Second Quick Updated Revision to My Book: Suffering "Long Covid"

I recently wrote a blog about putting out an updated and revised version of my 2022 book:

Suffering "Long Covid". (available as Amazon ebook/Smashwords ebook). It has also been nominated for the 2024 Eric Hoffer Book Award.

The blog was titled:

 JZ Murdock - an update on my writings and works.

Well?

I did it again. Updated it. Weird, as I thought I was done and a few new copies had made it into a brick and mortar in another city. Then it happened. NPR reported a new study I felt just really needed to be included. I had updated the book for January 2024, with the biggest new issues studied or uncovered about Long Covid, in 2023. I wasn't going to update for or in 2024 until the beginning of 2025. 

So, I updated it, again. And it is now out and available and the new(est) books have been sent to that store. It's doing well enough they gave my book a SKU# and are paying me upon delivery rather than after sales have been made. Progress. 

So. How can you tell which book you have in your hands? 

On the acknowledgements/copyright page behind the title page (or last page of the book in the ebook version) it has a line that indicates the copyright year. 

If it says 2022, it's the first version. If it says "Revised Edition, January 2024" that's the second version. If it says, "Revised Edition 1.1" (see below), that's the third and now most current version. And I do not plan to do it again.

We found some spelling errors in it and I fixed all that. That's what actually made me want to revise it ASAP. Not that many but any are too many. 

I was still coming out of the other end of long covid from where I am now and my attention to minor details, like spelling every word correctly in a book of 56,000+ words, well...I wasn't perfect. And I've checked, nothing truly important was incorrect. The information was all and still is all accurate. 

I have gotten very good feedback about this book. 

People who bought it, when they returned to the store they told the manager that they learned a lot and found it very helpful. A review on Amazon from a verified purchaser seems to sum things up nicely. From December 7, 2022:

As we enter our 3rd year of the COVID-19 Pandemic there are a variety of side effects being experience by over25 million Americans from the over 100 million cases of COVID-19.

The author provides excellent detailed observations and research into the symptoms he suffered during his personal experience with LONG COVD. Through the fatigue and other symptoms you can gain insight into what you and your family may be experiencing.

It is a detailed quick read and he used his background as a researcher and writer to bring greater awareness and understanding to the LONG COVID condition.

As someone who worked in epidemiology for 18 years I found this book to be an excellent resource of information.

Not bad, right?

[Noon update: I just got a phone call about someone who bought my book in the store, read it and came back in for some other things, but mentioned he liked the book. Then he asked in the store if they/I knew about the FLCCC Alliance? I looked them up just now and started to remember coming across them in my research. I searched my book just now and I had not mentioned them in it, which can only be for cause. So I asked Bing AI about it, and the response was this: "The FLCCC Alliance is a group of physicians and former journalists who advocate for alternative treatments for COVID-19, such as ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine 1 2. However, these treatments have not been approved by the FDA or the WHO, and there is insufficient evidence to support their effectiveness or safety 1. Therefore, the FLCCC Alliance is not a reliable source of medical information, and their perspective is not based on solid scientific consensus." 

I just thought I should mention this. They may be onto something, maybe not, but it needs much more testing and verification. I'd considered including them in my book as well as some other questionable sources. But it leaves you caught between not mentioning viable possibilities without enough information, or leading people into something it's better they do not bother with, which perhaps they may come across on their own. It's a judgement call. Sometimes I mentioned such things, sometimes not. To gain perspective on that dilemma, I would suggest writing a book like this one and truly feeling the weight of your actions.]

Not bad, I say. That's it. That's all I've got for now...wishing you all...all the best!

Cheers! Sláinte!

Cannabis - Up Side, Down Side

It's good to face reality whatever that may be. Good OR bad (as Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has recently pointed out). But this is an article that can be perceived only as bad, bad for the masses, as well as disingenuously good for anti-cannabis groups. What we need is more research, more information. Legalization, not continued abuse. Healthcare, not prison.

