Dear Doctor #8: Monomania
Getting sick while on holiday in a foreign country is probably one of the worst experiences a person can have. Jeremy Wright, CEO of b5media, fell ill in the UK several years ago and he’s never forgotten or forgiven the doctor who treated him.
Dear Doctor,
I had a cough. Awful cough. And massive pain in my throat when I was about 19, in the UK. Went to see you, you felt my glands and walked me out with a prescription for strep. A week later my throat’s so swollen I can’t breathe and my glands are out by my ears.
I go in again, same thing.
A week later I go in and you say, “oh, this must be mono”. So you give me the right medication. Of course a simple test could have told you it was mono, but you’d “never seen a case before” and so “assumed it was strep”.
It took me 4 months to recover, and 6 months to get back to work. I lost 65 pounds, and didn’t eat solid food for more than 10 weeks.
Oh, and I watched every Bond movie in 2 weeks, every other movie in town in 2 more and was left to watch English Parliamentary sessions for the remaining 3 months.
Stupid doctor.
Jeremy
Luckily for us, Jeremy is back to work! Let’s not ask him how he got mononucleosis aka the “kissing disease.” ;)
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9 opinions for Dear Doctor #8: Monomania
Gloria
Nov 10, 2006 at 7:51 am
good letter! can you still sue that doctor now? well… 19 is a “Wild” age. a fact that pretty much tells how Jeremy got the mono. he he. ;-) peace man. we’ve all been wild at one point in time. hehe. :-P nice series hsien! i think i’ll email you with my doctor letter soon. ;-)
Karen
Nov 11, 2006 at 10:09 pm
Goodness, I’m glad I never got mono. When I was in high school there were a few people that got it. They were out of school for at least a month. You can get mono from sharing drinks or eating after someone. I’ve seen a lot of high schoolers share food. Many times they’ll act like you’re not cool if you don’t or they’ll harrass you until you share. This is one instance where you want to teach your kids not to share!
Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD
Nov 11, 2006 at 11:04 pm
Gloria: I’m awaiting your letter!
Karen: Oh I used to HATE it when people asked for a sip of my drink. To avoid a confrontation, I usually just gave it to them. ::sigh::
Karen
Nov 12, 2006 at 1:47 am
Hsien: I know what you mean. I used to have a girl in 9th grade ask to use my deodorant every day after gym class. So, I just carried it every day for her to use!
Let me know if my letter was ok or if you need it in more of a letter format.
I’m been sick to my stomach today, but I hope you all have a great weekend!
Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD
Nov 12, 2006 at 2:05 am
Karen: If you don’t mind my editing yours, I’m sure it’ll be just fine. Hope you feel better soon! how about something fizzy? That usually helps quiet my tummy.
Karen
Nov 12, 2006 at 2:28 pm
Unfortunately, fizzy didn’t help. I think I had a 24 hour bug. I guess that’s why I’ve been so tired the past few days. Now I have a terrible backache. I get exposed to a lot of germs with working in a preschool!
Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD
Nov 12, 2006 at 2:31 pm
Karen: I can imagine! I drop my son off at school in a biohazard suit. Just kidding. ;)
Karen
Nov 12, 2006 at 2:52 pm
LOL I need to be in a bubble. I have REALLY bad eczema so it’s hard for me to wash my hands as much as I used to. I use the hand sanitizer since it has the aloe in it. It doesn’t seem to bother my hands as much as soap. Still, my hands have a hard time with it. Let me know if you ever see any good articles about eczema. I’ve been to a dermotologist and I’ve been dealing with this for over 20 years. I feel like I know most everything there is to know, as far as treatments go. I just keep hoping there is something out there that I don’t know about. My cracked and bleeding hands are so painful!
kellys
Nov 14, 2006 at 6:03 pm
Karen, I’ll send you the stuff from Mary Kay I was talking about for your excema. Sorry I forgot to give it to you when you were down. It really helps mine.
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