My doctor rant (1 Viewer)

[James Daulton]

Let me guess... the med that gave you a cough was lisinopril?

Yup. That's the one. I had been pounding Claritin and Zyrtec trying to make it go away. Could barely sleep at night. Was convinced that our dog (who sleep on the bed near our pillows) was dragging in tree and grass pollen and leaving it all over the bed. Last week I went nuts, tore everything off of the bed, washed everything, cleaned the headboards, the floorboards, pretty much anything near my head when I'm sleeping. It was like a clean room. I laid down that night thinking I was going to finally get a good night's rest and... *COUGH* *COUGH*

I take three meds for my BP... I had been on lisinopril but I had the same damned cough... got switched to Losartan, which does the same thing, in the same way, but no cough.

Same thing with me, Lisinopril = cough, Losartan = no cough.

 

[TheIronSheik]

That's mind bottling.

/smoo "mind boggling" /smoo

I've heard it both ways.

 

[got_nugs]

Our little 3 year old daughter was lethargic, sleeping during the day too often even for a kid that takes naps and every now and then tripping or losing her balance. Tests and tests and visit after visit to the pediatrician turned up nothing. Finally we went to a neurologist. He scoffed at us, told us that nothing was wrong with the girl and to go home, said she looked like a rose and we were over-reacting parents. Even tried to cancel the MRI we had scheduled for the following day. We went through with the MRI that found a golf ball sized tumor growing right behind her eyes.

A year later the guy was the guest of honor at a make a wish dinner that Izzy was asked speak at. When he saw us he left before the presentation.

It's OK to be wrong. It's not OK to be an ###.

Yikes. That's pretty messed up. Hope she's doing better, GB.

She's like Andy in Shawshank...clean on the other side. In retrospect (and after reading/crying over Hams post) we were/are very lucky. Plus I got to go to Disney (again) instead of meeting DWade...I mean seriously, who picks being a princess over a day with the Heat? I could have been on SportsCenter! She owes me.

 

[cstu]

are you overweight?

do you consider yourself healthy?

On the BMI scale, I am considered borderline obese. That said, if I got down to my "ideal" weight, people would think I had AIDS. I'm 6'2" and 218 el bees. I don't run marathons, but at the same time, I do walk on the treadmill and I'm fairly active in every day life.

Am I healthy? That's a tough one. I consider myself healthy. But I'm sure I could do better. Am I a heart attack waiting to happen? I don't think so. My bad cholesterol is good, my good cholesterol is great. Family history is fairly clean. So, for a 40 year old guy, I'd say I'm healthy.

Seems odd to be on BP medication then.

 

[TheIronSheik]

are you overweight?

do you consider yourself healthy?

On the BMI scale, I am considered borderline obese. That said, if I got down to my "ideal" weight, people would think I had AIDS. I'm 6'2" and 218 el bees. I don't run marathons, but at the same time, I do walk on the treadmill and I'm fairly active in every day life.

Am I healthy? That's a tough one. I consider myself healthy. But I'm sure I could do better. Am I a heart attack waiting to happen? I don't think so. My bad cholesterol is good, my good cholesterol is great. Family history is fairly clean. So, for a 40 year old guy, I'd say I'm healthy.

Seems odd to be on BP medication then.

Well that's what this doctor said. He said I'm in the high end of the acceptable range, but he didn't think I needed to take meds. At least not yet.

 

[Spin]

women shouldn't be doctors

Or drive.

Next thing you know they'll be wanting to vote too.

 

[fred_1_15301]

Were you not able to get your cholesterol results? You should have figured out there was a problem with that doctor right then and there

I did get the results. It was a sheet of paper that had a bunch of numbers on it for all of the tests. I had no idea what the numbers meant and trusted my doctor to decipher the results properly.

Ok but she specifically focused on your "high cholesterol". That would make me nervous and the first thing I'd probably want to do is google just how high that is and what it means for my risk of other clinical events. I understand that you want to trust your doctor but you had signs that things were off with her.

 

[fred_1_15301]

Honestly though, you should report that doctor. Seems like she has no business practicing and may get someone killed.

 

[Politician Spock]

Honestly though, you should report that doctor. Seems like she has no business practicing and may get someone killed.

With a little more detail from sheik, we may have found a story that goes with the classic punchline:

"Rectum? Damn near killed him!"

