Everything Happens for a Reason —And Other Things Not to Say When Tragedy Strikes
“Well, it’s the good kind of cancer. You will be better soon.”
Those are the words Elizabeth Gillette heard from some people when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at 21 years old. She would need several rounds of chemotherapy followed by radiation treatment. She was terrified — and shocked to hear anyone refer to her cancer as good.
These “responses effectively closed me off to having any further conversation with them because I knew they didn’t understand how scared I was feeling,” said Gillette, LCSW, now an attachment-focused therapist, who specializes in working with individuals and co...
Source: World of Psychology - May 31, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. Tags: Family Friends General Health-related Mental Health and Wellness Relationships Self-Help Bereavement Coping Failure grief grieving loss Tragedy Source Type: blogs
IVF for treating recurrent miscarriages
Recurrent pregnancy loss ( repeated miscarriages or habitual abortions) is one of the most frustrating problems in medicine. It is hard for patients , because getting pregnant , and then losing the baby again and again is traumatic. It's bad for doctors, because patients have so many questions , and we don't have any answers ! The truth is that our tests are not very good, and there is little we can do to make n accurate a diagnosis. This is why, in about 80% of patients with recurrent pregnancy loss , inspite of extensive testing, we will not be able to find an underlying cause.Based on experience over many years, the one...
Source: Dr.Malpani's Blog - May 14, 2018 Category: Reproduction Medicine Tags: IVF miscarriage recurrent abortions recurrent miscarriage recurrent pregnancy loss Source Type: blogs
How doctors cause harm
A patient sent me this email.Hi doctor my wife had two miscarriages in last 18 months . After second miscarriage we have done TORCH test, it shows high range of of CMV IgG at 200 (normal range is 0-6) and CMV IgM is non reactive range (0.17) we had consult doctor he had given medicine valcivir for 20 days , after complete 20 days CMV at IgG at 53 , we had stop taking medicine after 30 days when we have test CMV IgG shows again 194 level.My query is with this rising level of CMV igg how we conceive a healthy pregnancy ?I have searched on internet and it shows rising level of CMV IgG causes serious birth defect in baby...
Source: Dr.Malpani's Blog - May 3, 2018 Category: Reproduction Medicine Tags: abortions CMV miscarriages TORCH torch infections torch tests Source Type: blogs
News Media Practices: Slanting, Implying, Innuendo, Speculating
Media Technique: SlantingSenator Target was walking his dog in the park one morning, when he noticed a young girl had dropped her doll ’s necklace. He hurried over and picked it up. “Excuse me, young lady,” he said, tapping her on the shoulder, “but I believe this necklace is yours.”At that moment, the child ’s mother looked over from a nearby park bench and saw the expression of fear and uncertainty on her daughter’s face. “Help! Police!” she shouted. “A man is molesting my child!” A park policeman soon arrived, and in spite of Senator Target’s protests, arrested the senator.After a lengthy discuss...
Source: The Virtual Salt - April 30, 2018 Category: Neurology Authors: Robert Harris Source Type: blogs
Physician suicide is also a problem in India. Here ’s what you can do.
Today a physician told me she lost three colleagues to suicide in the last two months.
Loma Linda Hospital just lost three young doctors to suicide in 6 months.
Mount Sinai had 3 docs jump in less than 2 years — from the same building.
An anesthesiologist recently told me he lost 8 of his colleagues to suicide.
Each suicide should be fully investigated, yet few receive root cause analysis of the specific circumstances leading to their deaths.
In January, I reported on my investigation into 757 doctor suicides in The Washington Post. (Now I’ve got nearly 900 suicides on my registry.)
Recently, Dr. Oz exposed the h...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 8, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/pamela-wible" rel="tag" > Pamela Wible, MD < /a > Tags: Physician Psychiatry Source Type: blogs
Tropical Travel Trouble 007 Mega Malaria Extravaganza
LITFL • Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog LITFL • Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog - Emergency medicine and critical care medical education blog
aka Tropical Travel Trouble 007
When you think tropical medicine, malaria has to be near the top. It can be fairly complex and fortunately treatment has become a lot simpler. This post is designed to walk you through the basic principals with links to more in depth teaching if your niche is travel medicine, laboratory diagnostics or management of severe or cerebral malaria. If you stubbled on this post while drinking a cup of tea or sitting on the throne and want a few basi...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - April 5, 2018 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Neil Long Tags: Clinical Cases Tropical Medicine malaria Plasmodium plasmodium falciparum plasmodium knowles plasmodium malariae plasmodium ovale plasmodium vivax Source Type: blogs
The Biology Behind the Fertility Clinic Meltdown
*This blog was first published at DNA Science Blog at Public Library of Science*
The spindle apparatus is among the most elegant structures in a cell, quickly self-assembling from microtubules and grabbing and aligning chromosomes so that equal sets separate into the two daughter cells that result from a division. But can spindles in cells held at the brink of division in the suspended animation of the deep freeze at a fertility clinic survive being ripped from their slumber off-protocol, as happened the weekend of March 4 at the Pacific Fertility Clinic in San Francisco and University Hospitals Fe...
Source: blog.bioethics.net - March 28, 2018 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Bioethics Today Tags: Health Care Fertility syndicated Source Type: blogs
Why are my babies dying at 8 weeks of pregnancy ?
