Older Dr Blog

Contact Dr Blog Here

5/3/2008 Dr Blog has received communication from the minister's (Stephen Robertson) office that he will personally ensure that "our hero" from below is monitored daily to ensure that he is still in control of his faculties (if not his facilities). He said "I have asked Dr Freud, the hospital psychiatrist to test his mental state every hour, on the hour despite the cost and inconvenience". When Dr Blog enquired what the assessment would be based on if "our hero" continued to tell the trickcyclist to "go away", Dr Freud responded, "Well that probably means he knows what he's doing then".

Stephen Robertson

4/3/2008 Who's rights are they anyway is the question on Dr Blog's lips as another crisis looms at Nambour hospital as a 63 year old paraplegic man, sane but fed up of life in a wheelchair tries to starve himself to death. He cant do that. you hear the politicians cry, someone might make a scene. It seems that the poor man, having been pronounced in full command of his faculties by his GP and several psychiatrists was, against his will, dragged (pushed actually) kicking and screaming (metaphorically) from the friendly and caring surroundings of his nursing home to the cardiac ward taking up an acute coronary care bed of Nambour Hospital for force feeding, because the beaurocrats didn't want  to be found liable for his death. Yet again we live in a world devoid of common sense and compassion and left to the mercy of beaurocratic ass covering and nimbyism (is that a word?). Now of course Queensland Health have their lawyers involved (to protect? them), wasting more Queensland Health money - 1 lawyer/day = 2 surgeons or 3 hip replacements. Meanwhile Dr Blog suggests that Amnesty International is contacted to represent the ?plaintiff, victim, who clearly is having his human rights eroded because of politics.

Dr Philip Nitchke prays for common sense

22/2/2008 Whilst the one day wonder of our hero, Wally, crying on TV about the shame of his epilepsy seems to have died down, it seems to Dr Blog that it has done nothing to destigmatise a common illness that effects 2% of the population. It would be heroic to proudly display what can be achieved on the football field as well as being epileptic not despite it. Publicising his illness at the end not the height of his career could be considered the antithesis of bravery. Brave would be proudly encouraging other sufferers, not weeping in shame. As previously noted epilepsy is not a bar to playing football or any other contact sport, all sport should be encouraged.

Fat kids and epileptics should play sport

19/2/2008 Dr Blog was interested in all the who ha about Wally's epilepsy and how it affected his TV career, and slightly amazed that the underlying cause of his epilepsy escaped the media spotlight. Dr Blog initially thought  being battered repeatedly about the head in the name of sport was the cause and we should take a little time to consider how dangerous football is (Blog junior of course plays soccer - non contact and less epilepsy), apparently just slightly safer than boxing and horse riding but much less safe than motor bike ridding. Research suggests that head injuries (ranging from minor lacerations to loss of consciousness) account for 20 % of football (rugby )  injuries. BUT, if you search the literature there are no reports of football induced epilepsy. In fact, controlled epilepsy  is not a contraindication to playing contact sports and should be encouraged as sport increases general fitness and wellbeing in us all. One resent Australian study looked at convulsions post on-field head injury (AFL) and found no subsequent epilepsy and Dr Bog could only find one report of epilepsy caused by sport (boxing). In fact if you search histories pages for "occupation induced epilepsy" it seems that the stress and subsequent drug and alcohol abuse of the artist and writer is more likely to bring on seizures - i.e. Edgar Allen Poe, Lewis Caroll, Truman Capote and Lord Byron a few among many. The message is, when signing up little Jonny for the Palmwoods Devils Football Club, you can rest easy in the knowledge that it is safer than after-school English Lit.

Lord Byron demonstrating literature is more dangerous than Football

10/2/2008 Sunday. Sitting in the office after Sunday morning Surgery, Dr Blog is just about fed up with the bunch of whinging UK GP's having to work an extra 3 hrs a week. Don't they realise that people a) work during the week so when do they get their blood pressure checked ? and b) kids get sick on Saturday night and parents don't want to sit for 4 hours in casualty on Sunday morning. Weekend work only comes round every 6 weeks or so, so Dr Blog can cope and he will be on the beach by lunchtime. The spectre of corporate medicine seems to have them a little scared, as well it should, so I presume the UK medical establishment will except the extra hours gracefully. They should ask any Australian family GP what he or she thinks about the corporate medical clinics, that will put the wind up! It sounds, though, as if the UK politicians are keen to head down that track. Of course to the cynical it would be because there's a lot of cash in it for their mates......, cash that will be directed away from general practice and into the pockets of big business. Ultimately the working woman who just needs a pill script will benefit, but Mrs Jones, who needs daily visits at home and, well, a bit of time, to adjust her palliative cancer medication will get the raw deal.

