January 11, 2010

Later today, I go to see my surgeon for my post-surgical office visit. The incision is clean and dry, no redness (erythema), no drainage, no swelling and it appears to be healing very well. Nice and clean, with no signs of infection.
 
Of course, it’s a bit tender still, but nothing like it was for the first few days. As a surgeon myself, I know that it’s healing well, and I’m  grateful it is. But the doctor who treats himself has a fool for a patient, or so they say. 
 
So, I will dutifully go to the surgeon and get his official evaluation and his blessing, before starting back on my POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA,  http://www.favoriteformulas.com  my garlic, DR. BILL’S MAXIMUM ALLICIN FORMULA (only available for those already on my fish oil), which enhances the lipid lowering actions of the pharmaceutical grade, enteric coated fish oil, to make it a net cholesterol lowering agent, as well as lowering triglycerides.
 
Especially since this cold snap and nasty, rainy weather lately has made me feel my incision more lately, than before, I’ve really missed its natural anti-inflammatory action. Did you know that in a number of clinical studies, fish oil was found to have an equivalent effect to NSAID’s, but without their adverse side effects? It’s true. In fact, in cases of rheumatoid arthritis, fish oil use allowed some patients to reduce, or eliminate NSAID’s. 
 
And, as I’ve mentioned before, inflammation is a necessary part of this hernia repair, allowing the ingrowth of fibrous tissue into the implanted mesh. So I have had to forgo the comfort of my usual dose. But, as a result, all my joints are “talking” to me, my back is aching and of course, the incision site aches, too. So I’ll be glad to get the OK to start it up again.
 
I’ll also be glad to start some mild knee pain exercises for my aching knees, like those in my newly redone and expanded PAIN-FREE PROGRAM and full length DVD  http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
Combined with walking and isometrics, I can begin the long process of rebuilding my fitness, a step at a time. Luckily, he did a subcuticular closure, meaning there are no sutures to be removed–a long suture under the edges of the skin gives a hairline scar and a tight closure. There wasn’t even a drop of blood, when I took off the initial dressing. Good job, all in all.
 
So, I’m looking forward to a positive evaluation, now eleven days and counting, out from my surgery. This will take about six months to really mature, but this is a good beginning. Thank God! If there’s ever going to be a problem or a complication, it’s gonna happen in a doctor, guaranteed. 
 
Well, over the weekend, we had that plumber return and install a couple of new toilets for us. I went upstairs, to say hello and came up on him, kneeling on the bathroom marble floor, while setting the base of the commode. And, whaddyaknow…he was wearing KNEE PADS! Just like I told him to. 
 
You know, usually, I give folks good advice and more often than not, they ignore it. People often don’t respect or value what they don’t pay for. But not this guy. I told him I was proud of him. He said, “Hey, if I’m told something by a guy who knows what he’s talking about, I listen.”
 
Well, good for him. If he sticks with his new protection, he’ll be real happy a dozen years from now, when he DOESN’T have to suffer with patellofemoral arthritis. For more simple, but effective tips on preventing, or treating knee pain, try my LITTLE GREEN BOOK FOR ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN  http://www.drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html
 
So that’s it for today, my friend. Talk to you soon. Til next time, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill
 
“The Wellness Warrior” TM
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to  http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
P.P.P.S. For conventional and alternative treatments and exercises to relieve knee pain without surgery click on http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html 
 
P.P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html 
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2010 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
All rights reserved

January 8, 2010

As luck would have it, everything seems to break down, or go wrong, all at the same time. Ever notice that? We’ve just finished the stress of the Holidays, gotten past the loss of our oldest cat, Misty, had and dealt with my recovery from recent surgery and… wouldn’t you know it? The toilet breaks down and was running and running and running….and it’s only a week into the New Year.
 
Now these are old toilets, original equipment in this house, which makes them about 19 years old. So even the old bolts are rusted. Because they’re located in guest rooms, on the second floor, they don’t get much use. 
 
We only found out there was a problem when my wife decided to sleep up there, so as not to inadvertantly injure me during sleep, in my postop recovery (belly’s still pretty sore, but getting better, daily). Naturally, with me physically out of action and my wife lacking the physical strength to turn a rusted bolt, or even turn off the water, we had a problem.
 
So, we called our plumber. Normally, he would come right over. But, as we were in the midst of a true “when it rains, it pours” episode, he was tied up installing a massive water heater for a hotel, in which 4,000 people had no hot water. Figures, right?
 
So, he sent over an assistant today. Nice guy. John’s his name. He’s only 28, next month. And he’s making his living as a plumber. We took him up and showed him the problematic toilet.
 
He knelt on the marble floor, while he opened the commode and saw what was what. Turns out that, given the age of the old unit, it would be smarter to simply replace the old appliance with a new one. Figures, right? 
 
He turned off the water, so at least we weren’t still wasting it, by letting it endlessly run. But because he was a young guy and a nice guy, I decided to give him some free advice, that will make a big difference to his future comfort.
 
You see, a plumber, like a bricklayer, roofer, rug layer, or any trade that must kneel on unyielding surfaces to do their work, all have the same problem. They MUST assume that position, but it eventually causes severe knee pain. That’s the plumber’s dilemma. Here’s the solution:
 
Never, NEVER kneel on a hard floor, especially marble, concrete, brick, porcelain tile, or even wood, without a knee pad, of some kind. Here’s why.
 
The knee joint is designed to bear weight from top to bottom, NOT front to back. In other words, the kneecap (patella) is not designed to directly bear the stresses of weight bearing. This has consequences for the protective cartilage coating behind the kneecap, over time.
 
These abnormal forces may lead to degenerative softening of that cartilage coating, leading to knee pain due to chondromalacia patellae. I describe this and what to do about it in great detail in my LITTLE GREEN BOOK FOR ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, which you can get here:  http://www.drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html   and the specific, startegic exercises, that can relieve that knee pain over the long term, are outlined, step by step, in my newly re-written, greatly expanded PAIN-FREE PROGRAM & DVD, which was designed as the perfect companion to the Little Green Book.
 
http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
In the short term, knee pads are the way to go. The problem is that for some, like this guy, John, the straps of knee pads pinch and bind the backs of their knees, thereby discouraging their use.
 
