Lori Alexander 59: The Oracle of California

[usmcmom]

I once received a call from the county health department, telling me my son had been named as someone who had been in direct contact with a child diagnosed with whooping cough. They could not tell me who the child was; I just wanted to know so I could pinpoint if he had been in our home and had been in contact with my daughter too. I suspect it was a baseball teammate. 

Anyway, my kids were current on their vaccines but our doctor still started both of them on a round of antibiotics. If whooping cough were not serious (as Lori and her followers want to believe) the health department would not be required to make notifications. 

I wonder what Lori would have done if she'd received a call like that. If her kids were not vaccinated, would she have worried at all? 

[smittykins]

1 hour ago, Sarah92 said:

My uncle got a rabies vaccination after being bitten by a bat. Should he have not gotten the vaccination? I mean only like 99.99 percent of untreated humans die from rabies so there's a small chance of survival right? A tiny one?

On an episode of the TV show Monsters Inside Me, there was a case of a young girl who survived a rabies infection, but it was emphasized that she was extremely lucky.

And as late as the 1950s, women were douching with Lysol to try to prevent pregnancy. 

[feministxtian]

Acid reflux is NOT "god's way of telling you to eat less". For me at least, the reflux gets worse on an empty stomach/when I'm hungry. So I try to make sure I have something to snack on when I feel it cranking up. And, because I've taken care of myself with the reflux, it hasn't been a major factor in my life at all. Mine was caused by an endoscopy I had after my gall bladder surgery. The little sphincter at the top of my stomach doesn't close tightly now so it happens. I know what NOT to eat and have Tums and Pepcid. 

[louisa05]

1 minute ago, feministxtian said:

Acid reflux is NOT "god's way of telling you to eat less". For me at least, the reflux gets worse on an empty stomach/when I'm hungry. So I try to make sure I have something to snack on when I feel it cranking up. And, because I've taken care of myself with the reflux, it hasn't been a major factor in my life at all. Mine was caused by an endoscopy I had after my gall bladder surgery. The little sphincter at the top of my stomach doesn't close tightly now so it happens. I know what NOT to eat and have Tums and Pepcid. 

Make sure you are having regular endoscopy to check for Barrett's Esophagus or other damage. Counterintuitively, though, the way you know you have serious damage including Barrett's or cancer is usually that the reflux stops. My dad's reflux and associated stomach pain stopped about three years prior to his cancer diagnosis. We didn't know that was a bad thing. 

 I also recommend the book 'The Acid Reflux Solution' by Jorge Rodriguez. He is a gastroenterologist so nothing is based on woo. Just following about half of his suggestions got me off of most meds. 

Also, Tums and Pepcid are the worst options for controlling it. They just mask symptoms. Talk to your doctor about more effective meds. 

[SueEllenMishke]

I was thinking about Lori's disordered thinking around food and how it has really ramped up lately...and I was realizing, it seems like her food obsessions have increased since she had the Cyber Knife for her tumor. And I wonder, is this a replacement for her? And by replacement, say the cyber knife worked and her tumor and the vague constant symptoms are no longer as problematic, which means less opportunities to magically fall Ill when she needs attention. So now, instead of using the tumor for attention, she has Einkorn bread and acid reflux and eating her portion and all of her other disordered eating ideas. I don't have proof, obviously, but the timeline seems to add up. 

 

[feministxtian]

1 hour ago, louisa05 said:

Also, Tums and Pepcid are the worst options for controlling it. They just mask symptoms. Talk to your doctor about more effective meds. 

Its never been a constant thing. Its triggered by certain foods and being hungry. I've lived with it for over 20 years now and have figured out what works and doesn't work. Neither the Tums or Pepcid are daily things for me, just when I decide that diving into that pepperoni, bacon and sausage pizza is worth the later pain/discomfort. I stay away from most acidic foods (tomato-based) and limit my consumption of spicy foods. It sucks because I LOVE spicy stuff. I also do not consume alcohol, that's the WORST thing. I will talk to my PCP the next time I see her about it. 