6/2/2008 Dr Blog often gets limp wristed writing prescriptions for blood thinners - every one should be on them - sort of thing. A lot of patients take aspirin, which is cheap and very effective, but more and more patients are being put on a tablet called Clopidodrel (brand names of Iscover or Plavix). Reasons for this might be, for example acute coronary syndrome - where the recommendation would be to take the the drug for 3 months, then revert to aspirin. But it seems that, according to latest research published in the Journal American Medical Association, stopping the tablets could be deadly. It seems that there may be a rebound effect and stopping is more dangerous than first thought and more people are having heart attacks after stopping the drug. Basic message is - if your Doctor tries to get you to stop Plavix and take aspirin, get him to read the latest journals.

1/2/2008 As if by magic, all over the internet, and presumably tomorrows Channel 7 news, the word is soft drinks are now bad for you. Of course they are bad for you! They rot your stomach and teeth, dissolve your bones, make you fat, have no vitamins and now apparently give you gout. I must remember to tell all my diabetic patients not to drink so much Coke. For goodness sake people give up the lard sandwiches as well.

Eat Lard and you will die, Dr Blog's colleague assures him.

30/1/2008 Sitting in the tea room hearing his colleagues discussing another Drs old fashioned authoritarian approach, compared to the "in vogue" partnership approach, or as Dr Blog is want to term it "Tweed jacket approach" that we are now taught is best, today had Dr Blog thinking about just who is in charge of the illness. Dr or Patient. Its often the Dr that takes the blame if things go wrong. Sometimes, we need to be told in strict terms that this is what we must do - you have no choice. An example of this would be the 40 year old man who turns up pale and sweaty with central chest pain. He says "Its just a bit of indigestion Doc, give me some mylanta, and I'll be back to work in a jiffy", Dr says ( in Victorian authoritative manner with no room for compromise in his voice) - "Just lie still, breath in the oxygen and wait for the ambulance" . The Dr getting ready to hog tie the patient if he dared get off the trolley. Other instances are much more ambiguus. Take diabetes for example - good control of the illness, better and longer lifetime health and less end organ damage is achieved by regular monitoring and strict adherence to diet and exercise. It should the ultimate self-care disease with the Dr measuring cholesterol and renal function, but ultimately its up to the patient to do the right thing. What often happens is the conversation often goes like this " Maybe you need to loose a little weight to get those sugars down, and what do you think about Lipitor? Its good for reducing your cholesterol but occasionally may cause your memory to fade?" It seems to me that if the Dr takes that attitude too much the patient will soon end up calling the coronary care ambulance. Dr Blog is determined to be stronger and insist the patient  gets that cholesterol down to 4, looses weight, eats properly. Although Dr Blog does think one of his colleagues suggested lines is going too far " Take the pills or you will die". That Dr knows who he is!

Take the bloody pills

Oh no I wont.........

25/1/2005 Good news fro all you with leg ulcers, tap water is now deemed safe as sterile saline to clean wounds with. A recent survey of eleven studies showed that there is no difference. This is what Dr Blog had always suspected, the amount of  chlorine in local tap water must kill the bugs. In practical terms, you need to follow instructions if told to keep your dressing dry, but if it comes off, feel reassured that sluicing it under the shower is OK.

23/1/2008 Blog is back after recovering from the 90 minute turkey disaster. Mrs Blog has now banned him from the kitchen and the smoky smell has left the house. Two warnings today. One, don't drink coffee when pregnant, and two don't use the pokies if you have Parkinson's Disease. Point one was covered extensively in the media, point two involves a popular drug called Casabar, used for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, a neurological condition that affects 80, 000 Australians. A law firm in Melbourne has launched a class action against the makers, claiming that victims have lost their life savings and super on the pokies. Victims say that since starting the drug they have been compelled to go to their local RSL and sit for hours feeding thousands of dollars into the little slot. If this sounds like you, see your Dr or lawyer.

