hmm. i do find that interesting.

Those who watch an above average amount of television hospital dramas are likely to be afraid of hospitals

So they are watching shows about something they are afraid of? There's a reason I don't watch the Claustraphobic Spider Channel.

Or they could be just like my insurance company and pre-stamp "DENIED" on every claim form.

Richard Pye: Those who watch an above average amount of television hospital dramas are likely to be afraid of hospitals

So they are watching shows about something they are afraid of? There's a reason I don't watch the Claustraphobic Spider Channel.

There's a Claustraphobic Spider channel? sign me up!

But what about medical comedies such as "Scrubs" I would think shows like that would make you more afraid of going to a hospital then two doctors making love in the janitors closet or some crap.

People die in hospitals.

I watch House every week, and I am not scared of the hospital. At all. I enjoy being a patient.

Of course, both my parents worked in a hospital (surgeon and registered nurse), so I don't really need to go for minor things and I'm used to medical stuff. I never understood people being so scared or concerned about going into surgery. When I've gone, I generally enjoyed it. Being a patient is so relaxing and pleasant, and being put under is a strange but not scary experience. The bloody vomit when you wake up part (at least after I had my adenoids done) is not all that fun, but hardly enough to make the whole thing a negative experience. I was always jealous when I heard friends or relatives were going into surgery when I was a kid.

driven to quit: But what about medical comedies such as "Scrubs" I would think shows like that would make you more afraid of going to a hospital then two doctors making love in the janitors closet or some crap.

Especially because Scrubs has to have some bullshiat poignent "deep" moment every episode which often involves a screwup killing a patient.

Well, that time the helicopter fell off County General on ER encapsulated two of my biggest fears, dying and flying.

Now I employ a personal homeopathic witch doctor and walk across country for business meetings. It's much safer.

IT'S NOT LUPUS


/ugh.. house frustrates me sometimes... why does there have to be this back and forth stuff between him and cuddy.... why can't they just be in a relationship already?
oh ...right.... 'conflict'. you've gotta have conflict.
// #13 is hawt!

Well golly. Paging Quincy, stat.
I would have thought Chicago Hope and its ilk would have led more people to go to hospitals. These people should read "House of God," that would really chase them from hospitals.

Oh yeah - I can relate completely - when I watch reality shows it makes me want to avoid humans

Goldeneye007: There's a Claustraphobic Spider channel? sign me up!

That's such a good decision. They just moved Honk Bag over to that network and they're taking half the squeaky toys out of the garbage bag and replacing them with angry spiders. They were robbed at the Emmys this year, but this should get them one in 2009.

Third_Uncle_Eno: IT'S NOT LUPUS


/ugh.. house frustrates me sometimes... why does there have to be this back and forth stuff between him and cuddy.... why can't they just be in a relationship already?
oh ...right.... 'conflict'. you've gotta have conflict.
// #13 is hawt!

You're right, it's an infection.

I watched ER, Scrubs, House, and Doogie Howser. I avoid hospitals because I've never met a doctor who has 'fixed' what's wrong with me, not because of the shows.

Went in because my thumb had been aching on and off after a car accident and making a popping sound, doctor says he can't see, hear or notice everything wrong. Acted like I was making it up.

Went in for non-stop coughing for several days (lasted to a slightly lesser degree for 1-2 weeks) that turned into constant throat-clearing, doctor says I have PND, gives me pills that do nothing.

Went in a year later for the same thing, this doctor says I have LPR that was causing PND, gave me lots of pills and diet/sleep instructions, seven months later no change. Always throat-clearing, trouble breathing.

And the one time I went to the emergency room for bad chest pain and very random, persistent vomiting one night, stayed a couple hours, got charged $2000 (thanks UCLA).

I have never met a doctor that can speak proper English or a nurse I would allow to give me a sponge bath.

Bottom line. The TV lies to you.

Hey I am a nurse and I'M afraid of hospitals. I would never recommend anyone to go there. Unless you are getting paid really good money, but even then I would still use caution. There are Really Bad Things in hospitals.

Plus, have you been in a hospital lately? Let's just say most docs and nurses don't look anything like their TV counterparts and they usually behave themselves quite well.

