January 9th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Uncategorized
5 Comments »
I’m so excited and honored to have been nominated – and now selected as a finalist – for the “Best New Medblog, 2007” award! Thank you MedGadget team! If you’d like to vote for me, please go to this page. The winners will be selected based purely on quantity of votes. The polls are open until midnight, January 20th.
I’ve also collected the best posts from 2007 below so you can get an overview of what my blog is like – where else can you join a weight loss group, read weekly round ups of the best posts from medical experts, stay in touch with breaking medical news, and have a generally cathartic experience with true health stories?
The Best “Feel Good” Posts
A Baby’s Life Is Saved – a young mother forces a doctor to reconsider his diagnosis, saving her baby’s life.
Do the Right Thing– a young intern fights to save the life of a patient that everyone else has written off.
The Wounds of Childhood– how I might have made a difference for a little girl who was marginalized.
Medicine: Face-to-Face– the story of how I treated a child for the same injury I had at her age: being mauled by a dog.
Informed Consent and the Animal Guessing Game– my reflection on the emotional side of consenting for a procedure.
Thanks to Surgeons– a heartfelt tribute to the surgeon who saved my life.
Fly the Ball– the life and times of a Pakistani doctor who builds a successful career in the US.
The Best Infuriating Posts
The Last Straw: My Road to a Revolution– the true story of a child with cerebral palsy who died because he was denied a wheelchair part by Medicare.
The Benefit of the Doubt– how my friend was labeled as a drug seeker and mistreated in the ER.
VIP Syndrome: A No-Win Situation – the story of how a young man with “connections” demanded and received inappropriate and expensive medical tests, leaving the doctors holding the bag.
The Case of a Predator in the Hospital– how one drug user managed to game the system, wreaking havoc on her fellow patients.
Don’t Believe Everything You Read in a Medical Chart– the story of how a misdiagnosis resulted in a patient being wrongly labeled as a drug seeker.
The Real Dangers of Pain Medicine – a woman who died of opiate induced constipation.
The Best Sad Posts
The Scream– how a cavalier end-of-life decision destroyed a family member.
The Size of Unhappiness– a reflection on America’s obsession with thinness.
Baking Cookies– that’s all I could do as a doctor in Manhattan on 9/11.
Unencumbered by Prognosis– my dear friend handles her diagnosis of stage 4 colon cancer with optimism and grace.
Alzheimer’s Dementia: A Life Lived In Reverse– the story of my grandmother’s dementia and her slow mental decline.
The Best Humorous Posts
Conversations at the Spa– the true story of my recent trip to a high end spa in California.
Kids Say the Darndest Things– these are some pretty good ones.
The Christmas Miracle– a “miraculous” icicle forms on a Christmas tree and pandemonium ensues.
Medical Haiku– some irreverent poems I created a few years ago.
Is that Your Real Skin?– the silly conversations that arise when you’re really pale.
Dudes– a quick look at how men perceive a new hairstyle.
The “Perfect” Wedding– the story of how my hair was transformed into an alien head on my wedding day.
The Best Healthcare Policy Posts
Why I Worry about a Government Sponsored Single Payer System – previous experience with government rulings make me distrustful of population based healthcare savings initiatives.
Pay for Performance: More Red Tape without Improved Quality of Care – the title pretty much sums this post up.
Are Physician Salaries Too High? – compare them to health insurance and corporate executive salaries.
Concierge Medicine for the Masses?– my physician is part of an “off the grid” movement in healthcare.
Rationing Healthcare and the Emperor’s New Clothes – I take a look at some of the funding allocation decisions being made by the government.
End of Life Care: Healthcare’s Big Ticket Item– I explore some of the high costs of end-of-life care and the ethical dilemmas that rationing it creates.
Posts That Make You Go…Hmmm
My First Day as a Doctor– it was a baptism by fire.
The Great Unveiling– who are we deep down inside?
Night Float in the Hospice– what it feels like to care for the dying.
Dying with Dignity– I refused to practice intubation on a deceased patient as his family members waited for news in the next room.
Face Transplants: Ethical Dilemmas– should they be covered by health insurance?
The Man Who Couldn’t Speak– a strange diagnostic dilemma solved by a doting mom.
The Best High Brow Posts
Cancer: Do We Really Understand It?– a wonderful post by guest blogger Avrum Bluming, questioning if we really do know as much as we think we do about this formidable foe.
Hormone Replacement Therapy: A Critical Review– another wonderful post by Dr. Bluming.
Good Science Makes Bad Television– a series on research methodology and why the public should care about it.
The Power of Magical Thinking– describes how to recognize snake oil salesmen.
What You’ll Learn in Pre-Med Classes– a rant about how irrelevant some of the course work is that is required for admission to medical school.
What the Heck is a Rehab Doc?– the history of my medical specialty: PM&R.
This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
January 8th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Health Tips
2 Comments »
Washington DC boasts some of the longest escalators in the world.
I’m not sure who decided to build all these extra long escalators
(maybe an escalator manufacturer had some political friends?) but the
very longest one is at a subway station in Bethesda. One evening my
husband and I happened to be getting off at that subway stop to see a
play and were curious to experience this marvel of human engineering.