Another victim of greedy drug firms local clubs

23/12/2007 All the presents are organised and Mrs Blog has just been out to buy the turkey. Her recipe cooks it from scratch in 90 minutes - yes just 90 minutes. It involves a bit of fiddling with an ice bucket and a bit of smoke but is virtually foolproof. E mail if you want the recipe. Dr Blog always likes to have a snooze on Chrissy afternoon and got to thinking that it may be something in the turkey that was putting him out. Turns out that it is. Turkey contains a chemical called Tryptophan, an amino acid that the body needs as one of its essential building blocks. The brain uses tryptophan as a neurotransmitter to, among other things, regulate sleep. Turkey doesn't have an excessive amount of tryptophan though, but for Chrissy lunch we tend to pile our plates high with excessive carbs and follow it with plenty of grog. All these carbohydrates cause an exaggerated insulin response, drawing the sugar and a lot of other amino acids out of the blood - but not tryptophan. It therefore leaves more to go straight to the brain, where it promotes sleep and increases levels of serotonin - the happy brain chemical. So Dr Blog has a happy snooze after lunch thanks to the turkey.

Mrs Blog's 90 minute turkey

16/12/2007 Just in time for Christmas a British couple has won the right in court to design their own baby. They are now able to test embryos for a gene that codes for heart disease and cholesterol. This is the first time that screening for a treatable condition has been allowed. Critics argue that it will allow the couple to destroy embryos that have a good chance of living a healthy life. On the flip side of course, the couple could learn that all the embryos have been affected. Will this mean they might choose one of these faulty ones anyway? the uk couple will have to have ivf, so the embryos can be tested, even though they are normally fertile. Should we be screening for genes that code for treatable conditions?

This embryo has a thumb sucking gene

26/11/2007 just  a quick reminder of Labor's health promises:

$600 million for surgery waiting list cut
. 9250 nurses to ease pressure on hospitals
. $50 million for Cancer Centre in Sydney
. Bowel screening for all 50 year-olds
. Early childhood centres for autistic children
. Children's cancer centre in Adelaide
. $85 million plan to combat post-natal depression
. GP super-clinics
. Labor's plan for Tasmanian Health
. Rural and regional health plan
. Plan to retain Medicare Safety Net
. $2 billion National Health and Hospitals Reform Plan
. Tackling obesity

23/11/2007 On with the "Education Revolution" says Dr Blog ,or whatever Kev's latest catchphrase is. Dr Blog was overwhelmed by the Email (? e-mails) about who on earth his old ancestor Eric Thorvadsson was. Of course we should all know that Eric "the red" was one of the worlds greatest explorers who discovered Greenland and America. Maybe less of a revolution, more of a less egocentric approach i.e. Charles Sturt wasn't the most important explorer in history (He wasn't even Australian).

Anyway back to medical. Is Dr Blog the only one to notice Kev's tic (noun - spasm , involuntary movement etc). Never mind ear wax - what about every second sentence Kev's licking of the lips. it's getting a bit on the nerves of Dr Blog and even Blog minor. Dr Blog has reviewed a number of tapes and it doesn't seem to signify nerves or fear - but its annoying nevertheless and looks a bit shifty. Surely the spin Drs and the Chaser Team have noticed. I e mailed my mate Nic Roxton (Shadow health minister for ingrowing toe nails - see earlier Blog) with a few suggestions - green tea, acupuncture and valium, but have not had a reply yet. Dr blog has had to stop watching the seven thirty report because of it. I think its one of those things once you notice, it drives you nuts. So I'll be taking the green tea, acupuncture etc.

This man knows who Eric Thorvaldsson is

Does it look like someone you have seen on TV recently?

21/11/2007 dr Blog would like to apologise to his regular reader (sorry Mum) because of recent censorship and removal of the last 2 weeks articles. Apparently the site of Ozdoclawyers in their undies was too much. So much for freedom of speech etc.

Dr Blog was please to find out last week that you can now get your DNA unravelled, and then compare it to the rich and famous both present and historical. For a mere $1000 or so and a bit of mucous from inside your cheek, a Rastafarian company in Iceland called deCode genetics (Hay man , I need de code? or I have de code in de nose) will unravel your genes and compare it to a catalogue of famous people, lineages and terrible diseases. They say it really is for a health risk assessment - i.e . have I got the dna that codes for heart disease or am I just fat and healthy, but most of us will just want to know if we originate from a Viking warrior or have the same lineage as Winston Churchill or Margaret Thatcher. The main risk is that we all need counselling before embarking on these test - what if your test showed you had a genetic risk for some horrible progressive disorder that cant be fixed, or even worse, that your ancestors were French!

