Tag: health

Aspirin – Coated or Naked – Does it Matter?

Aspirin is often used to prevent heart attacks and strokes. Patients usually take an 81 mg (baby aspirin) or 325 mg (regular strength) pill. It also comes in plain, enteric coated, or buffered. Enteric coated aspirin is often recommended to decrease the risk of ulcers, the idea being that it doesn’t dissolve until it gets past the stomach, though there is limited evidence that it really makes a difference.

Another concern over the past decade is that some patients may be resistant to aspirin, and perhaps needed to be on more expensive medications, such as Plavix (clopidogrel), which recently went generic, though is still pricier than aspirin.

Now a new study from the University of Pennsylvania, published in the magazine Circulation, questioned the idea of aspirin resistance, and said that some patients who did not respond to the coated aspirin did respond to plain aspirin. But that does not mean you should conclude that taking coated aspirin may put you at increased risk for a heart attack.

This study looked at 400 health volunteers and gave them a single 325 mg dose of aspirin, either plain or coated, and measured the chemical cyclooxygenase-1 to see if it worked. If they appeared “resistant” then they gave one week each of coated 81 mg aspirin and clopidogrel. Although 49% of the volunteers did not respond to the single aspirin, they all responded to the daily dosing.

So the bottom line is if you take a coated aspirin every day, you probably don’t need to be concerned about it not working. If you don’t regularly take aspirin, but experience chest pain, after you call 911, take a plain aspirin, and preferably chew it to speed absorption. If you only have coated aspirin, it should work just as well if you chew it. Coated aspirin, made by Bayer and other manufacturers, are a little more expensive than plain aspirin, but are still fairly inexpensive.

Dangers of a Transparent Medical Record

Over the years there has been a push to allow more patient access to their records. Patients in our system that have signed up for MyChart with our electronic medical record Epic, can see most of their test results shortly after they are back, even if not yet reviewed by the physician who ordered them.

To avoid patients misinterpreting or reacting badly to the results, certain tests, such as HIV and pathology, are not automatically released. Although releasing the results automatically acts as a safeguard for abnormal results that may have been missed by the physician, it also opens the possibility of patients inappropriately acting on the results.

I’ve had patients make changes in their medications after seeing their results, and without even discussing it with me until their next visit. One patient who saw that his sleep study showed he had sleep apnea, borrowed a friends extra CPAP machine, adjusted the settings based on his research on the internet, then tried it out for 2 weeks!

As the saying goes, a little knowledge can be dangerous. Patients should use the information in their charts to inform them, and help ask educated questions, but not to replace their physician. There is often a lot more to making a diagnosis and deciding on a treatment than just looking at test results.

Chiropractic Care

I have a confession. Last year I went to a chiropractor for the first time. I had been having some neck and sacroiliac pain. I went to a massage therapist a few times. Although it felt good, especially for the neck, it didn’t seem to last more than a few weeks at most. Anti-inflammatory medications only gave temporary relief. Thus I was interested in trying something else, particularly when I started having some acute left sacroiliac pain that made it difficult to move around at times. I also had intermittent low back pain, left trochanteric bursitis, knee pain and plantar fasciitis. In Timothy Ferriss’s interesting book, The 4-Hour Body, he recommended active release techniques and a Functional Movement Screen (FMS), which I was curious about and thought might help. When I looked into it more, I found that these were pretty much only offered by chiropractors.

Physicians are trained to be scientific, and tend to dismiss what is called alternative, complementary, or allopathic medicine, including homeopathy, naturopathy, chiropractic, and traditional Chinese medicine. I wanted some relief from my symptoms, and I was also curious about what chiropractors do, so I decided to go there, rather that to physical therapy. Patients often ask me what I think about going to a chiropractor, but I had no personal experience. I justified to myself that it would be like a journalistic endeavor, which it sort of is, now that I’m blogging about it.

