So we've finished a big endocrine system physiology test today on Friday just in time to study for another big microbiology test on Monday. But at least this short break has given me enough time to write a little today. I focused most of my efforts this week on studying for the endocrine test today and it paid off well, but to my detriment a huge 16 lecture microbiology test awaits me in just three days. So, I already know what I'll be doing this weekend. In a twisted way, one perk of being in graduate school is that you usually know your plans are for weekends. Studying.
In addition to our normal studying, we've been busy fulfilling the requirements for working next year in Pittsburgh. We had already done our fingerprint requirements and vaccinations before we entered into the program, but unfortunately those results aren't transferable to Pennsylvania. So we have the pleasure of doing it all over again. Our program has switched over to a third party this year who will store all of our information and release it to any organization that we authorize. That third party is "Certified Profile" and we scan and submit our required information to their website. I believe that the PA students for next year in January 2012 will be going through Certified Profile as well.
There are a number of things that are required before we can start our clinical rotations. The hospitals want to make sure that we aren't child molesting, disease carrying ex-convicts. One would think that being in a Master's Program would pretty much be proof enough that you have no major offenses (after all how would you have been admitted to the program in the first place?) but rules must be followed for the sake of rules it seems.
The four requirements are:
1) Pennsylvania State Background Check
2) FBI Finger Print Background Check
3) Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Check
4) Proof of Immunizations for:
-Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)
-Varicella
-Meningococcus
-Tuberculosis Skin Test (two PPD step test)
-Polio
-Tetanus, Diptheria
-Hepatitis B
Hence, the title of this post.
In between our studying and exams and classes we've been getting these requirements done one-by-one.
1) The Pennsylvania State Background Check was the easiest. It was just a simple matter of printing out a form, sending it in the mail, waiting for the reply in the mail, scanning it and uploading it.
2) For our FBI Background Check, we needed to get our fingerprints done at a place certified to carry them out. There are a number of places in Pennsylvania which will take our fingerprints, but the most convenient place for us was in Washington, PA. There's a place there called "Mail Boxes Plus More" and it's located in a renovated train station, so it's got an awesome historical feel to it. They were open on Saturday so that's the reason we decided to go there. Anyways, the finger scanning laser machine was having trouble for the first customers but once it warmed up we got ours done in about 7 minutes each. I didn't know it but there's a special rolling technique to having your fingerprint scanned. You've got to roll with the right force, at the right angle and at the right speed or you aren't rewarded by the satisfying beep of success. Finger rolling is certainly an undervalued art form and deserves further study.
3) The Child Abuse Form was easy to do, just like the State Background Check. We just filled out a form, sent it in the mail, waited a week or so to get our results, scanned the result and uploaded it to the certified profile site.
4) Immunizations were a pain to do, but I am happy to say that today I should be finally finished with all of them. Because the cost of these immunizations was prohibitively expensive here in Morgantown, we drove to Fairmont to the clinic to get them done. The clinic has some of the nicest staff that I've ever met and it was a pleasure to be there. It's located just across from Fairmont State University and is called Monongahela Valley Association of Health Centers. In addition to our immunizations, I had some blood work done at the laboratory there on Wednesday and got my results today.
I've always had high cholesterol. Despite my slim BMI of ~18.5 my cholesterol has been over 200 for my entire life. Way back in early May I had my cholesterol done and didn't like my results.
normal
Total Cholesterol - 210 mg/dl (<200)
Triglyceride - 163 mg/dl (<150)
HDL Cholesterol - 35 mg/dl (>40)
LDL Cholesterol - 143 mg/dl (<130)
I was glad that my total cholesterol was down from around 230 earlier, but I still wasn't satisfied. I decided to eat less fattening foods, exercise more and take fish oil tablets. I'd eat more fish but it's just too expensive to eat a serving everyday, and although I love to eat tuna I don't want to introduce heavy metals (within reason) to my body. In addition, with the nuclear power plant in Fukushima continuing to spew radioactive cesium, iodine and even more harmful isotopes into the Pacific Ocean I'm even more wary of eating seafood. (I just hope that the fish oil tablets come from fresh water fish.) I had changed my daily regimen and it looks like it had a positive effect! My results that I got today are as follows:
normal
Total Cholesterol - 205 mg/dl (<200)
Triglyceride - 85 mg/dl (<150)
HDL Cholesterol - 46 mg/dl (>40)
LDL Cholesterol - 142 mg/dl (<130)
I can't be sure which change to my lifestyle brought about the most change, but I believe that the dramatic drop in triglycerides and slight rise in HDL are due mostly to taking the fish oil tablets.
BUT!
The physician who saw me had the foresight to order a variety of tests on my blood while I was getting my cholesterol checked and I found out that I have my first deficiency! (At least that I know of.) I don't know why I'm excited over it. It must be because I'm always looking to improve my health and now that I know about it I can do something about it.
