We had a major federal budget surplus during Clinton’s administration. In the economic history of the United States, Clinton is a legend. United States as a nation was the leader in the business world. Those were the times when this country owned the international trade market by owning nearly one quarter of the world’s total economic output. The unemployment rate was cut down in half and the stock markets grew to new horizons. Gone are the days…Since Bush took over the oval office, we’ve seen nothing but downturn. I agree that we did not have 9/11 during Clinton’s administration and that President Bush was faced with some of the most difficult decisions in the recent past. This is when you can truly gauge the competency of a good President. The amount of money we’ve spent in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars is just mind-boggling. Even if you ignore the military expenses, which are hard to dismiss, there are other policies laid by Bush that I do not quite agree with including tax cuts for the wealthy. I think it is time for a Democratic Party to lead this country in the right direction. My top most personal interest during this phase of economic crisis lies in what the new President is going to do to boost our economy, promote new jobs and save social security.

This was an easy decision made even easier when McCain out of the blue chose Palin as his running mate. It is obvious why he chose to do so. Palin is a woman, who is appealing to the eyes, can talk to the general public at their level and given some ‘keywords’ can run the campaign by spitting out crap. I personally find her body language and winks very distracting! Her incompetency for the role of VP was on the air during her encounter with Kathy Couric of CBS news where she gave nonsense answer on her expertise on foreign policy based on proximity of Alaska to Russia. She likes rambling answers that are completely irrelevant to the subject in question. The McCain campaign has given her a list of ‘keywords’ that she must use and that is exactly what she is doing, except out of context. Since the series of interviews with CBS, we’ve seen numerous such comments from the lady. Palin is utterly unqualified to be the Vice President of the United States let alone run the white house should something happen to McCain. Recently she said that the role of the VP is to ‘run’ the senate. It is not hard to imagine why the local Alaskan newspaper ‘Anchorage Daily News’ endorsed Obama instead of Palin. It is needless to say that she is a political liability for McCain. The polls have steadily fallen since she was nominated by him. I also read that the republicans have spent over $150,000 on her wardrobe with expensive clothes and accessories for her political campaign. The party donors are outrageous. I think that money could have been well spent on training Palin on the role of VP.

I strongly urge my friends, my family and all others to look at the reality and make the right judgment!

I am ready for Nov 4 and my vote goes to Obama!

It sounds like a bad case of siatica. My father has similar problems. He was paralysed for 3months. That was 15 years ago and he still has similar symptoms as mine.

If all goes well and I have a diagnosis, perhaps I will be on the Discovery Health show called ‘Mystery Diagnosis‘…

From my recent posts, most of you are familiar with the odd health issues I have been dealing with. It took 20 months to figure out the reason for my debilitating condition. I went from being a very active person who could do back to back exercise classes at the gym to a person who could barely keep up with daily activities. I remember doing 45 minutes on the step mill. Now, I can barely go up and down the stairs.

I saw all kinds of specialists from Internal Medicine, Sports Medicine, and Orthopedics to Rheumatologist. While they all offered their perspective on the matter, none of them could explain the cause. The Rheumatologist said that I have ‘Hypermobility Syndrome‘ also known as ‘Double-Jointed disorder’. The Sports Medicine doctor said that I developed unstable knees from weak muscles. I can’t keep up with my physical therapy exercises. If I try, I hurt all over. The tenderness is so intense that I can’t even lean against anything. Have you ever heard of the plant ‘Mimosa Pudica‘ commonly known as ‘Touch me not’? That’s what I am…

I recently visited the UMass Memorial Spine Center. The orthopedist didn’t have one look at the MRI. He did some physical exam and when I jumped in pain, he immediately ordered some blood work. One of the exams was to find Vitamin D levels. The 25-hydroxy Vitamin D test showed that my level was extremely low: 11ng/mL. While anything less than 20 ng/mL is considered deficient, the optimal level is around 40 ng/mL. The requirement increases if you are a very active person. It is best to be in the range of 50 to 99 ng/mL. My goal is to reach 40ng/mL.

Vitamin D is extremely important for normal functioning and cellular activity in human body. Low levels can inhibit absorption of calcium. This deficiency causes thinning and softening of bones. In children, it is responsible for ‘Rickets’. In adults, it presents itself as ‘Osteomalacia‘, softening of bones or ‘Osteoporosis‘ that causes loss of bone density. It usually starts with pain in the lumbar back. It can cause bone pain, bone tenderness, muscle pain and weakness especially in the thighs. In some cases, I have read that it could be responsible for nerve damage. If left untreated, it increases your risk to developing autoimmune diseases such as MS and RA. It also puts you at increased risk for developing several forms of cancers.

So how did I develop this deficiency? Most of us do not get adequate amounts of Vit D from food. A lot of fishes such as Sardines, tuna, Salmon have high amounts of Vit D. Cod Liver oil is another good source. Unfortunately for me, I do not each fish. There are Vit D fortified cereals, milk and orange juices.  Egg yolk is another good source for this vital vitamin.

Being dark skinned puts me at increased risk for developing Vit D deficiency. Melanin prevents absorption of sunlight. It is also noted that people living in higher altitude regions such as Massachusetts do not get enough UV in the winter months. Lack of sun exposure is one of the biggest culprits for this deficiency. Next time you reach out for that sunscreen, think twice. Do you really need it?

The other risk factor is pregnancy. We underestimate how much demand we put on our bodies with each pregnancy. Perhaps I was deficient all along and the pregnancy just depleted me of what little Vit D reserves I had left in my system. To top it off, I was back at the gym just 4 weeks after giving birth. I wish I had heard my mom. At the time, I was focused on losing the 68 lbs that I gained during pregnancy. I felt good enough to go back to the gym. The truth is, it takes several months for your body to replenish. Moms are always right! Always…

So what’s next?

