March 2024
Dr. Neuman's lecture 'Intro to PsychoPharmacology' [Mental Health Meds] is now available free of charge to members of Ally Primary Care here.
On this site, you will also find Dr. Neuman's talk on Sexually Transmitted Infections.
Free when putting in coupon codes:
Psychopharm: Ally50Free
STI: AllySTIFREE
The lecture was part of a donation series organized by therapy collective Modern Path, with proceeds going to a fund to pay for talk therapy services for folks, especially gender, sexual, and racial minority folks, with few economic resources.
Calculate Your Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke
We had a calculator that could predict your risk of having a heart attack, a stroke, or heart failure in the next ten years. We suspected it overestimated the risk - leading to anxiety and over-treatment. We based many decisions on that risk percentage, particularly whether to start cholesterol medicine. A long-awaited update to the old equation has come out! You can find the calculator here. The new calculator factors in a kidney function equation, whether folks have diabetes, and can be used starting at age 30 (instead of 40).
>> Dr. Neuman says: "If you are unsure of your BMI, systolic blood pressure (the top number), eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate - aka rate kidney filters the blood), or cholesterol numbers, please reach out. I can provide them, or we can order the tests needed to provide them.
>> For the genderqueer folk: as typical, studies excluded gender minorities.😔. Circle the bubble of your choosing. Send good vibes to any scientists interested in studying how to improve the health of queer people - or find a rich person with lots of money to donate to queer science!."
Sitting Kills
A new study showed that folks who sit for work had a 16% greater chance of dying and a 34% higher chance of heart attack or heart disease than those who do not sit for work. This was true even for folks of the same weight and health background.
>> Dr. Neuman says: "It is tough to avoid sitting in today's day and age. This study shows it can be worthwhile to try. Unrelated, would anyone be interested in a 'walk-with-a-doc' visit?"
Viagra for Cold Finger Attacks?
Folks with frequent attacks of Raynaud's phenomenon had five fewer attacks weekly when taking Viagra (sildenafil) or Cialis (tadalafil) daily, according to a thorough review of current evidence. Raynaud's phenomenon is when someone's finger(s) or toe(s) turn purple/white/blue/red when exposed to cold or strong emotions (example above). It is sometimes painful. The blood vessels in the fingers or toes spasm in response to cold/stress/emotion, and resulting changes in blood flow produce color changes. It is not thought to cause permanent damage. it can be distressing and painful when it occurs. While these blood vessel-dilating medications help lower the frequency and length of attacks (by five minutes less on average), they do not reduce the pain of the attacks when they happen.
>> Dr. Neuman says: "I've recommended these medicines for years for folks interested in dilating other blood vessels with these medicines. These medicines are economical nowadays and relatively quite safe."