So, instead, he should use a small pad upon which he can kneel, either cloth, a section of carpet, or a gel pad. In any case, the object is to spread out the body weight over a larger area. This effectively reduces the unit stress on the relatively small kneecaps, same principle as snowshoes, reducing pain and preventing compression damage to the retropatellar cartilage.
 
Simple. Easy. Cheap. And, most important, effective. And likely to keep this young man from developing knee pain and arthritis in the years to come. Keep this in mind, whenever you have a similar home care project, that requires kneeling. 
 
And be sure to take my POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA,   http://www.favoriteformulas.com   an ultra pure, enteric coated, pharmaceutical grade fish oil, with maximal omega-3 fatty acids and potent, proven anti-inflammatory properties, that reduce joint pain, back pain and have numerous heart, brain and blood vessel benefits. I take it, twice a day, every day (at least when I’m not pre-or post-surgery). You should, too.
 
Well, that’s my tip o’ the day, my friend. Have a great weekend and be well. Talk to you again real soon.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow and your optimal health,
 
DR. BILL
 
“The Wellness Warrior” TM 
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html 
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
P.P.P.S. For conventional and alternative treatments and exercises to relieve knee pain without surgery click on http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html 
 
P.P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html 
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2010 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
All rights reserved

January 7, 2010

Pity the global warming advocates. Here we are, freezing our butts off and they’re still pushing this bogus “man-made global warming” scam. I have yet to have anyone explain to me how they account for melting of the ice caps…on MARS, if Man is responsible. Ah well, I guess they figure if they say it often enough, there will be enough of the brain-dead among us to make it fly–despite the facts.
 
The sun shining today, brightly, but without much warmth, brings up the subject of what to do during the winter months, for our vitamin D requirements.
 
As you may know, Vitamin D is an extremely important substance, which takes part in many biological processes, including the absorption of dietary calcium from the gut (and therefore, in preventing osteoporosis) and, more recently, enhancing the immune system and preventing cancer. In many ways,  Vitamin D acts more like a hormone than a normal vitamin.
 
It’s one of those vitamins that our bodies can synthesize, in addition to its uptake in certain of our foods, like fish liver oil, green leafy vegetables and, of course, supplements. When skin is exposed to sunlight, the vitamin’s precursor, naturally present in the deeper layers of the skin, is converted by the ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation into a compound that is eventually converted into the biologically active form of Vitamin D, called cholecalciferol, or Vitamin D-3.
 
Supplements or dietary sources, unless they specify that they’re D-3, are instead a slightly different chemical form, called ergocalciferol, or Vitamin D-2.  Though it used to be thought that D-2 was inferior to D-3 as a supplement, more recent research shows that they both will lead to the active form the body needs.
 
One common mistake is to think that what is commonly called fish oil is a good source of Vitamin D. This arises because it’s been known for years that taking cod liver oil, for example, is a good way to increase vitamin D intake. But fish oil, unless otherwise specified, refers to fish BODY oils, which are a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, but NOT Vitamin D.
 
Conversely, people think that because they take cod liver oil, they’re covered for their omega-3 needs. Not so. In fact, that could be dangerous, because fish LIVER oil contains the FAT soluble vitamins D and A. So if they were taken every day, as frequently as fish BODY oil, you might easily become toxic, with overdoses of both D and A.
 
It’s best to remember that omega-3 fatty acids and the fat soluble vitamins (A & D) are two seperate types of nutrients, that are best taken from two seperate sources. 
 
Though sunlight is the best source of D-3 (you can’t overdose on Vitamin D derived from the sun), cod liver oil, or supplements derived from that, are acceptable substitutes. Fish oil, like my own POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA
 
http://www.favoriteformulas.com 
 
is best as an ultra purified, enteric coated, pharmaceutical grade source of omega-3′s with many health benefits, including heart, brain and joint properties that are proven to be very beneficial, in many ways, with virtually NO significant side effects.
 
These contaminant-free, ultra pure fish oil capsules can and should be taken every day, two to three times throughout the day, to balance the overwhelming amounts of inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids, so common in the Western diet, today.
 
Though a daily dose of 400-1000 IU of Vitamin D is commonly recommended, many people actually need MORE. How can you tell what’s right for you?
 
Ask your doctor to check your blood levels of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D, perhaps 3-4 times a year. Most investigators agree that this chemical is the best measure of your personal stores of this important vitamin. I personally take 2000 IU a day, as my tested 25-OH-vitamin D levels were only borderline, on 1000 IU a day. Remember, that was over twice the RDA. 
 
The key thing to take home from this is that everyone is an individual. Everyone is different. And everyone has different needs.
 
So measuring the actual stores you have, a few times a year, is the only way to really determine your personal needs. The RDA (recommended daily allowances) are almost a joke. Because they are average, designed to harm no one and “fit” everyone, they don’t address any single person’s actual needs. And even more aggressive recommendations, even mine, cannot be applied across the board, for all individuals.
 
So invest in the test. 
 
It’s easy, it’s relatively cheap and it is THE best way to be sure you’re getting enough Vitamin D. And enough Vitamin D is critical, not just for your bones, but even more important for this time of year, your immune system and resistance to disease, like the flu.
 
