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Friday, 17 June 2016

Princess Health and June 17th, 2016 A Day, Better Rested. Princessiccia

Princess Health and June 17th, 2016 A Day, Better Rested. Princessiccia

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June 17th, 2016 A Day, Better Rested

Mom and I had a good visit last evening. I picked her up from her doctor's appointment and after a couple of stops, and deciding it was too early for dinner, we settled at a Starbucks. She had some reading material and I worked on this blog.

Dinner was great, the visiting is always good--and I was able to get home and go to bed at a relatively decent time. The extra sleep had a noticeable effect on my day today. It was an accomplished day. I made a list of things to get done and marched right through the list. It's funny because I act so surprised when I experience a day, better rested. I needed a better rested day because today was twelve hours.

I really enjoy my weekend nights when I know I can sleep in the next morning. I'm a night person by nature. This is my time. And I'll still get a full seven or eight hours sleep.

I enjoyed preparing an amazing dinner tonight. It was a challenge! I like occasional cooking challenges. My goal: Enjoy a fried catfish dinner with a confident/accurate as possible, calorie count. I accomplished the goal. The Live-Tweet Stream contains the process.

I completed a nice workout in my living room tonight. Body weight strength training exercises really work well for me. So well, I'm questioning why I don't do this longer version of the #morningdeal, more often. It feels great.  This is absolutely something for me to consider a little more.

I'm sleeping in on my Saturday morning. And I'm looking forward to it like you wouldn't believe.

The integrity of my daily maintenance calorie budget was maintained. My abstinence from refined sugar remains solid (779 days and counting). I participated in a few one on one support exchanges. I enjoyed some kitchen creativity. I exceeded my daily #watergoal and my home workout was fantastic.

It's really been a great day. I needed a good one.

Continuous Live-Tweet Stream:




























































Thank you for reading and your continued support,
Strength,
Sean

Princess Health and Donna Arnett, new UK public-health dean, says research is important to reducing Kentucky's huge health disparities. Princessiccia

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Donna Arnett, dean of the College of Public Health at the University of Kentucky, says research is essential to reducing Kentucky's huge health disparities, as illustrated by the recent release of data showing a wide range in life expectancy among counties.

In a UK news release and video, Arnett, a genetic epidemiologist and native of London, noted the "devastating impact" that obesity, diabetes, cancer, drug-abuse and overdose deaths have in her native state.

�Public health is at the heart of answering the challenges of those critical diseases in Kentucky, " Arnett said. "We in public health are really at the forefront of first detecting these epidemics, and then finding strategies and interventions to help eliminate those disparities.�


Arnett's passion for research began during her early career as a nurse when she was working next to a dialysis clinic at a Department for Veterans Affairs hospital and noticed that more African-American men were sent to the clinic than men of other races.

�I�ll never forget, in my hallway in this VA hospital, every day men would be coming down the hallway, and they�re almost all African American,� Arnett said. �I said, �You know, there has to be something about being African American and having kidney failure.��

This prompted her to create an informal hypothesis that this was linked to a genetic code in African American men that put them at a higher risk of kidney failure. She was right. While her original hypothesis evolved, it was validated after numerous studies.

Arnett obtained a doctorate in epidemiology from the University of North Carolina and built a career in public health. She has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health for more than 20 years, and brought three active NIH projects to UK when she became dean of the public-health college in 2015. Among other leadership roles, she has served as the president of the American Heart Association.

Serving as AHA president showed Arnett that "solving the most urgent health problems in the nation requires the collaboration among different professionals and organizations devoted to health and uniting the research efforts and knowledge of diverse investigators," and she is working to establish partnerships across the state, the UK release and video say.

"Science now is really multi-disciplinary," Arnett said, "so we have to function in a team."

Thursday, 16 June 2016

Princess Health and June 16th, 2016 Yes Man. Princessiccia

Princess Health and June 16th, 2016 Yes Man. Princessiccia

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June 16th, 2016 Yes Man

I really did it all wrong last night. It was an epic learning experience. 

