Have you ever made an appointment with a Doctor and he or she sees you on the exact time of your appointment?  Probably Not.  This 1-Minute Video explains why that often happens and it has more to do with being a Considerate Patient than anything else.

This Video is one in a Continuing Series of SHORT VIDEOS (i.e., in and around 1-2 minutes) which provides helpful insights and information regarding Healthcare, Chronic Illness and the Practice of Medicine.

Copyright (c) 2012 Michael A. Weiss  All Rights Reserved

For more detailed tips, analysis and funny “war stories,” about navigating our healthcare system, please go to Amazon.com (or BN.com) and purchase Michael’s critically-acclaimed book, “Confessions of a Professional Hospital Patient.”

]]> http://hospitalpatient.com/chronic-illness/the-medical-minute-understanding-the-often-long-wait-at-the-doctors-office/feed 1 http://hospitalpatient.com/crohns-disease/far-reaching-consequences-of-the-shortage-of-the-cancerauto-immune-disease-drug-methotrexate?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=far-reaching-consequences-of-the-shortage-of-the-cancerauto-immune-disease-drug-methotrexate http://hospitalpatient.com/crohns-disease/far-reaching-consequences-of-the-shortage-of-the-cancerauto-immune-disease-drug-methotrexate#comments Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:27:52 +0000 Michael A. Weiss http://hospitalpatient.com/?p=493 Continue reading →]]>

Various News Sources report a severe shortage of the Cancer-Curing Drug, Methotrexate, such that without outside intervention from an agency like the FDA, US hospitals may be down to a 2-week supply.  The drug is widely known for treating and actually curing a form of childhood leukemia called “acute lymphoblastic leukemia.”  However, the drug, in various forms, is also used to successfully treat a variety of auto-immune illnesses such as Crohn’s Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Psoriasis and Lupus.  Therefore, a sustained Shortage of Methotrexate could affect Tens of Thousands of People.  Moreover, this Drug Shortage may also be a “Sign of the Times” where “For Profit” Drug Companies focus and prioritize the manufacturing of drugs based on their profit-margins.  This 3-Minute Video explains the situation.

With Chronic Illness usually comes chronic pain.  There are many ways to deal with Pain but the most effective and immediate methods usually involve Narcotic Pain Medications.  However, the Medical Practice of Pain Management is extremely complex and Narcotics can sometimes create a chronic problem all unto itself as the Patient battles to stay within the confines of “Dependency” as opposed to “Addiction.”  This Video explores this difficult chronic reality through the personal experience of the Producer who has used these medications to treat Severe Crohn’s Disease for many years.

This is part of my “Two Minute Drill” Series of Healthcare Videos.  The phrase is taken from the NFL, i.e., US Professional Football, and refers to that intense time of the last 2 minutes of the end of the 1^st Half, or of the Game, when teams use a no-nonsense carefully timed 2-Minute Drill to most efficiently move down the field to score points.  With Television Commercials, the 2-Minute Drill is often 10-15 minutes of “Real Time” and that affords me the ability to still use the phrase when my succinct Videos are sometimes 4 Minutes in length!  I hope you enjoy the Content and that it provides you with mental stimulation and creative inspiration.

ObamaCare is looked upon both positively and negatively as the end-all / be-all of Health Care Reform in the United States.  It is politically charged and subject to nationwide debate and likely repeated judicial challenge.  However, it need not be so divisive as it seems to have actually inspired and triggered other significant Healthcare reforms and Healthcare entrepreneurial advancements via legitimate Free Market Solutions, namely, “eHealth” [Electronic Health] and “mHealth” [Mobile Health].  This 4-Minute Video explains this interesting and ongoing technological development in Healthcare Reform.

 This is part of my “Two Minute Drill” Series of Healthcare Videos.  The phrase is taken from the NFL, i.e., United States Professional Football, and refers to that intense time of the last 2 minutes of the end of the 1^st Half, or of the Game, when teams use a no-nonsense carefully timed 2-Minute Drill to most efficiently move down the field to score points.  With Television Commercials, the 2-Minute Drill often takes 10-15 minutes of “Real Time” and thankfully that affords me the ability to still use the phrase when my succinct Videos are sometimes 4 to 5 Minutes in length.  I hope you enjoy the Healthcare Content and that it provides you with mental stimulation and creative inspiration.

