04 Feb 10 Technology Addict
I’m officially a Blackberry Addict. Since getting my Curve 8520 I have fallen in love with the danged thing and can’t get enough free plugins for it, though I make sure they get at least a 4-star rating in the official Blackberry site before I download. I’ve never had a phone like this and don’t know what I’d do without it. Somebody help me.
Now, I will be the first to admit, I am a bit of a fan of technology. I like cellphones. And mp3 players. And video games. And computers. You get the idea. Before the blackberry I had a Samsung Eternity with the touchscreen. The GUI was really nice, but the touchscreen got old really fast. Fat fingering really made me want to throw the phone through cinderblock quite a number of times. Also, on a couple of occasions my contacts disappeared from my address book. That was a bit of a drag to say the least.
Then I was able to upgrade to the Blackberry Curve 8520 for free (long story). Anyway – it has an external keyboard which ended my frustrations with the touchscreen interface of the Eternity. Also, while I had to be on a data plan it has free WiFi so that is pretty sweet and it connected to my home server without a hitch. I can download apps to my home as well. Admittedly, nowhere near the number of apps found in the Apple store – but still – nice selection of apps all the same. Call clarity is flawless and it looks like an actual business phone too not like a toy. Best phone I ever had.
Having said this, I love my Zune HD which my wife Alisha got me for Christmas. Music never sounded so good. Here’s my dilemma. Microsoft is rumored to be coming out with a Zune Phone on Sept 15 (or at least showcasing it on that day). Basically it would be their answer to the Apple iPhone. I have also heard that MS has a store ready to launch with 50,000+ apps for the Zune Phone (and Zune HD) as well. If it is available for ATT, and if the reviews are strong – I may trade in the blackberry for the Zune Phone. Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Then of course there is the Microsoft/HP Slate. This is the joint product that they developed to be released this year which is a tablet and is to be their answer to the iPad. Only thing we know so far is that it will be:
- 10 inch screen
- Windows 7 OS
- Flash compatible
- Can use any browser
That’s basically it. With a full OS, one must assume we can multi-task. These items above all are more than what the iPad can do. Now if they can beat the $499 price. Wow.
It’s true what they say. A boy doesn’t stop playing with toys, they just get more expensive as they get older.
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20 Nov 09 New Medication is Doing Well
I gotta say, things have been going well with the new Rx. I’ve lost about 25lbs and have had only 1 seizure since being on it (2 weeks ago). I have no delusions about any medication being a “cure” for epilepsy – I just want it to help control the recent spat of ones I’d had had at work. during the late summer and early fall. Fortunately this last one was at home while I was in bed. Let me correct myself – it was actually 2 seizures.
My wife started talking to me when we both came home from work and I wasn’t able to answer any of her questions. I was giving her answers to questions she didn’t ask. This went on for about an hour. Then I started to feel tired and was laying down in bed when I went into a grand mal. Per my epileptologist the time I wasn’t able to answer a question and finish a thought was a mini-seizure. This happened one time before when I was at work, but I didn’t have the grand mal afterwords. I was fortunate that time.
But the Zonisamide has been working great, I am back to my old self (no more mood swings) – and am no longer as tired as I was when I was taking 3 scripts at a time. Oh, and it’s only 10 bucks a month. Life is good.
08 Sep 09 The Little Bugger Held Me to It!
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for our 5-year old at Kindergarten. There was some separation anxiety involved when we dropped him off at class. So on one of the days when I was able to walk him to school, I told him that if he did well, I would shave my goatee.
When your child is crying and clutching at your limb, you’ll be willing shave off some facial hair too, trust me. Sooooo – when it turns out that one day he did really well when I dropped him off at school, when he came home he looked up at me and pointed at my beard and said, the “…beard is coming off, right daddy?”
What was I going to say? “Daddy can’t shave it off because he looks 20 lbs heavier.’ ? So I did. Fortunately for me, I never put a time limit on it and didn’t say I wouldn’t grow it back.
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08 Sep 09 Man, I’m Sleepy
Sleepy
Hopefully this will cut down on the amount of drowsiness that I have during the course of the day.
05 Sep 09 Well That’s a Relief…
Rx
Anyway, this guy is tough to get an appointment with. Just the other day the earliest I could get an appointment with him was 3 months from now. Yeah, no kidding. But my neurologist pulled some strings and there I was, 3 days later. It was definitely worth the weight in gold as this guy sat with me for almost 2 hours going over what I can be expecting with my treatment.
It turns out that the epilepsy I have normally can’t be controlled with the medication I am taking. That is to say – it can’t control generalized grand mal seizures. As to why it worked for me until just recently who knows? Rather than a gradual switch to the new medication which would require months of being introduced into my system, I’ve decided to admit myself to the hospital for a few days. This does several things:
- I can leave the hospital only taking the new Rx
- The hospital can monitor me and potentially catch me have a seizure
- The staff can make sure no other problems arise during the weaning from the other drugs
The seizures I have cannot be cured with surgery from the way the seizures are described. Partial seizures can be caused by an abnormality within the brain and can be remedied by removal of said section. I’m sure I described that way too simplistically – but hey, that’s why I’m not a doctor.
This medication that they are going to start me on – one of the side effects is that it can make things taste bad – especially carbonated drinks and alcohol, causing people to lose weight. I’m all for that.
So anyway, that’s where I’m at. Next week I’m going in for a few days as inpatient – so wish me luck. A little falling my way every once in awhile would be nice.
02 Sep 09 Houston, we have a problem…
brain (actual size)
This past week, Thursday August 27, I had a seizure in the men’s bathroom right before I left the office for the day – again. I went to the neurologist the following day – who is the best by the way – and he increased my Carbatrol to 1400MG a day and my Vimpat to 400MG a day – evenly splitting both doses during the day. I’ve been having problems since May of this year but the shit has hit the fan since July of this year. We agreed that if I have another seizure before long, even with all this new medication I’m on, then I’m going to see a specialist (an epileptologist).
Well lo and behold, yesterday, September 1st – less than a week later I have a mini-episode again at the office. Someone started to talk to me in the hallway and I couldn’t understand a word they were saying. They were a friend of mine so normally this isn’t a problem. I went back to my desk and I was feeling lightheaded. The VP of Staffing started to talk to me and I was having the same problem so I was driven home.
I think what happened was I had another seizure in the men’s room but this time no one was around to hear it. Kind of like that old proverb of “…if no one is around to hear a tree fall in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”. I’m thinking I did.
So on Friday I see the specialist. I hoping that I get some more tests done to see if they can’t find something that may have been missed before or perhaps put me on some new medication because I don’t think the old stuff is cutting it. We shall see.
Tags: epilepsy