I'll spare you the specific details of my schedule because those aren't the point or problem. Last night, I put myself in a very poor time management situation. My path to this was my occasional tendency to say "yes" when the best thing for me to do, was say "no." 

I've improved dramatically in this area. I spent a lot of years being a "yes man." I was always a yes man because I was afraid to say no, in fear someone might not like me. The interesting thing is this-- I didn't like me, so my constant search for external signs of love and acceptance was a primary focus, hoping-if enough people liked me, maybe I could be convinced I was worthy, somehow. And saying yes every time, even if it was the opposite of what was truly best for me in a particular situation, was-in my mind, the path to fixing this internal dislike. Trying to be everything to any and everybody, left me lost and hollow, most of the time.

I no longer operate that way. I love me, fully and unconditionally. And I don't give two flips if someone doesn't like me for whatever reason. They don't even need one, it's cool. It's none of my business why someone wouldn't.

I'm fine because I'm okay with me.

And that peace and calm is something I never knew or understood before this transformation. My brain is no longer constantly trying to answer the question, "will I be loved/liked?" My decisions are no longer dictated by this constantly running program. The program has been removed from my system directory. Because I'm okay with me. 

So what happened last night? Well, occasionally I still say yes when I need to say no. But it's not because I want to be liked or loved by someone. Now, it's difficult if it's someone for which I have enormous respect and admiration, and if that person is a loved one, a friend, a colleague or client--it's extra challenging. I love to listen to people's stories. So if I'm genuinely engaged in a fascinating conversation and the other person asks, "Do you have time for this?" I will sometimes say yes when I should have exited the conversation forty-five minutes ago. Or an hour and forty-five minutes ago.

The other part of the deal that became last night's epic learning experience was the accountability factor.

Maintaining integrity with accountability measures is something on a sacred level. It must be or the accountability measure loses its effectiveness.

I exchange goals with a few people each day. I typically include my list of non-negotiable elements. It basically looks like: "My goals today: Maintain the integrity of my calorie budget, remain abstinent from refined sugar and meet or exceed my daily water goal. I will do these things." And on a day when I feel I can't go another without a really good workout, I'll make an accountability declaration like I did yesterday: "I will go to the gym for a great workout, come what may."

Come What May. 

The idea of "come what may" is usually thought of as outside forces/circumstances, not circumstances created by less than the better choices.

To wrap this up-- and tie it all together, I was working out at 12:30am while listening to Arianna Huffington speak about the critical importance of getting enough sleep on Dan Harris's 10% Happier podcast. My life is often rich in irony.

I kept my accountability declaration. And I felt great about that--because I had violated one the day before--and there wasn't any way I was about to break another. Maintaining integrity with accountability measures is critically important.

The key is making sure what I'm declaring to do is something I can do--and something I plan into my schedule--and understanding, what I do leading up to it makes a big difference...in other words, how I manage my time. If I'm not managing my time well, I shouldn't engage in "come what may" accountability declarations.

I take it serious for a reason. Without this importance level, I'd still be over five hundred pounds or six feet under at this point.

I highly recommend listening to Arianna Huffington on Dan Harris's podcast. She said many things that run parallel to what I've explored and discussed within these pages. One thing after another popped out at me. I'm absolutely buying her new book, The Sleep Revolution.

It's been a very long day. I'm about to have dinner with mom and head home. I'll be dropping in bed at a great time tonight. I do not want to endure this self-imposed feeling of exhaustion, tomorrow.

I'm learning. I'm absolutely learning. Good things, good things.

Continuous Live-Tweet Stream:
























Thank you for reading and your continued support,
Strength,
Sean
Princess Health and Painkillers appear to increase risk of deaths other than overdoses, according to new study of Medicaid patients in Tennessee. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Painkillers appear to increase risk of deaths other than overdoses, according to new study of Medicaid patients in Tennessee. Princessiccia

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"Accidental overdoses aren't the only deadly risk from using powerful prescription painkillers," The Associated Press reports. "The drugs may also contribute to heart-related deaths and other fatalities, new research suggests."

