#going to the doctor

[tightwadspoonies]

How to Get a Doctor to Listen To You (and maintain the relationship you have with that doctor, cause you're gonna need that later)

First, I'll preface this by saying: The system sucks. There is no perfect way to access medical care, at least not in the USA. You've almost always got to play the system at least a little to get what you need.

Should it be this way? No. But it is. So here's how to play the game in order to get the most out of a visit to the doctor (there are very different steps to getting what you need out of a hospital stay, but that's a different post):

So First, Let's Assume You Have a Primary Care Doctor That isn't an Urgent Care or the Emergency Department (if you don't, look below the cut first for some tips on getting one, then come back up here)

First, make a list of your problems, then go at the pace of one problem per appointment. Yes I know this sucks. But please read on.

Reasoning:

Appointments are set up in 15-minute slots, but docs typically are timed to about 5-8 minutes spent in a room with a patient on average (the rest of the time is prep and charting and referring and checking in with other doctors to get advice). This is imposed by the hospital or clinic they are working for- not something they choose. If a doctor took as much time as they needed with each patient they would probably get fired. That means every minute beyond that 5 minutes is a minute being "taken" from another patient (isn't capitalism wonderful?!). And 5 minutes is about enough time to evaluate 1 single medical problem.

So when you're setting these up understand that it is way easier and faster to make a bunch of appointments all at once than making them one at a time (hence the making a list of your problems). You might be able to get one slot per week (after a new patient appointment, which will probably take a long time to schedule, see below the cut), each scheduled for a different problem. Keep in mind though, if you make multiple appointments, no-shows are not taken-to kindly. Too many and the rest of your appointments will be cancelled. If you know you can't make it, call ahead.

So what if you need seen right now for a specific symptom? Go to an urgent care or the emergency department. They are almost never going to be able to solve the problem, but a toradol shot for a migraine now is better than waiting six weeks for a sumatriptan prescription. Plus, an emergency department visit or two where they did something for you establishes a history in the record of your problem.

Does this suck? Absolutely. Is multiple appointments always practical for work/school/transportation/copay reasons? Nope. But that's the system, and unfortunately, if you go into an appointment with 6 problems, as you have probably experienced, you're either going to be asked to narrow it down to what is the most important to you anyway, or you're going to get exactly zero useful things out of that appointment.

Next, be upfront, and do it LONG before the doctor walks into the room.

When you schedule an appointment, they will ask you why you are coming. If you want to be evaluated for Ehlos Danlos, for example, say exactly that. "I want to be evaluated for ___________".

Reasoning:

No one can hold everything in their heads for their entire careers, and doctors use that little blurb of why you are coming to look stuff up before you get there.

If you spring something on them that isn't something they see every day, they will be falling back on a very small amount of information they got a long time ago. If you don't fit that tiny piece of information they have saved on that specific disease, you're probably not going to get a diagnosis.

In contrast, if they come in knowing what they will need to evaluate, they will be able to look up or ask how to do the evaluation beforehand and the evaluation for things like the thing you want evaluated. You're much more likely to get a diagnosis if they're doing the right test and asking the right questions.

Also, say you are looking for a diagnosis if that's what you want, and say why. Say something like "If I come up positive for MCAS, could you tell me? I want to try some treatments and accommodations for it that I can only get through a diagnosis."

Reasoning:

I spent 6 years in therapy before my counselor admitted to me that she thought I had had depression the entire time. Why? Because before Obamacare, having a diagnosis of anything more than the flu one time could leave you un-health-insurable for life. Plus even just a generation ago being sick in any way was something socially unacceptable.

It's still like that, but it's changing.

There's still fear about this in the medical world. Putting a diagnosis on paper that the doctor technically didn't have to used to run some pretty serious risks. Pre- HIPAA (1996) those risks extended to your job and social life too (patient privacy was actually not actually a law back then). Even today, certain health conditions (including things like gender dysphoria or schizophrenia) may be looked at unfavorably in some areas if you're trying to do something like adopt.

So be open about the fact that you want to know, and if necessary, why that information is important to you.

