Blog 4

Bi-Polar Rollercoaster of Love:

My handsome, witty, vibrant, intelligent, HILARIOUS, sweet, tender-hearted, self-destructive, lazy, oppositionally defiant, self-loathing, violent, verbally abusive, insecure, fragile 19 year old nephew is Bi-Polar. Bi-Polar disorder affects every aspect of his life. He barely graduated from high school and since graduation he has become stagnant. It is truly heartbreaking. There are beautiful days when he gets up and out and wants to do things with the family. These are my favorite days by far. There are days when he gets optimistic about finding employment or registering for community college. Then there are days on end when he only gets out of bed to go to the bathroom. If you try and make him get up then he gets aggressive. Bi-Polar disorder does not take a holiday; there have been Christmases and Thanksgivings where he wouldn’t utter a word. He goes through phases where he wants to take his medicine. When he is medicated he does really well and makes sound decisions....then just when you start to relax... he backslides. He thinks "the medications make him feel like a robot" so he just stops taking them. Loving someone with Bi-Polar disorder is really difficult and frustrating to say the least, but at the same time I cannot even begin to calculate how much he has enriched my life. I pray every day that he learns to manage his illness. I hope that he hears me when I tell him that he is amazing and is capable of living a good life.

Sensitive Subject

Blog #3 Option 1

What would you tell a friend or loved one who suspected that she might have an STD but was afraid to get tested? 

I have actually lived this exact scenario with a really good childhood friend of mine. She has always been scared of receiving bad news in the doctor’s office so she typically puts off treatment especially when she suspects something is wrong. This phobia of sorts started when we were about 19 and her physician noticed an irregular mole and asked her to follow up with a dermatologist for a biopsy. She is 27 now and has never had that mole checked because she is terrified that someone will tell her that she has melanoma.

She called me up one evening and was in hysterics. She had been very sick with the flu and had a high fever for many days. She was taking a shower and noticed that she had an outbreak on her genitals. She was very concerned and she was asking me what I thought it could be. I really didn’t know what to tell her because I was aware of her phobia of doctors delivering bad news to her. I assumed that it might be a herpetic outbreak and I’m fairly sure that she knew that it was as well. But, I lied to her to try and get her to go see a doctor. I told her that it was probable that while her immune system was compromised with the flu she was most likely experiencing some sort of extreme lymphadenopathy. I told her that it would be an easy fix and she needed to go get a prescription. She sounded relived; she made an appointment and went and had it checked out. Her diagnosis was in fact Genital Herpes. She did not tell me this for many weeks; I am sure she was trying to deal with it and process it for herself. This all happened about 3 years ago. She is doing well with her diagnosis, and she is very cautious about limiting risks that would spread the disease. Although my method of getting her to seek the help of a medical professional was very unconventional, I do not think she would have followed up with a doctor if I had expressed any real concern for her situation.

I think my approach would have been different if it were anyone else. I most likely would have been more honest and forthcoming with information about the rationale for getting tested for an STD and the importance of receiving an accurate diagnosis. I would emphasize the old adage that “early diagnosis is the key” in an effort to persuade them to get checked.

Blog 2 :Option 4

I currently have no children, and I consistently ride the fence on whether I want to have a life that is free of children or become my own version of the Duggar family.  I have always envisioned myself having children since I was a little girl,  but now that I am almost 27 I am starting to develop some apprehension about becoming a mother. I had initially planned on tying to conceive when I…

1. Graduated from hygiene school
2. Found a stable position in my field
3. Purchased a house in a nice area
4. Saved up some money

I have done all of these things (#4 will always be a work in progress) but now I am starting to have some reservations.  I seem to come up with new experiences that I MUST have or tasks to complete before trying for a baby. I am also concerned that I may pass on some undesirable genetic conditions.  My mother’s side of the family has a history of mental illness including Bi-polar disorder. My mom was chronically depressed when I was a child; which was difficult for me. My sister, who has 3 children, is Bi-polar and so is her oldest child. I am worried that even if I currently do not suffer from depression; it may develop after having children.

I know that if I sat here and thought long enough, I could think of literally hundreds of thousands of reasons why having a baby would be a bad idea. This rationale would range from financial implications all the way to the physical ramifications of a “post baby body.”  I know that ultimately, even if it is several years down the road, my desire to have a child will eventually outweigh any logical excuses that my brain can come up with and I will become a mother (ovaries willing).

With all of that being said, I am so thankful that I have had the reproductive options that I have had. I was educated on sex and contraceptives when I was young, and my mom took me to get birth control pills when I was a teenager (with relatively little awkwardnessJ). It is because of those steps I am able to take my time and consider my options.

Healthy Behaviors for Adolescents...."Whatever"

    One of the most challenging aspects of my position as a dental hygienist is trying to find “the angle” that is most effective in encouraging the onset (and consistency) of preventive behaviors of adolescents.  The typical adolescent, in my opinion, feels a sense of invulnerability when it comes to their respective potential for developing a condition or disease. In my experience, the most effective way to convey a message intended to modify a habit is to illustrate to the individual that they are at an increased risk of  contracting _______ based on several factors. This recognition of susceptibility is paramount in the effort to elicit change.

    When I was 11 or so, my mom did a lot of volunteer work with Bryan’s House, which at the time was a facility that cared for children infected with HIV/AIDS (now they provide services for children dealing with a variety of ailments). Due to my mom’s involvement with this organization, I was around kids exactly my age who were born with HIV. It was through this experience I realized for the first time that people my age…kids basically were at risk for disease?! This kind of blew my mind. At that age you feel like only old people die.  This was an education that you cannot get in school or from a pamphlet. These experiences shaped my behavior as I got older. These experiences increased my level of compassion for individuals in unfortunate circumstances, and they prevented my participation in some of the “risky” behaviors that a few of my friends engaged in during high school.

Now in no way am I  advocating that everyone needs to take their teenager down to the local free clinic for a “lesson,” but what I am saying is that seeing an individual that is your age who is suffering from a condition, whether it be self-induced or as a result of someone else’s poor choices, is a powerful thing.

    Once you establish susceptibility and you demonstrate that there are consequences for not adopting healthy habits then you should give that teen/adolescent an exact game plan on how to attain/maintain healthy behaviors. It is easier to stay on a positive path when you have a specific roadmap in front of you.

     These are the basic steps that were effective for me as an adolescent, and this is the way I present material in the dental office.

     This method of influencing behavior is a simplified version of the “Health-Belief Model.” You just have to individualize your approach. The “magical sentence” that will resonate and bring about positive change is different for everyone so keep trying until you find it.

Hello

 My name is Dory and I work as a dental hygienist in a thriving community dental practice. I am back in school in an effort to transition from an RDH to BSDH.  I love my job and the daily interaction with patients, but private practice dentistry is only one aspect of the career I have envisioned for myself. I hope to eventually hold a position in a DH program as an educator and researcher. I also am interested in the prospect of holding a clinical DH position in a hospital setting.

As far as hobbies go I am pretty simple. I love music of all genres and decades, and I have become adept at making the perfect playlist for any situation. I love to read but nothing too serious. I just purchased my first house, and I am slowly realizing that I am NOT very good at the whole decorating thing.

In this class, I hope to increase my cultural competence in order to become a more effective clinician.