This is a time and a climate where we need things like cannabis. Not just for medical issues but also for recreational ones. It is far more gentle on one's system than alcohol, recreational drugs like cocaine, heroin and so on. As for people calling it a schedule one drug, or a gateway to harder drugs, that is pure ignorance and goes against what science shows and we are seeing. They are looking at personality issues there with people, not the actual cannabis itself.

We have a new president now in Pres. Trump. A capitalist and a businessman who has left a lot of damage in his wake in making more and more money. However if he truly is a capitalist and a businessman then cannabis should be legalized by the end of the year, nationally.

Certainly before he leaves office. Which as things are going from his actions, could be any day now. If he is who he says he is in being a capitalist and having such a great mind, nobody has one better, he claims. Then surely he can do anything. Even this.

I'd expect to see by the beginning of 2018, a new and thriving capitalism based, not criminal based, health based not judicially based industry. But we won't. That however is an argument for another time.

There is a new article is talking about people who over indulge on a daily basis, that is to say, actually abuse it, and does not refer to normal or even regular use of cannabis.

Conservative and anti Cannabis types are already gloaming onto this report in droves. It is their Godsend in the realm of anti Cannabis diatribe and potential legislation. They will take this out of context and use it inappropriately as always. Seeing the world as they do in black and white and not the measured grey that it is and how honest people, how adults would normally use information.

It's odd however that this result would be found as cannabis, unlike tobacco, is a vasodialator. Tobacco actually is a vasoconstrictant. Ever know someone who right after sex has to light up a cigarette? HAS to?. It's because in part sex releases chemicals to relax, but they are addicted to nicotine. So while they like the good feeling from the release in the culmination of sex, they crave that tension, that vasoconstrictive effect that nicotine induces. It also explains those anxious people who need to smoke cigarettes. They crave the familiar when really they need soemthing else. But that's the confusion of addiction.

Meaning overall anyway I suppose, that under this study tobacco would be potentially leading to Alzheimer's even more so, yet we haven't heard about that. But apparently not so. Well, kind of. Nicotine has some nasty side effects, and some good ones. However once the body breaks it down into cotinine ....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-201899/Tobacco-cure-Alzheimers.html

"In the case of Alzheimer's, cotinine may share nicotine's ability to improve attention and memory and at the same time reduce or halt disease progression. "One advantage of cotinine is that it could be used long-term with little concern about serious side effects and substance abuse."

Who knew?

"Addiction" is a medical term indicating a physical addition. Cannabis is not physically addictive but can be psychologically addictive. That however is a mental and not physiological defect.

About that..."Marijuana use disorder is a new term introduced by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) used by psychiatrists and mental health professionals for diagnostic criteria."
http://hightimes.com/medicinal/science/pot-matters-marijuana-use-disorder/
The High Times article has a list of eleven elements for the criteria of diagnosing substance use disorders.

Again, the article states (and I'm not disputing this, but it's odd) that:
"Those diagnosed with cannabis use disorder showed a significant reduction in brain blood flow in almost every region."

I think that requires more investigation because of the way Cannabis works on the brain. It doesn't make sense. If this was a conservative anti cannabis article I would call bull on this. As the article itself indicates, this is odd indeed:

"More research will have to be conducted to corroborate this claim. But it’s reasonable that someone who only lights up occasionally won’t have such an issue. This study conflicts with a 2014 preclinical trial, also published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. There, tiny doses of marijuana’s active ingredient, delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) had neuroprotective qualities. It helped ward off Alzheimer’s by destroying beta amyloid proteins which are what cause the disease. So in the end, it may be an issue of dosage. A little is okay, but too much is damaging. But only more studies can tell us for sure."

There does seem to be some support for this report's contentions:
http://www.idmu.co.uk/canncardio.htm
Which says:

"Summary - Cardiovascular effects of Cannabis:

"Cannabis increases heart rate in na•ve users although tolerance develops to this effect.

"Cannabinoids can also reduce blood pressure via arteriollar dilatation in a variety of tissues, although the effect on blood flow varies at a local level, with some organs or brain regions experiencing vasoconstriction, others vasodilation.

"In the withdrawal phase following cessation of chronic use, cerebral blood flow may be significantly reduced.

"Cannabis use has been implicated as a causative factor in a small number of patients suffering strokes or transient ischaemic attacks, and may represent a risk factor to susceptible individuals.

