tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2020989200831574035.post2369806057564238084..comments2023-12-13T01:47:38.575-05:00Comments on The New Life of e-Patient Dave: What is the nature of wellness?e-Patient Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11608258246509102466noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2020989200831574035.post-22871145564163601452008-01-31T10:19:00.000-05:002008-01-31T10:19:00.000-05:00Interesting. I spent ten weeks (!) in hospital in ...Interesting. I spent ten weeks (!) in hospital in 1975, and I know that a nurse told me then that "if you're in pain, you're not healing as fast as you could." It's a truism in medicine that nurse's observations are ignored or undervalued; I think they have known this about pain and pain meds for a long time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2020989200831574035.post-30885367862882968782008-01-28T18:26:00.000-05:002008-01-28T18:26:00.000-05:00Dave, I finally had a chance to follow up on the p...Dave, I finally had a chance to follow up on the pain relief research... which I needed over the weekend when a friend fell and broke her ankle in four places. I found this article--<BR/><BR/>Diana Dickinson <BR/><BR/>(whole abstract follows)<BR/>ACUTE PAIN CONTROL AND ACCELERATED POSTOPERATIVE SURGICAL RECOVERY<BR/><BR/>Henrik Kehlet MD, PhD*<BR/><BR/>Available online 25 May 2005.<BR/><BR/>The alleviation of postoperative pain is primarily provided for humanitarian reasons but also to reduce nociception-induced responses, which may adversely influence organ functioning and contribute to morbidity.14 As discussed in this issue, much progress has been made in our understanding of pain physiology and the effectiveness and side effects of various analgesics and techniques of administration. Based on this knowledge, optimal pain relief allowing normal function can usually be obtained following most surgical procedures, especially when using multimodal or balanced analgesia. This approach provides sufficient pain relief through additive or synergistic effects by different analgesics and with a concomitant reduction of side effects because of the requirement of lower doses of individual drugs and differences in side-effect profiles.13<BR/><BR/>In recent years, awareness of pain relief and pain education has been introduced in the surgical literature.15 The introduction of acute pain services has increased the quality of postoperative pain relief; however, further improvements in perioperative care and outcome require increased attention among surgeons to choices and availability of different analgesics and techniques in different operations because pain relief is a prerequisite to improved outcome.<BR/><BR/>This article provides an updated review of the differential effects of different analgesics on perioperative pathophysiologic responses and organ dysfunctions, hospital stay, and convalescence. Furthermore, updated knowledge is provided on the integration of postoperative pain relief in a multimodal approach to hasten recovery, based on recent reviews.16 and 17<BR/><BR/>Address reprint requests to Henrik Kehlet, MD, PhD, Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, Hvidovre University Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Kettegård Allé 30, 2650 Hvidovre, Denmark<BR/>* From the Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, Hvidovre University Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Denmark<BR/><BR/><BR/>Surgical Clinics of North America<BR/>Volume 79, Issue 2, 1 April 1999, Pages 431-443Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2020989200831574035.post-48636352244468742932008-01-24T20:14:00.000-05:002008-01-24T20:14:00.000-05:00After some investigation when Jay developed lympho...After some investigation when Jay developed lymphoma, I changed our diet fairly radically, including as much whole (unprocessed) food as I could stand to take the time to shop for and process myself. One change I made that was fairly easy and made a huge difference to our baseline health was the addition of a morning fruit smoothie: 1/3 yogurt, 1/3 juice, 1/3 fresh fruit (often frozen by myself from the farmers market). Protein powder optional but why not. Blend the heck out of it.<BR/><BR/>The first sign of improved health was the lack of hangnails around the fingernails. It's been years since either of us had a serious cold. It's an easy change that adds a lot of micronutrients.<BR/><BR/>DianaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2020989200831574035.post-88742138494585141832008-01-21T11:47:00.000-05:002008-01-21T11:47:00.000-05:00It's been a very long time since I read some menti...It's been a very long time since I read some mention of this, and a quick Google finds mostly alternative medicine sites, which is probably not what you're looking for. But I believe pain is a stress on the body, and I think stress usually taxes the immune system more than it stimulates it. A simple example: pain causes your muscles to tense up, it can interfere with sleep, if you have a toothache it's hard to think of anything else, etc. Pain relief, if it doesn't totally dull the mind, can free the system for healing. I am extrapolating from a faintly remembered item I read a long time ago, but it makes sense to me. Anyway, so often a news article might mention one study but that doesn't mean other researchers follow up on that line of thought.Rhonda Keith Stephenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14429043796129900356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2020989200831574035.post-9778361100476950002008-01-20T08:55:00.000-05:002008-01-20T08:55:00.000-05:00Rhonda, if you can find any specifics about those ...Rhonda, if you can find any specifics about those studies, I'd love it! That's the first I've heard of it.e-Patient Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11608258246509102466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2020989200831574035.post-42936253280713752022008-01-20T08:04:00.000-05:002008-01-20T08:04:00.000-05:00Also, pain is bad for you. I think studies have sh...Also, pain is bad for you. I think studies have shown that the body heals quicker with pain meds (when they're necessary) than without.Rhonda Keith Stephenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14429043796129900356noreply@blogger.com