they say nurses are the worst patients....

kalycat, BSN, RN · Oct 31, 2016

I'm currently married to an un-anticoagulated person who has runs of Afib. He won't treat it at all.

I feel your pain. Truly.

JJL618, RN · Oct 31, 2016

I have two wrist tattoos and they take forever and are hard to heal. Never had this problem though, but it sounds like most men I know. Won't go to the dr for anything. :laugh:

Kitiger, RN · Oct 31, 2016

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. I, too, have trouble getting my husband to the doctor for some things.

My Mom, a nurse, would not go to the doctor until she could tell the doc what was wrong and what she would like done. And Dad would then say, "You can always tell a nurse ... but you can't tell her much!"

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Oct 31, 2016

My husband weighs maybe 150-160lbs but has the pathophys of an obese person -- sleep apnea, BP in 190s/90s, and elevated LDL and triglycerides. (Bad genes...his 95lb, active, extremely-low-fat-eating mom had two MIs in her early 60s.)

He refuses BiPAP. Refuses meds -- "they will just make my body dependent on them." Says he'll manage it with diet..........but whenever I try to make more heart-healthy meals he will make a package of Shin Ramyun (Korean ramen noodles) for himself. Eats tons of white rice despite being told he needs to cut carbs for his triglycerides. "Rice is nature's perfect food."

He's actually very intelligent, has an MBA and is working on a 2nd master's degree. But you cannot tell the man ANYTHING.

I told him I'm not going to be his own personal home care nurse if he has a stroke. :madface:

So yeah, I feel your pain.

brillohead, ADN, RN · Oct 31, 2016

Yep, it's a guy thing.

Years ago, before I was a nurse (and before I even had an inkling that I would become a nurse someday), I used to keep track of my husband's meds, reorder/refill them when needed, pick them up from the pharmacy, talk to the doctor about alternatives / dosage changes (my husband had signed off on that at the doc's office -- no HIPAA violations).

Several years ago, I finally decided that as a 40-something, he was a big boy and could do it himself.

What was I thinking???

Earlier this year, he needed a reorder on BP meds, but the doc wouldn't reorder until he came in for an appt. and the next available was over six weeks out. So they reordered him a one-time 90-day supply to tide him over until he could be seen in the office.

I didn't pay much attention, it sounded like he had the situation under control... then I heard him several weeks later talking to the pharmacy on speakerphone, and something didn't make sense, so I quizzed him after the call was completed.

You see, he was out of BP pills... but he'd gotten a 90-day scrip... but it hadn't been 90 days yet... hence my confusion.

Long-suffering Wife: "How did you run out of pills before your appt. if they gave you a 90-day supply???"

Idiot Husband: "I take two pills a day."

LSW: "But a 90-day supply would mean you got 180 pills, so you shouldn't be out yet. Wait a minute...Is the scrip written for you to take two pills a day?"

IH: "No."

LSW: "Then why are you taking two pills a day????"

IH: "I used to take two different pills a day, but I ran out of one and just started taking two of the other, and it worked out okay. I checked my BP at the drugstore a couple times and it was fine so I figured it's no big deal. It's just a water pill, so it just makes me pee more, that's all. It's not like doubling the dose is going to do anything to me."

LSW (mind you, it's been several years since I was in charge of his pills, but I didn't remember him ever taking JUST a diuretic -- I remember combination Benicar HCT, but not a plain old diuretic on its own): "IH, what is the name of the pill you doubled up on?"

IH: "I dunno, it starts with a B.... Bis... Biso......."

LSW: "BISOPROLOL?????"

IH: "Yeah, that's it."

Imagine his surprise at finding out that bisoprolol doesn't have ANY diuretic in it, and doubling his dose of a BETA BLOCKER without consulting with his healthcare provider certainly CAN hurt him.

Seriously... you live with a REGISTERED NURSE and you have GOOGLE on your phone and also on your computer and also a PHARMACIST where you picked up your meds, and it never ONCE occurred to you to check out a PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION that you decided to double up on because you're too effing lazy to call the doctor for a reorder???

I swear, if he doesn't kill himself accidentally, I may have to do it for him!

Trauma Columnist · Oct 31, 2016

My husband had tendonitis which I told him he had - he goes to the doc, gets meloxicam. Then, a couple of weeks later has a dental abscess and goes to the dentist and gets ibuprofen. I tell him, nope honey you can't take two NSAIDs at a time. He says, "I'll ask the pharmacist." He asks the pharmacist - the pharmacist says, "nope shouldn't take two NSAIDS at the same time."

Ugh!

WKShadowNP, DNP, APRN · Oct 31, 2016

While I can relate to a having a spouse who is reluctant to visit a doctor, he at least listens to me regarding his health. He said he trusts me more than most doctors anyway. I feel validated in my assessment and diagnosis of some maladies when he finally sees a provider who tells him what I already did and prescribes exactly what I recommended. Of course I keep quiet in the exam room because I do not want to be that family member that let's everyone know what I do. He also keeps quiet about his wife the NP for the same reason.

cherryelle07 · Oct 31, 2016

My boyfriend is TERRIFIED of taking pills. He swears he's going to choke. He will suffer through a migraine for hours or pull a muscle at work and ignore it for days. I've bought him the chewable ibuprofens for kids, but he still won't take them. HTN, cancer, and diabetes all run in his family and I'm not looking forward to arguing with him about meds when he gets old enough to have to take them. I think the side effects scare him even if the more serious ones are extremely rare.

Him: I read that ibuprofen causes stomach bleeding...

Me: Yeah for people who abuse it. Taking it occasionally on a full stomach is fine.

Him: But why should I take something that causes stomach bleeding at all?!

Me: Did you hear anything I just said? UGH!