Surprisingly enough, coffee is not a trigger...but a Coke will bring me nothing but a burning volcano. So, I don't drink it much. Just maybe with a meal. Pepsi doesn't have the same effect. But, I prefer fruit punch flavored or black cherry flavored sodas over Coke/Pepsi/Mountain Dew anyway. 

[delphinium65]

Amanda has to go.  She's making too much sense for Lori's poor little woman-brain.  

 

[fluffy]

5 hours ago, Koala said:

So, wonder which one of Lori's daughters-in-law are having their kids vaccinated?  My bet is on Emily.

I suspect so. Her mother and one sister are nurses. Emily seems to have successfully distanced herself from Lori in many ways. I'm not saying she doesn't care about her or any of those things, but Emily definitely lives her own life on the other side of the country. I'll be interested to see how Emily pursues her children's education. It's not my business but I think Erin got to the short end of the stick on the marriage front. 

[Loveday]

2 hours ago, SongRed7 said:

or measles, mumps, rubella, whooping cough to the list.  those are "not just childhood" illnesses and people can and do die from even from measles.  You are seeing outbreaks and serious illness among groups who refuse to vaccinate and believe they don't work.

SMH at the willful stupidity of some people. Yet, they believe all kind of "woo" medicine because someone "told them nail polish causes infertility" or read an internet meme that said "underwire bras cause cancer." 

No, no, I totally get that.    I just suddenly thought about tetanus because I get asked every time I go to my doctor's, "Have you had a tetanus booster in the last five years?" And I thought, well, I wonder if anti-vaxxers include tetanus shots in their stance against vaccines. I'm a child of the 50s and 60s, and I grew up getting the first wave of vaccines, polio vaccine on a sugar cube and all that; also grew up hearing stories from my parents and grandparents about the horrors of polio and other diseases that can now be prevented. You will never see me on the side of the anti-vaxxers.*

 

*the  closest I'll ever get is understanding that some kids shouldn't be vaccinated because of certain medical conditions or reasons

[Sarah92]

In other words, in long Ken speak, yes. I'm gonna assume it's a yes or else he would have just said no, right? 

[Loveday]

1 minute ago, Sarah92 said:

In other words, in long Ken speak, yes. I'm gonna assume it's a yes or else he would have just said no, right? 

Yeah, I was yelling at my screen, "Ken, answer the damned question!" LOL

[klein_roeschen]

5 hours ago, elliha said:

Abortions are free in Sweden even for non citizens but the trip is longer and the cultural gap is bigger. We don't have mandatory conselling or waiting periods but you may have to wait a few days if there are no bookings available. I assume that those that go here are mostly people who have relatives or connections here that may help. You have the right to have an interpretor but this also makes it a bit more tricky. If they speak English however that would help. Most illegal abortions happen in Poland and are relatively safe for being illegal which in the context is assuring. I read an article about this a couple years ago. A woman with talked about having had one legal and two illegal abortions. She chose to pay for the illegal ones despite being able to have a legal one due to a severe heriditary disease but she found the process to get the first legal one was so tough that she would rather take the risks and pay quite a lot for the other two than apply again despite being relatively sure she would be approved. There seems to be a lot of hypocracy in Poland because there are a lot of people who have had abortions or helped pay for a loved one's or a spouse abortion but they still don't think it is something that should be legal. 

Good for Sweden to offer this even for non citizens for free, we need more countries doing this. And Poland, as catholic as it is, is also a former communist country and one of the progressive things about this where the liberal abortions laws. The women got used to this and the dr's got trained in the procedures and got expierince in doing it. And many older polish women remember this times. So Poland still has a lot of dr's knowing to do abortions and some are willing to do them illegaly for a nice extra cash, not surprising. And I also read an article some times ago about some polish women who go to their neighbouring countries to get one, because they where cheaper than an illegal at home. I think one of the women had a baby with a severe but not life threatening birth defect, which exempted her from a legal abortion in Poland.

In legal terms, abortion is still illegal in Germany, but since 1993 you won't get prosecuted when you go to mandated counselling and have to wait at least 3 days after the counselling. Depending on the charity who offer this you choose, the counselling will go more or less the route of getting the child. And only after that you get a list of abortion providers. Before that you don't know who is offering this. Here is a strong debate about the section 219a of our penal laws, wich forbate advertising for abortions. But the law is so narrow, that a physician just listing these services on his/her homepage is seen as advertising instead of informing. It is a very beloved tactic of pro-lifers to denounce the dr's who openly inform about them doing it and draging them to court.

[ViolaSebastian]

5 minutes ago, Sarah92 said:

In other words, in long Ken speak, yes. I'm gonna assume it's a yes or else he would have just said no, right? 

He totally raised them to make their own choices. Except if they're five pounds overweight and are eating crackers.

[usmcmom]

Okay, you guys! I just rewatched about 45 seconds of the video to see if I remembered something correctly. Yes; I am pretty sure Lori calls it acid REFLEX throughout her "youtube."  

I mean, if she wants to pretend to be a doctor, she should at least be able to pronounce her god-given ailments correctly. 

Also, does Lori EVER think for herself? Okay, don't answer that. More and more she seems to start a sentence with "My sister says," or "My daughter says."  

[Katzchen24]

48 minutes ago, Sarah92 said:

In other words, in long Ken speak, yes. I'm gonna assume it's a yes or else he would have just said no, right? 

Ken, you are a moron. Target vaccinate how? I wish the chicken pox vaccine had been around when I was a kid, would have saved me a very uncomfortable couple of weeks as an adult. Another example - I don't know why she wasn't vaccinated, but an older friend of mine caught polio as a young girl, and her mobility has decreased through the years so she's now confined to a wheelchair. Are you going to risk that kind of damage to a child?

60 vaccinations? Do you include the booster shots in this? I hope your personal research includes actual, verified, peer-reviewed medical information, not just what some dipshit (like your wife?) says.

[Lgirlrocks]

[refugee]

On 12/27/2018 at 8:26 AM, Mellowing With Age said:

God gave her acid reflux so she won't eat? I would say she is looking for an excuse for her ED. 

I get acid reflux when I eat wheat. (I do it anyhow, on special occasions, just not often.)

Maybe she should give up the einkorn and eat some protein.

(caution: I am not a medical professional, nor do I play one on tv)

[refugee]

I wonder if Ken’s word salad about targeted vaccines resembles anything like the route we took, in cooperation with our pediatrician. Instead of the combo vaccines, we went a less convenient route of individual vaccines, spaced out. That’s what worked for us and our family medical history, and our doc didn’t have a problem with it.

[Frog99]

2 hours ago, fluffy said:

I suspect so. Her mother and one sister are nurses. Emily seems to have successfully distanced herself from Lori in many ways. I'm not saying she doesn't care about her or any of those things, but Emily definitely lives her own life on the other side of the country. I'll be interested to see how Emily pursues her children's education. It's not my business but I think Erin got to the short end of the stick on the marriage front. 

I wonder if Erin is distancing herself as well- in Alyssa’s IG stories from Christmas, it appeared as though Cassi and Ryan and kids were visiting at Lori’s- there was a pic with Lori’s father and it looked like her house. Alyssa seems to include Erin’s kids in her stories (and they seem to spend a lot of time with her as opposed to Lori now)- but they were absent from the Christmas pics. As someone said previously- I think her jewelry making business is taking a lot of her time. I wonder if they will at some point stop homeschooling. 

2 questions:

1- What is with the assertion that Catholics aren’t Christians? Maybe I’ve seen that assertion before but it didn’t hit me until today. I don’t understand that at all. 

2. Have we figured out who is having grand baby 9? Are Jon and Alyssa pursuing adoption or surrogacy? 

[Briefly]

7 hours ago, Loveday said:

Holy shit. The ignorance--the deliberate, willful, obtuse ignorance--on display in the comments has me scraping my jaw up off the floor. I want to post some examples, but there are just. too. many.

