Mike and Karen Online

Got the pictures from crystal uploaded. Some really nice ones in there.

Also uploaded the slide show, 38Mb, from the wedding and Karen’s Movie, 160Mb.

Movie also available at youtube.

All the hoopla from the CT-Scan about a possible dissection and “OMG we need an agiogram now” has basically blown away to nothing. Dr Pachaidee talked to Dr Rosemblooom, the vascular surgeon, and he saw no point in seeing me. It comes back to the lack of any pain or other symptoms. As long as that is the case, my possibly unusual dual origin superior mesenteric artery is just a curiosity. Nether the radiologist that was to perform the angiogram nor Dr Rosenbloom think there is a dissection since there are no symptoms.

There are two forms of vitamin K, vitamin K1 or phylloquinone and vitamin K2 or menaquinone. K1 is found in green plants and aids in blood coagulation. K2 is found in animal fats and can also be synthesized in small amounts from K1 by the body. The amount of K2 in animal fats is directly proportional to the amount and quality of green vegetable matter the animal ate so your common grain fed animals will be deficient. Another reason to search out grass fed meat.

Vitamin K2 acts as a cofactor for the enzymes responsible for forming bones and teeth, preventing the calcification of soft tissue (such as arterial walls) and cartilage and aiding in bone mineralization. What this means is that even though you are getting plenty of Vitamin A and D, if you aren’t getting enough K2, then the body isn’t able to perform these processes optimally or at all.

Osteocalcin is produced by the osteoblasts in the presence of vitamins A and D. It is a protein responsible for the depositing of calcium and phosphorus salts in bones and teeth but it can only perform this function once it has been activated by vitamin K2. Likewise, A and D regulate the expression of matrix Gla protein (MGP) which is responsible for mineralizing bone and protecting the arteries from calcification but it must be activated by vitamin K2 first.
(more…)

I moved all the picture collections to their own page and added sets from Dan Wagman, Brian Willis, Dave and Krissy, and Kim and Chad. I can’t believe we have to wait until July to see the official pictures and the video. I hope the wait is worth it.

You should be able to see links to all the gallery pages over to the right of the page.

Had a follow up with Dr Pachaidee today, starting the ramping down of the Prednisone. It’s going to be a slow process, I am was taking 20mg in the morning and 20mg at night. Today I go to 20mg in the morning and 10mg at night for three weeks and then do 20mg in the morning and nothing at night.

Another CT-Scan and follow up in 2 months. Also Dr Pachaidee is going to talk to Dr Rosemblooom, the vascular surgeon, and have him look at the last CT-Scan to evaluate whether or not it would be worth my time to see him. Both Dr Pachaidee and Dr St George (the radiologist that didn’t do the angiogram) aren’t sure there is anything to look at in the absence of any systems and even if there was something to look at, what are they going to do? So, we’ll see what Dr Rosembloom thinks.

So it looks like our pictures and video won’t be ready until July sometime. In the meantime, I will continue to update the Wedding Pictures page as I receive links or pictures.

Speaking of which, I added a link to the pictures that Crystal took.

After the desert party at Epcot, we somehow got talked into going to citywalk and hung out in front of House of Blues for a bit. We didn’t last very long though, I think we were both a bit strung out from stress of last minute things Thursday and Friday and then the absolute blur that was the wedding day.

Sunday we had breakfast with Kim and Chad at the character breakfast and got to talk with the Mad Hatter about his hat and visited some with Pooh Bear. We hung out at the pool for most of the day but it was a bit chilly for swimming. I had to do the slide though, it was fun and if the water wasn’t so cold I would have been riding it a few more times. Dinner that night was at Citricos and I can’t remember what we ordered. It was very good though, I do remember thinking later as we ate in other spots that citrico’s dinner was the best of the bunch.
(more…)

Created a page with all the wedding pictures on it to make things easier.

I talked with the radiologist who was going to perform the angiogram and he said that he saw no pressing need for the procedure after reviewing the CT-Scan report in light of the fact that I have no abdominal pain or other symptoms. He said he would request the actual CT-Scan pictures and take a look at them to make sure, but for now the additional poking of holes in my femoral artery is not happening.

Vitamin D deficiency is now recognized as an epidemic in the United States. In addition to a weakening of the bodies muscular-skeletal structure, there is mounting scientific evidence that implicates vitamin D deficiency with an increased risk of type I diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, hypertension, cardiovascular heart disease, and many common deadly cancers. A recent review of 18 studies involving nearly 60,000 people showed that those who took Vitamin D supplements had a 7 percent reduction in mortality from all causes compared with those who didn’t take the supplements.

The bodies ability to metabolize vitamin D differs from person to person. Obesity also plays a roll as vitamin D is stored in the fat tissue. The more fat you have, the harder it is for the body to store and retrieve vitamin D. Also, the presence of disease or cancer in the body will effect how much D the body needs. As we evolved naked in the sun, the body is better equipped to handle excess vitamin D than it is to handle a shortage. The USDA Recommended dosage of 200 IU is too low by an order of magnitude. A study on the Risk Assessment of Vitamin D looked over various studies examining safe levels of D3 supplementation and concluded that 10,000 was a safe upper limit.
(more…)