July 2019 – HEALTH FREAK MOMMY

Medical Alert Bracelets Save Lives

Medical alert bracelets and tags can be extremely important for people with diabetes and other life-threatening diseases or disorders. They can be life-saving.

Years ago, a friend’s aged mother with dementia and diabetes wandered off from her house in the early hours of the morning and was only found a day later. She was finally found a few kilometers away from home by a group of senior citizens who were doing their morning walk rounds. Fortunately my friend’s mother was wearing a medical alert bracelet that probably saved her life. The medical alert bracelet had an emergency contact number and her medical condition engraved on it.

If you’ve been diagnosed with a chronic or life-threatening condition, have food or drug allergies, or take medications, then you should wear a medical alert bracelet. If you are a caregiver, you should also wear a medical alert bracelet to alert emergency personnel of your loved one who needs attention.

A medical alert bracelet or medical identification tag is a small emblem or tag worn on a bracelet, neck chain, or on the clothing bearing a message that the wearer has an important medical condition that might require immediate attention. The tag is often made out of stainless steel, sterling silver, 18k gold plated or black gun plated.

On arrival to a hospital’s emergency department, one of the routine procedures of the evaluation of the critically ill, unconscious, or disoriented patients is to remove their clothing to inspect the body for a cause of their sudden alterations. In these situations, medical alert bracelets can be invaluable as a time saver.

Information That Should Be Put on a Medical Alert Bracelet
The message on your medical alert bracelet should be concise and to the point. “Diabetes” or other medical disorders should be engraved boldly on one side. The other side of the bracelet can have other information such as “insulin dependent” or “medication controlled”. Other important information can include:

1. An emergency contact number
2. The name of your physician
3. A referral to another place for more information, for example “see wallet card for a full medical history”

Where to Purchase a Medical Alert Bracelet or Tag
There are many online shops selling fashionable medical alert bracelets and chains and one good online shop is u7jewelry.com.

Ordering medical alert bracelets is a breeze at U7jewelry.com. After choosing your choice of tag or bracelet, simply key in your medical condition, contact number and other details that you want to be engraved, choose your metal type and add to cart. You can make the tag look more fashionable like a fashion jewelry by wearing the tag with a stylish gold chain necklace.

Besides medical alert bracelets, there are over hundreds of thousands of other beautiful jewelry at U7jewelry.com, ranging from summer jewelry, men’s jewelry, religious jewelry, sports jewelry, music jewelry, heart jewelry, customized jewelry and many more.

Shipping is free for orders of $200 and above at u7jewelry.com. Don’t forget to use promo code U7C to get a 30% discount off your bill.

Happy shopping!

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Grandma’s Game Partner

The mil is hooked on Rummikub, a best-selling and fascinating board game that she learned to play with my 13-year old nephew when she was in Hong Kong. When my visiting SIL #2 from Hong Kong came to visit recently, she bought a set of Rummikub for the mil from Hong Kong. We were unable to find the original Rummikub at leading toy stores in KL. I ordered a set from Lazada (shipped from China) but it wasn’t an original set and the quality was so trashy that the tiles couldn’t sit firmly on the stand. Our friend later ordered a set for us from Shopee and the quality was just as cheesy.

Besides Cass, no one else is interested or has the time to play this game with the mil. Actually Cass has an ulterior motive playing the game with her grandma 🤑

Tell me what motivates you best?

Yeah, that’s what motivates her too. And me. We all work hard for it.😁

The game got so intense between Cass and the mil that the both of them stayed home on a Saturday night to play while Alycia and Sherilyn and I went out for dinner at a Korean restaurant.

See how $$ motivates eh?

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How To Look Taller And Slimmer

Not all celebrities stand as tall as we imagine they are when they appear on screen. Some of Hollywood’s most famous celebrities are average in height. Though it may not seem like it on screen, celebs are human too, and they can be short too.

You may not have known that Victoria Beckham, Shakira, Emilia Clarke, Christina Aguilera and Scarlett Johansson are just some of the famous celebrities that fall under 5’4″. That’s because they know how to add a few inches to their height with some very clever styling tricks.

Let me show you some ways to master the illusion with the right tops and beautiful elegant dresses for women!

