibres can develop hemorrhoids.
Pile is a roundish swelling which can be found inside or outside the anal canal, and can either be dry or bleeding.
“Fat people are predisposed to having pile because of constipation and straining during bowel movement which causes the pile to protrude,’’ he said.
According to him, bleeding pile which is located at the internal lining causes itching, body weakness and anaemia if the bleeding is excessive.
Imuetinyan said that bleeding pile was more prevalent in pregnant women because the pressure of the foetus causes the pile vessels to enlarge and could further be placed under pressure during childbirth.
“Pile experienced during childbirth is temporal and can be treated by sitting in warm salt water for at least 10 minutes in the morning and evening for two to three weeks.’’
Imuetinyan stressed the need for regular exercises involving abdominal muscles such as sit-ups which help to improve circulation in the anal region, thereby aiding easier bowl movement.
He said that consuming vegetables, fruits and lots of water could soften stool, making it easier to empty the bowels without strain.
However, in extreme cases, pile can be treated surgically to cut off the affected tissues.
He explained that pile, also known as hemorrhoid, is common among overweight people who seldom exercise, while people with irregular eating habits whose diet is deficient in essential fibres can develop hemorrhoids.
Pile is a roundish swelling which can be found inside or outside the anal canal, and can either be dry or bleeding.
“Fat people are predisposed to having pile because of constipation and straining during bowel movement which causes the pile to protrude,’’ he said.
According to him, bleeding pile which is located at the internal lining causes itching, body weakness and anaemia if the bleeding is excessive.
Imuetinyan said that bleeding pile was more prevalent in pregnant women because the pressure of the foetus causes the pile vessels to enlarge and could further be placed under pressure during childbirth.
“Pile experienced during childbirth is temporal and can be treated by sitting in warm salt water for at least 10 minutes in the morning and evening for two to three weeks.’’
Imuetinyan stressed the need for regular exercises involving abdominal muscles such as sit-ups which help to improve circulation in the anal region, thereby aiding easier bowl movement.
He said that consuming vegetables, fruits and lots of water could soften stool, making it easier to empty the bowels without strain.
However, in extreme cases, pile can be treated surgically to cut off the affected tissues.
2011年4月11日星期一
Enjoy eating again
Digestive enzymes aren't silver bullets and indigestion can certainly be a symptom
of a much more serious digestive disease, such as Crohn's disease, acid reflux or
GERD, and irritable bowel syndrome.
So in addition to eating healthy and taking a digestive enzyme supplement, don't
forget to check with your physician if you have frequent episodes of indigestion.
Eat plenty of fiber every day
Fiber is not only key to keeping indigestion at bay, but it is essential for your
overall health. Unfortunately, a lot of men's diets consist of junk and fast foods,
red meat, and meals that are high in fat certainly a recipe for indigestion.
A high-fiber diet is an important part of healthy eating — in addition to helping
digestion, it can also help prevent diabetes, coronary heart disease, hemorrhoids,
colorectal cancer, and other diseases.
On average, American men eat only 10 to 15 grams of fiber, or half of the
recommended daily intake.
Increasing your daily fiber intake is usually synonymous with eating healthier,
considering vegetables, fruits, whole grain cereals, and nuts contain plenty of
fiber. It doesn't even have to be painful — you can choose high-fiber cereals for
breakfast, eat whole-wheat bread instead of white, and snack on air-popped popcorn
instead of candy.
Avoid foods that can give you gas — these include broccoli, baked beans, cabbage,
cauliflower, and carbonated drinks. For some men, starches — such as wheat, oats
and potatoes — can also lead to excess gas. If you are lactose intolerant, then lay
off dairy products or take lactase enzymes to help with digestion.
Also, remember to drink plenty of water, since it can lubricate food in the
digestive tract, help dissolve minerals, vitamins and nutrients for easier
absorption, and keep stool moist to prevent constipation.
Chew your food & eat less of it
Chewing is one of the most important parts of digestion, yet it is probably the most
forgotten. Chewing not only helps break down food, it also signals the salivary
glands, stomach and the small intestine to start releasing digestive enzymes.
On a related note, try not to overeat. Your body has only so many digestive enzymes
to go around. Also, a bigger meal means that your stomach must produce more acid to
help digest that food, which will increase your chances of getting heartburn and
indigestion.
of a much more serious digestive disease, such as Crohn's disease, acid reflux or
GERD, and irritable bowel syndrome.
So in addition to eating healthy and taking a digestive enzyme supplement, don't
forget to check with your physician if you have frequent episodes of indigestion.
Eat plenty of fiber every day
Fiber is not only key to keeping indigestion at bay, but it is essential for your
overall health. Unfortunately, a lot of men's diets consist of junk and fast foods,
red meat, and meals that are high in fat certainly a recipe for indigestion.
A high-fiber diet is an important part of healthy eating — in addition to helping
digestion, it can also help prevent diabetes, coronary heart disease, hemorrhoids,
colorectal cancer, and other diseases.
On average, American men eat only 10 to 15 grams of fiber, or half of the
recommended daily intake.
Increasing your daily fiber intake is usually synonymous with eating healthier,
considering vegetables, fruits, whole grain cereals, and nuts contain plenty of
fiber. It doesn't even have to be painful — you can choose high-fiber cereals for
breakfast, eat whole-wheat bread instead of white, and snack on air-popped popcorn
instead of candy.
Avoid foods that can give you gas — these include broccoli, baked beans, cabbage,
cauliflower, and carbonated drinks. For some men, starches — such as wheat, oats
and potatoes — can also lead to excess gas. If you are lactose intolerant, then lay
off dairy products or take lactase enzymes to help with digestion.
Also, remember to drink plenty of water, since it can lubricate food in the
digestive tract, help dissolve minerals, vitamins and nutrients for easier
absorption, and keep stool moist to prevent constipation.
Chew your food & eat less of it
Chewing is one of the most important parts of digestion, yet it is probably the most
forgotten. Chewing not only helps break down food, it also signals the salivary
glands, stomach and the small intestine to start releasing digestive enzymes.
On a related note, try not to overeat. Your body has only so many digestive enzymes
to go around. Also, a bigger meal means that your stomach must produce more acid to
help digest that food, which will increase your chances of getting heartburn and
indigestion.
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