Lying to your doctor
floridamike99
Posts: 35 Member
I just read an article that said 64% of people surveyed admitted that they have lied to (or withheld info from) their doctor. Is it just me, or does this sound like the stupidest thing ever? Why pay a doctor's fee but then not give them honest information? I mean, if you are going to lie, just don't go, right?
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Probably. I know when I used to smoke, I would tell my doctor I smoked a pack a day even though it was a pack and a half.
I've never lied about weight or diets, though, if that's what you mean (since this is a weight loss forum). She can see the scale as clearly as I can. What good would lying do?2 -
i pay no fees but i dont lie to mine, Although i have a very weak immune system so for ages as a teen she assumed its beter safe thn sorry and tested me for STD's and did a pelvic exam every 3 weeks even if i said i had no sex. Shes very on top of things. I feel like id consider lieing about that to get out of monthly exams if i was with someone i trusted lol.0
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I've definitely withheld information from my doctor before, but never anything of particular import. If I don't feel something relates to the reason I'm there and is uncomfortable (for whatever reason) to discuss, I'm not going to bring it up for the hell of it.2
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I am sure I've lied to my doctors before, but it was more because I was in denial or unsure about things myself.4
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I'd wager that those 64% are likely lying about their drinking habits and/or smoking habits. Do you ever drink more than 2 alcoholic beverages a day? Nah...not me...never!28
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floridamike99 wrote: »I just read an article that said 64% of people surveyed admitted that they have lied to (or withheld info from) their doctor. Is it just me, or does this sound like the stupidest thing ever? Why pay a doctor's fee but then not give them honest information? I mean, if you are going to lie, just don't go, right?
I can't imagine why I would lie to my doctor.
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I volunteer at a free clinic and can tell you from experience that it is much higher. Did 64% of the surveyed population also lie on the survey about lying to their doctor?
Patients will neglect to mention taking various supplements when asked if they are taking medication, sometime resulting in severe adverse reactions due to drug interactions. They lie about their diet and exercise regimen. This is why they ask the same question in different ways to get to the truth.
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cwolfman13 wrote: »I'd wager that those 64% are likely lying about their drinking habits and/or smoking habits. Do you ever drink more than 2 alcoholic beverages a day? Nah...not me...never!
Yeah, one particular thing mentioned is that doctors routinely assume people drink twice as much as they say they do.
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I use to...now I am information overload to my doctors.8
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I think it's ultra common. It might be a milder version of one of the reasons why people avoid going to the doctor in the first place, i.e., not wanting to face the truth or hear bad news. Or, to put it another way, you can make bad things go away by ignoring them and not talking about them. Or, if you can get the doctor to say you're healthy, then you are. If people were purely guided by rationality, no one would do this, but we're also influenced by irrational emotions. People lie to their clergy, lawyers, and tax preparers for similar reasons.4
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cwolfman13 wrote: »I'd wager that those 64% are likely lying about their drinking habits and/or smoking habits. Do you ever drink more than 2 alcoholic beverages a day? Nah...not me...never!
We were asked this in "PREVENT" class and asked:
How many servings of alcohol do you take?
I responded 3-4. The class facilitator responded "You drink 3-4 servings of alcohol a week?! You're an alcoholic!"
I looked at my chief and said "I thought she meant daily"42 -
floridamike99 wrote: »I just read an article that said 64% of people surveyed admitted that they have lied to (or withheld info from) their doctor. Is it just me, or does this sound like the stupidest thing ever? Why pay a doctor's fee but then not give them honest information? I mean, if you are going to lie, just don't go, right?
Well, it doesn't make sense to me but it is their business and relationship with their physician.
Maybe a number of people don't feel they can be open with their doctor- someone they see for a few minutes- about everything but still need help.3 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »I'd wager that those 64% are likely lying about their drinking habits and/or smoking habits. Do you ever drink more than 2 alcoholic beverages a day? Nah...not me...never!
We were asked this in "PREVENT" class and asked:
How many servings of alcohol do you take?
