I found this on Pinterest accompanying that same photo:
"The Vatican Women's Rifle Team disbanded in 1938 (Pope didn't think it was good for the church's image). Sister Juliette (far right) left the order in 1942 to join the French underground as a sharpshooter. She was credited with assassinating several Nazi officials."
So, I got a note from my doctor saying she wants me to come in "in the next couple of weeks" to discuss starting statin drugs. Egads, has she already forgotten that the reason I left the former practice and came to her was my determination to avoid statins?!! Among other things they increase your risk of diabetes!
Anyway, I sent a nice, informed note back saying I am not willing to take statins. So we'll see where it goes next. Below is my reply. I don't know how much she is merely ticking off the "offered to discuss stains" box and how adamantly she feels about this. I suspect the former, really. Anyway, any thoughts or feedback is appreciated. I am pretty rattled by this coming up. I am so very very close to dumping having a regular MD, because it seems to be, more and more, all about the numbers and the AMA playbook and less and less about common sense and caring to see the whole picture. I do not typically find that true of specialists. I already have a yearly physical with my gynecologist. Enough? Talk me out of dropping having a family practitioner if you think I'm being foolish. I don't mean to do something truly stupid. My husband says, why not stop going and trust that if something is wrong you're going to know. I don't know. I'm not terribly worried about anything, but I'm also 60. Thoughts?
Here's what I responded:
"As you know, I have long been unwilling to take statins. I do not mean to be unreasonable and I am generally willing to discuss all options. I recognise that it is your responsibility to tell me what the AMA recommends and that you care about those guidelines. You are doing your job, and doing it well. Nevertheless, I remain unwilling to accept the risks of statins and their side effects, given my current numbers. "The Mayo Clinic says that statins are indicated if a person's LDL is above 190. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/statins/art-20045772 Another article by the AARP says much the same, and perhaps says it better. http://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-12-2013/can-statins-save-your-life.html My LDL has never been that high, and may only have been as high as 181 this last time due to a bacterial infection (which had been going on for three weeks when I saw you). I do not see this as a trend in my numbers, but an anomaly. I am NOT diabetic, nor has my A1c gone above 6.0. If my risk of having a heart attack in the next 10 years is 5%, it is not above the 7.5% mentioned in these two articles. I feel strongly that it is not time for statins, given their potential side effects, including increased risk of diabetes! There is sufficient doubt about the use of statins that I am unwilling to risk taking them.
"How soon will my insurance allow me to have a cholesterol test again? (I think it's 3 months, but might be 6. I'll see what I can learn this week.)
"This month is already pretty full, but I have a GYN appt on December 9th (following my mammogram on December 4th). What if I had my BP measured then and shared that with you? Are there alternatives, besides statins, that you would like to discuss?
"I do not mean to be a difficult patient. I just feel so strongly about avoiding statins, and do not want a drug-lifestyle. As I wrote in my advance directive, quality of life matters more to me than quantity of life. I believe I will live longer than my parents and grandparents did, because I do not smoke or drink and I have eaten healthy food since age 18. I would rather not live to 90 feeling miserable on medications.
Listener...you know you may always say NO to your doctor. Several years ago I decided I wanted no more invasive testing just so they could see what they could try and fix up. I do The two standard blood tests....and keep the squamous cell cancers under control with surgery. However, I do not think I could tolerate the major tongue and lymph node surgery I had a year and a half ago. I do think this top notch surgeon who did that got everything that was there and the previous doc was a bit too timid.
I was advised to take statins as well, but I refused. My doctor respected my choice, and my cholesterol has since declined to acceptable levels. I've had experience saying no. The birth control pills made me ill and depressed. I stopped taking them; we went to Planned Parenthood and told them, we were both willing to have the surgery, whichever was simpler. Hormone replacement therapy made me ill, nauseated, jaw pain, exhaustion. I remember arguing with the gynecologist and refusing to take it. I've had practice, I guess. So far, everything has worked out well.
The time when physicians were all knowing, all authoritative, is over, and we have the right to express our thoughts and experiences and the right to the final decision.
Your letter is respectful, thoughtful, and honest. I hope that you are able to arrive at processes that work for you not only physically, but emotionally and that they are healthy for you.
Listener--sorry I had not read your response to your doctor--perfect! My primary care doc specializes in aging folks. So he is more aware of how long to prolong testing.....plus he is hooked into a computer system that lets him know anything that happens medically to me in the county. Agree, GOOD specialists are wonderful, but they are usually mostly interested only in their field. Because I can't drive anymore I always have either Brenda or one other helper with me to take notes and intervene if necessary! I had to throw a major fit in the urologists office a couple of years ago to keep from anymore invasive testing. It worked!
listener, I hear you. I agree absolutely about statins. And tend to believe that any doctor who goes there first or early is simply not a good doctor. Because it ISN'T LDL that is the problem--it's lp(a).
Oh, you wonderful, companionable women! Thank you so much!! I was beginning to feel like a malcontent, because I can't seem to see eye to eye with a primary care doctor. Shirlee, it did me so much good to read you say that it is okay to say no to a doctor. Mind you, I have stood between a doctor and my child many times, and was a stalwart advocate when one of our children had to go to the ER or had any sort of ailment or emergency. I refused to serve my ill child flat ginger ale (it's sugar!), insisted I accompany my 2 year old into a necessary x-ray, and so on, and argued with a nurse in the delivery room so that she could not put certain drops into my newborn's eyes. I have educated more than one doctor about shingles, and on and on. But for some reason I still bear a basic feeling that it isn't okay to say NO to a doctor, leastwise without having an arsenal of information to counter their best sales pitch. And to tell you the truth I'm tired of having to. This isn't rocket science.
Anyway, one step at a time. Thanks awfully much for the links, puddle! Worthy and useful!! I am collecting an arsenal. Thanks for your story, Pat. I see we have been on the same page in that regard. I wonder if my doctor will respect my choices, or simply turn up the rhetoric. It bugs the heck out of me that she mentioned statin drugs just like that, after I left the last practice over that very issue and came to her. If she's just crossing t's, we aren't a match. I don't want a doctor who just goes through the motions, and I don't want a doctor who doesn't consider me to be the most important member of my medical team. At this point, I don't feel I have that in a primary care doctor. I work just fine with my gynecologist, miss our former pediatrician, and have had doctors in the past who were relaxed and knowledgeable. But that was before the advent of the computer in the exam room and medical malpractice insurance companies turning on the heat.
