News briefs

Coumadin Black Box: Coumadin is a blood thinner that is used in a variety of health problems including blood clot prevention. Yes, you have heard right, technically, it is rat poison. Last week, the company that makes name brand coumadin issued a "black box" warning about "potential fatal risk of bleeding" in patients -- article from NewYorkBusiness.Com.

For those that may not know, some people consider the "black box" warning the highest warning that the US FDA issues to warn doctors and patients of potential medication problems.

Now, this is not anything mysterious. Everyone has known that coumadin has this potential for years. This is not another "FDA screwup." Here's the rub. Either take the coumadin and face potential side effects like bleeding. Or, don't take the blood thinner, and, for those that need coumadin, run the risk of blood clots which lead to things like stroke. I'm not sure what the answer is, but I do know that our phones here at the office have been ringing off the hook today with questions.

Total Lettuce Recall: The E.coli saga is continuing. The Mercury News is reporting today that a California company is voluntarily recalling some of its crops of lettuce after finding E.coli in a sample of irrigation water. First spinach, then beef, and now lettuce. As long as they don't recall Diet Coke and donuts, I think I'll be fine. We'll see what gets recalled next.

Cleveland doctor arrested in Cyprus: Yazeed Essa was arrested over the weekend as he attempted to clear customs is Cyprus. (CNN.Com)

Prosecutors have said they believe Essa, an emergency room doctor, was having an affair with a nurse and wanted to be free of his 38-year-old wife. Prosecutors characterized the killing as a "divorce substitute."

What's going on the world today? If you don't like your spouse, then just divorce her/him. What's up with murder (er, I have to say alleged murder)? If guilty, I hope this guy gets put away for a long time.

Happy world post day

Did you know that October 9 is World Post Day? Yup, you bet. It's a worldwide celebration of blogging and blog posts. Who knew that the blogosphere could have such a worldwide impact that an entire day is devoted to it.

Well, not really. This day is recognition of snail mail. Here are articles from the Universal Postal Union, South Africa, and Sri Lanka. The following quote is from the United Nations.

World Post Day is celebrated each year on 9 October, the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union in 1874 in the Swiss Capital, Bern. UPU member countries across the world use the event to emphasize the important role of the postal sector in the daily lives of people and in the social and economic development of countries.

Oh well, maybe some day there will be real recognition for blogging and groups like Blogaholics Anonymous -- HA! Keep on blogging!

Blog chatter

I'm always flattered and humbled when I'm featured on another blog. And, this time is no exception. Mimi Lenox, one of the newest members of Blogaholics Anonymous, mentioned me in her Sunday Blog Chatter on her blog called Mimi Writes.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back over to Dr. A's and put my name on the BA map and make it unofficially official. It's time I admitted the truth. Which, of course, means that I have to tell my mother the sad saga of my secret addiction first. This could take a while since she doesn't even know what blogging is.

On second thought, this could wait a day or two. Couldn't it? Let's let her sleep in peace one more night.

Mimi has a second blog called Book Meme Central (where I'll also be featured *wink*). She describes this blog as the place where all Memes come to be immortalized. A comprehensive collection of book memes from across the globe. If you have a chance, check out these blogs. You won't be disappointed. Thanks Mimi!

Health care coach

Hey, this should be your primary care doctor, right? This article from Forbes.com describes what they call "health care transition coaches," who can help reduce patient's hospital bills and rate of re-hospitalization.

The "transition coach" works with patients on four main areas: medication self-management; the creation of a personal health record maintained by the patient; obtaining timely follow-up care; and developing a plan to seek care if certain symptoms appear.

The program was created to solve problems -- such as conflicting medical advice, medication errors and lack of follow-up -- that often affect patients during periods of transition between sites of care.

This article doesn't say who these coaches are, who pays them, and how they get paid. These are probably agents of the insurance companies, who already dictate how health care is delivered in this country.

The idea of a "health care coach" just sickens me. These concepts are exactly what should be happening in the offices of primary care docs. Unfortunately, this is probably not happening, and that's why these coaches were created. Just another symptom of the broken US health care system. If we treat the symptom and not the overall big picture, the status quo will remain and the frustrations will continue to grow.

