Tri-10, Wk08 - Day ??? Sunday, March 4th, 2012

Today is my Dad's birthday! YeeHaw! :)
I've noticed the older I get the more people tell me to appreciate my Dad and they wish theirs was still around. That will be a very sad day, should I live to see it but, hopefully he'll be around for at least another 20 or 30 years. I think his goal is to live to be 100 which is fine by me :)

Of course, I should be able to procure some type of progeny by then ...God willing...

Module 1 of 6 for Acupuncture is now complete and HOLY COW and OMG!!! That was a butt kicking weekend I just went through. Our teacher, Dr. Zeb asked us if we felt like our head was going to explode and if we felt like we were totally lost. I sure did and he said if that was the case then he did his job.

It is a fascinating field. It's an elegant, artistic and even poetic way of viewing the body which is pretty cool and kind of a refreshing change of pace.

Ugh - horrible time focusing here.

oh well. i've done my class today, lunch & dinner w/ the family to help celebrate dad's birthday - what next.....

I remember I had bills listed yesterday and I could probably kill some time at the gym :)

I wish my dog could talk. I could use the company.

I did like seeing all the nice cars from all the docs that are taking the post grad courses at Logan. I remember at all of Troy's parties everyone that showed up had nice cars and any that I visited had nice houses and nice gf's or wives.

I guess gf/wife, house then car would be my order and finishing up school needs to happen along the way.

I did run by SAMs after class to get some gas and smokes. Cigs were only $20 & change for a carton! damn - way overpriced in Illinois. I missed my 141 south exit and had to take Weidman down to Manchester road but, that reminded me of Queeny park where I spent a lot of time walking, jogging and biking last trimester. I got some really good physical results last trimester. I'll have to do that again. Last trimester I snuck in the walks & stuff right after class and it was still pushing it to get done before rush hour started. I don't have that problem this tri so much because of so many fewer classes. I think I have two or three days in a row in at the gym so I can easily keep up that effort and the extra physical involvement should help with my mental state as well as my memory for school.

Tri-10, Wk08 - Day ??? Fri/Sat, Feb 2&3, 2012

Finishing up my Saturday here (2/3) I think I did pretty well today or at least as well as I could possibly do. I made it to school on time, spent all day in my new Acupuncture class, went to the gym after school then studied my flashcards for Part III boards and now ...it's about time for bed. I just need to keep my head in the game and keep forging forward with school and hope & pray that the rest of my life will turn out well if I just keep on the straight & narrow.

I'm still getting cable even though it's been cancelled for a few days now. I used to work disconnect orders when I first started with SAVVIS so, I know it can take a few days for all the disco orders to get pushed through.

I still need to cancel my Netflix subscription and go through all my bills tomorrow.

Today was a little odd in that someone pretty close to me texted me this afternoon and said they wanted to pay for my Acupuncture class then proceeded to text me all their credit card information so I could pay for my remaining classes. It was a nice gesture but not one I could put a lot of stock into.

I didn't hear anymore from that person and after I got home I learned they unfriended me on facebook. Other than that bizarre episode I'd say the day went pretty well. I need to be back up at 6 tomorrow and heading out at 7 to get to class by 8.

We did practice "needling" today. That was a bit interesting ....

I did learn that in 1997 the NIH (National Institute of Health) recognized Acupuncture as a legitimate and viable means of health care. Also learned the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized Acupuncture as being a valuable adjunct to about 2,000 ailments.

Our instructor actually used acupuncture on his son who had suffered from testicular cancer. His son received chemotherapy but, instead of taking a slew of drugs to help offset the side effects of the chemo, he received acupuncture instead and the kids blood labs actually maintained normal levels. The teacher and his son were told 5 years ago that his son was going to die. No probability or anything, just that his son was going to die. That was 5 years ago and his son is still alive.

There is also an herb we learned about - actually an extract from an herb. Some company noticed the great results from an herb that was already on the market and was able to isolate the molecule which was responsible for providing the great results. It's rather expensive but, for people taking the supplement and who have had cancer, they've never had a relapse and apparently it's supposed to help people who are currently battling cancer.

The teacher and his son both take the supplement at a cost of $12,000 per year so, for one person I'm figuring about $500 per month. I can't say I would push a family member to take the supplement at this point but, if they ever had a relapsing course of cancer then I definitely would recommend and do what i could to help pay for it.

