Can you recover from Ulcerative Colitis, Arthritis, Acne, and many other medical conditions?

Can you recover from Ulcerative Colitis (UC), Arthritis, Acne, and many other medical conditions, and ... without Medication, is that possible?

Part 1 - The Insurance

I am not a medical doctor, I am not a beauty salon beautician, I am not a pharmacist.

Once upon a time, I was just a desperate homemaker, frustrated of seeing my dining table full of many types of medicines, the medicine becomes part of the daily food, 2 to 3 times a day, for my spouse.

Concern start to set in when the relapse become more frequent as a patient age, and the insurance limit is heading to zero. It did not help when the insurer rejected application of upgrade of old existing insurance plan to unlimited annual and lifetime limit. Back then when we first bought insurance 2 decades ago, unlimited medical plan was non-existence.

And to rub salt into the wound, stronger & more expensive medication or treatment are recommended, whenever there was a relapse. "There is a new treatment, but still on trial version, RM75000 for an injection, but you have to enquire at government hospital." That was the last straw that breaks the camel's back. That was the beginning of my long journey to find an alternative solution, and eventually lead to what this blog post is about, so that for those who have similar experience, frustration, despair, whatever it is, wherever you are, hopefully my sharing will bring you some hope.

Ok, side track, quick, go get a basic medical plan when you are still young & healthy, or if not young but at least still healthy. "Healthy" here is defined as have not "checked in" to a hospital before, a.k.a. have not been hospitalised due to an illness. And if you have an existing medical plan, do upgrade accordingly when you still can. You can never beat the rising medical cost, which is an unknown figure, versus to a known insurance premium you are committed to, year after year. And, make sure your medical insurance plan do NOT exclude infectious disease. Many, unfortunately, were caught off guard during Covid 19 pandemic, their costly hospitalisation bills due to Covid were not claimable due to this exclusion. Some were lucky as there was temporary Covid 19 hospitalisation Fund, but it was limited claim. What about future infectious disease?

If you have blood in stool, that is a red flag. Be warned, the red flag, very likely will be brushed off by a doctor as hemorrhoids, in the beginning.  That was what happened to my spouse more than a decade ago. The doctor then (GP) said, "You are having piles." "Take this medicine if you have constipation, and take the other one if you have diarrhea."

"It is just a hemorrhoid/piles". Sounds familiar? I hear and read about this happening to many very often nowadays. I believe many medical conditions such as IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease, which include Crohn & UC), Colon Cancer, etc went undetected in the early stages due to misdiagnosis.

Eventually, we visited a specialist at a hospital. After a costly colonoscopy but fortunately covered by Medical Insurance but unfortunately with limit, the diagnosis, it is UC.

Stay Tuned for Part 2 - The Change of Diet

Plant Your Own Color Green

Plant your own colour Green. More than 200 feet above ground.

Highrise Balcony Garden. Nothing is impossible.

 

Plant Your Own Colour Blue

Blue from Blue Pea Flower

Plant your own color, in a pot at balcony, more than 200 feet above ground.

Nothing is impossible. 

The Internet is like the fisherman's net

Like the fisherman's net, the internet is woven and twisted. When you are surfing the internet, you are just a fish swimming in a net.

How to be the fish that got away? When you come across a product online that promises miracle, money back guarantee, etc, take your time, be curious, surf and seek more information online. Delay your buying decision even if the offer will end in 10 minutes... they are desperate, not you.

Recently, a product called 'ArthroNeo' has popped up in many ad space. It promises to cure/get rid of arthritis and osteochondrosis in a month. A testimonial from a fella named Axel Finch from London who used to work in Krompachy telling his story of how ArthroNeo has cured him. In the story, there are other 'supporting characters', from Igor to Rodrigo. Then, there are the positive comments and feedback at the bottom of the page.

So, what is so fishy about this advert or this product?

Probing further with the keyword 'ArthroNeo', a few other sites appeared. The storyline and photos/images are the same, but the characters' names are different.