And do your exercises. Exercise has so many benefits, on virtually every physiological parameter, including your immune system, that it can’t be over emphasized. Try to do SOMETHING, every day. If you have knee pain (and, let’s face it, many of us do) these exercises in my PAIN-FREE PROGRAM and DVD are good for relieving knee pain, and will serve as general exercise, as well. 
 
http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
That’s it for today, my friend. Stay warm. Keep smilin’. Talk to you tomorrow. Til then, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow and your optimal health,
 
DR. BILL
 
“The Wellness Warrior” TM
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html 
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
P.P.P.S. For conventional and alternative treatments and exercises to relieve knee pain without surgery click on http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html 
 
P.P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html 
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2010 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
All rights reserved

January 6, 2010

Last night, or more correctly, last afternoon (it gets dark so early this time of year), I took my first outing in the car since surgery. We were down a few items in the larder, so we went to the local grocery store. My wife drove, since I can’t effectively respond quickly in case of emergency.
 
I thought it would be a chance to escape cabin fever and get a little ambulatory exercise. So I came along for the ride. We wrote a list, so we would get what we actually needed, and avoid impulsive shopping.
 
While walking with my cane down one of the aisles, a truly enormous young man turned round the corner ahead of me. This guy was gigantic–rolls of flesh encircled his body, where once there was a waist and his frame fairly quivered with every footfall. Seeing that I was on a cane, he very politely stood aside to allow me to pass–a good thing, too, because there was no way we were passing each other in that aisle, at the same time.
 
I nodded in thanks and continued on my way. But I got to thinking about what lay in this man’s future, if he doesn’t take stock of himself and get control of his body weight. Odds are good that his blood lipids are way out of whack, with sky-high cholesterol and perhaps high triglycerides, too.
 
He’s a cinch to have heart disease, with atherosclerotic plaque in his coronary arteries, perhaps his carotids and vertebral arteries, too. This would make him a set-up for heart attacks, strokes, even PAD (peripheral artery disease). He may well have high blood pressure, a seperate cause of heart disease and strokes.
 
In addition, he almost certainly has insulin resistance, if not full-blown diabetes mellitus Type II, with all the potential complications of that disease. A number of cancers, too, are associated with obesity, as well as a depressed immune system (which may well be WHY cancer has an increased likelihood in the obese).
 
There are other physiological consequences, too. Morbid obesity makes it much harder to breathe, easier to aspirate, easier to get pneumonia and more likely to get a DVT (deep vein thrombosis) with possible pulmonary embolism (which can also kill you). It also makes it more likely that you’ll develop sleep apnea, a condition that can lead to an increased risk of stroke.
 
Then, there are the mechanical, orthopaedic consequences. An increase in gross weight increases the load on the weightbearing joints. For every pound above the norm, you increase the joint reaction force on your hips and knees by a factor of at least 3-4 times. If climbing stairs, it’s up to seven times bodyweight; running, up to ten times.
 
Then, there’s the effect on your spine. Although this particular man was heavy all over, he had the typical “apple” pattern of central fat deposition, where the bulk of the adipose tissue is in the belly. This is what we in the trade call “omental fat,” present within the abdomen, on the omentum and interlarding the coils of the intestines.
 
Mechanically, this increased mass, hanging in front of the spine, has to be balanced, so you can walk around. The body does this by increasing the deep curvature of the small of the back (ie., the lumbar spine). Your shoulders are pulled back and your pelvis is tilted backward, to increase that curve (lordosis). This all happens automatically.
 
This exact same mechanism is invoked in the woman with gigantic breasts, too, though her back pain is more likely to be in the mid, or upper back. In both cases, it’s what’s up front that counts–the extra anterior weight is counter balanced by bending the spine backwards, which causes shearing and compression on the lumbar discs, worsens spinal arthritis, causes cramps in the paravertebral muscles and can cause, or aggravate, herniated discs, with severe back and/or leg pain.
 
So significant is this cantilevering effect from excessive anterior body mass, that in certain clinical circumstances, surgery is used to radically remove excess abdominal fat (paniculectomy),  or a reduction mammoplasty is done, to reduce the mass of breast tissue (which, though I know, as a physician, is sometimes clinically necessary, is a procedure, as an artist, that I consider an aesthetic disfigurement of the female form, akin to drawing a moustache on the Mona Lisa).
 
You must forgive me. Ever since I lost all my own excess flab, I’ve been impossible. Nothing worse than a convert, as they say. But you must admit that getting rid of that excess poundage is the single best and simplest way to “cure” a myriad of ills.
 
And this is the perfect time to do it. The Holidays are over. So are all those temptations. Time to get serious. So, what to do?
 
The short answer is simple: a lean protein diet, with fresh, low glycemic index vegetables and fruits, increased fiber, lots of water. And a couple of softgels of my POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA, twice a day.
 
http://www.favoriteformulas.com 
 
This highly concentrated, enteric coated, ultra pure, pharmaceutical grade fish oil will provide the essential long chain fatty acids, to balance the overabundance of omega-6 fatty acids, so common in the Western diet, these days.
 
Then, you need to kick up your metabolism to a higher level, so you burn adipose tissue, instead of deposit it. The single best way to do that, bar none, is…(drum roll…) EXERCISE. Big surprise, right? 
 
Walking can be done by anyone. And if you’re that one in a million who can’t walk on dry land, walk in a pool. As soon as you can, step up into a real exercise program, like my new and improved PAIN-FREE PROGRAM & DVD
 
  http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
Exercise will boost your metabolism, build muscle, burn fat tissue, and, in the case of this program, relieve knee pain, long term. 
 
To further boost your metabolism, add my Heart Charging Formula, to supercharge your cellular mitochondria, the tiny powerhouses that provide the cells the energy for everything they do.
 
http://www.favoriteformulas.com/CoQ10formula 
 
So don’t wait any longer. Just DO these simple things and just watch your health improve! Til next time, my friend, be well.
 
Yours for optimal health and wellness,
 
DR. BILL
 
“The Wellness Warrior” TM
 
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html 
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
P.P.P.S. For conventional and alternative treatments and exercises to relieve knee pain without surgery click on http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html 
 
P.P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html 
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2010 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
All rights reserved

January 5, 2010

Once released from the hospital’s RIO unit, my wife drove me home. I was set up in a spare bedroom, with a lower mattress than my usual, to make it easier to get in and out of bed.
 