A study of of more than 45,000 Medicaid patients in Tennessee from 1999 to 2012 found that "those using opioid painkillers had a 64 percent higher risk of dying within six months of starting treatment compared to patients taking other prescription pain medicine," AP reports. "Unintentional overdoses accounted for about 18 percent of the deaths among opioid users, versus 8 percent of the other patients."

"As bad as people think the problem of opioid use is, it's probably worse," said Vanderbilt University professor Wayne Ray, the lead author of the study report. "They should be a last resort and particular care should be exercised for patients who are at cardiovascular risk."

The report in the Journal of the American Medical Association noted that opioids can slow breathing and worsen the disrupted breathing associated with sleep apnea, which could lead to irregular heartbeats, heart attacks or sudden death.

The patients in the study "were prescribed drugs for chronic pain not caused by cancer but from other ailments including persistent backaches and arthritis," AP reports. "Half received long-acting opioids including controlled-release oxycodone, methadone and fentanyl skin patches. . . . There were 185 deaths among opioid users, versus 87 among other patients. The researchers calculated that for every 145 patients on an opioid drug, there was one excess death versus deaths among those on other painkillers. The two groups were similar in age, medical conditions, risks for heart problems and other characteristics that could have contributed to the outcomes."

Wednesday, 15 June 2016

Princess Health and June 15th, 2016 Revisiting-What's This All About?. Princessiccia

Princess Health and June 15th, 2016 Revisiting-What's This All About?. Princessiccia

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June 15th, 2016 Revisiting-What's This All About?

This is essentially a "Tweets Only" in consideration of my schedule this evening. But I did want to republish something I wrote a very long time ago. It's called, "What's This All About?"

What's this all about?

It's about progress, not perfection. It's about how you feel, not a number. It's about you and for you, not about or for anyone else. It's about living, not dying. It's about dreaming, not dreading. It's about freedom, not imprisonment. It's about opening your mind to the possibilities, not closing it to the changes. It's about acceptance, not rejection. It's about nourishing, not depriving. It's about a broadly consistent importance level, not short bursts of narrow focus. It's about wanting, not forcing. It's about doing your best, not trying to do another's best. It's about today, not tomorrow, or next week or the first of the month or January 1st. It's about committing to consistency with all your heart and holding on tight, not a halfhearted commitment easily released with the slightest breeze. It's about you deserving better, because you do. It's about you being important, because you are important.

Today: I maintained the integrity of my maintenance calorie budget, I remained abstinent from refined sugar, I actively engaged in support, I exceeded my water goal and I'm about to workout before bed. That workout will show in the tweets of tomorrow's edition.

Continuous Live-Tweet Stream:


































Thank you for reading and your continued support,
Strength,
Sean
Princess Health and Court of Appeals orders Lexington abortion clinic closed for now. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Court of Appeals orders Lexington abortion clinic closed for now. Princessiccia

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By Al Cross
Kentucky Health News

Reversing a lower court's ruling Wednesday, the Kentucky Court of Appeals said Lexington's only location for legal abortions must stop performing them pending a lawsuit by the state that seeks to require it to be licensed as an abortion facility.

Fayette Circuit Judge Ernesto Scorsone declined in March to issue an injunction to close EMW Women�s Clinic on Burt Road, saying that the state failed to show that it was likely to win its lawsuit and that allowing it to stay open in the meantime would cause any irreparable injury. He found that the clinic was operating legally, and closing it would be �against the public interest� because it is the only clinic that routinely provides abortion services in the eastern half of the state and the right to an abortion is constitutionally protected.

