Jovin Thomas

[Dr Jason Philip. M.S., MCh @Jasonphilip8]

In 3 decades of Govt Service, I have been assaulted around 15 times on duty, just like the drs in the video are. Every single time, I have given a complaint to the Dean,RMO & the local Inspector of Police in writing. How many goons hv been prosecuted- ZERO.

Why was this politician atleast arrested? Coz, the incident was caught on CCTV and the victim was both a female & Dalit Dr. Does anyone talk abt the male Dr, who was also assaulted? No.

Violence to settle things is the norm , rather than the exception in India- one of the most primitive/brutal societies in the world. Believe me, every single day there is an assault on a Tamilnadu Govt Dr, posted in this or that WhatsApp grp. How many r prosecuted? To my knowledge, none.
Once I was assaulted with bleeding injuries on duty at a local GH, walked up to the police outpost and with blood dripping from my body on the complaint paper, gave a written complaint addressed to the Police Inspector. Later, the case also came to court. Nurses & wardboys testified as witnesses. I identified the assailants & weapons in court.
The judge who sat in the case was an honest upright lady. I was then treating her father. I cd see that she was determined that justice be delivered. What happened? Ultimately the case was dismissed. The honest Inspector later met me & was fuming. "Sir, what can I do? In TN, everything is politicised. Our (honest) DC has received calls from 3 ministers. The APP has received 'calls'. All the witnesses who testified for u, later turned hostile. Their families have been threatened with death. Sometimes, I feel like resigning sir. There is no justice in Tamilnadu." Remember that was an Inspector of Police speaking.
If you are a medical student/intern/ resident, get your degrees & get the f*** out of this thankless country. I have a hundred more incidents to relate.

[The Wolf of College Street @aditya_gan3500]

I will add a little nuance here

Some of this is defensive medicine but all of it is not

I will explain with your first example of migraine

Migraine is a primary headache disorder ie one without an easily treatable proximate cause

You need 2 attacks of migraine with aura (classical) and 5 attacks of migriane without aura (common) to diagnose migraine as per ICHD-3 criteria with the caveat that THERE SHOULD BE NO BETTER EXPLANATION

So guidelines themselves cover their own backsides

Suppose its a first attack of headache --> you have to follow a red flag approach where we look for 'red flags' to see if its something dangerous

The approach is so broad that basically you can obtain imaging for anything

Now suppose its suspected migraine with plenty of attacks over the years

A migraine can occasionally have so many mimics and associations like spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH), idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), glaucoma or even CADASIL

Earlier I used to obtain only noncontrast CT for suspected migraine

Now I have shifted to MRI brain (plain + contrast) with considerable increase in cost

Is it because of defensive medicine?

Not primarily, no

But I have read a lot of neurology and my differentials have expanded a lot

I want to make the diagnosis

You cannot treat a patient without a proper diagnosis

I can justify an MRI for every headache due to my knowledge

But even nonspecialists who cannot are actually not doing anything wrong

Headache is a common problem and most patients never go to a neurologist

It is better that the diagnosis be made - knowingly or unknowingly

Rare diseases are not rare, they are rarely diagnosed

The unfortunate byproduct is that healthcare costs are exploding and will continue to do so

If you think health insurance premiums are bad, wait 5 years

[Dr. Kanwaljeet Singh @Drkaajukatli]

Definition of medical negligence & unethical practice (Indian edition):

-Bacha maar diya - jab laaye the toh bilkul theek tha
-ICU me daal diya aur mar gaya... upar se 20 logon ko andar bhi nahi jaane dete
-Discharge kar rahe hain? Abhi toh theek hi nahi hua! (govt hospital)
-2 din se admit karke rakha hai, ab toh hosh me hai - paise loot rahe hain! (pvt hosp)
-Bekaar doctor - bas diet, exercise, sleep bolta hai, dawa hi nahi deta.
-Bekaar doctor - itni saari dawa likh di... mujhe toh bas angina hai (diabetic, hypertensive, obese)
-Vaccine lagte hi chakkar aa gaya - hum pe experiment ho raha hai
-Docs ki opd fees itni zyada hogyi h ab, lootere 500 leliye mere (arrey new iphone khreedlete h)

[TheLiverDoc™ @theliverdoc]

Extremely irresponsible reporting by @TOIIndiaNews and @EconomicTimes. I do not know what the crtieria for being your "health reporter" is, but this feels like some kid in 12th grade doomscrolling conspiracy theories on Instagram wrote it. Do better.

