patients you want to strangle

i worked my first full 12 hour shift, I must say better than being on call but still a very long time. My first patient was a woman who spoke zero English and for whom I had to struggle to get anything out of a translator. Atleast she smiled and was cooperative. My second patient - was a homeless man who apparently came in for chronic back pain. When i went in he was sleeping (even though he had just arrived.) I tapped his arm and attemped to rouse hiim. He briefly fluttered his eyes at me and then quickly closed them again. It was like pulling teeth, begging, pleading please Mr you need to answer my questions, we cant help you unless we know whats going on, you need to wake up, you need to answer this, if you answer my questions i'll leave you alone and you can sleep, i know you are sleepy but i need to get t his information from you in order to help make you feel better. He would whisper his answers, and i would repeat myself to speak louder. Then he would grouchily shout his answer, annoyed that I had asked so many times. I felt my tone getting angrier and angrier. Finally I just skipped to the physical exam. Possibly still frustrated from trying to take his history I about gagged when i had to lean over him and listen to his heart, as i could smell his scent, his odor, his energy. There is nothing i hate more than hot breath breathing down on me. I hated this poor patient, who was feverish, likely intoxicated, and as it turns out positive for cocaine and benzos. My resident finally took over and maybe because he is a man was able to get the patient to cooperate - atleast more than he was with me. this patient made me feel like not helping him and we are not supposed to feel that way about any patient.