Scrubs has improved my outlook of hospitals. Now, if I ever have to stay in one, I hold the hope that Sarah Chalke may randomly make out with me.

they make me avoid television.

Gifted Many Few: I have never met a doctor that can speak proper English or a nurse I would allow to give me a sponge bath.

Bottom line. The TV lies to you.

The glass teat always lies.

Hospitals are necessary...to treat trauma-related injuries, to care for the sickest among us and to soothe the dying.

In Canada however, they are overfilled to 100+% capacity, the administrations continually are looking out for the next unhappy patient who may cause a problem or threaten to take legal action, and the issue of infection control is one of reaction rather than proactive behaviour. People are being told to avoid hospitals and seek out clinics and other medical options.

I therefore applaud more medical dramas as this may actually help Canada's health crisis problem.

Of course, I also applaud more (or any) #13 on Cuddy action so that it may help my dream crisis (too many Lincoln and beaver dreams - I need diversity).

/It's not lupus; it's cynicism
///I hope Ozzy approves

FTFA: "But these researchers said they had only found a correlation, and that perhaps those who tend toward fearing sickness are drawn to medical themes."

Finally, an article that actually admits the difference between causation/correlation instead of just making an assertion.

Ever notice there are no faith healers in hospitals?

I guess you have to find your St. Elsewhere.

I'm always disappointed that the real doctors aren't as attractive as tv ones.

I was in the hospital for five days last year. I had upper leg pain, low-grade fever and left sided abdominal pain. I was in a room with three other patients and they were all of the geriatric set. I felt like I was in the nursing home. I had an IV and the nurse who flushed it injected way too fast and I felt like my vein was going to explode. I had to beg for a tylenol for the fever. My doctor didn't show up for three days and I had a multitude of tests done. One day I was complaining to a nurse about my legs and she said "Is that from the Lupus?". No one has told me I have Lupus. I've since switched doctors and gotten a different, if not vague, diagnosis. Connective tissue disease. I'm still waiting for a specialist. Ahh Canadian healthcare, you get what you pay for.

/it's never Lupus, right?

Link (new window)

I've hated hospitals for a long, long time.

michaeld5: I've hated hospitals for a long, long time.

OMG it's Mantooth!!! I had such a crush on him.

michaeld5: I've hated hospitals for a long, long time.

Can't go wrong with d5w and a bit of Ringer's.

...while a year's worth of being subjected to squeals about "McDreamy" from the girls in my dorm now causes me to avoid TV medical dramas.

/Grey's Anatomy blows.
//I avoid hospitals because of the possibility of Pig Men

katerbug72:

/it's never Lupus, right?

No, but it sounds like a number of options...

It could be a latent Epstein Barr Virus infection. Classical signs and symptoms from a microbiological point of view. You'd need high white blood cell counts and a continued exhaustion though to even think about this.

Or it could be secondary endocarditis due to coxsackievirus infection. Symptoms all seem to fit but without any tests to identify prior infection, it's weak.

Or you are quite dehydrated as that too would cause the signs and symptoms. But if there was no change after an IV, then other possibilities exist.

Anybody out there want to add any other DDx?

BTW, I'm not a doctor nor do I play one on TV...I'm just a TV microbiologist. So, as my friend tells everyone, never listen to me, even when I'm right.

/seriously, glad you recovered

MyRandomName: Third_Uncle_Eno: IT'S NOT LUPUS

You're right, it's an infection.

Just you wait... one day it will be Lupus.

Hiro's Protagonist: Link (new window)

One thing he did wrong, late in the video when he walks into his office and finds her in there? He closes the door. Every doctor is trained to leave the door open in situations like that.

I watch House every week and I am not afraid of hospitals, just MRI machines.

Throw my vote in with the never afraid of hospitals crowd. I only go when something is seriously wrong, and even then usually after a week or more of it not going away on its own. Never been mis-diagnosed and have the hospital/doctors/nurses/technicians/etc to thank for sending my cancer into remission. Despite this, I find that even amongst my friends I am in the minority here with my faith in doctors and their ilk. I just can't seem to understand people's distrust of the medical profession.