The guy teaching the class said he works a lot with supplements - herbal supplements and takes in about 2-$3,000 per week extra income from it. and that's profit ...and only a small part of their practice.

Tri-10, Wk08 - Day ???, Thursday, March 1st, 2012

Note to self: do not set calendar on keyboard or you will lose everything you typed....

Basically I screwed up and overlooked my 3rd and 4th competency board exams which means I get no credit for them but still need to pass comp boards to get back into clinic. I had Feb 14, 21 & 28 to choose from. I was going to go with the 28th but ...lost focus :(

Where's that list again?...

1. Senior Research Project - waiting for approval in the mail from IRB, Internal Review Board
2. Loomis, Internal Health Specialist program - next meeting is Sat 1-7 & Sun 8-2
3. Acupuncture - First weekend is coming up! March 4th & 5th. I think I might need a book and maybe $79 or so for needles??? not sure
4. Competency Boards - already screwed this up. Might want to shoot for the 13th or 20th.
5. Part III National Boards - March 25th!!! Keep working through the books, making flashcards and studying whenever possible. The matching feature on studystack.com is really nice when first learning a set of cards and I have an app on my phone to look at flashcards any other time.
6. Advanced Basic - I think I'm sitting pretty good right now. Just took the midterm
7. Differential Diagnosis - I have a midterm next Thursday in this class. Studying for this class will probably do the most with helping me out on Part III Boards
8. Office Management - we have some poster due next week. I have to find out more information about this.
9. Clinic - I guess this could start with an email
10. Marketing - this hinges on Clinic but, i've already talked w/ the Marketing director and met her temporary replacement.

Just remembered that I'm also signed up for a half marathon on April 15th... I should probably start running for that

AND...I'm still in that Lose to Win contest. not sure how much time has passed on that.

w/ the money thing I can still cancel Netflix since, it's not much good w/o the internet and was looking into Centero Research to participate in an upcoming study to earn some extra cash :)

Tri-10, Wk08? - Day ???, Wednesday, Feb 29th, 2012

I started a list yesterday which mainly pertained to areas I need to focus on with school. With any list I make up these days, they tend to be incomplete because I can't think of everything that's going on at one sitting. For now, it looks like I have 10 things in my list pertaining to school. I think financial (non-school) tends to weigh most heavily on my mind. Maybe I'll start with that.

Financial - I know I need to reduce my overhead. I've already activated my cell phone to act as a Wi-Fi Hot Spot for $30 per month which means I can get rid of my Virgin mobile Hot Spot which currently runs me about $40 per month. So, there's a savings of $10 and using my phone is more conveinent because I usually have my phone with me.

10:22 a.m. - Let's move these words into action - need to log on and cancel my Virgin Mobile internet service.
10:37 a.m. - OK, I *think* I've done everything correctly and won't be charged anymore billing cycles and the current one should end (and not be recharged) on 3/3/2012.

10:38 a.m. - Next on the hit list is to cancel my Charter Internet & cable services. This will help things out a lot.
impressed by Charter - disco was easy and people nice - modem has already been returned. Small move but still saves about $1,000 per year :)

3:48 p.m. - Got distracted by some calls - need to get moving in other areas of my life.

Tri-10, Wk08? - Day ???, Monday, Feb 28 2012

It's actually Tuesday,Feb29th but, I no longer have any classes left at Logan to take on a Tuesday since the Tri-10 class I had (Billing & Documentation) only last 6 weeks and is now over.

I had a really nice weekend of NBS Board Reviews. The instructor, Dr. James is pretty darn impressive. To maintain the high level of energy, enthusiasm and caring he exudes for a solid 8 hours each day is quite a feat. The teacher we had for Billing & Documentation was similar. It's hard to imagine a class like B&D to be overly interesting based on the name of the class but, Dr. Mario did a very good job.

It's hard to keep track of everything in the works. I've got some extra weekend post grad classes I'm taking such as the Internal Health Specialist program and as of this coming weekend, Acupuncture. I never thought I'd be getting involved in acupuncture but, I've seen where it is recognized as a viable treatment by the AMA - I think that was from PubMed and, it's basis seems similar to chiropractic.

