Comments on: What Gets *You* Agitated? http://www.askdrjones.com/in-the-media/what-gets-you-agitated/ Ask Dr. Jones Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:48:41 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Keith Bass http://www.askdrjones.com/in-the-media/what-gets-you-agitated/#comment-5828 Keith Bass Sat, 03 Dec 2005 17:49:21 +0000 http://www.askdrjones.com/?p=41#comment-5828 (1) My mom has gas in her stomach and in her chest. It bothers her a great deal. She went and had both tests (camera down the throat and up the rectum). In recovery, the doctor (Doctor X) spent like 2 minutes max with me before running away to another patient. All I got was he removed 2 polyps (later we did find they were benign, although my mom had a PAP Smear or Mammogram...I cannot remember which.....a few years ago and we NEVER got the results! Mom had to call after a reasonable length of time had passed. Hmmm....might be important to know the result! ((F.Y.I. - watch HOUSE on Fox Tuesdays....this reminds me of it.....what a great medical show!!!) Back to other story: he said he removed 2 polyps they would test (came out benign)....evidence of maybe "gastritis" (what is that?...no chance to ask.....everything else looked fine....Sooo.....???.....well what is the problem????....He said take her to an ear, nose throat specialist....I said we went to Doctor Y a few years ago for full CAT Scan etc. and he found nothing (she has sinus drainage that we thought might be affecting her stomach)....Doctor X replied "Well, Doctor Y is a good one!" then ran off. (2) So anyways, we thought "Let's try again" and do what Doctor X suggested. I took my mom back to the ear, nose and throat Doctor Y. We told him her symptoms. He examined her. He said he saw no signs of inflammation, blah, blah, etc. Soooo...???? I had to ask him "Well, what could it otherwise be?" He gave her a 10-day supply of a time-released sample that didn't work. (3) Here it is: WHY DO DOCTORS RUN PEOPLE THROUGH LIKE CATTLE, SUPPOSEDLY EXAMINE THEM AND DON'T FIND ANYTHING AND SAY "BYE-BYE..HAVE A GREAT DAY!" AND BILL YOU???? ARE THEY TOO BLIND TO REMEMBER WHY YOU CAME IN TO BEGIN WITH? AND THAT YOU STILL HAVE THE PROBLEM WHEN YOU LEAVE THEIR OFFICE?? OR DO THEY JUST WANT US TO "SHOW THEM THE MONEY"???? Thanks for asking for my input. We love you, (Insane) Dr. Wayne!!!!!! -Keith B.- (1) My mom has gas in her stomach and in her chest. It bothers her a great deal. She went and had both tests (camera down the throat and up the rectum). In recovery, the doctor (Doctor X) spent like 2 minutes max with me before running away to another patient. All I got was he removed 2 polyps (later we did find they were benign, although my mom had a PAP Smear or Mammogram…I cannot remember which…..a few years ago and we NEVER got the results! Mom had to call after a reasonable length of time had passed. Hmmm….might be important to know the result! ((F.Y.I. – watch HOUSE on Fox Tuesdays….this reminds me of it…..what a great medical show!!!) Back to other story: he said he removed 2 polyps they would test (came out benign)….evidence of maybe “gastritis” (what is that?…no chance to ask…..everything else looked fine….Sooo…..???…..well what is the problem????….He said take her to an ear, nose throat specialist….I said we went to Doctor Y a few years ago for full CAT Scan etc. and he found nothing (she has sinus drainage that we thought might be affecting her stomach)….Doctor X replied “Well, Doctor Y is a good one!” then ran off.

(2) So anyways, we thought “Let’s try again” and do what Doctor X suggested. I took my mom back to the ear, nose and throat Doctor Y. We told him her symptoms. He examined her. He said he saw no signs of inflammation, blah, blah, etc. Soooo…???? I had to ask him “Well, what could it otherwise be?” He gave her a 10-day supply of a time-released sample that didn’t work.

