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

The early Christmas party went well, last night. Everyone ate their fill (and that’s one real advantage to an early celebration–if you run out if anything, the stores are still open, so you can just go out and buy whatever you want). We did our presents (except for the bride and myself–we like to do our own gift exchanges in private… we always did). And everyone seemed to have a really good time.
 
Slept in late today. That last minute push before an event at the house always knocks me out, so I indulged myself with lying abed this morning and allowed myself to recharge.
 
Not sure if I mentioned this before, but I recently discovered that I have developed an inguinal hernia–just came out of the blue. Don’t recall any trauma, or any sensation of straining, or tearing. But a few days after Thanksgiving, I noticed it for the first time–it just WAS. The surgeon says that’s how these things normally present in us middle aged guys. Another step on the road to decreptitude.
 
This is one of those “mechanical problems” I’m always talking about, as a differentiation between “necessary” and “unnecessary” surgeries, a point I make repeatedly in my newest healing program, HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY: http://www.drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html  
 
Anyway, it seems I need some surgery soon, to fix it, so I have to stop all dietary items that could cause excessive bleeding, during the procedure.
 
That would include any low dose aspirin, or garlic, or fish oil, that are normally taken precisely because they “thin the blood” and reduce the incidence of abnormal clotting. The problem is that they all have additional effects, like the proven, potent anti-inflammatory properties of omega-3 fatty acids, found in pharmaceutical grade fish oil, like my POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA   http://www.favoriteformulas.com 
 
That means that if I stop the fish oil and the other items for any single reason, I give up ALL their benefits. And having done so now, for a few days, I can TELL it’s missing, when my back and joints start aching again.
 
There’s no question that those anti-inflammatory properties really exist. Same thing can be said for its anti-platelet aggregation properties, that make the blood platelets less “sticky” and therefore, less likely to form clots. 
 
That’s why the doctors tell you to quit them a week, or ten days, before surgery. That’s tacit admission from the medical establishment that omega-3′s WORK.
 
Then, earlier today, my oldest cat, Misty, started falling around. Poor thing is over 18 1/2, which makes her over 80, in human years. We were very upset, fearing that she had had a stroke. We’ve lost a few of our older cats to sudden strokes. And there’s no coming back from that, if it’s a big one.
 
So, I was moping around all day, until I could get her to the vet. My wife was convinced she’d come to the end of the road and that we’d have to put her down. Some timing! I hate that. And I was dreading hearing that I would have to do that, today. 
 
I know she’s old, but she’s really sweet and I tend to fight for my pets, every step of the way, whatever is needed, so they get every minute of quality life that’s coming to them. Funny, but I apply the “Medical Ethic” to my cats, while Congress is getting ready to apply the “Veterinary Ethic” to us (ie., those who pay the bill determine the level of care), with their Christmas Eve vote on their alleged Health Care bill. November can’t come soon enough, for me….
 
But when the vet finally looked at her, blood work was great, x-rays were OK and he only found some high blood pressure, ie., a treatable condition. Thank God! You know, I can handle anything involving my health, or that of my family, but I still get all choked up about our cats.
 
So Misty got a reprieve–she came home and promptly went to sleep, none the worse for wear. And you know what? As far as I was concerned, it was the best gift of all!
 
Well, nothing left now, but some last minute shopping for my bride and then, the peaceful interlude of Christmas Day. I wish you every joy for this Holiday Season, and hope you enjoy a very Merry Christmas, you and your loved ones, and a Happy, Healthy New Year! Til the next time we speak, enjoy the peace and the hope of this special time of year…and be well, my friend.
 
With seasonal greetings and my warmest wishes for your 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 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

November 30, 2009

Back in the late sixties, I was living with my folks in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. I was in high school at Fort Hamilton High, which by a happy coincidence, was literally one short block away from our home.
 
Though I was born downtown, around Pacific Street, just up from Atlantic Avenue, at around age three, my parents moved me to Bay Ridge, on 88th Street, between 3rd and 4th Avenues. When my maternal grandmother died, my grandfather offered to give his house to my Mom and Dad, provided they would let him live out his days there, with us.
 
