Punk Smurf pens a bilingual blog

Just a few hours after arriving in Lisbon, Portugal, 2.5 weeks ago I managed to sprain my back - and I only shifted my weight as I sat in a faux leather booth. Initially, I ignored it. Even wandered through the neighborhood with a backpack. By the end of the night my pace had considerable slowed down (think gramps’s speed) and my back was killing me. I figured a good night’s sleep would solve it. Unfortunately, the mattress was a soft one; besides the fact that I’m not used to it (mine’s harder), it didn’t provide sufficient support.
A week and a half later I was still shuffling around and a friend of mine suggested I see a chiropractor. She even recommended me a clinic.
They actually had an open spot the next day (somebody cancelled). I went, had my spine and skeleton frame scanned, and the first treatment. Lots of popping, but it seemed to be helping; the pain disappeared for the greater part, and I was able to walk properly again. (Definitely beats popping Robax Platinum!) Turns out my chiropractor’s an American. Too funny.
The downside to the treatment was - and still is - the dizziness. It’s not as bad as my spells of vertigo, but very inconvenient nonetheless.
I had another treatment yesterday, and told him about it. We also established the reason why the vertebrae in my neck is lined up in pretty much a straight line instead of slightly curved: too much headbanging. The effects are similar to those of whiplash. Good to know, eh?
Anyway, despite it being expensive I do notice progress.

Long before I found out my body doesn’t stomach (cow) milk well, I switched to other dairy products (yogurt, cheeses) for proteine - before I switched to soy milk and occasionally buffalo or goat’s cheese. You know how everybody tells you milk is good for your bones. Well, folks, you might want to reconsider.

Research indicates that contrary to popular opinion, milk does not improve bone integrity in kids or give women increased protection against bone fractures (Harvard Nurses’ Health Study). In fact, upping your milk intake from one glass to three a day could result in bone density loss. Studies show that milk drinkers tend to experience more bone breaks than those who consume milk infrequently or not at all. Animal protein, specifically casein (a protein in milk), is very acidic, and the body neutralizes this acidity with calcium — by pulling it from our bones, weakening them and leaving them more susceptible to breakage. I do not recommend that adults drink milk regularly. So how do you strengthen bones without cutting your protein? By pumping iron in the gym and replacing dairy milk with alternative plant proteins like soy or rice milk, which are rich in calcium but low in acid.

Quick update. And then I stop whining.

I went to see the doctor this morning, cos this flu is taking waaay to long (in my opinion). I told him it wasn’t the piggy flu, and I wasn’t showing any of the symptoms (it would have been a house call in that case) so he didn’t run a test on me - even if it was just to make sure.

Even though I haven’t been wheezing, I had some trouble breathing for the past few days, and with the coughing any “strenuous” physical exercise (like a 20-minute-walk to the doctor, which took 30 minutes today) leaves me exhausted. The doctor listened to my lungs - to rule out a possible pneumonia - and diagnosed an infection of the bronchi instead. Not bronchitis; I’m very familiar with that.
Anyhoo, now I hope that with the help of the antibiotics the dizziness and exhaustion go away, too. I’m tired of being sick.

Seriously, what fun is it to sleep your day away during the Summer?

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about my radio interview on KINK FM. Well, I finally found the podcast. You can listen to it here. And EurOut published another one of my columns - this one’s about PDA.

Talking about EurOut, the editor-in-chief reminded everybody that today, August 8th, is - apparently - International Orgasm Day. Uh-huh… The first song that popped (no pun intended) into my mind was “I touch myself” by The Divinyls. Don’t ask.

Movmnt Magazine, issue 9, has a nice interview with Serena Ryder:

Hee!

In the meantime a K’s Choice fan recorded two new songs the band played at Dranouter Festival in Belgium. Both are uptempo and sound upbeat. I can’t wait for 2010 and the release of their new record! If this isn’t right / Echo Mountain.

