GrowingUp

Family Members

2008-09-22T13:14:00.000-07:00

Been awhile I have not posted photos of my children. Well, after upgrading my A700, I tested it on my sons and daughter (whoever were at home then). Here is recent photo of them. More photos in my flickr Stream.

Siti Afah Ilyati, now in UNITAR for Culinary Art programme

Khusairi Subki in UPM for Mechanical ENgineering Programme

Khairul Syafiq

Kamal Sofwan, the last one

Delayed Celebration of My Birthday

2008-05-03T04:52:00.000-07:00

From 2008-04-25 my...

I was always in the forests somewhere everytime I realised it was my birthday on 17th April. So this year is no different, as I was in the deep inland of Borneo then. So when I am back in the base the troops asked to take me to a nice fish restaurant in Putrajaya. So there we were, with half of the company (the rest were having exam in college). Asma promised to pickup the tab but then it was big surprise when it was already settled by Prof Manap Ali who happen to be in Town ! Thanks Nap, terima kasih banyak.

Happy Birthday Kamal

2008-01-25T22:28:00.000-08:00

Kamal Sofwan celebrated his 5th birthday yesterday (25th Jan 2008) and we have a small party in the house. The real one will be delayed until everyone are home!

More photos in my Web-album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kamarudinmatsalleh/20080125BirthdayKamalSofwan/

Syafiq Goes to School !

2008-01-25T22:13:00.000-08:00

On the 2nd of Jan 2008, Khairul Syafiq was enrolled into Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Jasmine, Kajang not too far from our home. The SK Taman Jasmine is a modern government-funded primary school with good reputation.

He has to cut on cartoons, computer games and late night rendezvous with his sisters. Waking up early, he always got troubles with mom, and seen here with his big bro, Khusairi

Good luck Syafiq, you will have enough sleep in the weekends

Syafiq's Last day in Kindergarden

2007-11-16T19:57:00.000-08:00

Friday was Khairul Syafiq last kindergarden day and they have a party on Thursday. He was presented with the certificate and they have potluck to say good bye to each other.
Group photograph with Miss Marie (School Principal) and Miss Puvanice (Class Teacher)
and all his classmates
He took home hiss progress report which looks good

Next year he will be in Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Jasmin

On Becoming a Chef

2007-11-07T17:50:00.000-08:00

Siti Afah is in her first semester at Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (UNITAR) in Petaling Jaya and progressing well in the Culinary Art programme. The best part is when she was in the Kitchen and brought home some of her mom's favorite.

Afah with some of her friends at Unitar

Tadika Maria 28th Annual Concert

2007-11-07T17:08:00.000-08:00

Khairul Syafiq participated in the Tadika (Kindergarten) Maria 28th Annual Concert on 3rd Nov 2007. Tadika Maria is one of the oldests and the most established kindergarten in Kajang, our hometown.

Welcoming speech by very talented Mohd Danish, one of Syafiq's classmates

Syafiq and some of his best friends and his classmates participated in the Malay Kelantan dance, "Wau Bulan"

Hafizul

Adam

Amy Ilyana Sofea

One for the album: Amran, Shazwan and Syafiq

Happy Birthday, Syafiq!

2007-09-09T09:46:00.000-07:00

Khairul Syafiq, our 2nd son celebrated his delayed 6th birthday on Saturday (8 Sep 07). It was done on purpose to allow all his sisters and brothers home from colleges, with nice goodies-on-demand. Several cousins were also present.

A nice cheese cake were brought home from Secret Recipe, and light-up with six candles

And celebration begin

One for the album with (still under steroid-) dad and mom

Syafiq will be spending many hours exploring and playing with new toys ;-)

with happy birthday boy's face

CT Scan Report in DrKMS.com

2007-07-29T03:34:00.001-07:00

I have updated my health bulletin with detail CT scan report in my http://drKMS.com

Congratulation to Siti Asma !

2007-05-31T14:08:00.000-07:00

Big congratulation to Siti Asma Alhusna, my first child. She received her scroll from Pro-Canselor of UiTM in the 66th Convocation Ceremony in Shah Alam yesterday. Asma achieved remarkable CGPA 3.45, just short of the First Class honours, in TESL.

