Dr. Thompson's Blog

Planning for Care after Major Surgery

It makes me sad and angry when I hear the care  some patients are getting. When major surgery is being planned it is important that the patient and his or her family or the parents ask very specific questions about the plans  for care after the surgery.  I  heard recently of a woman in her eighties who has ben having severe pain in her back. An orthopedist, who is board certified, but graduated form one of the less well-known medical schools told the woman that the back surgery would take three hours and she would go to her senior living  place the next day. I was appalled. Many of my neuromuscular patients needed back  surgery and our goal was to get them sitting up in bed the next day. P.T. was also started and the patients received it once or twice daily. All did well and after 10-14 days they were walking and doing well. That is far different from being sent to a place where no therapy was available and no real medical care. I would certainly have advised the woman to get a second opinion. I just hope she does not end up in a wheelchair.

Have You Checked Your Doctor's Credentials?

I am always surprised when people see a doctor about whom they know just his or her name. Most people have access to the Internet these days and  it should  be easy to get a lot of information about a doctor. I would want to know if he or she is an M.D., a neuropathic doctor, an osteopath or a nurse practitioner. If you cannot find the information, you can call the office and ask the secretary. Price should not be a consideration if you can afford normal charges. Of course there are doctors who charge unbelievable amounts for an office visit. A man who owns a small business and does a great job said his wife's doctor charges $500 for each office visit. That is just wrong.

Nurse practitioners can get a doctor of nursing degree and call themselves doctors. That is scary. I asked one bright nurse practitioner why she did not go to medical school. "Oh", she said, I know I could have been accepted, but I did not want to work that hard." Another young man at a graduation party told me he wanted to go to medical school to be a doctor so he could make a lot of money. More and more doctors are dropping out of the medical profession because they are not making the money they thought they could make. They are missing a wonderful chance to take care of people and make a difference. I loved practicing medicine and still hear from many former patients.

 

The Pain AntiVaxers can Cause

I read a sad story the other day of an older policeman who refused to get the vaccines and resigned from the police force. He left a wife and 3 children without  financial means to support them. What was the man thinking? Was he just afraid? I  have been told by scholars of all different religions that there is nothing in any of the religions that says vaccines are forbidden. Not getting the vaccines as mandated puts not only yourself at risk but your family, friends and anyone you come in contact with.

Yes, your arm can be sore for a few days but I understand  the patients who are in the hospitals and dying are those who have not had vaccines. That is just crazy. I get angry when I  hear that Tucker Carlson goes on and on about not getting vaccines even though he has had 3 vaccines himself. He grew up in the small town where I live and went to the same small school where my children went.  He comes from a very wealthy family, I am told and obviously does not care about the people who listen to him. That is shameful.

Why Do People chose to Get sick or Die rather than getting the Vaccine?

I am unable to understand why some people are choosing to get ill from the Covid vaccine and even die rather than get the Covid vaccine? Are they all Tucker Carlson viewers? Yet he and his family have all had the vaccine. The there are Governors like Ron de Santis and Greg Abbott who  keep spreading misinformation about the virus. A friend told me of one mother who was pregnant and did not get the vaccine. She died from the virus when her new baby was three days old. She also left four other children. There is nothing in any religion that says a vaccine should not be obtained. This has been well borne out by religious scholars.

I find that masks  in many places are also not being worn. Legislators and school board members are being harassed because they are trying to keep people safe. How has this country become so ugly?  This time is so different from the second world war when I was a little girl. People helped each other and there was a wonderful feeling of community. I miss that greatly. I remember a neighbor coming over to read to me when I and measles because I was not supposed to use my eyes. Money did not have the importance that it does now. None of our neighbors had a lot of money. The idea that teenagers would want expensive toys, designer clothes and similar things was unheard of  I think Americans need to re-think our priorities and also get VACCINATED!

The Tragic Changes in American Medical Care

The Covid pandemic is bad enough with all the antivacers, but despite the US having some wonderful doctors and amazing new therapies, day to day medical care has changed drastically.

I was exposed to how bad things have become when I had to find a new internist. My wonderful internist decided to take a leave of absence and then will probably retire.  After being referred to different doctors by medical friends, I started my search. The first office was hard to reach and after we did connect I have heard nothing more from them. I liked the second doctor and his staff, but was uncomfortable that he did not appear to  have a doctor covering for him when he was not available. He also had a strange method for patients to get prescriptions. Thus, I am going to again try to find a new M.D. The only response I got over the weekend from this doctor's answering service was to go to an emergency room. That is unacceptable to me. All doctors should have an M.D. on call for them if they are not available.  It may even be illegal to not have adequate coverage by another M.D. I made house calls on weekends, met patients in my office or in an ER. I would never ask a child to be taken to an ER unless it was a bad accident, a surgical emergency, or something similar.  Have doctors become lazy or spoiled or what are they being taught in some medical schools? Medicine should be a calling and a real dedication, not just a way to make money and have the prestige of being an M.D. In France doctors still make house calls and don't just send patients to ERs. 

Choosing a Specialist

I am always amazed when an adult, even with an advanced degree, does not do more to check out any specialist they chose. Of course, if their health plan is an HMO they may not have a lot of choice.  I do not understand why anyone would get their health care from an HMO, unless financially that is all that is possible. Yet, often these same people spend money on things they could do without. 

