shrinkette

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82103262024-12-20T23:00:29.094-08:00shrinkettemusings of a psychiatrist in the pacific northwestUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger645125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1151552603098793082006-06-28T20:42:00.000-07:002006-06-28T20:43:23.110-07:00I think it's time

...to say goodbye.Like Medpundit, I find that I don't have enough time to devote to this blog.It's been a lot of fun.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1151299042637394022006-06-25T22:17:00.000-07:002006-06-25T22:33:36.400-07:00The Forgiveness Project

"Could you forgive the unforgiveable?" Kate Kellaway, in the Observer: "The Forgiveness Project...has no religious or political agenda. It has no agenda at all apart from the brave, unfashionable wish to turn the blame culture on its head, to share the stories of people who, in extremis, have discovered that 'the only way to move on in life is to lay aside hatred and blame'. It tells of victims

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1150908274175926672006-06-21T09:41:00.000-07:002006-06-21T09:49:19.993-07:00Grief

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1150702712911565212006-06-18T23:44:00.000-07:002006-06-19T07:25:30.766-07:00"Tell me, who is the president?"

"The president?" The patient's eyes grew wide. She was ninety-two years old, and her memory was "not the best, dear." We had just met. I'd quizzed her gently, and she'd responded with bemused indulgence...until now. She looked directly at me, and scowled. "Here it comes," said her daughter. Here it came, indeed! A stream of bitter disapproval...It was 1998, and we had all just heard of

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1150699439122344332006-06-18T23:37:00.000-07:002006-06-18T23:43:59.126-07:00When pain meds make pain worse

Michele G. Sullivan, in Clinical Psychiatry News: HENDERSON, NEV. — Treating medication overuse headache involves a three-pronged approach of patient education, teaching pain coping skills, and addressing psychological issues that put patients at risk for relapse, Alvin E. Lake III, Ph.D., said at a symposium sponsored by the American Headache Society.Most patients don't understand that excessive

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1150581230817092872006-06-17T14:53:00.000-07:002006-06-18T23:24:49.546-07:00Thanks for the Ethics classes

...you showed us how to cheat. Forbes.com:Last fall, Bentley College management professor Tony Buono taught a class on corporate scandals with colleagues pitching in from finance, accounting and even the philosophy department. The four picked through the cases of Enron, WorldCom, Tyco and Shell.At the end of the semester, the number of students in a simulated trading room who were caught in

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1150258067384988242006-06-13T21:07:00.000-07:002006-06-13T21:10:15.356-07:00Dinner at the Bipolar Restaurant

Joel imagines a cafe that brings diners into a "bipolar experience."1. You would be surrounded by frowning people. 2. The food would be hospital food. If you did not eat it, they would not let you go home until you did. 3. The food would make you constipated or dizzy or wanting more and more and more... 5. The waiters would take notes on your behavior. 6. Voices would tell you

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1150255236403286732006-06-13T20:20:00.000-07:002006-06-13T21:13:49.230-07:00Dilemma.

I've made a rule here: "No medical advice is given on this site." But suppose that a commenter says: "To taper a med, do A, B, and C." Does that violate my rule? Should I delete the comment?And if another commenter states that such a taper is unwise or even dangerous, what then? Is that medical advice? Why does it matter? Each day, people ask Google about "stopping meds." Each day, Google

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1148090354105367922006-06-13T18:38:00.000-07:002006-06-13T20:46:55.863-07:00Stopping Paxil.

This can be terribly difficult. But it can be done. (Note updates!)I note Dr. Stephen M. Stahl's "dosing tips": "For patients with severe problems discontinuing paroxetine, dosing may need to be tapered over many months (i.e., reduce dose by 1% every 3 days by crushing tablet and suspending or dissolving in 100 ml of fruit juice and then disposing of 1 ml while drinking the rest; 3-7 days

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1150175575121527142006-06-12T22:12:00.000-07:002006-06-12T22:12:55.270-07:00"I'm afraid I have some bad news..."

A clear winner of the Most Regrettable Bedside Manner Award. In the New Yorker:Your husband was admitted with extreme pain in the abdomen, which is obviously not our fault...We didn’t want to rule anything out, so we opened him up.There were no multi-hundred-pound tumors; that’s the good news.However, it’s a real mess in there. There’s a lot of intestinal tubing squishing around—what you call “

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1150173411734589072006-06-12T21:36:00.000-07:002006-06-12T21:43:07.916-07:00Falling into the "doughnut hole"

Some patients are discovering that their Medicare Part D drug coverage has a gap, and stops paying when a limit is reached. For some who qualify, coverage resumes later. The gap in coverage is called the "doughnut hole." Timely advice from OnThePharm: "Yesterday I had my first customer come talk to me about his medicare coverage. He spends quite a bit of money in the pharmacy, but he had opted

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1150171665405564732006-06-12T21:07:00.000-07:002006-06-12T21:14:54.733-07:00Question 36

From a multiple-choice pathology exam: 36. The poet Yeats wrote: An aged man is but a paltry thing, A tattered cloak upon a stick, unless... A. He finds a younger woman, has a fling, And then yells out, 'I never will confess!' B. He takes Viagra pills, to boldly bring To his beloved his mighty manliness. C. He uses Rogaine, and by next spring Has hair regrowth that's certain to impress.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1150170863847758872006-06-12T20:54:00.000-07:002006-06-12T20:54:52.910-07:00Heckling the student.

