We debated yesterday during the ward round, as to whether I should discontinue one of my patient’s medicines. 85, he’s not in good shape; struggles to walk, confused at night, the stroke ten years ago took his ability to speak. Of all the drugs that are forced upon him morning and night, one is toContinue reading “Something medical.”
Tag Archives: drugs
On the basis
On the basis of not being able to write a full sentence About the homeless people I saw on the streets of Glasgow this week; It is probably easier for me to reflect my thoughts thus… Costa* cups, the receptacles. Drowsy men and women, some with swollen livers others, dead-eyed, sedated by opiateContinue reading “On the basis”
Medicines, etc.
Nevertheless, within the dark underbelly of medicine, where geriatricians live, there are some quite stunning effects often, from stopping and sometimes starting medicines.
The Interceptors
The point, as is often the case, is my aversion to patients. Or rather, the existential construct that relates to the ‘patient state’ = they who suffer; with the principal goal of my life being to obviate suffering, my objective is to really stop people turning into patients.
And that is the role of the interceptors.
There is a balance
Balance is the essence of nature; winter and summer, hot and cold, dead or alive, we constantly fluctuate between these extremes.
Cannulas and Cannulae
I can’t imagine what modern medicine would be like without these colourful pieces of plastic.
You don’t have ‘x’
You don’t have ‘x’ – this can be good news for some, for others it doesn’t really help… Let me explain. If a person feels ill or has a specific symptom – (the easier ones tend to be breathlessness, chest pain or cough), there are a fairly standard set of tests or investigations whichContinue reading “You don’t have ‘x’”
Some more thoughts on urine infections…
It is likely that a doctor, a nurse or carer admitting, ‘something is wrong, I don’t know what,’ is better than heading off down a therapeutic blind alley.
Locked-in, drugs & the 60’s
Here is a question… What do you do when someone you are caring for, refuses your attention? When you, the ‘carer’ – doctor, nurse, therapist, father or son are unable to find a position or a stance that makes sense to the other person, to the extent that you are viewed as a burden, anContinue reading “Locked-in, drugs & the 60’s”