Dr James Le Fanu: 22 February
It can sometimes seem that everyone coming through the surgery door is miserable. By contrast, patients who are overly happy seem rare. This is, however, a well-recognised feature of manic depression, described by one patient as an ‘intense sense of wellbeing, both physical and mental. The digestive system functions well and an inner warmth pervades me.’
Those with neurological disorders can also seem happier than they should be. Indeed, the disparity between the mood and disability of those with MS may result in their symptoms being labelled as psychosomatic. Epilepsy too can induce a profound sense of wellbeing, with the Russian novelist Dostoevsky describing how, following his fits, he had ‘so strong and sweet a feeling of happiness that for a few seconds of this enjoyment one would readily exchange 10 years of one’s life’.
More recently, a Chicago neurologist described a female patient whose fits were accompanied by ‘an intense warm feeling… as if I am having the strongest of orgasms’. Rather surprisingly, she insisted her epilepsy be treated, commenting: ‘I don’t want this going on while driving the children to the dentist.’
Besides these examples, Richard Bentall, Professor of Clinical Psychology at Liverpool University, has suggested there may be a subtler variant of chronic happiness that might be classified as a psychiatric disorder. Close questioning may reveal defects in cognition, such as refusing to dwell on past, unhappy events or irrational thought patterns, such as overestimating their achievements. This form of chronic happiness has evaded medical scrutiny probably because those afflicted see no point in visiting their GP and are unaware that there’s anything unusual about their mental state.
THIS WEEK’S MEDICAL QUERY comes courtesy of a lady from Surrey who for many years has had discomfort in her stomach after every meal, which she finds can be avoided by sitting quietly for 15 minutes before doing anything else. Her GP arranged for her to have a barium meal, which revealed her symptoms were due to an impaired contraction of the muscles in the stomach wall. Her symptoms persist, despite being prescribed the acid- suppressant drug omeprazole and she wonders what other treatments might be available.
This discomfort after meals is due to delayed emptying of the stomach and omeprazole is the standard treatment – if not effective, a higher dose might be called for. The anti-sickness pill Maxolon, taken just before a meal, also helps by impelling the contents of the stomach through the duodenum into the small intestine.
drjames@lady.co.uk
‘Both my mother and I were immensely relieved when a friend of the family advised me instead to plunge my face in a wash basin of cold water each morning and open my eyes under water three times. I did so and have not suffered from styes since.’
Those with neurological disorders can also seem happier than they should be. Indeed, the disparity between the mood and disability of those with MS may result in their symptoms being labelled as psychosomatic. Epilepsy too can induce a profound sense of wellbeing, with the Russian novelist Dostoevsky describing how, following his fits, he had ‘so strong and sweet a feeling of happiness that for a few seconds of this enjoyment one would readily exchange 10 years of one’s life’.
More recently, a Chicago neurologist described a female patient whose fits were accompanied by ‘an intense warm feeling… as if I am having the strongest of orgasms’. Rather surprisingly, she insisted her epilepsy be treated, commenting: ‘I don’t want this going on while driving the children to the dentist.’
Besides these examples, Richard Bentall, Professor of Clinical Psychology at Liverpool University, has suggested there may be a subtler variant of chronic happiness that might be classified as a psychiatric disorder. Close questioning may reveal defects in cognition, such as refusing to dwell on past, unhappy events or irrational thought patterns, such as overestimating their achievements. This form of chronic happiness has evaded medical scrutiny probably because those afflicted see no point in visiting their GP and are unaware that there’s anything unusual about their mental state.
THIS WEEK’S MEDICAL QUERY comes courtesy of a lady from Surrey who for many years has had discomfort in her stomach after every meal, which she finds can be avoided by sitting quietly for 15 minutes before doing anything else. Her GP arranged for her to have a barium meal, which revealed her symptoms were due to an impaired contraction of the muscles in the stomach wall. Her symptoms persist, despite being prescribed the acid- suppressant drug omeprazole and she wonders what other treatments might be available.
This discomfort after meals is due to delayed emptying of the stomach and omeprazole is the standard treatment – if not effective, a higher dose might be called for. The anti-sickness pill Maxolon, taken just before a meal, also helps by impelling the contents of the stomach through the duodenum into the small intestine.
drjames@lady.co.uk
Goodbye, Stye
The simplest treatment for a stye is probably a hot compress in the form of a piece of gauze dipped in a bowl of warm, salted water. Saliva is also a suitable treatment because of its antinfective properties and it is claimed that regular application of early-morning spittle to a stye in its early stages will prevent it developing. This would certainly seem a better option than the advice given to a reader from Lancashire – when afflicted by styes as a child – that she should bathe them in her own urine.‘Both my mother and I were immensely relieved when a friend of the family advised me instead to plunge my face in a wash basin of cold water each morning and open my eyes under water three times. I did so and have not suffered from styes since.’