The past couple of days have been hell. After discovering an alarmingly high blood pressure level, I decided I better see my doctor at once.  I was able to schedule an appointment for the following day, but knowing my hypertension was raging in anticipation of that office visit did not allow for a very good night's sleep.

The following day, yesterday, I went to my doctor at the appointed hour, and he checked me over and changed my daily blood pressure medication, which I began taking last night for the first time.  Prior to my first dosage at around 8 p.m., I began feeling pains in my right lower back -- something that I quickly recognized as the discomfort of kidney stones, as I have a fairly long history of this malady. Only once before in my several bouts with kidney stones, however, was the pain sufficiently strong to merit a trip to the hospital emergency room.  Since then, I have always been able to tolerate the pain well enough until the stone(s) passed through the urethra in what has probably been a dozen episodes during the past 10 years or so.

Last night was different...  the pain was excruciating.  They say the only pain worse than kidney stone pain is the one that women suffer during childbirth. After about three hours of steadily increasing agony, I decided to head for the hospital emergency room just before 11 p.m.  There were several people in the waiting room to be seen, but I was confident a full and competent staff would make short work of this moderate crowd of people. Little did I know how wrong this thinking would turn out to be.

 After about 45 minutes from the time I checked in, a nurse took my temperature, pulse, and blood pressure and gave me a pair of welcome pain killer tablets.  It took an hour before they finally took effect, but it was the beginning of some (not total) relief from acute suffering that had me on the brink of vomiting.  Later, blood was drawn for analysis, a urine sample was provided, and a CT scan was done of the kidney in question. Then the waiting began...   and I waited.... and waited.....  and waited.  Finally, the doctor -- THE ONLY DOCTOR ON DUTY FOR THOSE DOZENS OF WAITING EMERGENCY ROOM PATIENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -- saw me and treated me at 5 a.m., some six and a half hours after walking through the front door. Welcome to the third world country of America.

The reasons for this are obvious, and reveal the futile tragedy and soaring crisis of the American health care system.  First of all, a shortage of doctors, especially for the emergency care specialty.  Secondly, hospitals' desire to cut costs (or call it simple financial greed) allow for a single doctor to be on duty.  Finally, and this is the real crux of the problem... the fact that 50 million Americans cannot afford health insurance (or are denied because of pre-existing conditions that the insurers are unwilling to cover), so their only medical alternative to a doctor's office visit is to go to the hospital emergency room for their routine medical attention. The system is badly broken, and the next presidential administration had better fix it, or the country may well fall prey to a full-scale revolution. 

In case you are interested, the kidney stone is still in my body waiting "to be born," though pain killers are easing the discomfort pretty well, and my blood pressure remains high, but not nearly as bad as it was three days ago. Sorry to bore my readers with this self-centered trip into my health problems, but I do so as a critique of the American healthcare situation as much or more than an appeal for your private sympathy. Oh well... love me ~~ love my frailties and vulnerabilities.

Quotes for the Day:

"In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.... my prediction from the sixties finally came true: In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes." ~Andy Warhol

“In the future we'll all have 15 minutes of fame and 15 minutes of healthcare.”  ~Nicole Hollander

Having lived in China, where tea necessarily becomes part of the daily diet, I found that while I was there, I felt quite healthy and vigorous most of the time.  Perhaps it is the ancient China green tea phenemomenon, now being discovered centuries later in America.  Here are some facts I found on the Internet describing the benefits of this drink...

Parts used and where grown: All teas (green, black, and oolong) are derived from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. The difference is in how the plucked leaves are prepared. The leaves of the tea plant are used both as a social and medicinal beverage. Green tea, unlike black and oolong tea, is not fermented, so the active constituents remain unaltered in the herb.

The known health conditions where green tea has been found to be an effective treatment or preventative:

• cancer risk reduction
• gingivitis (periodontal disease)
• high cholesterol
• high blood pressure
• high triglycerides
• immune function
• prostate health
  
  

Historical or traditional use: According to Chinese legend, tea was discovered accidentally by an emperor 4,000 years ago. Since then, traditional Chinese medicine has recommended green tea for headaches, body aches and pains, digestion, depression, immune enhancement, detoxification, as an energizer, and to prolong life. Modern research has confirmed many of these health benefits.

Active constituents: Green tea contains volatile oils, vitamins, and minerals, (no caffeine), but the active constituents are polyphenols, particularly the catechin called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). The polyphenols are believed to be responsible for most of green tea's roles in promoting good health.

Research demonstrates that green tea guards against cardiovascular disease in many ways. Green tea lowers total cholesterol levels and improves the cholesterol profile (the ratio of LDL cholesterol to HDL cholesterol), reduces platelet aggregation, and lowers blood pressure. The polyphenols in green tea have also been shown to lessen the risk of cancers of several sites, stimulate the production of several immune system cells, and have anti-bacterial properties -- even against the bacteria that cause dental plaque.

How much should I take? Much of the research documenting the health benefits of green tea is based on the amount of green tea typically drunk in Asian countries -- about three cups per day (providing 240-320 mg of polyphenols). To brew green tea, 1 U.S. teaspoon (5 grams) of green tea leaves are combined with 250 ml (1 cup) of boiling water and steeped for three minutes.

Are there any side effects or interactions? Green tea is extremely safe. The most common adverse effect reported from consuming large amounts of green tea is insomnia, anxiety, and other symptoms caused by the caffeine content in the herb.

Perhaps green tea is effective against allergies?   The compound, methylated epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), may have a similar effect in humans, they say. Their study will be described in the Oct. 9 print issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a peer-reviewed publication of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.

Although similar compounds in green tea have previously been shown to be anti-allergenic, this particular compound appears to be the most potent, the researchers say.

"Green tea appears to be a promising source for effective anti-allergenic agents," says Hirofumi Tachibana, the study's chief investigator and an associate professor of chemistry at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan. "If you have allergies, you should consider drinking it."

For years, people have been drinking tea to fight the sneezing, coughing and watery eyes that are characteristic of colds and allergies. The new study adds to a small but growing body of scientific evidence from both cell and animal studies that it may actually work, particularly green tea.