Must get to sleep as we have a Grand on the premises, so morning will come extra early! Ha!
If I'm remembering correctly, while statins may lower numbers, the ONLY thing they've been found to improve OUTCOMES on is males who have already had one heart attack.
Thanks immensely, puddle, for the conversation. Funny how easy it is for me to advocate for another, but when I gave to do it for myself I almost feel selfish. There is, of course, all the difference between selfishness and self advocacy. And it's always hardest to stand up when you are the one in the vulnerable situation ...especially for us introverts. :-) In such times, knowing and feeling the support and wisdom of people you trust can give you legs.
Interesting. I think one of the most critical aspects of our culture in the 50's, 60's and 70's was to be accused of being selfish. I'm not sure that this is present in our culture now.
I just read an excerpt from Pema Chodron. She talks about having compassion for ourselves. Instead of self advocacy being thought of as selfish or self-centered, she says think of it as compassion, the same that we would extend to others.
That appeals to me. I remember very well how awful it felt to be called selfish, and those mores seem to last a lifetime.
"That is fine [listener]. I recommend a Mediterranean diet, daily aerobic exercise and weight loss of 10 pounds. Best, [Doc]"
So, it's official: she was just ticking off boxes. I strongly suspect docs have flow charts they follow and just proceed accordingly. The loss of 10 pounds thing rubbed me the wrong way. She said the same to me last year and I did in fact lose about 5 pounds. But that got reset and doesn't count? [ Bill says that if that's the situation, he suspects we don't actually die, we disappear! LOL!] But it makes me feel like a number, like all too often docs don't really see the person anymore, don't really acknowledge the choices, work, needs and preferences of the person in front of them in relation to the accepted goals and the big picture. Or am I just getting cynical in my old age?
PS: I've been eating a basically Mediterranean (and organic) diet since I was 19 years old…long before there was a catchy name for it. I've told that to her too, but it's as if our conversations never happened.
Listener--thanks for reporting.and continuing to fight the good fight! I do think for Annual Exams they probably do have a checklist of some kind. My very good PCP does this twice a year....but he also makes room or time for my comments and/or rebuttals...and does listen and agree, or make suggestions. But when I say NO he accepts it gracefully. Sometimes it pays to be OLD:).
NEWSFLASH!! A little fanfare hรจre: Taaaa, ta ta ta, ta ta taaaaaaaaaaa!!!
Granddaughter Everly Rose's quilt is DONE! I literally completed it 9 minutes ago! All that I have left to do now is to wash and dry it before tomorrow evening when we are going over to our Son & DIL's house to bring it to her! I am SOOO happy, excited, and relieved!!! :-D
The part about them teaching 40,000 doctors to use the AHA's guidelines is interesting. Does that mean my doctor might be being paid to tell me about the guidelines?
I think the deal is that one has to become one's own half-doc. So that one can determine the competency of the other half, lol! This isn't new: I picked up on it from my mom, in the forties. She LIKED our family doc--she just figured he was 10 times as busy as she was. . . . At the end when she was taking meds without questioning why, I knew she was gone--that was NOT the mother who raised me.
My sister was told about antibody probs by her ob-gyn, and stopped by the library on her way home. Her doc was deeply offended, and she was just puzzled at the offendedness. The nets have made it thousands of times easier.
With the achalasia, the ONLY doc in the hospital that day who knew as much as I did about it was the radiologist. Everyone else was running blind until the upper-gi doc showed. And I knew more than he did.
Thanks for the links, Puddle...and I agree totally about being your own half-doc! In order to do that...it takes time and moti- cation. Which for me, came after run-ins with too many doctors younger than I was...who thought they knew more about ME.
Good luck, Listener.
In the high 60's here today so I took my required walk around the neighborhood..lovely day!
Have a wonderful evening all...I am listening--again to Rutherfurd's 'Sarum' and again ...to 'The Hobbit'...and then some music...eventually get some sleep. Good night, all!
grin--when my brother, Emory, was about four, he decided we should stop calling him MeMe (his self name as a toddler) and call him Emory. The famous scene went like this. . . . huff puff, "My name's NOT MeMe, my name's. . . . pause. . . .MeMe. . . . " and he's now had to put up with 70 years of kidding about it.
Being your own half-doc! That's an interesting way of saying it. I'd say you are more than half, because without you there's nothing to discuss, and you have the final say. I did that last year regarding the shingles, remember…when my doc (the same one who follows the AMA blindly) refused to re-prescribe my anti-viral unless I went to an infectious disease specialist (which cost me $700…! She was so worried about my liver. And I am just now realising she never brought it up at this last visit. Ha! Her Plan A had been to have me go off the anti-viral at this checkup, to see how I fared. Then I got the flu and got the shingles, because I couldn't keep down the anti-viral. The infectious disease guy (whom I wish I could keep, but he moved to Maine!) listened so well and showed me so much respect. It is clear to me that I knew far more than my primary doc and probably 80% of what the specialist knew, of practical info anyhow. The big take-away for me was that the med I am on is NOT likely to be something my body adjusts to over time, and not likely an issue for my liver. Nice to have that settled.
From Burt after last night's Repub debate: "Oh Matt (Taibbi), there you again!": "The Republican Party candidates are all mental incompetents, and the world would be a safer place if they were to fall down a cobalt mine and cannibalize one another. The race they're conducting this cycle to choose a party nominee is a train wreck unparalleled in the annals of modern democracy."
Couldn't bear to watch it...but according to the very conservative townhall.com they were much better than in the previous debates. HA! Not one seems to be a decent human being to me. Prejudiced? You betcha!
Lovely, sunny, blue sky, high 60's weather. Went off for another walk in the fresh air...exploring alleys, byways, and outsides of old buildings!
Love to all....off for 3 month check up with rheumatologist tomorrow.
Thanks for the poem, Pat! It has whet my appetite! We are expecting snow here on Saturday morning!
Barb, I am unable to listen even to clips on NPR of the Republicans making idiots of themselves. I usually listen to All Things Considered while making dinner and I find myself banging pots about at strategic moments. It always makes me think of Susan Baker banging pots in consternation in Lucy Maud Montgomery's excellent WWI novel Rilla of Ingleside.
