Many people seem to come to the forum and ask questions that they should have asked their doctor. Visiting your doctor isn’t always a pleasant experience, I know, but many people come onto the forum with questions that no one here is qualified to answer. Even if we were doctors, it would be very dangerous to try to diagnose when you don’t know someone’s full medical history, and most importantly, without being able to examine them. Obviously, wanting reassurance and other people’s experiences about a condition or medication is fine, but many people seem to come away from their doctors with more questions/worries than they originally had.
So here are 10 tips when visiting your doctor:
1. Write down any questions you want to ask your doctor. When you’re anxious or in a state it’s very easy to forget what you wanted to ask.
2. Make a double appointment. I hate it when I feel rushed. Doctors won’t be able to answer all your questions in 5 minutes. Unless, it’s an emergency appointment, I would recommend you make a double appointment.
3. If you don’t feel comfortable with your doctor or don’t feel that they listen to you think about seeing another doctor in the same surgery or change practice completely. I had to change my GP quite a few times because of this.
4. If you’ve been prescribed medication, ask what type of medication it is and ask your doctor to go through any side effects with you. If you would rather not know about side effects then fine but many people come away and then read the patient leaflet and worry themselves to death, whereas your doctor should be able to reassure you about side effects – ie, common ones and rare ones etc. Also, if you feel that the side effects aren’t worth it then you can discuss an alternative with your doctor. I always ask my doctor to look up common side effects. Also, doctors have direct experience of their patients’ side effects, so they can reassure you a lot more than Dr Google will when you get home. Again, time is an important factor here. Many doctors don’t mention side effects because they simply don’t have the time.
5. If your doctor diagnoses you with a condition I think one of the worst things you can do is start Googling it and coming up with all sorts of other related and non-related stuff. Ask your doctor to give you a print out of your condition through the NHS site. If you’ve been referred, again, don’t go on the net searching for stuff – you’ll come up with a million conditions that you could have and you’ll be a nervous wreck when you see the doctor or have your tests.
6. Be honest about your symptoms. Doctors have heard every story you could imagine. Don’t be embarrassed to tell your doctor about any problems you have.
7. If you want a second opinion about something you’re not happy with then ask for it. Many doctors will be happy to refer you if it means it’ll put your mind at rest.
8. Trust your doctors’ opinion if you have been referred and you get the same result. Doctors spend many years training and they can see anxiety disorders in their patients. They also know that anxiety can cause every symptom under the sun but are also on the lookout for tell-tale signs of a genuine illness. Simple observational tests your GP may carry out can sometimes be more reliable than complex procedures like MRIs or ECGs.
9. The internet is full of information that is not always to be trusted. Dr Google doesn’t know anything about you and furthermore can’t examine you, so you can end up being diagnosed with a million scary diseases. I would recommend extreme caution.
10. Don’t ever think you’re wasting your doctor’s time. They work hard but they also get paid a lot of money. Don’t forget that it’s their job to listen to your concerns. Doctors know that people with health anxiety/panic will keep thinking that they have something wrong with them and most understand and are sympathetic and will do what they can to reassure you.
So, I hope this guide helps somewhat when visiting your doctor.
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Sue
