Never a dull moment

Okay, so I have today off. I went in and found that my Dr. was sick, so they told me to go study. I spent the morning studying diabetes mellitus and its treatments, if your interested ask me sometime and we'll see how much I remember. :) I just finished lunch and thought I would update my blog. I've had a few interesting and somewhat humorous things happen lately.

Captain Ajo (garlic in Spanish) came in last week. Wow, I like garlic, but this guy could not seem to get enough of it. I guess he eats 12 cloves a day; apparently he has scaled it back from 24. This gentleman stunk. My wife always says she can tell when I have had some meal with garlic in it, now I know what she means, I pray that I don't smell that bad (I doubt it). When the pt changed rooms from the triage room I was gagging in the hall. Just walking by the room he was in stung my nose. Dr. Orr's nurse was trying her hardest not to vomit. Wow, you would think somebody would have said something to him. Why does the doctor have to be the one to tell people these things? My Dr. informed the pt that he stunk, really, he didn't hold back, he gave it to him straight. The man was surprised, he said that nobody had said anything before, I highly doubt that. Anyway, he said he would try to cut it back to 3 or 4, the Dr. told him he really needed to, for the sake of all those that had to be around him. One of the older nurses said that it was an old wives tale that garlic would protect you from Syphilis. Not sure about the scientific backing on that claim, but at least he won't be bothered by any vampires this Halloween.

*Okay, now for a disclaimer. I'm going to mention S**. Just to warn anyone that might want to stop reading, nothing graphic of course, but just mention it, and maybe some body parts.

The other day a gentleman came in, he was in his 60's. Nice guy, just in for a follow up, at least that is what he told the nurse, what he really wanted was an Rx for Viagra. I had done the H & P (history and physical) and consulted with the doctor as to the pts treatments and complaints. The doctor and I had gone back in with the pt. This pt happened to be on a medication for his enlarged prostate that can't be taken with Viagra, anyway, he decided he would rather have the Viagra and didn't care about the enlarged prostate. The visit was over and the Dr had commented on how the pt had lost some weight (about 40 lbs) as he was preparing to exit the room. The pt quickly apologized to his wife for the comment he was about to make and matter of factly stated: "Well you know doc, it should be a wake up call for any man when he looks down and can't see his penis anymore." We exited quickly and I tried not to burst into laughter. But he does have a point. Watch your weight guys.

That same day there was a couple that came into the office. He was 84 and was recovering from a recently broken pelvis. His wife was 75, and drove into the office on her little scooter. The Dr. had addressed their concerns, that is almost addressed all their concerns. When he asked if there was anything else the older gentleman stated that his sex life wasn't too hot right now. His wife quickly agreed and stated that he definitely needed some help. Now there were a couple of thoughts that ran through my mind, first was: GROSS!! I did not need to know that. The second was: how refreshing to know that even at 84 and 75 some people are still attempting to have a healthy sex life, and why shouldn't they, right?! The third and final thought: is it safe for an 84 year old man to be taking an erectile dysfunction (ED) medication? The Dr. informed me that as long as he wasn't taking any of the meds that interact negatively with the ED medication, he was okay prescribing the meds. I guess it was just kind of a shock to me, I mean, really, hear from people the same age as your grandparents that they are having sex, not something anyone wants to think about, but hey, such is life and I guess we just have to learn to move past the shock factor of some statements.

Finally, I had another experience, but this one involved a mother and her 6 year old son. Every Tuesday morning I go upstairs to the Pediatric office and work with one of the pediatricians so I can get the exposure to the pediatric side of Family Medicine. The other day a mother brought her son in for a cold as well as a well child check. The Dr. had finished the exam (isn't it interesting how all of these things happen just as you are trying to end the encounter and leave the room?) and the mother stated that she had a concern, that her little boys penis was too small. I was terrified. That poor child, can you imagine being six (okay, maybe you wouldn't care) and having your mom tell the Dr. that you had a small wiener? Well, the Dr. informed the mother that it was a perfectly normal size, it was just that the little boy was fat. Okay, not really sure which one is worse, you have a small wiener, or no, you are just fat. Now the mother and child were Hispanic, so the doctor was trying her best to explain this in Spanish. I think some things may have gotten lost in translation. Anyway, the Dr. then proceeded to show the mother that her son was normal, you just had to push the fat out of the way. Wow, I hope that poor child isn't scared for life. But then again, maybe it will be for the better, the mother might actually make the kid exercise, and the kid might become a little motivated himself. I tried to explain to the mother after the importance of a healthy diet and exerise. Hopefully they got it.

Okay, so that is it for this post. Some rather interesting people and off the wall experiences. I think I have learned one important thing. Never ask the pt at the end of the visit if there is anything else, you never know what they are going to say, or what you will have to try to explain or do.