While I was in the waiting room at San Francisco General Hospital for my surgical consult, I caught wind of a very terrible daytime television show called The Doctors.
This particular episode was about sex in America and the current state of how people approach sex. I had multiple problems with this episode, not least of which was the fact that the rather excrable Ann Coulter was on. I shall break it down for you point by point.
When arguing about the rise of teen pregnancies, not ONCE did anyone mention the incredible damage that abstinence only education has done to this country's youth. Education on sex, how to prevent disease and pregnancy, and how to handle sexual situations is critical to decreasing these numbers, and yet all they could talk about was how people need to take better control of their kids and the teenagers need to take some responsibility for their actions. This is total bullshit, as the numbers bear out.
Ann Coulter started spewing random 'facts' about how 90% of people in jail were the product of single parent homes and how single parents are contributing to the breakdown of morals in this country. I was deeply proud of the doctor who pointed out that she was the product of a single parent household, and now she's an MD. If I'd been on that panel I would have said something like "This is hardly the fault of the person who sticks around and makes sure that the child is well taken care of. Those millions of couples who want to adopt don't exist. Ann, you have a long and sordid history of playing fast and loose with the facts, and I frankly cannot take any numbers you come up with out of your head seriously."
After Ann finally went away (thankfully) it became a show about slut-shaming. There was a pregnant 15 year old girl (was she really?) on who said that the condom broke. It's not nearly as common as people make it out to be. The whole point of the program from then on was "See? If you don't have sex you never have to deal with this."
It was all about scaring the crap out of kids in order to get them to never have sex. If they wanted to really help (I'm thinking about the gynecologist on the show who said some incredibly ignorant stuff) they would educate the kids: this is how birth control works, this is how condoms work, this is what the real risks are but lets talk in terms of statistics and how likely it is that you get diseases. Did they talk at all about the benefits of Gardisil and whether or not they should have it? Did they talk at all about Pap smears and pelvic exams and why they were a good idea? Nope. It was abstinence education all over again.
On a completely different note, I have a surgical date which thankfully does NOT involve me missing school. I am very very grateful for that.
I hope to finish my discussion of action potentials and hopefully look at the Dr. Oz show for juicy tidbits to debunk. Once I'm done with action potentials, I think I would like to talk a bit about imaging techniques and brain cancer/central nervous system tumors.
Yes, I'm back.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Surgery On A Scientist Part Two
I went in for blood work today, just to make sure that my liver and kidneys can handle the extra stress of the anesthetics and painkillers that will be part of the surgery. Blood tests can test for different enzymes made by the liver, and it is important to make sure that they are at the appropriate levels before surgery. If they are too low, recovery can be difficult. The liver clears the drugs from the system, so you want to be sure that the organ is performing adequately.
Butterfly catheters are really quite interesting. There was a little prick of pain and then this exceptionally sharp piece of metal went into my arm. I watched it disappear. And then rich red blood came out.
I enjoy understanding and watching things like this. What can I say. The dissection and understanding of any phenomena around me is my way of interacting with the world.
So once I get the test results back I should have all my ducks in a row for the surgery. According to the online forums, a tonsillectomy is a great way to lose weight.
Butterfly catheters are really quite interesting. There was a little prick of pain and then this exceptionally sharp piece of metal went into my arm. I watched it disappear. And then rich red blood came out.
I enjoy understanding and watching things like this. What can I say. The dissection and understanding of any phenomena around me is my way of interacting with the world.
So once I get the test results back I should have all my ducks in a row for the surgery. According to the online forums, a tonsillectomy is a great way to lose weight.
Friday, August 5, 2011
More on The Oslo Massacre
So apparently there was a couple that were instrumental in helping some of the young people escape from the massacre near Oslo. And yet, we in the States have heard nothing about it because the rescuers were A) female and B) lesbians.
I just don't understand why this has yet to hit the American media. Well, I kind of do, and this article explains the narrative that the American media likes to portray, but honestly, I thought we were past this kind of blatant misogyny and hatred of homosexuals.
Considering that I'd never heard of Alan Turing until I was in my 20's, perhaps I shouldn't be that shocked. My home state, California, just recently passed legislation mandating the teaching of the accomplishments of gays and lesbians in history. It's a step in the right direction, but really? We had to wait until 2011 to do it?
I just don't understand why this has yet to hit the American media. Well, I kind of do, and this article explains the narrative that the American media likes to portray, but honestly, I thought we were past this kind of blatant misogyny and hatred of homosexuals.
Considering that I'd never heard of Alan Turing until I was in my 20's, perhaps I shouldn't be that shocked. My home state, California, just recently passed legislation mandating the teaching of the accomplishments of gays and lesbians in history. It's a step in the right direction, but really? We had to wait until 2011 to do it?
