# People make my head hurt!



## Epi-do (Jan 10, 2011)

I honestly didn't know the questions I was asking a patient I recently had were that difficult to answer.  Maybe she forgot to put a babel fish in her ear.  It certainly couldn't have hurt for her to give it a try because it seemed like I was speaking a totally different language.

She was sitting in her recliner, all smiles & laughing with a bystander in the house when we arrived.  Apparently, she was having some abdominal pain.  Through the course of the interview, the following exchange took place:

Me:  So, when did the pain begin?

Pt:  It got alot worse today.

Me:  I understand that.  You had mentioned that before, but when did it actually start?

Pt:  Oh!  It started this morning.

Me:  You didn't have any pain at all before this morning?

Pt:  No, I've had some pain for a while.

Me:  Ok.  So how long have you had the pain?

Pt:  For a while.

Me:  How long is "a while"?

Pt:  It started a couple days ago, when I had a doctor appt.

Me:  So what did the doctor say when you saw him?

Pt:  It was a follow up appt.

Me:  A follow up for what?

Pt:  The other time I had been there to see him.

Me:  But, what was the reason you went to see him?


The entire time we had to talk to this lady it was like this.  I couldn't tell you the last time I had to work that hard to get information out of someone who was capable of giving it to me (even if it doesn't seem like it from that excerpt of our conversation).  I honestly think it would have been much less painful to repeatedly bang my head against the wall.


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## JJR512 (Jan 10, 2011)

People answering a question that's different from the one I asked is _extremely_ annoying to me.

If you answer a question other than the one I actually asked, I feel like you're telling me, "You're too stupid to ask me the question you really want answered, so here, I'll just tell you what I know you really wanted to know."

My favorite example of this is one time when my wife was in the bedroom and I was in the living room, and I called out the question, "What are you doing?" Her reply was, "I'll be out in a minute!" Arghh! :angry:


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## Cledope (Jan 11, 2011)

do you really want to know what your wife is doing in the bathroom? lol


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## Tanker299 (Jan 11, 2011)

Epi-do said:


> Maybe she forgot to put a babel fish in her ear.


 
OK, I wasn't expecting a Douglas Adam reference here (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) but I'm pleasently surprised.

Patient was mostly harmless?


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## foxfire (Jan 11, 2011)

Epi-do said:


> I honestly didn't know the questions I was asking a patient I recently had were that difficult to answer.  Maybe she forgot to put a babel fish in her ear.  It certainly couldn't have hurt for her to give it a try because it seemed like I was speaking a totally different language.
> 
> She was sitting in her recliner, all smiles & laughing with a bystander in the house when we arrived.  Apparently, she was having some abdominal pain.  Through the course of the interview, the following exchange took place:
> 
> ...


 
Getting info out of some patient's is like trying to pull chicken teeth. Ya might get lucky and actually get some info. OR, you might not get hardly any and the patient spills it all out once the see the ER nurse, making you look like a complete idiot. <_<


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## Tanker299 (Jan 11, 2011)

foxfire said:


> OR, you might not get hardly any and the patient spills it all out once the see the ER nurse, making you look like a complete idiot. <_<


 
This ^^^

Take diabetic to ER, family present, had asked pt and family several questions they either denied or simply did not respond.
Get to ER, triage nurse could have asked what their puppy's favorite pee spot was and they would have answered that. I was lucky to get a history.

<_<


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## JJR512 (Jan 11, 2011)

Cledope said:


> do you really want to know what your wife is doing in the bathroom? lol



I did say "bedroom", and yes, I wanted to know. That's why I asked. Sorry, I know you're trying to be funny, and yeah your comment is amusing and I don't mean to be a jerk about it...but this actually goes right to the heart of my problem with people answering some other question besides the one I actually asked. If I ask a question, it's because I want that question answered. If I didn't want to know the answer to the question, I wouldn't have asked it. If I wanted to know the answer to some other question, I would have asked some other question.


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## shfd739 (Jan 11, 2011)

foxfire said:


> Getting info out of some patient's is like trying to pull chicken teeth. Ya might get lucky and actually get some info. OR, you might not get hardly any and the patient spills it all out once the see the ER nurse, making you look like a complete idiot. <_<



X2.  Had a patient a few weeks ago that did this. Denied some stuff,refused to answer a few questions and lied about her history. We got to the ER and she spilled her history, admitted to the stuff she denied....all to the ER doc who met us as we got in the room...Said ER doc is also our medical director. I was slightly pissed.


