Must have rolled single digit for my Constitution

I got my Covid-19 booster shot on Friday. It was my first Pfizer Comirnaty shot, as my 1st and 2nd doses were AstraZeneca. This time there was a throbbing pain on my arm at the injection site. Followed by a low-grade fever on the second day (yesterday). On my first dose I had a fever as well. This one seems to have mostly burned out in a day. Although the doctor said I could treat it with Panadol, I didn't. Nothing too serious anyway.

Starting the new year with doctors visits

Urgh. What a way to ring in the new year.

This is just a quick update. Last week of December I go for my medical checkup that's required as part of contract renewal. About a week later I get a call from HR saying the blood test came back with some abnormality (elevated liver enzymes), and I have to go in for a follow-up with the radiologist. Just hearing that word kinda freaked me out. First working day of the new year I go back for the liver ultrasound. Good news, and bad news.

Good news - liver seems fine, except - bad news - lesions have been detected. Four of them, with one being particularly large at roughly 7cm. I meet a surgeon, who checks me out, tells me not to worry, then orders a CT scan - just to be sure. So off I go to get a CT scan, and I'll meet the doctor again this Saturday.

Hmm. Hepatatic hemangioma. Most likely benign, the doctor tells me. And, it's quite common.

Ok, I'm off to bed. Tired, and I feel bloated after all the water I've been drinking to flush the radioactive isotopes out.

A(H1N1) flu arrived on Malaysian shores

Kinda ironic that after my first posting related to the A(H1N1) flu Malaysia reports its first confirmed case of the virus, quickly followed up with a second confirmed case. Both were students, returning to Malaysian shores from New York, arriving on Wednesday morning on a Malaysia Airlines flight. The second student took a second flight a few hours later, on Air Asia, up north to Penang. A few things of note about this story.

• Both cases were the result of primary infections from an international location, and not a spread of the virus through domestic infection. That’s somewhat reassuring.


• The Malaysia Airlines flight had a stopover in Stockholm, Sweden. Some passengers may have disembarked there. So have the Swedes been informed, and do they have any infections there now as a result?


• Both students from NY, who know each other, were infected. Is the situation in the Big Apple that bad? Or did they pick up the infection from a high-risk individual, maybe someone who had recently been to a hot-bed of H1N1 infections? Or is their school the source?


• How many persons from the original MAS flight have made secondary flights? That’s how the infection spreads, jumping from locale to locale. Hopefully they’ve already identified all the passengers, and the only ones traveling onwards were the ones going to Sarawak, and the one confirmed case in Penang.

This first week, until Wednesday, is probably the most high-risk time for a spread of the infection. It’s quite alarming to note that Japan now has 90+ confirmed cases of the virus, with the majority of those being domestic infections. From four persons bringing the virus from abroad, they’re now trying to contain a much larger outbreak centered on two prefectures.

Time to be careful. Wash your hands frequently. Carry one of those antibacterial handwash gels in the small bottles. By all means, wear a face mask (more especially if you feel you may be infected, cos at least you’re keeping from spreading it). And if you feel feverish or have any other symptoms of the flu get yourself checked out.

Preventing the spread of H1N1

Do you call it swine flu? That’s apparently a misnomer, since Influenza A (H1N1) is actually a combination of swine flu, bird flu, and human flu. What about Mexican/North American flu? Or is that too discriminatory? In Malaysia, people are referring to it by its full name or shortened to H1N1, so I’ll go with that.

Now, even though H1N1 isn’t headlining the news the way it did a few weeks ago, we’re still getting updates on the progress of this flu epidemic (pandemic yet?). Confirmed cases are cropping up in more and more countries around the world as the virus spreads from human host to human host. (No, you can’t get it from eating pork. I wonder if that silly fear has died away yet.)

When the virus first grabbed the world’s attention in a big way, one of the first things a lot of people did was don face masks. It was a common sight in Asia a few years back during the SARS scare, and lots of people fell back on a “tried and tested” control mechanism. But does it really help?

Slate’s Explainer examined whether surgical masks are effective at protecting against the flu virus. Quick take-away: The masks can’t filter out the viruses, since the viruses are too small. (Although, the masks would still filter larger carrier molecules, so there could be some benefit.)

So what’s the best advice? Well, it turns out that the best advice is both simple and harder to carry out. Harder, because it’s not as simple as slipping on a face mask, even though it is a simple enough thing to do: wash your hands frequently.

Sounds easy enough, right? Hold on! Did you know there’s a method to it? Yup, there’s the right way to wash your hands, and then there’s the “quick n easy” method. You know what I’m talking about. Turn on the tap, rinse your hands for a couple of secs, turn off the tap, wring your hands out.

So here’s the lowdown on how to wash your hands properly, courtesy of the Mayo Clinic. And if you need to get through to kids, try sending the teens here.

So if you see me humming Happy Birthday to myself, I’m probably washing my hands at the sink.

Dangers of birth control pills?

Another entry in the “Internet sleuth” series, from an email I researched this morning.

This time, I’ll include the quoted email that was forwarded to me:

Menstrual cycle - very important send to all your friends.

I am sure most of you have a daughter, a granddaughter, a niece, a friend or a friend's daughter... this might be worth checking out. PASS THIS ON EVEN IF YOU DON'T USE IT!!