Luckily, the local anesthesia was in full force, so I remained comfortable and pain-free. I checked out the dressing, but it was clean and dry, with no sign of bleeding. So far, so good. Then, I got a cold seltzer to drink. Remember, I had been NPO (nothing by mouth) since 10PM the night before surgery, and only had ice chips in recovery, so I was pretty thirsty. Hungry, too. 
 
Then, I noticed I was tired. No surprise there. Surgery is a trauma to your body, so it induces a lot of stress. After drifting in and out of sleep, I had to go to the bathroom. That’s when things started to get interesting.
 
Turns out that when you try to get out of bed, especially without any leverage, you put a lot of stress on those new sutures, just placed in the surgical repair. YEOW! Only a momentary thing, but despite the local anesthetic, I felt that! I had to figure out how I was going to do this.
 
So, I decided to try using a cane, which I had handy, left over from my last surgery, an arthroscopy of my left knee in 2005. I discovered that of I pressed down with the cane in my left hand, I was able to get up with only minimal discomfort. How about that?

Further experimentation revealed that if the came was used in my left hand while walking, it relaxed my right abdominal muscles, by reflex. Now, I’ve known for years that the use of a cane reduces the joint reaction forces across the opposite hip and knee. In fact, I make a great point of that technique, as a way to minimize joint pain, in my LITTLE GREEN BOOK FOR ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN  http://www.drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html
 
But I never heard that it also relaxes the abdominal muscles on the opposite side from the cane. I don’t believe my surgeon even knows about this (but you can be sure that I’ll let him know, for his future patients). Keep this trick in mind, if you ever need to get abdominal surgery–it makes quite a difference.
 
The other thing that made a big difference in my comfort was the use of a rectangular cooler pack, stored in our freezer against emergencies, instead of a simple ice pack. The surgeon had recommended intermittent use of ice to reduce swelling, but this solid, cold cooler pack not only chilled the tissues, reducing local pain and swelling, but also acted as a buttress against any intra-abdominal pressure. When I pressed it against my surgical site, it kept the repair under pressure, so it reduced any tension on the internal sutures.
 
Between the cane and the cooler pack, I managed very well, indeed. I was completely comfortable, when at rest in bed. I only had some momentary pain, when attempting to get in and out of bed. Even walking was not bad, so long as I went slowly, using the cane in my left hand and holding the cooler pack against my lower abdomen, on my right.
 
In bed, I found by trial and error that a slightly bent fetal position, on my left side, with a pillow between my legs, made me very comfortable. Virtually no pain, at all. I still had taken no pain medication. In that position, I slipped off to sleep and slept all night long.
 
Next day, I found the same thing. Using the cane and the ice pack, I was comfortable enough that I was not in need of any analgesics, even though the local had surely worn off by then. I just took it easy, watched TV, read a bit and periodically took a nap.
 
Long and short of it is that, despite having filled a prescription for Percocet, just in case, I have not needed a single pill. Not one, to date. Just took off the dressing and the incision is healing fine. Of course, the real issue is the internal healing. And that’s the reason that I can’t take my twice daily dose of POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA   http://www.favoriteformulas.com 
 
A hernia is a defect in the tough fibrous sheath across the groin, which is pierced by the spermatic cord, on its way to the testes. The descent of the testes leaves a potential weakness there, which in some people, under some conditions, leads to a tear, or rupture in that sheath. This tear allows loops of bowel (small intestines) to protrude, causing a bulge under the skin. In some cases, that loop of bowel can twist, cutting off circulation and literally dying. This is called strangulation and it’s a surgical emergency. That’s why I wanted this fixed, pronto.
 
In the old days (when I was an intern), the only repairs sutured the edges of the tear back together and to the big oblique inguinal ligament, that runs between the “point” of the hip (anterior superior iliac spine) to the pubic bone. But that repair is under a lot of tension and ruptures can recur at a rate of around 30-40%. With a new, tension-free technique, the surgeon covers the defect with a fine mesh of polypropylene and sews that to the edges and the ligament. 
 
Eventually, fibrous tissues grow into that mesh, which acts like a scaffold, and upon maturity reconstitutes the abdominal wall, obliterating the defect and restoring integrity to the wall. The recurrence rate for this technique is only 1%. The downside is that it needs inflammation to provoke the ingrowth of the fibrous tissues. So, since fish oil is so effective at reducing inflammation, I can’t use it yet. And the rest of my joints KNOW it, too.
 
Anyway, that’s what happened next. So far, so good. I walked a bit more today and went out for the first time. So, little by little, day by day…it’s getting better. Til next time, my friend, be well. 
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow and your optimal health,
 
Dr. Bill
 
“The Wellness Warrior” TM
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html 
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
P.P.P.S. For conventional and alternative treatments and exercises to relieve knee pain without surgery click on http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html 
 
P.P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html 
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2010 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
All rights reserved

December 30, 2009

Today I’m in the final countdown before my surgery tomorrow morning. I’m trying to anticipate all the things that will need doing prior to my recovery period, when I expect to be incapacitated by abdominal postop pain. 
 
Though a number of people think I’m crazy getting surgery on New Year’s Eve Day, my wife among them, my attitude is that if you recognize a problem, it’s best taken care of ASAP. Were I to wait, the damn hernia would likely just get bigger and more painful. And there’s always the chance of strangulating a loop of bowel, entrapped in the abdominal wall defect. Now, that would be a problem.
 
No, better to get it behind me, face the issue head-on and fix the damn thing. Compared to what I used to do, this is pretty straightforward stuff. But of course, no surgery is minor surgery when you’re the patient. All in all, I like being the operator better than being the operatee, if you know what I mean.
 
However, this episode gives me a chance to teach you something that I normally wouldn’t think about much. And that is ISOMETRIC EXERCISES.
 
Now, after a surgery like this, any contraction of my core muscles is going to hurt like Hell, at least for the first few days. So after the immediate period of rest, to allow postop bleeding to stop and postop swelling to recede, I have to be able to maintain and then rebuild my leg strength. 
 
