Humor vital part of good medicine
Dear Dr. Gott: Humor of any type is good for the sender as well as the receiver. Good chemicals in the bloodstream.
I am 70 years young!
Joke No. 1: A man goes to a doctor. The doctor asks him what is the problem. The patient says, “It hurts when I do this” and lifts his right arm above his head. The doctor replies, “Don’t do that!”
Joke No. 2: The last word a patient hears in the operating room, before he goes under: “Oops.”
Joke No. 3: Two senior citizens are in a living room, and one of them is telling the other what a great new doctor he has. “He listens and answers all my questions and has a real nice personality.”
“What is his name?” the friend asks.
The owner thinks a while and asks his friend, “What is the most famous flower in the world?”
His friend replies, “A rose.”
“Yes,” says the owner, and calls to his wife, who is in the kitchen making coffee, “Rose, what is the name of my new doctor?”
Dear Reader: Thanks for sharing your jokes.
I agree that humor is a vital and integral element in good medicine.
Viagra and other similar drugs have provided an almost inexhaustible source of humor. For example, after I examined a perfectly healthy 50-year-old man last week, he insisted that his wife come into the room to be part of the wrap-up. I decided to be a little risque because I have known this couple for years. He takes no medications.
“Well,” I began, “I’m sorry that your Viagra hasn’t helped your problem.” I glanced at his wife, whose eyes opened wide, then at her husband, whose jaw was on his chest as he looked at his wife.
In about three seconds, they were in hysterics. We chatted for a while longer and had fun simply catching up on news. Now I’ll have to take a year to dream up something amusing for his annual exam in 2006.
Dear Dr. Gott: I am concerned about my protruding abdomen below my navel. It looks like I am about four months pregnant. I am a male, 50 years old and weigh about 150 pounds. How I got this is a mystery to me. I might have had this for about five years or so. Did I get this from having sex, or what? My wife has the same problem, but women usually have this problem anyway for some reason. I can’t wear tucked-in shirts or wear swim trunks because of this problem. I am very conscious of it.
Dear Reader: I seriously doubt that your prominent abdomen was caused by having sex. But it could be related to other organs, including the colon and the liver. I recommend that you see your family physician, who will examine and test you to make sure that your abdominal bulge isn’t caused by bowel infection or liver disease.