happy flag day! whoo hoo!

think i'll stick to flyin' the queer flag now, since the ol' red white & blue has become a sad cliche in this day & age.

VNS Update - okay, how's this for weird...friday the 13th i go to the neurologist, for a followup after all the seizures. still baffled as to why i had 4 seizures in one day, since i'd been taking all my meds and the VNS was zapping me and all - what the hell's going on?!?!? not only that, subsequent bloodwork i had after getting out of the hospital showed my dilantin level was 6.9 when it shoulda been in the 10 to 20 range - what the hell?

so, the nurse brings in the VNS computer, says that they like to check it out every time i come in, even when i'm not coming in for a change to the VNS settings or whatever. well, when dr. mohan gets me all plugged in, and he finds that my stimulator isn't set to the settings he'd programmed me for last time!!!

previously, he had set it to turn ON at 0.50 mA (milliamps) for 30 seconds the normal charge, then 5 minutes OFF - using the magnet to turn it on would start it at 0.75 mA. what he'd found was that instead of ON 30 seconds, OFF 5 minutes, it was ON 30 seconds, OFF 180 minutes - instead of going off every 5 minutes, it was going off once every THREE HOURS!!!!

well, perhaps that's the freakin reason for all the seizures!!?!!?!!?!! things were fine & dandy, i was getting zapped appropriately and taking all my meds, then something happened and all of the sudden the VNS (aka the Zapper) wasn't working correctly!

dr. mohan was flabbergasted when he saw the settings on the computer - asked me if someone else had made any changes to the VNS settings....er, nope, not that i know of! so now it's a brain strain after he asked 23489 questions - nope, didn't have a mammogram, no MRI's or anything like that, don't recall being around any strong magnets...when the hell did the settings get changed and HOW?!?!? i need to know so that i can avoid it happening again. i thought that i'd gotten used to the stimulator and that's why i wasn't noticing it every 5 minutes, but rather several times a day - guess that wasn't the case!!

so we've made some changes to my meds...i'll be weaning myself off of the dilantin while beginning to take a new seizure med, Keppra - the hope is to be on that and be seizure free for a while, then we'll wean myself off of that as well...

we've also upped the stimulation on the VNS - 0.75 mA (milliamps) for 30 seconds the normal charge, then 5 minutes OFF - using the magnet to turn it on starts it at 1.00 mA

while all these changes are being made, my seizure threshold is going to be lower, so doc told me to take a couple of weeks off of work. as tired as i've been, i can't say i'm crushed to have to take time off work, tho my paycheck will be crushed.

VNS Update - hrmmmm....would www.seizureopportunity.com be too tacky for a domain name? i've had all this stuff piling up to put into a web site about my Vagus Nerve Stimulator and now i hafta decide what domain name i wanna use...i want something catchy, maybe a bit humorous (punny?), and easy to remember....

perhaps www.impulsiveconvulsive.com?

www.demonictonicclonic.com?

sardonictonicclonic.com?

yeah, i suppose we're reaching....

adam found out from a guy in scotland that the southerlands are related to sutherlands without the o - he found a couple of interesting links - http://www.clansutherland.org.uk and http://www.clansutherland.org - it's a shame we don't know that much about dad's side of the family...i was always fascinated in learning mom's family history through grandma's geneaological stuff...there was a name change there as well - when grandpa came over from norway, he americanized his name from grevle to gravelie...

