Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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The saying goes, “newer isn’t always better,” and while I typically tend to agree with that, newer might be better when it comes to glucose monitoring technology. In recent years we have seen rapid development and uptake of new types of glucometers, leaving fewer and fewer patients with diabetes using the old standby fingerstick method of blood sugar monitoring. Let me be clear: not every patient with diabetes needs a fancy new continuous glucometer (CGM). The cost might be higher, and there...
Urinalysis, or testing of the urine, has ancient origins dating back to the time of Hippocrates and beyond. Although we have evolved in our methodology of studying the urine and our understanding of the meaning of its characteristics, we do still rely on urinalysis in making clinical diagnoses frequently in medicine. In centuries past, the tools of urinalysis were blunt and primarily involved human senses of sight, smell and taste (yes, taste). Ancient physicians noted that sediment in the...
I love Thanksgiving. I love preparing the food all day and enjoying it while sitting around a table with some of the people I love most. And there is one holiday tradition that I have grown to adore. As we sit down to eat, we share one thing we feel grateful for this year. Practicing gratitude has been shown to improve aspects of mental health and our sense of well-being, and it isn't hard to understand why. Saying or thinking "I am grateful for..." feels really good and doing so regularly can...
A common lament I hear from my patients as they try to discuss a real concern they have about their body: “I’m sorry; this is so disgusting!” Their cheeks burn with shame as they tell me how their bowels have betrayed them. No matter what the issue is, so many of my patients are mortified discussing their diarrhea, constipation, fecal incontinence. My response, always, is “you can’t gross me out – we talk about poop every day in this clinic.” Plenty of things can go wrong in the gastrointesti...
Many people find themselves being told, “Your blood pressure is pretty high today.” You might be at the dentist’s office for a filling, in the emergency room getting stitches after an avocado mishap, or maybe you’re at your annual physical appointment. If you’ve never had high blood pressure, you might be surprised at this news Sometimes my own patients will call my office after such an event, “Doc, should I be on blood pressure medication?” When we get these calls our typical answer is: ma...