 

[Brony]

Honestly though, you should report that doctor. Seems like she has no business practicing and may get someone killed.

She prescribed lisinopril to a patient that presented with high BP. I think we should kill her, then pull her license.

 

[Fennis]

Honestly though, you should report that doctor. Seems like she has no business practicing and may get someone killed.

She prescribed lisinopril to a patient that presented with high BP. I think we should kill her, then pull her license.

I'd #### the hot nurse and marry Sheik. Easiest game of ####, marry, kill ever!

 

[johnnycakes]

Honestly though, you should report that doctor. Seems like she has no business practicing and may get someone killed.

She prescribed lisinopril to a patient that presented with high BP. I think we should kill her, then pull her license.

I get the , but every person I have ever talked to who has taken lisinopril has had the same damned cough. Including me. Now Sheik. And the other dude who chimed in above. Makes me wonder if anyone does not get the cough as a side effect. Anyhow... I did get a little warning FROM THE PHARMACIST about the possible side effect... usually that goes in one ear and out the other, but with the lisinopril and coughing... everyone seems to get this side effect. And the persistence of the cough is so egregious as to nullify any positive effect it may have.

 

[Johnny Rock]

I'm glad Iron Sheik dumped this Dr. (I agree she should be reported) and that got_nugs and KCitons trusted their intuition and prevailed in a huge way.

I've been lucky with awesome Dr.'s. My current Dr. is a young guy who gets it. His former nurse was a solid 7. My wife's female Dr. is a 9. Smart, confident, down to earth, gorgeous long-natural-blonde hair, fit and pretty face.

 

[one time]

are you overweight?

do you consider yourself healthy?

On the BMI scale, I am considered borderline obese. That said, if I got down to my "ideal" weight, people would think I had AIDS. I'm 6'2" and 218 el bees. I don't run marathons, but at the same time, I do walk on the treadmill and I'm fairly active in every day life.

Am I healthy? That's a tough one. I consider myself healthy. But I'm sure I could do better. Am I a heart attack waiting to happen? I don't think so. My bad cholesterol is good, my good cholesterol is great. Family history is fairly clean. So, for a 40 year old guy, I'd say I'm healthy.

Seems odd to be on BP medication then.

Why is it odd to be on BP medication if cholesterol is good and your living a moderately good lifestyle? BP is a silent killer because of the fact people get it and don't realize it.

Elevated BP untreated is horrible for health long term.

 

[one time]

Honestly though, you should report that doctor. Seems like she has no business practicing and may get someone killed.

She prescribed lisinopril to a patient that presented with high BP. I think we should kill her, then pull her license.

I get the , but every person I have ever talked to who has taken lisinopril has had the same damned cough. Including me. Now Sheik. And the other dude who chimed in above. Makes me wonder if anyone does not get the cough as a side effect. Anyhow... I did get a little warning FROM THE PHARMACIST about the possible side effect... usually that goes in one ear and out the other, but with the lisinopril and coughing... everyone seems to get this side effect. And the persistence of the cough is so egregious as to nullify any positive effect it may have.

Honestly, lisinopril is probably the #1 BP medication I see everyday (right up there with hydrochlorothiazide). Its not all too common to get the cough. I definitely do counsel on the cough and facial swelling possibilities, as well as getting lab work done (increases K+) occasionally. It is just such a strange side effect that some people get and is hard to diagnose other wise that it warrants mentioning.

 

[one time]

Everyone here is being pretty harsh on the doctor (Report her? Really?). There are a few things that could have been handled better but I think this is a case of personalities clashing.

BP: Patients lie. They lie all the time, especially men. Truth is, his BP was consistently 160-180 when tested in the office. That is VERY concerning. Consistently staying at 185+ is VERY bad. The doctor treated the BP she was seeing which was very high in a borderline obese patient. I suffer from white coat syndrome myself. With a doctor, I assume it's hard to gauge whether something is truly white coat syndrome and when it is a patient misleading or lying. Regarding the side effects, they happen. The cough is fairly uncommon, dizziness is usually an initial issue only until your body adjusts.

Cholesterol: It is hard to say without having the actual numbers. Do you still have the LDL/HDL figures? What medication were you prescribed, a "statin"? Again, in an obese person with above goal LDL, it makes sense to start on medication for it. Depending how high it is, it may make sense to give the patient time to try and reduce it given lifestyle changes. Again, it seems you were above goal "slightly", and it is a professional judgement call whether to put someone on a cholesterol medication that is pretty well tolerated other than some risks of muscle pain. There is no truly right or wrong call.

