So a friend of mine that is ten years younger than I am started having issues. Was feeling bad constantly and looked pretty bad as well. She also is one of those people that despite drinking like mad and eating garbage food all the time, never gains any weight. While to many out there this might sound like a dream come true there are often pretty terrible reasons why no weight is being gained by living irresponsibly.
Because she doesn't trust the medical systems here in Vietnam, and honestly, you shouldn't. She went back to Korea to, among other things, get checked out by some of the best medical practitioners in the world. This is the same person that is the owner of Nadi's roommates at the moment. She was meant to be in Korea for a week, then return. But now things have taken a turn for the worse as doctors have told her that she has serious issues with her liver.
As I indicated before Nadi doesn't really get along with these visitors, in fact it is quite evident that she really just wants them to leave her alone all the time. She goes to sit at some elevated place and will bark at them if they try to get up there with her. At night all 3 of them sleep on the bed and I frequently have to give them a shoutin' at for mucking about. If I don't let them on the bed they will bark on the floor so i guess it is a good thing they are all quite small and will settle down after being shouted at a time or two.
This guy in particular is a pain the backside. I keep referring to it as "little guy" but she is in fact female. She needs constant attention and if you do so much as even stand up for a stretch or to go to the bathroom she will follow you and nearly trip you up in the process. There is no amount of attention and petting that you can show her that will be "enough." It's cute at first but honestly, it gets to be kind of annoying.
Anyway, this post isn't about the dogs. For the most part they are easy enough to look after. This post is about the owner and how the news that she is getting in Korea is very bad news indeed.
After getting some blood tests the doctors are telling her that she has serious liver issues and at the moment she is in a bit of a scare that a transplant might be necessary. If the doctors are to get a hold of the information about how irresponsibly she lives her life, i can't imagine they they would actually allow her the transplant. I've known this girl off and on for about a decade in various countries and the entire time I have known her she has been a rather heavy smoker, an every single damn day drinker, and she eats whatever food in a diet that consists mostly of late night pizza. I have also never seen nor heard of her exercising in any capacity.
So while I am sympathetic towards her situation just like I would be towards anyone else's, at some point we have to look at a person and say "well, you kind of deserve this."
I'm not captain healthy guy by any means but I do at least make some effort to exercise, eat vegetables and fruits, and keep my drinking limited to 2 specified days of the week unless there is an event such as a birthday or something like that. I drink regularly, but I rarely get drunk. This girl whose dogs I am watching drinks to the brink of blackout basically every single day all the while eating nothing or horrible food like McDonalds or some sort of pizza delivery and of course, NEVER exercises. She has been this way ever since I first met her. She is a lot of fun sure, but I think at some point all of us need to stop behaving as if we are invincible and realize that living this way is going to catch up with us at some point.
I am hoping that the doctors are incorrect and she doesn't need a transplant, because I can't imagine that someone who drinks and smokes would be very high up on the potential organ recipient list. I'm hoping that they tell her that she needs to radically change how she lives and that she actually does so. I've only lived in Vietnam for about 4 years but I already know 2 people that have died from liver-related complications brought on by a lifetime of poor choices and zero maintenance on one's health. These people were not old either. One was 55, the other 52, and the girl whose dogs I am looking after is a mere 38.
I think that if you are going to live a life of frivolity and irresponsibility, that is what your early 20's are meant for. After that, I think that all of us need to at least have some level of a program directed towards health. For starters I think that smoking in this day and age given what we know about it is one of the most retarded things that a person can do.
I hope that she gets some good news and the doctors were incorrect. I also hope that this can be a wake up call for her so that she can make some very necessary changes to her lifestyle. Partying and eating pizza is a lot more fun than exercising and getting some fruit in your diet, but at some point or another, it's going to catch up with you.
