Now It Can Be Told

[Mr. Mephistopheles]

Glad to hear you're not going to be deployed, but that's gotta be some emotional rollercoaster. I'm sure Mrs. A is happy too, for the obvious reason that you won't be in a war zone, but she won't be having her daughter and husband thousands of miles away.

Actually, Mrs. A is quite upset about it. She was looking forward to all the benefits I was supposed to get when I got home.

I think what she's most upset about is the timing. You see, I got laid off last month when they decided outsource my department - so now I gotta find a new gig. It wouldn't have been a problem if I was deployed - I'd have gainful employment, at least for 15 months.

Now...well, now I gotta scramble and get a job. Shouldn't be too hard, and if need be I can always fall back on hospital security as my card and my hospital cred is good for another year or so.

And you're right, it is an emotional rollercoaster. I've been getting my ass hammered for three months over this deployment, mentally preparing myself for the worst that god-awful place could throw at me and now...now they tell me I'm not going.

I'm drained, M. Right now I am mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted.

Best of luck with your job hunting. For now kick back, relax, have a light beer and a nice salad with lots of green stuff and a little olive and balsamic.

[Nikki]

OMFG

What can I say

After running on adrenaline for months, the crash when it subsides royally sucks.

As I said before -- live, love, laugh, and be happy.

You're intact. You're with a woman who loves you. All else is tinsel.

[Nikki]

It's a shame all the battlewagons were retired.

You seriously need a 16" target round dropped through your roof -- with damage reports conducted by a SEALS team.

[Doktor Avalanche]

Congrats for getting a reprieve, but...cholosterol count? A high cholesterol count makes you non-deployable? That seems rather feminized to me. I think the last thing anyone in a combat zone is worried about is something like that. Back in World War 2, high cholesterol food like imitation Spam was a staple and cigarettes were included with rations.

I agree, it is rather sissy-ish that I or anyone else would get dinked for having a high cholesterol count - especially when my problem is more genetic predisposition than diet.

I also agree that, all things being equal, Afghanistan is the last place on earth you should be worried about something like that.

And (I can't believe this is three times in a row) I agree with your assesment that the military in general has become, well, pussified. I do recall the history books where Spam and Lucky Strikes were in every ration kit.

But...that's exactly what the doc at the base told me today as soon as she saw the results fax'd in from the lab - and I quote, "Well, that's that."

Now be gentle with him, he is only in the US Navy, it's not like he is in the real military.

Where's that flippin' the bird emoticon when you need it?

Actually, Skipper, this is part & parcel throughout all the Armed Forces unless you're a trigger-puller and they desperately need you on the line. Then, magically, your cholesterol count isn't a big deal anymore.

I just had the bad form to go into the logisitics and support side of the house.

[Judge Roy Bean]

Actually, Mrs. A is quite upset about it. She was looking forward to all the benefits I was supposed to get when I got home. ...

If you really want to go, ask for a retest.

Seriously.

[Doktor Avalanche]

Actually, Mrs. A is quite upset about it. She was looking forward to all the benefits I was supposed to get when I got home. ...

If you really want to go, ask for a retest.

Seriously.

Can't.

The Powers That Are didn't inform me until the very last minute that I needed a lipid panel and then it stretched past the three day drop-dead mark. As of now I'm officially on TNPQ (Temporarily Not Physically Qual'd).

I can't even go on at AT event to South Korea or anywhere else outside CONUS until I'm off this status.

Secondly, they needed someone NOW to fill this billet. Now that I'm out of the running they already have a replacement.

Third, now that I'm going to have to go on statin medication for this that, too, is a disqualifier for mobilization.

I'm hosed all the way 'round.

The only good thing that came out of this is that it happened while I was on active duty (however brief). I can draw VA %.

[fortinbras]

Amateurish medical suggestion:

I myself was taking statins for cholesterol following open heart surgery (surgery was six years ago this month). I started developing muscle cramps in my legs; essentially, when I walked about 50 feet my legs started aching as if I just climbed five flights of stairs. This is evidently a common side effect of statins.

My cardiologist suggested, as an alternative (although probably not as fast acting as statins), substantial doses of Omega-3 fish oil capsules and red yeast rice extract capsules. I take 3 of each every morning and every night. Evidently there is no known overdose range. Available over the counter at drugstores, in the vitamin aisle. These have been at least as effective as the statins.

Not all of us are sorry that you're safe at home.

[webhick]

Doktor A, it's great that you're still safe at home. Now, we need to discuss the reimbursement of the pool plaster woman I shipped overseas. And the crate of private time toys. Talk to the guy who signed for them...a Colonel Stanley Spankmeister, if you want confirmation of delivery.

[Tax Man]

Amateurish medical suggestion:

I myself was taking statins for cholesterol following open heart surgery (surgery was six years ago this month). I started developing muscle cramps in my legs; essentially, when I walked about 50 feet my legs started aching as if I just climbed five flights of stairs. This is evidently a common side effect of statins.

My cardiologist suggested, as an alternative (although probably not as fast acting as statins), substantial doses of Omega-3 fish oil capsules and red yeast rice extract capsules. I take 3 of each every morning and every night. Evidently there is no known overdose range. Available over the counter at drugstores, in the vitamin aisle. These have been at least as effective as the statins.

