can someone explain this behavior

gonzo1, ASN, RN · Jul 21, 2008

unable to comment since wasn't there and can only imagine what went on.

at least they ran some blood tests and apparently they were normal

you can call or write, or go see hospital administrator and discuss what went on perhaps there is a problem with this doctor

is your boyfriend better? I hope so

justme1972 · Jul 21, 2008

Holy crap!

I can't believe that!

If he still has the swelling, go to another doctor, get him to write a correct report, and then send it to the hospital and request a CREDIT for the visit.

Your b/f shouldn't even be charged for that!

I am so sorry!

k_r_ah · Jul 21, 2008

The swelling is getting better and he has an appt with his regular dr. It just seemed weird that they were so convinced he had a alcohol/substace abuse problem.lol

thanks for the replies.

Keepstanding, ASN, RN · Jul 22, 2008

he was treated poorly. :madface: i sure hope he is doing better soon. :nurse:

ski4life · Jul 22, 2008

Many times young people get the brush-off, even if they have a serious issue. But this behavior sounds terrible! I'd encourage your friend to write a formal letter if she was bothered by the way she was treated. I don't know if I'd go back to the same hospital next time you have a problem!

CritterLover, BSN, RN · Jul 22, 2008

not commenting so much on how you were treated (since i wasn't there and all ...)

however, if the whole "no drinking with these meds" instructions is bothering you, i'd just let it go.

people lie all the time about their drinking habits. (standard "joke" is to take whatever the patient admits to drinking, and multiply it by three ... at least)

(the two big lies are "how much do you drink?" and "could you possibly be pregnant?" the number of babies born to "virgins" in the er attest to this)

i think the staff was just c[y]a on that one.

when i was d/cing a pt with a rx for a med that couldn't be taken with alcohol, i always told them, even if they swore up and down they didn't drink. i don't care. it is part of my instructions.

don't worry about it.

(however, if you really feel you were mistreated, then you have every right to file a complaint. if, on the other hand, you are just wondering why the "no-alcohol" spiel was emphasized even though your bf doesn't drink, the rest of the er patients that lie is your answer)

eta: i understand that it feels like a personal attack that the doc accused your bf of having an alcohol problem. thing is, on the doc's part, it isn't personal. he was (hopefully) just applying what he knows of what tends to cause your bf's problem. it appears to be something that is associated with alcohol abuse. or, maybe the er you went to tends to see a lot of alcoholics/people with drinking problems with weird injuries on the weekends. it may seem like sterotyping, but it is really applying local trends to treatment. (we see this quite a bit in choosing what abx to give for certain infections. in many hospitals, cipro is an appropriate abx to give for a gnr uti. where i work, most gnr utis tend to be resistant to cipro. we give zosyn. it is a similar concept, but since it doesn't involve "lifestyle choices," and since pts are generally uninvolved in the abx selection, it goes unnoticed). at any rate, they drew some blood and took his complaint seriously. he was treated with an appropriate med (he feels better) and has a follow up appt with his pmd. that is what is supposed to happen! all is well.

as far as the kindness to patients thought, since those that work in the er tend to see new pts all the time (they hope), there isn't any opportunity to forage a relationship/get to know a patient. thus, you tend to get lumped together with everyone else that shows up on a weekend night. please try not to let it bother you!

morte, LPN, LVN · Jul 22, 2008

Sorry this is kind of long, I'm not asking for medical advice
Recently I drove my b/f to the er because his feet/ankles were extremely swollen and one was painful and it happened to be the weekend. The dr came in and looked at his feet and said they weren't swollen. My b/f tried to explain to him that he normally his ankles are much smaller. I also spoke up because it seemed as though the dr didn' believe him. dr proceeded to push on b/f's foot, he hollered, then dr said, "it may be infected". they ran blood tests and when the dr came in , due to the results, he accused my b/f of having an alcohol problem, which he doesn't. nurse came in to discharge and said to b/f " you shouldn't be drinking alcohol while taking these meds" b/f said he doesnt drink and she replied " we all do stupid things when we're young".
Someone anyone tell me. is this normal? I wasn't the patient but I've never been treated this way by a nurse or dr. I undertand that people lie but shouldn't you believe what your patient tells you sometimes.

if the doc is seeing lab results that indicate an ancohol issue, and there isn one, BF should see doc sooner than later...and the nurse's comment was gratuitously rude

nursval · Jul 22, 2008

Before you complain to anyone, I would request a copy of the all the lab results for tests that were performed. A CBC and a blood alcohol test should be in the results, and if there is no blood alcohol test or the level is under the legal limit, I would take the compliant as far as you can with it. I wasn't there, but I wonder how the doc could have just assumed that there was alcohol in his system, especially since alcohol can be somewhat of a diuretic, which would not support the symptom of swollen feet at all. If any symptom at all, it seems that edema would have the last one to have if he had been drinking. :confused: