Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing.

Author's note: I'm not a medical professional so I looked up what I could and made the rest up.

Chapter Seven

Sally Tishell had just dropped off to sleep when the phone rang. Startled awake, she fumbled for the phone, wondering if it was Paul ringing to apologise again,

'Hello,'

''Mrs Tishell, I have a patient who has mixed some medications and I need to know how quickly I can decrease his dosage without causing an increase in his side effects.'

'Yes, Doctor Ellingham. Let me just find a pen and paper. I won't be a moment.'

Sally ran through the kitchen to her small living room and quickly sat down with a sheet of printer paper and a pencil,

'Go ahead, Doctor.'

'Patient is male, forty years old, average build, no known underlying medical conditions. He has taken Prozac, Saint John's Wort, Passionflower and caffeine tablets, all within the last twelve hours.'

'Oh dear. That's a very undesirable combination. What dosages?'

'Prozac, twenty milligrams, twice a day. Saint John's Wort, three hundred milligrams at 0.3% hypericin, three times a day. Passionflower, forty-five drops of liquid extract, once daily. Caffeine tablets, he took one hundred milligrams at approximately seven pm.'

Sally looked at her list grimly,

'I shall have to do some research and get back to you, I'm afraid. Has he taken his Prozac and Saint John's Wort this evening?'

'No.'

'Please stop him from taking it. I'll get back to you as soon as possible, Doctor.'

Martin rang off without saying goodbye but Sally didn't notice. Pausing only to put on her dressing gown and slippers, she got two large reference books from the pharmacy, booted up her computer and started working.

Martin put his phone back in his pocket and returned to the kitchen of Danny's rented cottage. Danny and Louisa were drinking decaffeinated coffee and chatting about old friends. Martin pulled out a chair, sat down and started reviewing what he knew about Danny, which was not much. He was a successful architect so his work life probably included periods of high stress. No obvious indications of money worries. If what he said in the pub could be trusted, then Danny believed his depression was caused by the failure of his relationship with Louisa. He still loved Louisa, which was completely unsurprising, in Martin's opinion. Martin couldn't imagine ever stopping loving Louisa, no matter what happened. Danny's avowal of love merely confirmed what Martin had always suspected; Danny wanted Louisa back. But Louisa didn't want Danny. Astonishingly, miraculously, Louisa loved him, Martin. Martin knew he didn't deserve to be loved but apparently Louisa loved him anyway. Martin longed to sweep Louisa into his arms and tell her how wonderful she was. Unfortunately, he had to stay here and take care of Danny instead.

Suddenly, he realised that there was someone missing,

'Louisa, where's Peter?'

'At home. Cara's babysitting.'

'Cara?'

'Cara Tailor. Lives next door but one. Mrs Tailor's eldest.'

Martin's face cleared as his memory presented him with a picture of a serious looking sixteen year-old,

'Right.'

'In fact, I need to get back. She's got school tomorrow and it's nearly eleven.'

Martin nodded and Danny said,

'Thanks for…well, you know.'

'That's all right. You do what Martin tells you and you'll soon feel better.'

After Louisa had gone, Danny visibly braced himself and asked,

'Will I soon feel better?'

'I think so, yes.'

'You think so?'

'I'm waiting for Mrs Tishell to get back to me concerning the implications of your mix and match approach to medication. And using herbal medicines! Made by charlatans for the gullible. No proper regulation and often no quality control either.'

'Sorry. I just felt so awful. I was too busy to go back to the doctor so I went into the chemist near work and it had a stand of herbal remedies and I asked the girl behind the counter and she said that Saint John's Wort worked for depression and I decided to try it.'

'And the Passionflower and the caffeine tablets?'

'I started having trouble sleeping and I saw an advert in a magazine which said Passionflower would help. The only trouble was that it made me feel really sleepy so I got the caffeine tablets to keep me awake during the day.'

Martin stared at Danny in disbelief. Danny was an educated man but he'd treated medicines like sweets. He was about to let Danny know exactly how many brain cells he thought he had when his medical training kicked in. Danny was not responsible for his recent actions. He'd almost certainly been wrongly prescribed Prozac and it sounded as though he had had side effects from an early stage as well. The brain was still not clearly understood and patients being treated for depression needed careful diagnosis and regular review until a successful regime was established. Martin forced himself to speak quietly and calmly to Danny,

'How long are you staying in Port Wenn?'

'Seven or eight weeks, probably. I thought I could do the outline work for my new project and see Mum and catch up with some friends at the same time.'

'Good. That should give us plenty of time to sort your medication out.'

'You're willing to treat me, then?'

Martin looked blankly at Danny,

'Yes.'

'It's just, I got the impression you don't like me much.'

'What's that got to do with it?'

'You could refuse to treat me, you know?'

'You're ill. I'm a doctor. Why would I refuse to treat you?'

Martin looked at Danny in concern; he was clearly very ill. His suggestion that Martin might refuse him treatment might be a symptom of paranoia. He would have to run a full battery of tests once Danny was off all of his medication.

Martin got Danny to give him the name and address of his GP so he could call him in the morning. He had restrained himself with Danny, he had no intention of doing so with Danny's GP.

Martin was just going to tell Danny to get ready for bed, when the phone rang,

'Ellingham.'

'Doctor Ellingham, Mrs Tishell here.'

'Yes?'

'I'm afraid there's not been much work done on combinations of drugs like that but your patient should be able to stop the Passionflower and the caffeine tablets immediately. Saint John's Wort needs to be discontinued gradually. He should take tonight's dose as usual, then tomorrow take one in the morning and one in the evening. As he's on such a high dose of Prozac, I'd recommend halving it rather than stopping it immediately. He should not take it tonight but take one in the morning. Does he live alone?'

'Yes.'

'Then someone needs to stay with him in case he becomes suicidal.'

Martin stared at the phone in disgust. Rather than going home and holding Louisa in his arms, he was going to spend the night with Danny Steel.

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