Finally, come up "normal" on screening questions. At the beginning of the appointment, the person who rooms you will ask you a set list of questions. These are called "screening questions" and they include things like "do you feel safe at home?" and "does transportation keep you from getting to appointments or getting medications?"

Reasoning:

Unfortunately, if they find anything they need to talk about when asking these questions, they generally have to address these problems at the appointment, which means time they cannot spend on the problem you're there for.

If youdon't feel like lying and think you might have come up "positive" (something needs to be talked about), you have to be extremely clear that you would prefer to make another appointment to discuss the screening test, and today stay focused on the problem you came in for. It depends on the doctor as to whether they are willing to take that risk (and it genuinely is a risk, to them), and you also end up eating up some time.

My wife's opinion is that you know yourself better than a screening test anyway, and sometimes you do have to lie to get what you need.

So, you know, you do what's best for you.

Keep Reading:

Choosing a Doctor:

When you are first starting out looking for a doctor, you will probably have the choice between family practice (either a family practice doctor or family practice nurse practitioner) or internal medicine (your standard adult primary practitioner). Having worked in family practice I may be biased, but personally of the two, if you're looking for someone who is most likely to listen off the bat, it's going to be someone in family practice.

You may also have the option between a private practice and a residency. Of the two, I would choose the residency, because at a residency the docs you see are going to be residents who, 1- just finished up learning about all the zebras and can still remember them, and 2- are not yet jaded. Which if you think you have anything that isn't the most straightforward case of diabetes/heart disease/COPD, that's what you need.

The First Appointment:

So here's the thing. In order to get in with a doctor, you have to do something called a "New Patient Appointment", or NPA. An NPA takes a long time to get (sometimes months) but it is worth it to get a primary care doctor. An NPA is a little longer (usually about an hour or two) and most of that is going to be screenings with a nurse or medical assistant.

Understand that very little will happen at this appointment. It is just for you and the doctor to get to know each other (through a pre-programmed set of questions) and get some background info on you. Sometimes there will be time to address one thing. Use the checkout from this appointment to make more appointments that will fix things.

#health #chronic illness #going to the doctor #diagnosis

[sailor-cerise]

Somehow I am simultaneously the best and the worst and slightly above average and not good enough all at once.

According to my brain anyway

#thanks brain #autistic adult #audhd #autistic things #late diagnosed autistic #late diagnosed adhd #anxiety #multiplayer gaming #drawing #Existing #Driving #Doing laundry #Going to the doctor #Writing fiction #Communicating

[hells-greatest-performers]

Hey Ozzie! Lucifer is pregnant and needs proof. Also a sinner named Alastor may also be pregnant as well. Can you help???

Asmodeus: Say what now?

Lucifer: …I uh…don’t think I’m pregnant but a test said I was…can you help? *about to have another panic attack*

Asmodeus: Oh! Uh sure! I can get you looked at by one of my private physicians!

Lucifer: No one can know! Can they keep a secret?

Asmodeus: Absolutely! Now come on before you pass out…*gently pushes Lucifer toward portal that goes to Lust Ring*

#ask lucifer #ask Ozzie #ask Asmodeus #lucifer is in denial #lucifer is pregnant #tw: mpreg #mpreg #going to the doctor

[delicatepointofview]

.

#doing the thing i despise the most in the world.... #going to the doctor #the hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach is so real #i hope im paranoid again #tbd

[jackalope78]

Bad Habits to Break, Mine and Yours

I need a place to hold myself accountable, because I do have some bad medical habits that I need to break if I'm going to get a handle on this MS bullshit. But also, I want to complain about some of the reactions I've been getting, so yay! Two things in one post.

I'm starting with the complaint. Please, please, if you know someone with a chronic illness or disability, don't offer unsolicited advice unless you know the person very well and know it would be well received.

When I told the people in my life about my diagnosis I got the same comment from two different people. See, I live on the third floor of an apartment building without an elevator. My MS has progressed enough that it is starting to affect my legs, but for the most part I'm ok with stairs. I'm slow, but I get there. The comment from both of these people was "oh, you might need to move", because again third floor- no elevator. The comment coming from a close friend was appreciated because I hadn't thought of it and he mentioned it like a possibility, something to be aware of. The other came from a guy who is an acquaintance AT BEST and just made me mad, BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW ME. It just felt... rude. He doesn't know me well, he has no idea what I'm capable of, he doesn't know how far the disease has progressed. All he knows is that MS is a potentially disabling disease, and without even asking how I'm doing he moved right to the "You can't do things" place, and boy did that make me mad. So if you have thoughts about someone's ability levels, just don't. Unless you're asked, or you are indeed a very close friend, just... keep your opinions to yourself. Shutting up costs nothing.