Whenever I  have to check on a doctor, I want to see where he or she went to college, medical school, and if they are board-certified in their specialty. Now that nurses are getting doctor of nurse practitioner degrees, you want to be sure the individual you are choosing is an M.D., not a DNP, a neuropathic doctor, or an osteopath. It was a lot easier when I was growing up and we did not  have most of these specialties. Of course, even an M.D. graduating from a known medical school can be bad. I referred my teenage granddaughter to a woman M.D. who had graduated from the same medical school I  had gone to. I did not realize how badly the school was doing  with their students, which  I now know. The M.D. neither took a history and did not do a physical examination, but ordered a lot of lab tests. She did not order a urinalysis which would  have been important. Nor did she ever contact my granddaughter again. I  had to use a young voice and call for the results using my granddaughter's medical  number. 

I would check not only the things I mentioned, but also any reviews that are listed on the Internet. Asking a friend who is an M.D. can help but he or she may not know how the doctor practices. I  have had such an experience and it was not good. 

Terrible Drug Prices and Congress

Drug prices are outrageous and people are skipping needed medicines because they cannot afford them. The Biden bill, which has a section where Congress could negotiate drug prices, is not supported by three democratic representatives. One of them is Scott Peters who represents the area where I now live.  I  tried to send him an e-mail but his website does not accept e-mails to him. The facts are that CEOs of drug companies are making millions of dollars each year. For example the CEO of Roche makes $38.6 million each year. Yet he seems to  have no interest in the lives of the patients his company's medicines could help. 

Drug companies in the U.S. spend four and one-half million dollars on ads each year and hire 1200 lobbyists. The cost of drugs in the U S is far above that of any other country including Canada. Senators Bernie Sanders has taken groups to Canada to buy medicines. I think that is wonderful.

I do not understand why the 3 Democratic representatives are opposed to negotiating drug prices unless they have stock in drug companies or have wealthy wives or husbands. The other two opposing representatives are Kathleen Rice and Mr. Schrader. I hope they will change their minds and support negotiating with drug companeis. Drug prices must be reduced in the U.S.

What is Ahead for the United States?

I heard an excellent talk this weekend by Rick Steves, the travel writer and TV presenter. He talked about his concern in the many nations he had visited where the leaders worked hard to dumb-down their citizens, so they could become dictators.  As I listened I thought about how Trump tried to do this and is still trying. Not only Trump, but several of the Republican Governors. During thus awful pandemic several of the governors, who have strict vaccine requirements for kids in school, now are fighting President Biden about the vaccine mandate. That makes no sense. Not only do I see a lot of dumbing-down on TV, but I see it in our education system and sadly even in some U.S. medical schools. 

I had one doctor who never once looked at me on my visit to him but spent the whole time looking and typing on his computer. No, I never went back. Some medical schools are not teaching the art or love of medicine but it is all about clicking on computers.  Also the students are telling the heads of the programs want they will and will not do and what they will and will not listen to. It is truly amazing.  

I have great concerns about what children are learning today and their fixation  on their Smart phones and computers. I fear that many are not learning or being taught about history. One college sophomore, a friend told me, did not know who Hitler was. I was astounded.

The Cozy Relationship between the FDA and Drug Companies

There was a scary editorial today in the New York Times. It was about how some of the decisions made by doctors and others at the FDA are greatly influenced by drug companies. This does not bode well for those of us who need reliable medical experts to be sure the drugs we take are safe and appropriate.  The editorial notes that "Congress allowed the agency to collect fees from the industry it oversees to pay for the high cost of drug approvals. These fees pay much of the salaries of FDA drug workers responsible for the approval of new  drugs." Thus the FDA may be more of a partner rather than making responsible decisions about drugs. This is a scary thought. The other thing that is noted is that too many FDA personnel later go to work for drug companies.  Americans pay more for drugs than people in other countries. In other countries, prices are negotiated between governments and drug companies. This should happen in  America,  particularly for Medicare patients. 

The CEOs of drug companies, such as Roche, make enormous salaries. You would think they would respond to doctors like me who request special help for a drug  that can change the life for a spinal atrophy child. However, despite my request for one family with two spinal children, the CEO showed no interest in  having this happen. When I asked by e-mail if the CEO  had ever seen a child with spinal muscular atrophy, I got no reply. Some drug companies do set up special funds to help families that can not afford an expensive drug for a child with a disability. Roche does not seem to be one of those. 

Update on the Covid Virus

There are now 700 million vaccinated  people around the world.  Sadly, there are still a lot of false messages being given by people like Tucker Carlson and many on social media. The Pfizer vaccine has finally been given full approval which is great. Now hopefully some of the about 90 million people in the U.S. will get vaccinated. I had to change dentists because my dentist, who was also a friend, will not get vaccinated. I was appalled. Now there is the scary account in the news that some people are taking the deworming medicine which is for big animals. It can hurt people, not help, against the virus. 

The only way we are going to defeat this virus is by people getting vaccinated. If they want to die by not getting vaccinated, I guess that is their choice, but it is a selfish one because it can hurt their family members, friends, and children. Even little children are now dying or ending up in the hospital because someone spread the virus to them.

I am often the only one I see in this small beach town wearing a mask. I stay away from any gatherings because I know there are a lot of  unvaccinated  people in this community. I loved seeing everyone wearing a mask when I recently went to San Francisco on a business trip. I would not let anyone work for me who was not vaccinated. I hope many more people will insist on that in stores, offices, and big corporations.