1. Flaunt your legs with short skirts and dresses
This is one of my favorite tricks to look taller! I am 5’2″ and I wear short skirts and short pants all the time 😉 While some of you may not feel comfortable walking around in a mini skirt, don’t be afraid to embrace a hemline that is a little shorter than you might usually go for. Your legs will definitely look longer than if you pick a dress or skirt that falls below your knees, like his Embroidery O-Neck Short Sleeve A-Line Dress and from SheinStore.com

2. Go crop
Just like with your hemlines when it comes to skirts and dresses, the same can be applied for pants and jeans. If you show off a bit of ankle, it will give the illusion that your legs are too long for the trousers and you will immediately add a few inches to your height.

3. Try a crop top
If you wear a crop top with your high-waisted trousers and skirts, it will help to accentuate this illusion even further. Show off just a slither of skin though.

4. Wear skater dresses
Short women should fill their closets with items of clothing that highlight their assets, and one great area to draw attention to is your naturally smaller waist. Skater dresses do a great job of cinching at the waist, then flaring out toward the bottom hem, making you look noticeably leaner. Opt for a short skater dress for the best results!

5. Embrace the high-waist
This is especially important when it comes to wearing slightly longer hemlines, including midi and pencil skirts. It will help create the illusion that the middle part of your body is much longer than the reality.

6. Wear something fitted
I’m not implying that you have to wear bodycon dresses to look tall, but wearing oversized, billowing clothing will accentuate how small you are. So, even if you want to wear a loose-fitted dress like this Embroidery Sleeveless Party Print Maxi Dress with flair skirt, just makes sure it at least nips in at the waist.

7. Dress all in one colour
If you’re dressed from head to toe in one colour, you won’t be breaking up your body and will inevitably look taller than if you chop yourself in two by wearing more than one hue. Check out this elegant Party Pure Color Embroidery Stitching O-Neck Half Sleeve Bodycon Dress from SheinStore.com . The half sleeves make your arms look slender and longer and the short hem flaunts more of your legs.

Now that you know some simple hacks to make you appear taller, it’s time now to go shopping for some fashion slim ruffled party dresses, office dresses or casual wear at SheinStore.com! They are offering free shipping and $5 off to new users! Also apply the promo code BLOG5 for $5 off on all items!

Happy shopping!

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Update On Cassandra’s Appointment With The Urologist at HKL On 4 July 2019

It took me almost half a year to finally secure an appointment for Cass to see Dr Susan, one of the top urologists at HKL. She has a wealth of experience dealing with a myriad of urological disorders from patients young and old. She treats patients not only at HKL but travels all over Malaysia to treat patients. Dr Susan used to see Cass but I have not brought her back to see Dr Susan for almost 5 years.

Firstly, it was not easy to get through to Dr Susan’s nurse. When I finally got through, the nurse wasn’t around. Next came Hari Raya and the nurse went on leave. When I finally got hold of her on the phone, she informed me that she lost Cass’ file and she needed a referral letter again!! W.T.Fun!

One day, the hubs needed to go to HKL to visit his staff who was warded for amputation of leg resulting from diabetes complications. What good opportunity for me to get him to hand over the referral letter to Dr Susan’s nurse. That was the first step to getting the appointment. Yet, it wasn’t easy and I had to waste another month calling almost everyday to finally secure an appointment!

When the nurse gave me an appointment that was one month away, I flipped and pestered her for a closer date. Thank God the nurse is pretty easy going and helpful and she told me to come next week, on 4 July 2019.

Yay, first mission of 100 accomplished!

On the day of the appointment, we waited for 3 hours before it was our turn. And the appointment with Dr Susan and the nephrologist lasted for almost an hour. Dr Susan was very thorough as usual. She re-studied the previous MRI report done on 30 December 2014 and based on the remarks written by the radiologist, she ordered a repeat MRI. This time, furosemide (Lasix) will be given along with IV drips to yield clearer images.

Based on the previous MRI report, the radiologist’s conclusion is – there is a high possibility of an external insertion of an additional ureter. But the MRI quality was poor as Cass moved during the procedure. She kept commenting that her body was itchy!

If the repeat MRI shows an ectopic ureter, Cass would have to undergo another surgery. This time, surgery will not be on the abdomen as the doctor said that operating from the old wound would be extremely messy due to adhesions. Cass has had two surgeries on her abdomen. Surgery will be from her back, where the kidney is 😭

Our next appointment to see Dr Susan is end September 2019. Hopefully we’ll get a date to do the repeat MRI by this year. And hopefully Cass’ lifelong bladder issues will be resolved once and for all by year end. 🙏

I was surprised when on the day of our appointment with Dr Susan, I saw Cass’ file on the table. The nurse managed to locate the file. Good job to her!!

RM10 for this plate of Malay mixed rice. There’s only 1 cafeteria at the Complex selling Malay food. I didn’t enjoy the food at all and I totally hate eating with plastic cutlery, especially when I have to use it on chicken with bones!

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Glum Friday – 19 July 2019

This is a throwback post.

I woke up last Friday to find both our Barb fish at the bottom of the aquarium, dead. I was crushed, so were the girls. Though the fishes had only been with us for a week, we have grown to have a liking towards them. One of the Barb fishes was a real survivor. When we first brought it home, we found it half dead the next day (New Tank Syndrome, I think). It was floating on top of the water and not moving. We thought it had died. For half the day, we tried to resuscitate it by knocking on the aquarium and it moved. Then it tried to swim but kept swimming deliriously and kept nose-diving down the tank. After we transferred it into a separate container and let it recuperate, it grew stronger and stronger and became a healthy fish again. We then bought another Barb fish to keep it company.

And the culprit for killing the two Barb fish?

This little fella. Don’t know what species this fish is. We have now named this fella the Big Bully!

On Thursday we decided to put the two Barb fish back into the big aquarium to be with the rest of the fishes. But we noticed that Big Bully kept nipping the fins of the Barb fishes. We were not sure if Big Bully was just kissing Barb (as in welcoming them) or nipping them. We are not experts in fishes and were totally clueless.

When both the Barb fish died the next morning, we were certain that Big Bully killed them. More sad news unfolded throughout the day.

The rest of the fishes began to die, one by one. When one fish died, the partner of the similar species followed suit in death. In just one day, 6 fishes died, including one that was pregnant. We were all devastated.

Could Big Bully be that vicious? We removed it from the aquarium and isolated it from the remaining 3 living fishes.

Long story short, the last living Angel fish eventually died too, after we managed to resuscitate it when it was gasping and sank to the bottom of the tank.

Cass quickly removed the dead fishes from the aquarium the moment she stepped into the house from school and buried the fishes in our potted plants.

When Alycia came home and saw the last Angel fish dying, she kept tapping on the tank to try to resuscitate it. We isolated Angel in a separated container and saw it spring back to life again! We all cheered when Angel swam again. But it just wouldn’t eat and sadly, the next morning it died too 😭

Big Bully has been very inactive and looks very depressed ever since it was isolated. Cass says it’s now in fish prison for murder 😬 After several days, I decided to put Big Bully back into the tank and observe if it’s still bullying the other 2 fishes. I was right. The moment it was released back into the aquarium, it became ‘alive’ again and started to nip the orange fish. I Googled and learned that Big Bully could be attempting to mate with the orange fish.

Did you know that Guppy mating takes less than a second, and it looks just like he is stinging her at her vent where her gravid spot is located? But again, we were not sure if Big Bully was nipping on Orange or trying to impregnate it 😂 Now Big Bully is back in isolation/prison 😆

We’ve learned so much about fish in just a short period of two weeks. As the aquarium is just next to my work desk, I can observe the fishes all the time. And I’ve realized that fishes have feelings too. 🐠 🐟

Enough about fish, let’s talk fruits 🍒🍌

Sil #2 from Hong Kong bought lots of cherries, blueberries, jumbo avocados and jumbo grapes from the fruits wholesaler in Selayang. We’re now popping super sweet cherries and blueberries into our mouths everyday 😋

Cass enjoying her fruits and Harry Potter book before tuition on Saturday.

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The Girls’ First Pet(s)

Sherilyn told me that she needed to buy a few fishes for her school’s aquaponics project in RBT (Reka Bentuk Dan Teknologi). My budget was no more than RM20 but I ended up spending about RM50. It was more than just fishes that I bought but also fish food and hydroponics. And that’s only for the first two rounds. There’s round 3 to it and most likely many more rounds to come in future!

When 4 out of the 5 fishes died, I was tricked into buying another batch of fishes. This time, I bought a tiny rectangular aquarium, anti-chlorine drops and more hydroponics.

A week later, one of the female guppy fishes was spotted having a very swollen belly. Sherilyn was super certain that her fish was pregnant. The next morning, Cass noticed some tiny greyish objects floating in the aquarium. We thought that they were fish poop but upon scrutinizing the poop, Cass realized that they were baby fishes!! She excitedly inform Sherilyn who was still in bed, that there were 14 baby fishes! Several hours later, mummy fish popped out another 2 babies.

The baby fishes had to be separated from the mother fish and other bigger fishes. And so Sherilyn and Cass spent the entire Sunday tending to the fishes. And I was again tricked into going to the fish supplies shop to buy a bigger aquarium, baby fish food and what do I know, MORE FISHES for the big aquarium!

None of us has any experience caring for fish and Sherilyn had to rely on her RBT text book and Dr Google for all the instructions on how to handle fishes, especially baby fishes.

For once Sherilyn and Cass didn’t bicker and fight the entire day and it was their babies that brought them closer together.

The girls choosing their pet fish. Even Alycia who is not an animal lover started to develop an interest in fish at the fish supplies shop and chose her own fish 😆

Mother fish with her babies before the babies were separated and placed in another aquarium.

The new fish nursery

We now have 9 adult fishes and I lost count of the number of baby fishes as some did not survive their first day of life.

And we finally solved the mystery of the fish that went missing from the aquarium for several days. Apparently, the fish had committed suicide by jumping out of the aquarium twice. Hubs came home late one night and saw the fish jumped out, he put it back into the aquarium and the next morning when he left for work, he saw the same fish on the table and he threw it away WITHOUT informing anyone of us. And there we were searching at every nook and corner of the house for Nemo!!

From what was just meant to be a simple RBT project in school that probably won’t cost more than RM20, the girls turned it into a long-term commitment and got themselves a bunch of fishes as pet. And I’m RM150 poorer!

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Random Updates

The past one week has been one whirlwind of a week, it’s not ended yet and spilling into this week. I am super duper sleep deprived and enervated. My brain is foggy too from getting only 4-5 hours of sleep each night and even on a rainy Sunday morning (when I should still be in my comfy bed until 8am), I had to be up at 4:15 a.m.!

Many events transpired over the past one week. Report card and meeting with teacher at Sherilyn’s school, Cass’ long overdue follow-up consultation with the urologist at HKL, Sherilyn’s dance competition, SIL from Hong Kong’s stay in KL, home-cook feast at home with relatives and much more.

All I am looking forward to now is SLEEP and lots of it!! And when’s the next public holiday? Only in 2.5 weeks’ time on 30th July 😫 😴

Sherilyn and her partner at the national level Berjaya Teen Star Challenge at Taylors Internation School @ Puchong last Sunday. They didn’t make it into the finals but I think they put up a fantastic performance. Only 12 teams from high schools and colleges throughout Malaysia out of 40 teams made it to the finals. All the 40 teams were incredibly talented and worthy of a try in Asia’s Got Talent audition.

Though she wasn’t selected in this year’s Berjaya Teen Star Challenge, my very determined Dancing Queen has vowed to try again next year, which will be her 3rd try. Her next dance competition (international level) will be held next month and she only announced to me her decision to participate in the Get The Beat dance competition during lunch today!

After skipping breakfast to rush to Puchong, we only had a proper meal at 2pm, at some cafe in Puchong on Sunday, after the competition ended.

Long wait at HKL to see one of the best pediatric urologists in Malaysia. Next appointment will be in end September 2019. I will be writing a separate post just on Cass’ consultation with the urologist and nephrologist.

We were so hyper bored waiting for hours on end for our turn to see the doctors that we did a shoe-fie 😬

Folks, if you ever feel that life is unfair to you, just spend half a day at the Nephrology and Urology Units at Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL). Observe the patients there and chat with them. I guarantee you that you’ll instantly be thankful to God for what you have. Suddenly, all the problems facing you seem so trivial and easily solved. Wait till you see small kids and adults on wheelchair, some are counting down to the day that they knock on heaven’s door, some are on lifelong medication, some have dysfunctional urinary system and are unable to void without assistance and some can never walk as they are born with spina bifida and an abnormal urinary tract.

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Intestinal Worm Prevention Tips for Your Dog

When keeping your dog healthy, veterinarians recommend annual wellness checks, which can include updating your pet’s necessary vaccines and dewormings. However, if your dog becomes exposed to worms between your annual visits to the vet, you can visit Vet Products Direct for dog worming tablets.

How did My Dog Become Infected with Intestinal Worms?
The ways in which a dog becomes infected with intestinal worms depends on the type of worm. If a pregnant dog is infected, she can pass those worms to the fetus through the placenta, and the puppies are then born infected with worms. Older puppies can have a tendency to eat feces, their own or from other animals, and this increases the risk of exposure to intestinal parasites. While older dogs are less likely to eat feces, the soil is the perfect environment for intestinal worm eggs. Digging in the dirt or playing in an area with eggs in the soil can lead to an infection.

Dog Outside

What Types of Intestinal Worms Can Infect My Dog?
When you visit Vet Products Direct for dog worming tablets, it is important to identify the type of worm your dog may have. The common types of intestinal worms found in dogs are the following:

Tapeworms
Roundworms
Whipworms
Hookworms

Tapeworms do not pass fully in the stool. Instead, segments of the tail end of the worm break off and are seen in the feces. In the stool, these segments resemble grains of white rice. Dogs are commonly infected with tapeworms by either ingesting feces with worm segments or ingesting fleas. Fleas can carry the worm eggs, and when the flea is ingested during grooming, the eggs hatch inside the dog’s stomach. Roundworms are common in younger puppies, and they can be passed to puppies either while the puppies are developing in the uterus or through the mother’s milk when nursing. While not as common as roundworms and tapeworms, whipworms and hookworms can cause more damage to the dog. Both of these worms irritate the intestines, causing blood loss. Blood can be seen in the stool, and if an infection with either of these worms is bad enough, the dog may form anemia which is a lack of red blood cells circulating through the body.

How Can I Tell My Dog has Intestinal Worms?
Some dogs may not show signs of infection with intestinal worms, but common symptoms include:

Lack of appetite
Distended belly
Nausea and vomiting
Diarhhea

Along with symptoms, a veterinarian can check a fecal sample for eggs to confirm a diagnosis of worms.

golden retrievers can get hemangiosarcoma

Prevention is an important aspect of keeping your dog healthy. When you visit Vet Products Direct for dog worming tablets, you will find a variety of products to prevent and treat common intestinal worms. Deworming new pets that enter the home and pets that are pregnant also decreases the risk of infection with intestinal worms. By combining these deworming options with other preventative measures, annual wellness checks and fecal exams, you can protect yourself and your family, both human and animal, from these parasites.

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Keto Coconut Bread

I love bread but have for the past few months started to consume bread sparingly, as part of my low-carb diet for better health and for a trimmer bod. I only choose whole grain breads made with wholemeal flour and occasionally buy flour-free sprouted wheat bread.

I was really excited when I found out that my friend, Cynthia is selling keto coconut bread at her kopitiam. I sent in an order immediately and collected the delish bread the following week. The keto bread is pre-order and will only be made by the baker when there are orders.

To get the record straight, I am not on a keto diet. I don’t think I am disciplined enough to stick to a 100% keto-compliant diet nor can I stomach a 100% keto diet. Too much fats and meat make me feel sick. Rather, I am more towards adopting the Mediterranean Diet and I think that this flexible diet suits me rather well. I eat healthy carbs and still indulge in the occasional sinful fast carbs.

OK, back to the keto coconut bread! It’s made with coconut butter (Mana), eggs, Madagascar vanilla beans and Himalayan pink salt.

Price is RM20 a loaf (8 inch)

Texture of the coconut bread is like cake and best eaten when toasted.

I like to pair the toasted coconut bread with homemade pandan kaya or homemade peanut butter (salt, sugar and oil-free) with a small wedge of Whittaker’s almond chocolate toasted together. So lip-smacking good!

If you’re keen to order this keto coconut bread, do Whatsapp Cynthia at 016-229 1429 or drop by at her kopitiam at Kedai Makanan Kuen You. She makes keto pandan kaya and serves keto-compliant meals at her kopitiam too.

No. of times viewed = 67