Senior Research Project -
Loomis, Internal Health Specialist -
Acupuncture -
Competency Boards -
Part III National Boards -
Advanced Basic -
Differential Diagnosis (ddx) -
Office Management -
Clinic -
Marketing

Financial - Domestic task (cleaning, laundry, dishes...) -

Tri-10, Wk07? - Day ???, Friday, Feb 24, 2012

I'm doing my research project on The Neuroplasticity of Happiness and the following paragraph is what I submitted for approval. (you're only allowed one paragraph)

When considering happiness, is there only so much of an aggregate total of happiness vs. despair, at any given time, such that the proliferation of one will necessarily diminish the influence of the other? In the realm of mathematics this type of situation is known as a Zero Sum Game. Neuroplasticity deals with the brains ability to change and adapt according to its circumstances and given a finite amount of brain tissue to work with then the zero sum game theory may be plausibly adapted to the neuroplasticity of happiness concept. This paper will explore that notion and consider concepts such as an individual's capacity for happiness at any given time, the duality of polar spectrum opposite emotions co-existing or merely fluctuating and if there are emotional thresholds that must be breached in order to experience any given emotion in the first place, much like the way some theories explain how people perceive pain.

other than that I was just trying to get a grasp of what the next few days hold. Lots to do :)

Feb 24, Friday - SRP concept submitted for approval
Feb 25, Saturday - NBS
Feb 26, Sunday - NBS
Feb 27, Monday - LBT IV Midterm due

working on -
SRP, concept submitted for approval
Office Management - need to chat w/ Dr. H?
Competency Boards - 2 down, 4 to go this tri - rest on 3rd day of next semester

need to do -
get hold of Dr. W, get something lined up for clinic

Tri-10, Wk07? - Day ???, Thursday Feb 23, 2012

Looks like it's been exactly 1 month since my last post. I'm going to have to try and post more to maybe help with my focus.

Tri-10, Wk03 - Day ???, Monday January 23rd, 2012

It will take some catching up to figure out what day we're on right now since it's been so long since my last blog (11/8/11) I've had some request from others who have read my blog prior to becoming chiropractic students themselves, some are at Logan and other's are elsewhere across the country. There's also been a few local request to get back to blogging. Some have said it's inspirational but, I'm not quite sure how.

My current favorite class is Differential Diagnosis which is taught by Dr. Kettner. We've been going over chronic pain and it is a fascinating subject. The most recent research would indicate that a main culprit in the chronic pain syndrome is not so much by the stimulus of pain but rather by a lack of inhibition of that pain. A part of the anatomical basis for the inhibition of pain would have to do with descending inhibitory pathways from the brain.

What's really fascinating is something new I learned today called Nocebo - this is the counterpart to the much more well known "Placebo" which most people have heard of with reference to the Placebo effect, when a patient may be given something like a sugar pill but upon believing it is something beneficial will manifest positive outcomes as a result of their beliefs.
Nocebo is the opposite of the Placebo effect - this is based upon a patients pessimistic attitude or even a lack of trust or understanding and can result in increased pain.
But - there are real chemicals at work and real pathways in the Central Nervous System (CNS) which conduct and manifest these beliefs.
On one hand we may have descending inhibitory pathways but those pathways may also be descending fascilitating pathways.
with an emphasis on fascilitation, we may have a lack of inhibition. Substances associated with pain would be on the order of NMDA or Substance P while those substances which help inhibit pain would be things like enkephalins and endorphins.

I've left and gone off on a tangent - I'm reading about GABA-A alpha 2 receptors and their contribution to binge drinking and their association with a persons vulnerability to engage in binge drinking.

from an article in PNAS - Neuroscience, received for review January 6, 2011 we read that Binge drinking was inhibited by GABAa alpha 1 siRNA vactor infused into the ventral pallidum, unrelated to TLR4....

The data indicate that GABA a alpha2-regulated TLR4 expression in the CeA contributes to binge drinking and may be a key early neuroadaptation in excessive drinking...

That GABA is what we've talked about earlier in this blog, I believe it's Gamma Amino butyric Acid.
The TLR4 is Toll-like receptor 4.
CeA is the Central Nucleus of the Amygdala
siRNA is small interfering RNA

The earlier reference to the amygdala is how I got on this tangent to begin with...not sure if I mentioned it specifically before but it's one of the pieces when talking about pain processing pathways.