What is it with doctors? Is it the more money they make the dumber they get or what?

Mom has been experiencing pain. She calls it soreness. I call it pain. The pain is in the region of her lung – the one with the tumor in it.

Now, she’s had virtually no problems since radiation. No pain, no weight loss, nothing. She’s really been very lucky. She was diagnosed with cancer in November 2005.

So when she says she’s having pain in the lung region – the one with the cancer in it, forgive me if I start worrying, but this tells me something is up.

So we go to the doctor. Her regular doctor. He does a chest xray, gives her a flu shot, and says she might have shingles.

???WTF???

Gives her steroids, tells her to call when she gets a rash and he’ll give her Valtrex.

I’m like – um – what if she doesn’t get a rash and doesn’t have shingles? Hello! Lung cancer patient here….

So she takes the steroids. Some pain goes away, but not all. She’s also lost 3 pounds, which isn’t significant for most – but my mother stays at one weight for the most part. Upon finishing the steroids, she calls the regular doctor. She asks him to call the cancer doctor, they think she might have a cracked rib, and decide to send her for a cat scan.

Fine.

What nobody bothers to tell her, is that she needs to have a blood test first and then go for the cat scan. Why didn’t her doctor last week take blood from her then? It’s not like she’s in his office all the time – she goes once a year for a checkup and if she feels bad – which is rare.

And especially since she has lung cancer. Maybe these guys need to go back to school.

How Does Aspirin Prevent Heart Attacks

You may have noticed that more people are taking aspirin. Aspirin has been linked to heart attacks in a good way. If your doctor has prescribed a low dose of aspirin for you, it could prevent a heart attack.

Aspirin has existed for almost a hundred years. When it was first introduced for aches and pains, the company assured the public that it would not affect the heart. Aspirin was the drug of choice for any pain that ailed you.

Research shows that aspirin works well in people who have had a stroke or heart attack to reduce the risk of another occurrence. It also increases the chances of survival when taken within minutes of the beginning signs of a heart attack. Aspirin also keeps previously blocked arteries of coronary bypass patients open and clear.

How does it actually work? The body produces a substance called “prostaglandins”. Prostaglandins function in platelet aggregation. When platelets stick together in the blood they form clots. This is beneficial if there is an injury to the body. Quick clot formation at the site of injury can keep a person from bleeding to death.

Conversely, if too many prostaglandins are produced, dangerous clots in the blood could cause a stroke or a heart attack depending on which vessel the clot eventually blocks. Aspirin has been found to lower the body’s production of prostaglandins which reduces the formation of clots. The threat of a heart attack is decreased.

The amount of aspirin given is less than the average dose given for pain relief. The daily dose can be anywhere from 75 to 325 milligrams a day. Your doctor will regulate the dose depending on previous heart attacks or just increased risk factors for a future heart attack.

Aspirin is not for everyone. Doctors hesitate to prescribe it for healthy individuals for the same reason it works so well for heart attack patients. Aspirin decreases platelet formation. This could cause excess bleeding in the event of injury. Also taking too much aspirin could produce holes in the lining of the stomach and other digestive problems. As a preventive measure in those who have not had a heart attack, aspirin is not recommended.

Do not take aspirin on your own. Let a doctor diagnose your need and make the decision. You could be doing more harm than good to your health.

Aspirin has been around for a long time, but we are only recently discovering its beneficial effects on the heart. Many hundreds of lives can be saved from life threatening heart attacks each year by taking a little pill each day. If you have had a heart attack, check with your doctor to see if aspirin is right for you.

FDA adds ‘[tag]abnormal behavior[/tag]’ warning for Tamiflu label

WASHINGTON (AP) — Patients who take [tag]Tamiflu[/tag] should be closely monitored for signs of abnormal behavior, [tag]health[/tag] officials said Monday in announcing an updated label for the [tag]flu[/tag] drug.

The added precaution comes after reports of more than 100 new cases of [tag]delirium[/tag], [tag]hallucinations[/tag] and other unusual [tag]psychiatric behavior[/tag] in children treated with the drug. Most were Japanese children.

The [tag]Food and Drug Administration[/tag] said a relationship between the drug and the behavior had not been established and that the updated label was “intended to mitigate a potential risk associated with Tamiflu.” It recommends that close monitoring begin immediately after starting treatment with the drug.

[tag]FDA[/tag] said it had received 103 reports, mostly from Japan, of injury and delirium among the millions of flu patients treated with Tamiflu. The changes bring the U.S. label more in line with the Japanese one, which already warned such abnormal behavior could occur. The previous FDA-approved label mentioned “seizure and confusion” seen in some patients.

Tamiflu is made by the Swiss [tag]pharmaceutical[/tag] company [tag]Roche[/tag] Holding AG. Roche spokesman Terence Hurley said there was no evidence the drug caused the rarely occurring adverse events.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/11/13/tamiflu.behavior.ap/index.html