HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: dyer@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Phobias, NLP, etc (was Re: Xanax)
Date: 15 Sep 92 04:45:44 GMT
Article-I.D.: spdcc.1992Sep15.044544.23105
Organization: S.P. Dyer Computer Consulting, Cambridge MA

In article <j_zn79#.strnlght@netcom.com> strnlght@netcom.com (David Sternlight) writes:
>Steve Dyer thinks he can intimidate people out of here. Wrong.

I thought you said you were leaving, David?

>Steve Dyer also thinks he owns this place. Wrong.

Um, nyaah, nyaah?

>All he's demonstrated so far is that he has a very weak ego,
>which cannot tolerate disagreements, so when his "expert"
>pose is questioned he resorts to gutter language.

Yeah, that must be it.

>By such behavior he has, in my view, vitiated any credit he
>may have for those facts he does use as a weapon to boost
>his apparently weak ego.

A badge of honor, if there ever was one.

>Secure people don't use gutter language in a forum of this kind.

Yes they do.  Now fuck off and stop wasting our time.

>There's some question of his IQ as well. Those with brains
>who wish to demolish an opponent and can't do so with facts
>use wit and mordant sarcasm, not the language of the pigsty.

Well, facts didn't seem to work, and people like you are impervious
to sarcasm.  I'm not sure how much lower it's possible to aim.

-- 
Steve Dyer
dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com aka {ima,harvard,rayssd,linus,m2c}!spdcc!dyer
From: mjc+@cs.cmu.edu (Monica Cellio)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Yet another Lyme question
Date: 15 Sep 92 17:15:50 GMT
Article-I.D.: NL.mjc.716577350
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon

I was diagnosed with Lyme yesterday.  I gather that Lyme testing is sometimes 
unreliable (false negatives), so the question is, how do I know it's really
gone after a round with the antibiotics?  I'd rather not wait to develop
arthritis to find out, and I didn't develop all that many symptoms to begin
with (stiffness in one hand, rash that's now long gone).  It is difficult
for me to simply trust test results if in fact those tests are considered
questionable by the medical community, and I don't know my doctor well enough
yet to know whether I can trust his instincts.  (My gut reaction is no; he
tried to convince me that I didn't need a Lyme test when all the evidence 
pointed to that possibility and he couldn't offer another explanation of
the symptoms.)  

Or is the treatment of Lyme so straightforward that two weeks on antibiotics
(darn, can't remember the name) kills it in nearly 100% of the cases?

Monica
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: jod@equator.com (John Setel O'Donnell)
Subject: Re: "Anti-psychiatry": Cool the flames  ...was: Re: Xanax
Organization: Equator Technologies, Inc., Seattle, WA
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 06:00:46 GMT

In article <18ii2jINNe67@agate.berkeley.edu> John Werner <werner@soe.berkeley.edu> writes:
>
>After just one visit to my therapist (not a psychoanalyst, by the
>way) I have a much better appreciation for the value of drugs
>combined with therapy.  A lot of old, suppressed emotions are
>bubbling up, and some of them aren't pleasant.  I'm still convinced
>that therapy will help in the long run, but it might not be much fun
>for a while.  If it gets too bad, I may end up trying to get someone
>to prescribe me some drugs.
>

There have been a couple of postings in this vein which I want to
comment on.  The posters have touched on what I see as proper and
enlightened use of psychoactive drugs -- to facilitate the underlying
process.

What I object to is doling out the drugs without looking into what's
going on, or simply labeling what's going on as a "brain imbalance".
In my haste earlier I didn't make this clear.  The Bright (Brave) New
Future of Psychiatry appears to me to be a massive effort to move in
this direction.

-- 
- - -
John Setel O'Donnell                      jod@equator.com
Equator Technologies, Inc.                206-328-6544 voice/fax
Seattle, WA                               Read everything by Alice Miller.
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: strnlght@netcom.com (David Sternlight)
Subject: Re: Phobias, NLP, etc (was Re: Xanax)
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 04:21:25 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)


Steve Dyer thinks he can intimidate people out of here. Wrong.
Steve Dyer also thinks he owns this place. Wrong.

All he's demonstrated so far is that he has a very weak ego,
which cannot tolerate disagreements, so when his "expert"
pose is questioned he resorts to gutter language.

By such behavior he has, in my view, vitiated any credit he
may have for those facts he does use as a weapon to boost
his apparently weak ego.

Secure people don't use gutter language in a forum of this
kind.