I responded 3-4. The class facilitator responded "You drink 3-4 servings of alcohol a week?! You're an alcoholic!"
I looked at my chief and said "I thought she meant daily"
and this is why the Navy tried to counsel me for alcoholism...because I admitted to having 3-4 glasses of wine a week...6 -
I've previously spent too much time answering standard questions that had nothing to do with the issue I went to see the doctor about that we ran out of time for the actual issue. So now I use my judgment as to how comprehensive my answers should be and if I want to go down an irrelevant rabbit hole.9
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deannalfisher wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »I'd wager that those 64% are likely lying about their drinking habits and/or smoking habits. Do you ever drink more than 2 alcoholic beverages a day? Nah...not me...never!
We were asked this in "PREVENT" class and asked:
How many servings of alcohol do you take?
I responded 3-4. The class facilitator responded "You drink 3-4 servings of alcohol a week?! You're an alcoholic!"
I looked at my chief and said "I thought she meant daily"
and this is why the Navy tried to counsel me for alcoholism...because I admitted to having 3-4 glasses of wine a week...
LOL - we may have had the same facilitator. These results were brought to my commander who took one look at it and then promptly burned this report with his cigar and then we went out for a beer. Good times!10 -
deannalfisher wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »I'd wager that those 64% are likely lying about their drinking habits and/or smoking habits. Do you ever drink more than 2 alcoholic beverages a day? Nah...not me...never!
We were asked this in "PREVENT" class and asked:
How many servings of alcohol do you take?
I responded 3-4. The class facilitator responded "You drink 3-4 servings of alcohol a week?! You're an alcoholic!"
I looked at my chief and said "I thought she meant daily"
and this is why the Navy tried to counsel me for alcoholism...because I admitted to having 3-4 glasses of wine a week...
LOL - we may have had the same facilitator. These results were brought to my commander who took one look at it and then promptly burned this report with his cigar and then we went out for a beer. Good times!
I've gotten it twice...once from a med student when I was doing my separation physical and the other from an Army doc (I was at their health center)...basically they assume if you say 3-4 drinks that you actually mean 8-9...because of the double stated alcohol intake...except I was legit honest1 -
Lol, people lie to me all the time about their diet and exercise. I could easily see how it's a much higher percentage.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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floridamike99 wrote: »I just read an article that said 64% of people surveyed admitted that they have lied to (or withheld info from) their doctor. Is it just me, or does this sound like the stupidest thing ever? Why pay a doctor's fee but then not give them honest information? I mean, if you are going to lie, just don't go, right?
Well, it doesn't make sense to me but it is their business and relationship with their physician.
Maybe a number of people don't feel they can be open with their doctor- someone they see for a few minutes- about everything but still need help.
This is how I feel. I have trouble telling my GP things during my yearly physical. However, I see a mental health therapist twice a month. I tell that guy things I wouldn't tell my cat.10 -
Some lie because they don't believe they have a problem and don't want a lecture...like about heavy drinking. Some people lie because they don't want certain things in their medical records for insurance or legal reasons...like drug use or smoking.
I never lie to a doctor because I didn't have these particular issues and my only real health risk was extra weight...which there was no point lying about, even if I was so inclined (I doubt I would be), since they weighed me. I am always honest about these things...even when I had to admit very sporadic exercise...because I am too worried about developing terrible diseases to lie to save my vanity.2 -
funny. never lied to doc, don't pay fees, but I LOVE MY BOOZE. why lie? so silly.0
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I've definitely lied to my doctor when I was nursing my kid so I could get meds I needed w/o having to wean. (The meds in question were safe. I'd done my research, the doc simply wasn't knowledgeable about meds and breastfeeding.)
Sometimes it's a necessary evil.2 -
floridamike99 wrote: »I just read an article that said 64% of people surveyed admitted that they have lied to (or withheld info from) their doctor. Is it just me, or does this sound like the stupidest thing ever? Why pay a doctor's fee but then not give them honest information? I mean, if you are going to lie, just don't go, right?
Well, it doesn't make sense to me but it is their business and relationship with their physician.