Another sunny, warm day....but need to go to my good rheumatologist for the usua three month check. We have always pretty much agreed on my current condition except for a major dis-agreement about the Safety and usefulness of supplements. I know she was spouting the AMA line. That have for years wanted them controlled by prescription.
I won that one and it has not come up since!
Take care, love to all and keep the wretched Repubs away!!!
I'm having a nice and different sort of week. Bill has these three days off before the weekend and we are enjoying having a gentle pace, poking around getting projects done, going for coffee, getting some rest. Ahhhhhhhh.
The docs are neither better nor worse than the rest of us. They are not brighter, nor kinder, nor more honorable than the rest of us. Think about it--the family of obstetricians that invented forceps kept it a family secret for five generations. How many mothers and babies died to keep them rich and famous?
The Chamberlen family (1560–1728) and obstetric forceps ... fn.bmj.com › Volume 81, Issue 3 The BMJ by PM Dunn - 1999 - Cited by 23 - Related articles Nov 21, 2003 - The story of the forceps is bound up with five generations of the ... invented the obstetric forceps which were to remain a family secret for more than ...
There are some wonderful people in the world, and so there are some wonderful people who are doctors. My GYN doc is among them. I am more and more grateful for her.
Agree completely, listener! For me, the ratio of superb to ordinary or worse in docs/nurse practitioners has been about the same as superb teachers to ordinary or worse in my academic life, kindergarten to MA. About one in ten.
Always consider Friday the Thirteenths lucky days, especially Novembers with them--my parents' wedding anniversary. Had they lived, today would have been their 79th.
Well said, Listener, and we all concur. The world is a better place for your being here, Puddle.
Tonight the debates on CBS for Democrats. We attended our second meetup this past Thursday. Only eleven people there, and it's been twelve years since they first started. We talked about the coming election, about the Democrats and how to create a winning strategy. There are so many issues that need attention. Maybe the way to go is to campaign on the issues.
There were three people who said they didn't know if they could vote for Hillary is she is the nominee. Someone else remarked that we'd had enough of the Clintons. Here is Loveland and Fort Collins there are Bernie committees already active. We'll see.
Today a meeting with the poets at Daz Bog. Be well.
listener, that was sweet, thank you. Those parents were *wonderful* and I and my sibs were very very lucky kiddles to have had them. They were Olympic gold medal winners, Nobel Prize winners of parents. We were the blessed recipients. I think I was a damned good parent, but I had teachers. What astonishes me in this world is the ones, like them, that had ratty role models, but nevertheless rose, and rose, and rose. . . .
Love stories of your family, Puddle...and Pat's reports of political action in Loveland. Bernie is making more and more of a supporter here. I think this horrendous attack in Paris will show us his tough side.
In the mean time I keep calm with Pope Francis Encyclical on climate change. Point by point he makes the situation we are in clear.
Do You Know Of Any Church In Your Area which Might Like To Host A Concert ?
Over the past few years, I’ve set aside time each year to go out and perform in churches throughout the country. These churches have been all denominations, large and small, evangelical to non-denominational, prosperous and struggling, rural and metropolitan, conservative to liberal ... Music moves the soul, all souls.
This experience of sharing my “moments of song” has brought me face to face with some of the most vibrant and generous people I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet, people of faith who believe that now is the season to offer hope and encouragement to those in need. These travels and performances have opened my eyes to the heartbeat and soul of this country.
Well, it’s that time of year. I want to do it again and I’m asking you to help me spread the word. If you know of any church that would like to have a concert, please let them know that I'm coming and I want to perform in any church that would be interested in hosting an event.
Here’s the good part. There is no fee for these performances. It’s all by Donation, a Free Will offering … We ask that a collection is taken during the performance and we donate a percentage of that collection plate as well as a percentage of our CD sales back to the host church.
If you know of any church in your area which might like to host a concert please give them my contact information or forward this notice and ask them to contact us … we’ll do the rest.
Thank you for your consideration. Hope to see you at a concert sometime soon.
Elisabeth
Von Trapp Music T- 802-496-3171 E- vtm@madriver.com www.elisabethvontrapp.com
Incase you weren't sure, Elisabeth von Trapp is the granddaughter of the famous Maria. She lives here in Vermont and we LOVE her music! She is highly skilled and her voice is beautiful, clear and lilting. We have been to hear her at least 5 times, and want to go again.
I'll be on the road tomorrow. Peer meeting of guides in NH. We have some serious discernment to do about our commitment as a group; prayers cherished. ♥
Today's meeting with my spiritual guide peers went fabulously well, and the meeting afterward with my spiritual guide was even better!!!
We are going to sleep on it, but it looks like we will decide to meet as peers in the relatively good-weather months of: March - April - May and September - October - November and keeping the month of June as our backup plan incase we get an ice storm in November or a snowstorm in March, or whatever. During the "off" months we are encouraged to meet as "pods" with those peers who live nearest us.
Sounds great! :-)
The trip was long, but went fine. I booked it on the way down; was doing 75mph in a 65mph zone (I hardly ever drive over 72!) and a State Police cruiser passed me doing about 85mph with no lights or siren on. It cracked me up that the one time I was really speeding the Statey didn't even care!! Ha! But truth be told, what he was doing is quite illegal. Even emergency vehicles are supposed to use lights and/or siren if they're going fast. And they're not supposed to go fast unless there is an emergency. And even then ambulances are supposed to obey speed limits, they just get right of way. But I returned the favour and didn't issue a Citizen's Arrest. ;-)
So there I was driving S on I-89 in VT this morning and there were several of those light-up, electronic signs they use to warn drivers of road conditions and issues or pending construction start times. Well there were three separate signs like this and they all read "SNOW, SLEET and FR RAIN! ARE YOU READY?" When I saw the first one I thought, "What? Did I miss something?" When I could, I pulled off and checked Weather Underground, because I sure didn't want to drive clear to NH only to encounter bad weather on the way home later today. We were expecting 0 precip! I think it was highly irresponsible for them to use the signs for a reminder to get ready for Winter. I mean, c'mon, it's Vermont!! DUH!!
listener the gov's who say they won't take refugees are out of luck, this is a federal thing not a state thing and they have no choice in the matter. but I'm guessing that most refugees rather go somewhere other than a red state anyway, so maybe they will get their wishes.
The governors know that the attackers were not refugees, and they know that every person gets checked out before being allowed to come. They are not trying to protect Americans; they are using Paris and inciting fear to serve their own agendas. And that's despicable!