ObamaCare is looked upon both positively and negatively as the end-all / be-all of Health Care Reform in the United States.  It is politically charged and subject to nationwide debate and likely repeated judicial challenge.  However, it need not be divisive as it seems to have actually inspired and triggered other significant Healthcare reforms and Healthcare entrepreneurial advancements via legitimate Free Market Solutions, namely, “eHealth” [Electronic Health] and “mHealth” [Mobile Health].  This Video explains this interesting and ongoing technological development in Healthcare Reform.

This is part of my “Two Minute Drill” Series of Healthcare Videos.  The phrase is taken from the NFL, i.e., US Professional Football, and refers to that intense time of the last 2 minutes of the end of the 1^st Half, or of the Game, when teams use a no-nonsense carefully timed 2-Minute Drill to most efficiently move down the field to score points.  With Television Commercials, the 2-Minute Drill is often takes 10-15 minutes of “Real Time” and that affords me the ability to still use the phrase when my succinct Videos are sometimes 4 to 9 Minutes in length.  I hope you enjoy the Healthcare Content and that it provides you with mental stimulation and creative inspiration.

From Twitter to Facebook to Google/Yahoo Key Word Alerts and Groups and the technological conveniences of Smart Phone Memory Chips and Health Care Mobile Phone Applications (or “Apps”), the 2012 Assertive or Empowered Medical Patient has much to count on in terms of Patient Tools.  This 4 Minute Video provides an Overview.

**An slightly abridged version of this Video appears on my CNN iReport site

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Accordingly, as a moving homage to Redneck Comedian Jeff Foxworthy:

“You know you are a ‘Crohnie’ when….”

You know You Are a Crohnie when you believe, as per Doctor’s Orders, that Vodka is a permitted “Clear Liquid.”

You know You Are a Crohnie when your Twenty-Something Nephews think they can Fart at your House with impunity.

You know You Are a Crohnie when you rationalize taking the drug Prednisone as a license to eat anything, at any time.

You know You Are a Crohnie when you rationalize taking the drug Prednisone as a license to act like a lunatic.

You know You Are a Crohnie when you always have a Roll of Toilet Paper in Ur Car.

You know You Are a Crohnie when Turnpike “Rest Areas” are really fodder for Great “Public Bathroom Disaster” Stories.

You know You Are a Crohnie when you are now confident enough that you can brag about funny Public Restroom stories & the number of toilets you’ve stuffed.

You know you are a Crohnie if you’ve given up explaining to friends why you can eat at a McDonalds, White Castle or In-N-Out Burger with no problem but still can’t eat popcorn or a healthy salad without having a Crohn’s flare-up.

You know You Are a Crohnie when you are watching TV with your Mom and both of you have your own respective Air Freshener Spray Cans.

You know You Are a Crohnie when said Air Freshener Spray Cans are BOTH aimed at YOU, ready to spray, “with the safety off.”

You know You Are a Crohnie when you set the dinner table with a knife & fork but all you’re “eating” is “Ensure.”

You know You Are a Crohnie when all you own is Black underwear.

You know You Are a Crohnie when the glove compartment AND the trunk of your car both contain Imodium.

You know You Are a Crohnie when you are less embarrassed buying Enemas than Condoms.

You know You Are a Crohnie when you know “Milk of Magnesia” doesn’t taste like “Milk” at all.

You know You Are a Crohnie when you’ve become an expert of the potency of the different brands and scents of Air Fresheners.

You know You Are a Crohnie when you look forward to hospitalizations because there you can fart with impunity.

You know You Are a Crohnie when people get you Gift Certificates to your favorite Pharmacy during the Holiday Season.

You know You Are a Crohnie when you must own an industrial strength “Snake” because no Plunger can free your Home Toilet of the occasional large “log.”

You know You Are a Crohnie when you even designate a “Home” Toilet.

You know You Are a Crohnie when you bring your own pillow to the Hospital.

You know You Are a Crohnie when you experience euphoria at a rock concert or public sporting event after passing silent but potent gas, estimating its invisible airborne travel time and then seeing it affect the olfactory senses of Sections of People, one Patron at a time.