Here are the rebuttals to the nonsense your so-called kidney experts and health journalist spouted in the article:

The title claim: "Protein supplements could permanently damage your kidneys"

This is fear-mongering presented as fact.

Multiple systematic reviews and meta-analyses (including a 2018 meta-analysis in the British Journal of Sports Medicine) have found no evidence that protein supplementation causes kidney damage in people with normal renal function. The International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand on protein safety states that intakes of 1.4–2.0 g/kg/day are safe for healthy, exercising individuals, with some data supporting up to 3.4 g/kg/day over extended periods without adverse renal effects. Even the "Gym Nephropathy" review in the Journal of the Egyptian Society of Nephrology and Transplantation concedes that high protein intake improves training adaptations with no harm when baseline renal function is normal.

The word "permanently" in the title has no basis in the literature for whey protein in healthy kidneys.

Conflation of whey protein with anabolic steroids, cough syrups, growth hormone, alcohol, and nicotine
This is the most intellectually dishonest move in this article. The cited case reports invariably involve young men using anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), diuretics, banned substances like spasmo-proxyvon, cough syrups (containing dextromethorphan or codeine for abuse), and sometimes alcohol — alongside protein. The kidney damage in these cases is driven by AAS-induced FSGS (focal segmental glomerulosclerosis), injury from stimulant abuse, or direct kidney damage from banned drugs. Blaming the whey protein powder in this cocktail is like blaming the glass of water someone drank alongside the poison.

Whey protein is not a "gym supplement" in the same category as testosterone injections or codeine-containing cough syrups, and lumping them together under the umbrella "gym supplements" is a category error designed to maximise alarm.

Excessive protein intake causes hyperfiltration injury to the kidney filters
Hyperfiltration is a normal physiological adaptation, not abnormal injury. When you eat more protein, kidney filtration increases to handle the increased nitrogen load — this is the kidney doing its job, just as heart output rises during exercise without "damaging" the heart.

The Brenner hypothesis (that hyperfiltration leads to progressive kidney damage) was derived from animal models of kidney disease and patients with chronic kidney disease or after kidney removal surgery, not from healthy kidneys. The conflation of "adaptive hyperfiltration" with "injurious hyperfiltration" is a basic error in renal physiology.

The Nephrologists cited in the article should go back to first year MBBS.

The case report: 20-year-old with kidney damage
This is the centrepiece of the article, and it's doing enormous heavy lifting for very little information. We're told he had "no prior medical issues" but developed proteinuria and oedema after 6–8 months of consuming protein powders.

What we are NOT told: what else he was taking (steroids? pre-workouts? creatine at absurd doses? SARMs?), how much protein he was consuming, whether he had undiagnosed IgA nephropathy or FSGS (both common in young Indian males and often unmasked by any physiological stressor), whether a renal biopsy was performed, and what the histopathological diagnosis was.

A single uncontrolled case report with incomplete clinical details proves nothing about causation. The fact that his parents are doctors is irrelevant to the pathology but is included for emotional impact — classic journalistic manipulation.

The infographic claim: "Most healthy adults need only ~0.8 g protein per kg body weight/day"
This is the RDA — the Recommended Dietary Allowance — which represents the minimum intake to prevent clinical protein deficiency in sedentary adults. It is not a ceiling. It is not optimal. It is the bare minimum to avoid malnutrition. For resistance-training individuals (which is the population this article targets), 0.8 g/kg/day is inadequate to support muscle protein synthesis and recovery. Presenting the sedentary minimum as the recommended ceiling for gym-goers is either ignorance of sports nutrition or deliberate fear-mongering.

