Drug Addiction and Your Brain, and Other Links
Is cocaine addiction all in the mind?
There is no “July Effect” (when the new hospital residents arrive).
Should doctors and patients be Facebook friends? The AMA isn’t sure.
How much care can be delivered in the home? X-rays, ultrasounds and electrocardiograms, for starters.
Is cocaine addiction all in the mind?
A friend of a friend, “John”, is a very successful Wall Street executive who has managed to recreationally use cocaine and methamphetamine for 15 years without serious reprecussions. A high school friend of his partied with him in high school but doing the same drugs as John wound up becoming a heroin addict and died. Different people have differnt propensities for addiction. Some people have addictive personalities and others dont. If this could be linked to specific genetic traits, could it be typed for along with a host of other conditions at birth? Should we do that? Could it help?
Should doctors and patients be Facebook friends?
My experience would suggest no. Some relationships are meant to be kept professional and a person’s FB is usually anything but. I can’t believe doctors would actually let their clients have that much access to them.
At the same time, it sounds like being able to FB message your doctor would provide another avenue of access. I understand the AMA’s indecision.
“Should doctors and patients be Facebook friends?”
– Despite my strong dislike for Facebook, I don’t know why its anyones business who someones FB friends are. What if the personal friendship comes before the perfessional relationship? Are they then not allowed to be friends on a social website? I’d hope so.
Concierge medicine is definitely a positive thing. Not just for doctors, but patients as well.
“Should doctors and patients be Facebook friends?”
I agree with A.D. I think that it is absurd to attempt to “control” who one is friends with on a social networking forum. Whether it may be smart/professional/wise to befriend your doctor on FB, it really isn’t anyone’s business who you choose to add to your social network.
Is cocaine addiction all in the mind?
I believe that the level of addiction is dependent on a person’s genetic predispositions. In other words, I think that some people are born with a higher likelihood to become stronger addicts than others. For example, I have tried the whole “coffee” thing and my body just won’t crave it. I also know people who have smoked pot on several instances but do not “crave” it like some other people do after smoking it several times. I think this is a field that should receive more research investment because it has social repercussions and if we can target those who are more inherently predisposed to addiction at a young age and treat it, perhaps lots of lives could be saved and improved.
Is cocaine addiction all in the mind?
I always have a big cup of strong coffee in the morning – it’s a ritual. Yet, I don’t suffer withdrawal, such as headaches and irritability if I don’t have it. Am I addicted to caffeine – or a routine?
I used to enjoy cigars, which I smoked while I studied (often accompanied by an imported beer in the other hand). They were a pleasant experiences, although I slowly stopped smoking cigars and curtailed beer to one bottle a month. The last time I had a cigar it tasted and smelled awful! Why did something I used to really enjoy suddenly become distasteful? I can only assume my brain slowly got over the nicotine rush and I began to experience cigars how they actually tasted. Before I got married, I used to enjoy imported beer unencumbered by a wife concerned about my weight, cholesterol, liver, etc. Now when I have a beer maybe less than a month, it doesn’t taste like it used to. I find it odd that our brain’s reward circuitry becomes accustomed to one stimulus and rewards consumption only to stop if the stimulus is withdrawn over time.
“How much care can be delivered at home?”
This is great! As we commonly discuss whenever re-admit rates come up, Americans actually spend to LITTLE time in the hospital after a major operation. Patients are sent home with 12-15 pages of personal care instructions – and we expect them to instantaneously become home health professionals.
Whenever our children have trouble in school, we call a tutor. Why should it be different here? We have given these patients “homework”, of which the consequences of failure can be more severe than a simple poor grade. If they fail this homework, they could die. I feel that these new home health programs may be just what we needed to keep readmission rates down and patient recovery solid.