You know You Are a Crohnie when you can discern between different Air Freshener Spray Scents to obtain the most powerful one.

You know You Are a Crohnie when your abdomen sometimes feels like you’ve been trapped underneath an earthquake-ravaged building and all of the weight is on your torso.

You know You Are a Crohnie when no matter how many times you tell people that you are not feeling well or that you are going through a Crohn’s flare-up they always respond: “But you look great!”

You know You Are a Crohnie when you reserve your airplane seat around the location of the plane’s bathroom.

You know You Are a Crohnie when the Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”) starts looking through your Carry-On Bags but gives up and waives you through the Gate after they see Dulcolax, Metamucil, Glycerin suppositories and three (3) changes of black underwear.

You know You Are a Crohnie when you run into an old friend while purchasing Stool Softeners or Laxatives and you attribute the purchase to your kind, harmless Mom because, after all, “she is getting on in her years and ….”

You know You Are a Crohnie when you tell someone you have “Crohn’s Disease” and they ask if it is contagious.

You know You Are a Crohnie when you tell someone you have “Crohn’s Disease” and they ask: “Is that “the Bathroom Disease?”

You know You Are a Crohnie when you actually understand your Health Insurance Policy.

You know You Are a Crohnie when your mail is mostly comprised of Medical Bills, Explanation of Benefits (“EOBs”) from your Health Insurer and Dunning Notices regarding said Medical Bills.

You know You Are a Crohnie when you hand out Holiday Gifts to the Office Staffs of your various Doctors for all the special treatment they bestow upon you year-after-year.

You know You Are a Crohnie when you prefer certain flavors of Barium over others.

You know You Are a Crohnie when during a Crohn’s flare-up your Joints, Fingers and Toes feel like Voodoo Dolls randomly pricked by painful needles controlled by your arch rival from high school.

You know You Are a Crohnie when you sometimes get gas so powerful it feels like your butt is being lifted off the toilet bowl when you release it.

You know You Are a Crohnie when you know to shave both arms before being admitted to the hospital for the inevitable intravenous lines.

You know you are a Crohnie when you’ve learned to “embrace the suck” of these very challenging chronic illnesses & can laugh about it all.

You know you are a Crohnie when you finally understand that sometimes the Medical Treatment is temporarily worse than the Disease.

You know you are a Crohnie when you truly appreciate the interest, care and concern of friends and loved ones.

You know you are a Crohnie when you understand the vital importance of the support of friends and family.

You know you are a Crohnie when you realize that only your body is affected by the Disease and not your mind or your ability to laugh.

Finally, You know you are a Crohnie or that You love a Crohnie if you’ve read this far and for that, I am grateful.  Thank you.

by

Michael A. Weiss

Copyright © 2011 All Rights Reserved

You set the dinner table with a knife & fork but all you’re “eating” is “Ensure.”

All you own is Black underwear.

The glove compartment AND the trunk of your car has Imodium in it.

You are less embarrassed buying Enemas at the Pharmacy than Condoms.

You look forward to hospitalizations because there you can fart with impunity.

During the Holiday Season, people get you Gift Certificates to your favorite Pharmacy.

You must own an industrial strength “Snake” because no Plunger can free your Home Toilet of the occasional large “log.”

You are watching TV with your Mom and both of you have your own respective Air Freshener Sprays.

Said Air Freshener Sprays are BOTH aimed at YOU, ready to spray, “with the safety off.”

What is a Crohnie?

A Crohnie is a person with Crohn’s Disease.  However, given the similarities in the hassles, challenges, health insurance codes and the often excruciating pain associated with Ulcerative Colitis (“UC”), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (“IBS”), Colitis and the “catch-all” Inflammatory Bowel Disease (“IBD”), Crohnies view UCers, IBS, IBD and Colitis folks as much respected Brethren.  To the Crohnie, each is like a “Brother from another Mother” and therefore the term “Crohnie” includes them.

 What is Crohn’s Disease?

Crohn’s disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (i.e., the digestive tract) that affects approximately 700,000 Americans.  It is a broad spectrum disease such that different patients can have completely different experiences in terms of degree of pain, need for hospitalization, the foods which trigger flare-ups, effective medications or other treatments, etc.  For me, at the age of Forty-Eight (48), it has included Two Hundred Plus (200+) hospitalizations and approximately Fifteen (15) to Twenty (20) surgeries.  But for one of my close relatives similarly diagnosed, it has been no more than a minor inconvenience with no hospital visits and no surgeries.   If only my family had money and it was distributed so disproportionately….

