photo theme thursday: music

music

i know today's not thursday but i had a busy day yesterday so i'm posting it now.  yesterday's thursday challenge theme was "music" and so i started looking around my desk to see what i had that was music related.  that's when i realized how many headphones i have.  why do i have so many?  i'm not sure.  but somehow i can never manage to find a pair when i really want them.  do you also notice the recurring color theme?  guess what my favorite color is.  i'll give you a hint: it's not white.  i'm fairly certain a couple pairs of these headphones don't work anymore.  i searched my house and these are the ones i managed to find, but i think there may be another pair or two floating somewhere out there.

here's where i found these:

• purse
• backpack
• nightstand
• gym bag
• desk (2 pairs)
• car (2 of these are hands-free microphones/headphones, 1 came free with my new bb torch)

this makes me wonder why it's so hard to for me to ever find a pair of headphones.  i obviously keep them EVERYWHERE.  oh well.  at least i have plenty of spares.

as for why i didn't put this up yesterday, my excuse is that i had my first anthropology test right after work and then i passed out immediately after dinner.  the test wasn't too bad.  i will admit that i read some of the material about 5 minutes before it started while sitting in my car in the parking lot.  but a good chunk of it was just review of very, very basic genetics.  the kind of genetics you learn in the 8th grade.  we'll see how i did in a week or so.  if i got a good grade, i'm sure i'll post it up here.  if i don't post...well...then you know i'm too busy studying for the next exam to make up for this first one.  now, since it's my friday off, i'm going to do some fun and exciting things. like wash and vacuum my car.  oh yes, i'm a wild one.

buried alive

you may be wondering what i'm still doing up at almost 2:00 a.m. (of course, if you know me REALLY well, this should not surprise you). i can tell you what i'm not doing. i am not taking a huge stack of papers and folders from the pharmacy and working on turning them into a nifty little manual that anyone could follow when i leave. i am also not studying for anthropology as i just can't take anymore tonight. so i'm putting this all off until tomorrow....um, later today. because it is

TACKLE IT TUESDAY

really, though, i'll just be lucky if i get done sometime before august. in keeping with the theme of things, here's the before picture. please note that this is not everything i do at the pharmacy. oh no. it's just a small portion of it. don't ask me how i became in charge of any of this. i quite honestly don't know.

BEFORE:

DURING:

oh yes, and here's the anthropology i need to study as well.

maybe if i'm lucky i'll have another post next tuesday that will show everything completed. (yeah, right)

the daily post topic #148

the daily post put up the following question for bloggers to answer today:

Do you think people should have the right to commit suicide? What about euthanasia?

i took a bioethics class last fall and we spent a good deal of time talking about physician-assisted suicide (PAS), informed consent, euthanasia, and removing life-sustaining support.  the hardest part, and the most divisive part, of the issue was how to determine whether or not someone was competent enough to make the decision for removal of treatment/PAS.  i would err on the side of keeping the person alive if there was any doubt in my mind regarding whether or not they meant what they were saying, or if it was just being said in the heat of the moment.  others in my class said that they would remove treatment whether or not they knew the patient seriously meant it.  my reasoning is that i would rather have someone alive and mad at me then dead and wondering forever if i did the right thing.  but at the same time i believe people have the right to make that decision.  in my religion, we always stress the importance of free will and how the whole reason we are on this earth is to make our own decisions.  i don't believe in impeding anyone's right to any decision, as long as that decision is not harmful to someone else, just as i wouldn't want someone of another religion restricting my decisions to their own moral viewpoint.  i would let my patients make the decision for or against PAS but i would never be the one to administer it.  it is also my right to choose whether or not i would do it.  but they should have access to a physician who will do it.  i am just too attached to many of my patients.  it would be like euthanizing one of my family members.  i can't even imagine being in the place of a doctor who sees them every day and is that much closer to them.
anyway, i have included the paper i wrote on the topic as it goes into greater detail and includes references.  i would love to hear others' opinions, whether you agree or disagree.  i love to hear other viewpoints as it helps me see things a different way and i believe it helps me make better, more informed decisions.

photo theme thursday: home

home

thursday challenge is a fun blog idea site where every thursday they post a theme and you have to either find a picture you already have or take a new picture that goes along with it and post it on your blog.  this week's theme was "home."  this picture was taken a couple of winters ago around christmas.  i love this picture because our house looks exactly like those you see in christmas movies or martha stewart catalogs.  i also love when snow covers the lights by the sidewalk so it looks like the snow is glowing.

