That's right on the mark unfortunately. Smoke a pack of day but want me to fix their shortness of breath. Have a BMI of 42 but want me to fix their back and knee pain. Eat fast foods 3 meals a day but want me to fix their high lipids. This is exactly the kinds of things that drove me out of practice.
Or "my friend has the exact same thing as me and they said I should be on..." Of course, their friend never actually had the same condition as them.
I have a friend who has a very unusual pain presentation. He has had every treatment known, and then some. His wife keeps on pushing for the next treatment, I'm sure because she loves him and wants him out of pain. She has been haranguing his surgeon that he should perform the (risky) surgery because her husband is "special." It almost is like a Munchausen by Proxy variant.
Thank you for kind and insightful comments . I notice you are often spot on , so thank you. Yes, I did worry about my more challenging patients that it took me years to get dialed into a treatment regimen that worked or the tough obstinate yet delicate chronic smoking/drinking head and neck cancer patient. They bothered me the most about leaving. A couple of them wept or brought me gifts ...
My BMI was 20 when my tri-athlete PCP back in California asked me to lose weight to relieve my back pain and knee pain. My BMI was at 18.5 when I first started seeing him and my weight crept up through the years. But with my BMI at 20, he was asking me to lose 10 lbs. I am also quite tall for a woman...Well that’s inappropriate certainly. That would have been a sign to find a new PCP.
I actually liked him alot otherwise. We moved and still miss him.
Hear, hear!
Also with somewhat few exceptions, most conditions can be adequately managed with inexpensive generics. About 90% of all prescriptions in the US are for generics.