Make it so

So, I was at Christies auction house yesterday checking out all the Star Trek memorabilia. I know I've told Michael C this before, but, hey, I admit to being a Star Trek fan - just don't call me a trekie, HA! For those who may not know, this sci-fi series has been around 40 years. In this article from BBC news, the auction lasted three days and there were over 1000 items sold.

The item getting the biggest sale was a model of the starship enterprise which sold for, get this, 576 thousand dollars! Did I read this right? I mean, it's a model. It doesn't fly. It doesn't orbit the earth. It doesn't come with futuristic space babes. What's the deal? I guess some people are WAY more into Trek than I.

When I was done there, I went over to Bangkok, Thailand to see a guy set a world record. In this article from CTV.ca, it describes a "Thai snake charmer" attempting to set a world record by kissing, yes, that's kissing, 19 poisonous king cobras.

One by one, the cobras were released onto a stage set up in a Thai beach resort town, as snake charmer Khum Chaibuddee kissed each beast and then moved on to the next.

Four additional snake charmers flanked the stage at each corner and a medical team waited on the sidelines with serum in case one of the snakes snapped, said a statement from Thailand's Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, which organized the event.

This sounds strangely familiar, but didn't Mark Foley do the same thing while he was in Congress? Thank you, thank you very much! *running out of the room*

Where's the beef

Who knew that spinach could be related to beef? Friday, a company in Iowa voluntarily recalled 5200 pounds of ground beef products from seven states because they could have been contaminated by the same E.Coli strain that tainted spinach - according to an article from the Houston Chronicle.

E. coli lives in the intestines of cattle and other animals and typically is linked to contamination by fecal material. It's believed responsible for about 60 deaths and 73,000 infections a year in the United States. The potentially deadly strain can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration.

The Iowa recall is the first significant one involving ground beef since a Tennessee company recalled some 4,300 pounds in early August, also because of possible E. coli contamination.

This case is getting more and more interesting. Since there is a criminal investigation now taking place with the spinach California company, I wonder if that triggered this voluntary beef recall. I also wonder if other voluntary recalls will take place. Hmmmmm...

Can you hear me now

The Nobel Prize in physics was awarded this week to astrophysicist George Smoot of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and his NASA colleague John Mather. When Mr. Smoot got the call notifing him of the award, he thought it was a joke, according to this article from MercuryNews.Com.

Smoot, 61, who has an unlisted cell phone number, suspected a hoax when a caller with a Swedish accent told him about 3 a.m. that he had won the most coveted award in science.

``I just said, `How did you get my phone number?' '' the physicist recounted giddily for colleagues Tuesday morning at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. ``But the guy sounded really serious, so I thought I'd better take him seriously.''

Just to be certain, he checked the Nobel Prize Web site. And there it was: Smoot and Mather were being honored ``for their discovery of the blackbody form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation.''

Uh, yeah. I know someone with a blackberry and a microwave, does that count? What's the lesson here? If you get a call at 3AM from someone with a Swedish accent, it may not be that annoying telemarketer. It may be the Nobel Foundation!

Exercise

I admit that I haven't worked out in months, even though I tell my patients to workout all the time - you know, for your health. So, I woke up this morning and told myself that I'm going to get my butt out of bed and head over to the local gym (which I think I pay $10/month for) and burn some calories.

I have no excuses why I don't follow my own health advice. I guess I rationalize things by saying what everybody else says: "Uh, I don't have the time to exercise," "I'm so tired when I get home from work," "I can't get up early in the morning," etc.

But, this morning, I've decided I'm going to do this. Go me! Where are my tennis shoes?

BA in South Florida: Don't forget to stop by Ms Bee's place sometime today or tonight for the Blogaholics Anonymous meeting. I'll be bringing the flu shots and the Diet Coke. However, the ladies, including you FD, are not allowed near the Diet Coke. Why? Because, I don't want to be blamed for your osteoporosis down the road. Read here. HA!

