Do you plan what you want to talk about when you see a doctor?
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I avoid doctors in general. I schedule and keep appointments for my annual labwork (blood) and checkups. But as long as those are OK (so far), I don't see him for anything else.
I'm very aware of my body, having lived in it for 65+ years, in a wide variety of circumstances.
I hope that a doctor can provide some overview expertise. I know about *my* body but she's seen all kinds of people with all kinds of problems and knows about things I've never thought of.
Though I don't know if this system where doctors have 100s of people and when they don't always see us enough to get to know us really helps doctors gain that kind of expert knowledge as well as it might have in the past.
@futurebird I do plan it, and for the day I go I write down on a small piece of paper only the five words (+/-) that I need to discuss, and put that on the desk between her and me, and she appreciates looking at those words and understand what's roughly coming...speeds us up a little... but yes never easy to be complete across everything
@futurebird
My wife forces me to make a list 😊 . Hate it.
@futurebird I'd be curious to see if there's an effect of gender in this poll's responses
I wouldn't be shocked if there are gender disparities.
On the one hand there is the very real tendency to just not take women seriously.
On the other hand there is the goofy notion that it's unmanly to complain about little pains.
And then the expectation that both of these things may happen reinforces it in some cases.
@futurebird @Joannanewsomsuperfan
I send msgs about changes to my woman GP and receive advice and cautions in reply during the year. See her once a year.
@futurebird @Joannanewsomsuperfan And age disparities. I was taken much more seriously before I got older. Now, they blow off every symptom as just getting old. No tests, nothing. I feel invisible.
@futurebird Most often I just show up, but if it is something non-obvious I think about how to present it a little bit.
I will note that I'm coming in to the doctor's office with maximal privilege of white university educated male middle class, and I have social contacts with doctors (and in the past med students).
I do have some rules of thumbs though, like "present symptoms and worries, not ask about a specific diagnosis" to not trigger them into bad and unproductive paths.