I realize it's not tomorrow. Upon my word, this is the first time I've sat down to my computer since my last entry.
My weekend consisted mostly of attending a women's retreat with about 50 of the women from my church. If you are a woman and you haven't recently attended a church retreat with other female-type people, you really must. You will hear shocking things about your friends at 3 in the morning and say things about yourself at 4 in the morning that you will later wish to disclaim, but all in all you will not be sorry you went.
I also must say that something very encouraging happened at said retreat. One of the women in our church who is a physician in a family practice gave a short workshop on women's health. She reminded us of routine tests we need or don't need to worry about, she gave us a few tips about some other issues related to women, but it was her final note that made my heart sing. She said that she has been doing some of her own studying and strongly suggests that we get two things out of our kitchens. Trans fat and High Fructose Corn Sugar. She also said it would benefit us to be more active. Here here to acknowledging the problem AND the answer.
This is the first time I have ever heard a doctor say anything like this. I know that there are some that do, but it was a relief to me to hear it in person.
That's going to cost me another heated debate, I'm sure, but I had to say it because I was so pleased.
Now on to the second part of the dare. There isn't one. I had a really good one, but judging by my lack of time, the measly 26 pages of my book that are already greatly in need of revision, and the extreme business of most of you, I just don't think it would work right now. So you're all off the hook.
With that I'll say goodnight.
You may find it encouraging to know that there is a great deal of emphasis placed on lifestyle modification throughout the continuing medical education sessions of the American Academy of Family Physicians Scientific Assembly, where I've been hanging out this week. Guess ya just have to know which docs to listen to.
ReplyDeleteAlso I went to a session on integrative medicine and will have some resources to share with you once I go through my stuff.
Sounds interesting! "Integrative" sounds way more proactive than what I've ever heard from a doc.
ReplyDeleteAnd I do realize that I really just have had bad luck in getting the "cream of the crop" so to speak. I know that doctor's really aren't supposed to say things like "If losing weight were easy then I'd be thin." At least not without a good laugh and then moving on to reveal how exactly one does do that. Another doc's helpful advice "Maybe if you take this prescription for your migraines it will make you lose weight too."
But I'm glad that they aren't the general rule. And I'm okay with having seen them, because I'm not sure I would have been so determined to figure it out myself otherwise, and I've learned a few things about my own body along the way.
Looking forward to hearing more from you on this subject.
See if this link works- it's the handout from the session I went to (obviously geared toward health care providers).
ReplyDeletehttp://www.aafp.org/online/etc/medialib/aafp_org/documents/cme/courses/conf/assembly/2010handouts/163.Par.0001.File.tmp/163-164.pdf
The resources I think will be most helpful are near the end of the slides- the websites that have info about safety, efficacy, interactions, etc. This may help you evaluate the safety and possible effects of any herbal supplements you may use. (I'll list a couple at the bottom of the comment)
A couple of important points- not only is the dose important, but so is the actual BRAND, because often the studies are done on one or two brands, and without regulation, there could be variability from brand to brand- so if you're going to use herbs medicinally, the ones grown in the backyard are less likely to be effective, and safety may be an issue as well. Also, you don't want to overdo it; try one at a time, as part of a comprehensive treatment plan, especially because the herbs themselves could interact with each other, let alone other meds.
Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database
• www.naturaldatabase.com
• Natural Standard
• www.naturalstandard.com
• Dynamed
– http://ebscohost.com/dynamed/
I have also told patients that if losing weight were easy I'd be thin; it's true! (I also tell them if there were a great drug for weight loss I'd be taking it, and I'd also be on a beach somewhere retired on my earnings from selling it). Here are a couple other handouts from the AAFP conference geared toward doctors helping patients modify lifestyle (and incidentally some migraine prevention meds do have weight loss as a side effect; we try to capitalize on that if we can, but it's not a guarantee [hence: "maybe"]):
http://www.aafp.org/online/etc/medialib/aafp_org/documents/cme/courses/conf/assembly/2010handouts/031.Par.0001.File.tmp/031-032.pdf
http://www.aafp.org/online/etc/medialib/aafp_org/documents/cme/courses/conf/assembly/2010handouts/033.Par.0001.File.tmp/033-034.pdf
Wow! That was interesting! Too bad the docs in Columbus haven't been to that seminar yet. :(
ReplyDeleteThis comes at an interesting time, since I have to admit to the pediatrician this week that I'm seeking bedwetting natural cures because it's gotten to the point of ridiculousness in this house. (No mother should have to clean up this much pee.) Every time I say anything about natural cures or supplements she clams up and gets a really angry intense smile on her face and lets loose how none of it will work. She is definitely not open to compromise. (Yet, she has no ideas and a 5 and 7 year old wetting the bed every night is not something we should do anything about.) (And yes, we tried all the normal, logical things.)
And it's not that I think weight loss and maintenance is easy or that some headache meds don't make some people lose weight. The point is - that's not the point. I didn't ask that dr whether he thought weight loss was hard or not, I asked him what I should do other than what I had already tried. He had no ideas. I found ideas by searching myself, and those ideas worked in the past and I'm hoping they will work again once children stop invading my person. And if I'm seeking ways to manage migraines that don't cause troublesome side effects, why would I want to take a drug that saps you of your appetite? All it did was make me not enjoy cooking or eating. It surely didn't make me lose weight, because it made me not eat much at all which compounded the problem.
I'm encouraged though to see some of the things I'm considering trying for migraines there on some of those slides. I've also wondered whether accupuncture might be valid.
I would love for the two worlds to collide. I think we'd all be better off if we didn't have to be scared of bringing things up in the dr's office, and they actually brought those ideas to us before trying the more invasive, expensive and side-effect causing treatments.
One thing that I think was missing from that presentation - drs don't give patients enough credit. I'm sure there are the patients that you really shouldn't give any credit to, but a good number of people today are pretty smart and very able to do our own research. I knew every single one of those St. John's Wort interactions that were listed, because I did my homework well before I brought that bottle home.
So in closing - we're not stupid. Neither are the docs. So let's work together.
Thanks for the links! I hope everyone will check them out!
"And yes, we tried all the normal, logical things."
ReplyDeleteSo are you moving on to the abnormal, illogical things?
This may be a bit helpful with the bedwetting thing; it may also be comforting to know that bedwetting isn't really considered abnormal at their age- "Nighttime bladder control usually takes longer, and is not expected until a child is between five and seven years old."
ReplyDeleteThis goes through a lot of tips, some of which you've probably already tried, but reassuring that it's unlikely to be pathological. Annoying, yes, but also the natural state of things...
http://www.uptodate.com/patients/content/topic.do?topicKey=~fKHHUxGTvNxymK&selectedTitle=1~42&source=search_result