Rebellion in the LDS church. Maried gay couples not allowed to have their children baptized there. Or some such. Discussion on D-Kos as to whether than can just leave the church or must go through a jumble of paperwork. Puddle...true? D-Kos commenters can get into a jumble of ferocious arguments!
Had planned to try walking completely around our long block today. But, instinct tells me 'not today'...not sure why..weather is good and I feel fine. Found it is best to follow my hunches on personal things.
I just ordered several Judi Dench movies/ performances from Netflix. Most already seen, .but motivated by her autobiography which I bought last week. Apparently someone in her early career told her she just didn't an 'English face' and that would hamper her. That half-Irish girl has shown that nit-wit!
Official retraction of your desire to be a member of the church, i.e., have your name removed from the membership rolls involves going through a Bishop's Court. And defending your reasons. That would be the same Bishop's Court you face if you declare yourself gay. Or you can say to yourself that you're no longer Mormon, walk away, and let *them* do whatever paperwork thing they want to. (Which likely won't lead to your name being removed.)
The church really has the soul of a beancounter: witness their taking dead people's names, performing ordinances for them, and claiming their salvation. It's important, to *them* to have names. The protesters are targeting that desire.
After I was baptized Catholic, I was offered a Bishop's Court--which seemed crazy to me: I had no desire to remain. I did finally attend one, sort of, when my nephew declared himself gay. He asked me to come with him. I sat three hours in the vestibule with his boyfriend while the elderly, important, church leaders surrounded and pounded him. Gist: you can BE gay, you are simply not allowed to perform any act of a gay person. You must be essentially sexless. He chose to stay.
I'm actually kind of surprised that the church has allowed known to be "married" gay couples to participate, at all.
Haven't be able to read the comments at Kos since they changed to the new format. Dang.
Thanks for the clarification, Puddle. Bean Counters--great title for them. Tomorrow off for a visit to the tongue surgeon...at least we have progressed from every three to every four months!
Elizabeth Warren spoke out on the Senate floor today in support of the refugees. This woman is so amazing! We need more leaders like her. If she were running for President she would definitely win. She's poised and brilliant and a woman, so move over Hillary. She's got a heart of gold and is able to articulate the way forward so well, so move over Bernie. But seeing as she didn't run (talk about SMART!) she will probably be our next VP, either way. ;-)
Ah, puddle; stories mean so much. My heart aches for both of those young men. How did the boyfriend take it? I would think it would be quite difficult, already being shunned so much everywhere, in those days. But not by you. Thank-you.
Wind blustery, cold, the ground looks like a wave surge, the snow swirling up as I look out from my window.
Good wishes for your medical appointment, Shirley. Hope all checks out well.
Puddle, your loyalty, love, and support are so morally good. I think of all the dogma that religions put on parishioners, in some respects killing the very principles most of us seek in a belief system. At age 7 when the priest said anyone who doesn't make his Easter Duty was in danger of committing a mortal sin and going to hell, and my father hadn't, that was probably the first time I began to doubt. In college, an Irish priest at the sermon for mass said that anyone who wasn't Catholic would not go to heaven. I looked around at all the diversity in the chapel, and that was the last time I ever attended mass.
I think so much is power, righteousness, control, the very opposite of what we humans need as solace, hope, and love guiding our lives. Well, that's just my take.
With respect to ISIL, we Americans, British, and Europeans bear responsibility for our part in colonialism, overthrow of Iran's elected government, violence, and war. Now, how to repair, correct, and bring about stability and peace?
72 comments:
Ha! Where did you cop this image from. Puddle....or did
you put it together yourself? Love it!
Gray and damp here, but it is Friday and that means
Brenda bearing a good pizza!!!
Listener..answer to your test results...just get old enough
so they give up and quit doing them.....some benefits of
old age!
Love to all.
I picked it up from Kos, who evidently got it from here: http://www.wpclipart.com/people/groups/Nuns_With_Guns.png.html
Easy google, lol! nuns with guns has a certain ring to it. . . .
It does, it does.....and makes a great graphic!
Thanks for the tip, Shirlee. At about what age do they stop bugging us about our test results? Talk about looking forward to getting older! :-D
Well now, that photo gives a whole new meaning to the tune "Onward Christian Soldiers"!
And, as always, Dean is First.
I found this on Pinterest accompanying that same photo:
"The Vatican Women's Rifle Team disbanded in 1938 (Pope didn't think it was good for the church's image). Sister Juliette (far right) left the order in 1942 to join the French underground as a sharpshooter. She was credited with assassinating several Nazi officials."
Finally made a decent recipe for rolls (strong enough for roast beef)
2 cups almond meal
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 egg
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 (give or take) sour cream
Make half a dozen really big rolls
oven, 375ยบ; 15/20 minutes
Dough is very soft, needs some shaping and flattens out some during baking -- but does NOT crumble when cutting or eating.
Oh, and salt, if you like that kind of thing.
Yum! I might try that with whole wheat pastry flour. :-)
Arrrrrrggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!
Thanks, I need that.
So, I got a note from my doctor saying she wants me to come in "in the next couple of weeks" to discuss starting statin drugs. Egads, has she already forgotten that the reason I left the former practice and came to her was my determination to avoid statins?!! Among other things they increase your risk of diabetes!
Anyway, I sent a nice, informed note back saying I am not willing to take statins. So we'll see where it goes next. Below is my reply. I don't know how much she is merely ticking off the "offered to discuss stains" box and how adamantly she feels about this. I suspect the former, really. Anyway, any thoughts or feedback is appreciated. I am pretty rattled by this coming up. I am so very very close to dumping having a regular MD, because it seems to be, more and more, all about the numbers and the AMA playbook and less and less about common sense and caring to see the whole picture. I do not typically find that true of specialists. I already have a yearly physical with my gynecologist. Enough? Talk me out of dropping having a family practitioner if you think I'm being foolish. I don't mean to do something truly stupid. My husband says, why not stop going and trust that if something is wrong you're going to know. I don't know. I'm not terribly worried about anything, but I'm also 60. Thoughts?
Here's what I responded:
"As you know, I have long been unwilling to take statins. I do not mean to be unreasonable and I am generally willing to discuss all options. I recognise that it is your responsibility to tell me what the AMA recommends and that you care about those guidelines. You are doing your job, and doing it well. Nevertheless, I remain unwilling to accept the risks of statins and their side effects, given my current numbers.