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Surgery On A Scientist
So a big reason why I've not launched wholeheartedly into this blog just yet is because I've not been feeling too great. I went to the Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist yesterday, and was diagnosed with chronic tonsillitis. Between feeling like I have a low-grade flu pretty much constantly, not being able to breathe or swallow properly, and having quite sharp pains in my throat, I've not been having the best couple of weeks.
After a lot of consideration, I've decided to go ahead and schedule the tonsillectomy. The ENT says it is elective, but frankly, I can't disagree with him more.
And because I am who I am, I became fascinated with how they excise the tonsils and how the anaesthesia works. Here is an amazing video of excising the tonsil from the ligament. Notice as the surgeon pulls the tissue away how clean and smooth the surgical site is. That is where the scab forms. This is not for the squeamish, but it certainly isn't the worst surgery I've ever watched. ;)
I began this process nervously; I haven't had surgery in years, and certainly nothing was removed. But I find comfort in an understanding of the procedure and the recovery period. I also have found some good tips on keeping myself as pain-free and healthy as possible while I recover. From what I understand the recovery period is not fun. But then, surgery isn't all that fun either.
A side note: when obtaining medical information, I like the NIH website for information I can trust and verify, as well as clarity and organization. This is a pretty good article for general anesthesia. I studied anesthetics during my pharmacology class last semester, and while the drugs may be different depending on what the doctor likes to use and the patient's history, generally an injected anesthetic is used to sedate the patient and then inhalant anesthetic is used to maintain unconsciousness. The patient may also take an oral sedative or antipsychotic to calm themselves if they are experiencing anxiety before the operation.
By all accounts the average tonsillectomy is about 25 minutes. That's not too bad at all. Because we are such big animals, surgery can be a long and complicated process. But tonsillectomies are considered external surgeries, and so sutures aren't used and there is no need for 'closing up'.
Hopefully things will be a bit better soon. I am allotting 2 weeks for recovery time, because I am a wimp. We'll see how soon I can get in and hopefully I will be 100% before school starts.
After a lot of consideration, I've decided to go ahead and schedule the tonsillectomy. The ENT says it is elective, but frankly, I can't disagree with him more.
And because I am who I am, I became fascinated with how they excise the tonsils and how the anaesthesia works. Here is an amazing video of excising the tonsil from the ligament. Notice as the surgeon pulls the tissue away how clean and smooth the surgical site is. That is where the scab forms. This is not for the squeamish, but it certainly isn't the worst surgery I've ever watched. ;)
I began this process nervously; I haven't had surgery in years, and certainly nothing was removed. But I find comfort in an understanding of the procedure and the recovery period. I also have found some good tips on keeping myself as pain-free and healthy as possible while I recover. From what I understand the recovery period is not fun. But then, surgery isn't all that fun either.
A side note: when obtaining medical information, I like the NIH website for information I can trust and verify, as well as clarity and organization. This is a pretty good article for general anesthesia. I studied anesthetics during my pharmacology class last semester, and while the drugs may be different depending on what the doctor likes to use and the patient's history, generally an injected anesthetic is used to sedate the patient and then inhalant anesthetic is used to maintain unconsciousness. The patient may also take an oral sedative or antipsychotic to calm themselves if they are experiencing anxiety before the operation.
By all accounts the average tonsillectomy is about 25 minutes. That's not too bad at all. Because we are such big animals, surgery can be a long and complicated process. But tonsillectomies are considered external surgeries, and so sutures aren't used and there is no need for 'closing up'.
Hopefully things will be a bit better soon. I am allotting 2 weeks for recovery time, because I am a wimp. We'll see how soon I can get in and hopefully I will be 100% before school starts.
Monday, July 25, 2011
A Word On The Oslo Bombings
It was horrible. Most of the people that died were children and teenagers. And people are using this sad, sick day to further their religious and political agendas. Not cool, Faux News. Not cool.
"Norway’s Prime Minister is a liberal atheist, they have one of the best economies in the world, they have universal health care, and subsidized education, it has had the highest Human Development Index 7 years in a row, and it’s never started a pointless war, given tax breaks to the richest, and created Jersey Shore — yet it’sAmerica that knows best."
— Matthew Trevithick, responding to this story, “Former Bush Official Places Blame For Oslo Attack On Norwegians For Not Being ‘Serious’ About Terrorism,” with a comment that wins the universe. (via cognitivedissonance)
Once again, from the wonderful blog of abaldwin.
Plans? We Don't Need No Steenkin' Plans!
I totally stole this from Activate the Mechanism. By the way, go read his blog. He is awesome and sexy and hilarious. Enjoy.
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