I purposely chose a clinic about 12 miles from my office. As I pulled into the parking lot I had second thoughts. I felt like I was breaking a taboo. Even though I figured it was unlikely I would be seen by a patient or anyone else I knew, I looked around before getting out of the car. That evening I told my wife not to tell anyone that I had gone to see a chiropractor.

Fifteen minutes after my scheduled appointment time the chiropractor came out to the waiting room, addressed me by my first name, and said she would be out shortly after reviewing my chart. She was young and attractive and had graduated about two years earlier. She came back and said, “I guess I should be calling you Dr. Ginsberg”. We went back to an exam room and she took a thorough history of the various pains I had. She asked about duration, severity, onset, exacerbating factors and prior injuries. She asked if I’d ever been to a chiropractor before and I said no. She said I was her first also (physician patient)! She asked me about my practice. When I complained about the paperwork, she pointed to her desk and said she has the same problem. Like a lot of doctors fresh out of school, she also had a lot of debt.

Next she did a very thorough musculoskeletal and neurological exam, other than checking cranial nerves and cerebellar function. Her range of motion and testing of strength and sensation reminded me of what I used to do as a medical student and intern, but now often shortcut. She discussed active release techniques then did some, including the Graston Technique. She asked if I was willing to have adjustments and I expressed some hesitation, particularly having it done to the neck. She said had no I had no red flags and that she did did this maybe 20 times a day. I initially agreed to let her adjust my back. After twisting me like a pretzel and throwing on her weight, causing a not unpleasant popping sensation in my back, she told me, “You just had your first adjustment.”

She then did more active release technique on my back, using a special table that moved,  making my back flex and extend. Then she did an adjustment on my mid and perhaps upper back.  She asked if I wanted to have my neck done, and reminded me of the decreased range of motion I had on one side. I thought about my patients who refused medications for their cholesterol or diabetes for fear of side effects, despite my recommendations, so I reluctantly agreed to trust her expertise. I was a bit nervous and she had to tell me me to relax. It was not especially uncomfortable when she twisted my head suddenly, but I had visions of a farmer breaking a chicken’s neck and I hoped I would not becoming a quadriplegic. Thankfully that did not come to pass.

We talked a little about the traditional distrust physicians have of chiropractors. She said some people just need a quick adjustment, but admitted that 75% of people come in with problems that are due to underlying muscle weakness or imbalance, and that they won’t fix the problem without addressing the issue. She said unfortunately some chiropractors don’t deal with this and only do adjustments. She knew one who had the same patient penciled in for every Friday at the same time for a year.

She said to return, preferably within 3 to 5 days, though I made it a little later due to my schedule, to have another treatment and a Functional Movements Systems evaluation.

I couldn’t really tell a difference after the first session. She warned me I might be sore at first, but I was not. Although massage may help various body aches and pains, I suspect many people like it for the therapeutic touch. I was surprised that chiropractic was similar, and I suspect that’s part of the reason for its popularity.

I later returned for another appointment. I underwent their own functional performance exam with one of the trainers. They said it was more thorough then the Functional Movement Screen. I later found out that FMS is a widely marketed system, for which chiropractors and others pay a lot to get certified, but that’s a different story.  In any case, the trainer said that I did pretty well, but was particularly weak in my medial glutes, which surprised me.  He recommended at least setting up an appointment to set me up with a home exercise program as I said coming in for regular treatments would be difficult.

Next I had another session with the chiropractor. She again did Active Release Techniques and adjustments. She was unable to adjust my neck as I involuntarily tensed up. I asked her why insurance companies require referrals for physical therapy but not chiropractic. She said it’s because chiropractors can make diagnoses.

I returned one more time to work on various exercises. Although I’ve exercised at the gym for decades, I started incorporating some of the exercises the trainer taught me, and I’ve had very little sacroiliac pain since then.

Scientific data showing the benefit of chiropractic care for back pain is sparse. Recently an article showed benefit in chiropractic care for neck pain, but another showed potential risk.

