Randy Ingle » Health

Corn syrup

Randy — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 12:17:19 +0000

I’ve been noticing some commercials on the television lately where the point of the commercial is to get consumers to rethink the attitude that high fructose corn syrup is bad for you. In recent years high fructose corn syrup has been broadly considered bad for the consumer, linking it to diabetes and obesity. I’ve never believed that it is any worse for you than regular table sugar. And yes, regular sugar can also lead to diabetes and obesity – if too much is consumed! So the point is that we all have to be responsible for our own health and not eat too much of anything! High fructose corn syrup is not the enemy!

Black flies and mosquitoes

Randy — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:28:38 +0000

The black flies and mosquitoes are overlapping each other at this point in time. It’s hard to go outside without getting eaten up by something! Thank goodness that we have Cutters and Ben’s 100 and Deep Wood Off at our disposal to help to repel those bloodsuckers!

Sometimes I can’t decide which is worse – the black fly or the mosquito. I think if I had to pick one, I think it would be the black flies because they hurt when they bite AND the bite itches later. With mosquitoes, you don’t usually feel the bite, but the bite itches later. But then again, at night when you are trying to sleep and there is a mosquito in the house buzzing around your head it is impossible to sleep until you’ve turned on the light and killed the thing! I’ve never noticed any black flies in the house at night – ever. So I guess it’s a toss-up alright!

A sad necessity

Randy — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 02:00:57 +0000

Ernie was telling me that his nephew is looking for a good teen drug rehab facility to send his son to. We’ve known for years that his son has been having problems, and it’s good that they are finally going to do something to help him with dealing with them. And sending him to teen marijuana rehab is a good first step. Finding teen drug treatment seems to be getting easier these days with the explosive growth of the Internet!

And it’s a good thing, too. Because recent teen drug statistics seem to indicate that teen drug use is on the rise. And the cost of these treatments is staggering. In this economy, families really don’t need this kind of trouble on their hands!

Pinching pennies

Randy — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 22:27:50 +0000

I heard that my niece just got her eyes checked and that she needs new glasses. She didn’t like any of the reasonably priced frames at the eye doctor’s (of course) and her mother can’t afford to pay the high prices of all of the trendy fashion frames. I suggested that she consider another option – to buy glasses online at zennioptical.com.

Aches and Pains

Randy — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 17:18:58 +0000

Saw a young man working on a table top display. He was taking everything down and packing it up. Although it was not very demanding work, he acted like he was in pain. So, I asked if he needed any help. He said, “No, thanks” and went on with his task.

We got to chatting a bit while he worked and he told me he was a football player in college, then went into the Marines. Now that he is almost 30, everything hurts. He says that his shoulders and his knees hurt the most.

I can’t help but think that 30 is awfully young for all those aches and pains. But then again, playing football for 5 years in high school and then 4 more years in college must take a terrible physical toll on young men.

No Shade Tree Doctoring

Randy — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 19:41:40 +0000

My Facebook “friend” who is taking cortisone just responded to my comment on his post. I thought he might say something like, “Thanks for the reminder” or “My specialists all work as a team” or something nice and friendly like. But no. This stuck up jerk just says, “My Vanderbilt doctors know what they are doing and I don’t need any shade tree doctoring.”

Well, EXCUUUUUUUUUSE ME!

Meds Gate Keeper

Randy — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 18:19:30 +0000

Read a Facebook post by a guy who is a songwriter and musician who was describing how his fingers and hands would hurt after playing guitar. He posted that his orthopedic doctor gave him cortisone shots and that now his hands don’t hurt.

I didn’t intend to give him any kind of medical advice, but I commented on his post that cortisone has its drawbacks. I encouraged him to let his primary care doctor know that he was taking cortisone.

He sees a lot of specialists because he had a liver transplant a few years ago. I know that sometimes all these different doctors can be prescribing medicines and that not all medicines work well together. I feel that the primary care physician and one pharmacist are the best gate keepers for tracking all the different medicines that are prescribed. So after seeing a specialist, I make sure that all the records get back to my primary care physician and next time I see him we always go over all the different medicines.

Flu shots

Randy — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 10:46:55 +0000

I’m starting to see advertisements all over town on drug store marquees that they are offering flu shots. My insurance won’t pay for me to have a flu shot because they don’t think that I’m high risk. That really peeves me; I think that everyone should get a flu shot and the insurance companies should pay for it regardless. As it is, I’m going to have to shell out $25 for the shot. I think it is well worth it.

Horse drawn carriages in Charleston

Randy — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 00:23:17 +0000

Guest post written by Harriet Dobson

It took one riding lesson when I was 7 to make me realize that I was allergic to horse hair. So I made a point of avoiding the animals at all costs since that discovery. But when we went to Charleston, SC for a romantic weekend, I knew that I wanted to deal with the allergy and take a tour on a horse drawn carriage because all the guide books and websites I’d read said it was the best way to see the charming southern city.

On the day that we had planned to go on the carriage ride I took my husband in the drugstore and picked out some allergy medicine, I went with the one he suggested. But then I was so drowsy in the afternoon carriage ride that I fell asleep! I was so disappointed!

When we went to dinner after that he told me that I shouldn’t have bought that kind of medicine. It ends up he told me not to get that kind and I heard him wrong. That night I looked up miracle ear hearing aid prices on my laptop in the hotel room lest something like that happen again.

Besides the carriage incident our trip was wonderful and I can’t wait to go back!

Can You Help a Guy Out?

Randy — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:30:03 +0000

On my way back from town, I had to stop at a light and was very surprised to see an young man standing in the middle of the road, approaching each car lined up at the red light. He was dirty and unkempt, with straggly hair and several days growth of beard. When he walked up to my car, I could smell bad odors, including stale beer. We don’t see many homeless folks out here.

He asked me if I could “help a guy out?” and was expecting to collect some money from me. Rather than hand him some cash, I asked him if he had ever tried to get help with addiction treatment, and offered to give him a ride to the local rehab center. I know the homeless shelter will not take in anyone with drug problems.

That was not what he wanted. Sadly, he turned away and moved on to the next car. I believe that if he really wanted help, he could find some good drug rehabilitation programs to help him turn his life around. I don’t believe that giving him cash money would help him accomplish that.

I wish I had some brochures in the car with addiction information. Who knows? If I had given him a brochure and he sat down later to read it, the idea might take root and he could seek the right help.