Maybe a number of people don't feel they can be open with their doctor- someone they see for a few minutes- about everything but still need help.
You're right, maybe many don't. Maybe many are stuck in a specific form of healthcare they don't want but they can't afford an improvement and/or they're on HMOs and if they change this one doctor, they have to lose two others they really like, and/or start all over again from scratch with histories and so on. Maybe they're being held hostage by a doctor they can't logistically and financially "fire" whom the know will refuse them a recommendation on some technicality or other unless they play their cards very, very carefully. Maybe they've been seeking help but they KNOW the doctor, and probably any next doctor they were to hire after firing this one if it were possible, would still sneer down his/her nose and simply say "go on a diet and work out" rather than realistically trying to help with health issues that may have nothing whatsoever to do with weight or exercise habits, but could happen to anybody. So they "!!!lie!!! Lying dummy-dums! Peh!!!" to their doctors about one thing or another...to get some sort of help rather than a sneer and rolled eyes. I mean, just maybe, for a few of these !!!!!!!!!!!!liars!!!!!!!!!!! You never know, right?
I know I recently was over a barrel trying desperately to help my child with thyroid issues. Looking at his (just slightly) overweight belly, the endo we "had" to go to due to our HMO (or else change the entire practice and ALL our doctors - mind you, my son has special needs and has A LOT of doctors) informed us that being overweight causes hypothroidism (um...?) and sneeringly told me that after I got my child to lose weight, he might consider medicating him. For. A. Physical. Damned. Issue. I was very honest with this doctor. I told him I felt the weight issue (tiny as it was, and I mean that literally, tiny...just barely over that BMI line) was a combination of my son seeming hungrier recently, AND physically being unable to stand up out of bed some days or managing to do his school day but then collapsing at home into a half-coma of sleep. Should have lied about that first part but who wants to be a !!!!!!!!!!!liar!!!!!!!!!! just to get their child some help for the physical torture he's going through, right?
Maybe some people realize they're very much over a barrel with the appalling state of healthcare today, assemblyline-format doctoring and they know the personality of the doctor they're stuck with so they fudge something so they can be helped in some way. So they can have some relief of suffering. Then again, maybe the doctor's perfectly nice...well, except for those little sideways slams she manages to get in about what an apparent fat pig the patient is and how s/he is "killing him/herself," etc., etc. and the patient just wants to get the hell through the appointment and back out the door without having to be scolded like a child and basically being made to feel like a hopeless, disgusting person. Now these potential scenarios are not definite, of course, but I'd wager my left ovary that things like this are a huge part of what's behind many, many people's "lying" to the doctor they only have to see "for a few minutes," peh, silly dummies, eh?
It's easy to look down at others if we don't bother walking in their shoes for a few minutes.8 -
floridamike99 wrote: »I just read an article that said 64% of people surveyed admitted that they have lied to (or withheld info from) their doctor. Is it just me, or does this sound like the stupidest thing ever? Why pay a doctor's fee but then not give them honest information? I mean, if you are going to lie, just don't go, right?
Well, it doesn't make sense to me but it is their business and relationship with their physician.
Maybe a number of people don't feel they can be open with their doctor- someone they see for a few minutes- about everything but still need help.
You're right, maybe many don't. Maybe many are stuck in a specific form of healthcare they don't want but they can't afford an improvement and/or they're on HMOs and if they change this one doctor, they have to lose two others they really like, and/or start all over again from scratch with histories and so on. Maybe they're being held hostage by a doctor they can't logistically and financially "fire" whom the know will refuse them a recommendation on some technicality or other unless they play their cards very, very carefully. Maybe they've been seeking help but they KNOW the doctor, and probably any next doctor they were to hire after firing this one if it were possible, would still sneer down his/her nose and simply say "go on a diet and work out" rather than realistically trying to help with health issues that may have nothing whatsoever to do with weight or exercise habits, but could happen to anybody. So they "!!!lie!!! Lying dummy-dums! Peh!!!" to their doctors about one thing or another...to get some sort of help rather than a sneer and rolled eyes. I mean, just maybe, for a few of these !!!!!!!!!!!!liars!!!!!!!!!!! You never know, right?