It is an incurable auto-immune disease whose most successful treatments suppress patients’ immune systems and thus leaves them vulnerable to numerous other conditions.  It’s like going on a blind date and instantly realizing how un-attracted you are to your date but then you also discover he’s a selfish, ill-mannered ego maniac.  It is a Lose-Lose situation.  The auto-immune component often causes Crohn’s patients to have exponentially longer “healing times” in response to common infections and it can cause abnormally more intense, debilitating or merely longer-lasting responses to minor health issues such as seasonal allergies.  Accordingly, Prostatitis for me may last several weeks while my buddies simply take prescribed antibiotics and start urinating full-stream in no time.

Crohn’s disease can affect any area of the GI tract, i.e., from the mouth to the anus, and the swelling extends deep into the lining of the affected area.  This causes a “narrowing” of the necessary passageway for food, gas and stool. As a result, the swelling can cause severe pain and can make the intestines empty frequently, resulting in diarrhea; or not at all, when the body’s natural process of peristalsis forces downward “movement” inside the intestine and then severe child labor pain-like feelings can set in along with the risk of perforation of the intestine. This severe child labor-like pain and possible perforation of the intestine could be indicative of a life-threatening situation and then the Crohn’s disease patient must go to a hospital.

Because the symptoms of Crohn’s disease are similar to other intestinal disorders, such as IBS and UC, it can be difficult to diagnose.  Unlike UC and IBS, however, Crohn’s disease can involve all layers of the intestine, such that normal healthy bowel can be found between sections of diseased bowel.  These are sometimes referred to as “Skip Areas.” In addition to the fact that Crohn’s disease frequently recurs, and in some cases can also be quite aggressive, Skip Areas are one of the primary reasons why operating to remove diseased portions of bowel is very difficult, and unless presented with emergent circumstances, not a preferred option.  All that said, it makes you really appreciate a normal bowel movement.  Is that what they meant when they said, “Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses?”

Treatment for Crohn’s Disease

Treatment may include drugs, nutrition supplements, surgery, or a combination of these options. There is also a rise in the successful use of organic foods and homeopathic supplements to combat and/or decrease the number and frequency of Crohn’s flare-ups but these pioneering efforts have not been proven scientifically safe and effective and they tend to be extreme and difficult to implement within a normal lifestyle without actually living INSIDE of a Whole Foods Market.  In any event, the goals of treatment are to control inflammation, correct nutritional deficiencies, and relieve symptoms like severe abdominal pain, diarrhea and surgical complications, and to also treat side effects from the various forms of successful Crohn’s treatments.  So, the objective of successful Crohn’s disease Treatments is to treat the serious and frequently debilitating side effects of the fabulous aforementioned successful Crohn’s treatments.  Did Abbott and Costello invent Crohn’s disease?

A stark example of this Abbott and Costello effect of the different successful Crohn’s disease treatments is what I am presently living through in that my Crohn’s disease was successfully treated for a few years (i.e., I experienced very few flare-ups) with what is referred to as an Anti-TNF Agent Drug (namely, “Humira”) but then I started to develop recurrent Pneumonia and other respiratory problems which were so serious that they required several hospitalizations.  Eventually I underwent lung surgery for the doctors to obtain lung biopsies and then I was diagnosed with “Bronchiolitis Obliterans Organizing Pneumonia” (a/k/a “BOOP”), a rare and potentially lethal Lung Condition.  (When I first heard the diagnosis I thought they had me confused with a dinosaur character from “The Flintstones”!) The “textbook treatment” for BOOP was one (1) year of a very high daily dosage of Prednisone (i.e., 60 MGs) eventually tapered down appropriately over said year.  However, after three (3) months or so, and about 45 extra pounds and one almost psychotic disposition, it was clear my body did not respond as was hoped to the massive amounts of Prednisone so I underwent a form of Chemotherapy with the drug “Cytoxan.” After three (3) monthly infusions of Cytoxan, my lungs apparently significantly improved (although it is unclear if the BOOP will be chronic and therefore come back in the future) but now my Crohn’s disease seems to have been aggravated by the Chemotherapy.  To that end, I am seeking treatment for such severe abdominal pain that I cannot eat solid foods without the subsequent digestive process literally bringing me to my knees crying from the pain.  I live on Lollipops and Liquids.

