Pradeep Chopra, MD, MHCM Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) The most common form of POTS is known as Neuropathic POTS. By definition, neuropathic POTS is when the symptoms have been present for at least 6 months, there is an increase in heart rate by >30 beats per minute (>40 beats per minute in children) when going from lying down position to standing. If the heart rate increases to 120 beats per minute, then that is also diagnostic of...
Read More
Pain Matters - Dr. Chopra’s Blog
Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) – Hyperadrenergic
By Pradeep Chopra, M.D.
/ February 16, 2022
Long COVID Conditions – Fatigue 03
By Pradeep Chopra, M.D.
/ February 8, 2022
Section 3 ROLE OF VAGUS NERVE IN INFLAMMATION There are two methods by which peripheral inflammation may exacerbate CNS inflammation: leaky regions in the blood-brain barrier and the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve, also known as the tenth cranial nerve, is the autonomic nervous system's longest nerve. To moderate oxygen demand, this nerve has parasympathetic regulation of various organs involved in breathing, including the lungs, heart, and diaphragm, which might contribute to fatigue. Afferents from the vagal nerve...
Read More
Long COVID Conditions – Fatigue 02
By Pradeep Chopra, M.D.
/ February 1, 2022
Section 2 SLEEP AND CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS Sleep and circadian rhythm abnormalities seem to have a bidirectional link with autoimmune illness. Chronic sleeplessness is linked to a higher risk of acquiring an autoimmune illness . Narcolepsy, a sleep condition, may possibly have an immunological component, according to evidence. Sleep disturbances are common in people with autoimmune diseases. Sleep apnea is more common in people with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjörgen's syndrome, pemphigus, and systemic sclerosis. Rapid-eye movement (REM)...
Read More
Long COVID Conditions – Fatigue 01
By Pradeep Chopra, M.D.
/ January 25, 2022
Section 1 Long COVID Conditions - Fatigue may be defined as tiredness that does not go away with rest. Fatigue is characterized by moments of exhaustion. Fatigue prevents you from doing your daily tasks. Fatigue is multifaceted, making it difficult to comprehend the origin of its symptoms. Symptoms vary, but exhaustion may make even basic actions like walking across the room, preparing a meal difficult. The specific mechanics of fatigue remain a mystery, maybe as a result of...
Read More
Long Covid Part – 2
By Pradeep Chopra, M.D.
/ January 10, 2022
To Calculate Mortality, Many Methods are Utilized. The Covid 19 Pandemic- 3 - Testing volume, healthcare system quality, treatment choices, government reaction, duration since the first epidemic, and demographic factors, such as age, sex, and general health, all impact these statistics, which vary by area and by time. In countries like Belgium, fatalities from suspected cases, even those without a test, are included, resulting in an increase in the number of cases. Within a particular time frame, the death-to-case...
Read More
Covid 19 Symptoms And Signs
By Pradeep Chopra, M.D.
/ December 30, 2021
COVID-19 Symptoms Vary, Ranging From Moderate Symptoms to Severe Sickness. Headache, loss of smell and taste, nasal congestion and runny nose, cough, muscular discomfort, sore throat, fever, diarrhea, and breathing problems are all common symptoms. People with the same virus may have a variety of symptoms, which may vary over time. A respiratory symptom cluster with cough, sputum, shortness of breath, and fever; a musculoskeletal symptom cluster with muscle and joint pain, headache, and exhaustion; and a digestive symptom...
Read More
The Covid 19 Pandemic- 2
By Pradeep Chopra, M.D.
/ December 30, 2021
Variants The Covid 19 Pandemic- 2 - Viruses are continually changing due to mutations, and these changes may occasionally lead to a new viral strain. Some varieties arrive and then go, while others stick around. There will continue to be new versions. In the United States and across the world, the CDC and other public health agencies keep track of all forms of the COVID-19 virus. The Delta variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 produces more illnesses and...
Read More
Long Covid Part – 1
By Pradeep Chopra, M.D.
/ December 19, 2021
The Covid 19 Pandemic- 1 - The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is a worldwide coronavirus disease. The 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the coronavirus 2 that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2). The new virus was initially discovered in December 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan; a lockdown in Wuhan and other towns in Hubei's surrounding region failed to control the spread. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a Public Health...
Read More
Recommendations for patients with EDS and compromised autoimmune function including Mast Cell Activation Syndrome
By Pradeep Chopra, M.D.
/ March 19, 2020
(These are guidelines for your information, please consult your own doctor) Use a face mask. It should form a gentle seal around your nose and mouth. Ideally the N95 mask is good but those are hard to get hold off. They are also a little difficult to breathe through for prolonged periods. You can get a mask with a filter on Etsy. The reason why a mask is important is because: The virus is thought to...
Read More
The epidemic of child abuse doctors harming children and destroying families.
By Pradeep Chopra, M.D.