Salwana and Dr Nordin of the SMS Kelantan Alumni arranged for the VIP seat in the convocation, and with that I have got a nice VIP-reserved parking lot near the Hall for my AirForce One. It was funny when the Security was gving a nasty look at the pickup, other came by Mercy of Beemers.

After the Convocation, we have some group photographs with her mom who gave her a flower bouquet and her classmates

and her father

Happy Birthday, Fifer !

2007-05-31T14:01:00.000-07:00

Siti Afifah (right), my second daughter, celebrated her brithday on the 27th May, and we went out to Pizzahut for a break. It is nice that all of my six children are together. This is a school break !

More photos are in my PICASA web-album

Who is this friend of mine?

2007-05-31T13:52:00.000-07:00

Glad that some old buddies sent me notes on how I am now flourished ! If some people been reading my blogs, that is a BIG accomplishment to me. My intention is to keep up with friends of mine and friends of my family all over the world. If you are too shy to put a note here, write an email directly to me:
pakdin@pkrisc.cc.ukm.my OR kamarudinmatsalleh@gmail.com

Thanks

Durian ooo... durian

2007-05-12T23:19:00.000-07:00

They know that their father is watching his diet closely, yet they brought home this fatty, cholestrol rich Durio zibethinus, the king of fruits. Well after some resistance, I have to give way to my temptation. Cannot tahan lor..

Mother's Day in Sg Jelok

2007-05-12T23:04:00.000-07:00

My kidds who were all home yesterday organised impromptu celebration for their mother. Mom was surprised with cake and presents.

getting ready to cut the cake

Cepat sikit, kami dah lapar ni

Sedap ni..

Kamal Sofwan nak minum dulu

Asma' dan Afah, the (main) organizer

Family photo

Kamarudin Hussin: My Long Lost Friend

2007-04-29T08:45:00.000-07:00

Don't know why lately I am becoming more and more sentimental with my buddies who has gone missing for years. Kamarudin Hussin is one of them. We parted ways in 1974, more than 30 years ago, when I left my beloved school in Tanah Merah (SMTM) to SMS Kelantan in Pengkalan Chepa and have not seen many of my old pals since then. He was the only other Kamarudin in the class then.

Then few weeks ago a got a call from Kamarudin Hussin, having succesfully traced my hp from another contact. Then last week he sms me, asking me to come to his house, for his daughter's wedding. We are getting old indeed. So I tracked down his home address, which is about 5 km from my house anyway. And I have emotional reunion with him today.

Kamarudin currently working with Telekom Malaysia in Kota Bharu, but his family stays on in Kajang.

The two old Kamarudin

I left him to entertain other guests. Will meet him for teh kosong sometime next week

His wedding guests

Kamal Sofwan

2007-04-25T18:41:00.000-07:00

Bored with photos of my sugar graphs?
Well, I am giving you the latest (yesterday) photos of my youngest son, Kamal Sofwan

My glucose level is now back to normal

2007-04-22T06:02:00.000-07:00

I am sure Dr Nahidah and Dr WAWA would be happy to see these following graphs, charted after I did my own glucose level check every morning for fasting sugar level and at about 2 pm for after-meal readings (two hr after heavy meal). I carried my personal AccuCheck everywhere and never failed to check my sugar level. Even in the forest.

I am happy that I have achieved what I was asked to, that is 4.4-6.1 mmol/L fasting and 4.4 - 8.0 mmol/L after meal. You can click on the graph for the larger and clearer one.

Okay here it is. The first I want to show is the graph for 7 days running everage since 26/3/2007.
I am hoping to get to the minimun by the next month.I reach the 6.1 mmol/L on 10 April 2007 and still going further down. I am now at 5.4 mmol/L. The next graph is for the actual readings. You can see how far I am going down with regards to my sugar levels. The lower diamonds are reading for fasting sugar and the upper squares are for after meals. The lines are exponential and linear regression, often used to chart share price movements!

Not to rest on my laurel as they say, I chart another graph, this time taking out the earlier readings before any medication.
You can see how I struggled to maintain the levels, sometime I took off the drug from my diet and experiment with several herbs that is known for glucose blockers. That is where the levels went up a bit but then brought down again with exercise, and smaller dose of gliclazide.
I have not taking any more for the last two days.

