March 5th, 2010 by Dr. Val Jones in Audio, Expert Interviews, Interviews
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January is thyroid disease awareness month, and since an estimated 25 million people in the U.S. have various thyroid problems, I thought it would be a good idea to get an expert update on this often over-looked gland.
Victor Bernet, FACP, is Director of the National Capitol Consortium Endocrinology Fellowship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and the author of MKSAP 15’s chapter on disorders of the thyroid gland. I interviewed him about why thyroid disorders go undiagnosed, what alternative treatments are available, and how primary care physicians and specialists can work together to manage thyroid disease. Please listen to the audio of our conversation or check out the written summary below.
[audio:https://getbetterhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/burnetthyroid.mp3]
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March 2nd, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Humor
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People are asking for more physical exam posts.
People asked for more Millli Vanilli too. People aren’t always smart.
But you ask, I give. I am just that kind of guy. It’s been a long time (since October) since I have done a post on this subject. So for all of you “newbies” out there (I just wanted to use that word and sound like a nerd), I want to give you a recap of what I have already done on the physical exam. That way people who have not inflicted upon themselves read the old ones can get all caught up. To be honest, this is one of my favorite series as well. Or is that “serieses?” Where’s Grammar Girl when you need her? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
March 2nd, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Opinion
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I took care of a young lady the other day whom I admitted for diabetic ketoacidosis. She asked me what her bicarbonate level was. I was a bit surprised since most of the time my DKA patients’ don’t care what their bicarb levels are. I told her it was eight. For the non medical types out there, that’s low. That’s critically low.
I asked her why she wanted to know. And before she could even get the words out, she had posted a Tweet onto her Twitter acount to update all her friends and family of her impending hospital admission. I found that fascinating. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Happy Hospitalist*
February 26th, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Opinion
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What are some excellent weight loss options? I’m a true believer in diet and exercise. When you burn more calories than you consume on a daily basis, the laws of chemistry, physics, and all other natural sciences say that you will lose weight.
There’s also the option for gastric bypass, which is really nothing more than a really expensive way to make you stop eating so much. If you don’t exercise while you diet, or don’t continue to exercise after you stop dieting, your body will eventually slow down its metabolism and weight loss will become harder and harder. You will gain your weight back. Some people have literally eaten their way through a gastric bypass procedure and find themselves right back at square one. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Happy Hospitalist*
February 24th, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Opinion, True Stories
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As a hospitalist I sometimes come across patients who, for what ever reason, refuse to take the medications prescribed by their in-patient doctors. Some patients refuse out of fear. Some doctor told them years ago that taking medication X would make them worse. Some patients refuse out of ignorance of their disease process. Most of the time however, they just don’t understand why the medication is necessary. Some patients just refuse out of stubbornness. And some patients refuse because they have a really good reason.
However, when you’re dealing with critical illness and the only thing that’s going to save your patient’s life is a treatment plan they are refusing, sometimes you have to be in their face with reality. So how do I handle situations with patients who have the capacity to make poor medical decisions but refuse life saving medications? How do I convince my hospitalized patients to take their medications I’ve prescribed? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Happy Hospitalist*
