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Topic : 07/23 Ask the Doctors

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Created on : Friday, April 04, 2008, 02:09:08 pm
Author : DrPhilBoard1
(Original Air Date: 04/08/08) Imagine having your doctor on speed dial to answer your questions 24/7. Here's your chance, because The Doctors (link to: /shows/page/TheDoctors)  are back! Dr. Phil welcomes OB/GYN Dr. Lisa Masterson, family therapist Dr. Tara Fields, pediatrician Dr. Jim Sears, plastic surgeon Dr. Andrew Ordon, and E.R. physician Dr. Travis Stork. Join their conversation and hear their valuable insights on the hottest medical topics of the day, including actor Heath Ledger's untimely death and the rise in breast augmentation surgery. Next, meet Jennifer, a wife and mother who's so afraid of her family getting sick and dying from germs, that she won't handle cash or mail, she wears three different pairs of shoes each day -- a pair for in the house, one for out of the house, and one for in the car -- and won't even greet family members from out of town until they've come in and showered! Is Jennifer's house as germ free as she thinks it is? Dr. Phil sends a microbiologist to find out. Then, meet a woman who got married and was ready to start a family only to find out that the man she fell in love with was making her physically ill. And, meet a couple who are at odds over a serious medical dilemma involving their 3-year-old son. Should they amputate his legs? Plus, is there a medical question you're dying to know the answer to but are too embarrassed to ask? Be there when The Doctors answer viewer questions on topics ranging from breastfeeding to penis enlargement, and then talk about the show here.

Find out what happened on the show.


 
jodieskinner
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April 8, 2008, 10:03 pm PDT

Jaya

My heart breaks for this family.  I can't even imagine what they're going through. 

 

My cousin was born with Spina Bifida and his parents went through the same dilemma.  His is paralyzed from the waist down as well.  He is 21 now but when he was younger he had the same problems as Jaya.  He would drag his feet until there were open wounds and he just didn't notice.  He has also had problems with his hips.  He used to play wheelchair basketball and his hip would rub on his seat belt.  He got open wounds which got infected and it was just a mess.  They decided not to amputate.  That was the right decision for them at that time.  Whether or not he decides to do so as an adult remains to be seen. 

 
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dreams2share
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April 8, 2008, 10:32 pm PDT

My daughter is in torment

Quote From: jdogg1

This message is for the lady that was a germaphobic on today's show. It was clear that she had OCD as I believe one of the doctors said she had. I would like to give her a word of encouragment. I have OCD....I do not wash my hands but do others things repeatedly. I was diagnosed with OCD a few years ago and today I have pretty much took it under control. Through drugs and psychological help...but mostly the psychological help as I hated the drugs, I can control my OCD for most situations and my anxiety. You will always have the urges that you have, but through help can learn how to control them.

There is an AWESOME book out there called Brain Lock by Jeffrey M. Schwartz...please give it a read....

it has really good steps that my psychologist and I even used to conquer OCD!!!!! I very much hope this message gets back to the lady.....and if you would like to contact me I have no problem with that.

Thanks

Jalene

At 16, she is paralyzed with and OCD fear of germs. She takes showers that can last for an hour and a half or two, using a new bar of soap and half a bottle of hair products per shower. Sometimes her nipples and hands bleed from the scrubbing. She won't dry with a towel because it might have lint or germs. She has used as much as two and a half rolls of t.p. per sitting until her backside bleeds (which leads to more wiping). She has recently started intentionally dehydrating herself, avoiding liquids so as to prevent urination. She will try to delay going to the bathroom for 10 or 12 hours until she finally loses control and has an accident. Meanwhile, she will have been in and out of the bathroom several times to wash hands but nothing else. At school, she stands at the desk because she fears it is contaminated. Her binder stays in her bag so it will stay clean. She has washed her binder before. She has washed and ruined a CD player. She washes her laundry over and over in case someone touched it. She lays towels on the floor to keep her feet "clean".