SaberTooth08: Throw my vote in with the never afraid of hospitals crowd. I only go when something is seriously wrong, and even then usually after a week or more of it not going away on its own. Never been mis-diagnosed and have the hospital/doctors/nurses/technicians/etc to thank for sending my cancer into remission. Despite this, I find that even amongst my friends I am in the minority here with my faith in doctors and their ilk. I just can't seem to understand people's distrust of the medical profession.

Congratulations on your remission.

I go to the hospital about 2-3 times a week claiming that I have something stuck up my arse. They usually probe around a few times and I go home with a swelled prostate. Makes for a fun couple days.

Fano: Hiro's Protagonist: Link (new window)

One thing he did wrong, late in the video when he walks into his office and finds her in there? He closes the door. Every doctor is trained to leave the door open in situations like that.

It so depends on where you want it to go

I've never been afraid of hospitals/doctors untill this month. My husbands doctor just removed his left kidney. Telling him it had a 3 inch cancerous tumor in it. The pathologist found nothing. NO cancer, no odd cells. So my poor husband went through this horrid radical nephrectomy for no reason.

House would never have let that happen!

Most medical dramas don't scare me, but if my doctors are anywhere near as emotionally retarded as the ones on Grey's Anatomy, I'm getting out of that hospital fast. (Although, something does go horribly wrong every week in all of them. They wouldn't be entertaining otherwise.)

jtetro: katerbug72:

/it's never Lupus, right?

No, but it sounds like a number of options...

It could be a latent Epstein Barr Virus infection. Classical signs and symptoms from a microbiological point of view. You'd need high white blood cell counts and a continued exhaustion though to even think about this.

Or it could be secondary endocarditis due to coxsackievirus infection. Symptoms all seem to fit but without any tests to identify prior infection, it's weak.

Or you are quite dehydrated as that too would cause the signs and symptoms. But if there was no change after an IV, then other possibilities exist.

Anybody out there want to add any other DDx?

BTW, I'm not a doctor nor do I play one on TV...I'm just a TV microbiologist. So, as my friend tells everyone, never listen to me, even when I'm right.

/seriously, glad you recovered

Thank you for that House-like differential. I'm not recovered, just in remission so it's mostly good. Much better than last year, that's for sure. There are plenty more symptoms but I'd rather not go on and on about it.

Alwaysus: I've never been afraid of hospitals/doctors untill this month. My husbands doctor just removed his left kidney. Telling him it had a 3 inch cancerous tumor in it. The pathologist found nothing. NO cancer, no odd cells. So my poor husband went through this horrid radical nephrectomy for no reason.

House would never have let that happen!

Oh my. I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you're hubby recovers well. I also hope you plan to sue for malpractice.

katerbug72:

Thank you for that House-like differential. I'm not recovered, just in remission so it's mostly good. Much better than last year, that's for sure. There are plenty more symptoms but I'd rather not go on and on about it.


I honestly wish there would be an easier way but the body is such a strangely complex organism that a number of signs and symptoms could mean a number of potential options. It's hard for even the most well-read doctor or scientist to make any kind of interpretation.

And just as an example of how hard it can be, even as I read about the remission, the only thing I could think of was to suggest you get tested for recurrent Lyme disease. Why? Because it fits.

That being said, the worst words in any science are: "It fits." It's never about a fit, it's about a cause and effect. I just hope you don't allow yourself to be a House-ian guinea pig during the process.

And another thing...sometimes going on about the symptoms can lead to a proper Dx (or experiment in my lab case)...at least that part of House can be true...although never quite as dramatic.

katerbug72:
I also hope you plan to sue for malpractice.

From what I've heard, there's little point in bothering. Mr. Arigby had a coworker whose doctor OD'ed him on something, wrecking his liver to the point that he needed a transplant and a lifetime supply of immunosuppressive drugs... and several years later, the coworker is still fighting an uphill battle to get the doctor's wrist slapped.

I've had my own experiences that have left me unable to watch medical scenes without tweeking out. (I recently watched The Exorcist for the first time and was fine with the puking, coont-stabbing, head-twisting, etc., but the scene where they started doing stuff to the kid in a hospital... I'm not even sure what they did to her there because I left the room.) Thankfully, that's purely mental: no transplants or pills required.