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## Azarias (Jan 11, 2011)

JJR512 said:


> I did say "bedroom", and yes, I wanted to know. That's why I asked. Sorry, I know you're trying to be funny, and yeah your comment is amusing and I don't mean to be a jerk about it...but this actually goes right to the heart of my problem with people answering some other question besides the one I actually asked. If I ask a question, it's because I want that question answered. If I didn't want to know the answer to the question, I wouldn't have asked it. If I wanted to know the answer to some other question, I would have asked some other question.



I really didn't think it was possible to find someone who understood this. Your train of though is disturbingly similar to my own. Now to train the girlfriend to understand it.


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## KCS911 (Jan 11, 2011)

O jeez.Been there.I love when people forget where their pain is or what arm or leg. Classic just looking for a ride or attention patients.


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## JJR512 (Jan 11, 2011)

Azarias said:


> I really didn't think it was possible to find someone who understood this. Your train of though is disturbingly similar to my own. Now to train the girlfriend to understand it.



We should start a club. Unfortunately I think it will be more successful as a mutual support club rather than a girlfriend education club.


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## foxfire (Jan 11, 2011)

JJR512 said:


> I did say "bedroom", and yes, I wanted to know. That's why I asked. Sorry, I know you're trying to be funny, and yeah your comment is amusing and I don't mean to be a jerk about it...but this actually goes right to the heart of my problem with people answering some other question besides the one I actually asked. If I ask a question, it's because I want that question answered. If I didn't want to know the answer to the question, I wouldn't have asked it. If I wanted to know the answer to some other question, I would have asked some other question.



I am completly with you there.


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## Cledope (Jan 12, 2011)

hah yeah sorry, you did come off as a jerk maybe your pts are doing this on purpose..


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## johnrsemt (Jan 12, 2011)

Brings to memory a pt that Epi and I had;    similar,  couldn't get any info out of but not because he was answering questions; this one just layed there and moaned,  said  "it hurts"  and "I can't".     not helpful at all.   
Never did find out what he couldn't  or what hurt.     didn't help that after we got him to ED,  that he coded.   They got him back though.


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## Epi-do (Jan 12, 2011)

johnrsemt said:


> Brings to memory a pt that Epi and I had;    similar,  couldn't get any info out of but not because he was answering questions; this one just layed there and moaned,  said  "it hurts"  and "I can't".     not helpful at all.
> Never did find out what he couldn't  or what hurt.     didn't help that after we got him to ED,  that he coded.   They got him back though.



I had forgotten all about him!!  When you were talking to the triage nurse, he finally said what sounded like, "I can't pee!!"


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## Shishkabob (Jan 12, 2011)

I know exactly how you feel.

Shortness of breath call, pt has inhaler in hand with ventolin




ME: So what do you take albuterol for?

Her: I don't take albuterol.

Me: (Realizing they don't know ventolin IS albuterol) Ok, what do you take Ventolin for?

Her:  I don't take Ventolin.

Me:  What do you use your inhaler for?

Her: To breathe better

Me: So what breathing problem do you have?

Her: I can't breathe right now.

Me: Do you have COPD?  Asthma?  CHF?

Her:  No, I just can't breathe.

Me-  Emphsyena?  Bronchitus?  Congestive Heart Failure?  

Her: No.

Me:  Is that your inhaler?

Her:  What kind of question is that?  

Me:  So...what did your doctor prescribe your inhaler for?

Her:  To breathe better




Or the other SOB who was on an NC with 100 feet of tubing at 2LPM stating she couldn't breathe:

Me- Here, let me get you on my mask

Her- No I can't breathe if you take it off!

Me- Ma'am, it will be a whole 2 seconds, and you'll have a new one on so we can get you treated better in the ambulance

Her- I can't breathe without it!

Me-  ma'am, if the 1% extra oxygen you're getting in to your nose makes THAT much of a difference, we have a bigger problem and I'm going to have to put you to sleep and stick a tube down your throat.

Her:  but I can't breathe without it!


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## TransportJockey (Jan 12, 2011)

Or the ever famous: Do you have an medical problems?
No.
Do you take medications?
Yep 
*hands Paramedic large plastic tub full of pill bottles*
I thought you said you didn't have any medical problems?
Well, they're not problems when I take my medicine!


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## Epi-do (Jan 12, 2011)

See?  I am telling you, some days it is much easier to just beat your head against the wall.


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## Melclin (Jan 13, 2011)

jtpaintball70 said:


> Or the ever famous: Do you have an medical problems?
> No.
> Do you take medications?
> Yep
> ...



He must be friends with this guy:

*Pt with chest pain*
"Do you have any heart problems"?
"No"
*seeing the long list of cardiac medications or old Q waves*
"Are you sure you've never had a heart attack?"
"Oh yes I had seven last year". 

Now I ask: "Have you EVER had any heart problems, any heart attacks or surgeries or anything?", because that ^^^ kept happening to me. Seems to have done the trick.


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