Daily Archives: March 10, 2016

Well, here’s the verdict, this morning i got a call from my doctor, I have a Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) or a hole in my heart. It is a hole between the atria of the heart, everyone is born with this, but it closes entirely for the majority of people. For some of us, it does not, a little opening stays open. And clots can go from one atrium of the heart to the other and can then go to the brain, where they can cause strokes.

Exactly what happened to me! I did have a stroke, although it was so small that I had no symptoms and never knew I had it till the blasted MRI!

So I called my stepdad, he is a cardio-thoracic surgeon, he works  at Columbia Presbyterian in New York City. He said not to worry, it’s an easy fix, he’s done a few himself. The surgery to repair the PFO is done through a catheter. He will talk to the cardiologists at Columbia and call me back tomorrow.

So here we are folks. I’m going to my Zumba class, heck, I’ve had this hole in my heart all my life, so doing Zumba isn’t going to make anything worse! A hole in my heart… hmmmm… how did I know I always had it! No, seriously, I’m deep breathing and waiting for the news from my stepdad.

Never do know what life has in store for you!

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/services/heart/disorders/congenital-heart/patent-foramen-ovale

What is Foramen Ovale?

The foramen ovale is a small hole located in the septum (wall) between the two upper (atrial) chambers of the heart.

The foramen ovale is used during fetal circulation to speed up the travel of blood through the heart. When in the womb, a baby does not use its own lungs for oxygen-rich blood; it relies on the mother to provide oxygen rich blood from the placenta through the umbilical cord to the fetus. Therefore, blood can travel from the veins to the right side of the baby’s heart and cross to the left side of the heart through the foramen ovale and skip the trip to the baby’s lungs.

What is a Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO)?

Normally the foramen ovale closes at birth when increased blood pressure on the left side of the heart forces the opening to close.

If the atrial septum does not close properly, it is called a patent foramen ovale. This type of defect generally works like a flap valve, only opening during certain conditions when there is more pressure inside the chest. This increased pressure occurs when people strain while having a bowel movement, cough, or sneeze.

If the pressure is great enough, blood may travel from the right atrium to the left atrium. If there is a clot or particles in the blood traveling in the right side of the heart, it can cross the PFO, enter the left atrium, and travel out of the heart and to the brain (causing a stroke) or into a coronary artery (causing a heart attack).

How Common is Patent Foramen Ovale?

PFO is present is up to 25 percent in the general population. Young adults (less than age 55) who have stroke of unknown cause (cryptogenic stroke), are more likely to have a PFO. In fact young adults who have had a cryptogenic stroke are more likely to have both a PFO and a deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

A PFO can be associated with atrial septal aneurysm, which is characterized by excessive mobility of the atrial septum.

Yoga, Sufism, Buddhism, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Christ teach about love. All these great philosophies and teachers say there are only two ways to live our lives. One is in fear of everything, the other is in love of everything. I think everyone understands what living in fear means, but not everyone knows what I mean by living in love of everything. So I’ll explain. It’s not just romantic love, although that’s included of course. But what I am talking about here is “out of love.” Your heart is full of love for all beings, and all things. Even when you encounter something “bad,” you act out of the love in your heart. You never say to a child who is unhappy, perhaps needlessly according to you, “If you don’t stop, I’ll really give you something to cry about.” You act with the love in your heart and try to make things better for this child, for your friends, your neighbors, dare I say the world. Living in fear, in avarice, in lack has brought us to where we are at this stage in the world’s life. Living in fear. Not living in love, or gratitude, or inner peace or the sense of having enough. Living in fear. If this happens, I will die. If this doesn’t happen, I will die, this is fear. I’ll be fine no matter what happens: Love! Love for yourself, love and trust, not fear.

All the negative things come from fear, like greed, violence, hate, unkindness, depression, anxiety, guilt and judgment.