This is especially true since I’m not going to be able to restart my fish oil for a while. And I feel it in every joint. There are a couple of reasons for this.
 
First, fish oil’s omega 3 fatty acids act to reduce platelet adhesiveness, or stickiness. That’s great when you want to reduce your risk of heart attack or stroke, by reducing clot formation. Not so great, when you WANT clot formation during and after surgery.
 
Then, there are the known anti-inflammatory properties of fish oil. Well, normally that’s exactly what you want. But in this surgery, inflammation is a part of the initial healing process. So, if I want a good repair, I have to suffer the lack of my POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA  http://www.favoriteformulas.com  for a few weeks. But the other parts of my body, like my back and my joints can definitely feel the difference when I don’t take it. And that’s why YOU should.
 
The kind of hernia repair I’m getting is called a “tension-free” (Lichtenstein) repair, which uses a polypropylene mesh, to cover the abdominal wall defect. This mesh acts like a scaffold, to allow fibroblasts (fiber producing cells) to infiltrate it and rebuild a fibrous layer over the defect. Inflammation plays a role in initiating this process. So, I just have to grin ‘n’ bear it.
 
In the aftermath, when the abdominal wall is sore, active exercise for my knees simply wouldn’t be possible. Nor would it be wise, as it might compromise the repair, before it was strong enough to bear extra tension or intrabdominal pressure. So, what I plan to do is to use the isometric exercises that I teach in my newest edition of my PAIN-FREE PROGRAM & DVD http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
Isometric exercise generate muscular contraction, without shortening of the muscle. That’s how they’re defined. The advantage is that I can strengthen my knee with these static postures, without putting any pressure on my sure to be sore belly and groin. 
 
The Wall Chair and the Horse Stance, derived from the martial arts, like karate and kung fu, are ideal for this purpose. And they’re safe. They’re ideal for the person just starting out, or the morbidly obese, who want to eliminate their knee pain, but lack any strength, at present. These are a great way to build a foundation of strength, for more aggressive exercises, later on. Just strike the position, and hold it for time. It’s as simple as that. 
 
So that’s what I’ll be doing, after surgery. And what YOU should be doing, if you’d like to start on the road to pain-free knees, safely and effectively. Well, my friend, that’s about it for today. This was my last lesson on eliminating knee pain for 2009. 
 
My wish for you, as we enter a new year and a new decade, is one of peace, happiness, health and prosperity. Have a Happy and Healthy New Year, my friend. All the best, as always. Talk to you again in 2010.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow and optimal health,
 
Dr. Bill

P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html 
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
P.P.P.S. For conventional and alternative treatments and exercises to relieve knee pain without surgery click on   http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html
 
P.P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html  

FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2009 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
All rights reserved

December 29, 2009

Nothing like listening and watching the news to get your mind off your own, more immediate troubles. Since this most recent terrorist attack, the news services have been buzzing with new developments and the reactions of the pundits and politicians on this subject.
 
I refer, of course, to NWA flight 253, from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Detroit, Michigan, where one Umar Farouk Abdulmutollab set off an incendiary device, in an effort to kill everyone on board, over American soil, using specially prepared underware, laced with powdered explosives. 
 
The terrorist is a 23 year old Nigerian man, whose own father, a prominent businessman, warned our embassy that his son was a radicalized muslim, bent on jihad. Hmmmm…young muslim man attempts to blow up a plane arriving on U.S. soil, on Christmas Day (second holiest day of the year for Christians, not the first, as erroneously reported by some–that would be Easter). Nice. Think that might indicate a religious motive, ie., an act of jihad inspired terrorism and a direct affront to Christians? Naaah! 
 
According to our eminent Secretary for Homeland Security, this past Sunday, “the system worked.” Really? (Where DOES he get these idiots to serve in his cabinet?) Next day, a 180 degree about face, with words to the effect that the system DIDN’T work, after all. Dammit Janet! (inside joke–Rocky Horror reference)
 
The TSA response? Now, no one can go to the bathroom for the last hour of the flight (good luck if you’re pregnant, diabetic, on diuretics, have prostate enlargement, etc.) AND you can’t have a paperback book, or blanket on your lap. You just have to be bored for an hour. Then, after the outcry at this stupidity, they modified the policy, so now the captain of the plane can decide. 
 
Idiocy. All of it. This does NOTHING to insure our safety. Where are the trained dogs, to sniff out explosives? Where is the rational profiling of potential terrorists? Are we all to die, for fear of offending our enemies?
 
This guy should have been on terror watch lists. He paid for a one-way ticket, with cash and no luggage. He lacked a passport, yet was allowed to get on board the plane. WHAT “system?” 
 
Then, the President, after delaying 72 hours, y’know, just to be sure he’s got all the info correct, came in off the golf course in Hawaii, long enough to mention the pro forma phrases expected about the “alleged” “suspect.” 
 
Alleged? Suspect? Legalistic terms, which reveal Obama’s legalistic frame of reference. It is KNOWN that this guy actually detonated his igniter. Luckily, he’s not too swift and his bomb assembly in the bathroom of the plane was faulty. Otherwise, we’d have had a real massacre in the air, with nearly 300 dead.
 
Thanks to a Dutch guy, with some balls, who grabbed this moron, subdued him and said moron’s own ineptitude in bomb assembly, he wasn’t successful. But he DID set off his device–we were just lucky that it failed to detonate. This was NOT a crime, like holding up a liquor store, or mugging an old lady. This WAS a terrorist attack. Not attempted either–completed, but fortunately unsuccessful. This was a real Christmas miracle.
 
This was also an ACT OF WAR by people who hate us and want to KILL US. Somebody clue-in the Commander-in-Chief.
 
Then he said something that should send chills down your spine: He said that this was “an isolated incident.” 
 
Waitaminnit!
 