Spot the Difference and judge yourself:

 

vs

 

 

Umar must be Axel's clone living in different country.

 

vs

 

 

Or, Umar from Malaysia must be the evil twin of Axel Finch, from London. Both are 62 years old... one worked in Krompachy, a town in Slovakia, the other worked in Miri, a city in Sarawak, Malaysia.

 

vs

 

 

 

Axel seems to be the stronger of the clones/twins. He rode a bike for 23 hours nonstop. Umar managed only 2 to 3 hours.

Even the wife and the grandson had been cloned... swimming in the same water...

Then, there're the positive comments and feedback at the bottom of the page. Dolly the sheep was the first clone in 1996. 21 years later, we are seeing human clones having same joint pain as their Origs.....their original....

 

 

vs

 

 

Many people love to upload their selfies and photos online. Once uploaded on the net, their faces are officially reusable material by all earthlings, sane or insane, good or bad. Are these people aware that their photos are being stolen and abused?

Don't be caught in the scammers' net!

Why On Earth Should You Feel You Are Alone

You may have some cousins out there, no, I don't mean in China, India, Indonesia, Russia or Japan.

But you will not have the chance to meet your long distance cousins in this lifetime, as the latest Earth-like planet discovered is 600 light-years away. And just One light-year is equal to: exactly 9,460,730,472,580.8 km (about 9.5 Petametre) or about 5,878,625,373,183.608 miles (about 6 trillion miles).

The Kepler (Mission to search for habitable planets) mission's science team announced its latest finding at a press conference on Monday, Dec. 5, 2011, The team announced the confirmation of Kepler-22b, its first planet found in the "The Goldilocks Zone," the region where liquid water could exist on a planet's surface.

The Goldilocks Zone

No, they didn't find Goldilocks or any Bears. The "Goldilocks Zone" is based on the story "Goldilocks and The Three Bears", in which a little girl chooses from sets of three items, ignoring the ones that are too extreme (large or small, hot or cold, etc.), and settling on the one in the middle, which is "just right". Likewise, a planet following this Goldilocks Principle is one that is neither too close nor too far from a star to rule out liquid water on its surface.

As the scientists continue their hunt & missions, we have to continue living, ....down-to-earth.

All About Kepler:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/main/index.html

The press conference:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en5OObU0ryU

Hidden Signs, Crouching Heart Attack

Who said you have to wait till you are sick to learn TaiChi?
Why do you have to be old to learn TaiChi?

Case 1 – A very busy, young and successful journalist, he travelled often around the world. He worked hard and late. Slightly overweight, doctor advised him to lose weight. He went to the gym daily and soon lost some weight and looked as fit as an athlete. A few months later, while walking to his car after dinner, he collapsed. His young family, colleagues and friends could not understand why, he was only 35.

Case 2 – He’s full of life. A businessman, his wife’s in her early 30s, they have 2 very young children. Hobbies - playing badminton with his friends after work or on the weekend. He had worked very hard. His business was doing well. That Saturday, the family had invited relatives and friends to a house warming party at their new bungalow. The day was still young, he went to play few hours of badminton with some friends. It was early evening, he arrived home and as he alighted from his car. he could see many people were already in the house. Before he could reach the main door, he collapsed. The house warming party had turned into a funeral instead. He was only 35.

Case 3 – His wife and his very young kids were living in Malaysia. A very busy project manager, he was based in a middle eastern country most of the time. Entertainment was part and parcel of the job. He’s a heavy smoker, alcohol was cheaper than water and a daily drink. To keep up with his mistress from China who’s in her 20s, blue tablets became another add-ons in his life. In this desert where it was hot most time of the year, playing badminton indoor with his buddies regularly seemed to be a good choice. That evening, he’d played badminton as usual, after dinner, he went to sleep. He never woke up. He was only in his early 40s. He complained of some discomfort around his chest and stomach area to his buddies one month before and was advised to see a doctor. Nobody knew whether he’d visited any doctor.