there's a secondary reason for this post.  today i went to see my urologist and he declared me normal!  blood work, x-rays, everything looked fine.  i'll see him again when i'm home in december and then a couple times after that every six months and then hopefully i'll be down to once a year visits.  becoming healthy is sort of bittersweet, however.  as sad as it is, i know everyone in that office and they know me, just like the girls at st. mark's registration.  i feel like i'm on "cheers" but instead of everyone yelling "norm!" when i walk into the bar, they all yell "laura!" when i walk into the office.  (ok, so there's no actual yelling going on but you get the point.)  i may have to stop by every once in a while just for the heck of it.  oh, also, the blood work my general physician took on tuesday for my physical all came back normal.  this means i still do NOT have diabetes (for those who don't know, a doctor misdiagnosed me as pre-diabetic about 3 years ago and i didn't realize it until after taking four 500mg metformin XR tablets a day for 8 months).  mom gave me the seal of approval to go to georgia....though i was going to go anyway.  it's an odd feeling to listen to my body and hear nothing.  it's peaceful and quiet for once.  i just feel whole.  i hope it lasts.

catching up & more

i believe i promised a blog entry and so here i am to deliver.
a lot has changed in the year since i last wrote.

• i haven't had a kidney stone surgery in over a year
  
• i graduated from the u with a b.s. in chemistry
• i got accepted to UGA pharmacy school and leave in august
• i'm planning on helping UGA start up a pharmD/phD program so i'll get 2 doctorates while there
• i'm actually feeling pretty healthy lately :)

probably the biggest downer was when i had a colonoscopy a couple of weeks ago. they found and removed 2 polyps and took a sample of some inflamed tissue. the polyps were not cancerous but they are the type that most often turns into cancer so i now have to go back every 2 years. oh joy.



enough of that for now. ages ago, my friend sarah gave me the "irresistably sweet" award. in exchange for receiving the award, i'm supposed to list 5 guilty pleasures. oh boy. here we go.



1. shoes. you can ask my mom about this one as she's usually the one picking up all the shoes i leave lying around. recently i saw a nate birkus tv show where they said one of the signs of being a shopaholic is that you own more than one of the same thing - ex. the same shoe, just different colors. i argue that that is *not* shopaholicism, just good sense. if you find a shoe you like, buy it in a couple different colors so you can wear it more often! i'm trying to convince lisa that she really doesn't *need* the raise she'll get this year and therefore she should donate that extra money to a shoe fund for me. :)



2. books. i am never happy reading just one book at a time. right now i'm on 5 books with another 20 waiting on my bookshelf to be read and well over 100 more that i want to read at some point in my life. i blame my mom for starting my addiction to books. she used to make me read 30 minutes every day during summer breaks from school. at some point, i realized i could spend those 30 minutes reading things i actually *liked* and it all went downhill from there. i practically inhale books although i do try to read something serious that takes a while every now and then. to see the list of books i've read, am reading, or want to read, go check out my goodreads page.



3. disney channel/disney movies/anything cinderella. i know i'm supposed to be too old to enjoy any of that stuff but there is nothing better to me than watching the disney channel while doing homework to help you unwind or putting on a favorite disney movie to help you fall to sleep. i think i watched wall-e almost every night last summer and i regret none of it.

4. the big bang theory. not a thursday goes by that i'm not either watching this show or recording it to watch later...sometimes both. i think it's partly that this show has made me feel cool to be the nerd that i am. my favorite times are when they make some random science joke and not only do i laugh, i understand it and go "hey! we just talked about that in lecture this week!" i freaking love sheldon. and i love watching the new penny/bernadette/amyfarahfowler trio. especially when amy tries to fit into the normal "girly girl" role. and, yes, i own all of the seasons that have so far been released on dvd.



5. doctor who. yes, another geekish show but i dare anyone to watch an episode with david tennant and NOT love it. i'm still coming around to the new doctor but i think he'll do just fine. still, david tennant will literally have me laughing out loud every episode...which is why i usually watch it later at night in my basement room with the door shut. otherwise, my parents would probably think i'm even more insane than i usually am. okay, and i don't want to be interrupted while watching david tennant, either.

now i guess is the part where i'm supposed to nominate 3 other people for this award.

1. kelly at highly caffeinated and sometimes funny. though, really, i think she's always funny. plus she's adorable. i really don't think i've ever seen her angry. upset maybe but never actually angry. she's the other half of team #kelra.