It turns out I'm quite deficient in vitamin D (20.6 ng/ml, normal 32-100). We just covered vitamin D on our endocrine physiology test so I know quite a bit about it still. Vitamin D mainly comes from our skin when we're exposed to ultraviolet radiation, but it can also be found in fish, eggs and some meats. Well, I don't really get much sun exposure because when it's cold here (everyday in the Spring, Fall and Winter) I wear a sweater and pants. I also don't eat much fish (too expensive), eggs (too much cholesterol), or meat (too much other bad stuff).
My deficiency is such that I have a prescription for vitamin D now. I'll pick it up tomorrow in between my studying for microbiology.
Vitamin D deficiency is usually associated with impaired intestinal absorption and renal re-absorption of calcium and phosphate which are needed for your bones. I'm glad that it was caught before it developed over the course of many years and I suffered an unexpected fracture. In the end, I've got to thank having all of these extra requirements for going to Pittsburgh. There's a bright side to everything.
Good to hear that you caught that deficiency early before it turned into adult-onset Rickets.
ReplyDeleteJust curious, what does the diet of a grad student on a budget look like? I'm trying to cut back on expenses myself and feel like my weekly grocery bill needs some work.
Well, it's unfortunate that the cheapest foods out there are also the most unhealthy foods. For me at least, it always makes choosing what to buy at the supermarket a cost/benefit analysis.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing better from shying away from the $1 frozen dinners and cheap pot pies.
I was fortunate to bring my rice cooker with me, so I went out and bought a huge 20lb bag of rice and I'm slowly going through that little by little.
Fruit is the best healthy treat, but I never buy any fruit that's more than $1/lb. Bananas are still cheap and go well with my cereal in the morning.
For the most part, I've replaced my desserts with fruit. So I've cut out buying icecream and cookies. Occasionally, I'll buy a pie from the bakery when they are on sale.
Oatmeal is also cheap and healthy so I eat that often as well.
I'd like to eat more fresh vegetables but they have become especially expensive now. I'm mostly limited to salads when they are on sale for 1/2 off. It's right before they go bad, so I buy it and eat as much as I can as soon as possible. Carrots are still reasonably priced so I buy those often.
Every time I go to the supermarket I always head to the bargain bin. It's embarrassing but since dented cans are 1/2 off I buy them whenever they are available. They could be canned fruits, vegetables or soups.
I avoid dairy as much as possible except for soy milk or almond milk. These milks are more expensive than cow's milk but at least you decrease your risk for BPH and prostate cancer over cow's milk.
Whenever there's free food available at school due to a meeting or conference, I also eat up there. The catering service at WVU makes some delicious food!
In general, I don't buy something at the supermarket if it costs more than $1 per 10 ounces. This pretty much eliminates the majority of frozen foods, meats, dairy, fresh vegetables and processed foods.
I used to eat a lot of instant ramen because I'd eat it with vegetables when vegetables were still cheap. Now I avoid the instant ramen because instant ramen by itself is just empty calories.
I'd buy more organic if it was affordable, but it's not in my budget so I avoid it.
I seldom go out to restaurants to eat to further save on money. I also avoid drinking alcohol because it's mostly empty calories as well.
Of course, I go further than most people do when it comes to saving money. Since I'm already in student loan debt, I just want to avoid paying interest on my groceries by as much as possible while still maintaining as good of health as possible.
Forrest, have you tried going to local farmer's markets for produce? Also, I don't know if you've ever gone to an Aldi grocery store but they have good deals on produce, canned goods, eggs, and basic pantry goods.
ReplyDeleteI've always stuck to a strict food budget just because when you don't pay attention to what you buy it is so easy to spend money on processed, frozen crap. So going to school hasn't changed my cooking habits much.
Glad to see you are doing your best to stay health. Vitamin D is the of the most common vitamins that people are missing. It is just really hard to get enough of it. So I take about 2000 IU a day to make sure that I do have enough.
ReplyDeleteThe fish oil tablets are the most likely cause for you increase in HDL and lowering your triglyceride levels. Though I think your ldl is a bit to high, but that could be just your genes.
That is something I have found through my studying to be health. That for somethings your gene can play a big part of your chemistry. Luckily they can be overcome with work and a healthier diet.
Keep up the good work Forrest!
@Thatgirl
ReplyDeleteThat's great to hear that you're cooking habits haven't changed much. We do have an Aldi's in Morgantown and I like going there. But, the only problem is that it takes about 1 3/4 hours to get there on foot on way, so when I do go I don't buy too much because it just kills my back walking for that long with a heavy load of groceries. When the PRT is open it cuts my travel time down to about an 1 1/4 hours one way.
We also have a farmer's market on Saturday morning downtown and I've gone there a few times to buy apples. The produce is definitely fresher than at the local Kroger's but the price is about the same unfortunately.
I'll keep doing my best!
@Chris
It makes me wonder what percent of Americans are actually vitamin D deficient. Ever since I discovered it my interest has been piqued.
Someday I'd like to try an experiment. Go for two months without eating a single milligram of cholesterol and see if it affect my blood cholesterol levels any.
As always, thanks for the support!
nice post
ReplyDelete