Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Mary, bring me a strong drink

Dr. Grumpy: "You haven't had a seizure in years. What happened?"

Mrs. Flake: "I stopped taking my epilepsy medication last week. It was causing all kinds of terrible side effects."

Dr. Grumpy: "But... You've taken ShakeAway for 5 years, and never had a problem with it before."

Mrs. Flake: "Well, I took my pills at bedtime one night, like I normally do. And the next morning I woke up with a fever and sore throat. I was achy all over, and my nose was stuffy. After 2 days of this I realized it was probably from ShakeAway, and stopped it. The next day I was feeling better, so it must have been the drug."

Dr. Grumpy: "Ma'am, it sounds like you just had a cold. That's all. The medicine had nothing to do with it. Let me give you a schedule to restart it."

Mrs. Flake: "That poison! I just told you, it made me sick! Don't you listen? I refuse to start it again."
at

28 comments:

  1. OMDGOctober 11, 2011 at 11:06 AM

    My head hurts.

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  2. Knot TellingOctober 11, 2011 at 11:44 AM

    Post hoc, ergo propter hoc. Obviously.

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  3. bobbieOctober 11, 2011 at 12:12 PM

    ...SIGH...

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  4. Cthulhu SashimiOctober 11, 2011 at 12:14 PM

    "And it got my husband fired from his job and it got my daughter pregnant and it got the Phillies eliminated from the pennant race and it made the stock market drop! Why you aren't in prison for prescribing that I'll never know!"

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  5. thethingspatientssayOctober 11, 2011 at 12:50 PM

    The human mind is designed to look for causal relationships. I had a GI bleed patient ask me once if the chili he had eaten last night caused his ass to bleed like this.

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  6. JenRPhOctober 11, 2011 at 3:07 PM

    Welcome to the world of a pharmacist. I hear stuff like this every day :(

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  7. AnonymousOctober 11, 2011 at 3:38 PM

    The problem with being a Neurologist is that all your patients are sick in the head.

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  8. PA HoneybeeOctober 11, 2011 at 3:42 PM

    @thethingspatientssay: that is unbelievably ridiculous!

    On your post Dr. Grumpy, it never ceases to amaze me how people create connections between two things that have nothing to do with each other and are convinced of their assessment despite rational, medical dispute from a professional!

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  9. PackerOctober 11, 2011 at 4:22 PM

    Give her the new improved and see how that works RXgeneric

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  10. TinyRNOctober 11, 2011 at 4:49 PM

    ::facepalm::

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  11. Loren PechtelOctober 11, 2011 at 5:03 PM

    Bad things happen when you take medicine. Therefore it must have been the medicine!

    Why don't you try something else for Mrs. Flake: GenericNoShakes.

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  12. ER's MomOctober 11, 2011 at 5:15 PM

    So, what can I get you? I'll even treat! ;)

    I'm a beer gal myself...a nice dark porter or stout. Life is too short for cheap beer.

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  13. AnonymousOctober 11, 2011 at 6:37 PM

    You can't fix stupid.

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  14. AnonymousOctober 11, 2011 at 6:43 PM

    Dr. Grumpy, are you sure you didn't accidentally swap your patient list with that of a psychiatrist?

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  15. AnonymousOctober 11, 2011 at 6:49 PM

    Has she never had a cold before in the last 5 years?!?

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  16. RoxieOctober 11, 2011 at 7:25 PM

    Wow. How do some people get around in life?

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  17. MockingbirdOctober 11, 2011 at 7:36 PM

    It's too bad the lady has seizures.
    All she needs is some Dristan nasal mist and a 12 pack of Bud Light, in addition to Shakeaway.

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  18. watercolordaisyOctober 11, 2011 at 8:36 PM

    I've been on medicine my whole life. Must be why I'm still sick. Dang it. haha

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  19. AnonymousOctober 11, 2011 at 9:20 PM

    You can't code for this sort of shit

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  20. GunDivaOctober 11, 2011 at 10:33 PM

    ::head desk::

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  21. AnonymousOctober 11, 2011 at 11:37 PM

    Ugh... as an epidemiologist we have to deal with this type of thing in whole populations. Very irritating.

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  22. AnonymousOctober 12, 2011 at 2:04 AM

    Then again, if she hasn't had a seizure in five years, hopefully that means she can pursue a trial off her meds?? *sigh. Here's hoping to the best of outcomes!

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  23. AnonymousOctober 12, 2011 at 5:48 AM

    Anon @ 1:04

    I would think that given the conversation began "You haven't had a seizure in years. What happened?", that the trial off her meds failed pretty quickly.

    Stephen

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  24. AbsentbabinskiOctober 12, 2011 at 10:24 AM

    Why not feed the stupid by telling her that all drugs are poisons?

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  25. AnonymousOctober 12, 2011 at 4:16 PM

    Feed the stupid even more by quoting Paracelsus to her, that everything is a poison! Toxicologists know that even oxygen and water are poisonous.

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  26. K2October 14, 2011 at 1:38 AM

    Can't blame her for following her survival instinct- looking for causal relationships is why some species still exist, amiright?

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  27. bcorigOctober 16, 2011 at 12:10 AM

    Life is all about choices. Let me introduce you to an 840 ventilator and your next good friend, Pentobarbital.

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  28. Dr POctober 31, 2011 at 7:14 PM

    I am a veterinarian, and can relate to many of your stories (with the added bonus of a patient who can't tell you what's wrong). In my last year of veterinary school, I had a similar situation. Woman brings in her Pomeranian for excessive panting and occasional itching (note: I am on emergency rotation and it is 11 PM on a Sunday). This dog was previously diagnosed with hypertension and was put on an ACEI, which he has been on for several months (though at half the recommended dose--don't ask me why). So we check his BP and, sure enough, still hypertensive. Owner INSISTS that this panting and itching HAS to be due to a reaction to the meds, and she will ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY not give her dog that medicine anymore!! Did I mention that hypertension can cause panting? **headdesk**

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So wadda you think?