# House 2/23 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 23, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086 "2009-02-23T19:03:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086/41 "2009-02-25T16:05:40Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > Which doesn’t make any sense, because it’s not like he was a nice but ineffectual person before his leg injury. > > He loses some sympathy points with me because he would not be in pain now if he had allowed them to amputate his leg. How would he be worse off with an artificial leg and no pain? I’m not certain that he couldn’t still get rid of the pain by having the leg amputated now. That’s admittedly drastic, but so is all this other stuff he’s trying. No way on earth I would choose the no-leg option. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086/42 "2009-02-25T16:33:22Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > Which doesn’t make any sense, because it’s not like he was a nice but ineffectual person before his leg injury. It wasn’t so much the lack of pain that was making him a nice person, it was the high from the methadone. Note that this would have a different effect on him than the Vicodin would, because the mechanism in which the methadone acts upon pain is different. > [@](#): > > He loses some sympathy points with me because he would not be in pain now if he had allowed them to amputate his leg. How would he be worse off with an artificial leg and no pain? I’m not certain that he couldn’t still get rid of the pain by having the leg amputated now. That’s admittedly drastic, but so is all this other stuff he’s trying. Two words: [Phantom limb.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_limb) > [@](#): > > Approximately 50 to 80% of individuals with an amputation experience phantom sensations in their amputated limb, and the majority of the sensations are painful. Odds are, if he had he leg cut off he’d still be in pain (and probably **more** pain in the beginning, as he’d have to get used to having an artificial leg). ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086/43 "2009-02-25T17:06:35Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Two words: [Phantom limb.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_limb)Odds are, if he had he leg cut off he’d still be in pain (and probably **more** pain in the beginning, as he’d have to get used to having an artificial leg). Yes, but: > [@](#): > > Phantom limb pain is usually intermittent. The frequency and intensity of attacks usually decline with time. Considering that he’s nearly suicidal now, the odds are that he would be in less pain without the leg. House’s girlfriend actually made the decision to put him in the state he’s in now. House was willing to die rather than allow the amputation. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086/44 "2009-02-25T17:07:42Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > Yes, but: > Considering that he’s nearly suicidal now, the odds are that he would be in less pain without the leg. > > House’s girlfriend actually made the decision to put him in the state he’s in now. House was willing to die rather than allow the amputation. How is he nearly suicidal? I’m not contesting; I missed most of the latest episode and all of the previous one. ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086/45 "2009-02-25T17:14:13Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Who gave him the methadone in the first place? Slight thread hijack for a medical-type question: Is it illegal (or otherwise a license-revoking offense) for all doctors to prescribe themselves medication, or just for certain doctors who have abused prescription drugs in the past (e.g., House)? Further, does this apply to all medication, or just narcotics? For example, could a doctor with an infection prescribe himself antibiotics? Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086/46 "2009-02-25T17:16:15Z")
> [@Meltdown](#): > > Slight thread hijack for a medical-type question: > > Is it illegal (or otherwise a license-revoking offense) for all doctors to prescribe themselves medication, or just for certain doctors who have abused prescription drugs in the past (e.g., House)? Further, does this apply to all medication, or just narcotics? For example, could a doctor with an infection prescribe himself antibiotics? > > Just curious. Well, given that House has always had Wilson, Cuddy, or Cameron write his scrips, he clearly cannot do so himself andexpect to get them filled. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086/47 "2009-02-25T17:40:07Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > Yes, but: > Considering that he’s nearly suicidal now, the odds are that he would be in less pain without the leg. He’s **not** nearly suicidal. He _is_, however, willing to try somewhat risky (and according to [Polite Dissent](http://politedissent.com/archives/2226), the risks were _exagerrated_ by the episode) methods to eliminate the pain. If you read the full wiki entry on phantom limb pain, you’ll see that House is _unlikely_ to find much relief from his pain if he has the leg amputated. (Pain meds don’t seem to help, so he’ll be in _more_ pain than he currently is.) > [@](#): > > House’s girlfriend actually made the decision to put him in the state he’s in now. House was willing to die rather than allow the amputation. And it seems unlikely that this has changed, as House himself has said, he is who is. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086/48 "2009-02-25T17:41:41Z")
