Super Dok
“Trustworthy, Credible, and Timely Health Information”
Every one of the 175 posts first published on Super Dok, April 2006 to November 2008.
Super Dok was the first blog: plain-language health writing for Filipino families, published on Blogger. Health was the founding subject — what an ECG is, twice over — but the posts range wider than the clinic: family, everyday life, travels, food. Each carried the byline Amelyn R. Rafael, MD.
The last Super Dok post went up in November 2008, a day after Heartbit, the second blog, published its first. The old address, superdok.randyamy.com, no longer exists anywhere on the internet; the complete Super Dok lives here instead — every piece of writing it published, together with the comments readers left at the time. The health writing is dated to those years — a record of them, not medical advice for today.
- Super Dok
LNU Medicine Night 2007
December 1 was the first of the many parties we attended this month. It was the Medicine Night of the medical students of Lyceum Northwestern University.
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The Story Behind the Short Story
The day Ralph's teacher attached the short story below on his parent journal, he became uneasy. While on the car on his way home that morning, he was unceasingly telling me that there's no way he would be able to memorize the article "because it is too long.
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Baguio City and Raymund's Birthday
This post is a little overdue, but it's better late than never. Anyway, son Raymund celebrated his 10th birthday on November 10.
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Senor Divino Tesoro is In Our House
The replica of Senor Tesoro arrived in our house yesterday without prior announcement. It came as a surprise to the whole family as we were about to leave the house to attend the anticipated mass.
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My Kid's Halloween Party
Every year, preschoolers in my kids' school celebrate Halloween with a party and trick or treat. Since we were not able to celebrate the occasion in the school with my kid last year (he attended it with his yaya), and since it was his last opportunity to celebrate with us present (he'll be graduating in preschool on March), me and my husband made sure that we will be present.
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Babies Are Joy To Mommies But Not Always
A few weeks ago I had a new patient - a cute little baby boy who was brought by her mother to the clinic because of colds.
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Man Enough To Face the Pain
I scheduled review sessions with my preschooler every afternoon this week as they are having series of quizzes everyday until their second quarter exams before the Halloween celebrations.
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Featured Mom of the Week
I'm the featured mom of the week in Pinoy Moms Network Parenting section. Know more about me here :)
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A Trip to the Dentist
My husband's tooth filling has been scraped thin causing him frequent toothaches every meal time, making us to head to the dentist over the weekend.
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Student Tactics
She approached me at the end of our Anatomy-Physiology class, asking for a project. When asked why, said she can't take the subject anymore for the fourth time.
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Tips to Control Eating
Obesity is such a health problem nowadays that it leads to a number of disorders called metabolic syndrome or syndrome X.
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123s of Discipline: My Way
I read from a copy of Family Magazine the other day, while on Ystilo salon, that spanking is part of disciplining the kids.
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On TV Viewing
This article was intended for submission to PMN. It was in a draft mode for quite sometime, unfinished, until a fellow member submitted an article on the same topic.
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I Want My Child Healthy
This is my first article featured in Pinoy Moms Network under Parenting section. For those of you who failed to read it, I am republishing it here in my own website.
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Giving it Free
It's free blood sugar examination, given every last Wednesday of the month in our clinic, from six to eight in the morning.
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Oxford Hotel and Mid-Year Convention Experience
We attended last week this year's PAFP mid-year convention. It was a 3-day convention and the main venue was at Oxford Hotel at Clark Freeport Zone, Clark, Pampanga.
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Ralph Turned Six
My second and last child, Ralph, turned six yesterday, September 9. I made it a point to do as I promised - to give him a birthday party.
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On Junk Foods
My five-year old son, Ralph, keep asking these past few days if the food he is about to put inside his mouth is junk food.
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Exercise, the Best Medicine?
Somebody gave me an old copy of Newsweek (April 2007)while waiting for my Clinical Anatomy class to start the other day.
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Sunday Cooking
Daisy, the fish vendor selling me kilos of fresh fishes came in this morning. I used to buy from her kilos of different kinds of fishes which her husband caught the night before on any day of the week.
