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Cases and Stories

The narratives in medicine

Depression
Is It Ever Okay to Be Unhappy?

Suzanne Koven M.D. on June 25, 2009

My patient Jim, as I’ll call him, fears that he’s about to lose his job, though he actually hates his job and dreads keeping it almost as much as losing it. Thirty five years old with a pregnant wife and two year old son at home, Jim feels anxious, sleeps poorly, suffers from stomach pains and frequent headaches. Plus, his two-year old is an obstinate terror and Jim had not been nearly as eager as his wife to have another child. Jim comes to my office not so much to discuss these problems but to ask me whether I can prescribe something to calm him down.

My patient Jim, as I’ll call him, fears that he’s about to lose his job, though he actually hates his job and dreads keeping it almost as much as losing it. Thirty five years old with a pregnant wife and two year old son at home, Jim feels anxious, sleeps poorly, suffers from stomach pains and frequent headaches. Plus, his two-year old is an obstinate terror and Jim had not been nearly as eager as his wife to have another child. Jim comes to my office not so much to discuss these problems but to ask me whether I can prescribe something to calm him down.

Health
A Victim of Swine Flu: A Doctor's Sense of Invulnerability

Suzanne Koven M.D. on May 25, 2009

My medical colleagues are very busy people, too busy to bother with italics (or even much punctuation) in e-mails, so I knew something was seriously wrong when a physician who happens to be my patient wrote to tell me that "something bad...something really, really bad" had happened to him.

My medical colleagues are very busy people, too busy to bother with italics (or even much punctuation) in e-mails, so I knew something was seriously wrong when a physician who happens to be my patient wrote to tell me that "something bad...something really, really bad" had happened to him.

Anger
Hypochondriacs Get Sick,Too

Suzanne Koven M.D. on April 27, 2009

 Jerry insisted his eyes were yellow, but they didn't appear yellow to me. I moved in for a closer look. Fluorescent lights like those in the office where I practice internal medicine can make subtle jaundice, a sign of liver disease, difficult to detect. No, his sclerae were as white as mine and, as usual, Jerry seemed to have absolutely wrong with him.

 Jerry insisted his eyes were yellow, but they didn't appear yellow to me. I moved in for a closer look. Fluorescent lights like those in the office where I practice internal medicine can make subtle jaundice, a sign of liver disease, difficult to detect. No, his sclerae were as white as mine and, as usual, Jerry seemed to have absolutely wrong with him.

Diet
My Mother, My Weight

Suzanne Koven M.D. on April 13, 2009

My patient--I'll call her Amy--was heavy. Her mother, Sybil, also my patient, was thin. At Amy's visits to my office we always discussed her weight. At Sybil's visits Amy's weight also came up frequently.

My patient--I'll call her Amy--was heavy. Her mother, Sybil, also my patient, was thin. At Amy's visits to my office we always discussed her weight. At Sybil's visits Amy's weight also came up frequently.

Relationships
He Said/She Didn't

Suzanne Koven M.D. on April 5, 2009

I was new in practice. They were young - even younger than I. Yet they seemed as attached to one another as a much older couple.

I was new in practice. They were young - even younger than I. Yet they seemed as attached to one another as a much older couple.