drmarcellestastny

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A new home for my practice

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I am ready to plant myself for a while at 1 Denbigh Rd, Constantia. For many years my practice was in a “treehouse in the forest.” It was a confidential, calm space, connected to the nourishment of nature. My practice 2012- 2022 In 2023, I decided to try to do something a little differently. I moved into Crescent Mediclinic. The reasoning was that it would be convenient to be on-site for my inpatients, which it was. However, my work lost an important component. I acutely felt the loss of Nature’s help in healing and destressing. I did not anticipate how being in…

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TMS: hope in the treatment of resistant depression

Mental health

When I first heard of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, I must admit, I was a bit sceptical. I struggled to believe that a giant magnet held to your head could help patients struggling with Treatment Resistant Depression. But, as study after study came in, with extremely positive results in traditionally hard to treat patients, I became increasingly frustrated. Why wasn’t TMS treatment available to my patients, here in Cape Town? Depression is a horrible illness that robs people of their joy, their ability to connect, their ability to function. Antidepressants came out in the 50’s and have saved millions of lives.…

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What the nurses in my practice have taught me

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As a profession, nurses present slightly less to my practice than other occupations. Nurses do, of course, get sick just like everyone else. I think that their “can do” attitudes possibly make them only present when things get very bleak, sometimes to their detriment. They do come in higher proportions as the family member accompanying the patient to my practice. I get the sense that nurses often carry the “medical problems” load of a family. Which means that they will be the ones hauling loved ones in to get help. I have found that certain professions change you as a…

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How to love someone with serious mental illness

Family

My gut still churns when I see that look in family members’ eyes. The one of desperate confusion and frustration. The fatigue and anger, especially if the symptoms their loved one suffers from has been ongoing for some time or involved aggression. If your loved one has a serious mental illness like schizophrenia, profound depression, bipolar mood disorder, addictions or eating disorders, it is awful. They aren’t the only ones suffering. You are too. The good news is that improvements for mental illnesses are as good, or even better than, chronic physical illnesses like diabetes or cardiovascular disease. But there is…

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Google plus salt, please

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The world we live in is truly amazing. We have the knowledge of specialists at our fingertips. But, as Peter Parker’s uncle told him in Spiderman, with great power comes great responsibility. One of my more anxious patients got seriously ill recently. She was hospitalised and they started treatment. I spoke to her physician and was satisfied that they had things in hand, so I expected her to be discharged within a few days. I was surprised to hear from her a week later. Her physician was running more and more tests, some of them invasive and painful. My patient’s…

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