A passport to better service?

Conversation in the Boots pharmacy near the hospital:
me: Hello, one bottle of Movicol liquid* please
pharmacy man [patronisingly]: No, Movicol is a powder that comes in sachets. It's not a liquid.
me: Yes it is, it comes in bottles
pharmacy man: No, it doesn't
me: Yes....
pharmacy man: No, we don't have it.

He was patronising in the extreme, and seemingly isn't used to patients/customers who actually know what they're talking about. Or just assumes that patients/customers don't know what they're talking about.
I've been taking this medication for a while, I know exactly what it is, I don't talk rubbish. I resented the implication that I do.

I found myself regretting that my NHS hospital badge was in my bag and not visibly about my person, as it had been half an hour earlier. It may say medical student, and not 97% doctor, but I imagine it would make it clearer that I do know what I'm talking about. I am so intrigued as to how things might have gone differently if I had been wearing it - I think the conversation would have been very different.
Having said that, I hate the idea that a hospital badge could have been my passport to good service and pleasant treatment. No patient should be assumed to be stupid, and made to feel so, and have to argue to get their valid request across, whether they have a hospital badge or not.

I don't want to be treated better than other people by virtue of my education or profession, I'd rather everyone was treated better.

I really hope after I left he went away and looked up his formulary, so that next time someone asks, he knows that Movicol liquid does exist, and isn't rude. Though I just hope he isn't rude regardless.

*Movicol liquid is a bottle of mild laxative that is diluted and drunk. It's better than the sachets because from a big bottle the dosage can be altered on a daily basis as required, whereas sachets come in a set dosage size. The liquid hasn't been available for very long, and I found out about it from an advert in the BMJ - is that more proof that I know what I'm talking about?!
Direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription medications is not allowed in the UK, as far as I understand (although Movicol is available over the counter in pharmacies as well as on prescription), so the BMJ advert is aimed at prescribers. But that doesn't stop patients like me from seeing it!

Medicine is funny, bodies are strange.... aka I know nothing

I took myself to the doctor today, had been putting it off for a while, but now I had a weird mouth pain. It had been there a few days, under my tongue, on one side. I'd decided it had something to do with a salivary gland (there's not really anything else under the tongue that's likely to cause pain, I thought), either a stone, or it had got infected.

I hadn’t found anything under my tongue, and neither could the doctor. He proded my neck a bit, which was surprisingly painful, and concluded I had a swollen lymph node, which could be causing the under-tongue pain. I hadn't noticed it, and still can't really feel it now if I palpate my neck - don't come to me with your swollen lymph nodes, people. I may not notice them.

Just as he was about to move on from the mouth/tongue/neck, he had a quick glance at my throat, just to check. "Aha! That's what it is!" he proclaimed - he might as well have shouted "BINGO!" He had found an aphthous ulcer (a common mouth ulcer) on the corner-roof of my mouth. He seemed very impressed at how big it was, and told me to go and have a look in the mirror when I got home. I duly obeyed, and he was right - it's big, white, and very obvious. It looks like something out of a medical textbook, near the uvula (dangly bit in the middle) and very obvious.

But here's the bit I find weird: it doesn't feel anything like a mouth ulcer. I've had plenty in my time. And they've all been really, really sore and very easy to locate; the pain lets you know precisely where they are. I'm given to understand that that's what mouth ulcers feel like for everyone, no?

Not this one. It's not really sore at all, not in the way that I could point a finger at it, rather that I can only wave a hand around the left part of my face and neck and say "it hurts in this general direction", yet clearly it's the same disease process and tissue breakdown. This isn't to say it's not painful, it's just differently painful. Though it got more painful after I'd seen it and knew what it was, silly brain!

So I'm really intrigued as to why the difference, and wonder whether the back of the mouth has some kind of different nerve innervation. I wish I knew more than that.

But at least I've learnt: don't make assumptions about one's own health problems, don't jump to conclusions, and aphthous ulcers do not always present with a typical history. For medics out there - if you have a patient presenting with a vague neck or mouth pain, check the back of their mouth and their throat. Even if the pain doesn't sound like it's coming from there.

Learning point - I need to improve my neck palpation and ability to detect swollen lymph nodes.

Overall, a productive learning experience!

Medical student patient - research your own drugs

What do I, as a medical student, do when pharmacy assistant lady advises me to get a different over the counter (OTC) medication because 1. it's cheaper, 2. the one I need (has been previously prescribed but OTC is easier than hassling GP) is out of stock, and 3. "it's what they use in hospital"?
I don't take pharmacy lady's word for it, I go away and do my own research! Partly because I know that my medication is also used in hospital - I've seen it on drug charts plenty of times. But rather than just read about it, I've got a student formulary of 179 drugs to write (yes, I counted), so why not combine the two. I've been writing up my own personal research into the medications I should or shouldn't take, as formulary for submission. Two birds, eh?!