Dr Ravi Bansal: "individuals should avoid exceeding a protein intake of 1.2 g/kg of body weight"
This is a nephrologist speaking from a CKD-management perspective and inappropriately generalising it to healthy gym-goers. The 1.2 g/kg figure is the upper limit sometimes recommended for patients with established mild-to-moderate CKD (stages 2–3) to slow progression. It has no applicability to healthy young adults with normal renal function who are resistance training.

Dr Bansal: "natural dietary proteins remain superior to artificial substitutes"
Whey protein is not an "artificial substitute." It is derived from milk through a physical separation process (filtration). It contains the same amino acids as the protein in a glass of milk, yoghurt, or paneer. Calling it "artificial" is factually wrong and plays into the naturalistic fallacy that pervades Indian health discourse — the same fallacy that props up Ayurvedic products with actual hepatotoxic potential while demonising a dairy-derived food product. There is no evidence that protein from whey is metabolised differently or has different renal effects compared to protein from chicken, eggs, or lentils at equivalent doses.

This report cherry-picks a single incomplete case report, conflates physiological adaptation with pathological injury, misrepresents the RRecommended Daily Allowance as a maximum safe intake, ignores the actual evidence from controlled trials and meta-analyses, lets steroid abuse and supplement contamination off the hook entirely, and wraps it all in World Kidney Day alarmism.

This is irresponsible health journalism in a country where protein deficiency kills far more people than protein excess ever has.

[Jovin Thomas @joe_Tom8]

@greyscribbles In my case I was happy with a less hectic branch and took up Psychiatry in a non toxic college with many residents . I genuinely loved the subject during my UG days .Make a decision u wouldn't regret . If you took medicine for money then high chances for disappointment.

[Jovin Thomas @joe_Tom8]

@greyscribbles Hey , have been at that point since 2nd year of MBBS , I can't give you the false hope that everything is going to be better after PG or SS , but if you literally hate the field including academics , then pivot as soon as you graduate .

[TheLiverDoc™ @theliverdoc]

Indians will pay a lifetime of savings to a self-proclaimed "health-coach" with hotel management qualification, but will cry foul when a medical doctor charges 250 rupees for a repeat consult. I would like to meet the idiot who pays for this fraud.

[drmarvel @drdilipsmms]

Your batchmate who seems to know everything?
They don't. They're just better at sounding confident when they guess.
Medicine rewards people who admit
"I don't know" more than people who pretend they do.
The consultant who says "Let me check and get back to you">>> the one who makes up an answer on the spot.
Your honesty is a clinical skill.
Not a weakness.

[TheLiverDoc™ @theliverdoc]

Man, I know you are just another anonymous troll, but atleast do your homework before you engage me in a conversation.

I took both the Kerala State and the Central Government to the apex Court for promoting and dispersing Homeopathy.

The Governments are yet to answer us and have gone into "Ostrich head in the sand Syndrome" and the Courts remain mute and play along with the Government - because it is a Government matter where they were definitely at fault.

If this case was seen through by the Supreme Court, then it would have been the end of Homeopathy in India. They knew it and the CJI (at the time) and the Court and the lawyers (including ours), did not see it through - because the Ayush Ministry would fall.

We wasted money and so much time on this. When it comes to justice in the context of pseudoscience, I have lost my faith in the judiciary - because they will never stand up for the truth, science and objective evidence and will always support Government policies. Public health be damned.