For diabetics my advice is very simple. Go and buy AccuCheck(on sale now in Guardian) and check and control your sugar. It can be done if it is not too late. The next is excercise. No short cut. I now run and walk for about 2 km every morning before going to the office. The last 7 days I was tracking in Crocker Range and climbing the eastern side of Kinabalu. And the last advice is get the (safe) known drug to lower it down if you can't control your diet. Learn how to say no to sugar, and there are many ways for that. Take tea ais without sugar (teh is kosong), if it is too boring then take tea ais limau. Occasionally I took juice oren ais tanpa gula. Many times I brought my Ahmad Tea from London (available in Tesco) with strawberry or lemon flavor to kedai mamak, and asked for hot water. Sure he was not happy. I have it in my pocket all the time and there are plenty of mamak stall that doesn't charge a sen for air panas. Took a quarter of your normal rice, and double your ayam or ikan. And the best is I triple my vegies. Always try to get ulam especially celery and peria. If that is too bitter, get the pills.

Anyone want to share your experience, write to me.

Glucose Sugar Levels

2007-04-11T08:29:00.000-07:00

Although my test result shows the HbA1c reading is quite high, I am confident that the figure will deep in the next test (in 3 months). Look at this chart that shows the fasting serum glucose level for my every morning reading since the last diabetic earthquake

Heath Checkup Result

2007-04-11T08:19:00.000-07:00

I went to see my physician today and given the following result of the tests done last week.
Those number in red are above/below normal. I checked in the Internet to some of the terms used and what does that mean, this help me to comprehend my level of health.

Since I have high level of ALP, ALT I was adviced to take ultrasound scan, and films show that I am okay. Probably the high levels there were due tongkat ali doses !

ECG yo yo are also shows perfect heart beats

X-ray shows no sign of abnormal lung

Some of the terms are as follows:

Neutrophyls: A type of white blood cell, tiny sacs of enzymes that help the cell to kill and digest microorganisms it has engulfed by phagocytosis
PSA:Prostate specific antigen
Creatinine: To evaluate kidney function. If kidney function is abnormal, creatinine levels will increase in the blood, due to decreased excretion of creatinine in the urine
Bilirubin is a product that results from the breakdown of hemoglobin. Total and direct bilirubin are usually measured to screen for or to monitor liver or gallbladder problems

ALT: Measures the amount of the enzyme Alanine transaminase in serum (the liquid part of the blood).

ALP: Measures the amount of the enzyme alkaline phosphatase.

		Reading	Normal Range
Full Blood Count
	White Cell	15.9	(4.0 - 10.0)
	Red Cell	4.8	(4.5 - 6.3)
	Haemoglobin	15.3	(14.0 - 17.0)
	Hematocrit	44.9	(39.0 - 52.0)
	Mean Cell Volume	93.4	(77.0 - 91.0)
	MCH	32	(26.0 - 32.0)
	MCHC	34.2	(32.0 - 36.0)
	RDW	11.8	(11.3 - 14.6)
	Mean Platelet	8.9	(6.3 - 10.2)
	Platelet	346	(150 - 400)
	Neutrophils	11.7	(2 - 7)
	Eosinophils	0.2	(0.02 - 0.5)
	Basophils	0.1	(0.02 - 0.1)
	Lymphocytes	2.9	(1.0 - 3.0)
	Monocytes	0.9	(0.2 - 0.1)

Prostate
	PSA	0.34	<4.0

Renal Profile
	Sodium	139	(135 - 150)
	Potassium	4.4	(3.5 - 5.0)
	Urea	3.7	(2.5 - 6.4)
	Creatinine	89	(62 - 106)

Fasting Serum Lipid
	Triglycerides	1.27	<1.4
	Total Cholestrol	5.25	<5.7
	HDL	1.29	>1.20
	LDL	3.38	<2.6
			for diabetics
Liver Function
	Albumin	44	(35 - 50)
	Total Protein	90	(67 - 88)
	Bilirubin	40	<23
	ALT	102	<44
	ALP	122	(32 - 104)

Glucose
	Fasting glucose	7.8	(3.0 - 6.7)
	HbA1c	9	(4.4 - 6.4)

Ahhh, my stupid sugar level ...

