Busy Busy Busy

I know, I know, I have been totally sucking at my blogging this week. I am sure there are some of you snarky types, saying, "Just this week?" To those of you, cork it!
I have been busy1, though. Busy2 with my very busy3 life, full of busy4 things that I do. LIKE...moving, I am moving. Just next door, but that certainly is moving in my books, which will actually take place next week. I have also been busy5 with riding my bike. For those of you who ride, you can definitely relate to just how busy6 riding can be. I have also been pretty busy7 kicking ass at work. It is tough work, you know, kicking ass.

So, sorry for the lame-o blog, but I have just been so busy8. Definitely not too busy9 to take my INH and multivitamin every morning. No, not THAT busy10.

I only find this quote from Sir Jacob Astley appropriate to all my sweet, wonderful, soon to be plumb, happy readers...
"O Lord, thou knowest how busy11 I must be this day; if I forget thee, do not thou forget me."

Have wonderful Thanksgivings all. Starting back up next week, I shouldn't be too busy12 to be like Stella and get my groove back...into blogging.

I'm out!

Eat This, but Not That

I did a tiny bit of research, and by tiny, I mean looking at one website, looking up foods to eat or not to eat to avoid TB.

DOs
High calcium diet
Fresh fruits- oranges, pineapple, bananas
Fresh vegetables

DON'Ts
Booze it up
Smoke them cigarettes
Be lazy
Stay outside in the cold too long
Work too much
Meats
Drink the nectar of the gods, caffeine

Some would say I have a pretty active lifestyle, so check. I am not into smoking, so double check. It IS getting colder out, with winter right around the corner, but let's get real, I live in California, the leaves don't even fall here; another check for me. Excessive work? Really? Me? This is one DON'T I plan on taking very seriously. I may have to reassess. I may have to decrease my already stress-free work environment, relatively lax position, for the sake of my health, though, of course.

So far, I am doing a pretty good job of taking care of myself, and would say I am taking all the right precautions in avoiding a more severe form of TB. Looks like someone should just not eat or do things compromising to the immune system. A snap.

Other preventative diet suggestions I read about are having a high calcium diet and having a diet consisting of fruits, such as oranges, pineapples, and bananas. These fruits help to dilute some of the mucus build up, and help in aiding coughing that stuff up and getting rid of some of the grime in your chest. Fruits also help in preventing future infections. I did read something about how some fruits can help you look younger. It wasn't really an article I would LIVE by, much like the one where I got this information, but information to keep in the back of my mind.

Having little to no meat in your diet is suggested. Uh, like a lot of things, meats can be difficult to digest, so is not recommended. Well so is dairy, but they suggest THAT. Again, not an article to live or die by.
Canned and tinned foods, white bread, refined sugars and cereals, pies, condiments and pickles, and the true love that never leaves me, caffeinated beverages (coffee) are NOT recommended for TB. I can totally deal with no cereals, or pies, or pickles, but NO coffee? You've got to be out of your god damned mind. I can already feel myself getting flustered and stressed over the thought. I should have my morning cup now, before I really start to become a crankster.

Happy Friday all! Keep your calcium and fruits close, but your INH closer.

Recap

For those of you who have recently joined me in this "9 month journey," I thought I would put together a simple little recap, if you have missed anything or don't really feel like reading from the start.

August: I had an annual TB screening, and had a positive PPD skin test. From there, I had a chest exam to show the severity of my exposure. Turns out, my immune system walled off the TB exposed area from spreading, which would mean I have what is referred to as latent TB. I am not contagious and have no active TB symptoms.

September (very early): My dad saw the movie Julie and Julia, and thought it would be SOOO original to make a blog, documenting my treatment, for 9 months. I figured, why not, with the hopes of entertaining his request, and maybe educate and inform some people along the way.

September (early): I have baseline blood work done, to make sure my body can handle the treatment, Isoniazid (INH). It is mainly because the INH is toxic to the liver, so the nurse practitioner wants to make sure I have a healthy liver to start.

September (mid): I started taking the 9 month TB treatment medication, as a preventative measure of developing active TB. Those with latent TB have a 1 in 10 chance of developing active TB. By taking the preventative medication (INH), the chances of developing active are cut by 75%.