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Time to Relax
I've been so busy these past days. With so much work to do, I had to wake up on wee hours of the morning just to finish my work - test papers, grades, lectures, patients, home management.
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Self-righteous People
With my job, I meet lots of people everyday. In my clinic, I see to it that I'll be accommodating to all of them - med reps and patients from all walks of life.
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Ralph Won Gold
Nutrition month is celebrated annually in my kids' school. In previous years they featured different fruits and vegetables and how they were prepared in nutritious and healthy meals.
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Preparation for Nutrition Month Celebration
I planned of staying at home the whole day today. There are lots of catching up to do. Mostly paperworks.
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The Visit
My MIL visited us this week end. It was one of those rare visits which only happens once or twice a year.
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I Want a New Toy
I always hear this phrase from kids whenever I am in the grocery, or department store, or anywhere near a mall.
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No More MTAP for Raymund
Mathematics Teachers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (MTAP) is a countrywide, interschool competition participated on by grade schoolers considered as Math wizards.
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Pinoy Moms Network
Its launch was a success. It is here where Filipina Moms all over the globe converge to share ideas on parenting, food and cooking, lifestyle and fashion, home and garden, bringing up mom, travel, and health.
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Problem on Discipline
I started teaching in the medical school 7 years ago when my first son turned two.It started out as a trial then it turned out to be passion.
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UTI or Stone?
During one of the days when we were at Catanduanes over the summer vacation, Gina, our maid, kept on contacting us because of difficulty of urination.
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"How Did I Get inside your Tummy?"
Some kids are really born very inquisitive. Raymund, then 2 years old, was one such kid. He would ask so many questions.
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On Unwanted Pregnancy
My first patient this morning is a female in her 20's. She does not appear to be sick but she looks really worried.
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What an Experience!
Yesterday was my first day to teach Anatomy and Physiology in the College of Nursing. Although I've been teaching for nine years in the College of Medicine in LNU, I felt that yesterday was somewhat different.
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Is She a Good Tutor?
When I was a child, my mom, who was then a nurse in the Rural Health unit of our town, was my tutor.
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Exercise Motivation
Coming from families of hypertensive diabetics, my husband and I make it an effort to shun away these diseases from our systems through the cheapest way we know possible - exercise.
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Understanding Diabetes (Part II)
How does one know that he has diabetes? What are the symptoms? The most common early symptoms are excessive hunger, excessive thirst, and frequent urination.
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Lucky with My Hubby!
Is it easy to be a dad? I think it's not. Working everyday to provide for the family, thinking always for the betterment of the family, getting up early to bring the kids to school, and making time for the family inspite of the busy schedule...
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Understanding Diabetes (Part I)
What is type 2 diabetes, what causes it, and why does it affect many individuals nowadays? Everywhere we go, it's very common and the number is increasing everyday.
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Will I Greet Him on Father's Day?
Father's Day is celebrated every 3rd Sunday of June. It is during this day when we pay tribute to our fathers for all the good things they have done to us.
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Feeling dizzy?
Most of us, if not all of us, already experienced being dizzy at one point in our lives. Most of the time,what we do is to keep still and lie down with our eyes close.
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We Are a Family of Black Belts
My husband and my elder son, Raymund, got promoted recently from just plain black belts to 2nd Dan and 1st Dan black belts respectively.
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Ralph and his Allergic Rhinitis
I woke up this morning and saw Ralph, my younger son, suffering from allergic rhinitis again. It's difficult when he is under this condition.
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On Going Back to School
It's back to school once again. For most schools it will be tomorrow, June 4, but in my kids' school (La Marea Academy in Dagupan City) it will be next week, June 13.
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What is ECG?
ECG is short for Electrocardiogram. It is a test done routinely for people 40 years old and above. It is also done to individuals suffering from chest pain in order to rule out cardiac etiology.
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Hidden Rock with Hidden Thumb Tack
I was quite busy for the past days that I haven't posted anything for 2 weeks now. Sorry for that.
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Jackfruit (Langka) Health Benefits
Jackfruit is available in the Philippines during summer. Here in our locality I was able to buy a 2-feet long fruit at only PhP 85.
