By Dr. W. Gifford Jones
March 25, 2007
"But how did you pay for the $250,000 treatment" I asked one of my patients? To my surprise she replied, "I applied and received a grant from the Canadian government". This huge sum of money shocked me. What amazed me more, as a taxpayer, was the money's destination, Arizona. I decided to find out what treatment is worth $250,000 in the U.S. And, who says our government is stingy with medical care!
By Dr. W. Gifford Jones
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Would I allow Ritalin or other similar drugs to be prescribed to my children because they fidgeted, squirmed in their seat or were inattentive? Hell would freeze over a thousand times before I'd submit to such idiocy. But today an estimated five million Canadian and U.S. children are prescribed medication for this condition.
By Dr. W. Gifford Jones
Friday, June 30, 2006
How much equality is there between the sexes? In recent years women have made strides in their struggle to gain equality with men. But surprisingly in one area men are getting the short end of the stick. Today the majority of people being treated for depression are women. The majority of men, however, suffer silently from undiagnosed and untreated depression. Why the gender bias in this case? And how can wives and families recognize this problem and urge men to accept treatment?
By Dr. W. Gifford Jones
Monday, January 2, 2006
Voltaire was right when he wrote, "Most men live lives of quiet desperation". As we enter another year, desperation seems to be getting worse. Escalating violence in Iraq, concerns about increasing crime in our cities, political corruption and headlines warning us of the dangers of prescription drugs confront us daily. So all the more reason to consider 10 non-prescription ways to help you relax in 2005.
By Dr. W. Gifford Jones
November 20, 2005
How times have changed! I've often complained that toe-tapping music has gone, now replaced by loud singers who shout or gyrate. We used to have more sense. But when it came to sex how much sense did we have? Not much, compared to what is now happening. At the Centre Hospitalier Robert-Gillard, the largest psychiatric hospital in eastern Quebec, a new policy allows psychiatric patients to have sex. This reminded me of Thorupgaarden nursing home in Copenhagen and its "ladies-of-the-night".
By Dr. W. Gifford Jones
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
It appears there are epidemics and there are epidemics. Few of us will forget the anxiety and economic loss this country suffered during the SARS outbreak. Now reports indicate we face another one. It's a disease that strikes the brain with profound effects on some and leaves others unscathed.
By Dr. W. Gifford Jones
January 11, 2005
Will a pill make you less befuddled next time you try to master the controls of your new digital camera? Will it make you as intelligent computer-wise as your 10-year-old child? Are you continually losing your keys and glasses, feeling less alert and concerned about Alzheimer's Disease?
By Dr. W. Gifford Jones
August 3, 2004
What makes for a long and happy life? A talk at The Harvard Medical School about fighter pilots provided one answer. And a recent trip to celebrate my wife's aunt's 100th birthday provided another one. Part of the solution is how you read the following; "happinessisnowhere."
By Dr. W. Gifford Jones
July 4, 2004
Abraham Lincoln once wrote, " I am the most miserable man alive. To remain as I am is impossible. I must die or get better." Winston Churchill echoed the same reaction when he told his doctor, " I don't like to stand by the side of a ship and look down into the water. A second's action would end everything. Is much known about worry, Charles?"
By Dr. W. Gifford Jones
June 15, 2003
So far we have not had an earthquake in Canada. I'm almost afraid to mention it! As Shakespeare wrote, "When troubles come, they come not single spies but in battalions." He could have been writing about Canada's problems of SARS, Mad Cow Disease and The West Nile Virus. So I can't imagine a better topic than depression when so many of us are thinking "Why, God, have you done this to our country?"
By Dr. W. Gifford Jones
Monday April 28, 2003
How much whiplash pain is in the mind and how much in the neck? It's an important question because a huge amount of money is involved. And it comes out of everyone's pocket. This year the diagnosis, treatment, litigation and insurance payments of whiplash complaints will cost North Americans 29 billion dollars. Now, a fascinating report about demolition drivers separates fact from fiction. It could be of use to defense lawyers.
By Dr. W. Gifford Jones
November 11, 2002
In 2004, how much depression will be due to the perilous times in which we live? How much due to genetics? A reader recently asked this interesting question.
By Dr. W. Gifford Jones
February 24, 2002
Why in the name of Heaven do they do it? And the locations? One of the first rings I encountered in my office was in the belly button. The next one in a very intimate part of the female anatomy. That's the one that made my white hair stand on end. Then others began to appear in the lips, cheeks , nose and tongue. Now several reports indicate that placing a ring in the tongue can trigger life-threatening complications.
By Dr. W. Gifford Jones
February 2, 2002
I've often wondered who the most interesting person was of all those I've interviewed over the last 27 years? It's a tough decision. After all, how do you eliminate a two-time Nobel Prize winner like Linus Pauling? Or the discoverer of the Aids virus? Or The Queen of England's personal physician. But in these recent black days my mind has returned repeatedly to Dr. Thomas Hackett, a professor of psychiatry at The Harvard Medical School. In these post-Bin Laden times, see if you flunk or pass this quiz.
By Dr. W. Gifford Jones
January 2, 2005
Is he or she lying or giving you the straight facts? During 2002 knowing the difference can be mighty important. It can prevent some people from buying a Florida swamp. Or voting for the wrong politician. Or knowing who is friend or foe. So is there any medical way to judge whether someone is lying between his teeth?
W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of Harvard. Dr. Walker's website is: Docgiff.com
My book, �90 + How I Got There� can be obtained by sending $19.95 to:
Giff Holdings, 525 Balliol St, Unit # 6,Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1E1
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