Given the current state of Crohn’s disease research, treatment for it can help control the disease by lowering the number of times a person experiences a recurrence or flare-up, but there is no cure. Some people have long periods of remission, sometimes even years, when they are free of symptoms. However, the disease usually recurs at various times over a person’s lifetime and predicting when a remission may occur or when symptoms will return is not possible.

Sometimes this frustrating research reality sounds to me like someone was given a great deal of Research Grant Money and after an extensive three (3) year study, they concluded: “We think the Butler did it, but then again, it could be Colonel Mustard, in the Kitchen, with the Fireplace Poker. We need more time and then we’ll get back to you.”  In all seriousness, Crohn’s disease can impact a person in so many ways including physically, medically, mentally, emotionally, professionally, financially and socially.  I kid the Researchers but I sincerely appreciate their efforts and dedication and I pray for their success.

**Much of the above medical information regarding Crohn’s disease has been obtained from the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. The sarcastic commentary is all mine.

“You know you are a Crohnie when….”

You bring your own pillow to the Hospital.

You experience euphoria at a rock concert after silently passing potent gas, estimating its invisible travel time into the different seating sections, and then merely by facial expressions, seeing a section of people affected, one by one.

You can discern between different Air Freshener Sprays to obtain the most powerful one.

You become an expert of the potency of the different brands and scents of Air Fresheners.

Your abdomen sometimes feels like you’ve been trapped underneath an earthquake-ravaged building and all of the weight is on your torso.

No matter how many times you tell people that you are not feeling well or that you are going through a Crohn’s flare-up they always respond, “But you look great!”

You run into an old friend while purchasing Stool Softeners or Laxatives and you attribute the purchase to your kind, harmless Mom because, after all, “she is getting on in her years and ….”

You tell someone you have “Crohn’s Disease” and they ask if it is contagious.

You tell someone you have “Crohn’s Disease” and they ask, “Is that ‘the Bathroom Disease?’”

You actually understand your Health Insurance policy.

Your mail is mostly comprised of Medical Bills, Explanation of Benefits (“EOBs”) forms from your Health Insurer and Dunning Notices regarding said Medical Bills.

You hand out Holiday Gifts to the Office Staffs of your various doctors for simply doing their jobs so you are in their good graces going forward.

You prefer certain flavors of Barium over others.

During a Flare-up, your joints, fingers and toes feel like Voodoo Dolls randomly pricked by a painful needle controlled by your main nemesis from high school or summer camp.

You sometimes get gas that’s so powerful it literally starts to lift your butt off the toilet bowl when you expel it.

You know to shave both arms for the intravenous lines before being admitted to the hospital.

You’ve taken Prednisone and have not been committed to a mental institution.

You’ve taken Prednisone and at one time or another have been told by friends or loved ones that you need to be committed to a mental institution.

]]> http://hospitalpatient.com/crohns-disease/you-know-you-are-a-%e2%80%9ccrohnie%e2%80%9d-when-%e2%80%a6/feed 2 http://hospitalpatient.com/confessions-of-a-professional-hospital-patient/how-to-be-a-sane-healthy-hospital-patient?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-be-a-sane-healthy-hospital-patient http://hospitalpatient.com/confessions-of-a-professional-hospital-patient/how-to-be-a-sane-healthy-hospital-patient#comments Sun, 11 Dec 2011 19:37:02 +0000 Michael A. Weiss http://hospitalpatient.com/?p=433 Continue reading →]]>

The “Hospital Patient Experience” is challenging to a Patient from a variety of perspectives including physical, mental, emotional and financial.  To that end, this Video is a succinct explanation of How-To Survive it and How-to also prosper as a Healthy, and thus, successful Hospital Patient.  It is based on my 200+ hospitalizations due to my 25+ year battle with an incurable chronic illness.

The Video is also demonstrative of the practical content contained in my Book, “Confessions of a Professional Hospital Patient,” which is available for sale at all major e-taliers.

