Thursday, February 24, 2011

(sigh)

Dr. Grumpy: "When did the dizziness start?"

Mrs. Batty: "Well, I saw you for it last year! Don't you remember?"

Dr. Grumpy: "Hmmm. I don't see dizziness mentioned anywhere in your chart..."

Mrs. Batty: "It's the same thing, but a year ago I called it a headache. Except it's really not a headache at all. It's never been a headache. And I want to know why you didn't tell me it wasn't a headache in the first place. You're a doctor, and should know better."
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22 comments:

  1. Lynda Halliger Otvos (Lynda M O)February 24, 2011 at 6:55 AM

    Really, if you cannot tell me what I am feeling... well, I just don’t know if I can keep you as my doctor.

    Get real, Mrs Batty.

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  2. Not HouseFebruary 24, 2011 at 7:25 AM

    "Sadly I was expecting better ESP from my neurologist"

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  3. AnonymousFebruary 24, 2011 at 7:28 AM

    wow. As someone who will be starting med school in August, I must say I cannot wait for precious encounters like this gem. Pray tell, Dr. Grumpy, what did you say to that admonition?

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  4. Grumpy, M.D.February 24, 2011 at 7:30 AM

    I asked her to describe the dizziness. It's best to just move on.

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  5. Grumpy, M.D.February 24, 2011 at 8:14 AM

    "Dizzy" is a word that drives me nuts, because people use it to describes so many different things. Vertigo, lightheadedness, imbalance and in this case, headaches. So I try to pin down exactly what they mean.

    In the UK the phrase "giddiness" is commonly used for the same thing, something I still encounter in my practice when talking to people from across the pond.

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  6. AnonymousFebruary 24, 2011 at 8:16 AM

    "Describe the dizziness? You're a doctor - don't you know what dizziness is? *heavy sigh* It's like a headache, but different."

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  7. laughingmomFebruary 24, 2011 at 8:28 AM

    So, Doc, did your dizziness and/or headache start before or after you finished this talk with Mrs. Batty?

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  8. PackerFebruary 24, 2011 at 9:36 AM

    Omniscience not your forte ?

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  9. AnonymousFebruary 24, 2011 at 9:41 AM

    i was sighing too after reading this post, that's an appropriate post title.

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  10. lovinmyjobFebruary 24, 2011 at 12:00 PM

    After this encounter, were you dizzy or did you have a headache? Or did you smack her upside the head and say, "this is the difference between dizziness and headache"!

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  11. Li'l AzathothFebruary 24, 2011 at 12:30 PM

    "When I didn't tell you it wasn't a headache in the first place, you should have realized that I WAS actually telling you."

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  12. terri cFebruary 24, 2011 at 1:27 PM

    Goodness. She IS rather dizzy isn't she?

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  13. AnonymousFebruary 24, 2011 at 1:46 PM

    Retcon.

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  14. AnonymousFebruary 24, 2011 at 1:49 PM

    Don't you just hate those darn time-travel paradoxes?

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  15. Kat's KatsFebruary 24, 2011 at 2:41 PM

    Is she sure she wasn't having both? Depending on the headache I get both. Oh wait!! She was so dizzy that she couldn't tell she was having a headache. Or was it that she had such a bad headache that she couldn't tell she was dizzy. Or it could be...

    muckwi - what certain patients do...

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  16. AnonymousFebruary 24, 2011 at 2:46 PM

    Did you say dizzy or ditzy?

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  17. watercolordaisyFebruary 24, 2011 at 10:44 PM

    OMG these people are my architecture clients! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!! "I know I told you I wanted a door there but why is a door there?" UGH

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  18. AnonymousFebruary 25, 2011 at 12:21 AM

    She really meant "indigestion" when she said "dizzy." So your x-ray/MRI vision isn't working so well these days, huh??

    And when I go to a neurologist, I expect to be seeing a psychic as well.

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  19. The MotherFebruary 27, 2011 at 9:42 AM

    Honestly, Dr. Grumpy. You don't have the new "psychic EEG" machine yet?

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  20. TeeFebruary 28, 2011 at 7:58 PM

    Dr. Grumpy, can I ask you a serious question? How on earth do you keep from laughing at these people and then asking Mary to throw them out of your office? See, this is why I could never be a doctor... my nurse would come into my office looking for me, wanting to know why I'm so far behind in seeing my patients. She would find me huddled under my desk, sucking my thumb and rocking back and forth.

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  21. Grumpy, M.D.February 28, 2011 at 8:36 PM

    Years of practice.

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  22. LivingDeadNurseMarch 2, 2011 at 9:35 PM

    Some days I wonder how you keep your sanity..

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So wadda you think?