Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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Substance use disorders like alcohol and opioid use disorders can be diverse, and every patient has a different story when it comes to their addiction. Social factors, genetics, history of trauma or mental health disorders, and many other contributors may be at play, which can make treatment of substance use disorders challenging. Because of these challenges, successful treatment of substance use disorders often requires multiple approaches. Just like a patient with diabetes is best treated...
Spring is finally here, and for many of us, that brings the joy of returning to outdoor activities, planning summer vacations, and … well, allergies. Depending on the allergen, people can suffer from allergies any time of year, but spring is a particularly common time in our part of the world to hear my patients complain of seasonal allergies. Allergic rhinitis most commonly manifests as runny nose, congestion, and sneezing. Other symptoms can include cough from postnasal drip or worsening a...
Atrial fibrillation is probably a diagnosis you have heard of, if not because a friend or family member has it, because it has been mentioned in a public advertisement or pharmaceutical commercial. Atrial fibrillation (or "A-fib") is the most common cardiac arrhythmia, a condition estimated by the American Heart Association to be present in more than five million Americans. A-fib happens when abnormal electrical signals occurring throughout the cardiac atria (upper chambers of the heart)...
For the last five years, I have had the great privilege of serving my local health system as medical director for home hospice. Every week I sit in a meeting with the multidisciplinary caretakers on this team – the nurses who provide the great majority of the hands-on care, social worker, pharmacist, dietician and pastor. We discuss all the patients currently under our care and discuss how we can improve each patient’s suffering and maximize their quality of life. The patients we care for on hom...
The saying goes, “newer isn’t always better,” and while I typically tend to agree with that, newer might be better when it comes to glucose monitoring technology. In recent years we have seen rapid development and uptake of new types of glucometers, leaving fewer and fewer patients with diabetes using the old standby fingerstick method of blood sugar monitoring. Let me be clear: not every patient with diabetes needs a fancy new continuous glucometer (CGM). The cost might be higher, and there...
Urinalysis, or testing of the urine, has ancient origins dating back to the time of Hippocrates and beyond. Although we have evolved in our methodology of studying the urine and our understanding of the meaning of its characteristics, we do still rely on urinalysis in making clinical diagnoses frequently in medicine. In centuries past, the tools of urinalysis were blunt and primarily involved human senses of sight, smell and taste (yes, taste). Ancient physicians noted that sediment in the...
I love Thanksgiving. I love preparing the food all day and enjoying it while sitting around a table with some of the people I love most. And there is one holiday tradition that I have grown to adore. As we sit down to eat, we share one thing we feel grateful for this year. Practicing gratitude has been shown to improve aspects of mental health and our sense of well-being, and it isn't hard to understand why. Saying or thinking "I am grateful for..." feels really good and doing so regularly can...
A common lament I hear from my patients as they try to discuss a real concern they have about their body: “I’m sorry; this is so disgusting!” Their cheeks burn with shame as they tell me how their bowels have betrayed them. No matter what the issue is, so many of my patients are mortified discussing their diarrhea, constipation, fecal incontinence. My response, always, is “you can’t gross me out – we talk about poop every day in this clinic.” Plenty of things can go wrong in the gastrointesti...
Many people find themselves being told, “Your blood pressure is pretty high today.” You might be at the dentist’s office for a filling, in the emergency room getting stitches after an avocado mishap, or maybe you’re at your annual physical appointment. If you’ve never had high blood pressure, you might be surprised at this news Sometimes my own patients will call my office after such an event, “Doc, should I be on blood pressure medication?” When we get these calls our typical answer is: ma...
