Dr. Grumpy: "So did the Painbegone help your migraine?"
Mr. Unsure: "I don't know."
Dr. Grumpy: "Did it make the headache better?"
Mr. Unsure: "Ummm... Maybe?"
Dr. Grumpy: "That doesn't sound very convincing."
Mr. Unsure: "I don't remember."
Dr. Grumpy: "Didn't you just take it yesterday?"
Mr. Unsure: "I think so, umm, yeah."
Dr. Grumpy: "So, after taking Painbegone, did the headache get better? Yes or no?"
Mr. Unsure: "A little of both."
Dr. Grumpy: "What does that mean?"
Mr. Unsure: "It got better eventually."
Dr. Grumpy: "Define eventually."
Mr. Unsure: "At some point I didn't have a headache."
Dr. Grumpy: "How long is 'at some point'?"
Mr. Unsure: "One hour, maybe several more. I didn't pay attention."
Dr. Grumpy: "Was it faster than it normally takes your headaches to get better when you don't take medication?"
Mr. Unsure: "What medication are you talking about? The white pill? Or the tan one?"
On second thought, I don't think there's anything I can do to help you now. Please schedule another appointment when you've got your head on straight, alright? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the victim from your previous post was a patient like this...
ReplyDeleteYou should really write this up and submit it to a journal.
ReplyDeleteLOL....I believe I work with your patient. Getting information is like pulling teeth!
ReplyDeletejesus......
ReplyDeleteIt's as if you really inconvenienced him the whole appointment, Grumpy.
ReplyDeleteConversations like this make me lose my temper. I've snapped at a couple of patients and told them to answer yes or no. Of course I had to call my charge nurse after that...
ReplyDelete*head-bang*
ReplyDelete*HEAD-bang*
***HEAD-BANG ! *****
Pattie, RN
time for a urine drug screen
ReplyDeleteWelcome to my world. "I need to refill my med, you know the one I take when I need to take it."
ReplyDeleteHrm. Doctor, I think the best treatment for that patient would be amputation. At the neck, of course.
ReplyDeleteToday's Captcha word: UNQUIT. I UNQUIT leaving comments here.
Aw, I kinda feel for the dude. As a sufferer of something called cluster headaches, I can say that my brain doesn't function very well for a couple of days following an attack. Before I was placed on propranalol as a prophylactic for the headaches, attacks were hitting often and HARD. I had to keep notes of everything happening to me as best I could on my phone and on my computer at work.
ReplyDeleteBut I had a neurologist who was the opposite of you, Grumpy. He didn't ask me questions like that at all. In fact, it was an ear, nose, & throat specialist that finally figured out that I was dealing with clusters. (I'm with a new neurologist now...the original one left the practice entirely.)
But I also am kinda with anonymous at 1:29 up there, and wonder just what else Mr. Unsure might be on. :\
I'm soooo confuuused...please, don't ask me any more hard questions.
ReplyDeleteI do admit that when I was having severe migraine attacks I had trouble rating pain. However I did know if a new medication made things better or worked faster as well as which medication was the migraine med!! Geez Louise!
ReplyDeleteI think if his memory for the headache is so poor maybe you don't need to worry. By tomorrow he won't even know he HAD a headache! Maybe try some Fukitol.
ReplyDeleteIt's very difficult for me to rate pain, especially when I think that 10 is agonizing death. I'm also aware that healthcare professionals expect us to rate everything a 10 and don't believe us... I know my pain is not a 10, but when I say that it's a 7 or 6 I get the feeling that healthcare people are not sympathetic, so I'm stymied. My pain is chronic, ever-present, grinding, but not acute. I don't know how to rate that.
ReplyDeleteAnd, since my appointments are six months apart, it is difficult to remember what day I took the medication and how long relief, if any, lasted. Sometimes a medication will give me relief for several weeks and then the pain will creep back until it is as bad as it was before I started that medication. I don't want to get high, I just want the pain to stop.
My problem with that went away when my pain doc had to up me to Percocet. Now, of course, I have to see him once a month, which makes it much easier to remember how my pain is doing!!
ReplyDeleteWell, I think I would certainly know if a med helped my raging migraine. However, I can also relate to the post-migraine cognitive fog, so maybe that was your unfortunate patient's problem. Guess I can see both sides of this one. If I was the doc I'd be tempted to lose my patience, but for the fact that I have been there and done that. The idea that he couldn't remember if it helped was funny in a warped sort of way, though!
ReplyDeleteTotally off the topic of patients but on the topic of Diet Coke (which I am aware we are both fans of)...
ReplyDeleteif you live in any area of the country that has a Shaw's/Star Market, they currently have 12 packs of Coke products (including the aforementioned) for 3/$9.00.
just wanted to let you know so you could stock up.
How frustrating! Forehead: meet desk.
ReplyDeleteI see my neurologist every 3 months for my migraines, and I'm expected to bring my migraine diary, which I am very faithful about keeping up to date. I also complete a MIDAS and HIT-6 prior to seeing him. Are your migraine patients required to do this? If not, you may want to include it for those patients like this one who are so very foggy on the details. Then again, this patient would probably lose it, even if they did fill it out. I understand the migraine postdrome and it's horrible, but this is so over the top!
did you have a headache after that dr g?
ReplyDeletemm
I would pull my hair out.
ReplyDeleteHeh. Poor Dr. G. I would like to mention that I once called my neuro. in the midst of a migraine about toradol...which wasn't working....except I couldn't remember the name of the med. For like the entire message...you know that med I'm on...the one that starts with...um....yeah I so have a migraine right now...I should remember the name eventually....yeah...well if you can call me that would be great.
ReplyDeleteCome to think of it they never called me back, and I think this could be considered good foder for this blog! But you know I now work with patients who had brain tumors and I figure it gives me empathy. LOL. I only worry sometimes that I'm losing brain cells when this happens for several days. Crazy migraines.
However I do have the memory of an elephant, so maybe that's why my doctors are always so grateful I remember details.
M
I can sympathize with your patient. Dr. G. I had every intention of posting a clear, concise response here but I've forgotten what I wanted to convey. Yup....that's what migraine does to you.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I was gonna say...for a neurologist, you aren't very sympathetic toward non-functioning brains...
ReplyDeleteAs for the "I don't know what medication I'm on" posts...as a patient I assume you can look that info up as easily as I can. To me, they're just my meds. How often do I need to know what they are?
I need to know my medications every time I visit a doctor. Of course, I also have fibromyalgia as well as taking a medication that makes it difficult to remember things. I keep a list of my medications in my purse and wallet for two reasons. First, I can use it when I'm at a doctor's office. But secondly, if something should happen to me, like an accident and I'm unconscious, those who come to help me will know what medications I am taking and not give me anything that is contraindicated.
ReplyDelete