Read:
Dr Cyriac Abby Philips and Ors v Union of India and Ors| WP(C) 1352/2021
https://t.co/e3RFJffGAO and https://t.co/zrRzGV571D

[TheLiverDoc™ @theliverdoc]

Hey @TOIIndiaNews ideally, we would expect major news media to update their reporting in the light on new evidence. Would you like to update your report based on the fact that this study was RETRACTED by the Journal due to fraud and fabrication by the so-called Homeopathy researchers? Or will you keep upholding yourself as an enabler of pseudoscience and medical fraud because this Government has invested to legalized it?

Retraction Note: Homoeopathy vs. conventional primary care in children during the first 24 months of life—a pragmatic randomised controlled trial
https://t.co/TWddWqBo3r - @EdzardErnst

[TheLiverDoc™ @theliverdoc]

Spanish Government using public money vs. Indian Government using public money.

This country is run by primates because of a majority of emotional primates and the rest of the evolved population are forced to watch a circus.

[TheLiverDoc™ @theliverdoc]

During my talk at recent QED conference on science and skepticism, one major discussion that stood out among all discussions was the way doctors in India trying to promote science-literacy and critical thinking were dealt with by a faction of the community. The audience was quite amused as well as nauseated.

Ripping to shreds, pseudoscience such as Ayurveda, especially Ayurveda, ignites strong religious sentiments in some people and they have a stepwise response - 1, start with a religious slur; 2, bring in a completely different argument which is mostly religion based; 3, be abusive (ad-hominem) without religious-context; and 4, directly attack the person's religion based on the name they can find. In other posts, I have been abused/harassed as a 'Muslim' too, because they thought Abby (my middle name) is short for Abdullah.

I was born Christian. It was not my choice. But I will die a Rationalist Human. Because it is my choice as an adult. As an atheist who has seen the worst suffering among humans, and still do, and always try to find solutions for it, I find these sort of responses childish.

I wish I had better critiques among the Indian community, but every now and then they prove that evolution has not caught up with the general populace here. Such strong abusive retorts are borne out of lack of science literacy, poor logic and reasoning, poverty in critical thinking and embracing religion and communalism as principles for living. A lot of right-wing accounts have brainwashed these smaller life forms into believing this.

And this is just plain sad.

[TheLiverDoc™ @theliverdoc]

A part of the Indian media and proportion of the public in general expect doctors to take harsh beatings and aggression, and swallow verbal abuses, since being a doctor in India means they are always taken for granted because they are going to be noble with everything including facing violence.

Because the decades long narrative in India is that doctors are looters, they are slaves to pharma and that they are always at your service. People call doctors business members, but expect a quick and free whatsapp consultation.

People are confused. But here is clarity.
The oath, "Do No Harm" is only for the treatments delivered, not to stay silent or play dead when rascals including violent patients attack intentionally and irrationally.

The uncles in regulatory and authority positions are incompetent to see both sides because they are boomers who have zero rational thoughts.

I am happy for the doctor who lost his job "illogically" after serving people for 8 long years. Gives him the freedom to choose something better. Go somewhere better. Do something better. Because do not expect anything from this pseudoscience loving hell hole of a country as a doctor, because you can never find gratitude here.

Times have changed.
Doctors are humans too.
Tread lightly.

[TheLiverDoc™ @theliverdoc]

"It is better to light a candle, than curse the darkness."

https://t.co/a6UFByRqLM

I am the first Asian, the first Indian to receive this prestigious award given to science communicators who fight misinformation and pseudoscience.

"Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, a doctor and expert on the harms caused by alternative medicine in India, has today been named the 2025 recipient of the Ockham Award for Skeptical Activism by The Skeptic magazine.

Dr Philips, a clinician-scientist in Hepatology at Rajagiri Hospital, Kochi, Kerala, has spent over a decade highlighting the dangers of homeopathy, herbal remedies, and superstition in India, sharing his expertise with more than 430,000 followers across X, Instagram and YouTube.

His work in countering health misinformation has been featured across the national and international media – resulting in campaigns of harassment and litigation by supporters of India’s powerful herbal and homeopathic industries."