So what do I tell patients now about chiropractors? For neck and back pain I still preferentially refer patients for physical therapy. If patients ask about getting chiropractic treatment, I  am now less likely to object, assuming they don’t have a medical condition that would make it riskier, but I caution them about getting neck adjustments.  Just like physicians, not all chiropractors are equally skilled. A good chiropractor probably does a better job evaluating back pain than most primary care physicians, but watch out for those who over treat. Most importantly don’t take the lazy approach of just getting, “adjustments,” but do the work to correcting muscle weaknesses that often cause the problem.

Making the Affordable Care Act Individual Mandate Work

The Supreme Court has ruled that most of the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, is constitutional.

In order to provide affordable care to all, insurance companies need the healthy to pay premiums, and not just the people who will use a lot of health care resources. In order to try and ensure this, Congress gave a penalty for those who don’t purchase an insurance plan. The problem is that the penalty is far less than the cost of insurance, and the only way they can even force you to pay is if you are getting a tax refund, in which case they can deduct the fine. So someone could elect to go without insurance, and, whether or not they pay the fine, just sign up if they need it. If enough people did that, the plan would not be sustainable. The penalty is $695, and up to $2085/year or 2.5% of income for a family, though it’s lower the first two years. A healthy individual might decide $695/year for no insurance is a better deal than $2000/year for insurance they don’t think they need.

So I propose a solution. Congress could pass a law saying that if someone does not get and maintain insurance within 1 year of when it becomes mandatory, and if they elect to get it later, they will be responsible for the first $10,000 or so expenses they sustain within the next 3 months of applying for insurance. If they get in a major accident or discover a lump that turns out to be cancer, they will still be able to get care and not be burdened with medical expenses that could easily far exceed $10,000. But for those considering going without insurance, even that would be a tough bill to pay.

Of course even now people go without insurance because they feel they can’t afford it. Although that could still apply after the Affordable Care Act goes into effect, the calculations change. Just as a poker player will adjust their bet depending on the size of the pot, I believe consumers would do the same. Instead of a cost of $2000/year versus $0, it would be $2000 versus $695, for example. Thus the cost of going without insurance in this example would drop from $2000 down to $1305 after paying the penalty (or tax, depending on your point of view). Balancing the benefits of having insurance and the risks of not having it, I think more people would elect to get insured with this plan.

Ask the Doc: Human Growth Hormone

On this site I’m unable to answer patient specific questions, but as time permits, may answer questions of a general interest.

Question:

I have been working out with a personal trainer with weight training and have been doing running on my own. I have been getting much stronger although I haven’t lost much weight. I asked the trainer why it takes longer to recover from a strenuous session at age 66 than it did when I was younger. She said that as we get older we have very little HGH in our system and that a small dose of HGH would help me recover quicker and she could push me harder. Would a small dose of HGH be beneficial for training? I know that testosterone creams etc. have a lot of side effects which are not good but how about HGH?

Answer:

Human Growth Hormone, or HGH, is a hormone that regulates growth, and decreases with age, as well as from obesity. It is one of many factors why, all other things equal,  66-year-olds aren’t as strong or fast, or recover as quickly, as when they were younger. With age lung function gradually declines, the cardiovascular system is less robust, testosterone levels fall in men, etc. In one of his movies, Warren Miller said something like, “If a 40-year-old says they sky as well as when they were 20, they are either lying, or they weren’t very good when they were 20!”

Human Growth Hormone is only approved by the FDA in limited circumstances, not including the normal decline with aging, and it’s expensive. It probably does build muscle, and for this reason is banned by the Olympics and some other sports institutions. It also has potential side effects.

Getting adequate sleep, regular exercise, eating healthy, and managing stress, are the most important things you can do to boost your growth hormone and improve your endurance.

Cruise Health

As I wrote about last time, I attended the ACP Internal Medicine 2012 meeting in New Orleans. Afterwards my wife and I took a cruise on the Carnival Conquest ship that left from New Orleans and stopped at the ports of Cozumel, Jamaica and Grand Caymen.