"The Mayo Clinic says that statins are indicated if a person's LDL is above 190. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/statins/art-20045772 Another article by the AARP says much the same, and perhaps says it better.
http://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-12-2013/can-statins-save-your-life.html
My LDL has never been that high, and may only have been as high as 181 this last time due to a bacterial infection (which had been going on for three weeks when I saw you). I do not see this as a trend in my numbers, but an anomaly. I am NOT diabetic, nor has my A1c gone above 6.0. If my risk of having a heart attack in the next 10 years is 5%, it is not above the 7.5% mentioned in these two articles. I feel strongly that it is not time for statins, given their potential side effects, including increased risk of diabetes! There is sufficient doubt about the use of statins that I am unwilling to risk taking them.
"How soon will my insurance allow me to have a cholesterol test again? (I think it's 3 months, but might be 6. I'll see what I can learn this week.)
"This month is already pretty full, but I have a GYN appt on December 9th (following my mammogram on December 4th). What if I had my BP measured then and shared that with you? Are there alternatives, besides statins, that you would like to discuss?
"I do not mean to be a difficult patient. I just feel so strongly about avoiding statins, and do not want a drug-lifestyle. As I wrote in my advance directive, quality of life matters more to me than quantity of life. I believe I will live longer than my parents and grandparents did, because I do not smoke or drink and I have eaten healthy food since age 18. I would rather not live to 90 feeling miserable on medications.
"Thanks for caring."
Listener...you know you may always say NO to your doctor.
Several years ago I decided I wanted no more invasive testing
just so they could see what they could try and fix up. I do
The two standard blood tests....and keep the squamous cell
cancers under control with surgery. However, I do not think I
could tolerate the major tongue and lymph node surgery I had
a year and a half ago. I do think this top notch surgeon who did that
got everything that was there and the previous doc was a bit too timid.
Good Luck!
Hi Listener,
I was advised to take statins as well, but I refused. My doctor respected my choice, and my cholesterol has since declined to acceptable levels. I've had experience saying no. The birth control pills made me ill and depressed. I stopped taking them; we went to Planned Parenthood and told them, we were both willing to have the surgery, whichever was simpler. Hormone replacement therapy made me ill, nauseated, jaw pain, exhaustion. I remember arguing with the gynecologist and refusing to take it. I've had practice, I guess. So far, everything has worked out well.
The time when physicians were all knowing, all authoritative, is over, and we have the right to express our thoughts and experiences and the right to the final decision.
Your letter is respectful, thoughtful, and honest. I hope that you are able to arrive at processes that work for you not only physically, but emotionally and that they are healthy for you.
Listener--sorry I had not read your response to your doctor--perfect!
My primary care doc specializes in aging folks. So he is more
aware of how long to prolong testing.....plus he is hooked into a computer
system that lets him know anything that happens medically to me
in the county. Agree, GOOD specialists are wonderful, but they
are usually mostly interested only in their field. Because I can't drive
anymore I always have either Brenda or one other helper with
me to take notes and intervene if necessary! I had to throw a major
fit in the urologists office a couple of years ago to keep from
anymore invasive testing. It worked!
listener, I hear you. I agree absolutely about statins. And tend to believe that any doctor who goes there first or early is simply not a good doctor. Because it ISN'T LDL that is the problem--it's lp(a).
http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2013/11/a-grain-eaters-cholesterol-panel/
http://www.drdach.com/Cholesterol_Choirboy.html
http://jeffreydachmd.com/cholesterol-lowering-statin-drugs-for-women-just-say-no/
http://www.longecity.org/forum/topic/35516-how-to-lower-lpa/
Oh, you wonderful, companionable women! Thank you so much!! I was beginning to feel like a malcontent, because I can't seem to see eye to eye with a primary care doctor. Shirlee, it did me so much good to read you say that it is okay to say no to a doctor. Mind you, I have stood between a doctor and my child many times, and was a stalwart advocate when one of our children had to go to the ER or had any sort of ailment or emergency. I refused to serve my ill child flat ginger ale (it's sugar!), insisted I accompany my 2 year old into a necessary x-ray, and so on, and argued with a nurse in the delivery room so that she could not put certain drops into my newborn's eyes. I have educated more than one doctor about shingles, and on and on. But for some reason I still bear a basic feeling that it isn't okay to say NO to a doctor, leastwise without having an arsenal of information to counter their best sales pitch. And to tell you the truth I'm tired of having to. This isn't rocket science.
Anyway, one step at a time. Thanks awfully much for the links, puddle! Worthy and useful!! I am collecting an arsenal. Thanks for your story, Pat. I see we have been on the same page in that regard. I wonder if my doctor will respect my choices, or simply turn up the rhetoric. It bugs the heck out of me that she mentioned statin drugs just like that, after I left the last practice over that very issue and came to her. If she's just crossing t's, we aren't a match. I don't want a doctor who just goes through the motions, and I don't want a doctor who doesn't consider me to be the most important member of my medical team. At this point, I don't feel I have that in a primary care doctor. I work just fine with my gynecologist, miss our former pediatrician, and have had doctors in the past who were relaxed and knowledgeable. But that was before the advent of the computer in the exam room and medical malpractice insurance companies turning on the heat.
Must get to sleep as we have a Grand on the premises, so morning will come extra early! Ha!
PS: My doc mentioned the americanHeart Association's recommendations, so I looked them up. I am not a candidate for statins based on this either (and I disagree with the recommendations anyway)!
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673613623880
If I'm remembering correctly, while statins may lower numbers, the ONLY thing they've been found to improve OUTCOMES on is males who have already had one heart attack.
As for the AHA--looks to me to be a front org for organized $$$. . . .
https://www.cspinet.org/integrity/nonprofits/american_heart_association.html
Thanks immensely, puddle, for the conversation. Funny how easy it is for me to advocate for another, but when I gave to do it for myself I almost feel selfish. There is, of course, all the difference between selfishness and self advocacy. And it's always hardest to stand up when you are the one in the vulnerable situation ...especially for us introverts. :-) In such times, knowing and feeling the support and wisdom of people you trust can give you legs.
Hi Listener and Puddle,
Interesting. I think one of the most critical aspects of our culture in the 50's, 60's and 70's was to be accused of being selfish. I'm not sure that this is present in our culture now.
I just read an excerpt from Pema Chodron. She talks about having compassion for ourselves. Instead of self advocacy being thought of as selfish or self-centered, she says think of it as compassion, the same that we would extend to others.