As we rounded the corner to the beginning of the escalator, we
encountered a very long line of people. I wondered what they had all
lined up for in a dingy subway station – surely no one was giving out
free country club memberships. As my cogs and wheels turned, I realized
that there was one tiny elevator at the very front of the line. As I
inspected the escalator more closely I realized that the stairs were
not moving. Ugh.
I looked at my husband, I looked at the elevator
line, I remembered my weight loss group, and I hiked up my coat and
began the very long journey to the top of the stairs.
Of course,
when it was time to return home after the play the escalator jubilantly
moved us from the top of the stairs to the depths of the subway
station. Murphy’s Law – it was working for the descending phase of the
climb.
If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to lose weight, please
share your small victories here or join a couple of hundred people trying to do the same. Have you resisted
temptation or gone the extra mile to lose weight and get in shape? I’d
love to hear about it!This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
January 5th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Uncategorized
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Welcome to 2008’s first edition of Revolution Rounds, my biweekly round up of the best Revolution Health expert blog posts. Not surprisingly, there’s a decidedly New Year’s theme in this collection of posts. If you’re looking to stick to a New Year’s resolution, be sure to check out the Revolution Health groups section of the site. Whether you’d like to lose weight, quit smoking, or improve your relationships – there’s a group of like minded souls out there resolving to do the same!
Health tips
Dr.
Stacy has 20 New Year’s resolutions for kids. She has even organized them
by age group for you.
New
Year’s resolutions are more likely to succeed if you follow this advice. Mira Kirshenbaum has some great tips for adults.
Would
you like to lose weight effortlessly? Sandra
Foschi suggests that good sleep habits can contribute to
weight loss.
Reading
the right blog could save your life. Dr. HJ Lenz describes how one woman
learned about certain treatment options from his colorectal cancer blog, and it
changed her life.
Would
you like to stop snoring? Dr. Steve Poceta
has some excellent tips.
The best treatment for autism may not be a drug, but human caring.
Robin Morris discusses the findings of some recent research.
Do
you struggle with jet lag? Dr. Vivian Dickerson has some suggestions for
reducing your symptoms.
Pedometers
can encourage increased exercise. Dr. Jim Herndon suggests that a pedometer
might be an excellent addition to your weight loss resolution!
In
case you need another good reason to quit smoking: Dr. Mark Perloe reminds
us that smoking a pack a day can increase the risk of erectile dysfunction by
40%.
Think
you know how to insert eye drops? Think again. Dr. Jackie Griffiths has
some special advice for those of you who need eye drops regularly.
Did you know?
San
Francisco’s mayor has proposed a soda tax. Dr. Jim Hill explains that this
money is unlikely to put a dent in the obesity epidemic.
In
some cultures childhood epilepsy is treated by burning the feet with hot coals.
Dr. Jide Williams describes this horrific practice in rural Africa.
Snowblower
injuries are still quite common even though manufacturers have been working for
over 30 years to make the machines safer. Dr. Jim Herndon explains.
It
is possible to create embryos for the purpose of treating certain diseases, not
strictly for procreation. Dr. Mark Perloe discusses some of the ethical
dilemmas associated with stem cells.
Fitness
is more important than fatness. Dr. Vivian Dickerson explains.
Excess
weight in childhood is linked to adult heart disease. Dr. Jim Hill suggests
that fitness and weight control should begin early to promote good health in
adulthood.
Many
physicians need to work on their empathy. Dr. Mike Rabow explains that
younger physicians may be more empathic than older ones.
Your
emotional state can dramatically affect your physical health. Dr. Joe Scherger discusses this mind-body connection.
Demanding
parents may cause their childrens’ teachers to burn out. Dr. Stacy Stryer
describes this unfortunate phenomenon.
Skim
milk consumption may be linked to prostate cancer. Dr. Julie Silver raises
the question of whether or not skim and low fat milk are over-rated in their
health benefits.
You
don’t need both eyes to have good depth perception. Dr. Jackie Griffiths,
Revolution Health’s ophthalmologist, explains.
Newer
isn’t automatically better. Dr. Mike Glode bemoans the fact that we have
the tendency to rush after the latest medical technology without stopping to
analyze the cost benefit ratio.
Personal Stories
One
woman had an unpleasant surprise on her 40th birthday: a massive
stroke with left hemi-neglect! Dr. Olajide Williams describes the event
with poetic language.
Laughter
is the best medicine. Dr. Stacy Stryer describes how she puts this axiom
into practice in her family.
Dr.
Julie Silver was prompted by her daughter to become one of Charlie’s angels.
You’ll have to read the post to get the reference.
Vitamin
hawkers exaggerate their product’s benefits without recourse. Dr. Mike
Glode describes one interesting example of this phenomenon.
This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
January 3rd, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in News
4 Comments »
A colleague of mine asked me what I thought about the recent New York Times article correlating household clutter with weight gain. It’s an interesting connection, so I thought I’d blog about it.
