tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-631567898928853978.post2541017929762355991..comments2023-07-18T15:27:42.958+01:00Comments on A fortunate man: VerbatimDr Andrew Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13858213625632400403noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-631567898928853978.post-12332754287009072412007-10-07T23:55:00.000+01:002007-10-07T23:55:00.000+01:00Orchidea: You are right that benzodiazepines ought...Orchidea: You are right that benzodiazepines ought to be tailed off slowly. However, his story is that he has only been taking 2mg diazepam once or twice a day for a few months, so it should be possible to tail this off very quickly.<BR/><BR/>Anonymous: This just won't do, you know! You can't turn up late and expect everything arranged for your convenience. :-)<BR/><BR/>Just kidding. Seriously, I agree with you that one should not normally alter blog entries, but in this case I had a duty to my patient to report accurately what she said. And I did document the change in my comment.<BR/><BR/>You are quite right of course, some people refuse to be helped. We usually work on the assumption that our patients are telling the truth, or at least what they perceive as the truth. We find it hard to deal with people who deliberately lie to us, as you will know.<BR/><BR/>Harry: Once I qualified I measured my life by my six-month jobs. Then I arrived in this practice and I'm still here over 20 years later. :-)Dr Andrew Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13858213625632400403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-631567898928853978.post-41194831294442794762007-10-07T22:44:00.000+01:002007-10-07T22:44:00.000+01:00I'm measuring my (student) life by counting down t...I'm measuring my (student) life by counting down the revision periods every may. That said it's been 5 years since GCSEs and just 5 more till I finish med school.<BR/><BR/>That said, touchwood I'll stay in!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-631567898928853978.post-16590026704662490902007-10-06T14:17:00.000+01:002007-10-06T14:17:00.000+01:00Look here Dr B, if you amend the blog after receiv...Look here Dr B, if you amend the blog after receiving comments, the comments make no sense to those reading the whole lot later. Could you perhaps help us tail-enders and not delete the original but make an added entry.<BR/><BR/>I bet Diazepam Man is registered with several idendtities with different ractices and has several "out of hours" and "walk-in" identities. Hence his cheery acceptance of your non-prescribing. <BR/><BR/>I remember attending an inquest on a patient of "mine" who had taken an overdose of something or other: several different doctors were all prescribing very responsibly and carefully for his several identities. You can't save some people from themselves, sadly.<BR/><BR/>Pleased to see you are writing again: was starting to get worried about the silence a week or so ago.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-631567898928853978.post-13120675747445936522007-10-06T13:47:00.000+01:002007-10-06T13:47:00.000+01:00What would happen if Diazepam Man were addicted (w...What would happen if Diazepam Man were addicted (which I sincerely hope he isn't). Would he have a sufficient quantity left to enable him to taper off gradually? I'm asking this not because I question your judgement, far from it. I just sometimes wonder, legal issues aside, why certain types of substance dependency are treated more rigorously than others (nicotine, for instance).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-631567898928853978.post-65250627973685154722007-10-06T11:37:00.000+01:002007-10-06T11:37:00.000+01:00Oh dear! You are both right and I am wrong. On rev...Oh dear! You are both right and I am wrong. On reviewing my notes I see that she said "pentameter" and not "iambic pentameter". The first foot is an anapest, not a iamb. I have amended the original post, and my apologies to you both.<BR/><BR/>There's clearly no room for terminological inexactitude on this blog!<BR/><BR/>And yes, as far as I can remember I picked up the idea of putting verbatim extracts in the notes at the time of my psychiatry attachment in the fourth year of medical school. But it's all so long ago now...Dr Andrew Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13858213625632400403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-631567898928853978.post-19755221152488146662007-10-06T10:38:00.000+01:002007-10-06T10:38:00.000+01:00And on a more productive note, I invariably docume...And on a more productive note, I invariably document elements of a patient's speech verbatim.<BR/><BR/>Partly that's because it's highly relevant (what's said can be less pertinant than how it's said).<BR/>Partly it's since it gives a real flavour for how the patient was coming across if the effing is documented word for word.<BR/>Partly it's 'cause I'm in the luxurious position of being in Secondary Care and having time to document lengthy and accurate contemporaneous records ;-)The Shrinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10009039342346247138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-631567898928853978.post-39703264609367190482007-10-06T10:35:00.000+01:002007-10-06T10:35:00.000+01:00that “I have measured out my life with coffee spoo...<I>that “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons” is actually an iambic pentameter.</I><BR/><BR/>Is it? Isn't there an extra syllable?<BR/><BR/>I would have thought "I've measured out my life with coffee spoons" would be.<BR/><BR/>But it's a few years since my English Literature 'O' level :-)The Shrinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10009039342346247138noreply@blogger.com