Posted inHealth Home life

Regence MedAdvantage planning to ditch Salem Health doctors

Irritated. Pissed-off. Disturbed.  That's how I feel after getting an un-cheery letter from Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon letting me know that as of July 1, 2018, Salem Health Professional Services will be leaving their provider network. So if this happens, I'd have to pay out-of-network rates for (1) the primary care doctor I've had for 13 years, Michelle Rasmussen; (2) a mental health nurse practitioner in Rasmussen's office, Melody Klug, who has been overseeing medication for depression that hit me after I acquired a chronic bladder condition, and (3) Thye Schuyler, a doctor at the Salem Health Sleep Center…
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Posted inHealth Living with a catheter

My second hypnosis session got me way small

As I said in my blog post about my first hypnosis session with Emily Cahal of Salem Hypnosis Solutions, we had to make a decision about which way to proceed. She told me that there were two basic ways we could go with hypnosis. Basically, one way would focus on my particular presenting problem, so to speak. The other way would be more general, delving into my habitual way of dealing with life's problems.  Interestingly, as we chatted before beginning the second session, Cahal indicated that though we went the more general way last week, she favored going the more…
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Posted inHealth Living with a catheter

Here’s how my first hypnosis session went

Today I had my first real hypnosis experience with Emily Cahal of Salem Hypnosis Solutions. Back in college I'd dabbled in self-hypnosis as taught by a Yoga teacher I was studying with. And I'd seen a form of "show business" hypnosis during an assembly at a high school where I briefly was a teacher's aide following my college graduation. A hypnotist did his thing on stage with a female student, then told her to go find Paul Newman in the audience. She walked by me, looking into the bleachers, then leapt into the second row where I was sitting and…
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Posted inHealth Living with a catheter

Time slowing down is a side effect of my chronic health problem

By and large, I'm sticking with my previous assessment of my atonic, underactive, neurogenic, screwed-up bladder: IT SUCKS, big time.  But here's a positive side effect. Time has definitely slowed down for me. Since I'm 69, and not getting any younger (which seems to be standard for everybody), I'm pleased that the days have been passing more slowly since my bladder decided to go on what appears to be a permanent work stoppage for the rest of my life. I'm curious whether other people with chronic health problems have experienced the same phenomenon, time slowing down. Naturally I Googled this,…
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Posted inBooks Health

“Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I’ve Loved” is a great book

Kate Bowler has written a book about her struggles with several serious health problems, with the worst being a stage 4 colorectal cancer diagnosis. It is funny, sad, moving, inspiring, and so much more. From the first page to the last, I was deeply engrossed in her story.  "Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I've Loved" is one of the most moving books I've ever read. Even though I don't believe in God, and Kate Bowler does, I felt wonderfully close to her as I finished her marvelous book in a few transfixed sittings. She and I have much…
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Posted inHealth Humor

My annual Medicare wellness visit had its humorous side

Just to give you young'uns (meaning, anybody under 65) a preview of what you have to look forward to, here's some glimpses of how my annual Medicare Wellness Visit went today.  First off, this really isn't a physical exam. My primary care doctor did some perfunctory checking around -- listened to my heart to make sure it was beating, looked in my mouth to see if I had any teeth left, that sort of thing -- but a bigger part of the visit was a nurse asking me a bunch of questions before the doctor came in to the exam…
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Posted inHealth Living with a catheter

Here’s how I feel about my atonic, underactive, neurogenic, screwed-up bladder

Regarding the title of this blog post, in two words, IT SUCKS. Big time.  Before I elaborate on this, let me address what I tell myself, and what my wife tells me: there are many worse health problems.  For sure. Aside from not being able to pee properly without the aid of self-catheterization -- not fun, but better than getting kidney failure from a backed-up bladder -- I'm basically a pretty damn healthy 69 year old guy.  I wouldn't trade my bladder problem for, say, cancer, heart disease, or loss of a limb. And I've no doubt that people with…
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Posted inEntertainment Health Living with a catheter