Six inches of SiP goodness… And from Terry Moore it’s only a small step to Paige Braddock. I’ve been reading Jane’s World for the longest time (I’m now waiting to get my hands on volume 9). For those unfamiliar with JW: it’s about the life (and loves) of Jane, who lives with her room mate Ethan (a straight guy). I think it’s hilarious, and I have to say that I can relate to some of the antics… Now, this cracked me up:

Despite the fact I’m able to stay awake mmost of the day now, I still don’t feel well, and I’ve decided to go see the doctor first thing tomorrow.

Hi. I’m back. If you think I haven’t been diligent in keeping up my blog the past few days: you’re right. I was too busy being sick and sleeping away most of the day. I can tell you it gets old real quickly, but I don’t have many other options.

A while ago I was telling Krista how I’m hardly ever sick. Which is true; I don’t get Flu shots and I’ve been known to “skip” quite a few flu epidemics (the last time I was sick with the flu was in December 2007) and I can’t remember the last time I caught a cold. My friend Jules joked that’s what I get for bragging.
Anyhoo, it started with a sore throat on Saturday, but I dismissed it thinking of various other excuses. When I woke up Tuesday morning I felt bad, but figuring I’d feel better as the morning wore on I packed my gym back and went to work… Only to feel worse as time went by. A few coworkers knew something was up by the way I dressed: despite the 27C/81F I wore regular jeans, wifebeater, button down shirt AND a spencer (sleeveless vest?). And I didn’t break a sweat. Totally out of character: even in Winter I walk around the corridors at work in ironed T-shirts. (Unless I’m due for a court session.)
I skipped going to the gym and went home early - and crashed. I got a good two hours of sleep before and a good two hours after dinner, and felt better afterwards.

Around rolls Wednesday morning. I had trouble waking up and I felt like utter crap (hello headache and vertigo). Ignoring that I went to work anyway. This time I switched the jeans for shorts - but kept the three layers to keep my upper body warm. It was 30C/86F - and no air conditioning at work… Crazy, eh? I know.
My headache got worse, my shoulders were aching even more - in short: I felt even worse than when I woke up. A coworker of mine couldn’t bear to watch me being sick at work and sent me home. I tried protesting, but I felt sick enough I didn’t need more persuasion. Again, I crashed when I got home, and I got a good four hours before dinner. I felt better by the time I turned in for the night, and figured I could go to work the next day… But when I woke up Thursday morning I knew how wrong I was. I had to call in sick, and then slept away most of the day.

But when Friday morning rolled around I couldn’t deny the fact I’m still sick. I actually coughed up phlegm so hard I woke myself up. I also noticed my head seemed to weigh as much as a ton of bricks, ready to burst, and every movement of the head when upright caused the room to spin. I opted to be prudent and stay home another day. Hopefully I get rid of the remnants of the flu over the weekend.

I talked to someone from HR and she told me that even it’s not mandatory yet, my employer wants me to check in with the doctor to verify whether my Flu is a regular one as opposed to the piggy Flu… I told her that I would if I still feel crappy on Monday.

Thanks, Trevor

Late Sunday night I found out the scab on my back was actually a tick. Not knowing it was a tick on my back I just pulled it off… only to find out it had a body and legs. Not exactly scab material, eh? The next day it occurred to me it could be a tick, so I searched the net on info on those little critters. BINGO. The part of possible infection with Lyme disease had a slightly uncomfortable. A friend of mine recommended a trip to the doctor’s just to be on the safe side.

I went earlier today, and the doctor did remove the last of the tick. He told me to keep an eye on it for the next several weeks for possible symptoms of Lyme disease.

Heh. I finally got a kiss from Serena Ryder

When I dislocated my shoulder in May 08, I was confident it would have fully recovered and healed four months later. My physical therapist was sure about it, too. Alas, that wasn’t the case.
I got help in further recovery when I visited my relatives in Indonesia, which enabled me to do more things physically. But I still wasn’t where I wanted to be.

