A Blog detailing the insanity of my medical practice and the stupidity of everyday life.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Attention patients!
When I ask if you're taking Coumadin, PLEASE remember that you are BEFORE I start putting needles in you for an EMG, not suddenly saying "Oh, wait, I think I am taking Coumadin" as blood goes flying everywhere.
"Oh, so you're allergic to penicillin and bactrim." Then MD writes up a script for levaquin instead. Later that day I have to call up the doctor, letting them know about the quinolone allergy the patient didn't report and the patient is reacting to it.
Holy Shit, EMG Man! I have had that AWFUL test a few times and I bled like a stuffed pig and I am not on Coumadin (postive,I am not taking it)? The scene must have been like a murder!
I have asked people, "Are you taking coumadin?" to have them tell me "No" only to learn later they are taking warfarin ..aaargh in our generic labeled culture, people often just dont know that a=b
I have since learned to ask" Are you taking any Coumadin, warfarin or blood thinners?"
ha. similar to a lady i gave a flu shot to that failed to tell me about her hemophilia til after i was scrambling for anything absorbent, short of my shirt. the little cotton ball i was usually armed with didn't hold up very long. since then, i've learned my lesson. nothing compared to that lady's bleeding.
plavix and the new dabigatrin are worse. but for those who care, epinephrine in the local pretty much quiets coumadin effect as long as anatomic bleeders are controlled.
Seems like a good argument for electronic medical records. I know, one should be able to remember if one's on Coumadin. But it always astonishes me that (e.g.) a physician I'm seeing for an emergency imagines that I can accurately remember when my last tetanus shot was. Really?
I didn't realize that people normally bleed with that kind of test. I had an EMG nerve conduction study done on my right arm/ hand three years ago - Carpal tunnel. I don't remember there being any bleeding, just some good jolts and shocks to the muscles...
Was this a different kind of test that you were doing?
::head:laptop:repeat:: There's a reason I keep my med list in my wallet & purse (it also gives all of my physicians & their numbers along with emergency contacts yada yada). ::sigh::
tranu - what everyone with a brain wishes they could do with those who are unable to be trained.
I'm leakey (no Coumadin needed), so I tend to ooze a little w/ needle sticks. My neurologist, who was performing an EMG on me, exclaimed when he got blood on his white uniform (Navy) shirt. Horrified, he asked "how am I going to get this out"? First I asked him if he was really a doctor, and then I told him to check w/ his wife who would know how to get blood out. Fail.
Eeesh.... If I get blood on my clothes (period flow can sometimes be stronger than I expect) I just dump them in the washer. Never had a stain remain after that.
Anon 0506 - Obviously Laundry 101 wasn't covered in his curriculum. My youngest will turn 15 on the 24th. He already knows not only how to do his own laundry but how to read the directions on the stain removal products. ::snicker::
Mmm. Good point.
ReplyDeletePeople do that with allergies all the time too.
ReplyDelete"Oh, so you're allergic to penicillin and bactrim." Then MD writes up a script for levaquin instead. Later that day I have to call up the doctor, letting them know about the quinolone allergy the patient didn't report and the patient is reacting to it.
Holy Shit, EMG Man! I have had that AWFUL test a few times and I bled like a stuffed pig and I am not on Coumadin (postive,I am not taking it)? The scene must have been like a murder!
ReplyDeleteYou wanted me to tell you if I consume rat poison? Oh, well that' different ...
ReplyDeleteToday on Jackson Pollack Medical Theatre...
ReplyDeleteReminds me of this recall....
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08046.html
Really?!!
I hope you caught that on camera for "America's Funniest Medical Videos."
ReplyDeleteI have asked people, "Are you taking coumadin?" to have them tell me "No" only to learn later they are taking warfarin ..aaargh in our generic labeled culture, people often just dont know that a=b
ReplyDeleteI have since learned to ask" Are you taking any Coumadin, warfarin or blood thinners?"
ha. similar to a lady i gave a flu shot to that failed to tell me about her hemophilia til after i was scrambling for anything absorbent, short of my shirt. the little cotton ball i was usually armed with didn't hold up very long. since then, i've learned my lesson. nothing compared to that lady's bleeding.
ReplyDeleteack! That's why I keep a list of all my drugs and dosages on my iphone and when ever any doc asks about them, I hand them the list. soooo helpful.
ReplyDeleteplavix and the new dabigatrin are worse. but for those who care, epinephrine in the local pretty much quiets coumadin effect as long as anatomic bleeders are controlled.
ReplyDeleteThis message has been brought to you by the makers of Shop-Vac.
ReplyDeleteIt breaks my heart to see this kind of waste when there are so many starving vampires out there.
ReplyDeleteWow. Can neurologists handle blood?!?
ReplyDeleteIt's like that scene in The Shining when the elevator doors open.
ReplyDeleteSeems like a good argument for electronic medical records. I know, one should be able to remember if one's on Coumadin. But it always astonishes me that (e.g.) a physician I'm seeing for an emergency imagines that I can accurately remember when my last tetanus shot was. Really?
ReplyDeleteat least it wasnt a cvc!
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize that people normally bleed with that kind of test. I had an EMG nerve conduction study done on my right arm/ hand three years ago - Carpal tunnel. I don't remember there being any bleeding, just some good jolts and shocks to the muscles...
ReplyDeleteWas this a different kind of test that you were doing?
Oops . :-)
ReplyDelete::head:laptop:repeat:: There's a reason I keep my med list in my wallet & purse (it also gives all of my physicians & their numbers along with emergency contacts yada yada). ::sigh::
ReplyDeletetranu - what everyone with a brain wishes they could do with those who are unable to be trained.
I'm leakey (no Coumadin needed), so I tend to ooze a little w/ needle sticks. My neurologist, who was performing an EMG on me, exclaimed when he got blood on his white uniform (Navy) shirt. Horrified, he asked "how am I going to get this out"? First I asked him if he was really a doctor, and then I told him to check w/ his wife who would know how to get blood out. Fail.
ReplyDeleteno, 1239, you are different than the grumpy patient.
ReplyDeleteEeesh.... If I get blood on my clothes (period flow can sometimes be stronger than I expect) I just dump them in the washer. Never had a stain remain after that.
ReplyDeleteSo the other day hubby was examining a new patient. Any surgeries? Nope.
ReplyDeleteSo, how did he forget the stem to stern median sternotomy scar on his chest?
I think I may need to change the focus of my blog. I'm starting to collect a trove of these.
Anon 0506 - Obviously Laundry 101 wasn't covered in his curriculum. My youngest will turn 15 on the 24th. He already knows not only how to do his own laundry but how to read the directions on the stain removal products. ::snicker::
ReplyDelete@Anon5:06
ReplyDeletehydrogen peroxide for blood stains