Articles

You think to yourself, "How did this happen to me?" You are in your 40's. You are at the doctor's office, and she is telling you that you suffer from Syndrome X. You're not even sure you heard the doctor correctly. Syndrome X? It sounds like a superhero. She proceeds to tell you more about this Syndrome X. It's definitely not a superhero -- more like a super killer.

Many of my patients have lost weight on whatever fad diet was popular that month. And many of my patients have gained their weight back in the same month. Most people find it difficult to maintain a "diet." What are the first three letters in "diet"? That's right -- "die." I have always felt like I was dying when I was dieting. I read most of the diet books so I can answer my patients' questions. In doing so, I sometimes even learn something new, but more often than not the books leave me as confused as my patients.

My friend and I get the opportunity to see each other a few times a year. I met him for lunch the other day. After we ordered, he asked about the status of my colon. I replied, "Not bad. I had a colonoscopy last week." I asked him how his hemorrhoid was doing. He said, "It's OK," and added something about a new infrared procedure to reduce the hemorrhoid.

In a recent article by Malcolm Ritter, an Associated Press science writer (Sunday, Nov. 26, 12:59 p.m. EST), psychologist Ed Diener of the University of Illinois says it's a myth that there is no relationship between money and happiness and economist Andrew Oswald of the University of Warwick in England says, ''There is overwhelming evidence that money buys happiness.''

Knowing your overhead is the 4th of 7 Steps to Accumulating Wealth. The first question I ask of any business owner is, "What is your overhead cost?" Most business owners know this answer. If you ask anyone off the street about his or her household overhead, I would receive a look of a blank face.

Here comes the important part--the patient interview and the physical examination. We have to question the patient regarding the initiation of the pain. When did the pain really begin? Did it come on gradually or occur immediately after performing a certain activity (golf, baseball, gardening, etc.) or a certain movement (bending, lifting, turning, etc.)? Have you ever had this pain before? How were you before this injury or current complaint? Is the pain an ache or a throb, dull or sharp, and what can you compare it to? Does the pain radiate down your arms or legs?

Crack, Twist, Heat, Then Stretch, Electrify and Knead

This is not a hot new dance routine, nor are we baking soft pretzels. This is the typical treatment for those who suffer from neck and/or lower back pain.

I often have the opportunity (and sometimes the misfortune) to be the last practitioner to see patients who suffer with back and/or neck pain.

In this article (the second installment of 7 Easy Steps to Accumulating Wealth) I would like to briefly discuss how you could put more money in your pocket by changing some things in your house.

The house necessities are heat, hot water and electric. We can't get around these utilities unless you want to move to the forest.

A recent news story from Associated Press titled "Pain medicine use has nearly doubled" prompted me to write this article about pain.

In my practice I have the opportunity to treat elderly people for a variety of symptoms ranging from headaches to neck- and backaches.

And it's amazing how one elderly person can live so much better than another. After years of practice and asking questions of those elderly folks who are "living well," I definitely see a pattern.

But before I can share their "secrets" to living a great life, we have to agree on certain meanings of words or vocabulary.