Ok now me.

Confession time. I am where 'as needed' medication comes to die. I KNOW THIS IS BAD. I absolutely take all antibiotics, but if a doctor is prescribing me something for pain, or something else that will heal on it's own and the medication is just to make it faster/more tolerable, I let it sit in my cabinet. It's bad.

One of the medications that the neurologist has already prescribed for me is something to help with the spasticity/stiffness in my legs. But she wrote it out as 'take 3 times a day as needed for spasticity". My dumb brain took one look at that prescription and went, "but I'm FINE, I've been dealing with the stiffness for a few years now, I don't NEED the medication". So I haven't been taking it.

So, bad habit #1 to break is to let myself take medication that I don't necessarily need, or maybe redefine my personal definition of 'need'. I need to stop white knuckling my way through my illness symptoms. They're real, they're valid, and I can take medication to stop them, so I should.

Bad Habit number 2 is that I hide embarrassing things. I mean, I'm sure everyone does. But I have some symptoms that are embarrassing, and I've had them for a few years now, and I didn't discuss them with my doctor. In fact, and oh my god I'm so mad at myself about this one, I was specifically asked about one of these symptoms and I hedged and kind of lied-or rather wasn't 100% honest- to my Primary Care doctor about it. Now to be fair, some of these symptoms were things that I chalked up to being fat and out of shape, and I didn't want to hear my complaints dismissed with a "have you tried losing weight about it", so I didn't bring it up. I wish I had though, it's possible I could have gotten diagnosed earlier.

Anyway I have an appointment with a specialist today, so this is my goal for today. Be honest with the doctor. Even though it's very embarrassing and I hate admitting to it because I'm an adult, I need to be honest and open about my various symptoms.

With the doctor. Not you guys. Sorrynotsorry.

#multiple sclerosis #MS Symptoms #bad habits #disability #going to the doctor

[if-im-being-honest]

Currently psyching myself up to book another GP appointment about my mental health hopefully this time something good will come off it

#mental illness #mental health #gp #doctors #going to the doctor

[dollkisses05]

What I need rn

#coquette #coquette aesthetic #girlblogging #hell is a teenage girl #this is what makes us girls #whisper girl #coqeutte #femcel #gatekeep gaslight girlboss #just girly things #older man younger woman #dilfism #oldermen #obviously doctor you've never been a 13 year old girl #daddy issues #lisa rowe #nymph aesthetic #nympette #nina sayers #cinnamon girl #lana del ray aka lizzy grant #lana del slay #lizzy grant #you can be the boss #leonardo dicaprio #coquette dollete #im just a girl #im going insane #girly tumblr #lena posts

[redstonedust]

weirdest side effect of the pandemic is how many people i know who get sick and say 'but my covid tests are negative so i should be fine' like you know other illnesses. exist. right.

#for the love of god go to a doctor

[crass-and-loses]

I DON'T HAVE ADHD BUT...

I find that ADHD tips have helped me on chores and studying! :) I may not have ADHD but I relate a lot on hobby rotating, easily getting bored and stuff.. in Friday I plan to talk to my psych about it! Wish me luck! Will update afterwards :).

#ADHD #mental health #Going to the doctor #Psychiatrist #Medication #Mental illness

[plaguedoctormemes]

as a man on HRT thats approaching his thirties im on my knees begging you other trans and queer folk to stop treating hair thinning and baldness like its some sort of final nail in the coffin on someone’s youth and scale of attractiveness and to stop insisting people see their doctor if someone starts experiencing hair loss and they didnt ask for help!

