White Coat Underground
Archives for January, 2009
Generic drugs rock! (Except when they don’t)
Posted by PalMD on January 30, 2009 A patient broke the news to me. There is a massive recall of generic drugs made by a single company, Ethex Corp, a subsidiary of KV Pharmaceuticals. The company makes many of the popular generic drugs that I prescribe every day, such as generic extended-release metoprolol. This is a really big deal, and I’m pretty…
Alternative medicine—back to basics
Posted by PalMD on January 29, 2009 A long time ago (in blog years) I wrote a series on alternative medicine over at my old WordPress blog. It’s time to dust off the old post and get back to some basics. What is alternative medicine, anyway? That’s a great question. I know it is, because I asked it. I get this question…
Low back pain—the scourge of Homo sapiens
Posted by PalMD on January 29, 2009 It started a few weeks ago—a dull ache in my lower back, more on the right, worse with sitting for prolonged periods of time. I did my usual stretches, although not as much as I should have. The pain waxed and waned, until a few days ago, when the pain escalated suddenly, preventing me from…
Skeptics’ Circle # 104
Posted by PalMD on January 29, 2009 It’s up and ready for visitors at Space City Skeptics. Go and read.
PalCast Update
Posted by PalMD on January 28, 2009 I love my podcast. A lot. I have great guests lined up. Really. But I also have a dead computer (I’m using a hospital PC right now). My laptop has all the “stuff” I need for the podcast, so please don’t give up! When it’s back out again (hopefully this weekend), I’ll let you know.…
It’s hard to hide severe back pain. When I stand up, I look like a question mark. The visibility of the problem, combined with the general goodness of my fellow human beings, leads to lots of unsolicited advice. Folks have given me great advice (take some NSAIDs, stretch, and don’t lay in bed) and some…
Sleeping with dogs
Posted by PalMD on January 28, 2009 Look, the Pope gets to make the rules—it’s his club and he gets to decide who plays and who doesn’t. The Vatican does not claim to be democratic. That being said, all decisions rest on him, and him alone, and cannot be blamed on “the will of the people”. The buck really does stop with…
Incoherent rant #37
Posted by PalMD on January 27, 2009 Now, both of my readers may note that: 1) the number “37″ appears to be randomly assigned, and 2) “incoherent” would appear to be redundant. But let me explain. Many, many years ago I injured my back. It got better. Until 3 a.m. this morning. Since then, I have been a walking question mark, except…
Medical Weblog awards—the news is good
Posted by PalMD on January 26, 2009 Blog buddy and all-around great guy lucite box of diodes, Orac of Respectful Insolence, has won “Best Health Policies/Ethics Weblog of 2008“, sponsored by MedGadget.com. According to the website: Orac of Respectful Insolence has been chosen as the Best Health Policies/Ethics Weblog of 2008. As one of the members of Science Blogs, Orac attempts to…
Morning Report #1
Posted by PalMD on January 26, 2009 Morning report is a daily conference for medical residents. It is done differently at different institutions, but normally a case is presented, often by the post-call team, and discussed by the senior residents and an attending physician. Today’s case will be the first in an occasional series. –PalMD Case: Mrs. M is an 89 year…