> [@Meltdown](#): > > Slight thread hijack for a medical-type question: > > Is it illegal (or otherwise a license-revoking offense) for all doctors to prescribe themselves medication, or just for certain doctors who have abused prescription drugs in the past (e.g., House)? Further, does this apply to all medication, or just narcotics? For example, could a doctor with an infection prescribe himself antibiotics? > > Just curious. It depends upon the medication. Pain meds are generally prohibited from being self-prescribed due to reasons of potential abuse. Other medications may or may not have such restrictions placed upon them. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086/49 "2009-02-25T19:18:38Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > House ought to consider himself lucky he didn’t get a Texas Chili Bowl. My kid and I were trying to figure out the next “treatment” we’d see on this show. I couldn’t choose between a “pink belly” or an “indian burn.” She’s going with “noogies.” We agreed that a “swirley” is unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086/50 "2009-02-25T19:26:11Z")
The methadone made him stop breathing. He continued to take it. His idea of taking precautions included hiring a hooker to make sure he didn’t stop breathing in his sleep. This seems to me to indicate that pain relief is becoming more important to him than his life. He has engaged in a lot of risky behavior in the past. Remember when he electrocuted himself to prove there wasn’t an afterlife? And he has injected himself with several different dangerous concoctions over the years. > [@Tuckerfan](#): > > And it seems unlikely that this has changed, as House himself has said, he is who is. I agree, if he had to do it all over again he’d make the same decisions. It’s hard to argue about this because the show is so contrived. They have to keep House in pain in order to continue the show, so they never fully examine all of his options. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086/51 "2009-02-25T20:18:13Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > The methadone made him stop breathing. He continued to take it. His idea of taking precautions included hiring a hooker to make sure he didn’t stop breathing in his sleep. This seems to me to indicate that pain relief is becoming more important to him than his life. Hookers don’t sue for sexual harassment and are _cheaper_ than a nurse. Both things are normal Housean solutions to the problem. As was _not_ telling people that he was on methadone, because he didn’t want them to worry. > [@](#): > > He has engaged in a lot of risky behavior in the past. Remember when he electrocuted himself to prove there wasn’t an afterlife? And he has injected himself with several different dangerous concoctions over the years. Yes, but those are _experiments_ in his mind. He is doing them in the same manner which he subjects his patients to his unorthodox treatments. (Remember the episode where they did ECT on the one patient?) He has the _freedom_ to do these things because he has no entanglements. If one of his stunts gets himself killed, he’s **not** going to leave behind a wife and kids or even a pet. > [@](#): > > I agree, if he had to do it all over again he’d make the same decisions. Well, no, I think he’d arrange things so that his ex couldn’t undercut his decision when he was in a coma. > [@](#): > > It’s hard to argue about this because the show is so contrived. They have to keep House in pain in order to continue the show, so they never fully examine all of his options. Actually, they _can_. The eps after House was given the ketamine treatment, **House** was _fine_, the problem was Wilson and Cuddy, who thought that it was an opportunity to “teach House some humility.” (Which is _another_ reason why House didn’t tell them he was on methadone, because he was worried that if they knew, they’d try and do the same thing all over again.) If House could find another treatment like ketamine, which blocked the pain, but _didn’t_ cloud his judgement (like methadone did), then he could function perfectly well on that. He _needs_, however, to be able to do this through his own means, and he **cannot** have people “screwing” with him, because solving puzzles is how he gets his nut. He knows what the effects of Vicodin are, how to handle the level of pain associated with it, and what it does to his mental processes. Changing his meds, or level of pain, alters his thought processes and could potentially prevent him from successfully solving the puzzle. So he _has_ to be certain that the alterations won’t screw him up. Its like a relationship with Cuddy. He’s got to jab at her, shake her up, and