On the first day of the cruise there is a mandatory safety briefing on deck where they discuss such things as how to board the lifeboats in the event of an emergency. The announcer appropriately discussed the importance of washing hands, but incorrectly said, “the hotter the better.” When it comes to washing your hands, cold water works as well as hot water, except that if it’s cold, people won’t wash their hands as long because it’s uncomfortable. The same is true if the water is too hot. Thus warm water is recommended.

We took an excursion to see the Mayan ruins of Tulum near Cozumel, Mexico. Before leaving the ship we were warned not drink the local water. Near the ruins in a tourist shopping center I was tempted to eat at a Häagen-Dazs ice cream stand. I figured the ice cream was safe, but I worried about the water used to clean the scoops. It was probably safe, but I didn’t want to take a chance.

Obesity is a common problem in the United States and elsewhere, and is particularly a problem in the South. This was reflected in the passengers having embarked in New Orleans. Although people understandably eat excessively on a cruise, to which I’ll take the 5th Amendment, there are opportunities to do some healthy things on a cruise. I took advantage of their gym and exercised every day, though few did. Most of the time half the people exercising were crew members.

While looking for something else, I happened to walk by an ongoing talk on Secrets To A Flatter Stomach. I sat down and listened. The speaker was a personal trainer, certified by the Australian Institute of Fitness. He was buff, which automatically makes one feel he knows what he’s talking about. In fact his advice on exercise and nutrition was sound, and he did a great job explaining things. He then talked about detox and the need to get rid of toxic water trapped around fat. They invited people to sign up for a 1 hour personal analysis and consultation at a 2 for 1 special of $35. I spoke with the speaker’s colleague, a man from Scotland, and also buff. I asked if they would be repeating the lecture as I thought my wife would enjoy hearing it. He said he would cover the same material at the consultation, and more, and do an analysis with equipment not available in the United States (this model is available in the US and seems close to the 310e V8.0 they used). I was skeptical about the detox, but the cost was pretty low so I signed up.

At our meeting he first had us fill out questionnaires about our health, including what medications we were taking and why. I purposely didn’t answer the question about occupation, but admitted I was a physician when he later asked. He then went on to tell me he had a BSC degree in Sports Science from the University of West of Scotland, which he said was about equivalent to a physician in the United States. It’s not. He ran a bio-electrical impedance test attaching an electrode to the ankle and wrist. Running a very low voltage and current, that you cannot feel, through the body, it calculates body fat, lean body weight, body water and metabolic rate. The calculations require the body weight, which he asked about, but did not measure (towards the end of a cruise the actual weight is likely to be significantly higher than the stated weight!). Although the equipment he used may not be available in the US, it’s similar to the Tanita bathroom scale I have at home. My device calculates body fat, though you have to do your own calculations to derive the other numbers, and the results he obtained were very similar to my results at home.

He said I needed to lose 6.1 lbs of fat, and admitted I was among the healthiest he had tested on the cruise, but that I also had  12.5 lbs of toxic water to remove. According to his handout, that put me in the level of, “High levels of accumulative toxic waste circulating the cells of the body. Damage to Liver and Kidneys apparent. Weight gain is inevitable. Degeneration of joints and muscle tissue. High Blood Pressure / High cholesterol.” He recommended a 3 month detox program for $300. Most people, “needed” a 6 month program, which consisted of two 3 month cycles, and some needed a year’s worth. They would then do a 3 month cycle every few years or so depending, less often if following a healthy diet. My credit card would be charged that day, and the product shipped the next, so we could get started on it as soon as we returned home. The products are supposed to cleans the digestive tract, kidneys and liver. They contain various herbal products, algae, plantain seeds for fiber, and a low dose thyroid product of some sort, and one is also supposed to eat alkaline forming foods. I was naturally skeptical. He claimed that his analysis showed that I needed detoxification because I had problems with my cholesterol. He said that with his device he didn’t need to do blood tests. How did he know about my cholesterol problem? Because I told him! Actually it’s not that much of a problem, but I try to be proactive.