But the facility is licensed as a physician's office, not as an abortion clinic, and a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals, all of them women, unanimously agreed with the administration of Gov. Matt Bevin that it needs the latter license to operate legally. The judges said Scorsone had misinterpreted the licensing requirements and didn't give proper weight to the evidence, which was that all the clinic does is perform abortions and related procedures.

The clinic's owner, Dr. Ernest Marshall of Louisville, testified that the Lexington business "originated as a doctor's office" but has narrowed its line of work in recent years, especially after his partner died in December 2013. He said it was a simple facility compared to his EMW Women's Surgical Center in Louisville, which is licensed as an abortion facility and performed 2,773 abortions last year compared to 411 at the Lexington facility, which does abortions only in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Scorsone said Marshall "has a strong argument" that he didn't need an abortion license because the Cabinet for Health and Family Services reached that conclusion after its last previous inspection in 2006 and the clinic doesn't have $1.5 million worth of equipment, at which point an abortion-clinic license is required. But the appeals court pointed out that state law says an abortion facility is "any place in which an abortion is performed" and "We see no reason why an exemption determination should be determinative a decade later," after the nature of the facility had changed.

The appeals court said Scorsone also erred in saying denial of an injunction wouldn't cause irreparable injury, because the cabinet and the citizens would be harmed "if the cabinet is not allowed to correct the alleged violations of its licensing requirements." It said that is a legal presumption that Marshall could have rebutted but did not. It also cited the cabinet's latest inspection, which found "expired medications, defective equipment, [a] torn examination table and dust accumulation."

In granting the injunction prohibiting abortions at the facility, the court said "There is a substantial legal issue as to whether EMW Lexington qualifies as a private physician's office, where it performed only abortions in the last year."

As for the availability of abortions in the eastern half of the state, the three judges said Marshall presented no evidence regarding "the location of the women EMW Lexington serves" and noted that it refers women past the 12th week of pregnancy to its Louisville facility. "As the cabinet points out, this case is not about a woman's right to an abortion," Judge Allison Jones wrote.  "The cabinet is not seeking to prevent women from obtaining abortions [but] to enforce its right to regulate the manner in which abortions are performed in this commonwealth." Judges Sara Combs and Debra Lambert joined in the opinion.

Princess Health and Forrest W. Calico, national leader in rural health care, dies at 75. Princessiccia

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Forrest W. Calico
Dr. Forrest W. Calico, a nationally recognized expert on rural health-care quality, died Monday at his home near Crab Orchard "after striving against multiple myeloma for several years," said his obituary in the Lexington Herald-Leader. He was 75.

A native of Garrard County, Calico received his medical degree from the University of Kentucky in 1966. He also held a master's degree in public health from Harvard University. In the U.S. Air Force, he was a flight surgeon at Area 51 in Nevada, a family physician, residency director and hospital administrator, earning the Bronze Star. He was president and CEO of Appalachian Regional Healthcare from 1993 to 1999, a health-systems adviser to the federal Office of Rural Health Policy and a senior quality adviser to the National Rural Health Association. In 2007 he was named a Rural Hero by the National Rural Assembly and in 2010 entered the UK College of Public Health Hall of Fame.

In retirement, Calico remained active at the state and local levels, serving on the boards of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, the Friedell Committee for Health System Transformation and the Lincoln County Board of Health. In 2012 he published a memoir, Out of the Blue, with the subtitle "How open doors and unexpected paths set the course of my life."

Calico is survived by his wife Patricia Calico, their son Jefferson and wife Cari, daughter Tricia and husband Wes Cohron, his sister Helen Eden, a nephew and six grandchildren. A celebration of his life will be held Saturday, June 18, from 2 to 5 p.m., with a memorial service at 3 p.m., at The Church at Cedar Creek at 5787 US 150, east of Stanford. Memorial donations may go to The Friedell Committee, PO Box 910953, Lexington KY 40591, or the Dr. Patricia A. Calico Endowed Nursing Scholarship at UK, 315 College of Nursing Building, Lexington KY 40536.
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