I am going to receive 50,000 IU of Vitamin D per week for at least 8 weeks. In my case, I might need it for longer than 8 weeks until I reach my goal of 40ng/mL. I will need a follow up visit every year to make sure the levels are okay.

Although Vit D deficiency can be a side effect of another underlying condition, I have reason to believe that in my case, it is an isolated problem. I am hoping that in a few months, I should be pain-free!

There is ‘sunlight’ at the other side of the tunnel.

The count down has begun…

It all started with my wrist pain caused by DeQuervain’s Tendonitis. I had surgery on my right hand last November. My hand is much better now barring the lack of strength. Since then, I have had to deal with severe low back, hip and knee pain on my right side. I went back to Dr. Stevenson, who happens to be the director of Sports Medicine at UMass. He is also the one to have diagnosed my wrist problem. He is one of the best doctors I have met. After looking at my knee Xray, it was evident that I had Patella Femoral Syndrome. My Patella, commonly known as the knee cap, was not being held in place by my femur (thigh bone) and the tibia (shin bone). The most common reason for this ailment is weak quadriceps and inner thigh muscles. I also had very tight Ilio-Tibial Bands. He prescribed physical therapy to strengthen my legs and my core. Most of the exercises are impossible because my back and hip begin to click and pop! I have been very active and good about it though. I try to maintain a good posture. I use an ergonomic chair in my office. I see a chiropractor and massage therapist on a regular basis. I maintain an active lifestyle.

There have been some new discoveries in the recent past. Despite my active lifestyle, I noticed significant muscle loss on my right side. My right quad is much thinner than the left. I noticed some dents on my legs. My calf muscle has shrunk too. My weakened muscles make my knee joint very unstable. I’ve had recurring issues with it. Now, I have to wear a brace at all times to support it. The MRI of the knee indicated degenerative changes in the meniscus. The MRI of the back showed degenerative disc disease and slight bulge around L5, S1. This is just a fancy name for ‘Arthritis’. My knee and back will never be the same again but I can improve my symptoms. This is a progressive problem and my doctor said I would be an early candidate of a knee replacement surgery! That is not what bothers me either.

Muscle Loss and lack of muscle definition?! These symptoms can’t be good! I am trying very hard to work my right side. I am doing my squats and weight bearing exercises to retain what I have left and to rebuild what is lost. However, when I overwork these muscles, I have a weird sensation similar to tingling run down my body keeping me awake at nights. I have pain that is most intense at the base of my skull and very top of my neck on the right side. My neck keeps going out of alignment very easily. This is again from muscle weakness. My neck issue is significant but hasn’t been looked into. Could the problem be up there? Is this is a problem with a nerve being compressed? There has to be a reason for excessive weakness on only one side of my body. I have been active for years. Before the problem began, I was at the gym working out regularly.

My next step is to see a Spine doctor and a Neurologist. Let’s see where it takes me. Hopefully, by Christmas, I will have some answers…

If I did not have a funny 19 month toddler at home, I would have been engulfed with depression. She makes sure I have my share of laughs… I do complain a lot but then again, that’s just how I am… All the fun blogs are on Riana’s website.

Cheers

Giving Riana bath three times a day and doing four loads of laundry each day is indeed frustrating. But, what is more frustrating is the response we get from the nurses when we call the emergency line. Every time we call indicating that our daughter is dehydrated and just not interested in taking fluids, we get the standard response and that is to try our absolute best. We’ve tried it all… We’ve tried the bottle, the sippy cup, spoon, dropper, even a medicine syringe. We’ve tried forcing milk into her but it comes right out. We’ve tried Pedialyte, water, juice, water melon, popsicle, regular formula, soy formula, anti-diarrheal formula and nothing seems to work. Today, Ashwin took her back to the Acton Medical to be seen by her Pediatrician, Dr. Christopher Cooper, who is a very good Pediatrician. I really like the facility. The doctors promptly reply to all your emails and concerns. As much as I understand that there isn’t much they can do other than rehydrate her through IV, it is still disappointing and frustrating. It is hard to see your 11 month old baby being poked several times with needles. Unfortunately, it is a stomach flu which needs to run its course. There is no medicine to get rid of the virus. It can take from two to four weeks! On top of this, she also has cold, cough and double ear infection right now. All at the same time…

Riana’s first birthday is on Tuesday, March 4, and I hope she has a nice day. Hopefully she’ll get better by then. At this point, we feel very helpless. There is nothing we can do to help her. She’s had more than her share of illnesses this winter. My only hope is that she comes out of this 100% and that none of these will have long term consequences on her health.

For now… we are taking it one day at a time…

So why do I think she is a child prodigy? Well, amongst all her skills are very good computer skills. Ashwin and I have let Riana type on our computers several times. She loves the keyboards. She has done some things that have amazed both of us. She has, not once but twice, inserted date and time stamp into Notepad. That cant be a fluke… She has managed to launch the help menu and find tool in Notepad. In Firefox, she has decreased the font size without using the mouse wheel, she has opened home page in existing window, opened a new tabbed window, opened a information box indicating the window size. In Picasa, she has zoomed into a picture and deleted a picture. What’s next?

Perhaps she is not a baby prodigy. She simply has our genes! I am yet to find out the shortcut to insert date and time in Notepad. I think I will do that after posting this article.

It is great to see her do so well but at the same time, she is terror. She is a little devil who likes to get into trouble. We’ve tried to baby proof the house but she is now using the drawer hardware as support to stand up. And oh, did I forget to mention that she is a drama queen. Why, of course! As I said earlier… She has my genes!

For all her latest pictures and videos, please log into my gallery.

Cheers.

Cheers.