Lying to your doctor

Lounmoun wrote: »

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.

Once or twice I've exaggerated to get the treatment and/or tests that I knew I needed. For example, when I was 18 I started getting an odd rash whenever I scratched my skin even lightly. After some internet research (I know, I know, but hear me out!) I discovered they were petechial rashes/bruises. That means the blood vessels under my skin were bleeding at light scratches. There are several reasons someone might get this, but they're all worrying. I went to the GP. He seemed totally unconcerned and wasn't even going to give me a blood test. So I exaggerated. I said I was exhausted (I was more tired than usual but not exhausted). I said I bruised at the lightest feather touch. I said I was getting headaches, I said I was paler than usual. He then decided to book me a blood test. They were backed up and said it would be a few weeks, but thankfully my dad also bought the act and booked me a test at the hospital the next day. So along we went. They took the blood. They called us an hour later saying we needed to go straight back to the hospital. My dad said it sounded like they were going to admit me, and they did. The crook of my elbow where they took the blood did not stop bleeding for 4 hours.
Platelets, for people who don't know, are the part of your blood which helps clotting. Without them, your blood won't clot. Normal platelet count is 150-350. Mine was less than ten. I was diagnosed with ITP (my immune system was attacking my platelets) and kept in the hospital for two days for treatment. If I had gotten a cut, or a bang to the head, my life would have been in danger.
Yes, I know doctors are trained. I know they know more than me, I know they're smart. But sometimes we know our bodies better than they do, and sometimes they overlook things. I knew what was happening to me wasn't normal and I knew I needed someone to listen to me. It wasn't happening, so I did what I had to. So yes, I lied to a doctor. But it possibly saved my life.