Escaping from Pain with Dreams

What are you then to do when even a doctor trained in treating pain can’t alleviate the debilitating effects of these unexpected pangs of gut-wrenching debilitating events of suffering?  (Insert your own Kris Humphries metaphor here but “moving to Minnesota” is not a bad one.)  I try to sleep through the bouts of the most debilitating pain episodes hoping the world of REM sleep and its resulting colorful dreams will take me out of reality and into a calm, pain-free place.  But after just so many dreams of being the only one to show up naked to school or realizing at the end of a semester that I forgot to drop a class and now must cram an entire year’s studies into one night, the pain becomes so pervasive that the “Director” of my dreams actually incorporates my pain into the storyline.  For example, it is not uncommon for me to suddenly wake up screaming and kicking to get off of a hospital gurney on the way to the operating room to have my stomach cut open for the 15^th time all the while lying still in my bed.  It sounds a bit creative to mix the world of Dreams with the reality of pain but it’s actually sadistic and a symptom of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.  That or my Dream “Director” is trying way too hard to win an Oscar.  You’d know exactly the feeling I’m describing if you tried to sit through Martin Scorsese’s 2002 film, “Gangs of New York” or his 2004 effort, “Aviator.”

 What does the Pain feel like?

People always ask, “What does it feel like?” While doctors order you to “rate the pain on a scale of 1 to 10.”  To the caring people I answer: “Think about the pain of child birth during the most intense moments of Labor except remove the expectation of a beautiful baby being the reward for coping and conquering the pain and replace it with a fear that the pain may never end and that there’s no consolation prize for being tough as nails.”  As for Doctors, they mean well by seeking to devise some type of “Scale of Pain Relativity” because then they can most effectively treat your pain and possibly even use your experiences to help other patients with your same chronic illness.  Accordingly, you tell your physician of a morning pain of “4,” an afternoon “7” and an evening “9” but do these seemingly “universal” ratings cross over into all chronic illness?  For example, is a Bone Cancer “6” Pain Rating the same as a Rheumatoid Arthritis “6” Pain Rating or is it more aligned with a Crohn’s Disease “10”?

Universal Ratings for Pain and their Ramifications

Some pharmaceutical companies follow these Pain Scales and create narcotic Pain Medications specifically for certain diseases as if the intensity of “Pain” for any one disease feels differently to a patient than another.  Health Insurers follow their lead in terms of coverage and reimbursement such that if a Pain Medication created for a Cancer Patent helps one with Crohn’s Disease, the Insurance Company will not cover it being dispensed for Crohn’s Disease.  In some states, doctors might also be prohibited from such “off-label” prescribing practices.  (I experienced this a few years ago with the pain-killing drug, Actiq.)  Just as disconcerting is the subjectivity and individualized nature of pain which always makes me think of the futile attempts by Internet Dating Sites to create a Scale or Rating System for “Attractiveness.”  But is a woman who is a “10” in Iowa equal to one who is a “6” in New York or does access to, or importance of, style, have a modifying effect on this proposed  system of “Good-Looking-Ness”?  Moreover, my “9” might be your “7” and vice-versa.  There are just some things in life which cannot be quantified.

Lest we not forget that when you seek unemployment benefits but suffer from a chronic illness and the pain affects your work availability, you will be denied those Unemployment Benefits.  Yet, when you suffer from so much chronic pain that it is impossible to hold down a job, especially one where you must show up, interact and report to others, you are also often denied Disability Benefits or you must pay an attorney to sue for them on your behalf.  In such scenarios, you are deemed too sick to work and too healthy to be disabled.  Huh?  That’s what chronic illness and pain does to your life.  They cause enough medical difficulties so that you can’t plan to work or have a meritocracy-based professional career but you can still watch “Kourtney and Kim take New York.”

Summary

Thanks to Pain Management Doctors, people who struggle with severe and chronic pain can aspire to live some type of desired lifestyle but in order to do so they must have a sense of humor about it all as real serious pain has no consistent side effect-free solution.  However, “Pain,” as a problem by itself, deserves more respect as a debilitating cause of poor or unreliable health.  Just because degrees of Pain can’t be standardized doesn’t mean they aren’t’ by themselves “paralyzing.”