We know this guy was radicalized, per his own father. We know he was trained by Al Qaeda in Yemen. Al Quaeda has taken credit for the attack, publically. “Isolated incident?” Are you friggin’ kidding me?
 
Our President STILL can’t bring himself to realize or admit that we’re in a WAR with maniacs, religious fanatics, who think that killing innocent civilians is doing Allah’s will.  (As if an all powerful, omniscient, transcendant Deity, who created all the world and all of us, believers and infidels alike, needs the likes of these unwashed mongrels to do His will. Well, one cannot expect logic from a fundamentally non-rational construct. But I digress…)
 
Look, I hope I’m wrong, but I think these guys, all of them, in this Administration, are rank amateurs, if not complete fools. And I think they will continue to do incredibly stupid things, and keep their collective head in the sand, until one day, there are 10,000 dead Americans in the streets (or in the air). Then, there’ll be hand wringing aplenty. And commentators will ask, in great seriousness, “What went wrong?” and “Were there warning signs?”
 
I don’t expect genius, especially from this crowd. But I do expect common sense. And there seems to be a real dearth of that commodity in Washington, these days. 
 
As more and more details of this case come out, one’s incredulity grows apace. But now, with the “suspect” having lawyered up, he cannot now be questioned by the CIA or FBI. His “rights” would be violated. WHAT rights? So now, we can’t learn about future planned attacks. That’s the legacy of a “criminal” approach.
 
The terrorist (which is what he is) has reportedly gotten third degree burns from his little stunt, according to his lawyer. Are we supposed to feel bad for this guy? Screw waterboarding. I’m for tying this guy on an ant hill.
 
AAAARRRGGHH! I can’t stand it any more! There are still people out there who support this Administration, despite all this massive incompetence, the spineless supination, despite the clear and present danger they represent for our republic and our safety. What will it take to convince them they were WRONG about this guy and his minions. I wish I were wrong… but I know I’m not.
 
Ah well, I just had to vent my spleen, one more time, for the end of the old year. I’ve got other things to worry about–like my own surgery coming up this Thursday morning. I wanted to get it done this year (before you know who screws up the health care system, for good) and start the New Year with healing, with the procedure behind me. So, since I can’t do it for a while, immediately after, I’m going to do my knee pain exercises now, while I can.
 
http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
And if you have any knee pain, or just want to avoid it, I’d recommend that you do the same. The healthier you are, the more problems you fix, the less likely you are to need to be in the health care system.
 
I’d also like to recommend my POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA  http://www.favoriteformulas.com   an enteric coated, highly concentrated, pharmaceutical grade fish oil, packed with omega-3 fatty acids that have been shown to reduce heart attacks and strokes, lower blood pressure and resting heart rate, help to stabilize lipid levels and drop triglycerides and, my favorite, reduce inflammation and arthritis pain. Best of all, it’s completely natural. 
 
Well, up and at ‘em. Talk to you soon, my friend. Til next time, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow and optimal health,
 
Dr. Bill
 
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html 
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
P.P.P.S. For conventional and alternative treatments and exercises to relieve knee pain without surgery click on  http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html
 
P.P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html 
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2009 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
All rights reserved

December 22, 2009

Today is three days before Christmas, but for me, it’s already arrived. My brother-in-law has a job that requires him to be on duty for Christmas Day, so we decided to have our Holiday get together today, when he and his lady could come, rather than the official day, this Friday.
 
Of course, what this means is that I’ve been frantically running around, just trying to get everything done in time. And, per Stillwell’s Law of Relativity, as the time approaches Christmas, it flies faster and faster, til now, there’s virtually none left.
 
I’m running out of time before they arrive and I still have items on the Honey Do List that I haven’t yet done. Hence, the late hour of arrival of this email. Sorry about that, but it was this, or just recycle an old one.
 
As usual, at the very last minute, we tried our fireplaces (which in Florida, as you might imagine, are strictly for show, and are gas driven, not true wood burning–termites, you know…). And of course, they didn’t work. Might have something to do with all the cat hair that’s probably worked its way into the ignition mechanism.
 
So, first thing this morning, the repair guy comes to fix them, just hours before company arrives. Nothing like a photo finish.
 
He knelt down on the hard marble hearth, as he peered into the inner mechanism and I held the flashlight for him. Sure enough, plenty of cat fur, that’s been sucked in by the draft of the chimney. But the real reason it wouldn’t work is that the wire to the ignition mechanism was broken. Wouldn’t you know?
 
Well, he got that fixed and FOOOM! it started right up. Looks nice, but doesn’t throw any heat. He moved on to the next and discovered that the pilot light was out. More tinkering and then, that one started, as well.
 
Thinking we were done, as he realized that I was a doctor, and an orthopaedist, especially, the guy happened to mention that his knees were giving him some trouble. No real surprise, there.
 
Guy has spent years kneeling on hard surfaces, like my marble hearth, which isn’t the best thing for your kneecaps, believe me. Whenever I’d see a working man in my office, lo those many years ago, it was a sure bet that if he made his living on his knees, he had arthritis of the kneecap (patellofemoral arthritis), or at a minimum, the forerunner of that disease, chondromalacia patellae.
 
To learn about these and other reasons for knee pain, you might want to check out my LITTLE GREEN BOOK FOR ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN (it’s even color coded for the Christmas Season), right here at:  http://www.drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html
 
In this little book, I show you what’s causing your pain and, more important, HOW to get rid of it, once and for all, using treatments from across the entire medical spectrum, conventional, alternative and complementary. 
 
For example, in this case, he should be using knee pads, or failing that, have a soft pad or pillow, on which he can kneel. These disperse the compression forces, by spreading out the forces of kneeling over a larger surface area. Makes a big, big difference.
 
This book doesn’t contain the knee pain exercises, though. There are simply too many of them. Those are available in a companion healing program, manual and full length DVD, DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
The two were designed to go together, as companion pieces, and I recommend that if you want to get serious about your knee pain and rid yourself of that pain FAST, then consider getting both.
 