Case 4 – A close buddy of the busy project manager (Case 3), they had the same lifestyle. Cigarette, alcohol, karaoke, the blue tablets were the norm. Mistresses were their dark secrets. Regular badminton provided a sense of health safety net. One and a half year after the demise of his buddy, he collapsed while taking a shower in the bathroom. He was only 45.

All of them had had heart attack. They were real people, these are true stories.

Heart health

Some people over 35 may already have the early stages of cardiovascular disease without even realizing it. When it comes to symptoms, most people think of chest pain in the left shoulder or arm. Unfortunately, 25 percent of all heart attacks happen “silently,” without clear or obvious signs. Common symptoms may be so mild or vague as to seem unrelated to the heart.

Some adults, especially those approaching middle age, are basically sitting ducks when it comes to heart disease and attacks. With the proper knowledge of warning signs and potential symptoms, regular check up and lifestyle change, it can be prevented, reversed, or even cured.

For Case 3 & 4, I’d not comment further on the additional lifestyle which obviously had contributed to the health problem, but I could not help but to point out that 3 of them had played badminton regularly or prior to the heart attack. For the young journalist, he signed up for gym & weight training prior to his passing.

Badminton or gym is good, but considered as vigorous sports/exercise. Perhaps vigorous exercise is not meant for everyone. How much is too much? When we do not know the existing condition of our health, or we do not know our fitness level, or when we are not in the best of our health, or when we are not getting any younger, perhaps we should seek alternative sports, which is less strenuous, and non-vigorous.

It is not a shame to be seen walking instead of jogging. It’s not a shame to be doing TaiChi instead of KungFu. 99% of people would usually say, “TaiChi? Not for me, it’s for old people!”…”Wait till I’m 65 years old, I’ll do TaiChi!".....Well, 1% of the younger people who did not think so are the early birds, and early bird catches worms.

A TaiChi Master said,
"I'll not teach you TaiChi if you've become too old to start as you cannot remember anything..."

Clear the Clutters

Saw this news on 30-12-10. "Petaling Jaya. Workers & customers of a goldsmith's shop had a harrowing experience when a car crashed through the shop's front door. The vehicle only came to a halt after hitting a jewelry display cabinet in the shop. The accident occurred at 10.35am when the driver of the Proton Iswara, a woman in her 60s, was trying to park the vehicle in front of the shop in Sungai Way. Apparently, she could not apply the brake as a mineral water bottle was stuck under it...." Different clutters, same consequences. Drivers, the only thing that should hang around the driver seat area is yourself... 

It's Nothing but A Hole

I have been told again and again that doughnut is junk food...why are people still queueing up to buy?

Ask (the late) Jack LaLanne, the godfather of fitness (1914-2011): what is the best part of a doughnut? He'd said, “The hole.”

Jack had lived up to a ripe old age of 96, he often joked, "I can't die, it would ruin my image." He died of respiratory failure due to pneumonia. RIP.

What if you lose the brake?

When you know how to move a car, soon speed becomes a norm. But have you ever thought of one day you need to stop your car while you are driving at 80, 90...100kph or even more and you suddenly realise that your brake fails (brake fluid leaking & ran out, worn out/faded brake pad, or unknown reason)?

You are on the ground, theoretically, you are safer than a pilot who loses all the engines in mid air.

Most people will panic, well, do panic, but not too long. You will have to switch to survival mode.

Calling the police? No use. They are not Superman or Spiderman.

Jump out of your car? Switch off the engine? What if there are other vehicles on your left or right & behind?

Hit a tree, or another car? Survival rate is not 100%. Injury? Sure.

Steer your car sharply from left to right in a zig zag way hoping the friction can slow the car down? It will only work in Tom & Jerry cartoon show. You will most probably crash into another vehicle or the other way round, or roll over.

What’s the best thing to do then?

