I'm Not Always Funny

but generally speaking, that's my default personality. it's my social tool, conversation starter, and defense mechanism.

however, this will not be funny.

my niece is sort of in renal failure. creatinine levels over 1.0 mark kidney failure in a kid her size and her number is 1.3. however, it may be something as simple as draining her kidneys that solves the problem. she was born with a double blockage, so this wasn't entirely a shock, but it certainly feels like it.

pray for her, for her parents. surgery is also a likely solution as well. both treatments are risky.

hang on a second while i grab my soapbox and get it balanced on my pedestal.

now that i'm up here, let's talk.

creatinine is the waste product from creatine. creatine is a natural by-product of muscle contractions.

do you recognize the word "creatine"?

i did.

CREATINE!!! IT CAN MAKE YOUR MUSCLES GINORMOUS!!!!! YOU'LL BE BUFF!!!!! GIRLS WILL THINK YOU'RE HOT!!!!! YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFUL!!!!!! ALL YOU NEED ARE MUSCLES AND A RIDICULOUSLY FAKE TAN AND YOUR SELF ESTEEM WILL BE HIGHER THAN MT. KILIMANJARO!!!

it was a controversial additive to body building formulas. "is this safe, is this a drug" blah blah. it's not a drug.

however, i can't back the notion that it's safe either, though body building companies swear by it.

what do i know though, i'm just some lowly female consumer who doesn't body build and has no idea what my personal creatinine levels look like. i have no medical degree or training. my credentials are... oh my gosh, just about the same as spokespersons for companies who put creatine in their products... WHOA.


i could go off about this in 2000 word rant easily, but i'll paraphrase: creatine makes creatinine. too much creatinine? renal failure. creatine comes from muscle contractions. body builders are already producing more creatine naturally, and then adding even more. but it's safe.

how many other drugs, chemicals, medicines, did we think were safe? we handed cigarettes to our troops in MREs less than a half a century ago. lung cancer, emphysema.

we created tanning beds. melanoma.

we put asbestos in our homes. mesothelioma.

want a really controversial one? birth control. stroke, infertility.

this post really has nothing to do with little aliza jane.

it has to do with me. with my family, my son, my choices, my knowledge. a neighbor informed me that oxybenzone, an active ingredient in sunscreen, is suspected to be an endocrine disruptor. translation? it screws up your sex hormones, i.e. testosterone and estrogen.

who do you put sunscreen on most?

your kids.

i'm not going to tell anyone else how to live their life, what choices to make. but i will say for myself, i'll be damned if i go to a store and buy the cheapest, easiest version of something without considering possible long term effects.

and yes, i'm aware that there are always going to be foods, toys, clothes, products, that pose a threat. i cannot avoid everything. but when there is a label right in front of my face listing the ingredients, and i am fully literate, there is no excuse. i owe it to myself, to my husband, to my son, to read that label.

ok, let me jump down.

send out some love to my sister and her husband. i cannot even imagine how scary this is for them, and i hope i never have to imagine.

also, we're leaving for home (WITH DADDY!!!!) in 3 days, so blogging will drop off a bit while i unpack and set up our monstrous new house (i wonder if i'll look back in 10 years and laugh at how i thought 1500 sq. ft. was monstrous). but i promise when i post again, it'll be funny!!!