October (early): I had my first monthly meeting with the nurse practitioner, to make sure my body is taking to the preventative medication. The INH can be pretty toxic to the liver, so she just checks to ensure I am not having any sort of organ failure. Seems silly to see her every month, but at the end of the day, I appreciate it.

October (mid): The nurse practitioner suggests I start taking multivitamin supplements. I guess taking INH can result in a lack of vitamins being absorbed into the body, so it is suggested people take supplements. My Centerium multivitamins are chewable, orange flavored, and gross.

November (early): I had my second monthly meeting with the nurse practitioner. Same as the first meeting, I haven't had any adverse side affects.

Today: Today is day 66 and I have yet to miss a day of taking my INH.

Well, that is about it. There have been some education sessions along the way, but so far, I am staying on top of it.

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going."~ Jim Ryun
In this case, pretty much.

I'm out!

Day 65

Today is day 65.

Took my INH and multivitamin this morning. Things still very much on track.

Sorry for such a lame post. My mind feels a little foggy today. I will find something interesting to write on TB soon.

Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Welcome to a New Week

Happy Monday happy follower(s).
I have been a little MIA from you, but NOT from my TB treatment. I have officially cracked the seal on my third month's prescription. What is that? Almost 3 down, 6 more to go? Yeah!

Things are changing some for me, so my mind is slightly preoccupied. I recently decided to move. Really nothing major. Almost not even a move. Just to another unit in my complex. Though I am not moving far, obviously, it is still moving and it is a move during the holidays, which equals stress all around.

I was told before I decided to start taking INH to make sure my life is stable, as you wouldn't want to be all over the place and miss medication days. A move is kind of major derail from the every day. I think I should be alright, though. I should be able to get myself and stuff settled, settled, hopefully in a weekend.

I hope everyone had pleasant weekends.
Stay healthy and hydrated.

~Moody but TB Infected

Bambi's at TB Risk, Too

Happy Friday avid readers!
I did a little snooping and found that humans are NOT the only creatures that can contract TB. Turns out in places in the Midwest, typical, cattle have been found to have bovine tuberculosis.

This weekend there is a study being done by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) testing deer heads for bovine TB. In order to obtain enough deer heads for a study, this weekend the DNR is setting up deer head drop off points, for hunters, in the Indiana area, as it is the opening weekend for deer season.

Bovine TB is a chronic bacterial disease that primarily affects cattle, but can be transmitted to other warm blooded animals. But fear not meat eaters of the world. According to the DNR, human contraction is unlikely from eating the meat of infected animals, but it is advised people take consideration when handling and cooking their meat. Uhh, yeah, always.

A few counties in Indiana have each had bovine TB cases this year, all connected to the same deer and elk farm. In order to prevent further spreading, the animals on the farm were quarantined and then, well, let's just say, they won't be spreading bovine TB anymore.

The reason for the testing is to make sure none of the infected animals "jumped the fence" spreading TB to wild deer, which could then spread to other animals.

This study will not only be testing for bovine TB, but some of the tissues will be sent to Purdue University's Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory for the testing of chronic wasting disease, which is a disease found in deer. It's a two in one study. Well done DRN, well done!

Have wonderful weekends and keep the hand sanitizer in sight!

Keepin' On

Happy Veterans Day!!

I don' have work today, so I gots nothing for you all.

In the words of Joe Dirt, "Keep on keepin' on."

Such Routine

Nothing really to report on today. I took the multivitamin with my TB pill this morning, yesterday morning, Sunday morning, Saturday morning, blah, blah, blah.

Maybe tomorrow I will have something cooler to post.

Eat and be well, all.

~Moody but TB Infected

On the First Day, God said, "Let there be light"

There have been some interesting studies done on TB and how to basically get rid of it. My favorite "cure" uses UV rays from sunlight, or I guess a tanning bed would work, too, according to this study. The ultraviolet light creates vitamin D in the body, and with enough, there is an innate TB immunity response turned on, according to this group of researchers.

Well, it's an interesting thought.

