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Posts by Benjamin Murphy2

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Who’s actually being arrogant here: the patient showing up at 3 AM to see a doctor for a sore throat—something that isn't going to suddenly turn fatal by sunrise—or the doctor who gets called in, acts grumpy because they’ve been on their feet all day and maybe squeezed in two hours of sleep, yet still manages to do their job.

I remember this one brutal night shift in the infectious disease ward... my colleague and I had been running around like madmen since morning, the clinic was packed, just sprinting back and forth for quick bathroom breaks or a fifteen-minute bite to eat. Then a nurse walks into the exam room and tells me, "Doctor, dinner is served at 7," and right then, the little kid I'm examining looks up at me with this heartbreakingly accusatory tone and says, "But the waiting room is full."

Honestly, my blood was boiling... the only thing keeping me from losing my cool and letting everyone have it was how I was raised. I mean, seriously, what kind of machine runs without fuel? Yet I'm expected to work without food, water, or even a bathroom break until I pass out. Humanity? Where's the humanity for us?

I don't take bribes, even though people have offered me a few times. And I treat every single patient like a human being. Unfortunately, I can't say the same applies to how they treat me. It really stings when I've been accused multiple times of taking kickbacks just because I'm a doctor. Like, where do people get the right to dump their frustrations on me? What does that have to do with anything? For example, I have zero connection to those high-flying cardiac surgeons over in the big metropolitan hospitals. I drive a Korean car, I'm paying off a mortgage that'll last until I'm old, and one of these days I might just snap and break someone's teeth if they accuse me of corruption again.

Don't you see how medical errors are used as a smokescreen to distract from the status quo whenever something goes wrong? They just fill up the pages during pickling season. A friend of mine was convinced that meningococcal sepsis is more common in the summer just because there's more coverage about it in the news. Which is completely contrary to the truth. And how can anyone trust newspapers that call meningocccal a "bacterium"... calling a spherical bacterium a rod shape... which is totally wrong and just amateurish writing.

Exclusivity is a nasty thing. Intolerance is too. Maybe it makes life easier because you don't have to think as much, but it's sad to see how much it's spread. In a country where I've chosen to stay because I love it, even while my friends moved to the States and are making ten times what I am.
Digestive issues in Health ·
Not quite. They still need to eat.
The enterocytes—those little cells lining your gut—rely entirely on whatever's passing through to stay fueled. That’s why even when you've got diarrhea, you can't just stop eating; you still need to hit those macros—carbs, proteins, fats... all of it. The only thing you really want to dodge is high-fiber stuff, heavy spices, or anything that’s going to irritate things further. This diet covers all the bases without kicking the gut while it's down. Honestly, trying to "stop" diarrhea isn't just unnecessary, it can actually be bad news because you're basically trapping the pathogens in there longer. It gives me the chills whenever I see doctors prescribing Seldiar for infectious cases in general practice... 😱
So, you drop a few hundred thousand bucks, grind through med school and biochemistry, buy out a whole lab and an ultrasound machine... then maybe you can finally start playing doctor and diagnosing your own liver issues 😬
Atrial fibrillation (AFib) in Health ·
Scott Allen10 said:It's just an arrhythmia. Mostly benign stuff. As long as the cardiologist runs the tests and rules out anything else weird going on with the heart, you can live a perfectly normal life with this diagnosis... provided you actually listen to what the doctors tell you to do.

I mean, if we aren't talking about blood thinners, the risk of a stroke or heart failure, then it’s really not that dangerous 😬
High cholesterol levels - any advice? in Health ·
Look, you can try playing with your diet, maybe shave about 15-20% off those cholesterol numbers if you're lucky... basically just stay far away from animal fats, eggs, butter, and all that refined sugar junk. But honestly? If your body is just wired to crank out its own cholesterol internally, diet won't do squat... at that point, you're looking at meds.
Linex is a total joke... Honestly. It works sometimes, sure, if you're dealing with a bit of infectious diarrhea, but I don't get it. Why would nervous guts even react to a shift in flora like that? If things get really bad and the diarrhea is hitting hard, just keep some Pepto-Bismol capsules on hand—maybe drink 2 whenever you're headed to the bathroom. But for heaven's sake, don't touch those if you think there's an actual infection brewing.
Something's wrong with my junk in Health ·
Yeah, that’s exactly what clogged pores look like. On the surface of the skin, right? Is there any redness or pain, though?
Weed smoking habits in Health ·
Yeah, but I was so convinced every single red light was on my side of the crosswalk that I almost drove right into... the other side... I just couldn't bring myself to shift gears 😬
Weed smoking habits in Health ·
Yeah, and then getting behind the wheel just to wreck the damn car...
A few months...
Dealing with Megaloblastic Anemia in Health ·
From what I gather, taking B12 orally just doesn't really get absorbed properly anyway, so it shouldn't be causing any real issues... I'm not sure if they even make a B-complex without the B12 included, but you can definitely find B1 or B6 on its own in pill form. I think those used to be around a few years back, too...
banderas, why don't you go ahead and poke around a bit? 🙄
Dealing with Megaloblastic Anemia in Health ·
Jose Miller3 said:http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/e...cle/000567.htm

