It’s important that you keep these two forms of painful arthritis separate in your mind. Osteoarthritis (OA) is considered ‘non-inflammatory’ and basically a ‘wear-and-tear’ phenomenon that occurs with passage of time. There are inflammatory components as ‘anti-inflammatory medications’, like aspirin, or the NSAIDs (Motrin, Aleve, etc.) will relieve pain, but so will Tylenol, which is […]
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I’m Taking So Many Meds! What Can I Stop? Part One: Antidepressants
Although many new patients arrive at WholeHealth Chicago with chronic symptoms and a history of no help elsewhere (“You’re my 12th doctor.”). Others pour out a bagful of medications with a mournful, “I’ve got to get off of some of these!”. Going off a bevy of psych meds is a popular request, especially when the […]
Women and ADD: Part 1
Already ten minutes late for her first appointment, Claire phoned from her car that she’d be in the office in five minutes. Fifteen minutes later, she arrived flustered and embarrassed, and “Oh, my gosh, I left all the forms on my kitchen table, but I did fill them out,” and “My insurance card? I’m sure I had it, I can call my husband, he has one, I think,” and “Could you please put money in the meter for me, I just realized I forgot and I have s-o-o-o many tickets…”
Everything Begins In The Gut
I sometimes wonder if new patients to WholeHealth Chicago think we’re overly preoccupied with their digestion, gut health, nutrition, and even the consistency and quality of their stool when they scheduled that appointment for a seemingly unrelated problem. We certainly treat a large variety of health concerns: anti-aging and disease prevention, dermatologic problems, chronic fatigue, […]
Controversial Diagnosis #7: Mast Cell Activation Syndrome
Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS for short) is one of those annoying conditions in which a patient, after having read an article like this one and suffering similar symptoms, asks her doctor and gets one of two disappointing answers: “Never heard of it” (translation: MCAS is fairly new and often overlooked) or “Consulting Dr. Google […]
Women and ADD
Already ten minutes late for her first appointment, Claire phoned from her car that she’d be in the office in five minutes. Fifteen minutes later, she arrived flustered and embarrassed, and “Oh, my gosh, I left all the forms on my kitchen table, but I did fill them out,” and “My insurance card? I’m sure […]
“So Many of My Relatives Have Alzheimer’s—I’m Scared.”
Jeanette, sitting across from me, was genuinely frightened about her future. Yes, she did have several elderly relatives with what she was calling “Alzheimer’s”, but I quickly pointed out that not all causes of dementia are due to Alzheimer’s Disease and much of dementia is both preventable and reversible. I asked what steps she had […]
Ultraviolet Blood Irradiation
You’ll see ultraviolet lamps in many areas of hospitals and medical centers used in a variety of ways. Doctors began to appreciate the healing powers of ultraviolet light as far back as the early years of the 20th century. In 1903, Dr. Niels Finsen won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for curing lupus of the skin with ultraviolet violet. To this day, dermatologists rely on external UV for psoriasis and certain skin cancers. But sterilizing medical equipment, or treating psoriasis, use UV externally.
This Side Of The Sod: Dr E’s Anti-Aging Supplements
Slowing the rate at which you age isn’t just for old people. If you’re under 40, the supplement basics offered in WholeHealth Plan #1 provide plenty of coverage, provided you live your entire life with the goal of reaching your upper 90s or early 100s. But living a long life, though undeniably nice, isn’t much […]
Anti-Aging Peptide Therapy
Ask ten people to define peptide therapy and it’s doubtful you’ll get a coherent response. Search for it online and you’ll be overwhelmed by information and likely put off by claims that sound too good to be true (“Burn fat! Combat mental decline!). Let’s face it, we’d all like to enhance fat burning, slow aging, […]
Are Generic Drugs Different? You Bet!
Bob lay wide awake at 2 AM, wondering if he’d even taken his Ambien. Melissa’s hands and feet felt cold and she was losing hair. She knew these underactive thyroid symptoms well and quickly scheduled an appointment to ask about increasing what she thought was her Synthroid prescription. Despite enjoying a relatively calm life, Peggy’s […]
Are Lifestyle Changes Impossible?
Many years ago, I became exhausted dealing with a friend who ignored my advice on living a healthy lifestyle. His attitude toward exercise was similar to Oscar Wilde’s “I often take exercise. Why only yesterday I had breakfast in bed.” His attitude toward food, especially restaurant food, was that he didn’t care much about quality […]
A Lifetime Of Experience With Abortion
The past two years of a Trump administration have produced an ugly upsurge in controversy over women’s rights, from the serial sexual predation revelations of the #MeToo movement to yet another state following the lead of the 25 white male Republicans (for their photos, click here) who voted to ban abortion in Alabama and send […]
A Lifetime Of Experience With Abortion
Let me start by saying the opinions on the topic of abortion are mine alone and not necessarily those of any staff at WholeHealth Chicago. For Health Tip readers who have commented that I should not voice political opinions and stick to my work as a doctor, I suggest you glance at any of the […]
Avoiding Antidepressants: A Provocative Clinical Study
Swallowing prescription drugs is our new reality. You, as patients, confront endless magazine, web, and TV ads from Big Pharma. I see these same ads tweaked gently to encourage me, the prescriber. But beyond what we all see, I get a lot more. My mailbox is crammed with Big Pharma junk. My office waiting room […]
Acupuncture Getting The Respect It Deserves
Before President Nixon opened up US relations with the People’s Republic of China in 1972, Americans knew virtually nothing about acupuncture. It had been mentioned in an 1892 medical textbook by the renowned physician Sir William Osler as a treatment for sciatica, but back then opium, morphine, cocaine, and pure heroin were all available over-the-counter […]
Addyi: Big Pharma Botches a Viagra for Women
I hardly know where to begin. This is all too bizarre for me. If you’re a regular scanner of cash register magazines, you’ll be reading about Addyi, released by Big Pharma and approved for something called female hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), which is essentially no or low sex drive. This story is about a […]
A Personal Experience With Side Effects
We’d prefer not to know that all drugs (all of them) are potentially poisonous. Check this out by reading the “overdose” section of the lengthy version of the package insert accompanying your prescription. We don’t set out to intentionally overdose ourselves on common pharmacologic selections–meds for blood pressure, diabetes, birth control, anxiety, sleep, and so […]
Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture
Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture is a centuries-old practice, with evidence of use by the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD) empress and concubines. This is a gentle, safe, and effective method of combatting signs of aging and erasing years from your face while enhancing your health and beauty from within. Acupuncture offers numerous benefits to those wishing to […]
Avoiding Antidepressants: A Clinical Study
Swallowing prescription drugs is our new reality. You, as patients, confront endless magazine, web, and TV ads from Big Pharma. I see these same ads tweaked gently to encourage me, the prescriber. But beyond what we all see, I get a lot more. My mailbox is crammed with Big Pharma junk. My office waiting room […]