(3) Here it is: WHY DO DOCTORS RUN PEOPLE THROUGH LIKE CATTLE, SUPPOSEDLY EXAMINE THEM AND DON’T FIND ANYTHING AND SAY “BYE-BYE..HAVE A GREAT DAY!” AND BILL YOU???? ARE THEY TOO BLIND TO REMEMBER WHY YOU CAME IN TO BEGIN WITH? AND THAT YOU STILL HAVE THE PROBLEM WHEN YOU LEAVE THEIR OFFICE?? OR DO THEY JUST WANT US TO “SHOW THEM THE MONEY”????

Thanks for asking for my input. We love you, (Insane) Dr. Wayne!!!!!! -Keith B.-

]]> By: Bryan Busch http://www.askdrjones.com/in-the-media/what-gets-you-agitated/#comment-5827 Bryan Busch Fri, 02 Dec 2005 21:15:36 +0000 http://www.askdrjones.com/?p=41#comment-5827 What Agitates Me? * Extra volume during commercial breaks. * Drivers who move into my lane in front of me and then slow down. * Mail in my mailbox that is addressed to "Neighbor", "Resident", "Our Friends", or any misspelling of my name. * Logging into a web site more than once per session, and a whole host of other usability issues. * Not being able to sleep for an overabundance of creative ideas. * The notion that for the rest of my life, I will never get a break from doing laundry, dishes or the monotony of personal hygiene. * Knowing that completely undeserving celebrities and executives make exponentially more than I do. Things like that. Thanks for asking :) What Agitates Me?

* Extra volume during commercial breaks.

* Drivers who move into my lane in front of me and then slow down.

* Mail in my mailbox that is addressed to “Neighbor”, “Resident”, “Our Friends”, or any misspelling of my name.

* Logging into a web site more than once per session, and a whole host of other usability issues.

* Not being able to sleep for an overabundance of creative ideas.

* The notion that for the rest of my life, I will never get a break from doing laundry, dishes or the monotony of personal hygiene.

* Knowing that completely undeserving celebrities and executives make exponentially more than I do.

Things like that. Thanks for asking :)

]]> By: Kosh Naranek http://www.askdrjones.com/in-the-media/what-gets-you-agitated/#comment-5829 Kosh Naranek Fri, 02 Dec 2005 17:22:46 +0000 http://www.askdrjones.com/?p=41#comment-5829 I'd like to know what can be done to combat the obstinacy of the FDA (and, for that matter the DEA) in looking askance at every non-FDA-approved treatment for the various psychological disorders. This behaviour seems most apparent when the application of substances with discernable though generally low potential(s) for abuse hangs in the balance. It might be a true boon to those suffering from intractable depression if they could be tried on a short course of buprenorphine after most or all other attempts at pharmaco-intervention have yielded either minimal or no improvement. It MIGHT be found that modafanil could be used to combat ADHD when TCAs and bupoprion yield minimal or no improvement, and when the use of CII medicants may be contraindicated or impractical. But until the "big brothers" in the government learn to become more hesitant to instantly "take the temperature in an unpleasant manner" of the prescriber who is doing their best to give their patients some relief, these measures crerate more mayhem than remission for all concerned. It's likely that other better examples exist of the hesitancy of prescribers to do the utmost for their patients for fear of the hypervigilance of the government, and the "guilty until proven innocent" situation in which said prescribers find themselves when they DO take a chance for a patient. Okay, end of the ranting.....What, as patients, relatives of patients, advocates of patients, or comapssionate onlookers, can we do to get the FDA off the backs of the prescribers to allow them more latitude in their prescription theory? If our legislators need to hear from us, that's an easy one to make happen for anyone who has the interest. What, beyond that, can be undertaken? I’d like to know what can be done to combat the obstinacy of the FDA (and, for that matter the DEA) in looking askance at every non-FDA-approved treatment for the various psychological disorders. This behaviour seems most apparent when the application of substances with discernable though generally low potential(s) for abuse hangs in the balance. It might be a true boon to those suffering from intractable depression if they could be tried on a short course of buprenorphine after most or all other attempts at pharmaco-intervention have yielded either minimal or no improvement.
It MIGHT be found that modafanil could be used to combat ADHD when TCAs and bupoprion yield minimal or no improvement, and when the use of CII medicants may be contraindicated or impractical. But until the “big brothers” in the government learn to become more hesitant to instantly “take the temperature in an unpleasant manner” of the prescriber who is doing their best to give their patients some relief, these measures crerate more mayhem than remission for all concerned.
It’s likely that other better examples exist of the hesitancy of prescribers to do the utmost for their patients for fear of the hypervigilance of the government, and the “guilty until proven innocent” situation in which said prescribers find themselves when they DO take a chance for a patient.
Okay, end of the ranting…..What, as patients, relatives of patients, advocates of patients, or comapssionate onlookers, can we do to get the FDA off the backs of the prescribers to allow them more latitude in their prescription theory?
If our legislators need to hear from us, that’s an easy one to make happen for anyone who has the interest. What, beyond that, can be undertaken?