Fast forward several months later.
On Friday night I accidentally knock over a self made storage “utility”, breaking it. Saturday afternoon I drive to IKEA to get a replacement. When I finally get to the section where customers pick up the corresponding packages I find out that, even though I thought the package wasn’t heavy, those 21 kgs (app. 44 lbs) were too heavy for me to lift properly. WTF?! A year ago I worked out pumping up to 40 kgs (app. 88 lbs), and now I can’t even carry a package almost half the weight?
I really felt like driving a screw driver through my left shoulder. Like that’s going to help - I know. But, frankly, I’m getting frustrated by not being physically able to do the things I did before I dislocated my shoulder. Walking and cycling around only gets me so far - I would really love to be able to do my power lifting work outs. To wake up with aching muscles the next morning and have the feeling I had a decent work out.

Your head will collapse
But there’s nothing in it
And you’ll ask yourself
Where is my mind? (The Pixies)

Today didn’t start well for me: I woke up with a really bad case of vertigo. I made it into work - probably resembling a drunk, as I was having trouble walking in a straight line. The good thing is that the vertigo slowly turned into a dull head ache. The bad thing is that I completely forgot about an appoinment at the hospital earlier this afternoon; the ortho guy wanted to check up on my shoulder. Well, poop! I don’t know what is up with me as I am forgetting a lot of stuff lately.

Serena Ryder

Thanks to MapleMusic I’m blown away by a little Canadian lady called Serena Ryder. Her “Little bit of red” just rocks! I think I’m in love… A quick search on the interweb tells me she actually has a 3-octave range! Good thing she doesn’t show it off in a Mariah Carey/Christina Aguilera kind of way.

Happy turkey day, y’all!

An article in the Globe and Mail earlier this week caught my eye:

TORONTO — One-third of Canadian adults who have been told they have asthma may have been wrongly diagnosed by their doctor, according to a new study that reveals serious problems with the way the disease is identified and treated in Canada.

The findings, being published Tuesday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, suggest thousands may needlessly be taking medications that could have life-altering side effects and major costs.

“There’s a lot of drugs being consumed and paid for that really are not likely to have any therapeutic role for these patients,” said Shawn Aaron, head of the respirology division at the University of Ottawa and lead author of the study. “If this study is true, and I have no reason to believe it’s not, there are 30 per cent of people walking around in Canada who believe they have asthma, whose physicians have told them they have asthma, who don’t [have asthma].”

About 8.3 per cent of Canadians aged 12 and older were identified as having asthma in 2005, according to Statistics Canada. In 2007, 3.4 million prescriptions were issued for the top five asthma medications, at a cost of nearly $329-million, according to IMS Health Canada, a company that tracks the pharmaceutical industry.

The reason for the inflated rates of asthma diagnosis seems to be a lack of adequate testing, the study says.

It is widely estimated that less than half of Canadians diagnosed with asthma undergo spirometry, a relatively simple test used to measure lung function. It is considered one of the most efficient ways to diagnose asthma, but it is costly and time consuming, which could be a problem in some areas. But doctors should refer patients to community laboratories for the test, Dr. Aaron said.

“[A] doctor would never diagnose high blood pressure without actually taking a blood-pressure reading,” Dr. Aaron said. “Physicians in Canada and all over the world are not objectively confirming the diagnosis of asthma.”

Some members of asthma organizations yesterday questioned the findings.

“I doubt the number [of misdiagnosed asthma cases] is that high if we try to apply this to the population of Canadians at large,” said Mark Greenwald, chair of the science and medicine committee at the Asthma Society of Canada. “We still have the majority of our patients properly diagnosed.”

But Dr. Aaron said that study participants went through a multitude of tests over a two-month period.

“I think if we decide not to believe this study, that’s anybody’s prerogative, but I think they’d be putting their head in the sand and pretending there isn’t a problem when there is one.”

Study participant Sue Abou-Hamda, 41, has first-hand experience with an asthma misdiagnosis. For years, the Ottawa resident had allergies and occasional wheezing. When she was in the hospital giving birth to her first child, she was told she had asthma. She eventually had a spirometry test, and while she was told she “passed,” her doctor insisted she had mild asthma and prescribed medication.

