Category: Health

About Ambien

A strange thing happend once, years ago, after I took some Halcion to help me sleep. Apparently, sometime after taking the med, I made a cup of hot chocolate and took it into the living room, where I managed to drop the mug, breaking it and spilling the drink all over the sofa and carpet.

The next morning I had absolutely no memory of it. None. I wouldn’t even know about it except that my son was there and told me. He pointed out where the spills were and showed me the broken mug in the trash.

Weird, but I didn’t worry about it. It only happened once (that I remember!).

Now it seems to have happened again, this time after taking Ambien. When I got up this morning I found a cheesecake box on the kitchen counter. I bought it yesterday. My first thought was, “Damn, did I forget to put that in the fridge yesterday?” I picked up the box; it was empty. Then I noticed the dirty plate and fork.

“Nahhh, I didn’t eat that,” I thought. I specifically remembered putting the package of pork chops on top of the cheesecake last night, so I would remember to cook them today. I didn’t open the cheesecake because I’d already had a sweet snack and was not in the mood for more. Instead, I grabbed a piece of Hawaiian bread. That was to be it before I went to bed.

I looked in the fridge, and sure enough, there was the unboxed cheesecake, with the pork chops set to the side.

I have absolutely no memory of opening that cheesecake, much less eating it. I haven’t looked under the cover yet, for fear I may have eaten more than one piece. I suppose if I had finished it, the empty pan would have been on the counter or in the trash.I live alone now, so there’s no one but the cat to tell me what happened. It’s disturbing, so say the least. Security concerns come to mind immediately.

Guess I’ll be keeping Ambien at arm’s length from now on.

Why I’m voting for Kerry

I’m voting for John Kerry. Why? I’ll try to keep it simple.

I have several issues that usually decide elections for me: the environment and women’s rights (pro-choice, not pro-abortion). For me those issues have never been negotiable.

I almost voted for Bush the first time. He seemed moderate enough, although not particularly qualified to be president, and Gore was very hard to like. But Gore had the experience and the record I wanted to see in my president, so I voted for him, reluctantly.

This from a previously lifetime registered, increasingly moderate Republican. In recent years though, I’d really waffled as Republicans seemed to be moving farther and farther away from defending women’s rights and the environment. Additionally, as my own life circumstances evolved, I slowly stopped thinking of myself as one of the Republican “haves” and more of a “have not.”

Then came 9/11. And the day I watched a church service at the National Cathedral and heard righteously angry voices swell to the strains of “Onward, Christian Soldiers.” I distinctly remember thinking, “My God, he’s going to make this a holy war!” And so he has.

I don’t believe in imposing ones’s religious beliefs on others. I don’t believe in making war in the name of religion. I believe in freedom of and from religion. I believe in science and the intellect and peace. To me spiritualism, or the lack of it, is a very private, personal thing and should remain so.

Go to the source for medical information

I’m a firm believer in going straight to the source for health and medical information, rather than take as gospel what news organizations say. Reporters necessarily try to “dumb down” and summarize news from the medical and scientific communities so the general public can understand. The result can be misleading and sometimes even inaccurate. If you are concerned about a particular health issue, I urge you to go to reputable, knowledgeable sources for your information.

The media may alert you that a new report or study has been released, but if it’s of interest to you, go to the source they cite and read the report for yourself. There are details, explanations, conclusions, exceptions, etc. that a reporter may overlook or not have time to mention.

News releases, such as those from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, are an example. Note these ares not the original reports either, but summations written by medical professionals for release to the public. Better to read these news releases than some reporter’s interpretation of them. Better still, drill down even further and obtain the full reports. That’s where your doctor gets his or her information.