Zahara
I picked the phone up by the third ring and put a smile on my face to boost my mood because I absolutely hate working front office.
"Kissinger family medicine, Zahara speaking, how may I help you?"
"Umm yeah hello my name is Julie Garnett, I was calling to ask a question about my medication the doctor prescribed me a few days ago. Is that alright?"
"Absolutely"
"Okay, thank you. Doctor Ross put me on Buspirone and I haven't been feeling too good. Do you think I could be having a reaction to it?"
"Have you been experiencing any symptoms such as, headaches, dizziness, drowsiness, problems sleeping, nausea, upset stomach or even, feeling nervous or excited?"
Buspirone is a common drug used to treat general anxiety, with any medication there is a chance you may experience side effects. For some people the symptoms are mild while it can be severe in others. But normally with most medications we hear a lot of the usual complaints such as nausea and upset stomach, constipation and or sleepiness. lt all depends on the person, the medication and how their body chooses to react to it.
"No, not exactly"
I started thinking a little harder in attempt to understand her complaint when she said no. I started with the most common symptoms just to see if maybe she might have been noticing one of the common effects I listed. But now that I know she hasn't my mind immediately goes to the more dangerous side effects.
"Have you developed any hives on the skin? Any difficult breathing, swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat?"
"No not any of those"
"Any chest pains, shortness of breath or feeling like you might pass out?"
"No.. nothing like that"
"Okay, are you able to explain how you exactly you feel?"
"Well I got up this morning I ate breakfas, I had some frosted flakes. And then I got my shower and when I was getting dressed I lost my balance and fell. I just have this awful feeling in my chest, you know? Like fluttering or something"
The first thing that came to mind was the fact that the medication probably isn't working. From what she has said already I can almost guarantee it's her anxiety, it's just not hitting her hard enough to make her realize it. But this is something that generally should be looked at in case something else is going on.
"I see, that doesn't seem normal at all. Is it okay if I put you on hold? I'm gonna go and see if I can get Doctor Ross on the phone"
"Oh sure, that's fine"
I placed the call on hold and stood up and went into the back where Doctor Ross was standing outside an exam room looking at some papers.
"Doctor Ross, I have a patient on the phone-"
"I really don't have time.. take a message"
"Well, the patient is complaining of a fluttering sensation in her chest, she said you prescribed her Buspirone. I just wanted to know if you wanted to get her in today or have her go to the ER"