Calcium: Im a bit rusty on some of the lesser seen side effects. I could look into it more depending on what drugs your were on. Lisinopril I don't recall affecting Calcium. Poster states she said "bad". What if she said "elevated."? Its not like she seemed too concerned with this.

Other stuff: You smoke, gotta ask about chantix or stopping. Sounds like she pushed too hard which health care people should know not to do. Asking for about lab work and vaccinations is standard protocol. IE smokers should should have had a pneumonia shot. Everyone should get flu shot, etc etc.

Sounds like the doctors personal skills could use some work, but everything she did was professionally sound based on everything we have here.

 

[Johnny Rock]

Everyone here is being pretty harsh on the doctor (Report her? Really?). There are a few things that could have been handled better but I think this is a case of personalities clashing.

BP: Patients lie. They lie all the time, especially men. Truth is, his BP was consistently 160-180 when tested in the office. That is VERY concerning. Consistently staying at 185+ is VERY bad. The doctor treated the BP she was seeing which was very high in a borderline obese patient. I suffer from white coat syndrome myself. With a doctor, I assume it's hard to gauge whether something is truly white coat syndrome and when it is a patient misleading or lying. Regarding the side effects, they happen. The cough is fairly uncommon, dizziness is usually an initial issue only until your body adjusts.

Cholesterol: It is hard to say without having the actual numbers. Do you still have the LDL/HDL figures? What medication were you prescribed, a "statin"? Again, in an obese person with above goal LDL, it makes sense to start on medication for it. Depending how high it is, it may make sense to give the patient time to try and reduce it given lifestyle changes. Again, it seems you were above goal "slightly", and it is a professional judgement call whether to put someone on a cholesterol medication that is pretty well tolerated other than some risks of muscle pain. There is no truly right or wrong call.

Calcium: Im a bit rusty on some of the lesser seen side effects. I could look into it more depending on what drugs your were on. Lisinopril I don't recall affecting Calcium. Poster states she said "bad". What if she said "elevated."? Its not like she seemed too concerned with this.

Other stuff: You smoke, gotta ask about chantix or stopping. Sounds like she pushed too hard which health care people should know not to do. Asking for about lab work and vaccinations is standard protocol. IE smokers should should have had a pneumonia shot. Everyone should get flu shot, etc etc.

Sounds like the doctors personal skills could use some work, but everything she did was professionally sound based on everything we have here.

Did you read all of TheIronSheik's posts?

 

[one time]

Everyone here is being pretty harsh on the doctor (Report her? Really?). There are a few things that could have been handled better but I think this is a case of personalities clashing.

BP: Patients lie. They lie all the time, especially men. Truth is, his BP was consistently 160-180 when tested in the office. That is VERY concerning. Consistently staying at 185+ is VERY bad. The doctor treated the BP she was seeing which was very high in a borderline obese patient. I suffer from white coat syndrome myself. With a doctor, I assume it's hard to gauge whether something is truly white coat syndrome and when it is a patient misleading or lying. Regarding the side effects, they happen. The cough is fairly uncommon, dizziness is usually an initial issue only until your body adjusts.

Cholesterol: It is hard to say without having the actual numbers. Do you still have the LDL/HDL figures? What medication were you prescribed, a "statin"? Again, in an obese person with above goal LDL, it makes sense to start on medication for it. Depending how high it is, it may make sense to give the patient time to try and reduce it given lifestyle changes. Again, it seems you were above goal "slightly", and it is a professional judgement call whether to put someone on a cholesterol medication that is pretty well tolerated other than some risks of muscle pain. There is no truly right or wrong call.

Calcium: Im a bit rusty on some of the lesser seen side effects. I could look into it more depending on what drugs your were on. Lisinopril I don't recall affecting Calcium. Poster states she said "bad". What if she said "elevated."? Its not like she seemed too concerned with this.

Other stuff: You smoke, gotta ask about chantix or stopping. Sounds like she pushed too hard which health care people should know not to do. Asking for about lab work and vaccinations is standard protocol. IE smokers should should have had a pneumonia shot. Everyone should get flu shot, etc etc.