It was a nicer house, in a nicer area, just four houses up from Narrows Avenue, within sight of the Narrows (which the Verrazano Bridge now spans) and Shore Road. And, it was a stone’s throw from Fort Hamilton High School, the former site of the Crescent Polo Club (waaay before my time, but my father remembered it).
 
The major advantage of this fact was that I could quite literally fall out of bed in the morning, bolt my breakfast and then, run to school in about one minute flat. So, I was never late, never needed to take the bus; all in all, pretty convenient.
 
It also had a quarter mile circular cinder track, for the track team, which was open to the neighborhood. I often used that track and a strict diet of hard boiled eggs and water to drop as much as 20 pounds in 1-2 weeks. (Of course, in those days, I actually had a metabolic rate that would permit that, unlike today….)
 
At that time, certain TV shows were all the rage. Three that were favorites of high school kids, at that time, were “Batman” (with Adam West and Burt Ward, played strictly for laughs, often with famous guest stars as “villains”), the “Soupy Sales Show” (slapstick comedy skits by veteran comic Soupy Sales, often with another level for the more adult viewer…and us, too). 
 
Soupy got in trouble and got thrown off the air for “off color” jokes that were considered indecent for his audience (mainly kids…and us), at the time, to wit: “My wife can’t make a cherry pie, but she sure can make my banana cream.” 
 
This, of course, was thought uproarious and made him a hero to us… but he still got thrown off the air. Sic transit gloria.
 
The other was “The Green Hornet,” a show about a masked adventurer, Brit Reid, a millionaire newspaper publisher, with a wicked armored car, the Black Beauty, all tricked out with rockets, green headlamps and other great gadgets, to fight crime. 
 
But the real draw of the show was his Chinese driver and butler, Kato, played by the inimitable Bruce Lee. This show was his “big break,” with first American, then international exposure, that eventually made him an immortal martial arts superstar.
 
Unlike “Batman,” which was done as “camp” (ie., stupid and funny and satiric), this show was played as straight drama. Reports are that this was because Bruce Lee refused to play the typical “cooley” Chinese stereotype, prevalent at that time, and because he was the real deal. He was, in fact, a master of Wing Chun Gung Fu, having studied under Master Yip Man. (He later went on to form his own style, JKD, or Jeet Kun Do, the Way of the Stopping Fist.)
 
His high-pitched cat-like cries, high crescent kicks, explosive speed and deceptive power (especially in such a relatively small man–5 foot seven, 135 pounds) were like nothing an American audience had ever seen before. In fact, he had to slow down his kicks and punches, so they could be seen (and believed) by the TV cameras. Even today, his penultimate film, “Enter The Dragon,” is one of the best genre films ever made. 
 
So great was his popularity that ”Kung Fu,” the TV series with David Carradine, soon followed. (BTW, if you’re not into these arts, “Gung Fu” is Cantonese dialect, “Kung Fu” is Mandarin, but the real term is “Wu Shu.” All refer to the Chinese boxing arts.) And after that, an endless host of “chop socky” films, of variable quality, from Hong Kong. But HE created the market.
 
It was seeing Bruce Lee explode across the little screen that first seduced me into the karate dojo. At that time, white boys from Brooklyn simply were NOT taught the Chinese arts. So I went for Goju Ryu, a Japanese school of karate, derived from Okinawa Te, which incorporated many of the circular moves and soft “internal” concepts of the Chinese forms.
 
Even today, when I do the Horse Stance, one of the great fundamental exercises of Kung Fu and Karate, which I teach you how to use as a great knee pain exercise, in my PAIN-FREE PROGRAM  http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html  I can’t help but think of the great “Little Dragon,” even as I remember my own teachers, Sensei Joe Lopez and my good friend and mentor, Mike Daly, of the New York Goju Kai. It was the indelible performance of Bruce Lee that entranced a generation of teenage boys, like me, into a lifelong interest in the martial arts. 
 
Today, the martial arts film has come of age, with hauntingly beautiful and highly choreographed works of art like Crouching Tiger–Hidden Dragon, Hero and The House of Flying Daggers, which have won artistic and critical acclaim. But it all started way back then, with Bruce Lee’s Kato.
 