I think that clutter is probably a reflection of person’s emotional state, personality type, and upbringing. Some people seem to be more orderly by nature, others don’t focus on neatness as much. Some of us were trained to make our bed every morning, a few had a parent or nanny to do that. And still others have been “whipped into shape” by their spouse. Overall I think most of us prefer some degree of order over chaos, and given the choice would like to keep a fairly orderly home.
Now, what’s interesting to me is the emotional component in all this. We each have a certain level of baseline neatness, and we stray from that when we feel anxious, depressed, or exhausted. Think about what your house looks like now – is it at your natural baseline of orderliness? If not, are you more anxious, depressed, or tired than usual? I bet there’s a connection.
Many people gain weight when they’re anxious, depressed, or sleep deprived. So in a way, household messiness can be a marker for emotional distress. And it’s the emotional distress that fuels the weight problems. When a person is ready to lose weight, they’re probably motivated because they’ve managed to rise above their emotional concerns to achieve their goal.
So my point is this: take a look at your home to get a sense for how you’re doing emotionally. Are you anxious or depressed about something? Are you having relationship problems? Are you having difficulty sleeping?
Revolution Health has expert-led groups available to help you understand your emotions and how they influence your behavior. I think you will really benefit from getting into a discussion group and sharing your stories with others like you.
Here are some examples of groups that you can join right now (click to join):
Relationship Help – Mira Kirshenbaum, Counselor
Sleep Better – Steve Poceta, MD, Neurologist
Take Charge of Your Life – Ned Hallowell, MD, Psychiatrist
Lose Weight – Val Jones, MD, Rehabilitation Medicine
A Fit Family– Stacy Stryer, MD, Pediatrician
De-stress – Brad Jacobs, MD, Internal Medicine
Quit Smoking – Joe Scherger, MD, Family Medicine
Walk Your Way Thin – Jim Hill, PhD, Psychology
Maintain Your Weight – Chris Newport, Personal Trainer
Eat Right– Sandra Foschi, Nutritionist and Physical Therapist
Why not join a group? They may really help you to look and feel your very best this New Year. Not too many websites will offer this for free as Revolution Health does.This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
August 29th, 2007 by Dr. Val Jones in Expert Interviews, News
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We’ve known for quite a while that lowering your cholesterol can reduce your risk of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. Low fat diets, weight loss, and exercise can help people to control their cholesterol levels – but for those who do not succeed with these methods, a class of medications have been developed (known as “statins”) to reduce cholesterol. These drugs have been so successful at reducing cholesterol that some doctors have joked about putting statins in the water supply. In fact, 36 million Americans take a statin every day, generating annual sales of
$15.5 billion for the manufacturers, and making two statins – Lipitor and
Zocor – the top two best-selling drugs in the USA.
Four new studies were published in the past week about these drugs. I thought I’d summarize the findings for you to keep you up to speed with the very latest statin information.
Statins May Reduce Mortality After Having A Stroke
Spanish researchers followed the progress of 89 stroke patients who were already taking statins. For the first three days after the stroke, 46 patients received no statins, and 43 got their normal dose. After three months, 27 people – 60 % of the “no statins”
group – had either died or were disabled to the point that they needed
help to live a normal life, compared with 16 people from the group
allowed to keep taking statins.
This small study suggests that stroke patients should not stop taking their statins. More research is needed to clarify the role of statins in stroke.
Statins May Reduce The Brain Plaques Associated With Alzheimer’s Disease
Researchers at the University of Washington examined the brain tissue of 110 people who had donated their brains to research upon their death. They found there were
significantly fewer plaques and tangles (the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease) in the brains of people who had taken statins compared with those who had not. This is good news, but will require further research to determine whether or not statins could be used (or should be used) specifically for the treatment or prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Statins Don’t Seem To Reduce The Risk of Colon Cancer
A group of Greek researchers conducted a review of the scientific literature to see if there may be a reduction in colon cancer rates among people who take statins. They found no evidence that statins reduce the risk of colon cancer.
Statin Side Effects Appear To Be Ignored By Some Physicians
The journal Drug Safety surveyed 650 patients about their experience with statins. Eighty-seven percent of patients reportedly spoke to their physician
about the possible connection between statin use and a symptom.
Physicians were more
likely to deny than affirm the possibility of a connection. Rejection
of a possible connection was reported to occur even for symptoms with
strong literature support for a drug connection. This report is concerning since it seems to suggest that physicians don’t take patient complaints as seriously as they should.
I asked Dr. Frank Smart what he thought about the side effects of statins and whether or not physicians should be more aware of them.
“The statin side effects exist
but in my opinion are overplayed. In my practice about 5% of people on statins
have some muscle issues. Most improve with dose reduction or change to a more
hydrophyllic compound.
Physicians should be better educated about side effects and the one who
should do the educating is pharma, and websites like Revolution Health. Most docs are as
familiar with statin side effects as they are with other drug classes, so good
but not great. We would all love to raise the bar but it is tough as you
know.”
As many as 30% of patients reportedly experience a side effect from statins (including: headache, nausea,
vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, rash, weakness, and muscle pain) though severe muscle damage is very rare (for example, one article reported 24 cases in 252,460 patients.) Overall, statins have many health benefits and are well tolerated by the majority of patients.This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