/ February 24, 2020
Child abuse pediatricians are a class of ‘doctors’ who are pediatricians who specialize in diagnosing child abuse. This path of specialization is obviously not chosen by the pediatricians who are academically good. As a result, these child abuse ‘doctors’ are not the best to identify complex medical conditions let alone straight forward common medical conditions. There is a saying – “To a person with a hammer, everything looks like a nail”. These child abuse ‘doctors’ have no training in treating...
Read More
The reason why modern medicine has not been able to keep up with changing medical conditions
By Pradeep Chopra, M.D.
/ May 28, 2019
The reason why modern medicine has not been able to keep up with changing medical conditions such as Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS), Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) / Dysautonomia. Start with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it. Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches...
Read More
Gabapentin and pregabalin (Lyrica) – very poor choice for treating chronic pain.
By Pradeep Chopra, M.D.
/ May 22, 2019
The truth about gabapentin and pregabalin (Lyricaâ) as published in a recent article in The New York Timesâ. You can read about an excellent investigative article here. Both drugs (including a long acting form of gabapentin known as Gralise) are not effective for pain. The following are from a well researched article written by Jane E. Brody published in The New York Times on May 20, 2019. I have written down the pertinent points and have placed a link the...
Read More
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
By Pradeep Chopra, M.D.
/ February 2, 2019
Our understanding of CRPS has increased significantly in the last decade.. Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a multisystem dysfunction, severe chronic pain. It can cause severe disability. It can be triggered by a minor trauma. It is characterized by severe pain with sensory, trophic, autonomic, and motor abnormalities. CRPS is characterized by a continuing pain that is disproportionate in time or degree to the usual cause of pain after trauma or other lesion. This means that the degree of...
Read More
Basics of Understanding EDS – Dr. Chopra
By Pradeep Chopra, M.D.
/ February 14, 2018
Basics of Understanding EDS There are three underlying issues to understand about Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS). It's important to understand each of these to better manage EDS. The tissue that connects different parts of the body is called Connective Tissue. Tendons, ligaments, capsules around joints, skin are all examples of connective tissue. In EDS, this connective tissue is relatively weak; it can be stretched easily. Anything that gets stretched too much, may stay stretched (hence avoid dislocating or over...
Read More
EDS – Connecting the dots – Dr. Chopra
By Pradeep Chopra, M.D.
/ January 28, 2018
EDS Connecting the dots Ehlers Danlos Syndrome is a complex condition. Managing the different issues with EDS is to understand ‘what is broken’ and then attempting to make the best of fixing it. When I see a patient with EDS, I need to figure out what are the issues. Sometimes it is a shoulder dislocation, knee pain, hip pain or neck pain that may be the primary issue. Besides the pain, there is the issue of intense fatigue, brain fog,...
Read More
Forms – your first visit
By Pradeep Chopra, M.D.
/ January 6, 2018
It is much more efficient if you can spend some time to fill out the forms prior to coming in. Please bring the forms with you after you have filled them out. Considering the complexity of the pain conditions that Dr. Chopra treats, it helps him understand your condition better. It is a good idea to write a timeline (a detailed one would be better) of your or your child's condition. Dr. Chopra actually does review it and it also...
Read More
Ehlers Danlos Syndrome Part 2 – Pradeep Chopra MD
By Pradeep Chopra, M.D.
/ December 26, 2017
Pradeep Chopra MD - Ehlers Danlos Syndrome Part 2 Continuing our quest to understand Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS). In March 2017, the classification of EDS was updated to include some rare forms of EDS that had been discovered recently. As of now, there are 13 subtypes of EDS. Of the 13 subtypes, only two of them are considered common. Let's crunch some numbers to see how common or rare EDS is. The combined prevalence of all types of EDS is...
Read More
Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) Pradeep Chopra MD
By Pradeep Chopra, M.D.
/ December 24, 2017
Pradeep Chopra MD – Ehlers Danlos Syndrome My area of interest has been in the management of complex chronic pain conditions. I don’t call it as ‘treating’ these conditions but more as ‘managing’ these conditions to allow patients to be functional and have a better quality of life. In medicine, we seldom ‘treat’ or ‘cure’ conditions. Physicians mostly manage these conditions. We don’t treat or cure insulin dependent diabetes mellitus or migraine headaches. At best, we manage them. The human...
Read More
Chronic Pain – Pradeep Chopra MD’s Blog
By Pradeep Chopra, M.D.
/ December 22, 2017
Pradeep Chopra MD's Blog on Chronic Pain. This blog is the first of a series of blogs on the disease of chronic pain, medicine, and truths in medicine. Pain management has become a controversial topic in the last year or so. The controversy is based mostly on the fact that there is a single drug or therapy that can control pain. This notion has come from physicians who are not trained in pain medicine. It has come mostly from...
Read More
Disclaimer
By Pradeep Chopra, M.D.
/ December 22, 2017
Disclaimer While I make every effort to broadcast correct information, I am still learning. I will double check all my facts but realize that medicine is a constantly changing science and art. One doctor may have a different way of doing things from another. I am simply presenting my views. I welcome any comments, suggestions, or correction of errors. I take no money from drug or device companies. By reading this blog, you agree not to use this blog as...
Read More