I guess I have some bad news. I noticed my stomach was getting larger even though I had no appetite lately. I had my sonogram on Monday and my doctor told me that I have cirrhosis with ascites, which means my liver is failing enough that it is forcing liquid into my abdomen. I also have gallstones, but the doctor said not to worry about those right now.

I gather I am going to have to go have a needle inserted to drain the fluid and then we will see if I am in end stage liver failure. I'll update as soon as I know more.

On the good side, my wife is almost fully healed from the mohs surgery. I hope to be back soon, but right now I am depressed and worried AF.

Don't forget cirrhosis from washing it down with delicious beer... ; )

ps. Thanks Sift for my very first number 1. Gimme another 7 years, I might get another... /grin

You know how the pressures in life can cause people to do crazy things? And if a person does too many crazy things, then that person is crazy. Sometimes you can do things to keep from going crazy, like drinkin', or havin' sex; but, if the craziness goes too far, sometimes the only thing left to do is to cut out that part of the brain that makes you crazy.

That kind of brain surgery is called a frontal lobotomy. Maybe this song will help you understand what I mean.

"Jimmy and I were brothers.
We went down different paths.
Jimmy always listened to my mother,
And me, I never like to take a bath.

"As we grew and tumbled through adulthood
The pressure caused emotional drain.
So now I'm slowly dying in the bottle
And Jimmy has to live with half a brain.

"Yes, me, I've got a bottle in front of me,
And Jimmy has a frontal lobotomy.
Just different ways to kill the pain t"he same.

"But I'd rather have a bottle in front of me,
Than have to have a frontal lobotomy.
I might be drunk, but at least I'm not insane.

"Jimmy let his troubles drive him crazy.
He never tried to drown it in a drink.
I know that drinking makes my thinking hazy,
But at least I still have brains enough to think.

"Jimmy's got a brain that isn't stable.
He doesn't have the sense to say his name.
I'm sorry that his doctor was unable
To remove the proper portion of his brain.

"Yes, me, I've got a bottle in front of me,
And Jimmy has a frontal lobotomy.
Just different ways to kill the pain the same.

"But I'd rather have a bottle in front of me,
Than have to have a frontal lobotomy.
I might be drunk, but at least I'm not insane.

"Funny how the world works.
People can be real jerks.
Some prefer the tension over booze.

"Either way it ends the same.
Hard to beat the living game.
Might as well enjoy it while you lose.

"When I need a drink I start to shiver
And Jimmy always viewed it with concern.
But I'd rather have cirrhosis of the liver
Than an intellect that's second to a fern.

"I wonder if old Jimmy's gonna hear it
When I tell him that his logic wasn't sound.
They'll dose him up on lots of evil spirits
When they take him to the psychiatric grounds.

"Yes, me, I've got a bottle in front of me,
And Jimmy has a frontal lobotomy.
Just different ways to kill the pain the same.

"But I'd rather have a bottle in front of me,
Than have to have a frontal lobotomy.
I might be drunk, but at least I'm not insane.
I might be drunk, but at least I'm not insane!"

(Dr. Rock (from the Dr. Demento show) - I'd Rather Have A Bottle In Front Of Me (Than A Frontal Lobotomy))

Heart disease, lung cancer, cirrhosis of liver and rotten teeth all in one hipster drink

@rebuilder. Thanks for instructing me how best to argue my points. I'll take it under advisement.

I never made an argument against taxation based on a claim it didn't work. I made an argument saying it's a monolithic punishment for something that isn't always black-and-white or sometimes isn't even correct. If there's any truth to drinking moderately leading to prolonged life, then wouldn't that refute the claims that drinking leads to health problems, as well? We know heavy drinking may lead to cirrhosis and cancer, but not in every case, and not every drinker is a heavy drinker. Hell, some people smoke all their life and never experience a single health problem.

To me, these are excellent points that demonstrate how a one-size-fits-all punishment is morally objectionable. But to you, I suppose, that's being intellectually dishonest. Hey, try something for me. Try adding to the discussion with a perspective instead of trying to trap me like some hall monitor. I bet you'd find it more rewarding.

I can't wait for the follow up advert about alcohol, where the party with [Sociable] and [Relaxed] gets crashed by [Angry], [Violent], [Clumsy], [Nausea], [Memory Loss], [Cirrhosis], [Vomiting], [Depression] and [Death].

And then we're reminded to drink responsibly.

Monotony, thats how I deliver
Think it's cancer? It's cirrhosis of the liver

Chogster,
I didn't have time to watch it either, but I did anyway. This is a tough one. I'll try to keep it brief, but that may be hard.