#The doctor is in #seeing this a lot and it makes me mad #i on the other hand am going to look hot and very sophisticated bald 💖 so stop projecting

[yesokayiknow]

i know we won't but GOD i hope he never tells her he's an alien i hope we have a whole series of ruby thinking he's just a time travelling human until he gets hurt and is like ohhhhhh ruby love can you check my pulses and she's like check your fucking what now

#doctor who #doctor who spoilers #aaaaa!!!! #the doctor #fifteen #ruby sunday #normally they work out the alien bit first and the time travel 2nd i'm so glad we got a reversal!!!! #also if 13 can go a whole fucking year without saying the word time lord to her companions then so can 15 i believe in him!!!!!!

[chittychittyyangyang]

Listen, you should never film strangers in public without their consent, but I swear there need to be fines or something for people who do that shit in some spaces. For example: I had to go to the ER last night, and some jerk filmed a woman who just came in and was clearly having an asthma attack. She immediately got to go back, and he was unhappy about that. Believe me, I get that it sucks having to wait when you're in pain, but you don't get to pick who deserves care when. The medical system in the US is a nightmare, and the ER could be the worst moment of someone's life. No one deserves to be recorded because some jack ass believes someone doesn't look like they need care.

This is fine to reblog. People who film strangers should be shamed if nothing else.

#ccyy talks #sorry for posting this here but I'm pissed and this shit really needs to stop #For all I know he recorded me too cause I'm young and look healthy but got to go back next #Sorry about your cough buddy but the way things work I was a more immediate emergency #1k #5k #10k #30k #this post clearly has a life of its own now #and in case someone wants to know some clarifications for common points #people in a position of authority/actively hurting someone with the intent to protect/help the person is fine #so cops doctors nurses mental health workers and educators (to name a few) who actively are abusing their power and authority? free game #this post was filming random ass people for Content(tm) #random ass people more so those in distress aren't your content and you do not know the harm you can do to someone by posting that shit #50k

[nipuni]

Ten! my love 🥰

A speedpaint video of this will be available at my Patreon on Jan 1st!

#doctor who #tenth doctor #10th doctor #david tennant #my art #I'm about to throw a bunch of DW art on you!! then I'll go cook for new year's dinner 🏃‍♀️ #I'm testing out styles for posters 😊 #please ignore the Tardis missing windows!! lmao I forgot to fix that

[forecast0ctopus]

AN-TI-BO-DIES

#captain kirk u were so silly for that o7 #now go save spock #star trek #star trek tos #star trek tos fanart #star trek fanart #captain kirk #jim kirk #james t kirk #leonard mccoy #doctor mccoy #leonard bones mccoy #the immunity syndrome #forcing u to deal with crunchy gif #im the artist if i say its part of the vision then its part of the vision #ive had more ideas for goofy little animations for months but i get impatient with everything past rough animation so #we will see if i finish any lmao #i’m an animator and i never post any goddamn animation lmao

[hottestthingalive]

jack harkness rose tyler & the doctor are like the world’s most fucked up polycule and yet I wish every day we got more of them together. throw mickey in there for the hell of it its so funny. jack is like “we’re all bffs but also you two are in love with each other but also I’m desperately in love with both of you” and rose is like “i flirt for fun & as an expression of affection. because i’m young and recovering from an abusive relationship i have trouble quantifying my existing romantic feelings. i’d make out with either or both of you at the drop of a hat. it’s so great that we’re all friends :)” and the doctor is like “i am in love with rose tyler i want to spend the rest of my lives with her she is everything. however i am a monster and i destroy everything i touch so instead i will be fucking jack harkness on the tardis floor”. and meanwhile mickey just wants them to meet up with him on time for once

#doctor who #jack harkness #rose tyler #the doctor #mickey smith #what do i. tag this. Is there a tag for whatever the fuck they’ve got going on

[softestaries]

I'm cracking up at the idea of Fourteen bumping into an old companion in Tesco's or something and them instantly being like 'YOU'RE BACK? WHAT HAPPENED? IS IT THE DALEKS ? IS THE WORLD ENDING AGAIN? DO YOU NEED HELP?' And Fourteen is just stood there like 'i'm just here for milk??'

#doctor who #doctor who spoilers #david tennant #catherine tate #dw spoilers #dw #this is both sad and hilarious btw #like that funky little alien is going to have a breakdown the second someone implies he might be needed to save the universe again