http://robertshmerling.gather.com Recent Articles on Gather by Robert Shmerling, M.D., Harvard Medical School en-us Copyright Gather Inc 2009 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:00:37 GMT 2010-01-07T23:00:37Z en-us Copyright Gather Inc 2009 http://www.gather.com/images/header/logo_gather.gif http://www.gather.com/ http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977679949 My father was a doctor and used to tell me about one of his patients, who blamed his doctors for his ills: "I was fine before I came to see you but by the end of my first visit, I had high blood . . . Mon, 11 May 2009 19:55:51 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977679949 Robert Shmerling, M.D., Harvard Medical School 2009-05-11T19:55:51Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977618294 Some recent headlines about placebos and the placebo effect shocked me: Half of doctors prescribe placebos, survey shows (USA Today) U.S. Doctors Prescribe Drugs for Placebo Effect, Survey . . . Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:36:21 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977618294 Robert Shmerling, M.D., Harvard Medical School 2009-03-09T14:36:21Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977614316 Perhaps it does no good to worry, but that's exactly what many of us do when thinking about health and disease. I know I do. If you have ever tried to worry less about your health, you probably . . . Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:18:52 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977614316 Robert Shmerling, M.D., Harvard Medical School 2009-03-04T19:18:52Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977542641 One of my patients thought her previous doctor was "no good." She and her husband saw the same physician, and soon after her husband had a routine physical exam, he died suddenly. At . . . Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:55:19 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977542641 Robert Shmerling, M.D., Harvard Medical School 2008-12-22T17:55:19Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977497801 Life is full of warnings and, clearly, some are more helpful than others. But warning labels are so common that you may begin to ignore them. Or, you may not notice them at all. Just how should one respond . . . Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:29:07 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977497801 Robert Shmerling, M.D., Harvard Medical School 2008-11-04T21:29:07Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977462783 “I’m sorry I don’t remember your name, I’ve seen so many doctors…and why are you here, again?” When I see patients in the hospital, I hear this a lot. That’s because people admitted to a hospital are . . . Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:12:03 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977462783 Robert Shmerling, M.D., Harvard Medical School 2008-09-29T21:12:03Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977386995 I hear it all the time: "I can't take any medications. I'm allergic to everything!" Some of my patients provide a long list of medicines to which they are allergic, often ruling out . . . Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:01:39 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977386995 Robert Shmerling, M.D., Harvard Medical School 2008-07-01T18:01:39Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977329605 The temptation is great. And, the convenience is irresistible. You don't feel well and there are remedies for the asking just down the road at your local convenience store. No prescription needed. . . . Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:14:57 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977329605 Robert Shmerling, M.D., Harvard Medical School 2008-04-22T17:14:57Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977207835 With all the pressure to do more for your health (Eat more vegetables! Take your vitamins! Drink more water!), it may be surprising to learn that in a number of situations, the problem is not too little, . . . Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:14:07 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977207835 Robert Shmerling, M.D., Harvard Medical School 2007-12-19T14:14:07Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977143441 Many of my patients (and even more of my relatives) tell me that their arthritis pain is affected by weather. More remarkably, for many the joint symptoms precede weather changes.  Often my patients . . . Wed, 10 Oct 2007 19:22:17 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977143441 Robert Shmerling, M.D., Harvard Medical School 2007-10-10T19:22:17Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977106602 I just had The Test. It seems like it was only yesterday. Maybe it was yesterday. The details are fuzzy already. The truth is I can barely remember a thing. Having just turned 50, I was supposed to have . . . Tue, 04 Sep 2007 20:31:56 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977106602 Robert Shmerling, M.D., Harvard Medical School 2007-09-04T20:31:56Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976948406 April 2007 There may be more sources of health information today than there were even ten years ago, but that doesn't mean all of them are good. Inaccurate information continues to spread - whether . . . Mon, 02 Apr 2007 20:12:36 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976948406 Robert Shmerling, M.D., Harvard Medical School 2007-04-02T20:12:36Z