Love my doctor!

I've had a lot of different doctors over the years as I've moved around. I've liked some, tolerated some, not known I could have done better earlier in my life. I finally found a doctor who is amazing.

One big reason is what she did for my parents.

I mentioned in a prior post how I searched for a doctor for them and found the doc my Dad was already seeing. He's a nice guy, liked him. However, he spent maybe 15 minutes with us on Mom's first...and although that's more than the average of 8-12 minutes per patient, it was a typical visit.

He did the basic tests, did the standard recommendation. He didn't probe. He didn't ask a lot of questions. Didn't talk about diet, lifestyle, etc. But again, that's kinda standard. Everyone is a specialist these days so they kinda act like a clearinghouse to some degree :-). Can't fault him, do like him.

Contrast that though with my doctor. Mom & Dad showed up for their first appointment and I think we spent maybe four hours with her. She asked questions. She went into great detail about what was going on with mom, tested her reflexes, checked her out physically.

I had sent her a list of tests pertaining to issues Mom was dealing with. She asked mom questions about every single item. Talked to all of us. Treated Mom like SHE was in control, something none of the other docs we've seen have done. Mom loved her. Dad liked her --- told me numerous times that she was different, gave him hope for the medical profession, first time he'd ever been impressed with a doctor. Ha.

What doctor would spend that amount of time with a patient (no extra charge)? Do every kind of test under the sun to try and identify potential issues and/or eliminate causes for various issues? All covered by insurance.
When I go to the doc the people at the front, the medical staff, all ask how Mom & Dad are doing, ditto for the doctor. When Mom goes in they all greet her, talk about God with her when she brings it up. Yep, it's a Christian based group of praying, caring people. But not in your face and not a group that prays to heal. Well, I'm sure they pray for the healing of their patients...just mean they are doctors, PAs, well-trained, do it by the book and then go the extra ten thousand miles.

If that wasn't enough there is the way she has treated me... She gives the standard suggestions re we can prescribe this or that, but when I say no she talks with me about other options. She asks about diet, exercise, sleep, etc. She listens. She will research options. She pulls up things on her computer and shows me things. 

When I first went to see her it was for blood work. I walked in, expecting the standard panel. They checked me in, then I went to get the blood taken...except in walks the doctor. She sat with me for maybe 45 minutes or longer. She asked about any health concerns I had. She asked about past issues I might have had. She and I talked about everything health-related under the sun. She found out what I wanted, liked, what I preferred re prescriptions, taking care of myself. She asked about exercise, diet, so many things. She asked knowledgeable questions about genes as it related to issues when I mentioned I'd done the health genetic testing.

She took 7 vials of blood and tested for every issue I had mentioned. She discovered minor issues that could have become major issues if she hadn't done the testing. And she gave me suggestions on how to address them in my follow-up appointment.

I send questions via their portal and danged if she doesn't answer. I've gotten where I tag her PA rather than bug her --- it's already difficult enough to get in to see her!

I'm not telling her name 'cause I don't want her overloaded :-)  She is the energizer bunny. She teaches Pilates in a side studio. She has chef's come in to teach people how to cook healthy meals. Her brother comes in once a month to do massages and he's booked out for six months I think. She hosts panels periodically on things like dealing with stress bringing in other specialists.

Love my doc. Love that she truly cares. Love that she listens. Love that she truly heard my mom, gave her so much attention. If doctors were half as good as she then we'd all be healthier and happier and not complain so much about our medical care!

Love my doc. Oh wait, I said that... Here's another: I respect my doc. I am so impressed with her work ethic, her caring --- and the fact that I don't have to introduce myself every time I go in like with most other doctors. OK, last time... LOVE MY DOC. :-)

Fibromyalgia and Food "Fix"

Years back, when I worked a desk job, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.

I had been running regularly, working out, taking aerobic classes, and was very active (but not overly so). Slowly I got to the point where getting out of bed in the morning was painful. I hurt. I was miserable. Sleep was sporadic and I was slugging through the day.

Luckily, being in a management position which gave me fantastic health benefits, I was able to work with my doctor to try and figure out the cause. We did every test imaginable over a long period of time. Finally I ended up with a rheumatoid specialist who came up with Fibromyalgia.

She gave me a whole slew of prescriptions and toldl me to get on the treadmill and walk for ten minutes a day. I laughed, thinking of the races I used to run & thought she was really underestimating my abilities. I couldn't walk for five minutes.

