Gen Med at WFUBMC

Hello All!

Hope all is well. I have spent the last two days completing my general medicine rotation. Lots of interesting patients despite the rather "ordinary" reputation of general medicine. I saw a very interesting case earlier this week regarding a young woman who was "prescribed" Fen-Phen (phentermine) by her doctor to help with weight loss. Well, she ended up in the ER with cardiac problems at ~30 yo. Read about Fen-Phen -- a drug taken off the market by the FDA in 1997 due to its negative impact on the heart. (Well, after doing a little research, I found out you can actually purchase the drug on the Internet without a prescription! Crazy!) Thought I would share so you can keep your eyes peeled for Fen-Phen users...

Today I had the opportunity to educate two patients with wired jaws. These people normally have to eat a completely liquid diet for 6-8 weeks. Thus, it is important that we teach them appropriate ways to consume adequate calories and nutrients. Some tips that I learned: recommended adding milk, vegetable soup or apple juice to foods to liquify them instead of water (improves flavor as well as increases calories), advise them to put a lid over their blended food in case the appearance leads to dislike, make sure that they take precautions to prevent food poisoning (washing blender after each use, washing hands, not adding raw eggs, not consuming chunks of food), and advise patients to limit their consumption of junk drinks such as Kool Aid, Sunny D, sodas, etc. so they have an appetite later for more nutrient dense foods.

Well, those are just a few thoughts from today. Enjoy your weekend.

Rachael