These people piss me off to no end. 

ETA: Well, here's a little exchange that made me laugh:

Stuart says, "Keep in mind folks there’s not been a single vaccine EVER that has been proven to work. Anybody can prove me wrong come ahead..."

And Martyn jumps right in with, "...smallpox?"

Stuart responds, "...yes I think your right mate. May I instead mention no MODERN vaccines work. My bad."

So, smallpox vaccination worked because it was based on an 18th century formula. A vaccine of old, as Lori might put it. But bring things up to the 21st century, with what we now know about disease and how to prevent it? Nope. Can't have that, can we?

I can name one:  flu shots work.  I can name another:  polio.  The list goes on.  Stuart, you are STUPID.

[Briefly]

6 hours ago, mango_fandango said:

I remember there was a fairly big backlash when Kat von D (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kat_Von_D , has a makeup line) said she wouldn’t vaccinate her future child. I just don’t get why someone would do that to their kid. 

I know some people don't vaccinate for so-called religious reasons, etc., but I think that Kat Von D only does things that will get her attention.  I honestly expected her to say that it was because of the needles, based on something I read/saw once - but I can't remember exactly what it was, just that there was something about needles.  Which she may well have said as a joke, considering how much ink she has.  But I think she jumped on the anti-vax bandwagon in an attempt to stay in the public's eye.  Just my opinion.

[Briefly]

3 hours ago, Loveday said:

No, no, I totally get that.    I just suddenly thought about tetanus because I get asked every time I go to my doctor's, "Have you had a tetanus booster in the last five years?" And I thought, well, I wonder if anti-vaxxers include tetanus shots in their stance against vaccines. I'm a child of the 50s and 60s, and I grew up getting the first wave of vaccines, polio vaccine on a sugar cube and all that; also grew up hearing stories from my parents and grandparents about the horrors of polio and other diseases that can now be prevented. You will never see me on the side of the anti-vaxxers.*

 

*the  closest I'll ever get is understanding that some kids shouldn't be vaccinated because of certain medical conditions or reasons

I remember the polio vaccine on the sugar cube, it was given out at the schools.  I remember elementary age but not which grade specifically, we lined up in the hallways of the school and each got a sugar cube.  I also remember at least one or possibly two injections being given that way, I don't know which ones they would have been though.  Mid to late 1960's.

I have always hears that the tetanus shot is supposed to be given (or at least a booster) every 10 years but most people seem to get the first one and then forget about it until they cut themselves and have to go get it.  I don't remember the specifics, but I know our daughter had to get one when she was a kid, then 10 years later she had to get the booster because she cut herself on something and it was right at 10 years after the last one.  Then last year, she texted me when she was working late and asked me how long it had been because she had just stepped on a nail that went through her shoe into her foot.  It was exactly 10 years again, so she went to the doctor first thing the next morning and got the shot.  Also, she got her flu shot that afternoon!

[Briefly]

Right after I posted my last comment, the tv news had a story about the flu and how it's really getting bad right now.  Which is the normal time, but I thought it was a very timely report considering what we've been discussing here.  Not everyone gets the flu shot, but I have asthma and so does the Briefly daughter.  The flu shot is a must for us, flu can be catastrophic for people in good health but for asthmatics (and people with many other issues) it can be fatal.  It can be fatal for anyone actually, but it has the potential for being really, really serious in our situations.

[wallysmommy]

I am a bit annoyed by  the adamantly anti-vaxxers, particularly those who are in the medical field.  We have a small contingent of militant employees who refuse the shot every year, and make a big production of wearing the mask during flu season.  Some of them frankly make a fool of themselves trying to prove a point.  

This was just another ploy by LA at controversy.  It must have been the topic that came up on the wheel of ignorance when she spun it today.

[refugee]

I know the flu shot can be helpful, but I always got so sick (a week of mini-flu?) from the shot every year when it was mandatory (for my job) that when I didn’t have to get it anymore (changed jobs), I stopped getting them.