Basically, if anyone here cannot understand being afraid of hospitals, count yourself lucky--all it takes is one nightmare-inducing visit to give you a shiny new phobia.

Gifted Many Few: I have never met a doctor that can speak proper English or a nurse I would allow to give me a sponge bath.

Bottom line. The TV lies to you.

My gyno is really pretty.

michaeld5: I've hated hospitals for a long, long time.

Came for the hot pictures of Johnny and Roy. I'll be in my bunk.

jtetro: katerbug72:

Thank you for that House-like differential. I'm not recovered, just in remission so it's mostly good. Much better than last year, that's for sure. There are plenty more symptoms but I'd rather not go on and on about it.


I honestly wish there would be an easier way but the body is such a strangely complex organism that a number of signs and symptoms could mean a number of potential options. It's hard for even the most well-read doctor or scientist to make any kind of interpretation.

And just as an example of how hard it can be, even as I read about the remission, the only thing I could think of was to suggest you get tested for recurrent Lyme disease. Why? Because it fits.

That being said, the worst words in any science are: "It fits." It's never about a fit, it's about a cause and effect. I just hope you don't allow yourself to be a House-ian guinea pig during the process.

And another thing...sometimes going on about the symptoms can lead to a proper Dx (or experiment in my lab case)...at least that part of House can be true...although never quite as dramatic.

You sound like my doctor. He's completely fascinated by the human body. He's a strange man but I trust him to come up with something. He did make fun of me for not being able to get up too quickly after sitting for two hours. He's done many blood tests on me and I've had a CT for my abdomen (high serum amylase) and hopefully I'll have those results by this coming Tuesday. I don't worry about anything I have because I've already accepted whatever may come. He said I have a hole in my heart. No sense in getting upset about it now because I've always had it. I've always had this connective tissue thing too (only got bad last year). I just want a name to go with it so I have some sort of closure. I don't like to be left hanging. I'd also like to know what to expect as I age.

/shoot, I said I didn't want to talk about it at length and now look at me. No...LOOK AT ME
//slinks off to her corner

Alwaysus: I've never been afraid of hospitals/doctors untill this month. My husbands doctor just removed his left kidney. Telling him it had a 3 inch cancerous tumor in it. The pathologist found nothing. NO cancer, no odd cells. So my poor husband went through this horrid radical nephrectomy for no reason.

House would never have let that happen!

You didn't get a second opinion on something that serious?

I have "chronic fatigue syndrome" and its destroyed my life and doctors can't/won't do anything about so I'm not getting a kick out of these replies...

Helen_Arigby: katerbug72:
I also hope you plan to sue for malpractice.

From what I've heard, there's little point in bothering. Mr. Arigby had a coworker whose doctor OD'ed him on something, wrecking his liver to the point that he needed a transplant and a lifetime supply of immunosuppressive drugs... and several years later, the coworker is still fighting an uphill battle to get the doctor's wrist slapped.

I've had my own experiences that have left me unable to watch medical scenes without tweeking out. (I recently watched The Exorcist for the first time and was fine with the puking, coont-stabbing, head-twisting, etc., but the scene where they started doing stuff to the kid in a hospital... I'm not even sure what they did to her there because I left the room.) Thankfully, that's purely mental: no transplants or pills required.

Basically, if anyone here cannot understand being afraid of hospitals, count yourself lucky--all it takes is one nightmare-inducing visit to give you a shiny new phobia.

That is absolutely horrible that your hubby's friend can't get any compensation for that. Holy crap. I can't believe the doctor wouldn't want to help him in any way he could considering it was his fault. If that were me, I would definitely help him in some way.

My husband is the same about hospitals and doctors. I'm not too sure why but he can't watch anything medical except House (pseudo-medical). I can watch the grossest stuff like operations and autopsies but he makes me change the channel. He hates hospitals and doctors and dentists and the like. I can't get him to see our doc no matter what I do. Even when he smashed into a tree on his snowmobile and nearly broke his leg, he wouldn't go. I think he may have to be completely unconscious in order to go. Silly man.