see what’s she’s made of, so that if they _do_ wind up making the beast with the double backs, she _won’t_ freak out if he does one of his typical Housean things at some point in the relationship. How’s she going to take it if she asks him a question, and instead of responding with a comment that shows he gave the expected level of consideration to it that a SO is supposed to have, he merely tossed out one of his off-hand one-liners? She gets upset, then House has to pull his mind away from whatever puzzle he’s working on to patch things up between the two of them. If he gets Cuddy _conditioned_ to expecting him to always giving her some kind of snarky answer, then there’s less of a chance that she’ll get overly emotional when he replies to a question in a less than satisfying way. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086/52 "2009-02-25T20:19:56Z")
I’ve decided that this show is not something you can examine too closely. If you just enjoy it for the funny moments, this was one of the best episodes ever: Wilson accusing Cuddy of sexing up House, Foreman twisting House’s nips, smiling hooker answering House’s door. But it falls apart if you try to figure out why House decided to stop taking methadone. His whole deal is that his pain is nigh unbearable and he would do anything to be pain free. If being able to think clearly motivated House, why is he high on Vicodin all the time? Why did he quit, shave, and get an interview at the other hospital? He could have taken that job, done an okay but non-stellar performance, and be pain free. Or he could take supervised methadone and done an okay job at Princeton Plainsboro and be happy and pain free. His cited reason that he would start to suck does not add up for me because his reasoning is so inconsistent and keeps changing all the time. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086/53 "2009-02-25T20:34:03Z")
Whatever happened to Steve McQueen. He wasn’t killed when he was put in the isolation room with Foreman, was he? Oh, I also think House is much more attractive when he’s scruffy. StG ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086/54 "2009-02-25T20:40:29Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I wanna know how a man can keep a 5 o’clock shadow without ever being clean shaven. Does he only shave when he has a few days off work so he can grow back the stubble? If not, shouldn’t he have a full beard by now? Or is it common for guys to only be able to grow scraggly beards? When the Don Johnson character on _Miami Vice_ had an eternal stubble, Wahl (the go-to name in clippers) sold a model with a shallow rake called the Miami DeVice®, so a fella could maintain a two- or three-day stubble all the time. It seems to me they keep messing with the basic premise in hopes of keeping the show fresh. Some things get stale, such as the POTW going into cardiac arrest every bleepin’ week. House keeps carping about Foreman and 13 disagreeing with each other “because they’re sleeping together,” but House and Cuddy are at each other’s throats without being at each other’s crotches. I suppose the writers want us to yell at our TVs, “So boff him, awready! What are you waiting for?” I’m not yelling. Are you?🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086/55 "2009-02-25T20:50:11Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > I’ve decided that this show is not something you can examine too closely. > > If you just enjoy it for the funny moments, this was one of the best episodes ever: Wilson accusing Cuddy of sexing up House, Foreman twisting House’s nips, smiling hooker answering House’s door. > > But it falls apart if you try to figure out why House decided to stop taking methadone. His whole deal is that his pain is nigh unbearable and he would do anything to be pain free. If being able to think clearly motivated House, why is he high on Vicodin all the time? Why did he quit, shave, and get an interview at the other hospital? He could have taken that job, done an okay but non-stellar performance, and be pain free. Or he could take supervised methadone and done an okay job at Princeton Plainsboro and be happy and pain free. > > His cited reason that he would start to suck does not add up for me because his reasoning is so inconsistent and keeps changing all the time. That’s because you don’t understand House. Remember, when he was all gussied up and excited about his new job, he **didn’t** know that it was his actions that had led to the patient getting worse. Once he found that out it was him being so agreeable that led to the problems, all thoughts of continuing with the methadone were gone. Making mistakes, House can live with, making mistakes because **he** did something stupid, House _can’t_ live with. House’s backstory is that he got **expelled** at one university for cheating, and wound up graduating from another one. Most, if not all, the people he works with went to _much_ better schools than he did, and yet _they_ consider **him** to be the genius. It should be the other way around. House, like Batman, is cursed with “super competency” meaning that whatever he wants to do, he is _extraordinarily_ good at, even better than what an expert normal human would be. This frustrates House because he **doesn’t** (seriously) think that he’s a genius. He sees himself as someone who is doing what _anyone_ with a standard educational background in medicine should be able to do. Notice that when he gets angry and frustrated with his team, he’s shouting at them to _think_. He **didn’t** get pissed at Foreteen for screwing, he just wants them to _think_ and to **not** be afraid to speak out for fear of hurting the others feelings. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086/56 "2009-02-25T21:03:43Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > The methadone made him stop breathing. He continued to take it. His idea of taking precautions included hiring a hooker to make sure he didn’t stop breathing in his sleep. This seems to me to indicate that pain relief is becoming more important to him than his life. Yes, but it’s not the physical pain he’s trying to escape from, and methadone would do a better job of addressing loneliness and sadness than vicodin would. Unfortunately, both medications will have a spring back effect when you come off of them, making the situation seem even worse than it is. Furthermore, the longer you take them, and sacrifice relationships to maintain the addiction, the worse the situation actually becomes. House is a genius addict. They are doing a great job of showing the relationship between an addict and his enablers. If it was really the physical pain, he would cut the leg off; the same way a fox will chew it’s leg off to egt out of a trap. But remember when Cuddy gave him the epidural morphine, and he was OK for a while? He asked for another shot and she refused, telling him that it was actually only saline. His pain is all in his head, and it’s either from losing {lawyer GF- is Stacy hr name?} or from some circumstance of the injury that we haven’t heard about yet. If anybody knows the full story of his leg injury please share it, because I’m clueless. Did I miss an episode or are we all in the dark? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086/57 "2009-02-25T21:03:49Z")
ok, I take it back. that does make sense now. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086/58 "2009-02-25T21:18:19Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > If anybody knows the full story of his leg injury please share it, because I’m clueless. Did I miss an episode or are we all in the dark? It was covered in the “Three Stories” episode in season 1. House developed a blood clot in his leg, which started killing the muscle, and while _House_ knew what was going on, he couldn’t get any of the other doctors to agree to his diagnosis. House, apparently, was _already_ a drug addict at this point. Eventually, when it was figured out that the clot was causing House’s pain, it was too late to prevent permanent damage. House decided to try a controversial treatment in order to keep his leg, which put him in huge amounts of pain. As it grew worse, the staff put pressure on House to have the leg amputated, since if his condition _didn’t_ improve, he could die. House’s solution was to have himself put into a medically induced coma, so he wouldn’t be in pain, while things in his leg sorted out. His ex, being a lawyer, made sure that she secured something like power of attorney, before House was put under. As soon as he went out, she and Cuddy discussed options, and the ex chose to have surgery performed on House which would cut out the dead tissue. When House woke up and found out what was going on, he was less than happy about this. Had his idea worked (and we’ve no idea if it would have or not), House would have been “normal” (well, as “normal” as House can be ;)), what his ex did means that he’s going to be in constant pain. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086/59 "2009-02-25T21:37:55Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > House, like Batman, is cursed with “super competency” meaning that whatever he wants to do, he is _extraordinarily_ good at, even better than what an expert normal human would be. This frustrates House because he **doesn’t** (seriously) think that he’s a genius. He sees himself as someone who is doing what _anyone_ with a standard educational background in medicine should be able to do. Notice that when he gets angry and frustrated with his team, he’s shouting at them to _think_. He **didn’t** get pissed at Foreteen for screwing, he just wants them to _think_ and to **not** be afraid to speak out for fear of hurting the others feelings. :eek: Now THIS is a great theory… HOUSE… and BATMAN. O\_o No wonder I love this show! ETA: So wait… does that mean, Wilson is Robin? And Cuddy is Catwoman? I’m going to waste so much time over thinking this… ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086/60 "2009-02-25T21:44:20Z")
I’d say that Wilson was more like Alfred, while the various ducklings were all “Robins.” I think, you might be able to make the case that Cameron is Batgirl, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-2-23/487086.md?page=4)