Five observations about Ed Asner’s show, “A Man and His Prostate”

Last night my wife and I saw Ed Asner perform "A Man and His Prostate" at the Elsinore Theatre here in Salem, Oregon.   It's an entertaining reading by Asner of what a different Ed, Ed Weinberger, wrote concerning what he went through after he collapsed while on a vacation in Italy. Since I'm not going to describe the show in much detail, you can read a review to learn about it.  What I want to do is share five observations of A Man and His Prostate based on my personal experience of being also a man, with a prostate,…
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Posted inHealth Home life

Everybody is hurting in some way. My compassion lesson 101.

I'm not the most compassionate guy. But ever since I started having some semi-serious health problems, and the depression that accompanied them, I've become quite a bit more understanding of what other people are struggling with in their daily lives. The Buddha said that life is suffering. He was right on.  Almost invariably, when I talk with someone about my physical and mental problems, the person I'm conversing with will bring up their own problems that I wasn't aware of before. Or mention what a near and dear one is going through.  Now, I realize that this isn't exactly groundbreaking…
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Posted inHealth Living with a catheter

Too depressed to do anything else, I’ll write about my depression

It's a new experience, being depressed. Now, to be honest I haven't actually gotten a depression diagnosis. But my wife, Laurel, is a retired psychotherapist. And she tells me, "Brian, you aren't just tired. You're depressed." At first I didn't believe her. But Laurel gave me a Psychology Today article, "Depressed Without Knowing It," and that helped to change my mind.  I knew that several health problems had made me anxious, sad, worried, nervous about the future. I also was feeling a lack of energy, and was having trouble doing things that I used to enjoy. But since I'd never…
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Posted inEntertainment Health

Cowspiracy movie presents powerful reasons to go meatless

I'm no psychic. But it doesn't take any ESP abilities to say that most of the people reading this ate meat today -- Christmas.  My wife and I didn't. Nor do we ever.  Which explains why we felt a pleasing sense of self-satisfaction when we watched "Cowspiracy" at the Salem Progressive Film Series last week, since the basic message of the documentary is that eating meat and fish is one of the most environmentally destructive actions a person can engage in.  The "spiracy" part of the title comes from the assertion that environmental organizations like the Sierra Club and Greenpeace…
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Posted inHealth Marijuana

Medical marijuana and opioids in Oregon: a tangled web of confusion

Yesterday the Bend Bulletin's magazine insert, "High Desert Pulse," included a fascinating cover story: When pot means no prescription for pain -- Doctor/patient divide over marijuana. Download When pot means no prescription for pain; Doctor:patient divide over marijuana PDF Countless patients suffering from debilitating conditions such as MS, arthritis and post-traumatic stress disorder have made extraordinary claims about how using marijuana reversed the course of their medical conditions and turned their lives around for the better. Many report marijuana relieves physical pain better than powerful prescription opiates and even allowed them to stop taking the medications.  But the medical research…
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Posted inHealth Home life

My colonoscopy goes better with propofol and Suprep

Colonoscopies aren't fun. But they're really important to have, because colon cancer is a lot less fun. Yesterday I had my third colonoscopy. It was the most pleasant of all. I'll explain why below.  First, though, I'm pleased to retract what I said five years ago in my post, "Think twice about getting a colonoscopy in Salem (Oregon)." Things have changed for the better at Salem Gastroenterology Consultants.  I had my first (2009) and second (2011) colonoscopies elsewhere after being turned off by Salem Gastro's two-full-day prep period. Also, by not being given a good reason for this unusual protocol…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Health