Note the similarity between Dr Blog's DNA (left) and Erik Thorvaldsson (right)

7/11/2007 As Dr Blog always is telling Mrs Blog - get with the program dear, DIET & EXERCISE. Dr Blog's wise words have been validated by a recent study in the British medical Journal linking obesity with cancer. They studied 45000 cancer cases in women and found that obesity could be blamed for 50% of womb and certain oesophageal cancers. the World Health Organisation found that carrying excess weight was linked to the following cancers:- womb, oesophagus, bowel, kidney, leukaemia, breast, myeloma, pancreas and ovary. They worked out that of all the new cancers in the UK last year, 6000 were directly related to being overweight. So shape up and get with the program, bearing in mind that chocolate is good for you of course. Kim Beasley, shadow minister for exercise pointed out that being overweight is also causes hypertension, heart disease, arthritis, diabetes etc.

Up 1,2-Down 1,2 - now the other eyelid.

1//11/2007 At last Dr Blog is happy to report that health is finally in the election spotlight, not least by a well publicised series of gaffs by Dr Blog's mate Tony Abbott. Tones announced a focus on primary care, pledging (or should it be bidding) $108 million for GP training places and $165 million to fund more practice nurses and encouraging them to visit older Australians and veterans. The opposition (the shadow minister for health is also Dr Blog's mate Nicola Roxon - and really, no really, she doesn't like being sworn at, but at the last cocktail party Dr Blog did question her about her credentials recommending her for the job of shadow health minister, being a lawyer and union official - yes I know they all are, but seemingly her last time in hospital was for a decidedly nasty ingrowing toe nail and not much other health experience) announced $100 million to cut waiting lists, $200 million to improve hospitals (?to cut waiting lists) and $300 million to help states manage elective surgery (??to cut waiting lists). Dr Blog wanders what the difference between the 3 items is- I suppose saying $600 million to cut waiting lists just looks like throwing money at a problem without thinking.

Nicola Roxon bids $600 million to reduce waiting times for ingrowing toe nails

OzdocsandLawyers and Son would  also like to point out that the handcuffed man below isn't, obviously, Stephen Robertson, but he took the photo that's why his name is under it.

31/10/2007 Get your teeth fixed tomorrow says Dr Blog. From the a.m. the government is allowing rebates under Medicare for dental treatment, up to over $4000  over 2 years at your choice of private dentist. What's the catch? Non to the punter. You have to be referred by your GP and have to suffer from a chronic condition lasting over 6 months (Doc I've needed a filing for 6 months - ok I'll just print off a health care plan and referral form) Just click here for the form and take it along to the Doc. So no biggy for the patient, a bit of paperwork for Dr Blog, wins all round I should think.

24/10/2007 Sorry Mum, no excuses, although keeping up with the Rugby and the election is keeping Dr Blog busy. Speaking of the election, its not really (YET) very exciting on the election promise front, although Dr Blog has noticed a movement in hip and knee replacement waiting lists! If you are on a waiting list, now is a good time to phone your local member.

Promises - Click to follow link

Liberal

. $500,000 to the Australian Centre for Health Research (ACHR)
. Private hospital prosthesis listing arrangements
. Mersey hospital funding
. $37 million for community projects promoting good health
. Medicare funded checks for older Australians
. New Medicare Items for Autism Spectrum Disorders
. 13 new Medicare-eligible MRI units
. Grants to improve eye care
. Breast cancer promises

Labour:

. $600 million for surgery waiting list cut
. 9250 nurses to ease pressure on hospitals
. $50 million for Cancer Centre in Sydney
. Bowel screening for all 50 year-olds
. Early childhood centres for autistic children
. Children's cancer centre in Adelaide
. $85 million plan to combat post-natal depression
. GP super-clinics
. Labor's plan for Tasmanian Health
. Rural and regional health plan
. Plan to retain Medicare Safety Net
. $2 billion National Health and Hospitals Reform Plan
. Tackling obesity
 

1/10/2007 Whatever happened to a dose of castor oil every morning to keep you fit and regular? Seems to Dr Blog that researchers are all spending energy trying to tell us that nice stuff is good for us (beer etc). In that vein breaking news is chocolate (dark of course) is a useful treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome. This may seem strange but it seems that dark chocolate has a good effect on brain chemicals. Dark chocolate is better because of its high cocoa content. Researchers at Hull, UK not surprisingly found that if gave subjects more energy and made them feel better than white chocolate dyed brown. Its the polyphenols again I hear you cry. (see earlier Blog) - well you might just be right. They of course help increase the levels of serotonin in the brain , low levels of which have been linked to a number of conditions such as depression and chronic fatigue. A spokesperson for the group Action for ME, a bit optimistically as far as Dr Blog is concerned said " wouldn't it be wonderful if we could cure ME with a daily dose of chocky (and the world was made of Cadbury)". Action for ME  are seeking sponsorship from Nestle, currently running a chocolate is good for you campaign in you local GP surgery now - ask for samples.