Well, time for breakfast and my first dose of the best ultra pure, highly concentrated, enteric coated, pharmaceutical grade, fish oil available, my very own POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA  http://www.favoriteformulas.com 
 
Try some yourself and see how much better you feel.  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

February 20, 2009

BRRRRIIINNNGGG! The phone next to my bed rang me out of a deep sleep this morning, and, as is usual for me, I caught it before the first ring had faded and before the second could begin. That’s one of the lasting effects of a surgical internship–I awaken instantly, on the first ring of the phone. That doesn’t mean that I’m happy about it, though. I was sleepin’ real good, too….

Turned out, it was my videographer, Jonah. You may recall that last December, I had shot a brand new video production of my very popular PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html   starring me and the lovely Jennifer, a local personal trainer, who was the model for the exercises in the program.

Well, a few weeks ago, we had met in his studio to review and edit the raw footage we shot in December. That was a very good, intense session, where we roughed out the basic look and organization of what will be the DVD of the program. I was amazed at all the cool features that a pro like Jonah could inject into the production.

And, newbie at this that I am, I had thought that that was it. Finished! Well…no. Turns out that he needs me to do some “voice overs” for segments of the video that were marred by some guy who just HAD to come into the fitness studio, where we were actually in the process of shooting, and start his own workout on the treadmill. So, there’s a rumbling background noise, that mars the soundtrack, in some areas.

You know, I still can’t get over how rude that guy was. I mean, we had signs up, indicating that we were shooting a private video, with the permission of the owner and developer of the golf and country club, where I live. Made no difference to this guy. He just barged into the middle of things, right in the middle of the shoot, jumped on the treadmil and started pounding away, apparently oblivious to all of us, who just stood in open-mouthed awe at the sheer brass of this guy.

THEN, he turned on the TV. You had to grudgingly admire the outstanding demonstration of the chutzpah of this guy. Unbelievable! And, as a guest and visitor myself, there really wasn’t anything I could do or say, without making an ugly scene. And the guy WAS a resident member of the club.

But really! I’m not known for being a shrinking violet, when asserting myself, but it would never even have occurred to me to calmly walk into an obvious video set, lights on, cameras and mikes everywhere, “actors” speaking, and just start disrupting the proceedings. I was just stunned.

The great author Travanian (The Eiger Sanction, Shibumi) once wrote that obtuseness is its own protection, as it prevents both realization and correction, or words to that effect. This guy so obviously didn’t give a crap about anyone, but himself, that it was breathtaking.

Anyway, we continued to shoot, but now, I have to go back and redo those sections that he ruined, with voice overs. I probably could get away without them–it IS a gym, after all and these ARE gym sounds. But my man, Jonah, is a real pro and he wouldn’t let me take the easy way out. He wants this production to be the best. And so do I.

And it will be. I promise. I was really pretty impressed and pleased by how good it looked at the first editing session. It’s really remarkably good. And we shot still photos of each of the exercises, as well, which I will use to redo the entire exercise manual of the PAIN-FREE PROGRAM, in a brand new, expanded and updated second edition, eventually.

Naturally, after all this effort and time and expense, it’s going to cost more. And since it will replace the current edition, that will become a collector’s item. So if you want to get a hold of the original PAIN-FREE PROGRAM,  or need these proven exercises, to relieve your knee pain, right NOW, then click here:   http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html

Meanwhile, the DVD remains a work in progress. It’s my first one, so I had no idea what was involved, before the fact. But, anything worth doing… right? So I’m resigned to at least one more editing session, before I can get a completed master copy and release it. But I think you’ll like it, when you finally get to see it. It REALLY looks good….

Meanwhile, the new website for the very best pharmaceutical grade fish oil and other complementary supplements, dedicated to your optimal health, DR. BILL’S FAVORITE FORMULAS, is up and running and taking the supplement world by storm. We’re already on page 2 of Google for pharmaceutical grade fish oil. After only about a week! How about that? If you want to join in and get on board, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/favorite_formulas.html

And, to help us get going, please forward this email to two or three of your friends, who you think might benefit from my POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA. Well, that’s the latest and greatest, my friend. Have a great weekend. 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