Anyway, Ms Bee was happy to get 53 visitors from six countries yesterday. We can do better than that! Click on over there right now and say hello. Let's break her bean counter today with our visits. See you there!

Perseveration

Ever get to a place where you just can't stop thinking about something? That is happening to me right now. I was expecting to hear some news today, which never came. It is something that has been lingering on my mind all day and all night. It's bothering me so much, I cannot sleep.

Anytime you apply for something, you put yourself out there - out there to be judged - out there to be accepted or rejected by someone else. I tell people all the time that trying to seek approval from others is probably not the best idea. As I put the mirror up to my face, I see the hippocrite staring at me. Self acceptance and self confidence go so much further than seeking approval from others, right? At least that's what I tell people.

I have worked hard to get where I am at right now in my career. I have worked hard during the application process. Now, I don't want to sound like I have sense of entitlement - because I hate that. Just because you work at a job for a certain number of years, or just because you worked hard during the process - this doesn't entitle you to be selected. Sure, there are selection criteria, but in the back of your mind, I ask myself, "What are the other criteria that I don't know about?"

Did the selection committee judge by merit, or was there some other factor in play? People always say, "It's not what you know, it's who you know." I never really believed that, that is, until today. Of course, the first reaction is to blame the process. Yeah, that's right. The judges were out to get me. I never really had a chance in the first place. Why did I put myself in a situation where I could be rejected?

Am I a sore loser? Maybe. Is this sour grapes? Maybe. Am I whining? Absolutely. But, it's my blog, right? I just had to blog about this emotion that I'm feeling. Yes, it's irrational. Yes, it's illogical. But, that's the core of emotion. And, that's where I'm at right now. Whew! I feel a little better blogging about it.

I think I just need to try to get some rest and move forward from this small bump in the road. Then, I can let this go. Tomorrow is a new day - a new day with new opportunities.

As I drift off to sleep, as all the consipracy theories are flying through my head, I cannot help but wonder if I am an innocent victim of a lie told in silence....

Thanks Cathy, for the opportunity to share my story.
Here are the other authors:
Mary Anne from "Life in Qualicum Beach"
Dr. Jordan from In My Humble Opinion
Wolfbaby from "Dreaming and Believing"
Moof from "A Moof's Tale"
Kim from "Emergiblog"
KT from "Kt Living"
Difficult Patient from "Ripple of Hope "
Jasmin from Shadow Writer
Empress Bee (Of the High sea)
PK from Pearls and Dreams
The Laundress from Dirty Laundry
The Wandering Author of The Unending Journey Of The Wandering Author
Amin from Write-Now
Who Wouda Thunk It From Another Day In Paradise
Brian from Truth is Freedon
At Your Cervix (R.N.) from At Your Cervix
Ipanema from Irish Cornwall
May From About A Nurse

Follow-up

Flu Shot Fiasco: Let the games begin! The CDC had their news conference Wednesday. And they state that there will be enough vaccine for everyone, according to this article from NPR.com. The phone calls to our office started Thursday morning. Of course, like many other doctors offices, we have not received our shipment yet, and we told our patients that. "But why are pharmacy x and pharmacy y having flu shot clinics next week?" Ahhhhh! (BTW, thanks Mary for the link.)

Blogaholics Anonymous meeting: Empress Bee (of the High Sea) has graciously volunteered to host the next BA meeting on Saturday. Thanks so much! You have to come, because Charlie has already cleaned up the place for us slobs to come over. We may have to keep it down a little bit, because we don't want to have them kicked out of their apartment. As always, it's BYOB - Bring Your Own Blog. See you Saturday!

An innocent victim of a lie told in silence: If you don't know what this is, click on over to Cathy's place and check this out right now. It's a fascinating concept. Instead of the typical song meme, or movie meme, or question meme, it's kind of a story meme. What will link them all together is that the last line of the story has to be "an innocent victim of a lie told in silence." I'll be posting mine in a few hours and about 20 people are going to be joining in on this. May's post is up already. Stay tuned for mine!