All the positive things come from love, like nurturance, care, generosity, passion, excitement, acceptance, joy, peace, serenity, and acceptance.

Just look at these lists, think of the emotions each of those words connotes and ask yourself what would you be feeling right now.

When we live in fear, we close ourselves up against the world. We are, well, we are afraid. We act as if something is after us, our belongings, so we act out of that fear and we act hatefully or violently or judgmentally.

When we act out of love, we are open to the world and all its experiences, therefore we act kindly, joyously, serenely, and generously.

Living in fear, we live like we have nothing, we want more and more. We are not generous or kind hearted. Our hearts are closed to the suffering of humanity, to the suffering of children, of innocent little animals.

Living out of love, our hearts are wide open, we feel as if we have everything we could possibly need and se we are generous, kind, patient, and yes loving to all people, animals, even plants.

So, if there are only only two emotions in the world, and you can only act out of one of them, which would you choose? And yes, it most certainly is a choice you make. It’s not random, no one else chooses for you, you make the choice. Which would you choose?

Dogs, Dogs, Dogs I have a special announcement before I get started. In the interest of full disclosure, I must make an admission that will send shockwaves around the world – I hate dogs. Please forgive me, but they aren’t my thing. Now don’t get me wrong, I have great fun playing with them. I […]

The post Animal Assisted Therapy appeared first on Insights From A Bipolar Bear.

I have worked with children my entire professional life and even before that. In high school, I volunteered at elementary schools and I taught a Sunday School class for preschoolers at my church. In college, I tutored elementary children as my work-study job. So that's nearly 18 years experience with  K-12 students.

Up until two years ago I taught high school English at a private school. I loved it. I love English and I love that age of kids. I had fun at work. While I don't completely agree with the adage "Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life," I understand the sentiment. Teaching was definitely work but it was meaningful work.

Most recently, I taught middle school English at an urban charter school. I resigned after three months. The school and I weren't a good fit. So now I am substitute teaching in my hometown. It's steady work and stress-free; I don't bring any work home.

This week I was in a 5th grade class. It made me nostalgic for my own teaching days. Deciding to go to graduate school for my MSW wasn't an easy decision. I had a career I loved and thoroughly enjoyed. But I felt called to pursue social work. So I don't regret it.

Even though I'll be a social worker in two years, I still have plans in my future to return to an English classroom. Ideally, I'd love to be a part-time teacher and a part-time therapist. Don't know how feasible that is though. Given both fields can be high stress.

I'll figure it out though. I have time.

I have worked with children my entire professional life and even before that. In high school, I volunteered at elementary schools and I taught a Sunday School class for preschoolers at my church. In college, I tutored elementary children as my work-study job. So that's nearly 18 years experience with  K-12 students.

Up until two years ago I taught high school English at a private school. I loved it. I love English and I love that age of kids. I had fun at work. While I don't completely agree with the adage "Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life," I understand the sentiment. Teaching was definitely work but it was meaningful work.

Most recently, I taught middle school English at an urban charter school. I resigned after three months. The school and I weren't a good fit. So now I am substitute teaching in my hometown. It's steady work and stress-free; I don't bring any work home.

This week I was in a 5th grade class. It made me nostalgic for my own teaching days. Deciding to go to graduate school for my MSW wasn't an easy decision. I had a career I loved and thoroughly enjoyed. But I felt called to pursue social work. So I don't regret it.

Even though I'll be a social worker in two years, I still have plans in my future to return to an English classroom. Ideally, I'd love to be a part-time teacher and a part-time therapist. Don't know how feasible that is though. Given both fields can be high stress.

I'll figure it out though. I have time.

Whereas other psychoactive drugs and even SSRI’s may increase the risk of fractures, “Lithium was associated with lower fracture risk (OR = 0.63; 95% CI, 0.43-0.93)”

This is great news, and another reason, besides controlling my bipolar disorder, that I am so very  glad I’m on Lithium.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18626264

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