Discussion
Planning out what to say when I go to see the doctor. Ugh.
I wish there were more forms or other ways of giving doctors information, talking is great, and needed, but it can feel so rushed that I leave things out.
But if you come in with too much "research" you make the doctor worried you are either a hypochondriac or second-guessing them.
My doctor is generally pretty awesome I feel confident if she just has the whole set of information she'll make a good recommendation.
In general I don't see doctors a lot - both because I don't have any health issues worth going to the doctor about, but also because I am a middle aged man and we don't go to the doctor unless we're almost dead.
Anyway, the thing that throws me off is - I always plan what I am going to say in any interaction, at least in broad strokes, and I am shocked by the notion that other people don't.
Especially, I might add, when I am trying to convey some specific information to someone else.
I can't even imagine what showing up to the doctor without knowing what to say might look like... I mean, why would I book an appointment without having considered some specific thing to talk with the doctor about? It's not a social visit....
When I was in my 20s I just went once a year for a general check up. Turned out to be a good thing since she caught something I missed once with tests.
Ah, I see. Well, that's not a thing here - people aren't offered a yearly checkup and they don't book it either.
Now that you mention it, I should have guessed. I've had many foreign colleagues complain about this practice (or, I guess, lack of practice). Some of them would take the bus to their home countries, e.g. Romania or Bulgaria, for a yearly checkup because Danish doctors don't do them for people under 50 at least. Back home they could at least get som antibiotics for their (viral) cold, which is another thing they complained about, in Denmark you're told to take painkillers and go home and rest no matter what.
I actually dug into it at some point, because we argued if it made sense to have yearly checkups. From the medical articles I found, it seemed like there was no proven positivt effect from them.
It's been years, and the internet is trash now, so I can't find the specific articles I found back then, but that was the gist of it.
@futurebird When I have a lot on my mind, I have messaged the doctor ahead of time, and it really speeds things up. Most doctors have way too many patients every day. If they know ahead of time, they can come in prepared, and they love that.
@futurebird I often will go in with a bullet list only to blurt out something unexpected (by both of us) and give up on the list.
For one visit I spent weeks researching side effects, published papers, and lab result trends to create a case for why I should stop taking a medication. Before I could work up the nerve to dive in he said I should stop taking the medication.
"Damn it, I have all of this research!"
I've had just that happen. But, if I don't have a plan I'll talk about something that isn't THAT important too much and leave her with the impression that some more minor thing is why I was there.
So I try to keep it to one thing.
Today? It's the headaches. I think I know what they are, but that's the real issue.
@futurebird I can't wing it, because I'll use the wrong name/pronunciation and they'll look at me funny, I'll panic and try to describe the word, they'll eventually get it or not, but the whole conversation is now derailed and I probably got another box checked in my record. ";^)
@futurebird Can you take a summary sheet - v factual bullet points of symptoms, with the biggest questions/"could it be x?" diagnosis at the end: not undermining their expertise, or bombarding them with second-hand research, but will ensure they get all pertinent information?
@futurebird Hope it goes well.
I know this can be a lot worse for people who are stuck with a doctor they don't have as much confidence in, or if you don't have something wrong that fits in a standard template and really do need deeper investigation.
And this is always a slim possibility. Though it's unlikely I'll end up on that creepy youTube show where the doctor explains how someone died horribly because some obscure interaction was missed. (that show has probably spawned a million new hypochondrias.)
@futurebird 💯
I'm actively forbidding myself to watch Chubbyemu's medical cases on YouTube.
They're interesting as hell and have sent me down numerous human biology rabbit holes.
They've also made me twitchy as fuck about ingesting seemingly benign things that'll end up killing me 😅
"Everything was fine, but then a simple mistake... SHE PUT ON SOCKS."
😨
me: Yes, that is how I shall die too.
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@futurebird I have had three GPs in less than 24 months, due to either my relocation or theirs. When I meet a new one I express my medical history using their lexicon, not mine, e.g. “orthostatic hypotension with syncope,” not “dizziness upon standing, and one time, I fainted;” or “April 2024” not “a couple of years ago.”
I try to send questions in writing 2-3 days ahead of the appt so there’s a record.