Archive for July, 2008
July 31st, 2008
Several years ago the American Pain Foundation (APF) developed the following “Pain Care Bill of Rights.”
As a person with pain you have the right to:
*have your report of pain taken seriously and to be treated with dignity and respect by doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals.
*have your pain thoroughly assessed and promptly treated.
*be informed by your healthcare provider about what may be causing your pain, possible treatments, and the benefits, risks, and costs of each.
*Participate actively in decisions about how to manage your pain.
*have your pain reassessed regularly and your treatment adjusted if your pain has not been eased.
*be referred to a pain specialist if your pain persists.
*get clear and prompt answers to your questions, take time to make decisions, and refuse a particular type of treatment if you choose.
Note *these are not always required by law.
The American Pain Foundation website is a reliable source of pain management information with links to specific pain entities www.painfoundation.org
July 28th, 2008
The first thing to consider is the kind of laboratory that will be testing your specimen. Most physician office laboratories run only simple tests and are exempt from the more stringent standards applied to hospital laboratories. There are no education or training requirements for the personnel in these labs, so ask your doctor how well his staff was trained to perform the tests. Also ask if the lab participates in any continuing education or proficiency testing programs. These actions indicate that the physician and his/her employees recognize the importance correctly performed laboratory tests play in their practice.
If your tests will be run by a larger, more complex laboratory, the lab is required to meet tighter Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA) requirements, and participate in external accreditation by agencies such as the Joint Commission, the College of American Pathologists, or Committee on Laboratory Accreditation (COLA). Ask your doctor about what considerations went into his or her choice of the laboratory, how long he has been dealing with this laboratory, and how he verifies the accuracy of the test results. A pathologist (a physician known as “the doctor’s doctor”) should always be available to the ordering physician for consultation and interpretation of unusual or unexpected results.
Laboratory measurements have become highly reliable due to advances in instrumentation. However, the quality of the specimen (how well was it collected, stored, or transported? Was the patient properly instructed and was the sample positively identified?) may lead to abnormal or erroneous results that should be re-tested before medical decisions are made.
July 22nd, 2008
Medical research has shown that people with long-lasting muscle, bone or joint aches and pains are usually lacking in Vitamin D. Vitamin D is available in 2 forms–D3 and D2. D3 has been found to work better for most people. Another name for D3 is cholecaliciferol. Look for either on the label. A good amount to start with is 1600 IU each day. A good multivitamin usually contains between 400-800 IU of vitamin D3. Add a 1000 IU vitamin D3 supplement to this to total 1600 IU. Do not take more than 2000 IU of vitamin D3 without talking to your healthcare provider first. It may take weeks or even months before improvement is noticed. Be patient and continue taking your Vit D3 supplement each day. If you are taking any of the following medicines, talk to your healthcare provider before starting on Vit D supplements: anticonvulsants, medicines for HIV/AIDS, barbiturates, glucocorticoids or corticosteroids, digoxin, hydroxychloroquine, rifampin or thiazide diuretics. Also talk to your healthcare provider before starting Vit D supplements if you have any of the following conditions: liver or kidney problems, kidney stones, irritable bowel, Crohn’s or celiac disease.
Supplemental vitamin D for chronic musculoskeletal pain is inexpensive with favorable benefits and minimal, if any, risks involved. For more information go to: http://Pain-Topics.org/VitaminD
July 12th, 2008
Diabetes melitus can lead to kidney damage. An early indication of this is finding tiny amounts of protein in the urine; this can show up on a simple test of the urine. People with this finding are more likely to develop a type of kidney damage known as diabetic nephropathy. This can slowly progress to the need for dialysis or a kidney transplant. There are things that can be done to stop or slow kidney damage from diabetes:
- Keep your blood sugar under control
- Keep your blood pressure under control (less than 130/80)
- Keep your cholesterol under control (LDL < 100)
- Control your weight
- (Exercise is very helpful to accomplish all the above!)
- Take a prescription medication called an ACE-inhibitor
- Do not smoke cigarettes
- Eat a diet low in protein (protein is high in meat, dairy products and eggs)
So we are talking about a whole lifestyle that will lead to better quality and quantity of life. John C Maynard, MD Rockford Nephrology Associates
July 3rd, 2008
This is a great video on Hearing Loss from the Better Hearing Institute:
[kml_flashembed movie="http://youtube.com/v/17qPxILBhWM" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