2007-04-05T15:05:00.000-07:00

My daily reading (fasting, taken between 530 - 600 am) since my last posting was something like this:
6.7
8.7
9.4
6.5
9.2

This yo yo reading seems funny to Dr WAA and the reast of the world's medical fraternity but what actually happen was that I was trying to avoid Melicron drug. As you know Melicron is Gliclazide, a drug belong to a class of drugs known as sulphonylureas. These tablets work by stimulating the pancreas gland to produce more insulin hormone, which lowers your blood glucose. What I am worried about was the long term effect of it to my pancreas and I don't want to be drug dependent. So I tried to reduce my sugar and carbohydrate intake, take light exercise every evening and watch my sugar levels. So on the days where the readings are high, I did not to take Melicron, and those on the low are assisted by it.

Seems that I have to depent on it. Even when I took all kind of natural remedies that I was told to take, my sugar level is still above 9. Pretty scary !

Hop Horray !, latest reading 6.7 mmol/L

2007-04-01T16:43:00.000-07:00

This morning my trusted Accu-Chek showed a very encouraging reading: 6.7 mmol/L after overnight fasting. I would say I am back to normal, after changing my lifestyle and health regime. Yesterday's reading was 8.7 mmol/L.

All I did was a bit of brisk walking in the evening around my housing, no sugar in my drink, half plate rice for every meal, no sugar-coating kuehs, all kind of non-caffeinated helbal teas.

I am going to see my physician again this morning and hopefully he will agree to my suggestion to take off the mellicron from my bloodstream

Kundang or Kemior, it is the cousin of renghas

2007-03-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

If you are in Kelantan this week, watch out for the nice looking Kemior on sale in the market. This fruit otherwise known as kundang. But you should know that this Bouea oppositifolia is in the same genus and the family (Anacardiaceae) as the renghas!

This what has happen to little Kamal when he touch the fruit and scratch the nose. I should have known the warning.

He is much better now ;-)

I am now an official member of Diabetic International !

2007-03-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have some discomfort on Monday and decided to visit my personal physician in Klinik Kesihatan UKM. Well, I was ordered to do a complete test the next day, because I have already gobble up alot of things for breakfast then. So the next day I surrendered myself for a bottle of urine sample and a few pints of blood for test. The same day I was told that well-callibrated Accu-chek (really?) reads my blood sugar level at 15.7 mmol/L. What ??? I can't believe it that it was that high. Mind you the max acceptable level is 10 mmol/L and the max ideal reading should be 7 mmol/L.
Well, I immediately hit the emergency break, went home to rest and sleep, but no mood to eat. I went on protesting (to my body) for two days with no tea or coffee with sugar, just plain and black; no heavy fats, no extra plates of rice.

The next day I returned to the KKUKM and the reading was 13.9 mmol/L. Encouraged I did the same extend my sick leave. By the third day, the reading was about 12 mmol/L. Trying to convince my physician that I do not need medication, I was prescribed half-dose of Melicron Gliclazide 80 mg and asked to take it for few days and see what will happen. Don't know how long I was high on sugar, and wonder if damage is already done. Hopefully not.

The result of the blood test was not too good. I have +4 glucose in urine and the following reading: (in mmol/L; figures in parenth. are normal level)
Total cholestrol: 5.6 (<5.2)>1.0)
LDL: 3.6 (optimal <2.6)>4.5)

By having the drug to reduce my sugar level, I am now officially a diabetic.
I hope not for too long. I am excercising now.

To help monitoring my sugar, I went out yesterday to buy my own personal blood glucose monitoring kit. I settled for the latest Accu-Chek Advantage III, and begining to use it this morning.

The very good news that the first reading on my fasting blood level this morning was 8.7 mmol/L, and I do hope it will further down to normal level by the weekend. I am targeting 6.0 and will be off the drug.

Here is the kit I have:

Kamal's Birthday

2007-02-04T01:53:00.000-08:00

Kamal Sofwan was 3 years old on 25th Jan 2007 and we celebrated his birthday while everyone was at home.

Kamal Sofwan Recent Photo

2007-01-28T07:27:00.000-08:00