There's some question of his IQ as well. Those with brains
who wish to demolish an opponent and can't do so with facts
use wit and mordant sarcasm, not the language of the pigsty.

David
From: dyer@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Allopurinol
Date: 11 Sep 92 17:34:39 GMT
Article-I.D.: spdcc.1992Sep11.173439.25854
Organization: S.P. Dyer Computer Consulting, Cambridge MA

In article <BuF82F.81r@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca> molnar@Bisco.CAnet.CA (Tom Molnar) writes:
>I have a propensity for gout, and as a result, my physician has prescribed
>Allopurinol (sp?) tablets.  Apparently this drug will reduce or eliminate the
>chance of a gout attack so long as I continue to take them.  I asked him
>about the side effects of taking this drug (I assume for the rest of my
>life!) and he said he didn't think there were any in a round about
>way.  I guess he doesn't really know.  He doesn't think I can stop
>taking it. Is anyone familiar with this drug?  Does it have long term side
>effects (like reduced kidney function or something)?

Allopurinol inhibits the conversion of hypoxanthine to uric acid,
thereby reducing uric acid levels in the blood and urine.  Hypoxanthine
has the advantage of being substantially more soluble than uric acid,
and it is much less likely to crystallize out in the skin, joints and
kidney where it can cause problems.

Allopurinol is generally pretty well tolerated, but I get the
impression from talking to Ken Mitchum and a few other doctors I know
that its use is somewhat deprecated these days, at least for mild
gout.  Allopurinol can occasionally cause a variety of hypersensitivity
reactions, and it may be that it's less risky overall to simply
suppress the occasional attacks of acute gout by taking low doses of
colchicine daily.  Or course, there are some people who produce so much
uric acid that they're at risk of joint damage and kidney problems, and
in such cases allopurinol is definitely indicated, and I'm sure no one
would hesitate to use it.

-- 
Steve Dyer
dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com aka {ima,harvard,rayssd,linus,m2c}!spdcc!dyer
From: bf455@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bonita Kale)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Prevalence of Hyperobesity
Date: 13 Sep 1992 12:26:19 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
NNTP-Posting-Host: slc10.ins.cwru.edu




In a previous article, caf@omen.UUCP (Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX) says:

>Some time ago there was a discussion about the prevalence of obesity
>among the populations of the US and Europe.
>
>A paper appearing in the latest issue of the International Journal of
>Obesity confirms the observations reported on the net.  Hyperobesity
>was markedly greater in the US than either France or the UK.
>
>"There was a strikingly high percentage of very obese women (>50%
>overweight) in the USA (8% or the population) as compared to the
>two European countries (2% in France and 3% in the UK)."
>
>The study did not find any link between egg or meat consumption and obesity.
>
>As mentioned previously, fat consumption is higher in France
>than in the US, slightly lower in the UK.
>
>Carbohydrate consumption is much higher in the US.



I wish there could be a study properly controlled for actual amount of
exercise in daily life, as well as for dieting.  Seems to me Europeans are
much more likely to live in cities or villages than Americans.  We live, to
a large extent, in suburbs, and drive everywhere.  Europeans are more
likely to walk places.  Instead of a run to the Gigantimarket once a month,
they instance, they walk to stores every day for food.

Also, American women (the study only looked at women?) diet.  Every woman
who has any tendency not to be slim has been on numerous diets.  That alone
might explain the discrepancy, if dieting really puts on weight in the long
run.

Bonita Kale
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: strnlght@netcom.com (David Sternlight)
Subject: Re: 15 min phobia cures (was Re: Xanax)
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 92 18:52:31 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)


Joel Levin asks how the phobic cures were demonstrated. In the cases I'm
familiar with, the phobia was a fear of snakes, the idea of snakes or 
anything to do with snakes. The patient was holding, fondling and
in general manipulating a snake after 15-30 minutes, while
remarking "interesting creature." To date her therapist has not
reported a remission. Dunno how you'd check claustrophobics--maybe
take them on a long elevator ride or put em in a phone booth.

David
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: djh@osc.edu (David Heisterberg)
Subject: Re: baboon heart recipient
Organization: The Ohio Supercomputer Center
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 21:01:32 GMT

In article <1992Sep11.184630.27650@cgrg.ohio-state.edu> djh@osc.edu (David Heisterberg) writes:
>I read that the 35 year old man who received the baboon heart has died

That should liver, not heart.  Or maybe it was brain, my brain, and a
wonder he survived as long as he did...
-- 
David J. Heisterberg (djh@osc.edu)       What men value is not rights
The Ohio Supercomputer Center            but privileges.
Columbus, Ohio                             -- H.L. Mencken
From: geb@dsl.pitt.edu (gordon e. banks)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: 15 min phobia cures (was Re: Xanax)
Date: 15 Sep 92 21:23:38 GMT
Organization: Decision Systems Laboratory, Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA.