We don't know where to turn next. Her psychiatrist has given up on trying new medications. Most of what we tried made it worse. Now they are recommending residential, but this girl would be destroyed without the family support system. I'll look up that book called Brain Lock. Otherwise, I don't know what else to do.
 
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drvann
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April 8, 2008, 11:18 pm PDT

little boy with bad legs

I have polio, i have a "good" leg and a "bad" leg....... my xhusband wanted me to have my bad leg removed .... this is a violent act ... this is abuse ... this mom can not make the problem go away by removing the bad legs.They are his legs,  not hers and her job is to care for him not to make herself feel better.  Removing the legs will not make his handicappedness better It will not help him at all. Removing his legs will  make mom feel as if she did something, MOM  needs to get help.  And when he turns 6 or 8 or 12 or 14 he will NOT be able to make a decision like that. He must wait until he is 18.  I like the little boy just the way that he is.

Do not solve a temporary problem with a permanent solution

 

 
 
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kellybel1
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April 8, 2008, 11:29 pm PDT

Stomach Stapling

 Hello,

I had my stomach stapled 15 years ago after the birth of my second child.  At that time, I was almost 100 lbs overweight but all my life, I had never weighed more than 150 lbs. @ 5'8".  So my insurance covered the surgey and it  worked, I lost down to 125 but was too thin.  I now struggle to maintain a weight of 155 at age 43.  BUT I am hungry at ALL times, I still can only eat about 1 cup of food but within 30 minutes or less, it feels as if I have not eaten anything.  I am sick of food, eating & trying to get full!  I hate leaving the house because as soon as I arrive somewhere I am hungry again.  My husband gets tired of my needing to eat so often when we are out.  I find that I will turn to alcoholic beverages as it will give me a sense of being full or at least supress my appetite.....but that is not how I want to deal with this issue.  I don't think my insurance would cover the reversal of the surgery since I am not 100 lbs over-weight plus I have a HUGE fear of gaining weight. 

I joined Online Weight Watchers  which helps me with good eating ideas but I found the ladies on the message board very judgemental about my having the surgery as the easy way out & attacked my question asking if someone suffered from the same issue.  The surgery does give me some control where I did not have it before but I do regret having the surgery!

Thanks for reading,

Tired of being hungry!!  :(

~K
 
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dlc555
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April 8, 2008, 11:41 pm PDT

04/08 Ask the Doctors

Quote From: thenewyear

Let me say first, I see nothing wrong with any lady having reconstructive surgery whose had  to fight breast cancer in her lifetime. I am so much compassion for these courageous ladies.

 

But for these females who have breast implants just to wear tops with half their boobs hanging out for the rest to see, I am sick of it. And by the number of implants the doctor said on the show he had done, I can see their will be a lot of more to be flaunted in our faces.

 

Does anyone know where I can get a shirt to wear that says "NO SILICONE NEEDED IN THESE"!!!!!!!!!!

 

Make one of your own...it's easy....any local store has iron on patches.  You could also use a laundry marker in your favorite color.....recruit an old t shirt.....it's the message that's important...d
 
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kellybel1
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April 9, 2008, 1:04 am PDT

Stomach Stapling

The question I forgot to ask in my first post was:  Is there any health risks for long-term stomach stapling?  
Thank you,
~Kellybel
 