That appeals to me. I remember very well how awful it felt to be called selfish, and those mores seem to last a lifetime.
Have a nice day today.
My doc wrote back:
"That is fine [listener]. I recommend a Mediterranean diet, daily aerobic exercise and weight loss of 10 pounds. Best, [Doc]"
So, it's official: she was just ticking off boxes. I strongly suspect docs have flow charts they follow and just proceed accordingly. The loss of 10 pounds thing rubbed me the wrong way. She said the same to me last year and I did in fact lose about 5 pounds. But that got reset and doesn't count? [ Bill says that if that's the situation, he suspects we don't actually die, we disappear! LOL!] But it makes me feel like a number, like all too often docs don't really see the person anymore, don't really acknowledge the choices, work, needs and preferences of the person in front of them in relation to the accepted goals and the big picture. Or am I just getting cynical in my old age?
PS: I've been eating a basically Mediterranean (and organic) diet since I was 19 years old…long before there was a catchy name for it. I've told that to her too, but it's as if our conversations never happened.
=Sigh=
Thanks for listening.
Listener--thanks for reporting.and continuing to
fight the good fight! I do think for
Annual Exams they probably do have a checklist
of some kind. My very good PCP does this twice
a year....but he also makes room or time for my
comments and/or rebuttals...and does listen and agree,
or make suggestions. But when I say NO he accepts it
gracefully. Sometimes it pays to be OLD:).
Cold, gray and rainy in GSO today...bah!
I like your doc, Shirlee. :-)
Sun and colder here today. But a little warming coming, and a little rain.
NEWSFLASH!! A little fanfare hรจre: Taaaa, ta ta ta, ta ta taaaaaaaaaaa!!!
Granddaughter Everly Rose's quilt is DONE! I literally completed it 9 minutes ago! All that I have left to do now is to wash and dry it before tomorrow evening when we are going over to our Son & DIL's house to bring it to her! I am SOOO happy, excited, and relieved!!! :-D
Thanks for the AHA-related link, puddle.
It should be written "Aha!"
The part about them teaching 40,000 doctors to use the AHA's guidelines is interesting. Does that mean my doctor might be being paid to tell me about the guidelines?
How does one locate a doctor who isn't bought?
I think the deal is that one has to become one's own half-doc. So that one can determine the competency of the other half, lol! This isn't new: I picked up on it from my mom, in the forties. She LIKED our family doc--she just figured he was 10 times as busy as she was. . . . At the end when she was taking meds without questioning why, I knew she was gone--that was NOT the mother who raised me.
My sister was told about antibody probs by her ob-gyn, and stopped by the library on her way home. Her doc was deeply offended, and she was just puzzled at the offendedness. The nets have made it thousands of times easier.
With the achalasia, the ONLY doc in the hospital that day who knew as much as I did about it was the radiologist. Everyone else was running blind until the upper-gi doc showed. And I knew more than he did.
Here's another good one: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/28/business/gimme-an-rx-cheerleaders-pep-up-drug-sales.html
Thanks for the links, Puddle...and I agree totally about being
your own half-doc! In order to do that...it takes time and moti-
cation. Which for me, came after run-ins with too many doctors
younger than I was...who thought they knew more about ME.
Good luck, Listener.
In the high 60's here today so I took my required walk
around the neighborhood..lovely day!
Have a wonderful evening all...I am listening--again to
Rutherfurd's 'Sarum' and again ...to 'The Hobbit'...and then
some music...eventually get some sleep. Good night, all!
....ha, went back to re-read....motivation...NOT motivation!
grin--when my brother, Emory, was about four, he decided we should stop calling him MeMe (his self name as a toddler) and call him Emory. The famous scene went like this. . . . huff puff, "My name's NOT MeMe, my name's. . . . pause. . . .MeMe. . . . " and he's now had to put up with 70 years of kidding about it.
Being your own half-doc! That's an interesting way of saying it. I'd say you are more than half, because without you there's nothing to discuss, and you have the final say. I did that last year regarding the shingles, remember…when my doc (the same one who follows the AMA blindly) refused to re-prescribe my anti-viral unless I went to an infectious disease specialist (which cost me $700…! She was so worried about my liver. And I am just now realising she never brought it up at this last visit. Ha! Her Plan A had been to have me go off the anti-viral at this checkup, to see how I fared. Then I got the flu and got the shingles, because I couldn't keep down the anti-viral. The infectious disease guy (whom I wish I could keep, but he moved to Maine!) listened so well and showed me so much respect. It is clear to me that I knew far more than my primary doc and probably 80% of what the specialist knew, of practical info anyhow. The big take-away for me was that the med I am on is NOT likely to be something my body adjusts to over time, and not likely an issue for my liver. Nice to have that settled.
Good Morning,
Snow and blowing last night, but now sunny, melting. Here's a graphic haiku to celebrate? Well, to recognize.
Winter on the Way
Wind tumbling through trees
careening
down
the mountain
Whumpfagainstmyhouse
From Burt after last night's Repub debate: "Oh Matt (Taibbi), there you again!": "The Republican Party candidates are all mental incompetents, and the world would be a safer place if they were to fall down a cobalt mine and cannibalize one another. The race they're conducting this cycle to choose a party nominee is a train wreck unparalleled in the annals of modern democracy."
What a great description!
Great poemette, Pat. Love it.
love to all XOXOXOXO
Tell Burt that any place they decide to cannibalize each other is fine with me. It doesn't have to be a cobalt mine.
Couldn't bear to watch it...but according to the very conservative townhall.com
they were much better than in the previous debates. HA! Not one seems to be a
decent human being to me. Prejudiced? You betcha!
Lovely, sunny, blue sky, high 60's weather. Went off for another walk in the
fresh air...exploring alleys, byways, and outsides of old buildings!
Love to all....off for 3 month check up with rheumatologist tomorrow.
Thanks for the poem, Pat! It has whet my appetite! We are expecting snow here on Saturday morning!
Barb, I am unable to listen even to clips on NPR of the Republicans making idiots of themselves. I usually listen to All Things Considered while making dinner and I find myself banging pots about at strategic moments. It always makes me think of Susan Baker banging pots in consternation in Lucy Maud Montgomery's excellent WWI novel Rilla of Ingleside.