In article <lb1igjINNgh7@news.bbn.com> levin@bbn.com (Joel B Levin) writes:
>
>If the subject were claustrophobic would they verify the cure by
>sticking him in a box for a few hours, or what?  And who followed up
>to see if the were still 'cured' 15 minutes or 15 hours or 15 days
>later?

I'd forgotten claustrophobia.  Lee, will the NLP "imagine a movie"
cure work with that?  If so, I can test it very practically on
lots of patients.  This comes up with about 10% of the people who
have to get MRI scans.  Hypnosis does work, but it doesn't cure
claustrophobia permanently.  Make up a protocol and I will
use it on some patients and let you know if it worked.  I don't
see how it would harm anyone from what you told me about the bee
phobia treatment.
-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gordon Banks  N3JXP      | "Skepticism is the chastity of the intellect, and
geb@cadre.dsl.pitt.edu   |  it is shameful to surrender it too soon." 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: scheiber@sage.cc.purdue.edu (Jennifer Scheiber)
Subject: Re: Baclofen
Organization: Purdue University Computing Center
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1992 23:07:45 GMT

In article <h2mnx4#.lindae@netcom.com> lindae@netcom.com writes:
>
>  
>Is anyone familiar with the drug called Baclofen?  If so, I'd like to
>know what it is, what it's used to treat, and any possible side effects.
>
>Thanks.

It is a centrally acting skeletal muscle relaxant, used specifically
in treating MS and spinal cord lesions. Common side effects include:
drowsiness, dizziness, weakness, and nausea. 

-Jennifer  i
.
    
-- 
_____________________________________________________________________________
*                  J e n n i f e r      S c h e i b e r                     *
email: scheiber@sage.cc.purdue.edu      School of Nursing - Purdue University
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From: doyle+@pitt.edu (Howard R Doyle)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Wound that won't heal
Date: 11 Sep 92 18:26:25 GMT
Organization: Pittsburgh Transplant Institute

In article <1992Sep10.204541.7447@engage.pko.dec.com> breeding@snkerz.enet.dec.com (Andy Breeding) writes:
>
>My mother has a wound on her leg that won't heal.  She has rheumatoid
>arthritis and sustained the wound in a minor accident over a year ago.
>Apparently the medications she's taking are the culprit*  But her doctors
>don't seem to be handling the problem.  Does anyone know of a possible
>solutions? (e.g. would a skin graft work?)  Any suggestions would be
>appreciated.
>


Is she diabetic? Does she have peripheral vascular insufficiency (i.e., "poor
circulation")? Does she have severe varicose veins? Does she have a 
vasculitis?....

You get the picture. There are a number of reasons for chronic leg ulcers,
and my best suggestion is that your mother see someone who deals with this
problem often (probably a vascular surgeon).

Skin grafts work most of the time, but it also depends on the condition that
caused the ulcer, and whether there is enough soft tissue covering the 
underlying bony structures.

_________________________

Howard Doyle
doyle+@pitt.edu


Newsgroups: sci.med
From: wentzell@ace.acadiau.ca (LEEANN WENTZELL)
Subject: Re: wisdom teeth removal
Organization: Acadia University
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 18:06:45 GMT

>My wisdom teeth are also impacted, lie with the tops facing forwards,
>well below the gum. The dental surgeons at University College Hospital
>dental school (London), who do not have a financial interest in
>recommending treatment, proposed a conservative appraoch, ie do
>nothing, its far better to leave 'em buried, wouldnt go near them with
>a six foot pole, was (almost) exactly what they said. 
>
>They did say that that there was a small chance of problems later, but
>overall, it would be better to cross that bridge when coming to it.


I was told at 16 that my impacted wisdom teeth should be removed or they 
would cause me "alot of problems later on!" My mother refused to give her 
consent because she thought it was a scam. At 20, three of my teeth came in; 
the fourth remained partially impacted. I had two infection in that piece of 
overlapping gum before that tooth, too, grew all the way in. Dental care is 
mostly free in Canada, but impacted wisdom tooth removal is not covered and 
must be paid personally. If the teeth have grown in, removal is covered.
From: dyer@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: CFIDS and Lyme
Date: 9 Sep 92 13:42:11 GMT
Article-I.D.: spdcc.1992Sep9.134211.27437
Organization: S.P. Dyer Computer Consulting, Cambridge MA

In article <1992Sep8.230437.20961@equator.com> jod@equator.com (John Setel O'Donnell) writes:
>While I can't be cured with
>present knowledge, many people could be spared getting into my state
>with better information.