“Too many moons ago, I was driving a manual car at around 90kph in the middle lane on a busy 3 lane freeway. Soon I realised my brake was totally gone. My heartbeat was racing for the first many seconds, survival instinct set in, trying to stay calm & thinking of my options, I recalled a friend once mentioned about using gear to slow down a car (aka engine braking). Being a young driver I didn’t understand fully then but at that moment I didn’t have a choice, do or die...so, I quickly down-shifted the gear from 5th to 4th, 3rd, lastly to 2nd, it worked! I slowly inched my way out to the side shoulder off the main road and turned into the first side road I could find, the small road was unpaved, uneven & it helped slowed down the car, and eventually came to a total halt after I applied the emergency hand brake, strangely, right in front of a car workshop, although a rundown workshop, it’s the best sight I could ever dream of. The mechanic told me the brake fluid had been leaking & very little was left. It was a narrow escape.” This was my true story......

Manual cars are not as common as automatic transmission cars nowadays, but to slow down & stop without brake is based on the same engine braking method ie down-shifting gear by gear.

Drivers who are used to manual cars will sub-consciously know how to down-shift the gear without looking as they subconsciously up or down-shifting every time they drive.

Auto car drivers may become complacent....it is automatic what...just use brake to stop, gas pedal to move, P to park, and D to drive.....the other lower gears exist but long forgotten.

The same apply to drivers who frequently drive manual but sometimes drive auto cars.

In a panicky or split seconds situation, you will not have time to look at the gear, especially at night.

It’s never too early or too late to look closely at your gear now. The lower gears are all there for you to discover, after all, practice makes perfect. You will never know when you are going to need them.

Stylish, Sexy, but deadly?

And too often, an otherwise safe driver can lose control...different causes, same consequences:

- Shoes under the driver seats. Bottles, books, tissue boxes, etc. These can roll over and get trapped easily under any of the pedals.

- High heel shoes/Stilettos, sling backs, strappy sandals, even flip flop are driving hazards, the soles can get trapped easily under any of the pedals. Jimmy Choo’s will have to take the back seat.

- Even floor mats are suspected to cause accident. See this recent news on how a passenger managed to call 911 but all in that car did not survive:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ippnztg3A_o

Reading – manual or auto
http://www.autoevolution.com/news/stopping-without-brakes-6487.html

To reach your destination, you must have a safe journey...

They put on their best shirts and pants

They stacked up bricks after bricks with bare hands, they helped to build low and high rise buildings, shaping the Dubai city skylines. They returned to their cramped labour camps at the end of the day.

Friday was off day. They put on their best shirts & pants. They went to the beach. After walking & enjoying the sea breeze for a while, somebody called out to them, ”Ooi! OOi! Bangla...BANGLA, come here!!” They were summoned to the police guard watch tower on the beach. Loud voices were heard and I could sense they were being ‘lectured’ and scolded, there were loud banging sound on the table.

The 3 men left the tower after quite some time, heads down.

In the past, some beachgoers especially ladies in swim suits complained of being ogled or stared at, sometimes photographed on the beaches, by unknown fully clothed strangers, usually it was claimed, were foreign labourers. So, the authority tried to keep the beaches free from such people.

On that Friday, there’re not many people on the beach and there’re no ladies in swimming suits on the beach, the three men were just walking on the beach. Unfortunately, nowadays, any men who look like hard labourers are being observed and sometimes shooed away from the beaches.

Too free not to imagine, so I imagined, if these three men (who are also expatriate workers, theoretically) took off their shirts & jogged or walked on the beach, like those super duper muscular men on the movie ‘Baywatch’, they would probably get to stay on the beach, as they will then blend in easily with the rest of the expatriates. But they could not, because they usually earned very little, and ate not enough or just enough daily, so they usually appeared skinny. If they do that, they would probably be suspected as illegal immigrants instead, coming in from the sea...

They were not welcomed in some other places too, some were told not to go to some of the well known malls at all, even if they managed to put on their best shirts, pants & shoes, and combed their hair shiny.

Their best shirts & pants usually gave them away easily...because their best shirts & pants are usually bought at places like hypermarket or discounted stores. They tried to look their best, but most of the time not enough. Sometimes, a mall they can frequent will suddenly ban them if someone complained, they're simple people, they felt happy when the mall lifted the ban later.