One of the best things you can do for yourself, whether you have knee pain or not, is take some of my POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA,  http://www.favoriteformulas.com  an ultra pure, highly concentrated, enteric coated, pharmaceutical grade fish oil, chock full of long chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA & DHA), which have proven heart healthy and natural anti-inflammatory properties, comparable to NSAID medications, but without the adverse side effects. Generally, I don’t like to brag, but I believe it’s the best you can get! 
 
When you combine this fish oil with the non-operative measures in my Little Green Book, and the exercises and stretches in my Pain-Free Program, you have an excellent chance of being just that–pain-free, or at least a helluvalot better. Hopefully, my repairman friend will listen to me, before it’s too late, and he has irreparable damage.
 
So, one mission accomplished, a few more to go…then, have to finish wrapping presents, signing cards… Oy! Well, at least I’ll really be ready for Christmas Day itself, when it gets finally here. Hope your shopping is going well. Only a couple more days to go…
 
Signing off for now, my friend. Too much to do, too little time–kind of a metaphor for all of life, isn’t it? Til next time, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html 
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
P.P.P.S. For conventional and alternative treatments and exercises to relieve knee pain without surgery click on  http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html
 
P.P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html 
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2009 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
All rights reserved

December 21, 2009

After our recent soujourn in the City, where we enjoyed New York, in all its Christmas finery, it was time to head back to Florida. We’re having the family over for Christmas, so we have a bunch of work to do, before the homestead is fit for company. And besides, the bride was missing her “babies” and needed a fur fix, bad.
 
So, after setting the Southampton thermostats down to subsistence levels, we headed out to the airport. As a matter of convenience, we use Southwest Airlines, out of Macarthur Airport in Islip, because it’s the closest to Southampton. It’s two hours (depending on traffic) to the closest City Airports, LaGuardia or JFK, so Macarthur, it is.
 
We arrived there in plenty of time, to discover that the flight to Orlando was packed. Not a spare seat on the plane. And we were reportedly heading out just ahead of a massive Winter snow storm (even though it isn’t officially Winter, yet). “Global Warming,” right?
 
Fortunately, I had the foresight to buy “Earlybird” seating, which is Southwest’s idea for giving you early boarding for open seating. They claim that this saves them money, though I have never understood how. Anyway, this gives you a better choice of seats, as you get on the plane sooner. With the flight so packed and no empty seats, it usually let’s us pick our seats, get our stuff stashed sooner, with less hassle. 
 
If Jetblue could ever get into that airport, we’d be on that airline, all the time. They have more comfortable seats, they have those cute little TV screens, on the back of the seat in front of you, and the planes are always clean. They also have assigned seating, none of this “lining up” crap.
 
Normally, we head right for the mid-plane exit row. There are several reasons why we like that: 1. The seats have considerably more legroom, 2. If, God forbid, there IS an emergency evacuation of the plane, I want the limiting factor to a quick exit to be cool, fast, competent hands, ie., MINE, not those of some panicky, bumbling moron, and 3. When the plane is NOT packed tight, we can often have an empty seat between us, the closest you can get to “First Class” seating on these “cattlecar” flights.
 
This time, however, someone had beaten us to our favorite row, a big burly guy. And there he was, all spread out in the window seat, with his knees open and his shoulders and arms spreading over the armrest. Great.
 
Now, you need to undetstand that the bride does NOT sit next to strangers, anywhere, if she can help it. No. That’s MY job. So I settled in, as best I could, between my wife on my right and King Kong on my left. Great.
 
Guy never budged. No tendency for accomodation, at all. And he was a big guy. He was pretty broad. He actually took up that space, and then some. It’s not like I could ask him to move over. There WAS no “over.” So, I twisted slightly in the seat, insinuating my left shoulder behind his right.  And so I sat… the entire. miserable. flight.
 
This would have been bad enough, but that slight twist was enough to set my warped, previously fractured spine off, causing some cramping and aches and pains, that I normally don’t have. Part of it was that my wife didn’t have enough of my POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA  http://www.favoriteformulas.com  with her on this trip (I thought she packed them, she thought I’d packed them…), so I lent her some of mine.  And now, I could FEEL the difference of the lower daily dose.
 
If you ever doubted that pharmaceutical grade fish oil really DOES have natural anti-inflammatory properties, just try being without your accustomed dose for a few days and then talk to me. They’re real, alright.
 
So, to take my mind off the discomfort of my contortions, I started doing some of the isometrics that I teach in my all new, expanded PAIN-FREE PROGRAM exercises and stretches, like quad setting and seated calf raises, http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html   which have the added benefit of moving the blood through the lower legs, reducing the risk of a DVT (deep vein thrombosis, clots that can form in the veins of the legs, from long sitting in one position). 
 
Between these little leg exercise sessions and a few chest compressions (where you press one hand against the other and tense your pectoral muscles, while breathing deeply) and even a few head rolls, side to side and round and round, to loosen up my neck and spine, and a few cat naps, I finally made it. Hallelujah!
 
Talk about “flying the friendly skies…” this was one of the worst flights it has been my experience to suffer through, in quite some time. Thank God it was over. The bride, of course, was just fine. Just as well, though.  Don’t want her turning nasty…I’d still be suffering
 
Well, we picked up the luggage, retrieved the car and got back to the homestead, without incident. Luckily, it was fairly cool for Orlando, about 68-70 degrees, with a nice breeze, so I didn’t have to hear about the insufferable heat and humidity. But a helluva lot better than the 30′s we left in New York and the snow storm we had just missed, by my reckoning. I hate the cold. She hates the heat. How did we stay married for over 35 years? Just lucky, I guess….
 