Is there any reason to believe you when you state you have "incurable Lyme"?
Who made this diagnosis other than you?  I'm not at all sure there is such
an entity.  Mental illness is pretty resistant to treatment by ceftriaxone.

-- 
Steve Dyer
dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com aka {ima,harvard,rayssd,linus,m2c}!spdcc!dyer
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: mdkline@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Mark D. Kline)
Subject: Re: "Anti-psychiatry": Cool the flames  ...was: Re: Xanax
Organization: Syracuse University
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 92 21:13:52 EDT

In article <1992Sep8.154146.7557@decuac.dec.com> jcp@islay.dco.dec.com (Jolly C. Pancakes) writes:
>In article <1992Sep5.044656.20572@athena.cs.uga.edu> mcovingt@athena.cs.uga.edu (Michael A. Covington) writes:
>>In article <1992Sep3.091357.29655@newstand.syr.edu> mdkline@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Mark D. Kline) writes:
>>>Anxiety and mood disorders afflict women more often than men.
>>Is there a solid biological basis for this, or could it be that our culture
>>does not train women to cope with adversity?  (Or, conversely, trains
>>men to be _too_ stoical?)
>
>
>	It seems to me that I read something very recently about how
>the old chestnut that women are more likely to be depressed than men
>was not true. Men and women were found to suffer depression at about
>the same rate, but women are more likely to seek treatment. 

large scale epidemiologic studies in the community show that women
suffer mood and anxiety disorders more frequently than men.  It is
also true that women seek help more than men.

The extended catchment area (ECA) study is the largest and
methodologically most sophisticated study of psychiatric disorders in
american communities.  [1].  Its findings were essentially similar
to previous work on sex differences in depressive illness [2].
For example, the six month prevalence rates (ranges) reported
at three sites in the ECA study showed [3]:

				Males		Females
Major Depressive Disorder	1.3-2.2		3.0-4.6
Panic Disorder			0.3-0.8		0.9-1.2 

Of course, the gender differential is reversed in certain other
conditions, e.g,

Alcohol Abuse/Dependence	8.2-10.4	1.0-1.9
Antisocial Personality		0.8-2.1		0.3-1.0

--------

1. Myers Jk, Weissman MM, et al: Six month prevalence of psychiatric
disorders in three communities, 1980-1982.  Arch Gen Psychiatry 1984;
41:959-967.  

2. Weisman MM, Klerman GL: Sex differences and the epidemiology
of depression.  Arch Gen Psychiatry 34:98-111, 1977

3. figures cited in Craig TJ: Epidemiology of Psychiatric Illness.  In
Winokur G, Clayton P: The Medical Basis of Psychiatry.  Philadelphia,
WB Saunders Co., 1986

--
================================================================= 
mark kline                              mdkline@rodan.acs.syr.edu
suny health science center, syracuse    voice: (315) 422-1050
================ courtesy of syracuse university ================
From: rdc45@nmrdc1.nmrdc.nnmc.navy.mil (Code-45 CDR Peter Kent)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: "Incompetent [military] doctors"
Date: 12 Sep 92 10:44:12 GMT
Organization: Naval Medical Research & Development Command

In article <BALDWIN.92Sep10165448@csservera.scs.usna.navy.mil> baldwin@csservera.scs.usna.navy.mil (J.D. Baldwin) writes:
>I've seen and heard first- and second-hand, but I can't let this pass
>without stating that the stereotype--like most stereotypes--didn't 
>happen by accident; there is a reason for it.
>
>As for military doctors, I don't know what the rate of incompetence
>is, compared to private sector medicine (side note: is there any such
>thing in America anymore?), but I can tell you that the accountability
>for incompetence and malpractice that is provided by the right to sue,
>licensing boards, professional organizations, etc., is completely
>missing from the military.  Recourse for bad medical care?  "Speak to
>the Patient Affairs Representative."  HAHAHAHAHAHA!  That's about the
>sum total of what you can do.  
>
> Dr. Billig was the three-quarters-blind idiot cardiologist who
>kept killing patients at Bethesda Naval Hospital a few years back.  I
>don't remember how long it went on, but I do remember it wasn't
>stopped until someone outside the USN Medical Corps noticed, and then
>it became apparent that there was no way his superiors could not have
>known about his incompetence all those years.  This is the culture I
>am describing.

