“It is much more important to know what sort of a patient has a disease than what sort of a disease a patient has.” - Sir William Osler






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"As God Is My Witness, I'll Never Go Hungry Again!" Said the Dieter

So I'm counseling a patient on weight loss. She mentioned that she goes to a fair number of social functions and has to eat what she's served there; which is often a problem.

"You could always do a Scarlett O'Hara and eat before you go," I suggested.

She looked blank. "Huh?"

"Surely you know your Gone With the Wind?" She didn't.

"Well, early in the book Scarlett O'Hara is getting ready to go to a barbecue at a plantation nearby. Apparently in those days ladies weren't supposed to have an appetite, or to eat much in public. So she eats a whole meal before she goes to the barbecue. Then she gets there, and the host is serving wonderful food that nobody's eating, and it's just like Beverly Hills!"

She laughed with delighted recognition. That she got. And if I'm lucky, I may have even inspired her to read Gone With the Wind. (If you haven't, do give it a try; it combines the best qualities of the soap opera and the historical novel.)

Labels: Pop Culture, Weight Loss

posted by Dr. Alice at #

 
Peanut Butter: My New Best Friend



A peanut butter sandwich, it turns out, is worth 6 points on Weight Watchers (if you use their bread). This has become valuable information.


If you exercise enough, you get point credits and can eat more. This is also valuable information. I actually got to the gym yesterday for the first time in a long time. I have been frighteningly sedentary and there is really no excuse for this, as I realized doing twenty (not very demanding) minutes on the elliptical machine that my arms were beginning to hurt. Today they are mildly sore. This is ridiculous.

And now for some medical stuff. My last workday of 2009 ran the gamut from high to low. High: a blessing from a patient of mine who's a priest. He came by to tell me he had to switch medical plans and couldn't stay with me, which made us both sad, but the blessing was his parting gesture. Maybe it'll help me out this year.

Then later that same day I was evaluating a patient brought in by family for memory loss... did a mini mental status exam, on which the patient didn't score too well. Then I froze as the patient humbly apologized to the other family members "for embarrassing them." Time for Kleenex, and reassurance, and a referral to a neurologist.

Last week I was confirming a pregnancy and gave the patient her estimated due date. She stared at me and said, "That's the day my mother went into cardiac arrest." I know that joyous events don't erase the memory of tragic ones, but somehow I hope she does give birth on that day.

Labels: Medicine, The Doctor's Life, Weight Loss

posted by Dr. Alice at #

 
New Year, New Fridge


My old refrigerator came with the house when I bought it, which was 15 years ago. It was noisy and didn't have a lot of room and the door didn't seal very well, but I hung on to it longer than I should have - inertia, I guess. Even when I redid the kitchen (ten years ago? well, close, anyway) it was the only appliance I didn't replace, though I probably should have. I did a little browsing in the Sears appliance department about six months ago, decided I'd like a freezer-on-the-bottom model instead of a side-by-side freezer/fridge but took no further action.

A month ago my fridge rattled noisily through an entire weekend, then suddenly got quiet. Too quiet. The freezer side was still working but the refrigerator side wasn't. Then, ten days ago, I realized that food was thawing in the freezer.

I hit the Internet running and picked out my new fridge/freezer in less than fifteen minutes. It was delivered yesterday and I am oh, so happy. My new fridge is nearly silent, larger than my old one and will use much less electricity.

Today I went shopping and filled it with healthy things. The arrival of my new appliance coincides with my determination to eat healthy - oh, let's face it. Lose weight. Yes, I need to lose weight and quite a bit of it. I've joined Weight Watchers online and everything. Luckily I have three friends who also use the WW online program and I have been hitting them up for advice. I'm not going to let the topic of weight loss take over the blog, as I know there is nothing more boring than reading about someone else's diet, but I do plan to put down thoughts and ideas as they occur to me. If nothing else it may keep me on the plan.

In other news, not much. I hope your holidays were good. Mine were very quiet. I spent Christmas and New Year's with my parents and my aunt. A big family Christmas was out of the question, as my aunt still cannot be around young children (due to their high rate of getting sick). However, she has been out of the hospital for six weeks and has regained about five pounds. Her energy level is much better and her optimism is back. That's the most important thing of all.

Labels: The Doctor's Life, Weight Loss

posted by Dr. Alice at #