Dear New Doctor,
Before I give you the rundown on everything that seems to be wrong with me, I want you to know I have no interest in prescription painkillers.
I had my tonsils out at 24 and was prescribed liquid hydrocodone and acetaminophen post op. It made me puke violently for days. I ended up dehydrated and delirious on the bathroom floor one Sunday morning. I remember calling my parents before they went to church and asking them to pray for me. I thought I was dying.
When I went to the Carle ER in 2014 with a gall stone but couldn’t be scheduled for surgery for some weeks, I was sent home with a prescription for Percocet. I tried taking one-quarter of the prescribed dosage. Uh, nope. Then after my gallbladder was removed, the surgeon prescribed Norco. I took it for a few...
Lifestyle
Dear Doctors:
I am a female. I have an illness. Because of many of your biases towards young women, women in general, and POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) sufferers, my illness was blamed on anxiety for many years. This not only happens with my particular illness, but with many lesser known and rare illnesses. I am not only speaking to you male doctors who are guilty of this, but the female doctors as well - who have been just as condescending and dismissive as their male counterparts.
My illness is categorized as a dysautonomia. My form of dysautonomia includes POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), and a few others that I am now finally being tested and treated for. It has been an almost decade long journey, and because of this "anxiety bias", I am...
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Dear Amai
I am a graduate of the University of Zimbabwe who was capped by His Excellency the President of Zimbabwe Comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe in person. I am extremely proud of our institution of highest learning.
I know it has produced some of the best quality graduates in the region, whose abilities are highly respected. They have given it a shinning and growing reputation. It is my wish to see that reputation continue to grow. I would not want to see it lowered.
Amai (Mother), I would very much love to congratulate you on your graduation from this prestigious beloved institution of ours. However, before I do that, may I humbly ask for clarity on a few points.
I know that many people who study for degrees at whatever level publicise it, especially if they are prominent...
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Dear UK Parliament and Science and Technology Committee,
I am writing to you about your deliberations on “mitochondrial donation” (also known as 3-parent technology) intended for the purpose of preventing heritable mitochondrial disorders. I am concerned about the Department of Health’s recent draft regulations that would allow 3-parent experiments to go forward and the possibility that the UK Parliament may vote to allow it.
This experimental technology has a noble goal, but in my opinion there are too many unanswered questions and risks that remain to allow it to proceed at this time. In fact, I believe that moving forward with it would most likely be a tragic mistake for the UK.
Who am I and why do I oppose this technology?
I am a stem cell and developmental biology...
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Dear Dr Goldacre,
You recently Tweeted that ‘Peter Hitchens says terrorists are on drugs and in the 1980s would’ve been in asylums’ adding the word ‘Jesus’, which you presumably intended as an expression of shocked disbelief, a sensation you assumed your readers would share.
I had the impression that you stood out for accuracy and careful evaluation, and rather admire you for doing so. Have you held to your own standards here?
Here are the ways in which your Tweet is inaccurate and/or misleading:
First, the timing. By the use of the present tense ‘says’ you imply (and in my view either intend your readers to believe, or don’t care if they do believe) that I am referring to Wednesday’s murders in Paris. You know perfectly well that I was not.
The...
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Dear Dr. Nye,
I have read with interest your recent apology concerning the job description for trainee therapists in Liverpool which has, as you put it, "caused distress and offence to patients".
This is one M.E. sufferer who is unable to accept your apology.
Firstly, although at first glance you appear to have expressed regret for this particular job description, all you have actually apologised for is one aspect:
"information stating that therapists might be exposed to verbal aggression from 'some clients with CFS'".
You say, "As the Clinical Lead ultimately responsible for the job description I apologise unreservedly for this statement (though I was not aware of the wording until after the document had been released)."
I put it to you that, as the person "ultimately...
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Dear Dr. Drew,
Please stop helping! You’re helping too much!
I read this morning that not only has your show Celebrity Rehab, in which you so generously exploit help semi-famous, fully-embarrassed people in their most desperate hour of need out of nothing but the narcissism goodness of your heart, and your dedication to being constantly on TV at any cost the most helpful, been picked up for a third season, but that you are also getting a new, even more exploitative and self-serving super-helpful show, Sex Rehab. From Reuters:
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – VH1 has ordered eight episodes of “Sex Rehab With Dr. Drew,” a series where the addiction-medicine specialist treats a group with sex compulsion issues.
In “Sex Rehab,” Dr. Drew Pinsky will treat a group in Los Angeles...
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Dear Mr President,
First, please pardon me Your Excellency for writing you at this tense political moment in our country history, a time when you have serious political campaigning to do.Obviously this is not the best time to write this kind of letters but I feel compelled to write after the postponement of the general elections and the backlash that followed.
Wherever I have travelled, be it in Africa or overseas, the first question people asked as soon as I have introduced myself as a Nigerian is, “How is corruption in Nigeria?”This is a question that always confuses me regarding what the various questioners really want to know about the country.It is also a question that often steals the limelight from me, as people seemingly want to know more about the level of corruption and...
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Dear family doctors,
As the only clinic currently empowered by the Ministry of Health to make candidate recommendations for sex reassignment surgeries, we are managing increasing demands with very limited staff resources. At this time, our wait list is a year long to be seen.
We are encouraging you as family doctors to conduct your own assessments for hormone therapy (HT), working in partnership with other professionals and organizations as necessary. There are a number of excellent resources that might help you.
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) publishes the Standards of Care which walks one through the diagnostic criteria for Gender Identity Disorder, as well as the other considerations for eligibility and readiness. These guidelines are...
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Dear Premier Wynne,
January 28, 2015 - Ontario’s Doctors were extremely disappointed to read your incorrect comment as reported in the Sudbury Star over the weekend regarding our recent negotiations with your government. And we felt, to be fair to patients, we needed to reach out to correct the record.
Ontario’s Doctors are supportive of the government investing in more positions and more services. We have a growing, aging and increasingly complex group of patients here in this province and an investment in health care would be a good one for Ontarians. In fact, as 140,000 new patients enter and put pressure on the system every year and, currently, 900,000 still do not have a family doctor your investment in health care growth is imperative.
This investment includes funding...
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