THOUGHTS from The HEADoc

The HEADoc has made the decision to concede. . . 

from his 4 month one on one campaign of taming nature which he referred to as a challenging but enlightening experience that had therapeutic benefits in all 3 spheres of mental, spiritual, and physical health. The most devastating blow to the campaign surprisingly was not the 2 fires or the constant myalgia but turned out to be the escalating effects of the imminently approaching scorching summer sun in conjunction with multiple chigger bites in uncomfortable places and finally a tiny deer tick found attached with the characteristic bulls eye rash that often precedes Lyme’s disease. The HEADoc did learn that all ticks don’t carry the pathogen but even when infection occurs it is usually completely curable if treated with a course of doxycycline or amoxicillin for 3 weeks.

Joe Thomas’ Land Clearing of Silk Hope, NC was contacted for relief and brought in the Bull Dozer and Track Hoe. In 2 days time 2 acres were completely cleared, a task that would have required perhaps a year of Saturdays for the HEADoc to complete alone, were he to actually survive the ordeal. The HEADoc states that if he had it to do all over again, that except for a blunder or two, he would choose the same course of action. He found a certain sense of satisfaction in reconnecting physically with a place of so many cherished memories from a different time period. Talks with his mother, who is the last living member of her generation of the family are more special now than if a contractor were just hired to have done the job from start to finish. So Operation Land Clear has been deemed a success.

 The cat is back home, calm again and grounded for life. The HEADoc was scolded by a commenter for never having her spayed. The HEADoc will accept that responsibility and accountability. He understands that it is the right thing to do since this is his 6th time adopting cats and all the previous pets were sterilized properly except one who got pregnant at 10 months of age. Maybe it’s a Freudian thing, and The HEADoc understands the word humane but just the thought of cutting out reproductive organs can be quite repulsive. I suppose it must be viewed as a necessary evil.

 The HEADoc received 8 hours of Continuing Medical Education on Saturday, May 17th in the area of Buprenorphine treatment for opioid addiction. Not that The HEADoc needs any more chemically dependent patients, but he just needs to be prepared in the latest techniques for managing this condition. Two of three case discussions involved cocaine abusers, and The HEADoc made his strong felt disdain and negative counter-transference for many crack users well known among some of the top experts in the country from Boston . There were some nice academic discussions and the naïve individuals present allowed their hearts to bleed a bit, but the ultimate answer was to define your limits of how far to go with patients who cannot comply with treatment agreements or with the law. The HEADoc draws the line at telling lies and smoking crack, although that is usually a package deal and the lying is actually worse than the crack.

  Basically no one has an effective and practical solution for handling most of these refractory crack and crystal meth addicts who choose not to sincerely seek rehabilitation but thrive on manipulation and deception. Their brains have been so badly damaged that oblivious self destruction is hardwired into their behavior. The HEADoc’s policy will continue to be to identify and dismiss ASAP allcrack users who won’t admit to having a problem with using crack, for it is pure insanity for a doctor to try and treat such a person without effective extended support.

Posted on Mon, May 19, 2008 at 11:40AM by HEADoc in Real Life Story | Post a Comment | Email | Print