# Do you tell all - to your doctor?



## Micheal (Jan 28, 2009)

Being retired and on medicare etc, you are entitled to a "free" annual physical - those lab costs are another story.......

Anyway, I'm scheduled mid next month for my "yearly" and am wondering; just how much I want to tell the doctor and how much I'm willing to just let myself believe that it's part of aging...........
You know those joints that aren't (part time) working right or have stiffness or pain at certain times. 
Or about the burning feeling after eating certain foods you now get in the center of your chest.
Or maybe the lightheadedness you get standing up to quickly.
Or how you are momentarily forgetting your train of thought.
Or _______ well you get the idea. They are nothing you believe to be "major" or earthshattering but things that have developed over time.......

Soooo, *do you tell your doctor everything*, like every ache, pain, symptom, or do you let some things slide cause - cause you are realizing (believing) that it's just a sign of getting on in years?

As a side note: I do not have the problems listed, :nono: well not all of them anyway. :heh: Most are just listed as examples........... :icecream: So be gentle in commenting; please.


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## Laura Zone 5 (Jan 13, 2010)

Yes I do.

I carefully selected my doctor.
I did not want a doc that was perscription happy.
I did not want a doc that throws drugs at me for every little thing
I did not want a doc that rushed me in and out.

It took a while to find my doc, but he is awesome.
Same thing with my OB.

I do tell them everything about what's going on with my mind, body, and soul.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

I have a checkup every 5 years. Been to the same doctor for 35. I saw him last winter when I couldn't get rid of the BUG after 3 months. He sees me when I need him too. I don't take any meds. Doctors are like car repair people, I do the regular maint. They do the big stuff. I don't need them to be the problem. Now, IF I had more than indigestion after eating, I would mention that when I saw him....James


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## upnorthlady (Oct 16, 2009)

If your body is telling you something, don't ignore symptoms! Get the most out of your "yearly" and mention anything that is a new symptom or condition. You just never know. That's how my husband found out he had multiple myeloma (bone marrow cancer) and a tumor in his hip and a year later another tumor in his spine (he thought it was just "arthritis").


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

Micheal said:


> Soooo, *do you tell your doctor everything*, like every ache, pain, symptom, or do you let some things slide cause - cause you are realizing (believing) that it's just a sign of getting on in years?


I tell my main doctor everything about anything she seems interested in. Then we talk about our husbands and compare pictures of our grandbabies. We have known each other for 40yrs, so she has great tolerance, and knows pretty much everything about me. She just told me about her husband's problem of being colonized with MRSA, and what they have tried to get rid of it. We share.
As far as specialists, I only tell them what is relative to their specialty. I don't think my cardiologist would want to sit and listen to me whine about a fungus in my belly button for ten minutes.


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## Molly Mckee (Jul 8, 2006)

If you aren't honest with your Doctor, don't blame the Doctor for a bad outcome. Sometimes those little things add up to a pattern that means something to the Doctor, even if you don't think they are important.


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

Make the list, and hand it to the Dr., that way you don't have to tell them. 
I tell mine everything.


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## susieneddy (Sep 2, 2011)

my Dr knows pretty much everything (the good and bad) about me,. I figure if I can't tell him then who can I tell. In a few cases what I have told him has helped him with other patients


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

Our yearly physical exams are extremely thorough - there are actual specifications that must be met. Lots of basic testing and imaging and if something shows up then even more testing. 

I actually don't tell my doctors everything. If I am seeing him or her about a specific problem I summarize the problem and let the basic information lead them where they need to go. I have found that if you give too much information a doctor (who is only human) may go off on a tangent because of something you said instead of looking deeper at you.


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## SageLady (Jun 10, 2008)

I'm very honest with my doc about what's going on with me, but I don't feel the need to tell her absolutely everything....neither one of us have time for that!


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## Michael W. Smith (Jun 2, 2002)

If you don't trust your doctor or want to tell him everything that is going on - how are they to know what is causing a specific problem? 

Any medication you take may cause another condition to flare up. Now, I'm not saying this because I don't want you to take your medication, but if you tell your doctor about a new problem since you changed medicines, your doctor will know if the new medicine is the culprit and you need to make a change or what.

Not telling your doctor things about your health is a good way to not get treated early for a problem. And then you run the risk of not needing a doctor . . . . . . . your family will just have to call the undertaker!


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

`quote - Not telling your doctor things about your health is a good way to not get treated early for a problem.

This is true but telling them to many things can also set them on the wrong track. A sore back is not necessarily a sprain even if you did slip on the ice. In my case it was cancer. My doctor was away and the locum got it wrong. Fortunately - or not - the emergency department got it right.


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

I think if you tell them everything, you end up with PILLS for everything!

Mon


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

My doctor knows pills are a last resort for me. I have taken them as needed but not long term. For a while I was on blood pressure meds, until I started bleeding, the doc kept changing the meds but it was killing me. I quit the pills and the doc for 4 yrs. Monitored the BP myself. All that was needed was a change of lifestyle, job change and getting back to a basic diet instead of his crazy food plan. When I went back all was well. Sometimes the doc is not the cure all be all....James


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## Ardie/WI (May 10, 2002)

Every six months, we go in for a checkup. We tell her any issues or changes in our health. We trust her. She also knows that neither of us are whiners and, if we do bring it up, it's important!


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## Ramblin Wreck (Jun 10, 2005)

Never had much to tell him. I try to get in for a physical once per year, and I kinda' watch how the numbers go up and down on my "test scores".


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## joebill (Mar 2, 2013)

I'm told that they expect you to lie about stuff like alcohol and nicotine intake, anyhow, so why screw up the formula they use by telling the truth?.........Joe


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## bluemoonluck (Oct 28, 2008)

vicker said:


> Make the list, and hand it to the Dr., that way you don't have to tell them.
> I tell mine everything.


^^ This

Never lie to your doctor or your attorney, even by omission. 

Make a list, order it from what bugs you the most to what bugs you the least, give it to the doc and tell him/her that you wrote it down so you wouldn't forget anything. Go from there.


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## Micheal (Jan 28, 2009)

Well, as an up-date - annual physical went OK, I guess? Some concerns about some things happening and the levels from the bloodwork but hey, nothing "really" new.

Also had my every other year (treadmill type) stress-test..... this is the first time though that it was a "walking/non-walking imaging stress test". Even got 2 doses of a radioactive isotope put into me via an I.V. - no I didn't glow in the dark for those that wondered....... Although I was told to stay away from personal contact with any one under the age of 4 for a day or so and was given a "legal pass" if'n I was to set off any alarms or such and law enforcement called in. Hummm, how safe am I????

Anyway, more tests are in the very near furture.
And I didn't even tell the doctor "all" of what is going on - as in reference to my orginial posted question.
Lucky Me!!!!!!!


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## ldc (Oct 11, 2006)

Glad to hear you "passed"! Hope you feel ok!


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## MichaelZ (May 21, 2013)

A lot of what you describe is normal due to aging. The stomach problem may not be however - that is something to check out, and quick. 

I would not report anything unless I had very good reason to suspect a much more serious issue. For example, I was bit my a deer tick and it was infected - I skipped church and went in immediately for an antibiotic.


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