Dr. Grumpy: "Any triggers to your headaches?"
Mr. Coriolis: "They only occur when the barometric pressure drops."
Dr. Grumpy: "And what medications..."
Mr. Coriolis: "See, I began tracking barometric pressure with an iPhone app, comparing it to my headache diary" (takes out a notebook) "and here are some graphs I made up. I downloaded the barometric pressures of cities I've been in going back 38 years, to when I was born, and then I graphed them against..."
Got to use those apps for something I guess ...
ReplyDeleteHa ha...reminds me of my dad. A while back his Dr asked him to take his blood pressure at home each day for a while to decide if he needs medication. A month later my dad went back to his follow up appt...with color coded graphs documenting daily bp fluctuations based on time of day.
ReplyDeleteFinally a patient who knows how to handle a medical issue.
ReplyDeleteOrthopedist know all about the weather change issue, they can't explain it worth a damn, but they know it exist.
Why not headaches ?
Now let's discuss the full moon.
"Dr. Grumpy, your next patient is here. This is Dr. Sheldon Cooper..."
ReplyDeleteWhat! The scientist in you does not appreciate valuable (but limited) research data? The pt knows what triggers the migraine.. That, I bet, is better than 98.6 (ha-ha) than the other folk you treat for the same condition.
ReplyDeletePacker is correct -- I know too many people with orthopod problems who can predict weather. So maybe headaches?
Hey Grump, maybe a paper for a learned (or not so learned) journal?
TMI ~
ReplyDeleteYes, many people report changes in barometric pressure as a migraine trigger (hi, I'm one of them), and there's some research that bears it out. My latest neuro says it's a real thing. I don't think the pt saying that barometric pressure dropping is his trigger is what Dr. G is making fun of here.
ReplyDeletePlease forgive him Dr. Grumpy. As a migraine sufferer myself, I know we all have brain damage from them.
ReplyDeleteI once worked with a woman who nearly drove me around the bend. This would be her assessment of the situation: what better method than the objective collection of objective data by the subject? Just look outside and see the rain falling and know there's going to be some slow-moving people in the office. Time to take out the biscuit and turn the tea kettle on high for the aching patrons.
ReplyDeleteIt's weird what can trigger a migraine. Barometric changes set my sinuses off, but not my migraines. Salvation army bells do set them off though, sometimes in as little as 30 seconds. Makes me feel like Scrooge.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking the migraines are a mix of hunching over a small phone screen for clearly waaaaay too much time. Vicious cycle there...
ReplyDeleteAno@851, That aint no migraine, that is normal, happens to everyone.
ReplyDelete