On vitamins and minerals;
If you eat a healthy balanced diet (raise hands please)you get all the vitamins and minerals you need. That's SO not the case in many undeveloped countries, as they rarely eat balanced diets. Taking extra water soluble vitamins, i.e. Vit C, will not hurt you, but it will give you expensive urine. Taking extra fat soluble vitamins can be outright dangerous. Vit A is hepatotoxic in high doses. I recall seeing a patient with end stage liver cirrhosis from chronic cod-liver oil (rich in Vit A) ingestion (how someone can get addicted to that is beyond me.)

There is little credible evidence to prove "extra" amounts of vitamins, above what your body really needs, is of any benefit to your health. Selenium supplementation has been associated with decreased prostate cancer. (So has rapid turnover of spermatozoa and it's more fun than taking selenium.)

The problem with "natural supplements" is several fold. (1) They are still chemicals and, therefore, are not easily differentiated from standard pharmaceuticals, many of which come from plants as well. (2) There is VERY lax quality control in the production of many of these drugs. Assays on potency have shown up to a 100 fold difference between brands that supposedly have the same amount of drug in one pill. (3)Taken in excess, drugs like ephedra are dangerous. It's amphetamine. It will give you a boost in energy, but it also may give you a hypertensive crisis or a fatal arrhythmia.

Medicine is science, and like any scientific endeavor, the proof is in the pudding. There are very few credible studies that demonstrate much benefit to "natural supplements." One speaker in the video, Jim Turner, laments that some of these drugs fall victim to "systematic cause and effect mentality" of the pharmaceutical companies and their "huge, expensive studies." That statement is intellectually bankrupt and I don't think I have to point that out. It takes huge expensive studies to achieve the power of analysis necessary to detect a benefit a drug might have on a relatively rare condition. Say for instance, a drug reduces by 50% the incidence of a complication that happens only once in a thousand patients. You will need to enroll thousands and thousands of patients to reach a power of analysis that will approach statistical significance. It takes, on average, almost a billion dollars to get a typical pharmaceutical drug from synthesis to the US market and that's, in part, due to the rigorous process the FDA requires.

On antidepressants;
Eating right, getting enough sleep, regular exercise and playing in the sunshine are as effective as marketed antidepressants. The side effect of "activation" of SSRIs has been understated. Patients with bipolar illness, rather than typical depression, can experience mania or hypomania, with increased anxiety, racing thoughts and insomnia. That's not what a depressed person needs. While not proven, my personal opinion is that this heightened sense of anxiety may play a possible role in the risk of suicide. Please remember, mentally ill people can hide their illness well. Unforeseen suicides are not uncommon and it's easy to pin the blame on a new medicine, or some other unrelated factor.

I told you it would be difficult for me to be brief. I've practiced for 25 years now.
(1) The FDA is NOT suppressing effective therapies.
(2) All drugs, natural supplements included, should undergo systematic randomized prospective studies to assess their efficacy before being labeled as effective (sadly, that's not always the case)
(3) The drug companies are shamelessly pandering to the public and downplaying side-effects. They have been successful in creating a herd mentality in the U.S. of "I don't feel right, I need a drug." Direct advertising to the public should be BANNED.

Terrible translation that makes this even more enjoyable.

A chiquitito mammoth queria to fly
it proved and it proved and podia not to fly
a popcorn its friend the quizo to help
and of a fifth floor it made it jump
jajaja and that step?
mierdaaaaaaa
the mammoth became mierdaaaaaaa(*3)

A chiquitito mammoth queria to smoke
it proved and it proved and podia not to smoke
a dog its friend the quizo to help
and five hundred cigarettes made him smoke
and that step?
cancerrr
to the mammoth it gave him cancer(*3)


A mammoth chiquitiko queria to take
it proved and it proved and podia not to take
a bear its friend the quizo to help
and one hundred liters of wisky made it take
and that step?
cirrhosis
to the mammoth it gave him cirrosis(*3)

A chiquitito mammoth queria to debotar
it proved and it proved and podia not to debotar
a donkey its friend the quizo to help
and with one hundred prostitutas it made it debotar
oh and that step?
AIDS
to the mammoth it gave him sida(*3)

A mammoth chiquitiko queria to drug itself
it proved and it proved and podia not to drug itself
a cat its friend the quizo to help
and ten lines of cocaine made it prove
eh and that step?
overdose
the mammoth with sobredosis(*3)