MEDICAL MATTERS

[Stanley]

I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole on the grounds that I class 'miracle one shot treatments' with Snake Oil.
My diodes ache a little less today.....

[plaques]

As a person that suffered negative side affects from statins I would think they would be very cautious about starting people on a full dose that would last 6 months. Also I'm a bit down on medicating everybody just because they can't identify the few who really need it.

[Marilyn]

I suffered gut problems with statins and stopped taking them...couldn’t even handle the lowest dose.
I have a new GP since then and have had enough problems with the herniated disc/operation/recovery.
He mentioned that on a recent blood test I had slightly elevated cholesterol. My reply was I was not bothered by that. He just nodded, accepted it and has never mentioned it again. How different that is to years ago, when the doctor freaked so much about cholesterol that you wondered if you would make it back to your car without dropping dead of a heart attack!

[Stanley]

You are right Maz, attitudes have changed and whilst they still recommend statins they aren't as evangelical now. I often think that a lot of the hype originates in big pharma who are all in favour of pill-popping. Include me out, I have no problems as yet!
Having got an appointment for Cystoscopy in March but no preceding BCG treatments I asked the question yesterday and got an immediate reply and an apology there had been an oversight. I am back in the programme and the first one is short notice on Monday which leaves me scrabbling about for transport! Never mind, we are back on track!

[Tizer]

GPs are subjected to a flood of marketing literature from the pharma companies, often camouflaged to look like scientific information and advice. They see this rather than the science behind the new drugs. The companies often tell us that their drugs are so expensive because of the high cost of research but it's also due to the vast amount they spend on promoting their drugs. The result? Over-prescribing antibiotics, opioids, statins etc.

Take this as an example `Why are opioids still given for chronic pain? by Michael Mosley LINK
`..each year, according to a recent Public Health England report, about five million are prescribed opioids - painkillers that can be as powerful as Class A drugs. In fact, the latest data suggests patients are being prescribed more than twice the amount of opioids they were 20 years ago. There's no doubt opioids have a vital role to play in cancer pain relief, end-of-life care or to alleviate pain after an operation. But that doesn't begin to explain the surge in prescribing we've seen in recent years.'

`...One reason for the massive rise in opioid prescribing is of a mistaken belief people in pain are very unlikely to become addicted. This is certainly what I was taught at medical school in the 1980s. But according to Dr Jane Quinlan, consultant in pain management at Oxford University Hospitals Trust, this widespread belief was based on fallacies that took hold in the 80s. "Two things happened," she says. "One of them was that evidence came from palliative care, looking at patients at end-of-life and who had pain, to say that giving patients like that high-dose opioids was safe because they didn't get addicted. "Around the same time, a letter was published in the New England Journal of Medicine claiming that patients who were in hospital and given opioids for a short time rarely got addicted." This 100-word letter wasn't peer-reviewed research - it was simply an observation. But its tentative conclusions were inflated by pharmaceutical companies who began aggressively promoting opioid use as a safe and effective way to treat all manner of pain...'.

[Stanley]

All very true Tiz. When Janet was nearing the end of her fight with cancer she was on maximum doses of whatever it was that dulled the pain. As the palliative nurse said, considerations such as addiction don't apply in such cases, all that matters is efficacy. So how could such dosages ever be used as 'evidence' against addiction? What strikes me is that if an amateur like me can see this clearly, why couldn't the doctors do the same thing? Every report I see leads me to believe that opioid use is a clear and present danger.
On a similar matter, did you see THIS opinion by Professor Nutt on alcohol? Yesterday there was a report on BBC news that cocaine poisoning admissions to hospital had gone up almost 75% since 2015/2016 and admissions for mental problems from the same cause were up 70% over the same period but I can't find that report. One thing that struck me was the name given to the most dangerous and cheapest forms of the drug, 'Council Cocaine'. Are we becoming a nation of addicts?

[Tizer]

What strikes me is that if an amateur like me can see this clearly, why couldn't the doctors do the same thing?

As I mentioned above, they've been blinded by the smokescreen of apparently technical information put out by the pharma companies, so much that (conveniently for the companies) our busy, over-worked GPs can't see the wood for the trees.

The cocaine news helps explain why we encounter some very strange people these days who seem to be extremely hyped up, have no fear and are easily tripped into aggression and violence.

[Stanley]

I watched the Horizon programme on opioid addiction last night. I think Mosley was being a bit over optimistic..... There may be 'light on the horizon' but meanwhile Big Pharma has to stay in profit!

[Stanley]

I'm on track for my latest treatment.... Not a bad time for Jack and with luck we shall be back home within two hours.

[PanBiker]

Good Luck Stanley.

[Tizer]

We hope you get a good result, Stanley.

