Next 15 Columns

Anyone Want To Own a Ranch?
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

“But how did you pay for the $250,000 treatment” I asked one of my patients? To my surprise she replied, “I applied and received a grant from the Canadian government”. This huge sum of money shocked me. What amazed me more, as a taxpayer, was the money’s destination, Arizona. I decided to find out what treatment is worth $250,000 in the U.S. And, who says our government is stingy with medical care!

My patient’s teenage daughter was suffering from Anorexia Nervosa and various treatments, including those at the Hospital For Sick Children (HSC) in Toronto, had failed to cure this psychological disease. Now, doctors at HSC had referred her to The Remuda Ranch in Arizona, a live-in facility where she would be treated for several months. 

Drugging Children, A Cruel Sign of The Times
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

Would I allow Ritalin or other similar drugs to be prescribed to my children because they fidgeted, squirmed in their seat or were inattentive? Hell would freeze over a thousand times before I’d submit to such idiocy. But today an estimated five million Canadian and U.S. children are prescribed medication for this condition.

This year, a committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded that a “black box” warning should be placed on ADHD medications, warning about heart attack and other risks. It’s the strongest warning possible before a drug is removed from the market. A second advisory panel disagreed so no decision has been reached.

Would Clint Eastwood Admit to a Crying Jag?
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

How much equality is there between the sexes? In recent years women have made strides in their struggle to gain equality with men. But surprisingly in one area men are getting the short end of the stick. Today the majority of people being treated for depression are women. The majority of men, however, suffer silently from undiagnosed and untreated depression. Why the gender bias in this case? And how can wives and families recognize this problem and urge men to accept treatment?

Eight Ways To Beat Stress In 2006
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

Voltaire was right when he wrote, “Most men live lives of quiet desperation”. As we enter another year, desperation seems to be getting worse. Escalating violence in Iraq, concerns about increasing crime in our cities, political corruption and headlines warning us of the dangers of prescription drugs confront us daily. So all the more reason to consider 10 non-prescription ways to help you relax in 2005.

ASTHMA AND HOUSEHOLD PETS
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

Today an unprecedented number of children are being treated for asthma. Eight million in Canada and the U.S. under the age of 17 have been diagnosed as asthmatic. During the 1970’s the prevalence of asthma increased 58 per cent in children between 6 to 11 years of age. And the number of deaths per year among children under 14 doubled from 1979 to 1985. Why are children dying from asthma today? And can parents of asthmatic children help them?

Stress You Get Paid For
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

It appears there are epidemics and there are epidemics. Few of us will forget the anxiety and economic loss this country suffered during the SARS outbreak. Now reports indicate we face another one. It’s a disease that strikes the brain with profound effects on some and leaves others unscathed.

Recent reports say that thousands of ex-soldiers, some of whom haven’t even been in conflict zones, are receiving disability pensions for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Soldiers claim they suffer from anxiety, depression, insomnia and have nightmares when they relive traumatic events. And often they seek refuge in alcohol and drugs.

REMEMBER-fX: The Smart Pill
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

Will a pill make you less befuddled next time you try to master the controls of your new digital camera? Will it make you as intelligent computer-wise as your 10-year-old child? Are you continually losing your keys and glasses, feeling less alert and concerned about Alzheimer’s Disease?

A U.S study involving 750 average people showed that memory impairment affects the majority of people over 40 years of age. Now Canadian scientists claim they’ve developed a super ginseng pill, called “Remember-fX”, that prevents us all from “losing it”.

Fighter Pilots and a Yankee Centenarian
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

What makes for a long and happy life? A talk at The Harvard Medical School about fighter pilots provided one answer. And a recent trip to celebrate my wife’s aunt’s 100th birthday provided another one. Part of the solution is how you read the following; “happinessisnowhere.”

“Wow, what a lady!” was my reaction when I visited Aunt Tat at 97 years of age. At the time she was troubled only by a “little” arthritis. I jokingly told her I had a good cure for this problem. My prescription? An occasional nip of Bailey’s Original Irish Cream sherry would ease the pain. Smiling at me , she slowly reached behind her chair and pulled out a bottle of Bailey’s Irish Cream! A sense of humour has obviously helped her reach 100.

Lincoln and Churchill Lived Lives of Quiet Desperation
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

Abraham Lincoln once wrote, “ I am the most miserable man alive. To remain as I am is impossible. I must die or get better.” Winston Churchill echoed the same reaction when he told his doctor, “ I don’t like to stand by the side of a ship and look down into the water. A second’s action would end everything. Is much known about worry, Charles?”

Today, Lord Charles Moran, Churchill’s physician, could answer, “Yes, Winston, we now know a good deal more about depression and what’s called “Generalized Anxiety Disorder” (GAD). This is good news for the millions of North Americans from all walks of life who, like Lincoln and Churchill, live lives of quiet desperation.

Everything Is Black
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

So far we have not had an earthquake in Canada. I’m almost afraid to mention it! As Shakespeare wrote, “When troubles come, they come not single spies but in battalions.” He could have been writing about Canada’s problems of SARS, Mad Cow Disease and The West Nile Virus. So I can’t imagine a better topic than depression when so many of us are thinking “Why, God, have you done this to our country?”

Art Buchwald, the noted humorist, suffered from depression. He wrote about it, “Everything was black. The trees were black, the road was black. You can’t believe how the colours change until you have it. It’s scary.”

Demolition Drivers Could Save Us Billions of Dollars
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

How much whiplash pain is in the mind and how much in the neck? It’s an important question because a huge amount of money is involved. And it comes out of everyone’s pocket. This year the diagnosis, treatment, litigation and insurance payments of whiplash complaints will cost North Americans 29 billion dollars. Now, a fascinating report about demolition drivers separates fact from fiction. It could be of use to defense lawyers.

Depression, Brutus Right or Wrong?
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

In 2004, how much depression will be due to the perilous times in which we live? How much due to genetics? A reader recently asked this interesting question.

Julius Caesar once counseled Brutus that “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves.” Others would argue that today’s complex environment triggers increased depression in society. Who is right? 

The Dangers of Tongue Piercing
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

Why in the name of Heaven do they do it? And the locations? One of the first rings I encountered in my office was in the belly button. The next one in a very intimate part of the female anatomy. That’s the one that made my white hair stand on end. Then others began to appear in the lips, cheeks , nose and tongue. Now several reports indicate that placing a ring in the tongue can trigger life-threatening complications.

Drs. Richard Martinet and Elizabeth Cooney are infectious disease specialists at Yale University . They recently reported on one 22 year old woman who got more than she bargained for after tongue piercing. 

Can You Pass This Test?
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

I’ve often wondered who the most interesting person was of all those I’ve interviewed over the last 27 years? It’s a tough decision. After all, how do you eliminate a two-time Nobel Prize winner like Linus Pauling? Or the discoverer of the Aids virus? Or The Queen of England’s personal physician. But in these recent black days my mind has returned repeatedly to Dr. Thomas Hackett, a professor of psychiatry at The Harvard Medical School. In these post-Bin Laden times, see if you flunk or pass this quiz.

“Pinocchio Syndrome”
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

Is he or she lying or giving you the straight facts? During 2002 knowing the difference can be mighty important. It can prevent some people from buying a Florida swamp. Or voting for the wrong politician. Or knowing who is friend or foe. So is there any medical way to judge whether someone is lying between his teeth?

Dr Alan Hirsch from the department of Neurology and Psychiatry at the Rush Presbyterian-St. Lukes medical Centre in Chicago says there is.

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