Sounds like the doctors personal skills could use some work, but everything she did was professionally sound based on everything we have here.

Did you read all of TheIronSheik's posts?

Yes, I did. Tell me what I am suppose to be missing. Other than colliding personalities, some uncommon side effects, and a biased side of story, my account seems to be fairly accurate. The only thing I didn't address was why Sheik thought using an antihistamine would help with cough.

 

[TheIronSheik]

Everyone here is being pretty harsh on the doctor (Report her? Really?). There are a few things that could have been handled better but I think this is a case of personalities clashing.

BP: Patients lie. They lie all the time, especially men. Truth is, his BP was consistently 160-180 when tested in the office. That is VERY concerning. Consistently staying at 185+ is VERY bad. The doctor treated the BP she was seeing which was very high in a borderline obese patient. I suffer from white coat syndrome myself. With a doctor, I assume it's hard to gauge whether something is truly white coat syndrome and when it is a patient misleading or lying. Regarding the side effects, they happen. The cough is fairly uncommon, dizziness is usually an initial issue only until your body adjusts.

Cholesterol: It is hard to say without having the actual numbers. Do you still have the LDL/HDL figures? What medication were you prescribed, a "statin"? Again, in an obese person with above goal LDL, it makes sense to start on medication for it. Depending how high it is, it may make sense to give the patient time to try and reduce it given lifestyle changes. Again, it seems you were above goal "slightly", and it is a professional judgement call whether to put someone on a cholesterol medication that is pretty well tolerated other than some risks of muscle pain. There is no truly right or wrong call.

Calcium: Im a bit rusty on some of the lesser seen side effects. I could look into it more depending on what drugs your were on. Lisinopril I don't recall affecting Calcium. Poster states she said "bad". What if she said "elevated."? Its not like she seemed too concerned with this.

Other stuff: You smoke, gotta ask about chantix or stopping. Sounds like she pushed too hard which health care people should know not to do. Asking for about lab work and vaccinations is standard protocol. IE smokers should should have had a pneumonia shot. Everyone should get flu shot, etc etc.

Sounds like the doctors personal skills could use some work, but everything she did was professionally sound based on everything we have here.

Did you read all of TheIronSheik's posts?

Yes, I did. Tell me what I am suppose to be missing. Other than colliding personalities, some uncommon side effects, and a biased side of story, my account seems to be fairly accurate. The only thing I didn't address was why Sheik thought using an antihistamine would help with cough.

I just want to point out, I had no intention of reporting her. And I agree that our personalities clash. I didn't bad mouth her to the other doctor or really even tell anyone except on here. And I did it on here just because I was letting off steam. I figured it was cool here because I wasn't naming her or identifying her in anyway.

I pretty much totally agree with your analysis. And I understand why she was treating the symptoms. The thing about the BP though (as far as lying), I have a cuff I use at home that shows the last 30 or so tests. So she could see those. Also, she got the reports from my back doctor, so she could see that my BP was 120's when they took it. All that said, I still understand her concern.

For the cholesterol, I was never prescribed anything. She said it was high (or whatever term) and said that she wanted me to get it retested soon. She said she didn't want to put me on any meds just yet, but if I didn't lose any weight, she might.

Again, with the Calcium, I don't remember her exact words. But she said I needed to get it retested to see if it was an anomaly. She said it can be sometimes, but if it wasn't, that could be bad.

As I said earlier, I think my biggest complaint with her was her bedside manner. She seemed to want to rush me in and out, while upselling things I wasn't asking about. It's because of this, I'm sure I'm a little hazy on what her exact wordings were.

My intention was never to ruin someone's career. My whole point of this post was to say that if you don't feel comfortable with your doctor, go find one that you do feel comfortable with. That's all.

 

[Gianni Verscotchie]

MALPRACTICE!!!!

 

[TheIronSheik]

The only thing I didn't address was why Sheik thought using an antihistamine would help with cough.

I missed this part. The reason is I have terrible allergies. Tree pollen and grass pollen are two of my worst allergies. So the past couple months have been horrible for me. The cough wasn't like a straight up cold cough. Or even a smoker's cough. It would start as a tickle in my throat. To be honest, it didn't cause me to cough. I coughed to get rid of the tickle. I just figured my throat was swelling up from the allergies and that's what was causing the tickle.