To everyone who supported me, who stood by me, who raised my voice...my big thanks and appreciation. Science communication cannot progress without science loving rationalists like you all.

Thank you to the @TheSkepticMag and the @merseyskeptics, to the editor in chief @MrMMarsh and the @QEDcon awards and scientific committee of the Okhams for choosing me, giving me stage and helping me raise my voice on the unstoppable work I do against the unrelentless pseudoscientific drivel that people of my country are been subjected to... with regulatory support.

Only the medical community can fight back for the public and patients... and this prestigious award and recognition gives the few medical science communicators in India, like me, more fuel to burn ourselves for the better. This is an award for all rationalists and scientific communicators in India and I'm proud to make this ours, not mine alone. Jai Hind.

PS: deeply grateful for the few minutes of thunderous standing ovation at the end of my presentation from the massive crowd who gathered on a rainy day in Manchester to fill the main stage event. It was unlike anything I had experienced. I'll never forget it.🙏

[Nachiket Bhatia @bhatia_nachiket]

Another Black Day for India's Medical Fraternity.
An MBBS student was raped outside her college in Durgapur.
Another campus. Another daughter. Same horror.
How many times will this country fail its women?
How many times will we act surprised - like we didn't see it coming??
We light candles, we post hashtags, we move on.
But she won't.
She'll carry that night for the rest of her life.
And tomorrow, somewhere else, another girl will step out to study, not knowing she could be next.
Every delay, every silence, every excuse it doesn't just protect the criminal, it creates the next one.
How long before we admit
it's not the women who are unsafe.
It's the country that's sick.
#doctor
#rape
#unsafe
#women

[Indian Doctor🇮🇳 @Indian__doctor]

🚨 A Doctor. Attacked with a Machete. Inside his own hospital.

Dr. Vipin P T #Kerala Thamarassery Taluk Hospital on Casualty duty, doing his job,attacked with a machete by a man blaming him for his daughter’s death due to a rare, incurable brain-eating amoeba infection !!

The doctor is now in the ICU after suffered a skull fracture& fighting for his own life — after trying to save someone else’s.

This isn’t anger !!
👉This is terrorism inside hospitals.
If a doctor isn’t safe in his own casualty ward, what hope is left for the system?
#JusticeForDrVipin #MedTwitter

[Aditya Gupta @DrAditya2935]

Be it Dr Baruah
Or Dr Mukhopadhaya. (For IVF)
Or even Dr Nambi (ISRO)

India has always arrested the revolutionaries; never celebrated them.

20y later - some aging superstar will make a film making millions while the OG will die in poverty - unrecognised and under appreciated

[TheLiverDoc™ @theliverdoc]

Help me understand this.

12 children in Rajasthan died because their cough syrups were contaminated with toxic DEG made by Kayson Pharma.

11 children died in Madhya Pradesh after consuming contaminated cough syrup made by Shreesan Pharma.

This was proven through lab testing by Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Tamil Nadu government labs.

But the Ministry of Health, India told people that the cough syrups were clean and then one mother who gave the cough syrup to her child in Rajasthan was jailed and a doctor who prescribed cough syrup in MP was arrested.

No one from the company that manufactured these killer syrups were arrested or jailed. One manufacturer, Kayson Pharma was already blacklisted in 2023 for poor quality drugs. Why were these reptiles led back into the contract?

If one of the children who died was that of some big business magnate who gave funds to political party in power, or belonged to a politician, the story would have been so much different right?

What kind of governance are we stuck with? A government that does not care for their children is a liability and a burden to citizens, not an ally and shield. India is turning to be the circus that the jokers who elected the jokers want it to be.

For the underprivileged, every new day feels like a bonus in this country,

[Aditya Gupta @DrAditya2935]

Indians happily pay only for status.
Large TV new iPhone car.
Not services.
Not restricted to docs.
There was a CA crying about electrician. Lawyer crying about CA charges.
People complaining about Jio!
Any good which shows you’re rich - pay.
For services - chindi.