A patient sent me this emailDoctor, I have had many miscarriages at 8 weeks of pregnancy. I have no problem getting pregnant, but the last 5 pregnancies have ended in a missed abortion. I am at my wit's end - what should I do ?Recurrent miscarriages are a very frustrating problem for both doctors and patients ! Patients blame themselves for the death of their baby, and doctors are unable to provide an accurate diagnosis or a reliable solution.We do know that the commonest reason for a miscarriage is a genetic abnormality in the fetus, and this is Nature's defense mechanism, to prevent the birth of an abnormal baby. While t...
Source: Dr.Malpani's Blog - March 8, 2018 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: blogs
" An astonishing miscarriage of justice "
Yesterday, Public Affairs published a compelling new book by Cato alum Radley Balko and his co-author Tucker Carrington entitledThe Cadaver King and the Country Dentist. The book chronicles the horrific and sordid tale of how the State of Mississippi railroaded innocent men for heinous crimes with the help of Dr. Steven Hayne, a medical examiner, and Dr. Michael West, a dentist.Those who have followed Radley ’s career over the years may be familiar with his investigations into Hayne and West, particularly their repeated use of deeplyflawed forensicsandpreposterous testimony. We are proud to welcome Radley and Tucker to C...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 28, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Jonathan Blanks Source Type: blogs
Can a reasoning test predict who will make a good detective?
By Alex Fradera
Although criminal investigation has been transformed through technological developments in DNA, phone tracking, and online data, the way a detective works through a crime has remained much the same. The first suspect is often the true perpetrator, but not always, and snowballing biases continue to lead to miscarriages of justice. Proficient detectives need the ability to generate and evaluate different explanations and keep an open mind. New research in the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology investigates whether it’s possible to use established tests of reasoning ability to identify who has the sk...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - February 28, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Forensic Occupational Source Type: blogs
Review from a patient about Malpani Infertility Clinic
After getting cheated by doctors at local IUI and IVF clinics, we had lost trust in doctors.But we took one chance and visited Malpani clinic for their opinion. When we met Dr Anirudha he was very patient and understanding. He spoke to us in a very friendly manner and asked us not to blame ourselves.He clearly explained the procedure at Malpani clinic and all the costs involved. He also explained that IVF takes time and we should not lose hope. He also explained the number of times we have to visit the clinic. This was very less as compared to other clinics and doctors which allowed us to go on with our usual lives. W...
Source: Dr.Malpani's Blog - February 21, 2018 Category: Reproduction Medicine Tags: dr malpani complaint Dr Malpani complaints dr malpani compliments dr malpani reviews Source Type: blogs
Why it's a pleasure treating well informed patients !
A patient sent me this emailWe are considering embarking upon IVF to have our 4th living child . We have a history of successful pregnancies (births 2008, 2010, 2012) mixed with miscarriages (3 in 2007, one in 2017). We want to expedite conception rather than trying for years more on our own. My AMH appears reasonable (21.6 pmol/l) and my CD3 FSH was 8.3; LH and estradiol, prolactin etc. were in normal range). We have approached two fertility clinics (one in Greece, one in the Czech republic, both well known) who have both recommended a hysteroscopy before proceeding. I do not feel that this is evidence-based practice. I h...
Source: Dr.Malpani's Blog - February 20, 2018 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: blogs
My doctor is insisting that I do IVF
A patient emailed me.I have had 2 miscarriages. My doctor advised to take a HSG test. The radiologist reported that my tubes are open, but I may have "peritubal disease " because there is "ampullary coiling" and the "fimbrial ends are clumped" . My doctor is insisting that I go for IVF . Can you please provide a second opinion about my case.This is has become a common racket. A HSG is a black and white shadow, and can only tell us if the tubes are open and closed. They cannot tell us if the tubes are working or not - and they definitely cannot tell us anything about what is happening outside the tubes !However, radiologist...
Source: Dr.Malpani's Blog - February 11, 2018 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: blogs
On mountains and miscarriage: a physician ’s story of loss
I feel the mountain in my bones. The methodical plodding of feet over uneven terrain, a meditation, the grace of a single forward path, with no decisions, no guilt or what-ifs, no fear. Just forward movement, forward momentum. I hear Mary Oliver’s words at my core: “I don’t know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention … how to be idle and blessed.” It’s taken me years to get to blessed. Idleness is something I’m still working on.
My third miscarriage came a week before a scheduled trip to Kauai. What had been a “last hoorah” between finishing residency and beginning my “real job” ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - February 2, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/meredith-bourne" rel="tag" > Meredith Bourne, MD < /a > Tags: Physician OB/GYN Source Type: blogs
Unnecessary D & C after a miscarriage can reduce your fertility
It's not uncommon for women who get pregnant after IVF to have a miscarriage. After all, the miscarriage rate is about 15% in all pregnancies, and IVF does not protect against a miscarriage. While this can cause a lot of heartache, doctors often add insult to injury by suggesting that patients do a D&C ( dilatation and curettage) to surgically evacuate the pregnancy. They justify this by saying that the surgery is a quick and simply minor procedure; and that they can send the pregnancy tissue ( aka POC, or products of conception ) for genetic testing, so they can find out why the miscarriage occurred. However, not...
Source: Dr.Malpani's Blog - January 5, 2018 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: blogs