I filled the prescriptions and took them for a few days. I really, really 1) hated the idea of taking all those pills and 2) hated the side-affects. I stopped and went back to being miserable.

However, I didn't give up. I started a search for another answer. I did NOT like the idea of being weak, spiraling into medicine dependence, or being labeled.

I ultimately went to see a nutritionist. Not your typical hospital nutritionist (here's your food pyramid, eat like it says). I went to a private doctor who believed in using food, vitamins, minerals and all that's natural to combat illnesses.

She put me on what she called a shock diet. Nothing white in my diet at all for two weeks. If it was processed with anything white I couldn't eat it. It truly was a shock. I went through withdrawals I suppose. For about three days I walked from refrigerator to pantry to almost banging into walls as I detoxed from all the junk I had been eating (I thought I was a healthy-eater!). By the time the 2 weeks were over I was comfortable with eating whole foods and rather liked the diet.

Long story, but after the shock diet, dumping all the vitamins I thought I needed and narrowing them down to a few select choices, changing my diet, etc. I have never had any of the symptoms of Fibromyalgia... It wasn't an overnight process but it was a fairly quick turnaround. (Note: when I go back to bad eating habits, don't allow myself to get sufficient sleep, I can tell when my body is heading back in the yikes direction. I adjust and get back on track.)

That was my very first real experience with looking at diet and nutrition as a "cure" rather than going with the drugs most doctors automatically prescribe. Since then I've looked for doctors who say diet, exercise, lifestyle before pulling out the prescription pad. They are hard to find.

When my cholesterol started going up my doctor (at the time) told me I just had bad genes, luck of the draw. She "allowed" me two months to try and decrease it before starting me on Lipitor. It went up. I was half-ass about working on it at the time, bought into "gene" thing.

Later I did some research, read how I could lower it naturally with diet and proper exercise. I ditched the Lipitor. My cholesterol is well below the top range and has stayed there for years. My doctor still insists on testing it more often than usual to monitor :-)

I could tell more tales...I have politely argued with many doctors, done it my way and been successful in every instance. Good research and culling through all the hype of the current fads is crucial.

I'm not saying that diet can cure everything, but we really should give it a shot first. Even if it's not "the" cure eating healthy sure will help with fighting whatever you are facing.

I now have an OK doctor. She's not "into" the same things I am but when I walk in and tell her I'm doing this or that she says OK, try it, go for it, we'll do blood tests and see how it works. She has even given me some natural alternatives when I asked. She's still a prescription pad grabber first type, but she's agreeable to trying other things.

I am getting ready to tell her I've gone totally plant based. That's going to be an interesting conversation!

Published Study Shows Brain Exercises Improve Memory and Attention - And People Notice

/PRNewswire/ -- Study results to be published in the April 4, 2009 edition of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society are the first to show definitively that computerized brain exercises can improve memory and attention in older adults. An advance copy of the breakthrough study led by researchers from the University of Southern California and the Mayo Clinic has been released online.

A total of 487 healthy adults over the age of 65 participated in the randomized controlled trial, called the IMPACT Study. Half were assigned to a group that trained on a brain fitness software program for a total of 40 hours over the course of 8 weeks. The other half spent an equal amount of time learning from educational lectures on the computer followed by quizzes.

The study found that participants who trained on the software, The Brain Fitness Program(TM) from Posit Science(R), more than doubled their processing speed, with an average increase of 131%. They also saw gains on standard measures of memory and attention of 10 years, on average. These changes were big enough that participants reported significant improvements in every day activities (such as remembering names or understanding conversations in noisy restaurants). The gains of the brain exercise group were clinically significant; the gains of the lecture group were significantly smaller and not clinically significant.

The Brain Fitness Program was developed by a global team of neuroscientists for Posit Science. It consists of six exercises done on a computer. The product is based on the science of brain plasticity - the ability of the brain to change and form new pathways in response to the right stimulation delivered in the right way.

Marlene Allen, aged 75, of Mill Valley, California participated in the brain exercise half of the study. "Now I don't have to write down shopping lists. I remember what I need at the store," Ms. Allen said. "And I almost never walk into a room and forget why anymore."

While some earlier studies have shown older adults get better at exercises that they practice, this study goes two steps further. The improvements at the exercises resulted in gains in standard measures of memory and attention and people noticed improvements in their every day activities.