Dave Dahl (Dave’s Killer Bread) needs compassion, not condemnation

According to newspaper stories, Dave Dahl, the founder of Dave's Killer Bread, went off his medication and got into trouble with the police after a woman called 911, saying he was having a mental breakdown.  If you think people would respond to Dahl's situation with compassion, you'd be mostly wrong. I've been amazed -- and disgusted -- at the outpouring of judgmentalism and holier-than-thou condemnations of Dahl from commenters on the stories. For example, here's some comments on a Salem Statesman Journal story about Dahl that irritated me: It looks like this lifer-to-be chose to throw away what may have been…
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Posted inHealth Home life

Strange questions in my first Medicare physical exam

I'm loving Medicare -- am doing my best to belly up to the bar of oh-so-sweet Government Healthcare as often as I can since I became Medicare-eligible October 1. Having signed up for Regence of Oregon's Medicare Advantage, I can toss down even more benefits. Like vision and dental. So I've had an eye exam; bought new contact lenses; gotten a teeth cleaning; and, yesterday, my first Medicare-paid annual physical exam. Sweet.  If only this terrific single payer insurance was available to everyone in the country. But Republicans wanted their Romneycare, which became Obamacare, which is a heck of a…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Health

Truth about Obamacare insurance policy cancellations

Lies and more lies. That's about all Republicans have been contributing to health policy discussions ever since the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare, became the law of the land. Sure, the rollout of web sites where people can sign up for policies on the new health insurance exchanges has been rocky (to say the least). Criticisms are justified on this front. I can't understand how Oregon, which received lots of federal dollars to get Cover Oregon up and running, still has an unusable web site after a full month of non-operation. Embarassing. Disturbing. But in no way a fatal blow…
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Posted inHealth Home life

Cover Oregon worked for us — much better than Regence

Yesterday my wife had no trouble signing up for a Silver LIfewise health insurance plan through Cover Oregon. So, yay, Obamacare!  True, Laurel didn't sign up online, which isn't possible yet. She tried soon after Cover Oregon went live October 1. Didn't get very far. Couldn't even find a Certified Agent via the web site who could enroll her. Search turned up nothing, even for Salem. But now the "Agent Search" page seems to be working fine. My wife met yesterday afternoon with someone from Valley Insurance Professionals, which has several Certified Agents. She came home satisfied. Especially compared with…
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Posted inHealth

My prostate is featured in the AARP Bulletin!

Great blog post title, if I say so myself. Which, naturally, I did, this being my blog. It's even accurate! Exclamation marks are sprouting because I'm excited about being quoted in the November 2012 AARP Bulletin story,"To Test or Not to Test?," about whether men should get a PSA test that screens for prostate cancer. The article by Chris Woolston is well worth reading in its entirety. But if you're only interested in the good parts, a.k.a. the paragraphs where my name is mentioned, I'll make it easy for you. Like millions of American men, Brian Hines, 64, has a yearly…
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Posted inHealth

To lose weight, eat enough to keep your willpower strong

Willpower, I read in a January 2012 New Scientist article by psychologist Roy Baumeister ("Weak will comes from tired mental muscles"), is more like a muscle than an ethical attribute.  So rather than seeing willpower as a moral quality, the scientific view is that it is like a muscle that tires. After you exert self-control, you have less willpower so you are less able to resist a new demand. Self-control is only temporarily weakened and can recharge after a rest. Willpower resembles a muscle also in that it can be strengthened by exercise. Thus just as muscles need rejuvenation after…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Health

We are the 1%! (heart-health wise)

My wife and I have proudly marched in Occupy Salem events, chanting "We are the 99%!" But we're pleased to learn that we're also in the 1% -- the percentage of Americans who met all seven metrics of cardiovascular health. Which are: Not smoking Physical activity (being active) Having blood pressure under control Maintaining healthy blood glucose levels Maintaining healthy blood cholesterol levels Maintaining a healthy body weight Following a healthy and balanced diet I barely made it past the body weight criterion, finding that my six feet tall'ness and 182 pounds of weight'ness gave me a BMI (body mass index) of 24.7,…
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