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osup217
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April 9, 2008, 1:14 am PDT

herpes,releif

Quote From: clydesmom2

 If your insurance doesn't require a precert to see a specialist go anyway!  Don't wait for your physician to give you "permission."  The other thing you can do is get a second opinion from another ob/gyn and then get them to refer you to the specialist if the referral is required.  Most insurance companies will pay for a second opinion and ENCOURAGE it.  Do NOT let anyone make you feel guilty for wanting a second opinion or for seeing a specialist.  They may tell you it isn't your immune system but at least you will feel better for having it checked out.
I have had herpes for 13 years and I take 500mg of valtrex  3 times dayily which helps but I have found that the more pressure or bad feelings and more worrying about these desease it is worse on you and your nerves. My dr procscribes me some zanex to take the worring out of the picture, take long walks and get the feelings out and get the nerves out of the way. do happy things, and if you get around bad people or might i say people that mad and mean get away from them you need some fun people. hopefully this will help you toward releaving some of this pain of yours. also he gives me 25mg of dopepin for itching. 3 times a day.his has tried some cream on the sores but that does not work, i put colamine lotion and the sores dry up faster.
 
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sidney53
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April 9, 2008, 1:59 am PDT

I DISAGREE WITH THE DRS ON ONE POINT......

ONE OF THE DOCTORS SAID THAT THE LONGER YOU BREAST FEED THE SMARTER THE CHILD IS...................THAT IS A WIVES TALE.................

 

IN 1983 I GAVE BIRTH TO MY SON. I TRIED TO BREAST FEED WITHOUT ANY HELP FROM HOSPITAL OR ANY GROUP.NEVER HEARD OF LALEJE' TILL YRS LATER. AFTER A MONTH OF HIM NOT GETTING MUCH, LOSING WEIGHT AND BEING PRESSURED TO KEEP TRYING. FINALLY DR. AGREED TO TRY CANNED MILK.......MY SON COULDN'T KEEP IT DOWN, SCREAMED WHEN I FEED HIM  AND WOULD VOMIT IT UP. DR. SAID IF IT HITS HIS STOMACH HE GETS THE NURISHMENT. WHEN HE LOST 2 MORE LB. FINALLY THE DR. AGREED FOR ME TO TRY SOY MILK. MY SON GAINED THE WEIGHT BACK IN A WEEK AND NEVER HAD A PROBLEM AGAIN. HE IS STILL ALLERGIC TO MILK. SOY MILK HAVED MY SONS LIFE. AND YOU CAN'T GET SOY MILK FROM A MOTHERS BREAST.

 

BUT I'M WRITING TO SAY THE DRS. ON THE SHOW ARE WRONG WHEN THEY SAID BREAST FEEDING MAKES A KID SMARTER THAN BOTTLE FED. MY SON WAS BOTTLE FED FROM SECOND MONTH AND I WAS TOLD AT AGE 3 HE WAS SO SMART HE MIGHT BE A GENIUS. HE WAS DOING MATH OUT LOAD ON HIS OWN AT AGE 3. HE COULD READ BY PRESCHOOL..............SO THE DOCTORS NEED TO GET THEIR FACTS STRAIGHT..............

 

BREAST FEEDING IS NOT ALWAYS THE BEST FOR THE CHILD. IF I HAD LISTENED TO THE DRS. WHO INSISTED ON BREAST FEEDING, MY SON HE WOULD HAVE DIED FROM STARVATION............

 

MY SON IS A 25 YR OLD WONDERFUL MAN DOING WELL..........EVEN WITHOUT BEING BREAST FEED!

 

 

SHERRY

DAVID'S PROUD MOTHER
 
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marianparoo
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April 9, 2008, 3:27 am PDT

04/08 Ask the Doctors

Quote From: misaliss73

I was born with neuroblastoma, which left me paralyzed from the waist down. I can't imagine if my parents had opted to amputate both of my legs. Yes, they are useless in the conventional sense, but they are a part of me. I have been parapalegic my whole life, and I agree with Dr. Phil.....kids are very adaptable. If I wanted to do something, I figured out a way, legs in the way or not. If a reason arose medically why Jaya's parents considered removing his legs, then that would be different (ie some sort of infection or something). But I really hope they choose, at least for now, to let Jaya learn how to adapt with what God has given him. I have also been the target of many an insult from insensitive children, but unfortunately Jaya is probably going to have to endure that whether he has a prostheses or not. A disabled child learns great human patience and compassion due to the hardships they go through, and those are great qualities to possess. From the video they showed, it looks to me like Jaya is much like any other child, he gets around and does the things he wants and has learned how to do it with the abilities he has. To kids like him, and myself as a child, that is just how it works. We never learned a different way before that, so to us our limitations are just natural and we learn to do everything in our own way.