]]> By: JM http://www.askdrjones.com/in-the-media/what-gets-you-agitated/#comment-5826 JM Fri, 02 Dec 2005 15:38:03 +0000 http://www.askdrjones.com/?p=41#comment-5826 Dr. Jones, With regard to Kevin Trudeau (formerly of "Mega Memory" fame), I couldn't agree with you more. As a formally trained scientist, I'm perplexed by these neo-Luddites who will swear by untested and uncontrolled "natural" herbal remedies, and yet shun conventional medication whose efficacy has been proven in peer-reviewed clinical trials because you can't pull it off a tree. In either case we're talking about the same 92 elements comprising these compounds; in the latter case one knows exactly what and in what dosage one is getting, in the former one has practically no idea. Some of the most potent poisons known to man come from natural sources (e.g., botulin, ricin, ergotamine), and there's nothing inherently better or more effective about chemicals produced by a plant than those synthesized in the laboratory - that idea went out with the "vital force" theory sometime in the 19th century, if I remember correctly. As heavily as we regulate everything else in the health-care arena, it doesn't make much sense to me that "do-it-yourself practitioners" like Trudeau and many others can espouse (and sell) what I consider pseudo-scientific nonsense with relative impunity. People who want to go back to the "good old days" of herbs and poultices forget that just a hundred years ago, life expectancy was somewhere near half what it is today, and something like a pin-prick could cost you a limb or maybe even your life. Can anyone tell I've got an opinion on this one ;-)? Dr. Jones,

With regard to Kevin Trudeau (formerly of “Mega Memory” fame), I couldn’t agree with you more. As a formally trained scientist, I’m perplexed by these neo-Luddites who will swear by untested and uncontrolled “natural” herbal remedies, and yet shun conventional medication whose efficacy has been proven in peer-reviewed clinical trials because you can’t pull it off a tree. In either case we’re talking about the same 92 elements comprising these compounds; in the latter case one knows exactly what and in what dosage one is getting, in the former one has practically no idea. Some of the most potent poisons known to man come from natural sources (e.g., botulin, ricin, ergotamine), and there’s nothing inherently better or more effective about chemicals produced by a plant than those synthesized in the laboratory – that idea went out with the “vital force” theory sometime in the 19th century, if I remember correctly. As heavily as we regulate everything else in the health-care arena, it doesn’t make much sense to me that “do-it-yourself practitioners” like Trudeau and many others can espouse (and sell) what I consider pseudo-scientific nonsense with relative impunity.

People who want to go back to the “good old days” of herbs and poultices forget that just a hundred years ago, life expectancy was somewhere near half what it is today, and something like a pin-prick could cost you a limb or maybe even your life.

Can anyone tell I’ve got an opinion on this one ;-) ?

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