Oh Forget It!! I'll Just Try Again Next Year...

Good Afternoon Everyone!

      So how's everyone doing with their New Year's Resolution(s)?  For those of you who are doing great, I want to let you know that I'm truly proud of you!  For those that have gotten off track (completely or partially), I just want to spend a little time to help you get back on track.
      We tend to get off track with respect to our goals because of a lack of focus.  Our lives become filled with distractions each day which interrupt our focus and take the place of what we're supposed to be doing.  When this happens to you, the worst thing that you can do is just give up and say "Oh Forget It!"  If you do this, you forfeit any progress and effort that you have made thus far.  Instead, you should try to look at your life and identify the distractions that have made you lose your focus.  Once identified (which is the hardest part), just try to spend a few days removing them (this will truly make you feel so much better and re-energize you to get back to your goals).
      In a sense, all this means is that you need to clean out your head space and get back to business.  An uncluttered brain just makes you feel and work better.  You can compare this to how you feel when your house is a mess, and then how you feel after you spend the weekend cleaning the whole thing top to bottom.  So spend a few days doing this for your brain.... and please DO NOT WAIT until the next new year to get re-focused...DO IT NOW!!

Here is a hint on how to get started:  LISTEN TO YOUR GUT!  Your gut knows what you should and shouldn't be doing (we just choose to ignore it or block it out with distractions).   So spend the extra time doing what your GUT tells you... You'll get FOCUSED again and begin to feel better because of it!  

Yours in Health,

Dr. Jeff


Any medical information provided in Doctor Jeff's Blog is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her health professional. Any information provided is not meant to diagnose, treat or manage any specific disease/condition.Doctor Jeff's Blog respects the confidentiality of individual patients and site visitors. All clinical anecdotes are compliant with HIPAA regulations.

Learn What Others Say About Your Medication?

Good Afternoon Everyone!

      Excuse me for the late article this week.  I got back from a small vacation on Tuesday and have had to play some catch-up this week.  So for this week, I have a short but important message for everyone.  That is, to treat your medication(s) the way that most people treat anything that they spend money on these days.  First, you look for reviews on the Internet, and then you make an educated purchase or decision.  This is done for restaurants, retail, vacations & doctors, but not for medications (or not as much as it should be).
      To find reviews on the medications that you have been prescribed to take, please take a look at this website:  http://www.askapatient.com/  .  You can browse around the medications or directly search for the type or name of medication in question.  Some medications have 100's of reviews while others only have about 10.  No matter the number of reviews that a medication has, it is very valuable to see what others are feeling/experiencing by using the same medication that you are taking or about to take.
      Lastly, it's far too common to be on a medication for longer than needed, or to be on a medication that is just not needed.  I have many patients that tell me about how they questioned their doctor on the medications they are taking, and as a result, the doctor saw that one or more of the medications were no longer necessary!  If they had not questioned, they would probably still be taking the medications and putting a lot of unnecessary stress on their bodies.

     Your goal for medications should be:   
1)  Make sure you know what medication you are taking? 
2) Why you are taking it? 
3) What are others experiencing while take that medication? (use www.askapatient.com for this)
4) Please make sure to only take the minimum of what is ABSOLUTELY NEEDED.


Yours in Health,

Dr. Jeff
Any medical information provided in Doctor Jeff's Blog is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her health professional. Any information provided is not meant to diagnose, treat or manage any specific disease/condition.Doctor Jeff's Blog respects the confidentiality of individual patients and site visitors. All clinical anecdotes are compliant with HIPAA regulations.

Hold Your Doctor to Auto Mechanic Standards!

Good Afternoon Everyone!

       We'll start this week with a cartoon:

      Sounds ridiculous doesn't it?  Imagine going to the auto-mechanic because your car has an unusually low level of oil in it.  Your mechanic says:  "Looks like you have a condition that we call Hypo-Oil-ism. (mechanic terms for not enough oil in your car)  So I am going to write you a prescription for 1 quart of oil every two days.  It's your job to monitor the oil in your car and if you find that this amount is not enough, we'll have you come back for a prescription of 1 quart of oil per day."  

      Now, does this sound like an auto-mechanic that you would trust to take care of your car?  It definitely doesn't to me!  Obviously, no auto-mechanic would say this, because they'd first figure out WHY the car doesn't have enough oil in it.  Then they'll fix the problem, fill it with oil and send you on your way as a happy & satisfied customer. 

     Auto-mechanics conduct business this way because that's what is expected of them from their customers.  So, why is it that most of us don't hold our doctors to the same standards?  The job of a doctor should be the same as the auto-mechanic:

1.  Figure out what the problem is 

2.  Figure out WHY that problem is happening 

3.  Treat the problem 

4.  Educate the patient/customer so that the problem can be prevented in the future. 

Most doctors only complete steps 1 and 3 and send you on your way.  So my challenge this week is for you to challenge you doctors to complete the other 50% of their job in steps 2 and 4.  You should demand that from them, because you deserve the very best!

Yours in Health,

Dr. Jeff

      

Any medical information provided in Doctor Jeff's Blog is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her health professional. Any information provided is not meant to diagnose, treat or manage any specific disease/condition.Doctor Jeff's Blog respects the confidentiality of individual patients and site visitors. All clinical anecdotes are compliant with HIPAA regulations.