I think this is particularly noticeable in the expat community here as well, and even though Americans in USA are kind of globally known for bad health decisions it is more apparent over here in Chiang Mai as well. I try to keep my health in check and and am getting a jump start on it even before i turn 30. I know a lot of people here that are in their 50's but they look like they are in their 70's. Most of the people I know that fall into this category smoke cigarettes and I share your sentiment about that. How can anyone still be doing that?
good on you for getting started early. A friend of mine recently said something stupid, but when I thought about it a bit it was quite profound. He said that the "easiest way to lose weight is to never allow yourself to put it on in the first place." Sage advice that is... but easier said than done
i think most people plan on that. I know that some of my friends when I was in college would see fat people and say "i'll never let myself end up like that" but guess what? Most of them are tubby already. Youth fades!
I hope your friend gets well. Mostly for your sake, I don't think you want to be stuck with two extra dogs long term! My good friend had a heart attack when he was 47 and that really was a wake up call for me that I need to start being more mindful. I already eat pretty good, but that's when I started trying to exercise more. I recently had a stress test for my heart and I think it has paid off. I did quite well on it.
I was recently diagnosed with mildly high blood pressure and that was a bit of a wake up call for me. I altered my diet and haven't had it checked since then. I probably should.
I am on a pill. It really helps to manage it, but it makes me have to piss non stop after I take it for a couple of hours.
So what is the turnaround remedy? Limiting sodium intake and exercise? I haven't looked into this as much as I should.
Both those things probably don't hurt. I went to the doctor the other day and they took my blood pressure and it was 122 over 66 or something like that. That was before I had even taken my pill. You would think at some point they would take me off it now that I am exercising more and stuff, but they don't seem in a rush.
I have no idea how people do it. The same with drinking to such a level where it's daily or almost daily. I have one beer and I feel done for a month. Anything stronger I don't really touch. I've never been the type of person to drink heavily or go to clubs and stuff. So to observe that behaviour around me, it's something I can't comprehend one bit.
I smoked for a while with the whole peer pressure that existed in the 90's but it went out of fashion so to speak in the early 2000's. Even though here in Vietnam and Thailand it is cheap to smoke and basically allowed anywhere, I never feel tempted to get back into that habit. Long-term health risks aside, I remember very well the immediate negative effects such as smokers lung and just feeling out of energy basically all the time.
I didn't find quitting to be all that difficult either. When I see people that are old enough to know better or people who are in their early 20's I am really surprised that people still do this terrible habit.
Common sense has to tell you what you are dong is killing your body by the lifestyle you lead. If she has a transplant her lifestyle would have to change immediately or she will not see her 40th birthday. You could end up being the proud owner of 3 dogs of which one is a Chihuahua.
I hope she can stick with it. My 55 year old friend who died about 2 years ago was given a ton of drugs and basically told by doctors that "if you drink any more... you will die." He was a good boy for about 60 days but the call of the bottle was very strong with this one... sure enough, about 2 weeks after he got back on the sauce he made a one-way trip to one of the hospitals here.
Unless the doctor offers her to change her lifestyle and start to get healthy, praying for a miracle transplant may just kill her as she sees it as an easy way out and continues to drink until the second hand liver spoilt.
Said the right kidney spoiled guy.
I always say that I think I am lucky to have never had any major health crisis but at the same time I also do some form of maintenance on my body on a regular basis. It isn't that hard, is it?
You' re quite right, our bodies are amazing and tell us everything if we listen to them and act promptly, so ALWAYS is the owner the bad one by abusing it, be careless or simply enjoy life irresponsibly.
I like to party as well, but I think that hangovers are nature's way of telling you to stop doing whatever made you feel like that in the first place. A major reason why I don't drink to excess often anymore is because hangovers hit me really hard now.
Things like our running club could really help people like this. I think that is the main reason why most of the Hashers, even though they are old, stay relatively healthy.
yeah I remember those guys. Some of them were in their early 70's and were keeping up with me when I was still in my 30's. It's good for people for sure.
Sad news. I hope your friends gets well without the need of a transplant. And for the cute chihuahua..she's so clingy. Lol. The dogs miss their owner for sure.
Yeah, I hope she can get past this. Too young to have a body failing already.
In fact, sleeping late and eating fast food will weaken the liver, heart, and lungs
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