VNS Update - i'm gonna hafta get some additional magnets to keep around the house and work and such to make it easy to activate my VNS - the two that were supplied after the surgery aren't enough. of course, buying them through cyberonics is crazy - they're thirty bucks a piece! a good substitute is a cow magnet...

google gave me a few places that sell them online...

http://www.sciencestuff.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Category_Code=P-g&Product_Code=0216 - $5.95 each

http://www.teachersource.com/direct/35260 - $5.95 each or $4.95 in quantities greater than 5

http://doityourself.com/store/9907361.htm - $9.39 for pkg of 2

http://www.traintownhobbycrafts.com/16science/07magnets/magnets.html - $9.90 for pkg of 2, Moo Magnet Activity Kit is $7.95

http://www.sciencestuff.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Category_Code=P-g - $5.95 each, Moo Magnet Activity Kit is $7.95

http://www.magnetsource.com/Consumer%20Pages/Carded_Cows.html - $9.90 for pkg of 2, Moo Magnet Activity Kit is $7.95, 1 Patented Ru-Master 5 Cow Magnet $4.95

poor rene zellweger - the efforts she puts forth for her rolls - er, ROLES!

"The actress has six weeks to gain two stones and go from a size six to 14 for the title role in Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason - which means up to 20 doughnuts a day. 'One doughnut does not do a thing,' Zellweger, the weight-gain pro, said. 'You've got to eat 20 a day for five weeks to get results.' Gruelling preparations for the role include absolutely no exercise and a daily intake of 4,700 calories. Breakfast is a Big Mac and large fries, savoury scones with gravy and a high-fat milkshake. A snack lunch includes pizza, peanut butter and chips, washed down with the aforementioned doughnuts. For her relatively austere dinner Zellweger then wolfs down a giant plate of spaghetti Bolognese with potatoes and butter. It took months of running and yoga to get rid of the 20lb the method actress put on to play all-smoking all-drinking Bridget in the original film - but with Hollywood funding the private gyms and fitness instructors (while simultaneously denying juicy roles to the larger woman) who wouldn't bet on her dropping these most recent spare tyres within months too. Piece of cake."

Feeling weird - left work early last night (after 2 hours) cuz i just couldn't focus on work. Doc's office called and told me my dilantin level was 6.9, when it should be in the 10 to 20 range. i don't know WHY my level's going low. now i'm sitting around waiting for the neurologist to call me back to see what i should do - i'll probably miss work yet again tonight.

Uh oh - Indiana's a death penalty state, isn't it? I think I'm in trouble.

I cleaned out the fridge here at work over the weekend, and threw away someone's recycled milk jug that was 1/3 full of water...you'd think i'd have fucking MURDERED somebody.

Gay groups ready to fight for rights: Coalition wants lawmakers to extend civil protections to sexual orientation. - wonder what car dealer it was that Chris Clements worked for, and whether or not they're advertising in Wheels & Deals - they probably wouldn't want to do so if they found out how many lesbos we've got working on the ads and how gay-positive a company we are.

From the Total Fucking Surprise Department: Jenna & Heidi Are Gonna Strip for Playboy - now if they REALLY wanted to do something different, get Christy to pose - hell, I'd buy a subscription to see that!!!

funny or scary? not sure which wins out here: Inimitably Profound Presidential Quotations on whitehouse.org

i really threw codi for a loop just now:

LBthePDD: will you tell pooky to gimme a call? i need to talk to him about when/if we're gonna get together for little bro matt's birthday (today)

bitch eras3r: done :-)

LBthePDD: donkey shoes!

bitch eras3r: donkey shoes?

LBthePDD: yeah, ain't that german for thank you or something like that?

bitch eras3r: danke schoen

bitch eras3r: :P

LBthePDD: :-D

bitch eras3r: dork

LBthePDD: hey, you're the german student, not me.

bitch eras3r: so!?

LBthePDD: *rofl*

bitch eras3r: :P

LBthePDD: wow, do a google search for "donkey shoes" and a link to nordstrom comes up....

bitch eras3r: oh god

bitch eras3r: NOOOO

LBthePDD: damn, nothing on ebay tho - "0 (Estimated) items found for donkey shoes"

bitch eras3r: awe

still working on getting back to "normal"...made it to work today - not quite normal though, i showed up early because my sleep schedule's been so farked up this past week that i figured i'd better get in here and do some work while i was still awake...