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Monday, November 1st, 2010Some of my patients might have wondered why things have been a little mixed-up around here.
I moved into a new office space (same building, still the second floor). I’m like Goldilocks: the first office was too small, the second was too big, but the third is Just Right. (Stay tuned for a stylin’ new Youtube [...]
flu? cold? tonsillitis? strep throat? ear infection? sinus infection? bronchitis? pneumonia?
Sunday, October 17th, 2010It’s that time of year again, isn’t it? Let’s review.
1. Flu and colds, along with most sore throats, sinus infections, and earaches, are caused by viruses. Antibiotics will not help!
2. Strep throat and pneumonia, and a few ear and sinus infections, are caused by bacteria. Antibiotics do help.
So viruses and bacteria are different. How [...]
where does it hurt?
Saturday, September 18th, 2010i’ve been talking with one of my patients* about a breakthrough he recently had regarding his chronic pain condition. “i was misusing my medicine,” he said. “i would take it when i was in pain emotionally, not just physically. but that’s not what it’s for.”
this is not an unusual problem. it’s related to the nature [...]
“methinks i hear a bell” said the knight on the road
Saturday, September 4th, 2010an update:
you may or may not know i was out of town for a while. i flew off in a rush to the Mayo Clinic in minnesota, where my mother had been taken, by midnight ambulance from wisconsin, and admitted to the ICU on a ventilator. (she has an unusual form of cancer, causing masses [...]
a word about B O O Z E
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010one thing you might not know about dr. leigh is she is very sympathetic to the lives of teenagers. (“teenagers,” of course, referring to those of any age who are regarded by grownups as having “no real responsibilities”.)
teenagers live in a liminal space where, it turns out, love is the most important thing. art, in [...]
plus ce change…
Monday, August 9th, 2010In his ruling striking down [california's anti-same-sex-marriage law] Prop 8 as unconstitutional, Judge Vaughn Walker… writes that over time marriage has moved away from a gendered institution into a union of equals and “toward an institution free from state-mandated gender roles.” Such a move, he writes, “reflects an evolution of the understanding of gender rather [...]
please don’t drink the bleach.
Saturday, August 7th, 2010this is not about this story: “A recent survey that found some Florida teens believe drinking a cap of bleach will prevent HIV.”
or this comment: “I’m an old ER nurse and we saw kids all the time that drank bleach. Why they will drink that and not eat vegetables is beyond me.”
it’s about miracle [...]
all about… [embarassing topic deleted]
Monday, July 26th, 2010here is a subject nobody wants to think about, until it’s personal:
constipation.
even hearing the word might make you flinch, or snicker, and for good reason. it’s from the latin com- “together” + -stipare “to cram”.
some say that the leading cause of constipation is “lofty expectations.” people do expect to “go” quickly and easily and on [...]
3 mistakes pain patients make
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010it’s summertime! and the living is easy… right?
here in oregon, it has been cool and breezy until this week. we have missed the life-threatening heatwaves seen around the rest of the nation. for example, at the lilith fair (women’s music festival) in portland, according to rolling stone magazine, fans huddled under blankets, and performers turned [...]
news about some herbs, and a peggy lee break
Thursday, June 17th, 2010the Oregon Pharmacy Board reclassified marijuana as a “schedule II” drug under the state (not federal) Controlled Substances Act.
this puts it in the same category as morphine, oxycodone, amphetamine (Adderall), and methylphenidate (Ritalin), which would make it seem that we can now start writing prescriptions for it.
why do we write prescriptions, anyway? it’s to tell [...]
