Tag: essential

And now…on today’s episode of brows gone wild

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Anybody else getting slapped in the face with all of the things that you took for granted before? Me too! Brows gone wild is definitely high up on the list. I dream of the perfect arch, somewhere in between thoughtfully skeptical and permanent surprise, only to find myself looking like some sort of shaggy Groucho Marx…ugh. You would think that someone who can reconstruct pelvic organs ought to be able to handle a tweezer with some expertise, but nay nay my friends. It is just not so.

Let’s not forget the new trendy grey and silver caterpillar that is now snaking it’s way across my scalp. It is like my new best friend, waiting to tauntingly greet me every morning in the mirror as if to say, ” I will always be here waiting for you”….followed by an evil laugh of some kind that only I can hear. I know what you’re thinking. Dye your own damn hair. I just can’t do it. I feel like it would be some kind of unforgivable betrayal to my hairdresser. I mean. They are struggling too, right? No. I feel like it is my duty to stick it out and wait for her. Just wondering when I need to just cut it off? Do I have to wait until the gray is at least half of my hair? Enough for a bowl cut? What are the guidelines? Can I just say that I am experimenting with some kind of reverse hombre situation? Who knows?

Does anyone else miss nice looking nails? I have no particular skill in this area either, although I have finally discovered the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel and managed to apply it for the first time without screwing it up. However, the cuticle trimming and actually filing them into a consistent and respectable shape? Nope. Not so much. Cathy was more of a miracle worker than I realized at the time. Between being a doctor and being a musician, the whole beautiful nails thing is kind of doomed from the start without some extra help. I do at least keep them clean. That I can manage. Maybe I will just wear gloves even when I am not seeing patients at work. Hmm. I will definitely wait for my nail lady too.

Let’s not forget the whole lack of waxing options scenario. I would like to meet the woman that can do her own bikini wax. Yikes! I get that shaving is still available, but the process is tedious and the results are just not the same. Now fortunately, I own a laser hair removal medical spa, but the staff and I are not taking advantage out of principle! We feel like we should wait like the rest of the world so bring on the big foot vulvas for now. We can hit the ground running when the world opens back up again.

Ok, while I am on the whining path, I actually miss dental cleanings. I am a fair hand with a toothbrush, floss and mouthwash but there is nothing quite like the clean you feel after the dentist. You know what I’m sayin? I get it. NO ONE loves going to the dentist, but I think it’s one of those you don’t realize what you had until it’s gone kind of scenarios.

I get it, all of these things are incredibly minor in the grand scheme of what’s going on right now. None of the are “essential,” at least according to the government. Life can go on without them…for now. So let’s all embrace our yellow teeth, grey hair, shitty nails, groucho brows and hairy hinterlands together! Have a fantastic day wilderness girls! We can do this!

Dr. Katz

Umm….since when are vaginas NOT essential?

I saw a meme the other day with a woman straddling a lap top computer and it read: The new face of gynecology. At first I totally laughed out loud, carefully distancing myself safely into the ” That’s so ridiculous.” response category. Then, I stopped and realized whoa? Are we that far off from that right now? The struggle to get on the list of essential businesses right now is real and we all want to get there, but who decides what is essential and what isn’t? There are some things that are black and white in regards to this decision…..or are they? Ice cream shops are not essential, unless you have that sudden, overwhelming craving or you are a pregnant woman and nothing else will do to go with your pickles. Paint shops are not essential, unless you were trying to finish painting your wall and ran out just prior to reaching the last quarter panel. Movie theaters are not essential, unless you are on your last nerve with multiple bored children and seeing a movie is literally the only thing that they are able to reach a consensus on. I realize that these examples are somewhat facetious, but you get what I mean about perspective right? I totally agree with social distancing and restricting interactions to essential ones to help flatten the curve and decrease the spread of this awful virus. I am just not sure that we are all on the same page regarding what is essential and what isn’t.

I hear lately that gynecology is not essential and that obgyns should only be seeing ob patients or patients with infections. WHAT?! HEH?! I guess that seeing ob patients is more of a black and white call since there are two humans involved and we cannot monitor them over the phone or perform ultrasounds…..or c sections, but why isn’t gynecology essential? Why aren’t vaginas important? I am living in fear of fines or getting reported right now as I continue to see gynecology patients( with a zillion precautions of course) that I deem to be essential. It’s all I know how to do. Gynecology patients still need care, COVID or no COVID. The key to the relatively high success rate of cure in gynecology is timely, proactive, and preventative diagnosis and we are removing that advantage all together by denoting gynecology as non-essential.

I have heard patients say that they were turned down by other offices when they called to make an appointment because they were having abnormal bleeding. I confess, I got them right in! To me, bleeding is essential! I have had to turn down multiple patients whose incontinence I am treating with our awesome in-office options because that is not considered essential. I am sorry, but not peeing on yourself uncontrollably seems very essential to me. I am not allowed to do gyn surgeries for right now unless life or limb is imminently threatened or cancer staging is affected. Well, how am I supposed to know if cancer staging is going to be affected if I can’t go in and look with hysteroscopy in the first place? I can’t make that call without all the information. What if doing that surgery would make a life or death difference and I just don’t realize it? In addition to that, if I wait until someone is bleeding to death( life or limb risk), it may be kinda too late to do anything about it. Just sayin. If we get a bad outcome in the end because of delay in care due to COVID, are we going to be able to use the COVID-19 defense in court? Do we think that patients will care that we had to hide behind COVID restrictions if they lose their own lives or the life of a loved one? I feel confident that the answer is no when this is all said and done. I feel like all of these delays are just a tiny sample of the reality of the socialized healthcare that people think they want because it sounds good on paper. Just something to think about. Have a great day everybody.

Dr. Katz

First day back

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Today was our first day back after vacation. I am using the word vacation rather loosely since I still delivered babies and gave all my OB patients my cell phone number. I mean, I did this willingly since I know that they are all very anxious lately with all of this COVID scariness. I felt that I owed it to them. I also cleaned like a madwoman for the last week, exercised like crazy, and cooked like a 1000 home cooked meals. So, it wasn’t really the break that I truly needed, but I have the whole rest of my life to take breaks. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

Anyway, back to the first day back. The whole environment was different. We were all really trying hard to pretend that it wasn’t, but the fear and tension were in the air. Everyone was masked. We nervously joked. The nervous laughter just didn’t feel the same. Patients were nervous too. You could tell when they walked in, also wearing masks. We worried too much about what other places were doing and how they were handling the pandemic. I proceeded with doing my usual daily Facebook updates to let patients know about any changes and give general advice and reassurance…only to be greeted with a stranger’s post response asking me why we were essential in the first place and why we got to be open? What? Really? We are in healthcare. We take care of pregnant patients and gynecology patients with pelvic issues, infections, cancer, and a multitude of other health issues, most of which are just not amenable to telehealth. I can’t express enough how much this comment got to me. Before I could stop myself, I started second-guessing my decision-making and why we were open and my nervousness rubbed of on the already nervous staff. We are already worked up enough without someone trying to make us feel like we are trying to get away with something as opposed to just doing our job. I know that it sounds ridiculous that we could allow one comment to cause so much nerve-wracking damage, but that is just how things are right now. People that are working right now, ourselves included, are struggling to keep it together for themselves and for their clients/patients. We are trying to balance our fears and our work ethic to do what is best for everybody. The extra negativity is neither desired nor welcome. We just don’t need it right now. So, let me clear this up once and for all. We are essential. We cannot use a computer screen to examine a vagina. And last but not least, patients cannot do their own c sections. I hope that clears things up for everybody. Have a great day.

Dr. Katz