White chocolate cunningly disguised with brown dye - not so good for you!

So get tested for cholesterol as a child.

24/9/2007 Dr Blog's eye was caught by this quarters edition of "fertility matters" (clever pun hey), published by Monash IVF, advocating "Caution on DIY sperm tests". You can now get a DIY sperm test, more properly known as a home diagnostic screening test. It looks like a home pregnancy test and can tell the user if his "sample" has more or less than 20 million sperm(s) per ml. Less than (20 million) may make you less fertile - although as we all know it only takes one. Dr Blog assumes that Monash has missed the point of the test, although he can understand that they are only protecting their turf. In the USA you can even do home genetic paternity testing, as I said it only take one (sperm). The real use would be at the start of the dating game. Girl meets boy, then does a few simple home diagnostic tests before getting serious. These can now include sperm test, HIV, hep c, drug screen and hpv. All to be done in the privacy of your own home and available in a special presentation pack from Blog Enterprises, click link below.

Blog Enterprises "home suitable consort testing kit" only $39.99

21/9/2007 UK experts are now advocating the testing of cholesterol in young children at the time of their vaccinations, Blog junior was dismayed to learn. According to research, familial hypercholesterolemia (inherited high cholesterol) was most reliably detected between 1 and 9 years. It was suggested that screening at this stage provided a time when both child and parents were receptive to lifestyle management issues - no chippies etc. This condition affects 2 in every 1000 children but is rarely picked up until the victim has a heart attack in their late 30 s. So off to pathology when your youngest gets his 4 year old needles.

There is this much oil in a years worth of chips.

Wednesday 19/9/2007 What about the benefits of omega 3? Unfortunately Dr Blog's wife was perusing the ABC last week when it was suggested by an eminent professonality (Hybrid of professor and personality) that omega 3 did wonders for the old noggin. So off goes Mrs Blog to Woolworths to invest in a large enough quantity to keep us all on 2 a day until Christmas. Although Dr Blog was mildly disturbed that it didn't profess its dolphin friendly credentials on the bottle he was pleased it assured its consumers that it was mercury free! (mercury is not good for the brain). Anyway 1 week later Blog junior is actually doing his homework, unloading the dishwasher and being generally less of a surly teenager than usual, Proof of its remarkable brain boosting qualities enough for Mrs Blog, so we are all condemned to fish capsules twice a day. The purported benefits include:-

Friday 14/9/2007 We all know what's good for us - red wine , dark chocolate, beer, football etc but Dr Blog was amused to find a large expensive advert in his Drs Weekly rag advertising Dark Chocky. "Antioxidants never tasted so good " it boldly proclaimed in poor English. Hopefully free samples are in the post. He was also amused at the small print at the bottom of the page which, after donning his specs, found the following " should be consumed in moderation as part of a balanced diet and physical activity." Presumably this is to stop them being sued if anyone overdoses on chocolate and sloth. The advertised website is full of healthy recipes such as chocolate and cabbage soup - full of antioxidants. It took him a few minutes to work out who supported the site. Turns out it was Nestle - don't they sell fruit loops - full of fruity goodness?

Fruit is full of antioxidants

Wednesday 12/9/2007 Blog is back. After a long struggle with apathy in both himself and a non backed up hard drive Blog is back with medical news you might enjoy. Dr Blog would like to thank his fans for all the e mails enquiring about his general health - thanks mum.

More pill controversy - but yes the (contraceptive) Pill can cut cancer risk. New research has shown that although the oral contraceptive can slightly increase the risk of breast and cervical cancers its negative effect on other cancers can counteract this - so overall, for the first 8 years things are ok, a 36 year long U.K. study shows. After taking the pill for more than 8 years, the study showed an increase in breast cancer but a reduction in ovarian and central nervous system cancer. We of course need to populate Australia so don't over do it.