Georgiou’s Top 10 Chats
June 10th, 2010
By Archelle Georgiou. Every week, after the Fox segment, viewers can “click on the yellow chat bar” and ask me questions online. They can ask any health related question they want, even if its unrelated to the topic I covered on the air.
So, what do people ask a TV doctor? Since my blogs topics have been a little heavy lately…I thought I’d lighten it up a little by sharing the ten funniest or most interesting questions I’ve received over the last two years.
A preamble….
• I am not disclosing confidential patient information. These conversations occur in an online, open chat room.
• The viewers’ chats are verbatim….including the spelling.
• I try to respond to every single question online with evidence-based information. But, in the spirit of brevity, I didn’t include many of my responses in this blog. Too long and too clinical. Instead, I included my “editorial comments” to offer some perspective and food for thought.
OK…here are Dr. G’s Top 10
1) Michelle: “this is rather emabarrassing but lately everytime I have a bowel movement I get super nauseous and end up throwing up. Its absolutely miserable. Please help!”
Editorial Comment: Viewers ask me questions that they are too embarrassed to ask their doctor. One of the saddest interactions was with a woman who was pulling her hair out, due to trichotillomania, and had become reclusive at home.
2) Charles: “I have a problem…That I need help wit. I weigh about ummm around 215 and I was wondering what is the best kind of workouts or diest to help me lose weight….”
Dr. Georgiou: “How tall are you?”
Charles: “Um around 5″8′”
Dr. Georgiou: “Charles, based on your height, your BMI is 32.7. This puts you in the obese category. So, the approach to weight loss that has the most credibility and success is Weight Watchers which combines diet, exercise, accountability, and social support.
Charles: “So what your saying is im fat….”
Editorial Comment: Yup! I am amazed at how often people convince themselves that the BMI definitions of overweight and obesity don’t apply to them.
3) Nicole1855: “is it bad when someone sits on you and it is hard to breath because i am only 10 years old and my mom sits on me but lightly”
Dr. Georgiou: “Nicole, why does your mom sit on you?”
Nicole1855: “cuz my mom wants to sit where i am sitting doc. She wants to use the light”
Editorial Comment: Chatters must be at least 16 years old to participate. While I should have stopped chatting with her when I found out she was ten, I asked her a few more questions to determine whether this was a case of child abuse.
4) Brian: ” Are haunted houses healthy to go to?”
Editorial Comment: Brian is a regular, and I can always count on him to ask me questions I’ve never quite thought of before. It’s been heart warming to develop online relationships with other viewers. Shellback is a heart transplant recipient who ended up being a guest on a FoxHealth segment, and Heidi Jo asked me to edit her letter to the Surgeon General. The ones that make me cry are those who have desperately asked for insight on behalf of a family member and then take the time to share news of their loss with me.
5) Mom: “My son only has one eye due to retinoblastoma and he wants to watch the new 3D movies. Is it possible for him to see 3D with the new glasses?”
Editorial Comment: While some questions may seem trivial, they simply reflect how important it is to feel “normal.” In this case, this mom just wanted to get some reassurance that her young son who had an eye cancer might could experience the joys of being a regular kid.
6) Vanessa “Does a dr. ever have the right to yell at a patient?”
Editorial Comment: No, and I am astounded that patients continue to be intimidated by doctors and look for advice on how to interact and communicate.
7) Jill: “My husband snores all the time. He says he doesn’t. I have also thought he has sleep apnea and should maybe have a sleep study. The last 2 nights have been horrible. I’m thinking about getting my own room or the couch. I have looked for the video of your segment from this morning and cannot find it. Where can i locate this on the site?”
Editorial Comment: It universal…snoring and sex are the two most common complaints women have about their spouses.
8)In-dispare: “my husband and I are trying to have a child. my husband has problems staying erect more than 3 minutes. the doctors said he has ED and can’t help him. what can we do? please help.”
Dr. Georgiou: “Have you seen a specialist in reproductive medicine or a urologist?”
in-dispare: “No. All the tests we went thru came from recommendation by our fam. doc and whoever else he sent us to. How do we go about getting to a rep med spec or urologist?”
Dr. Georgiou: “TELL (don’t ask) your doctor to give you a referral.”
Editorial Comment: Many viewers don’t know where or how to get the care they need. In many cases, they do not feel empowered to ask questions, demand answers and advocate for themselves.
9) Richelle: “low sex driv”
Dr. Georgiou: “Richelle, do you have a specific question?”
Richelle: “I have epilepsy, could my meds have anything to do with my low sex drive? I also believe the sexual abuses I have gone thru in my life could have something to do with it. What do you think? My last abuse was by my father 6 years ago, he was drunk and forced sex on me, I cried the whole time, I have been abused by so many, started at age 5.”
Editorial Comment: Sometimes, there isn’t a question to answer. People just need a safe, anonymous place to vent.
10) George: “Hi doc. I just lost 60 pounds. And I am just wondering….where did all the weight go? Did I poop it out?”
Editorial Comment: Needed to end on a light note! I am still laughing.
The online chat is the highlight of each week. It is a chance to interact with real people who have real questions about their health. It is also a continuous reminder that we have a dizzingly complex healthcare system….and I am passionate about doing what I can to fix it.
Create Health,
Archelle
This blog entry was originally posted in Archelle On Health on June 8, 2010.
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