I know I recently was over a barrel trying desperately to help my child with thyroid issues. Looking at his (just slightly) overweight belly, the endo we "had" to go to due to our HMO (or else change the entire practice and ALL our doctors - mind you, my son has special needs and has A LOT of doctors) informed us that being overweight causes hypothroidism (um...?) and sneeringly told me that after I got my child to lose weight, he might consider medicating him. For. A. Physical. Damned. Issue.
Maybe some people realize they're very much over a barrel with the appalling state of healthcare today, assemblyline-format doctoring and they know the personality of the doctor they're stuck with so they fudge something so they can be helped in some way. So they can have some relief of suffering. That's not definite, of course, but I'd wager my left ovary that it's a huge part of what's behind many, many people's "lying" to the doctor they only have to see "for a few minutes," peh, silly dummies, eh?
It's easy to look down at others if we don't bother walking in their shoes for a few minutes.
This and millions of other similar cases why we need to remove insurance/government from the healthcare equation.5 -
I am honest with my doctor and would prefer to be one of the statistic that is honest. I am in health care and prefer honesty over withholding information for my health. (She says while waiting in the car for someone who is in the doctor's office. Life is weird)
Also I don't pay out of pocket for routine health care. Thank you Canada.0 -
I had a misscarriage when I was 20. It happened before I knew I was pregnant (it was unplanned). I was thoroughly checked out at a free clinic afterwards and deemed healthy. I don't speak of it because of the shame I carry about it. Fast forward 4 years, I was married and pregnant with a very much wanted child. I lied all through my antenatal care and said it was my first pregnancy because I was too ashamed to admit that I had had a miscarriage in the past because I blame it on my very unhealthy lifestyle at the time (I know it might not have been that).
I know it was reckless but I also understand why so many people lie to their doctors.5 -
When asked the alcohol question I answer 1 or 2 drinks .... a year. I'm a recovering teetotaler.
I do lie to my dentist all the time, about how often I floss. What's the point? The evidence is right in front of them.2 -
I try and be as honest as possible with my GP. I can't see a point otherwise. I have been known to give only the most pertinent information to other doctor's, though.0
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That seems unbelievable so I tried looking it up. Do you have a link to the article?
I found one, but this article reports in general 30% of women and 23% of men lie or withhold information.
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-wellness/articles/2015/11/10/many-patients-lie-to-their-doctors-survey-finds
(I miss read to article and corrected myself)
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DP0
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Gee. Your finger stick blood sugar reads 497.
Take it again! Take it in my other finger on the other hand!
Okay. I get 503 this time. Did you eat anything like ice cream or pizza recently? Like the ice cream and pizza they're serving on the 1st floor leftover from the birthday party?
NO! All I had was a cup of black coffee. Check your machine! It always gives bad readings. Cheap piece of junk!
You literally have some nurse or other individual routinely pricking people's fingers and handling their blood in the office??? Bringing in the same "machine" each time (your reference to how it "always" gives bad readings)? This happens?
I honest to God have never heard of such a thing. I can't imagine the S-storm of someone getting sick and suing the office for throwing the employees' blood around. Anything could happen, or at least be accused to have happened, under circumstances of handling blood in a public, non-hospital/non-medical place that way. Just odd.
How often do they prick your blood? Is this a routine thing? I just have never heard of this.
p.s. As much as it may be human nature to lie to cover faults, it is equally human nature to use hyperbole to draw positive comparisons of oneself to others. It's one way to keep insisting to ourselves that we are superior, and alone; the overwhelming majority of the rest of the world is inferior, and bumbling, and stupid, and oaf-like (i.e. the screaming, raging, 500+ BG - wouldn't that person be dead? Or no..? - idiot slamming cake into his face and screaming that he never ate a thing). The fact that a majority of people tend to be the one, singular, enlightened non-oaf simply is the opposite of logic, given simple math, doesn't seem to stop the practice.
We're seeing all sorts of aspects of human nature on this thread...it's actually kind of interesting.
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