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- Questions loom over drug given to sleepless vets
Questions loom over drug given to sleepless vets
Andrew White returned from a nine-month tour in Iraq beset with signs of post-traumatic stress disorder: insomnia, nightmares, constant restlessness. Doctors tried to ease his symptoms using three psychiatric drugs, including a potent anti-psychotic called Seroquel.
Thousands of soldiers suffering from PTSD have received the same medication over the last nine years, helping to make Seroquel one of the Veteran Affairs Department's top drug expenditures and the No. 5 best-selling drug in the nation.
Several soldiers and veterans have died while taking the pills, raising concerns among some military families that the government is not being up front about the drug's risks. They want Congress to investigate.
- Fresno Co. HIV/AIDS clinic to close Friday
Fresno Co. HIV/AIDS clinic to close Friday
For decades, the specialty clinic at the Fresno County health department was the place to go to be tested for a sexually transmitted disease, for inexpensive family planning or to see an AIDS doctor.
On June 25,the clinic on the Fulton Mall closes. The money’s just not there to keep it open, said David Luchini, division manager of Community Health at the Fresno County Department of Public Health.
The only clinic services remaining: HIV testing for the virus that causes AIDS, and counseling for those who test positive.
Other patients will scatter to local doctors’ offices and community health centers.
- Italy health minister apologizes for botched birth
Italy health minister apologizes for botched birth
Italy's health minister traveled to Sicily on Monday to apologize to a woman whose delivery of a son was botched when her two doctors got into a fistfight in the operating room.
Laura Salpietro, 30, had to have her uterus removed and her son, Antonio, suffered heart problems and possible brain damage following his birth Thursday in Messina's public hospital, Italian news reports said.
Health officials and Salpietro's husband, Matteo Molonia, said the two doctors disagreed about whether to perform a cesarean section and fought while Salpietro was in labor. Molonia said that delayed the C-section by over an hour, leading to complications for mother and son.
- Fresno pot-advocate doctor could lose license
Fresno pot-advocate doctor could lose license
One of Fresno's most prominent advocates for medical marijuana could lose his physician's license amid a flurry of allegations that include prescribing a painkiller in exchange for sex.
Osteopathic physician Daniel Brubaker, 62, is a former medical director of the Central California Blood Center who has been recognized for his research. More recently, as an orthopedic and pain-management specialist, he has made a name for himself by recommending marijuana for his patients.
His Muscular Skeletal Medical Associates office on First Street in east central Fresno is one of three Valley medical offices commonly appearing on Internet lists of doctors who recommend marijuana. He also has given television interviews about the medical benefits of the drug.
- Fresno County struggles to keep psychiatrists
Fresno County struggles to keep psychiatrists
Fresno County might be forced to close the only program it has that keeps poor, mentally ill patients out of hospitals. Why? There aren't enough psychiatrists.
At stake is the future of the 16-bed Psychiatric Health Facility at the former University Medical Center in southeast Fresno.
If it closes, it would be the latest blow to a mental-health system that already has seen deep program cuts.
I read with both amusement and concern Eddie Jimenez's column about his insomnia. The compassion comes because as he noted, it is a problem found within about 15% of the general population. But psychology can easily address insomnia in about six weeks of weekly sessions. Research shows this includes a reduction in medication usage for the majority of those treated.
The concern comes when Mr. Jimenez notes using a stage hypnotist's relaxation CD. If you have a medical problem, isn't taking yourself to an entertainer for a medical problem a little like taking your car in to be fixed by an accountant instead of a mechanic? Why not visit a health professional trained in hypnosis?
Hypnosis is a great tool, and has many health applications. Hypnosis can treat anxiety, depression, smoking, irritable bowel syndrome and many other problems.
The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis has a national referral center at their Web site, www.asch.net. On the Web site anyone can find a local health professional, whether a physician, nurse, dentist or psychologist, who is both licensed and has expertise in applying hypnosis to clinical problems, such as insomnia. Check it out; you'll sleep better!
Laura A. Geiger, PsyD
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