"However cannabinoids, in particular CB1-receptor agonists, have been shown to protect against nerve cell death following stroke, and dexanabinol at an advanced stage of the licensing process as a drug to be administered to victims of stroke or closed-head injuries to minimise the long-term brain damage caused by such events, and to improve survival and recovery prospects."

Conservatives and anti Cannabis types are gloaming onto this report in droves. It is their Godsend in the realm of anti Cannabis legislation. They will take this out of context and use it inappropriately. Seeing the world as they do in black and white and not the measured grey it is.

More to come, I'm sure.

The HealthCare Disease after Heart Disease

NOTE: I just wanted to say, to those of you who have donated money to help this family out this week, from them and myself, Thank You So Much!

A very good friend of mine recently had a serious scare in his life. He almost lost the person closest to him in his life, aside from his daughter, that is.

I've known him since I was having trouble in my own life back in 1992 around the time we first met. He was the nicest guy in the world and working at a local establishment that has a fond spot in my heart. A local brew pub called The Big Time Ale House on the "Ave" in the "U District" in Seattle. My marriage was disintegrating around me. I had a four year old boy. I had bills. I ended up living in a house where I rented a room from the woman who was leasing the house. It was a sad period in my life.

At one point, I was working two full time jobs so that I could get enough money to buy my son a Christmas present. I had been eating top ramen for my one meal per day. I got a second job at a bakery making Pasty's. I was working for a Ex Pat Brit who also ran a Pub on the "Ave" called The Unicorn. During this time I was hanging with this friend in my off time when he was available. A bright light in an otherwise dark period.

Then he moved to California for a while and we lost touch. After a whille he moved up to Portland and eventually got married and had a daughter, Mollie. Recently his wife, had a medical scare and we were quite worried but she came through it. They came through it, but as our health care is in America (and don't get me started on that topic), they are now left with bills from it.

They are good people, they are hard working, small business people. The started a business last year cleaning houses. The two of them. Now, just he can do it. They got their dream started up, things were going well, then this happened. To me, they are the cream of America, and they need help.

If you've ever had a medical condition and came through it, but were left with large bills from it, then you know that the bills can be almost as devestating emotionally, as the original condition that almost killed you. I never understood that about healthcare. "Great, I survived, but the stress is killing me anyway and I may have a heart attack just from that!"

The other day, on her own, their daughter Mollie put up a donations page. They didn't ask for it. She just wanted to do something to help. So I figured that the least I could do, after donating what I could, was to give others the opportunity to help too. If everyone that reads my blog were to donate $10, just $10, it would pay off their medical bills.

So, please, consider it.

All I want to do now is to post their daughter's words from her donations page and, if you feel moved, please help them out with anything. $20? $10? Even $5 would help, if enough people donated.

So here she is and thank you for your time and consideration. This isn't something you will ever see me do very often.

My name is Mollie and I am 18 years old. On December 26, my mom began experiencing severe chest pains. I called 911, not knowing what was really happening as they drove her to the nearest hospital. The next day, after testing, doctors informed us that she had a minor heart attack and needed to be moved to a bigger hospital where she could have her Angiogram. A few days later the heart surgeon suggested a triple bypass as her best option. For a diabetic with heart disease and three stints put in 11 years ago, he believed that bypass surgery would be the most beneficial to her. We were all scared, but we encouraged her to go through with the surgery.

December 31 my mother had her surgery. After many anxious hours I got word that all went well, though she ended up needing a quadruple bypass instead of a triple. January 5, 2013 my mom came home. Though she is getting better every day, she is still in the process of recovering. 

My parents own a house cleaning business; however, since my mother will be out of work for up to four months my dad has completely taken over, while I stay at home. I am a full time college student, while also taking care of my mom in her recovery. 

With a huge amount of hospital bills, regular expenses, the cost of medication, and daily needs, we are very tight on money. We understand everyone is going through hard times right now, so any amount will help. Thank you for listening to our story and support my family in this difficult time. God bless.

So, that was Mollie. Thank you for your time.

Here is the link to the donations page.