Article by John Scott

The world always seems a better place when an acronym really works. In this case, the word is NICE which currently stands for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (the powers-that-be added the “Health and” later on). Now we all know the Brits live like savages in caves and are routinely culled by doctors working for the death squads sometimes called the National Health Service. But NICE is actually a good idea. It routinely investigates all the potential treatments available for each disease or disorder to find out which work the best. It then only funds the most efficient and effective treatments. If cave-dwelling Brits want the other stuff, they have to pay for it out of their own pockets. This sets national standards for treatments and overcomes the so-called zip code lottery where the quality of treatment depended on whether each local hospital was up with the latest medical research. In the US, everyone in the healthcare industry is in business and sells treatments with the highest profit margin regardless whether the treatments are the best. So, unless you do your own research to find out which treatments actually represent good value for money, you are at the mercy of your local doctors and their for-profit employers.

Anyway, NICE has been steadily working its way through all the major treatments (that’s drugs, medical devices and surgical procedures) and, not so long ago, it reached pain management. This is the emerging speciality that sees pain as a disease or disorder in its own right. So, after you have treated the underlying problem causing the pain and produced the best outcome, you move on to treat the continuing pain. For these purposes, the new hospital departments are cross-disciplinary with contributions being made from specialists who previously had worked separately. Now all come together to find the best solutions for each individual patient. This recognizes everyone as potentially unique with a different medical history, different job constraints and family commitments. The plan is to come up with a holistic treatment program to give everyone the best chance of achieving a good quality of life.

Read the rest of this entry

Read the rest of this entry

Read the rest of this entry

Colin Hammond describes how panic attacks affected his life and became a series of phobias and anxieties, and how therapy helped his recovery.

So many people are afflicted with panic attacks, severe anxiety, agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder etc. In stead of focusing on the symptoms and the misery it causes, I thought it would be nice for those of you who have had it to post your success stories here so people who are still struggling can gain some hope, strength and courage from you. Thank You for sharing. Only those who have had it know what those who have it are going through.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (OCD) come in various forms but most focus on cleanliness to a degree. This disorder has always fascinated me because for a period of time I feared that I had the disorder.

After learning more about the disorder I found that I had some traits that are similar in nature to those of OCD but I do not suffer from it. In order to be diagnosed with the disorder the obsessions and compulsions must impact on the daily life and functioning of the sufferer.

Read the rest of this entry