Another sunny, warm day....but need to go to my good rheumatologist
for the usua three month check. We have always pretty much agreed
on my current condition except for a major dis-agreement about the
Safety and usefulness of supplements. I know she was spouting the
AMA line. That have for years wanted them controlled by prescription.
I won that one and it has not come up since!
Take care, love to all and keep the wretched Repubs away!!!
Today was really lovely--had the door open all afternoon. The Last of the Lovely Days of Dark?
Yay, Shirlee!! :-)
I'm having a nice and different sort of week. Bill has these three days off before the weekend and we are enjoying having a gentle pace, poking around getting projects done, going for coffee, getting some rest. Ahhhhhhhh.
The docs are neither better nor worse than the rest of us. They are not brighter, nor kinder, nor more honorable than the rest of us. Think about it--the family of obstetricians that invented forceps kept it a family secret for five generations. How many mothers and babies died to keep them rich and famous?
The Chamberlen family (1560–1728) and obstetric forceps ...
fn.bmj.com › Volume 81, Issue 3
The BMJ
by PM Dunn - 1999 - Cited by 23 - Related articles
Nov 21, 2003 - The story of the forceps is bound up with five generations of the ... invented the obstetric forceps which were to remain a family secret for more than ...
There are some wonderful people in the world, and so there are some wonderful people who are doctors. My GYN doc is among them. I am more and more grateful for her.
Agree completely, listener! For me, the ratio of superb to ordinary or worse in docs/nurse practitioners has been about the same as superb teachers to ordinary or worse in my academic life, kindergarten to MA. About one in ten.
Always consider Friday the Thirteenths lucky days, especially Novembers with them--my parents' wedding anniversary. Had they lived, today would have been their 79th.
Imagine being married in 1936, between the Depression and WWII. What a hard row to hoe. I'm so glad they created you, puddle. Much JOY they brought! ♥
Good Morning,
Well said, Listener, and we all concur. The world is a better place for your being here, Puddle.
Tonight the debates on CBS for Democrats. We attended our second meetup this past Thursday. Only eleven people there, and it's been twelve years since they first started. We talked about the coming election, about the Democrats and how to create a winning strategy. There are so many issues that need attention. Maybe the way to go is to campaign on the issues.
There were three people who said they didn't know if they could vote for Hillary is she is the nominee. Someone else remarked that we'd had enough of the Clintons. Here is Loveland and Fort Collins there are Bernie committees already active.
We'll see.
Today a meeting with the poets at Daz Bog. Be well.
Pat
Sorry, is should be if for if she is the nominee, and is should be in Loveland. In the dark, my fingers are not hitting the right keys.
Pat, looks like there's plenty to do in Colorado, if one wishes. . . . http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/11/14/1449270/-Colorado-becomes-the-first-state-to-vote-on-single-payer-healthcare-reform
listener, that was sweet, thank you. Those parents were *wonderful* and I and my sibs were very very lucky kiddles to have had them. They were Olympic gold medal winners, Nobel Prize winners of parents. We were the blessed recipients. I think I was a damned good parent, but I had teachers. What astonishes me in this world is the ones, like them, that had ratty role models, but nevertheless rose, and rose, and rose. . . .
Love stories of your family, Puddle...and Pat's reports of political
action in Loveland. Bernie is making more and more of a supporter
here. I think this horrendous attack in Paris will show us his tough side.
In the mean time I keep calm with Pope Francis Encyclical on climate
change. Point by point he makes the situation we are in clear.
Happy Sunday, all. Love you.
Odd, yanno Seems to me like ISIS is Islam's tea party. The most rigid, scared, backward looking crew trying to run the whole meghillah.
WOW! Check this out!!
Do You Know Of Any Church In Your Area which Might Like To Host A Concert ?
Over the past few years, I’ve set aside time each year to go out and perform in churches throughout the country. These churches have been all denominations, large and small, evangelical to non-denominational, prosperous and struggling, rural and metropolitan, conservative to liberal ... Music moves the soul, all souls.
This experience of sharing my “moments of song” has brought me face to face with some of the most vibrant and generous people I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet, people of faith who believe that now is the season to offer hope and encouragement to those in need. These travels and performances have opened my eyes to the heartbeat and soul of this country.
Well, it’s that time of year. I want to do it again and I’m asking you to help me spread the word. If you know of any church that would like to have a concert, please let them know that I'm coming and I want to perform in any church that would be interested in hosting an event.
Here’s the good part. There is no fee for these performances. It’s all by Donation, a Free Will offering … We ask that a collection is taken during the performance and we donate a percentage of that collection plate as well as a percentage of our CD sales back to the host church.
If you know of any church in your area which might like to host a concert please give them my contact information or forward this notice and ask them to contact us … we’ll do the rest.
Thank you for your consideration. Hope to see you at a concert sometime soon.
Elisabeth
Von Trapp Music
T- 802-496-3171
E- vtm@madriver.com
www.elisabethvontrapp.com
Incase you weren't sure, Elisabeth von Trapp is the granddaughter of the famous Maria. She lives here in Vermont and we LOVE her music! She is highly skilled and her voice is beautiful, clear and lilting. We have been to hear her at least 5 times, and want to go again.
May be watching too much Grey's--woke this morning from a dream where a resident didn't know what a whipple was, lol!
Yep. Symptom of too much Grey's. LOL!!!
I'll be on the road tomorrow. Peer meeting of guides in NH. We have some serious discernment to do about our commitment as a group; prayers cherished. ♥
for our WB fans. <3
https://www.facebook.com/wearewildness/photos/a.413926345340091.93060.301446709921389/802745409791514/?type=3&theater
traveling mercies, listener.
https://www.facebook.com/wearewildness/photos/a.413926345340091.93060.301446709921389/802745409791514/?type=3&theater
Hi,
Today, gray, cold, and now snow. It feels like being in an aquarium.
Thank you Jo and Puddle for the Wendell Berry poem. He does symbolize our love of the woods and streams, birds, and wildlife of all kinds.
This latest attack is more than disheartening. It's a morass of violence, hatred, and suffering. I hope we can find a way for peace.
Thanks for the well wishes and kind prayers.
Today's meeting with my spiritual guide peers went fabulously well, and the meeting afterward with my spiritual guide was even better!!!
We are going to sleep on it, but it looks like we will decide to meet as peers in the relatively good-weather months of:
March - April - May and September - October - November and keeping the month of June as our backup plan incase we get an ice storm in November or a snowstorm in March, or whatever.