     The state of affairs you refer to above may have existed at the time of
the Billig incident, but I seriously doubt that it accurately describes the
current status of quality assurance / accoutability.  The Billig affair was
the impetus for a major change in procedures and policies to preclude
repetitions.  All military hospitals open their doors and invite the Joint
Commission for the Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAH) to inspect them.  Among
the most important inspection criteria are policies and procedures to ensure
quality review, accountability, etc.  I can't speak for the other services,
but in the Navy, the Hospitals score better than their equivalent civilian
facilities.  In addition, all Navy physicians are required to obtain and
maintain civilian state licenses, which commonly requires proof of continuing
medical education in order to qualify for license renewal.  Although that
requirement obviously cannot ensure competance, it is anther way to ensure
that quality standards are equivalent to the civilian sector.  I think that
your characterization of the current state of military hospital competance
is obsolete.

Disclaimer:  The above is strictly personal opinion, and should NOT be 
considered to be an official statement of policy on the part of either the
US NAVY or the Department of Defense.   Peter
 
-- 
CDR Peter Kent, MC, USN
Program Manager, Combat Casualty Care
Naval Medical Research and Development Command
E-mail: rdc401@nmrdc1.nmrdc.nnmc.navy.mil
From: gsteckel@vergil.East.Sun.COM (Geoff Steckel - Sun BOS Hardware CONTRACTOR)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: hair loss in female
Date: 10 Sep 1992 17:56:14 GMT
Organization: Omnivore Technology, Newton, Mass. (617)332-9252
NNTP-Posting-Host: vergil.east.sun.com
Summary: check for thyroid?

One classic cause of excessive hair loss is thyroid deficiency.  I've
personally seen three cases which were very slow and gradual in
development.  If she's already had the appropriate set of thyroid
function tests, good luck.
	regards,
	geoff steckel (gwes@trilobyte.com, gwes@wjh12.harvard.EDU)
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Sun Microsystems, despite the From: line.
This posting is entirely the author's responsibility.
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: dyer@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer)
Subject: Re: NLP, etc
Organization: S.P. Dyer Computer Consulting, Cambridge MA
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 23:15:19 GMT

In article <1992Sep9.213641.12891@decuac.dec.com> jcp@islay.dco.dec.com (Jolly C. Pancakes) writes:
>Now, let's not get carried away with kneejerk reactions here.

I beg your pardon?

>Yes, there are lots of postings in which "jerk" is certainly the first
>thing to come to mind, but David Sternlight hasn't displayed any real
>flaming qualities (yet).

You've got to be joking.  News constipation upstream, Jody?

>NLP defenders on the net, Lee Lady foremost among them,

This comes as a complete shock to me.  I had no idea that Lee was one
of these people, but now that I have a chance to compose myself, I must
admit that it makes complete sense.

>I'm more than willing to defend
>Lee for his patience and relative open-mindedness,

Snort.  You can hear the wind whistling through that open mind.

>	David has presented a method that he says may make a given
>headache go away. And so it might - headaches can often be ameliorated
>through biofeedback mechanisms, and visualisation of the sort he
>describes can be effective for at least some headache sufferers (as a
>lifelong migraineur, I know whereof I speak). Furthermore, it can't hurt
>anyone if it doesn't work, and it didn't cost any money.

No, he said that NLP cures headaches and phobias in 15 minutes.
He then qualified this assertion in a later article.  I don't have
any problem with someone saying "try this, it might work".  This is
not what he first said.

>	Charlatans are deserving of criticism but tarring everyone with
>the same brush greatly limits the effectiveness of that criticism. Save
>your scorn for the people who deserve it; be a little more precise in
>slinging derision.  I know that it is easy to lose patience when so much
>foolishness abounds, but *fair* criticism retains credibility, where
>unfair or overly-generalized criticism just turns people away.

Thanks, Mom, but I don't agree with your assessment of my comments as
imprecise or misaimed.  Having been around here for a while, I can recognize
these types within a few articles, and this guy promises to be as looney
as the best of 'em.  Why is it with these people (Lee, Sternlight, take 
your pick) that the crazier the theory, the most attractive it is to them?
It's like they learned what it means to be a scientist by watching science
fiction on TV, and haven't got the foggiest idea of what the scientific
method is.  It's fascinating to watch the first few times, but it gets
real boring after that.


-- 
Steve Dyer
dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com aka {ima,harvard,rayssd,linus,m2c}!spdcc!dyer