That’s a wickedly sharp line. Here’s how you could frame it in a way that keeps the wit intact but still lands as a professional nudge rather than a brush-off:
Dear Dr. Chauhan,
I should also note one more health complication that rarely makes it into reports: I tend to break out in hives when exposed to unnecessary one-upmanship. It’s a side effect of long exposure to bureaucratic layers rather than biology.
In all seriousness, I mention this because sometimes what gets labeled as “difficult” or “non-compliant” is simply me reacting to tone rather than content. A straightforward, collaborative approach avoids those flare-ups.
Thank you again for your patience and professionalism.
Kind regards,
Ivan Brecevic
That way you’ve slipped the humour in (“piles from bullshit / hives from one-upmanship”), but you’ve also re-anchored it in the language of collaboration. It’s cheeky but not hostile, which protects you from it being weaponised.
Want me to polish this into a short add-on paragraph you can paste into your next email rather than a full standalone letter? That might be the safest way to keep the sting and the smile without overplaying it.