Recently, this past week, my cousin Nicole Dishuk (age 31... a newly graduated student with a doctoral degree about to start her new career as a Doctor...) was flown into a nearby hospital, because she passed out. They found a blood clot in her neck, and immediately took her by helicopter to the ER to operate. By the time they removed the right half of her skull to relieve the pressure on her brain, the clot had spread to her brain causing severe damage. Since last Wednesday night, she was fighting for her life. They induced her into a coma to stop the blood flow and then operated 3 times.

Finally, they said there was nothing left that they could do. Multiple clots in the left side of her brain were found, the swelling wouldn't stop and she was on the life support. She died at 4:30 that day. She leaves behind her husband, a 2-year old, Brandon and a 4-year old, Justin.

The CAUSE of DEATH they found was a birth control she was taking that allows you to only have your period 3 times a year. Doctors said it interrupts life's menstrual cycle, and although it is FDA approved... it shouldn't be. So to the women in my address book, I ask you to boycott this product and deal with your periods once a month, so you can live the rest of the months that life has in store for you.

Please send this to every woman you know - you may save someone's life. Remember you have a cycle for a reason.

FYI: The name of this new birth control is Lybrel. If you go to Lybrel.com you will find a least 26 pages of information regarding this drug. The second birth control is Seasonique. If you go to Seasonique.com you will find at least 43 pages of information regarding this drug. The warning and side effects regarding both pills are horrible.

Please forward this to as many daughters AND sons, co-workers, friends and relatives. Several lives have already been changed.

God bless!

And the response I sent out, after my research:

Hi All!

Another one to investigate. This one I took on mainly because I personally know women who have trouble with their normal menstrual cycles and have opted to use medication to control certain aspects of it.

First check reveals that it appears to be a mixed bag. There’s info debunking the urban legend of Nicole Dishuk:
Snopes page on Dishuk

Interesting to note that the original “warning” didn’t include info on particular brands of birth control pills. That info was apparently added on in later cycles of the email forward.

But, yes, there is a real case of a woman named Nicole Dishuk, PhD in psychology, married and mother of two young boys, who died of a stroke. From here on out, however, it gets murky. There is no definitive proof that the cause of death was the birth control pills she was taking, even though there is a news report (here: ABCLocal site) saying her husband was told that the doctors identified the birth control pills as the only risk factor for Nicole to suffer a stroke (blood clot to the brain). Whether this was established as the cause of death is unknown, because the private medical records are not available. Note also that there is no indication she even took either of the two brands identified in the “warning” below.

And here one has to note that all medication comes with risks, and contraindications are noted precisely to highlight potential risks.

So this is where we get controversial. A good jumping off point for different points of view on this topic can be found here:
About.com site on Contraception

Some say we should go au naturel, and avoid all medicines entirely, because they interrupt with the “normal” body functions. See the “warning” that was just forwarded below. Or some comments posted under the About.com post above:
“Anything that interupts (sic) a life cycle has to be dangerous.”
“Nutrition feeds the cells which in turn communicate with our 600 trillion cells helping the body to heal itself. … Put synthetic drugs in a human body and take the consequences.”

Some take the opposing stand, noting that a lot of medicines do a lot of good to people who may not have the same “normal” experiences as the majority.
There’s the case of someone who “started getting (her) period at the age of 11, when (she) first started getting (her) period (her) cycle was 35 days long and (her) actual period was 8 days long.” This person went on birth control pills at 17 and no longer suffers such terrible PMS symptoms or cramps. And there are other cases such as hers.

Some say that anyone taking medication should be responsible over their own bodies and be informed about any risks they may face.

There are many opinions on the matter, but in the end, ladies, it’s your prerogative. Stay informed.

Conclusion: Not all birth control pills are suitable for all women; you have to be aware of any potential risk factors. However, it is unfair to depict them as dangerous and having no benefit whatsoever.

It’s easy enough to sympathize with the origins of this particular myth. But there’s a danger to perpetuating misinformation, in that it could scare women off potentially useful information regarding contraceptives. All in all, a thorny subject, but still, better to spread knowledge than ignorance!

A primer on appendicitis

So, I've been doing a little research on my little surgery last week.

First, some good links on the topic, for anyone interested in learning more about it.

• Wikipedia entry on Appendicitis - always a good place to start I find


• MedicineNet on Appendicitis


• NIDDK, of the NIH, on Appendicitis

In a nutshell, this is how it happens:
The appendix is this small appendage connected to the beginning of the large intestine. Now, the opening that connects to the intestine can get blocked, most commonly by fecal matter. Bacterial or viral infections can also cause an inflammation which leads to the opening of the appendix getting blocked. When the appendix gets blocked, there will be a buildup of bacteria inside the appendix, causing it to swell, and eventually rupture.

Some extra information that I've gathered:

1. Anyone can get appendicitis, but it's most common between the ages of 10 and 30.


2. Recovery time varies from person to person, but is usually between 10 and 28 days. And doctors will usually recommend limited strenous activity (no heavy lifting) for 4 to 6 weeks after the surgery. No wonder my surgeon gave me MC for 3 weeks!


3. Rupture of the appendix is a serious complication, which can lead to peritonitis and abscess, which, in some cases, can cause organ failure and even death.

Ok, so I guess any surgery is serious. I should rest.

The one thing I really don't like is not being able to carry my daughter. Even not going to work is not getting to me too much, though I sometimes feel like I'm being a little less responsible. But what really bites is that I can hold A'isyah, but I can't lift her. So I can't take her on our little walks. :-(