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Balisongsong (a Bicolano delicacy)
One type of food that I loved to eat since I was a kid was suman (cooked glutinous rice). My Dad's aunt used to live with us when I was a child and she used to cook different kinds of suman.
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Abaca
The island of Catanduanes abound with abaca. You can notice it among the shrubs and trees as you travel in the island.
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Fish! Fish!
Part of our adventure while in the island of Catanduanes was boating. And part of this plan was to go fishing.
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Mountain Hiking 2
It was our first time to climb a mountain. It was also our (me and my kids) first time to ride a carabao.
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Mountain Hiking
On the 3rd day of our stay in Catanduanes, we went on a hike to the mountains. It was a 2-hour walk from the house we stayed.
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Ginataang Banagan
During our stay in Tabugoc, one particular food which caught my attention is ginataang banagan. Banagan means lobster. I have tasted ginataan with any kind of seafoods - shrimps, lobster, crabs, etc.
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Let's go swimming!
We arrived at our destination April 3, 2007 at exactly 7PM. We were very tired. The next morning we woke up early to have a swim in the beach.
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Trip to Bicol
The photo on the right is a picture of the ferry boat which brought us to the island of Catanduanes.
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Mayon Volcano
This is Mayon volcano now (picture on the right). I took it from the terrace of our hotel room on the morning of April 2, minutes before we boarded the ferry boat going to Virac, Catanduanes.
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Welcome to Bicolandia
The day after the moving up day which is Palm Sunday, we started our trip to Bicol. Our destination is Tabugoc, Pandan, Catanduanes.
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Moving Up Day
Yesterday was my kids' recognition day. My elder son, Raymund, placed at second honors in his grade III class and my younger son, Ralph, got the most outstanding and the most independent in his kinder II class (pictures below).
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Ice Candy
Summertime is here again and this time the summer heat seem to be unbeatable. Regular classes from my kids' school are over but they still go to school everyday for rehearsals in preparation for their recognition day.
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PAFP Annual Convention
The first week of March had been a very hectic week for me and my husband. It was the 46th Annual Convention of the Philippine Academy of Family Physician (PAFP).
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MTG, Philippines
My eldest son, Raymund, has been a very diligent child ever since he was a toddler. He just loves to learn at a very early age.
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Tibicos
In the photo are live grains called Tibicos. They are Chinese mushrooms given to us by one patient. According to her, it was given to her by a nun who claimed that the syrup if taken regularly can heal arthritis, diabetes, and other kinds of diseases.
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Malunggay
Malunggay is a very diverse plant in terms of its medicinal characteristics. It is universally known as Moringga. It is a rich source of vitamins, amino acids, and various nutrients which provides the needed energy to the body.
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Medical Missions
It is again the season of medical missions. Especially now that the national election is forthcoming, we doctors expect medical missions here and there.
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Rehab of the Stroke Patient (Part II)
IV. Lying on the non-affected side: The head must be comfortably stabilized and in line with the trunk which is slightly leaning forwards together with the paralyzed shoulder.
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Valentines's Day
Happy Valentine's Day to all my readers! I hope that you will all enjoy the day with your loved ones.
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Rehab of the Stroke Patient (Part I)
Stroke is a common condition here in the Philippines. My grandmother for one had been bedridden after her second stroke until she finally died more than a year after.
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La Marea Academy Field Trip 2007
My sons' school conducted a field trip for Preparatory up to High School students. It took place on February 1.
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Our Wedding Anniversary
Last January 28 me and my husband celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. For the past years we celebrated privately. It used to be a dinner with the kids and that's it.
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San Fabian Town Fiesta
San Fabian is a town in Pangasinan around 16 kilometers away from Dagupan City, the city of bangus, our national fish.
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Hyperuricemia
My patient today is my uncle who just came from Italy. He is complaining of pain in his right elbow which he felt upon waking up in the morning.
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New Year Celebration
This post maybe a little bit late...but it's better late than never. I just want to share how we spent our New Year's Eve...