During the "off" months we are encouraged to meet as "pods" with those peers who live nearest us.
Sounds great! :-)
The trip was long, but went fine. I booked it on the way down; was doing 75mph in a 65mph zone (I hardly ever drive over 72!) and a State Police cruiser passed me doing about 85mph with no lights or siren on. It cracked me up that the one time I was really speeding the Statey didn't even care!! Ha! But truth be told, what he was doing is quite illegal. Even emergency vehicles are supposed to use lights and/or siren if they're going fast. And they're not supposed to go fast unless there is an emergency. And even then ambulances are supposed to obey speed limits, they just get right of way. But I returned the favour and didn't issue a Citizen's Arrest. ;-)
So there I was driving S on I-89 in VT this morning and there were several of those light-up, electronic signs they use to warn drivers of road conditions and issues or pending construction start times. Well there were three separate signs like this and they all read "SNOW, SLEET and FR RAIN! ARE YOU READY?" When I saw the first one I thought, "What? Did I miss something?" When I could, I pulled off and checked Weather Underground, because I sure didn't want to drive clear to NH only to encounter bad weather on the way home later today. We were expecting 0 precip! I think it was highly irresponsible for them to use the signs for a reminder to get ready for Winter. I mean, c'mon, it's Vermont!! DUH!!
good morning ladies!
listener the gov's who say they won't take refugees are out of luck, this is a federal thing not a state thing and they have no choice in the matter. but I'm guessing that most refugees rather go somewhere other than a red state anyway, so maybe they will get their wishes.
The governors know that the attackers were not refugees, and they know that every person gets checked out before being allowed to come. They are not trying to protect Americans; they are using Paris and inciting fear to serve their own agendas. And that's despicable!
Rebellion in the LDS church. Maried gay couples not allowed to have
their children baptized there. Or some such. Discussion on D-Kos
as to whether than can just leave the church or must go through a
jumble of paperwork. Puddle...true? D-Kos commenters can get
into a jumble of ferocious arguments!
Had planned to try walking completely around our long block today.
But, instinct tells me 'not today'...not sure why..weather is good and
I feel fine. Found it is best to follow my hunches on personal things.
I just ordered several Judi Dench movies/ performances from Netflix.
Most already seen, .but motivated by her autobiography which I bought
last week. Apparently someone in her early career told her she just
didn't an 'English face' and that would hamper her. That half-Irish girl
has shown that nit-wit!
Love to all. Stay well, happy etc.
Official retraction of your desire to be a member of the church, i.e., have your name removed from the membership rolls involves going through a Bishop's Court. And defending your reasons. That would be the same Bishop's Court you face if you declare yourself gay. Or you can say to yourself that you're no longer Mormon, walk away, and let *them* do whatever paperwork thing they want to. (Which likely won't lead to your name being removed.)
The church really has the soul of a beancounter: witness their taking dead people's names, performing ordinances for them, and claiming their salvation. It's important, to *them* to have names. The protesters are targeting that desire.
After I was baptized Catholic, I was offered a Bishop's Court--which seemed crazy to me: I had no desire to remain. I did finally attend one, sort of, when my nephew declared himself gay. He asked me to come with him. I sat three hours in the vestibule with his boyfriend while the elderly, important, church leaders surrounded and pounded him. Gist: you can BE gay, you are simply not allowed to perform any act of a gay person. You must be essentially sexless. He chose to stay.
I'm actually kind of surprised that the church has allowed known to be "married" gay couples to participate, at all.
Haven't be able to read the comments at Kos since they changed to the new format. Dang.
Thanks for the clarification, Puddle. Bean Counters--great title for them.
Tomorrow off for a visit to the tongue surgeon...at least we have progressed
from every three to every four months!
Elizabeth Warren spoke out on the Senate floor today in support of the refugees. This woman is so amazing! We need more leaders like her. If she were running for President she would definitely win. She's poised and brilliant and a woman, so move over Hillary. She's got a heart of gold and is able to articulate the way forward so well, so move over Bernie. But seeing as she didn't run (talk about SMART!) she will probably be our next VP, either way. ;-)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/elizabeth-warren-syrian-refugees_564b96e1e4b045bf3df17e4e
"if only we had a seasonally appropriate story about middle eastern people seeking refuge being turned away by the heartless"
~ Oliver Willis 11/16/15 4:03pm
Oh, wait...
. . . . . ☆ .☆. ☆ . .☆ . ☆. ☆. ☆ . .☆. ☆. ☆
. . . . . || . . || . .|| . . || . . || . || . . || . . || . .|| . || . . .
. . . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
. . . |☆╮╰☆╮╰☆╮╰☆╮╰☆╮╰☆╮╰☆|
. . . |♡♡♡♡HAPPY 67th BIRTHDAY♡♡♡♡|
. . . |♡♡♡♡♡ HOWARD DEAN!!! ♡♡♡♡♡|
. . . |♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧|
. . . |♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧|
. . . |☆╮╰☆╮╰☆╮╰☆╮╰☆╮╰☆╮╰☆|
(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)
Ah, puddle; stories mean so much. My heart aches for both of those young men. How did the boyfriend take it? I would think it would be quite difficult, already being shunned so much everywhere, in those days. But not by you. Thank-you.
Society's Child in a different key.
Thinking of you, Shirlee, as you visit your surgeon, and hoping all checks out fine. ♥
Good Morning,
Wind blustery, cold, the ground looks like a wave surge, the snow swirling up as I look out from my window.
Good wishes for your medical appointment, Shirley. Hope all checks out well.
Puddle, your loyalty, love, and support are so morally good. I think of all the dogma that religions put on parishioners, in some respects killing the very principles most of us seek in a belief system. At age 7 when the priest said anyone who doesn't make his Easter Duty was in danger of committing a mortal sin and going to hell, and my father hadn't, that was probably the first time I began to doubt. In college, an Irish priest at the sermon for mass said that anyone who wasn't Catholic would not go to heaven. I looked around at all the diversity in the chapel, and that was the last time I ever attended mass.
I think so much is power, righteousness, control, the very opposite of what we humans need as solace, hope, and love guiding our lives. Well, that's just my take.
With respect to ISIL, we Americans, British, and Europeans bear responsibility for our part in colonialism, overthrow of Iran's elected government, violence, and war. Now, how to repair, correct, and bring about stability and peace?
New thread!!
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