Well, at that age amputation wasn't an issue.

 

And til that wonderful surgery took, I did managed to get around using a child's ingenuity. And up to about 8 or so, things were fine with other children, the mockery started afterwards. But to be honest, the compassion I learned early, from seeing children worse off than me all the time. The mockery did nothing in that direction, and for me it was 100% harmful. I did have the luck, to use Dr. Phil's expression from another program, to have a soft place to fall when I came home from a rotten day at school.

 

At one point, my condition did suddenly deteriorate due to failed plastic surgery, and this issue of amputation did come up. I was 16, and the orthopedist wanted my input.

 

I decided to try one op to repair the damage, and if that failed, go for the amputation.

 

If I seem not to be quite tracking, it is because at age 53, this still brings up all kinds of memories as I type.
 
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marianparoo
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April 9, 2008, 3:35 am PDT

Pseudoarthrosis/ Neurofibromatosis -- me too

Quote From: tanyalr

 This is not really a question but about the little boy who's parents are not sure what to do about amputating their son's legs. I have one leg shorter and smaller that the other due to something called Pseudoarthrosis due to what is called Neurofibromatosis. My paremts were not willing to have my leg amputated even though they new I would never walk without a brace and I now have a prosthesis type of leg what a person would wear if their leg was amputated except my little leg fits inside. I am a 36 year old female that has had six operations on that leg to see if it would have been any better. One of the operations I could have had was to lengthen my leg and foot and may have been able to have worn a built up shoe but it wouls have been very painful. The first operation could have been to have had my leg amputated at nine months old. I was the first child born to my parents and they were in their early twenties and didn't want to do it. About 10 years ago I wanted to have my leg taken off because I wanted to be able to wear jeans without cutting them up the side and I wanted to be able to wear shoes of any kind and I could have had my foot and part of my leg removed then thought I would have it removed to the knee. I then chose not to do because I was able to walk now and I may have had more trouble and more pain than what I have now. I asked my mom why her and dad didn't do it when I was a baby. As I said above was the reason why they didn't do it. I didn't want to go through the phantom pains and trying to scratch the many itches that wouldn't be there. Without my prosthesis I use crutches and I have had an accident with my "good leg" that did a lot of damage and I am lucky to be walking today but I made sure that I would walk when I was able. I hade two operations on that leg. One was tagging all the nerves because all of them snapped and I was not able to even move it. The secon was a tendon transfer to be able to move my foot in some ways but I didn't have the third operation that would have been pins in my toes to be able to move them up and dowm. I have broke my big toe 3-4 times because I have tripped over it because of not being able to move it at all. Twenty years later I have bad back pain and pain in the "good leg." I have drop foot and the pain in the ankle is bad at most times now.

I truly believe that your son will overcome many things in his life that he will either thank you for keeping his legs or ask you why you didn't have them removed. Technology has come so far and it's possible that your boy could be wearing braces on his legs and may very well walk with a walker or crutches. One thing is almost for certain is that he will have full uper body strength.
Your story really touched my heart and whatever you choose to do it will be for the right reason because as they say everything happens for a reason. Good luck to you all.

This is what I was born with, too, but I've had been luck with rehabilitation.

 

I'm sorry that you've had so much trouble through the years, I think you can believe that I understand.

 

May I ask if you have problems with cystic breasts? I've also had that as part of the NF1 package, and have had quiet a few removed. I also go for breast checks twice a year, and start mammographs at a younger than usual age.

 

Best,

with all my heart,

Marian

 

 
 
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