I figured you probably already stumbled onto this, banderas, but just in case anyone else here hasn't heard of this condition... might be worth a look...

Not really offering much advice here, but looking at the info on that page, it seems like it mostly boils down to a B12 deficiency. I'd guess taking a B-complex regularly might help, especially since there's some weight loss involved too...

Sorry if I'm not being more helpful...

Actually, that wouldn't work. With megaloblastic—or pernicious—anemia, the whole issue is that you're missing the intrinsic factor in the stomach that actually lets your body absorb the B12. That’s why you have to get it via injections...

If it's megaloblastic anemia caused by something else, like part of a more serious underlying illness, then you really have to treat the primary disease first...
I mean, sure, if you drink enough to trigger severe pancreatitis, then your whole pancreas just gives up on you... and at that point, dealing with diabetes becomes one of your much smaller problems...😬
Since alcohol messes with how you process carbs and fats—which are already all over the place when you're dealing with diabetes—it also throws your hunger cues totally out of whack... which just opens the door for hypoglycemia or ketoacidosis. And honestly, that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Weed smoking habits in Health ·
Of course it doesn't lead straight to harder stuff, we aren't those total hacks over at the White House... but look, it’s still harmful. It really is.
Weed smoking habits in Health ·
Sitting here at the university... honestly, I wasn't really feeling it today, and I don't see myself sticking around much longer. Anyway, I have zero interest in breathing in smoke, especially unfiltered junk into my lungs. I’m planning on keeping these things for another seventy years or so 😬 I don't buy into that whole "it's not harmful" nonsense either. How can inhaling smoke possibly be safe, regardless of whether it's The Coca-Cola Company or whatever else? People say "it's natural"... but what does that even mean? At least cigarettes have a filter. Just to be clear, I don't smoke—quit that habit about 6 or 7 years ago because it just grossed me out. I might have a drink at a fancy event, maybe two or three, or a glass of wine with lunch. The older I get, the more I realize I don't actually need any of that stuff... life is interesting enough without artificial stimulation.
well, looks like it isn't 😬
anymore...
really, really bad combo👎
Do vaccines actually work? in Health ·
I don't see why a doctor in LA would know any more than a doctor here in America, especially if the latter just finished their residency in infectious disease. Look, nobody’s stopping you from believing whatever you want... You can believe that Ida Corn Flakes cures tuberculosis for all I care. But here are some facts from the WHO... I happen to have the detailed data on rashes right in front of me, and I'm not making this up.

(Not really sure how to format these posts, so sorry if it looks a bit messy)

Measles case numbers:
1) In the pre-vaccination era

US: 200,000-500,000 annually
America: 25,000 annually

2) After vaccines were introduced:

US: 25,000 annually
America: 9 (2001), 6 (2002)

Consequences of measles: Encephalitis in 1/1,000 cases, mortality rate at 15%, permanent damage (mental disability, deafness...) in 25%
Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) in 1/100,000, mortality 100%
Middle ear infections
Pneumonia
Bronchiolitis

Comparing vaccinated vs. unvaccinated populations:

Unvaccinated Vaccinated

Encephalitis 1/1,000 1/1,000,000
SSPE 1/100,000 0
Mortality 1-3/1,000 0

Measles mortality in developing nations: 5-15%

Vaccine side effects: mild ones like local pain and swelling in up to 20%
Short-term fever in 5-15%
Rash in 2%

Allergic reactions and seizures in predisposed individuals have also been noted in a small number of cases.

Any link to autism, MS, or inflammatory bowel disease has never been proven, despite extensive studies...

In America, the measles vaccination rate is around 93-94%. It takes at least 95% coverage to protect the non-immune population (infants, adults over 25)...

Measles is nearly 100% contagious.

If these aren't clear arguments for vaccination, then I'm out of this debate... it's clearly moved past being rational.