Not all of us are sorry that you're safe at home.

the very simplified way i look at the omega 3's is they help keep your blood vessels elastic so the cholesterol can flow through. so maybe its not all about the cholesterol (its essential in all animals) as it is about your vessels not being able to pass the cholesterol. with that said, a lower (bad) cholesterol count would be ideal.

This month's issue of Forbes magazine has an interesting article entitled "Snake Oil in Your Snacks" and addresses how foods masquerading as drugs have become a $160 billion business. The article isolates the claims behind some of the biggest food categories - pomegranate juice, cholesterol-lowering foods, vitamins, energy drinks, designer yogurt, and last but not least, omega-3 fatty acids.

Regarding the cholesterol-lowering foods, plant sterols are one of the few food additives with proved health claim. "The can lower cholesterol by up to 10%, human trials have found. Cardiology guidelines recommend them. But they have never been proved to avert heart diesease. In 2006, a small Finnish human study published in Atherosclerosis found that sterols keep arteries from relaxing, which indicates worsened blood vessel function."

The article stressed the importance of using marine based omega 3's (salmon, sardines, etc.) as opposed to plant based omega 3's. "Everyone knows that omega-3 fatty acids can protect the heart. Less well known: not all omega 3 fatty acids are created equal." Bottom line: "if you want omega-3's for your heart, read the fine print and look for products with EPA or DHA."

Another alternative? Breast milk has DHA but is difficult to obtain unless you can get it from the source.

[Cathulhu]

If you take Lipitor, the docs will warn you about grapefruit, but not pomegranate. Which will interact with your lipitor quite unpleasantly.

[Judge Roy Bean]

If you take Lipitor, the docs will warn you about grapefruit, but not pomegranate. Which will interact with your lipitor quite unpleasantly.

Ahem. Allow a translation:

"... the docs will warn you that grapefruit should be avoided while on Lipitor. Pomegranate, on the other hand, is fine."

[Cathulhu]

If you take Lipitor, the docs will warn you about grapefruit, but not pomegranate. Which will interact with your lipitor quite unpleasantly.

Ahem. Allow a translation:

"... the docs will warn you that grapefruit should be avoided while on Lipitor. Pomegranate, on the other hand, is fine."

If you google, you'll find that I and my RN pal were not the only people to get sick from pomegranate (we're both on Lipitor, and best guess is that it heterodyned with the lipitor to lower blood pressure a little too much). I don't know how many people are affected, but I think it's worthy of caution. This is purely anecdotal rather than rigorous research, it happened to me and a friend. Would dearly love to see rigorous research next!

[Judge Roy Bean]

Been on Lipitor for years and drink at least 8oz of pomegranate a day. I've cut my blood-pressure medication in half by drinking it.

[Cathulhu]

In my case my blood pressure has been known to drop to levels requiring some special doppler machine to find it. Which seriously makes you dizzy, and you end up getting the nice ride in the nice ambulance. No pomegranate for me, thanks. Just be careful, ok?

[Cathulhu]

Cap'n, if there's one thing my DNA has taught me, it's that we all play the cards we're dealt genetically. I think what matters is fighting the good fight. People often express surprise that I'm upbeat, when I have chronic pain and mobility issues I don't choose to go into here, and I'm vilely allergic to almost every painkiller out there (Thank you Tylenol!!!) especially opiates. But it's me that suffers if I allow myself to wallow in depression and self-pity, and life's too damn short to waste that way. I enjoy my life more when I'm winning my small victories.

I freely share my deep (!) philosophy--I buy weird socks. There have been times when I've taken off my shoes, wiggled my toes, and said, "Everything has gone to hell. But I like my socks!"

Just got a pair with multicolored lobsters knitted in...

[Green Lantern]

Yes, Afghanistan - where the cottage industry is creating rubble, where vests come in two styles (bulletproof and suicide), where the men have more wives than teeth, where they really walk a mile for a camel, where the question "does this burka make my ass look fat" is asked, where they believe every word of the Koran but don't know how to read, where they think television is dangerous but routinely carry live ammunition in their pockets, where they can't think of anyone they HAVEN'T declared Jihad against, where they're amazed that cell phones can be used for purposes other than setting off roadside bombs, where the phrase "I love what you've done with the cave" is uttered, where they refine heroin for a living but have a moral objection to beer and where they wipe their butts with their bare left hands but consider bacon "unclean".

Hmmm.... I hope you're not the guy in charge of "winning hearts and minds....."

[Doktor Avalanche]

Hmmm.... I hope you're not the guy in charge of "winning hearts and minds....."

Aside from the obvious, what part of this is untrue?

Never mind...I'll answer that for you:

Where the cottage industry is rubble

Where vests come in two styles: bulletproof and suicide.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/w ... 589760.htm

Where they think television is dangerous but routinely carry live ammunition in their
pockets.

Where they refine heroin for a living but have a moral objection to beer

Where they're amazed that cell phones can be used for purposes other than setting off roadside bombs

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/3 ... 00123.html

Where they believe every word of the Koran but don't know how to read

Got news for you, GL...this is a country where the literacy rate hovers around 28%.

http://technorati.com/politics/article/ ... lliterate/

I don't know why anyone gets bent out of shape when I point these things out. The truth is an affirmative defense.

[Green Lantern]

I don't know why anyone gets bent out of shape when I point these things out. The truth is an affirmative defense.

Do you think someone is bent out of shape?

Hyperbole is not the same as truth.

[Doktor Avalanche]

Hyperbole is not the same as truth.

Well, when I ever start speaking in hyperbole I'll agree with that statement.