Expatriates here in the desert, are not created equal after all.

It’s said that beaches are for beachgoers. And they said you have to look like one, otherwise you have no reason to be there...

Fast Forward

Each generation has its own common experience, attitude, etc., influencing & defining common characteristics among its members as well as shaping future generations. The past & present generations, with different length of years (which may overlap), and may not be relevant to some countries:

- G.I. Generation (1904-1922). G.I. means Government Issue. This generation went thru Great Depression & World War 2.

- Silent Generation (1923-1944). Generally comfortable with a hierarchical structure and prefer rules. Like stability. Grew up in traditional families.

- Baby boomers (1945-64). Optimistic, hardworking, involved. Often question authority. Many baby boomers are involved in activist movement for causes they believe in. Traditional family structure began to change as a result of growing rate of divorce.

- Gen X (1965-1979). Tend to be sceptical, lacking faith in authority, acting independently. The first generation to become adept with technology, prefer multi-task, like to communicate informally (like via email). Value diversity & try to balance between work & family.

- Gen Y (1980-1999), also known as Millennial Generation or Digital Generation. Seek diversity, multi-task, don’t wear watches because cellphones tell them the time & watch can only do one thing. Entwined in virtual & real worlds. They are in constant communication with friends, through e-mail, text-messaging. Facebook & MySpace appeal to them much like discotheque appealed to the generations before.

- Thereafter for 21st century, tentatively known as Gen Z for those born in the year 2000-unknown, probably 2009, when the global financial crisis is expected to end. Also known as New Silent Generation or Internet Generation. Share almost the same traits as Gen Y.

I am a Gen X. I wonder what our future generation will face. Fast forward to the immediate horizon, the Year 2030, 21 years later. There is this possible scenario:

A young male adult finds that there are many other adults who look like him. He wonders whether they are his step siblings or extended family from surrogate, or sperm donors. He cannot simply fall in love with any opposite gender without having to check their DNA, unless he does not intend to ‘repopulate’, otherwise he risks having genetic disorder for his next generation.

Rewind back to the present.

'Extended family' due to remarriage, children born out of wedlock & given away, are already common and on the increasing since a few generations ago. Today, due to the recession, it is reported that cash-strapped women turn to surrogacy to ease their financial burden. College students, cash-strapped young adults, male and female earn extra money by selling their ‘seeds’ to couples who pay, in the extreme case, in order to pay off their credit card bills. It used to be donor driven for medical experiment but it has become so common it is now a thriving industry.

Desperate times, as the saying goes, call for desperate measures. But desperate measures of today, makes the future generations more desperate.

Desperate move feels like seeds blowing in the wind...

...and shaping the population of future generation

Why Isn't the chicken cooked yet?

Husband: Why isn’t the chicken cooked yet?
Wife: Before we talk about the chicken, may I know why are you looking somewhere else when you are talking to me nowadays? You always look at me in the eyes sweetly when we were dating.

Husband: Don’t worry, I love you as always, in the office, I look at your picture on my desk.
Wife: But I am still alive at home. You can look at my picture all the time when I am dead.

Marriage is like a graveyard...
before we are dead,
sometimes we feel like we are already 6 feet under.

Husband: Ok honey, points taken. What about the chicken?
Wife: Oh, because it has not crossed the road yet.

In order not to be buried alive, we need to have sense of humour all the time to keep ourselves entertained and sane, otherwise we will be as dead as a roast chicken.

You know...

That your spouse will miss your nagging...
...when you want to travel overseas and he asks for a job brief for daily chores...

It’s time to leave your friends’ or relatives’ place...
...when they switch off the light..., after they have been yawning and you are still there (a relative did that...she'd pretend to accidentally switch off the light, pause & switch it back on...hahahaha)

It’s time to upgrade..., when you try to ‘teach old dog new tricks’, and it crashed... i mean, the computer.

It’s time to go to the gym, watch what you stuff into your mouth...
...when you think you can dance and when the music stops, not everything stops...