Or rather, don't heckle the student. I'm too late:

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1150170604614924192006-06-12T20:46:00.000-07:002006-06-12T20:50:04.746-07:00More Hawaii

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1149831703301371532006-06-08T22:38:00.000-07:002006-06-08T22:51:05.616-07:00We're back.

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } DSC_0059, originally uploaded by shrinkette. ...and the world can't wait to see my vacation photos, right? I thought so! This is the Napali coast of Kauai, where I completely and utterly forgot about the rest of my life..

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1148722176156007662006-05-27T02:26:00.000-07:002006-05-27T02:29:36.163-07:00Aloha

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Honolulu, originally uploaded by Mikey720. Greetings from Oahu. We needed a break! We'll be hiding out here for about a week. Blogging will be very sporadic for awhile...

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1148394293118409262006-05-23T07:24:00.000-07:002006-05-23T07:37:52.886-07:00Our best medical blogging

Dr. Emer hosts this week's Grand Rounds at Parallel Universes. Note: Pediatrics has its own weekly roundup. This week, it's hosted by Blog, MD. And what's this? Indian Cowboy is starting a psychblogging carnival (coming June 1). Must think of something to submit. Looks like I'll be extremely busy...

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1148235199551564762006-05-21T11:00:00.000-07:002006-05-22T22:43:37.846-07:00A Farewell Party for Medpundit.

She's been our leader, our "doyenne," since 2002. We can't let her go without a send-off, can we? Come on in, I'll take your coat. Glad you could make it!The guest of honor is here. (She looks...happy. Relieved, perhaps?) We have quite a gathering. DB and GruntDoc are here, and Dr. Emer is relaxing on the deck. Dr. Choi brought his lovely family. Help yourself to our lavish buffet! Can I

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1148194330791306412006-05-20T23:52:00.000-07:002006-05-20T23:56:58.386-07:00Mighty Barry did not strike out.

Barry Bonds ties Babe Ruth's record, but there is no joy in Mudville. Mercury News:...maybe that's the one positive we can take from this whole sordid steroids scandal. If nothing else, Bonds is a living, breathing, tortured, tormented illustration we can point to when we tell our kids, 'You know, when you cheat, you're only cheating yourself.'Bonds has cheated himself out of the adoration and

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1147927837256361932006-05-17T21:50:00.000-07:002006-05-17T22:23:50.623-07:00Medpundit says farewell.

This news is...huge."I no longer have the time needed to devote to (the blog). The phrase 'declining reimbursement and rising overhead,' is repeated so often in medicine that it seems a cliche, but it's also a reality. I'm spending longer hours at work and seeing more patients to support my office and my family. The 1-2 hours a day it takes to keep up the blog are no longer there. I don't have

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1147918719527876652006-05-17T19:18:00.000-07:002006-05-17T19:33:22.206-07:00Look, if you dare!

New Scientist Technology Blog:How'd you like to see yourself 30 years from now? It sounds terrifying to me, but if you fancy looking at an artificially haggard and gnarled version of you then pop over to this site. All you have to do it upload a picture of yourself and they promise to use 'facial transforming software' to age you 30 years or so.Should I try it? Er...you go first!

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1147917216735525812006-05-17T18:53:00.000-07:002006-05-17T19:32:08.060-07:00Are "service babies" preferable to "service goats?"

Dr. Dinah would like to blog about "pet goats and ducks, as service animals for the emotionally distraught." But she can't. She's laughing too hard! The comment thread is priceless: ...And if the service goat flies for free, then my service spouse should fly for free, too. Roy, I'm gonna need a note.ClinkShrink said... Given a choice between sitting next to a service goat versus a

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1147916387393413522006-05-17T18:39:00.000-07:002006-05-17T18:39:47.406-07:00The plight of the banana

New Scientist:"The world's most popular fruit and the fourth most important food crop of any sort is in deep trouble. Its genetic base, the wild bananas and traditional varieties cultivated in India, has collapsed." (Yes, yes, I know. In the last post, I was restrained. And this post is about...bananas. However, this is a pure and wholesome blog! Do you suppose that my Id is getting feisty

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1147758689691393242006-05-15T22:51:00.000-07:002006-05-15T23:00:08.330-07:00Restraints.

Staff demonstrate for - and on - Dr. Maria. I've had this training, too. It's remarkably easy to take me down. A team of five staff can flip me like a flapjack. The leather cuffs go on, they're locked, and I'm down. (I don't try to resist!) Here's Maria: "And so it began—and it happened much more quickly than I had anticipated (although time may simply pass faster when one is actively

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210326.post-1147757865635723162006-05-15T22:37:00.000-07:002006-05-15T22:39:44.480-07:00"Where have all the flowers gone?"

...the flowers that were to be tossed at American liberators by grateful Iraqis. Dr. Stanley Renshaw, at Political Psychology Blog, observes:The expectation that American soldiers would be greeted as “liberators,” with flowers and sweets was reasonable enough. After all, Iraqis had been savagely brutalized by Saddam’s domestic rein of torture, terror and sadism. Robert Kaplan recently wrote that

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0