He said that evening there would be a nutrition class, but only for those who signed up. He encouraged me to sign up for the detox, but said he wasn’t worried because they get 60 people per week to sign up. While we were talking he was interrupted by someone asking if a person could be signed up for a consultation, even though his schedule was full.  He said he would let us think about it while he took care of something. The class was later held in the gym in a glass walled off section. I counted 19 attendees. To show the legitimacy of the program, he said his company contracts with Carnival and other cruise lines to offer the program, and has been in business for years. I asked for clinical study references to support detoxification. He said he could give it to me, but not until after I signed up. I declined.

If you take a cruise, try to get in some exercise, if nothing more than some extra walking. I advise you to save your money and not spend it on a detox program, and don’t forget your sunscreen.

Ask the Doc: Statins and Exercise

On this site I’m unable to answer patient specific questions, but as time permits, may answer questions of a general interest.

Question:

Let me know what you think of this article. Strenuous exercise has not seemed to bother me taking Lipitor 20 mg for several years. However, I am wondering about the effects on my muscles as I am currently ramping up exercise both running and weight lifting. Will enough exercise improve my cholesterol level enough to quit taking Lipitor? Long term effects of Lipitor? I don’t know.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/do-statins-make-it-tough-to-exercise/

Answer:

As the article points out, about 10% of people may experience muscle aches from taking statin medications such as Lipitor. It referenced an article that showed that rats were not able to exercise as long if taking atorvastatin (Lipitor), and they showed increased oxidative stress and problems with mitochondria, cell’s powerhouses.

You should always be careful when evaluating animal studies, as they may not apply to humans. Given other data, however, it would not be surprising if there was a similar problem in people who exercise and take statins.

The questions is what to do. As with most medications, one needs to balance the risks versus the benefits. Statins clearly save lives, but the degree of benefit depends on one’s risk. The more cardiovascular risk factors one has (hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol), smoking, family history, etc.), the more one has to gain from medication, and the more likely I would recommend patients tolerate side effects if we couldn’t come up with a better option. For someone at relatively low risk, a statin may not be worth taking if causing side effects.

I certainly always advocate diet and exercise to manage problems with cholesterol and triglycerides (fats). The problem is that for most people, it’s easier said than done, and people either just don’t make sufficient changes, or they don’t maintain them. Also for some people, their genetics are just too strong. With the wrong genes you may have a high cholesterol despite being thin, eating vegetarian, and exercising regularly.

Another option is to take coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) or ubiquinone if you are taking a statin. It’s known that statins decrease this enzyme in the mitochondria and it may be the reason statins cause muscle pain and weakness. It is not proven to work, though the supplements appear to be safe. A study in Japan showed that pitavastatin (Livalo) did not decrease coenzyme Q10 nearly as much as atorvastatin (Lipitor). Whether it causes less muscle problems is unknown at this time.

For patients that I feel need medications to lower their cholesterol, yet are unable to tolerate a statin, or refuse to take one, I offer other alternatives, such as niacin (Niaspan, Endur-Acin, Slo-Niacin), colesevelam (WelChol) or ezetimibe (Zetia). There are pros and cons for each option. Sometimes people tolerate one statin, and not another, or may do better with a combination of a low dose statin and another agent.

So there’s no easy answer to your question. Different patients have different solutions.

Rush to Judgement

Conservative radio show host Rush Limbaugh recently launched an attack on Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke. She had testified to house Democrats in support of mandates to provide contraceptive care in insurance plans. On his show two days later, Rush Limbaugh said that Ms. Fluke  was asking for taxpayers to pay her to have sex, and that made her a, “prostitute”.

Others have chimed in that contraception is a lifestyle choice and society shouldn’t have to pay for it.  Whether or not you believe women have the right to get an abortion, it’s a flawed argument. By the same reasoning, insurance shouldn’t cover heart attacks, strokes or cancer if the person smoked or was obese. It’s one thing to incentive healthy behavior, but Rush Limbaugh’s attack is either not well thought out in regards to its health care implications, it’s misogynistic, or it’s politically motivated.