2. kelsey at the adventures of an eclectic scientist. we went to the u together for a little while and also worked in the housing department for a year when i was a host and she was an ra. we didn't talk too often but i always admired her. she was one of those female science majors that i would look at and think "why can't we all be like that?" she's funny, smart, kind, and never seems afraid to stick up for her beliefs.

3. dan & amanda at team damanda. formally known as just dan and amanda, these two incredible individuals have become one seriously awesome couple. i was in access with amanda and i always love to be around her. she has the best ability for making me laugh. i remember sitting at the access lunch table in the union and she told two jokes: "what's green and goes through walls? a frog if you throw it hard enough." and "why did the monkey fall out of the tree? because it died." while the rest of the girls went "ohhh! that's so sad!" i was laughing my head off. i'm pretty sure i was laughing so hard i cried. dan is a pretty awesome guy, too. he did come to my 22nd birthday party, after all. and he and amanda gave me a ben franklin action figure. oh yes. i still have it. now if only we lived in the same state again.

i think that's good enough for you people for tonight. right now, i'm going to go eat my dinner then go off to the gym. oh yeah, i'm doing that again now that i actually feel well enough to do it :)

state medicaid policies

the following is a letter that i sent to our state's governor, lieutenant governor, utah department of health medicaid office and executive director, my state legislative representatives, as well as all the major tv stations and newspapers in utah. feel free to email your own representatives about this issue.

To Whom It May Concern:

I am a Certified Pharmaceutical Technician and have worked at the same independent pharmacy for over three years now. We see a significant amount of welfare or Medicaid patients whose prescriptions are paid for by the state. Recently, there have been changes in the Medicaid formulary that have concerned me as well as my co-workers. It seems the state is mandating that some medications be name-brand only, even if there is a generic available. Usually this results in tax payer money being spent on a drug that is ten times more expensive than its generic version. As a tax payer and a member of the pharmaceutical community, I am outraged. I demand to know how our state can justify the costs of these medications.

It is my opinion that we shouldn’t even be paying for pain medications or proton pump inhibitors (PPI, used to treat acid reflux). These are not necessary medications. Our state should only pay for birth control, antibiotics, and necessary maintenance medications, such as insulin, blood pressure lowering medications and cholesterol lowering medications. Instead, our state is paying over $5000 per month on a single person’s Oxycontin prescription.

The state did require that physicians file a prior authorization request in order to cover a patient’s Oxycontin. However, the state has approved every single request we have sent them. On the other hand, they reject the prior authorizations for tizanadine which costs around $4.00 for a 30-day supply. How does this make any sense? Especially when I have seen those same Oxycontin patients pay over $1500 in cash for prescriptions when it is too soon for Medicaid to pay for them again. These patients also have new cars, nice clothes and cell phones. Why are we supporting the drug habits of these people?

Our state needs to be saving money right now, not throwing it away. If we would stop paying for Oxycontin and other brand-name only medications, we wouldn’t have to fire teachers and force our children into crowded classrooms. As a tax payer and a voter, I will not support any politician who approves such Medicaid regulations. I demand that this be changed immediately, on behalf of myself and the entire state of Utah. Below I have listed the cost of some of the medications that Medicaid requires be brand-name with their generic alternatives listed below.

Aciphex 20 mg #90: $525.86 or Dexilant 60 mg #30: $106.82

Omeprazole 20 mg #100: $17.25

Oxycontin 80 mg #100: $1062.08

(Generic oxycodone ER currently unavailable)

MS Contin 60 mg #100: $442.89

Morphine Sulfate ER 60 mg #100: $48.48

Duragesic 75 mcg/hr #5: $268.53

Fentanyl 75 mcg/hr #5: $85.50

Imitrex 100 mg #9 = $216.33

Sumatriptan 100 mg #9 = $11.99

Thank you for your time. Feel free to contact me if there are any questions or concerns or answers.

kidneys!

so i have basically had constant kidney stones since october 2009. i have had 3 surgeries since then and several more stones that i was able to pass on my own.
finally i went back to the doctor this past week and they've started me on medication! it's just a water pill (hydrochlorthiazide) and potassium citrate but i hope they work. the only downside is that the potassium makes me extremely sick to my stomach unless i take it right after i've eaten. i go back in 3 months to check and make sure everything looks normal. let's hope i don't have any more kidney stones in the meantime!