I hope Chinatyke avoids the coronavirus...
`China coronavirus: Number of cases jumps as virus spreads to new cities' BBC
[I've copied the following because Chinatyke can't access the BBC News site]
China has reported 139 new cases of a mysterious virus in two days, with the outbreak spreading from Wuhan to other major Chinese cities. Beijing, the capital, reported two cases, while the southern tech hub of Shenzhen reported one case. The total number of confirmed cases now exceeds 200, and three have died from the respiratory illness. The sharp uptick in those infected comes as millions of Chinese prepare to travel for the Lunar New Year holidays.

Health officials have identified the infection, which first appeared in Wuhan in December, as being a strain of coronavirus. They say it led to an outbreak of viral pneumonia, but much about it remains unknown. Although the outbreak is believed to have originated from a market, officials and scientists are yet to determine exactly how it has been spreading. South Korea reported its first confirmed case of the virus on Monday, following two in Thailand and one in Japan.

The outbreak has revived memories of the Sars virus - also a coronavirus - that killed 774 people in the early 2000s across dozens of countries, mostly in Asia. Analysis of the genetic code of the new virus shows it is more closely related to Sars than any other human coronavirus. Experts in the UK told the BBC the number of people infected could still be far greater than official figures suggest, with estimates closer to 1,700.

What we know about the virus (Source: World Health Organization)
* 2019-nCoV, as it's been labelled, is understood to be a new strain of coronavirus that has not previously been identified in humans
* Coronaviruses are a broad family of viruses, but only six (the new one would make it seven) are known to infect people
* Scientists believe an animal source is "the most likely primary source" but that some human-to-human transmission has occurred
* Signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties
* People are being advised to avoid "unprotected" contact with live animals, thoroughly cook meat and eggs, and avoid close contact with anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms

[Tripps]

From the local paper today - sounds quite serious. Hope there's no connection with the posting above. Addenbrooke's campus is like a small town.

The Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) is asking people not to visit family and friends at the hospital unless it is absolutely necessary due to a flu outbreak.

The trust, which runs Addenbrooke's and the Rosie Maternity Hospital, has confirmed that around a third of their hospital's wards now contain patients with flu or other respiratory viruses.

They are warning parents and carers of children under 12 to not bring the children to the hospital to visit friends and family.

[chinatyke]

We hope you get a good result, Stanley.

I hope Chinatyke avoids the coronavirus...

Best wishes Stanley.
Thanks for the BBC report Tiz. I avoided SARS and I'll do my best to avoid this virus. There are likely to be many more infected who put it down to other things at this time of year. Is it coincidence that a lot of these things seem to originate in Chinese live food markets? There's still a lot of unhygienic and unhealthy places here.

[Marilyn]

How is your health going, Chinatyke? Has your wound healed now? And have you had the “all clear”?

[chinatyke]

Thanks for asking Maz. I'm OK now, well as right as I've ever been! The wounds have healed well and are fading or blending in with my neck wrinkles. I feel 100% well but mentally there is still that nagging doubt every time I get an ache and I ask myself is it in my bones, but I'm 74 this year and should expect a few aches! My medical discharge report from the hospital said "not suitable for following up" so I guess I'll be OK unless there is a relapse in which case I'll present myself at hospital. Either that or the hospital took me seriously when I told them I was a pauper! I'm getting on with life, still enjoying myself, and intend to do so for another few years.

[Stanley]

That's the spirit China. 74 is young.....
Treatment went OK. I had forgotten how interesting the first 12 hours is..... But I have survived the worst and had a good sleep. Things could be a lot worse. Immune system on full red alert! Routine now is no undue exertion and drink water like it was going out of fashion.

[Cathy]

China, great to know you are doing really well.
Stanley, onwards and upwards, hope you are back to normal ASAP

[Tizer]

Well done, Stanley!

Here's some good news although it will be a while before it could be used in day to day treatment...
`Immune discovery 'may treat all cancer'' LINK
T-cells are well-known but this is a new type.

[Cathy]

We have a Q’ld man quarantined at his home awaiting tests re: deadly coronavirus.

[Tizer]

We usually shout `Tin hats on!' but this time it should be `Bug masks on!'

[chinatyke]

Thanks Cathy and Stanley.

[Marilyn]

Not suitable for following up (!)
(Gawd...wonder what criteria they used to decide THAT)

[Stanley]

T cells.... I saw that and it's good news...
Side effects much abated, very comfortable but tired. I shall look after myself.

[chinatyke]

Not suitable for following up (!)
(Gawd...wonder what criteria they used to decide THAT)

My discharge report also says: "the current illness is stable, to be discharged from hospital" - follicular lymphoma is treated on a watch and wait basis with intervention only as necessary. As far as I am concerned I'm back to normal for the foreseeable future, that's good enough for me. There are people much worse off and people like Ian who have come through far worse traumas.

[Stanley]

I agree China. I think that that is where I am now, my team are taking precautions but I have no reason to fear the future! (Up to now..... So far so good!)