Dr. Thompson's Blog

TMJ (Temporomandibular) Problems

A friend called the other day and was most unhappy about the $5600 bill she had just received from an ER. She has been under a great deal of stress recently and developed severe pain in one side of her jaw. Instead of seeing her dentist, she decided to go to an ER. Five hours and many tests later she was given some pain medicine and sent home. When I asked about the examination, she said no doctor looked in her mouth or in her ears. I was appalled, but not really surprised. A severe ear infection can cause pain that feels close to the jaw. Looking in the mouth should  have been mandatory because there could have been an abscess or other problem. (My friend said she has had a lot of recent dental problems.) Sinus infections should also be considered. 

I wonder if the doctor took any kind of a history? Did he or she ask about stress? This is often a contributing problem. If a patient grits their teeth with stress or is very tense, the face and jaw can be affected. I also wonder if the doctor said anything about being careful to just eat soft foods for a few days. TMJ problems are quite common and when people are under a lot of stress or leading very hectic, busy lives, this can be a problem. Perhaps if our medical schools taught more about treating common problems, rather than rare ones, patients would be much happier with American medicine. The necessity for such high medical bills would also be less.

The New TERRIBLE Healthcare Bill

Because Republicans in Congress and in the administration have excellent healthcare, they don't seem to care or have any compassion for the poor, the elderly or the disabled. If you have cancer or some over pre-existing condition, that is just too bad. They are doing everything they can to destroy President Obama's legacy. Having cared for hundred of patients with disabilities, I don't understand how anyone can be so callous. They keep spreading the lie that Obamacare is failing. The reason, if this is true, is because they refuse to provide the funding it needs. The bill has helped 24 million people get healthcare and kept insurance companies from denying those with pre-existing conditions. Now they want to make pregnancy a pre-existing condition! Of course, their real focus is to give the upper one percent enormous tax breaks. Do the rich really need more money? What has happened to the principles this country was founded on? Where is the concern for friends and neighbors? 

I have great respect for Senator Collins of Maine who opposes this new bill. Having spent a week there one year, I saw the poor health care, the poverty, and the great obesity. Her state certainly needs good healthcare, not the Republican form. Ted Cruz, who says he is a Christian, wants the new bill to included bad insurance policies that will cover very little. That would mean more people losing their homes because of their large medical bills. I hope the bill will be defeated.

Trump and Dr. Tom Price are Destroying American Healthcare

It is painful for me to watch the news these days and see what is happening to our healthcare, environment, and education. Even though the Republican healthcare bill did not pass, Trump and his millionaire cabinet are slowly trying to destroy Obamacare by other means. They are reducing the subsidies paid to insurance companies to help low income people and these are being withdrawn. Of  course, the insurance companies cancel the policies because they are in the money making business. So now the Republicans say Obamacare is falling apart. They are making sure of that.

The environment, too, has great health implications. As environmental regulations are being withdrawn, more and more people will suffer from respiratory diseases and workers in the fields with suffer from the neurotoxic agents being used on crops. It  amazes me that a physician who may have been a technically good orthopedic surgeon can stand by and allow illnesses and deaths increase. I guess Dr. Price has his ten million dollars, so people's lives are of no importance to him. I wonder if he became an orthopedic surgeon just to make money?  He certainly doesn't seem to care about the health of Americans.

Then there are the drug prices that get higher and higher. The amazing new drug for tiny babies with spinal atrophy should be given 3 times a year. Each dose is said to cost $139,000 or more.  Research in European companies is said to be the same as that of American companies but U.S. drug companies say their costly research is the reason drugs cost so much. Even older drugs have had their prices increased drastically, so that makes no sense.

I hope  patients will continue to complain to their Senators and Representatives. Otherwise, healthcare and drug prices will get worse and worse.