“I was told I had asthma and that I needed to take inhalers for the rest of my life, otherwise risk terrible health problems later,” Ms. Abou-Hamda said. She said her life was restricted in many ways. She stayed indoors during smog alerts and gave away her two long-time pets on the advice of her doctor when she became pregnant a second time. When the study’s researchers told her she didn’t have asthma, Ms. Abou-Hamda was relieved but distraught.

“It is very upsetting,” she said. “I had been taking inhalers every day.”

One of the greatest concerns about asthma over-diagnosis is that many people may be unnecessarily taking powerful drugs that could affect their health. Some of the inhaled steroids used to control the symptoms of asthma have been linked to osteoporosis, cataracts and glaucoma, Dr. Aaron said.

Health Canada has issued warnings in recent years about the possible increased risk of death linked to some asthma medications, including Advair and Symbicort.

“If you’re taking a medicine you don’t need, obviously you’re exposing yourself to risk,” Dr. Aaron said.

Nearly 66 per cent of those involved in the study who found out they didn’t have asthma took no asthma drugs during the six-month follow-up period. Others took them for a short time or saw their doctor for respiratory symptoms.

The study’s original purpose was to determine whether obese people are misdiagnosed with asthma more often than non-obese patients. Researchers examined two groups of adults who had been diagnosed with asthma, 242 of them obese, and 254 not obese.

Researchers found that misdiagnosis of asthma was just as likely among the obese as the non-obese. That surprised researchers, who expected to find more over-diagnosis among the obese. Obesity has been linked to a significantly increased risk for asthma and researchers hypothesized the increased risk could be explained by misdiagnosis.

Public education and promotional campaigns by non-profit groups and drug companies could be helping to drive up diagnosis rates by predisposing physicians and patients to the symptoms associated with asthma, according to the study.

Dr. Aaron said people who doubt their diagnosis should stay on their medication until they can see their doctor and have a detailed evaluation.

The study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the division of respiratory medicine at the Ottawa Hospital.

I’m one of those with asthma who should be using an inhaler to make breathing easier, but I don’t want to. And I’m sure there will come a day that I have to resort to inhalers (if the coughing and wheezing are at its worst)…

My friend Wendy sent me a link to a very funny blog post of a British BBC correspondent in the US. He ends it with “… he will be back.” Was he channeling The Terminator?

My friend Mirthe and her boyfriend went to see Sarah Bettens in Amsterdam, and (as I knew she would) she loved it. The concert was just as inspiring to her as it was to me; we’re both anxious to start jamming and playing again! Curious about it? Have a look at the Brussels concert *here* I also found a review in a Flemish newspaper *here* (yes, it’s in Dutch).

Also, a review I wrote for a European “special interest” site is posted and can be seen *here*

Currently listening to Finger Eleven (single: Paralyzer)

I literally had a crappy day yesterday. My sleep was interrupted by infrequent trips to the washroom. When I woke up in the afternoon my feet were cold as ice, but my head was very warm. (It was nice and sunny outside…) Trying to sit upright I felt the old familiar feeling called vertigo. It was bad enough to nauseate me. I managed to go to the washroom - again - before going online. I logged off before the 15-minute-mark struck; I felt exhausted and what I really wanted to do more than anything than checking my E-mail was sleep. So I crawled back into my loft bed and slept some more. Only to get out for more trips to the washroom.

At the end of the day I figured I had to get some food and more fluids in me. But nothing tasted good. After a few bites of rice and egg, I decided I had enough. I fell asleep on the couch. As if I hadn’t had enough sleep already… By 10pm I was back in my loft bed - asleep. Normally, I never go to bed before midnight, but I figured I wanted to be fit enough to go to work the next day. Unfortunately, I made a couple of nightly trips to the washroom (my friend Trevor says I need to purge whatever ails me) and by the time it was time to get up, shower and go to work, I was still tired. And still having the runs. So, I called in sick. I was supposed to run an errand with my brother in the afternoon, but I had to cancel that. (I wouldn’t want to crap my pants driving in his car - or anywhere else for that matter!)

I hope I’m fit enough to go to work tomorrow. And I certainly hope I’m fit enough to get on that plane without having to use the washroom every so often…