"The changes we saw in the experimental group were remarkable - and significantly larger than the gains in the control group," said Liz Zelinski, PhD, a principal investigator for the study from the University of Southern California. "From a researcher's point of view, this was very impressive because people got better at the tasks trained, those improvements generalized to standardized measures of memory and people noticed improvements in their lives. What this means is that cognitive decline is no longer an inevitable part of aging. Doing properly designed cognitive activities can enhance our abilities as we age."

"We saw gains of 4% in memory scores in the brain exercise group," said Glenn Smith, PhD, the study's principal investigator from the Mayo Clinic. "That may not sound like much, but it is about what an older person normally loses in a 10 year period. The lectures group saw about a 2% gain, which may sound like they did half as well; however, we look at memory on a curve, not a straight line, and a 2% gain is not something you are apt to notice in your life."

"This study has profound personal and public implications for aging baby boomers and their parents," said Joe Coughlin, PhD, Director of the AgeLab at the Massachusetts Institute Technology. "This means boomers may now have tools for a future that is not their grandfather's old age. It also impacts most aspects of independent living - from aging-in-place to transportation to all the great and little things that we call life. This is big news for aging and for all of us."

The IMPACT study is the largest study ever of a brain fitness program that is available to the public and the first published in a medical journal to show improvements in memory and attention.

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He Said, She Said: Boomers Rate Their Spouses' Health

RJ Note: Guess love can be blind. Although, my spouse keeps telling me to get out --- and walk more.

/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A recent survey of baby boomers revealed that their positive outlook on their own health and that of their spouses' may not sync up with reality. According to the survey(1) conducted by Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR) , more than seven out of ten respondents (73 percent) rated their health - and the health of their spouse - as good or excellent. However, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, half of Americans in the 55 to 64 age group have high blood pressure and two in five are obese(2).

This survey is part of Energizer's year-round "Live Healthy. KEEP GOING(R)" campaign to educate baby boomers about better ways to live a healthy, active lifestyle - with some help from key battery-powered devices.

Additional survey findings include:
-- Don't go changing, well, maybe just a little bit. When asked if they
would change anything about their spouse's health habits, more than
four out of ten wished their spouses would exercise more (48 percent);
lose weight (41 percent); and eat healthier (41 percent).
-- Low expectations or the look of love? When asked how their wife was
aging, 39 percent of men said "better than expected"; women gave their
husbands lower marks - only 30 percent thought their husbands were
aging better than they expected. On the flip side, 18 percent of
women responded their husband was aging worse than they expected;
whereas only 11 percent of men gave their wife the "worse than
expected" designation. Nearly half of all respondents (48 percent)
thought their spouse was aging "as expected."
-- If exercise only came in a pill. More than two thirds of respondents
(68 percent) report taking vitamins or nutritional supplements to
maintain a healthy lifestyle, but only one third (33 percent) admit to
exercising regularly.
-- Every step counts. Of those who exercise, 13 percent use a pedometer
or mp3 player as an incentive to keep up with their exercise program.
-- Exercise? I'd rather not. While a third of respondents (33 percent)
found exercise energizing and a way to keep up during times of stress,
a majority of respondents (66 percent) admitted they dislike exercise
or find it to be a hassle.

To address key health issues and provide helpful ways to manage them, Energizer's "Live Healthy. KEEP GOING(R)" program is teaming up with celebrity fitness guru and fellow boomer Denise Austin and working with respected physicians in their field to provide tips on heart health, diabetes management and hearing loss.

"It's evident that a majority of baby boomers are working to maintain their health through either diet or exercise, but we could all use a few pointers from experts like Denise to help bridge the gap to overall health and wellness," said Melinda Jordan, brand manager, Energizer Specialty Batteries.

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Burning Up the Fat in Front of My TV

Ok, I'll admit it. I really didn't think too much about those video games until we got one in our home. The one we have is an interactive one which can make you sweat. Who knew that doing all that jogging in place, rotating the hips as your avatar swirls the hula hoop, or all the ski jumping I've been doing in front of the TV would work? Yep, I'm just a sweating, um, glistening, up a storm playing my video games!

Here's a story from Consumer Affairs that also provides more information on this.

Kids Burn More Calories Playing Active Video Games

A study published in the September issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine finds that kids who play an active video game burn more than four times as many calories per minute than....

Read the story.

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