This group suggestions that the reason there are higher TB numbers among African American populations is because they have lower UV light absorption, which doesn't activate the immunity response.

Okay, I am following. Go on in detail...

There was a study done showing that chemicals from bugs...vague, but okay...turned on this internal immune response through specific receptors (TLRs). It is through these receptors where all the magic happens. It has already been proven that these TLRs, when activated, kill off TB.

So where do UV rays come into play here?

When the TRLs are turned on, due to the immune response, there is a production of a vitamin D receptor, as well as an enzyme that actually helps to produce active vitamin D.

Ah, and the rays produce vitamin D.

Once this pathway is activated, cathelicidin, AKA the "TB Killer", is produced, which has no problem being the third wheel and will place it's merry self right on the TB virus, causing it to die.

Very slick!

This study supports it's hypothesis by having taken serum from fair skinned individuals, probably ginger people, as well as serum from African Americans. The serum from the gingers had enough of the enzyme, which was producing active vitamin D, to keep the pathway open, creating more and more of the "TB Killer." Whereas the African American serum was skimping out on the goods (the vitamin D maker), and had less of an output of the "TB Killer."

Being a fair skinned maiden, myself, I think this is pretty cool stuff. There are some hard working people out there working their tails off for people like me, and more for people that are suffering.

Hats off to you, good sir, William Wells, with Rockefeller University.

For a more detailed version of "Curing TB with sunlight," http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2063771/

Monthly Check-Up

Good morning, loyal, faithful, good looking readers! I just got back from my 2nd monthly appointment with the NP. If this NP sounds familiar, but you can't quite pin it, she is the one that so artistically relayed TB and its symptoms to me in this little something.

This was just a check-up to make sure I'm not having an adverse effects of the medication. It is pretty standard when being treated with INH. When asked if I had missed any treatment doses, she was visibly shocked when I told her I hadn't. Really, NP, you're shocked?! I'm not building a rocket that requires daily intricate recalibration or anything. I am just taking an INH pill and a multivitamin. I didn't tell her that! To be honest, I think someone like me, with things pretty together, shocks her. Her head is all over the place sometimes.

Anyway, all is well and I can only hope the same for you all, readers.
Out.

Day 52

Day 52. Time flies! I am scheduled tomorrow for my 2nd appointment with the NP, to make sure everything is still A-OK.

I still haven't missed any days and am still not drinking much alcohol, if any. This weekend, though, I had a little more than I have since I started this treatment. In the back of my mind I was slightly worried about drinking so much, but then calmed down when I figured 2.5 glasses of wine isn't THAT much. It wasn't like I was a Catholic priest or anything ( saying that will probably piss my grandma off).

I don't really have anything new to report on today. I am very close to having completed 20% of the treatment. Time flies!

If Everyone Else Does, Would You?

I had an interesting conversation this past weekend about my decision to undergo the 9 month TB preventative treatment plan. Not only am I preventing myself from developing active TB right now, but I am also preventing someone else from being exposed as well. The chances of someone developing active TB are now lessened due to my following of what many others before me have done.

Does this philosophy sound familiar to anyone? It totally makes sense. Herd theory.

I think this is a similar theory behind the reasoning for everyone being urged and vaccinated for the annual flu. The CDC suggests/requests as many people as possible to be vaccinated for the flu vaccine every year. Because so many people act as one unit, in a way, I am able to benefit from not possibly getting sick. I have never really been one interested in getting the flu shot. Why would I? I have never really gotten the flu. Now I see why. Herd theory.

The herd theory is kind of interesting. The example I gave is kind of a good one, I think. While all these people act as "one", in being vaccinated, when broken down, the herd is built of self-serving individuals, fearing for their life, so to speak. Kind of an interesting thought. By not being in the herd, and being vaccinated, I like to think of myself as one of those little birds that perch on the bison, surviving off the bugs it attracts. Basically, by everyone being vaccinated I reap the benefits of indirectly being vaccinated and not having to deal with it myself. Talk about a mutralistic symbiotic relationship.

I think it only appropriate to thank ALL those people that hang in the herd and choose to be vaccinated. In doing so, you, and Purell instant hand sanitizer, help me to stay healthy year round.