Well, time for the big push, this week. Christmas is nearly upon us, so lots to do before the big guy in the red suit squeezes down our chimney, once more. Hope you’re getting your shopping done early. Talk to you soon. Til next time, my friend, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html 
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
P.P.P.S. For conventional and alternative treatments and exercises to relieve knee pain without surgery click on http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html 
 
P.P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html 
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2009 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
All rights reserved

December 18, 2009

Watching the goingson in the Senate, recently, I reflected on the fact that the majority clearly doen’t give a $hit about what the American people think. I am, of course, referring to the Senate version of the Health Care Bill. The numbers of people OPPOSED to this monstrosity are now over 60% and climbing. Those strongly in favor number about 19% (about the same number who designate themselves as “progressive”). The rest have no idea–which should make them eligible to be senators.
 
This would be a comedy, if it wasn’t so sad. These guys are determined to ram something, anything, through and pass it, so Obama can sign it and claim “victory.” (I wish he felt that way about Afghanistan, but I digress…) Even if you are a stark raving lib and think that “single payer” is a great idea, you should be very distressed about the behavior exhibited by our distinguished senators.
 
All the so-called “moderates,” who had reservations about this bill (many of them very insightful) saw the light after cutting lucrative deals, designed to bring home the bacon, in pork, to their home districts. Sen. Mary Landrieu was very up front about her payoff–not 100 million, as initially advertised, but 300 million!
 
This reminds me of the old joke:  “Will you sleep with me for a million bucks?” he asked. “Sure,” she replied. “Well, how about for five bucks?”  “What kind of a girl do you think I am?” she replied, indignantly, slapping the guy’s face. “We’ve already established that,” he said. “We’re just dickering over price!”
 
However, to suggest that these people are like prostitutes is to do grave injustice to working girls (who, at least, give fair value and honest work for their money).
 
Every one of them, Nelson, Leiberman, et al have cut deals for supporting this horror, the welfare of the American people be damned. And I strongly suggest that we all remember this, come November, 2010.
 
Here’s the thing: it simply is not possible to cut 500 billion from Medicare, on the backs of the elderly, and add 30 million more to the system and still save money. Those who say that they’re not cutting services to the elderly are being more than a little disingenuous. 
 
All that talk about “forcing the cost curve downward” is code for cutting fees to doctors and hospitals, beyond the already reduced fees they now have. The result is absolutely predictable–more doctors will retire early, those who can’t will refuse to see, or limit how many Medicare patients they will see. This will result in FEWER choices, LIMITED ACCESS, LONGER WAITS. No ifs, ands or buts about it.
 
Look, would YOU work for a fraction of your salary? Especially if every job you did came with a virtually unlimited liability? No, I didn’t think so.
 
And the items really needed, to truly reform Health Care in this country, insurance sales across state lines, tort reform, medical savings accounts, all MIA in this boondoggle. OK, there IS coverage for pre-existing conditions, but that is a poison pill, designed to eventually destroy the private insurance system, which cannot do business like that, without the larger pool of insured across state lines.
 
Remember, all the people who want this thing, including (maybe especially) the President, really want “Single Payer” ala Brittain, Canada, and the EU, complete with rationing, “best practices,” drug limitations, and crippling inter-generational taxes, with severe dampening effects on the economy, for decades to come. I will tell you this–once you drive out the best and brightest from Medicine, by destroying all incentive, they ain’t comin’ back, pal. You’ll simply be S.O.L.
 
I always used to say to my friends that my greatest fear in getting older was that there wouldn’t be anyone as good as I was, to take care of me, when I needed care. But I was kidding–I just never figured that this would ever happen.
 
Here’s another thing I thought would never happen–I actually agree with Dr. Howard Dean, who believes that this bill is so deeply flawed that it should be killed and start over. True, we believe that for diametrically opposed reasons, since he is an avowed far leftist and he doesn’t think this bill goes far enough), while I’m somewhat to the right of Atilla the Hun, as the saying goes, but still…. Strange bedfellows, indeed.
 
Well, at this point, what will be will be. Don’t worry. Be happy. Only the massive tax hikes kick in this year and for another five years. The “benefits” don’t come on-line, until the year AFTER the President’s re-election, in 2012. That’s the plan, anyway.
 
I suggest you continue to let your senator know how you feel…and what you will DO, and how you will VOTE, if he/she votes FOR this Health Care Horror. Let ‘em know where you stand. They may well ignore you, but you can only do what you can do. Then…make them pay.
 
Meanwhile, keep your options open. The best way to avoid the major problems with this bill, or any like it, is to get and stay in such good health that you won’t need to access whatever sytem is left. You still have choices. Make the right ones.
 
This is a great time of year to resolve to stop smoking, or stop using drugs, or stop drinking to excess. It’s a great time to start watching what you eat, what you drink, what you do. It’s time to start walking, every day, and exercising, at least a few times a week, with resistance exercises, like those in my PAIN-FREE PROGRAM, now available in a new, expanded (almost doubled) manual AND a full length DVD, demonstrating the exercises and stretches:  http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
There are so many benefits to exercise, it’s hard to find its limits. But among the key ones, it helps you drop FAT (much more important than weight), it controls your insulin levels, reduces inflammation, reduces the risk for a host of diseases and boosts the immune system.
 
To enhance that even more, get started on my own brand, DR. BILL’S POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA http://www.favoriteformulas.com   an ultra pure, highly concentrated, enteric coated, pharmaceutical grade fish oil, with 780mg of omega 3  fatty acids PER CAPSULE. Even prescription strength fish oil doesn’t offer this combination of benefits. I take two, twice a day, every day, for its heart and brain healthy properties (it reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes) and its proven, potent anti-inflammatory effects, which relieve the pain of arthritis. It just doesn’t get better than this.
 
So, stay aware, get fit, be happy and healthy. Don’t be at the mercy of soulless politicians. Take care of yourself and those you love, for now and for the future, whatever it holds. Have a great weekend, my friend. Finish up that Christmas Shopping, so you can relax and enjoy the Holidays. Til next time, be well.
 
Yours for optimal health and a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html 
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html

P.P.P.S. For conventional and alternative treatments and exercises to relieve knee pain without surgery click on http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html 
 
P.P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html 
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2009 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
All rights reserved