Submitted by CIsForCorn t3_124fzxa in LifeProTips
Always do your best to find doctors (and if necessary and possible, specialists) that you trust, but if something just doesn’t feel right, it could save your life.
Comments
CIsForCorn OP t1_jdz84ul wrote
I completely agree! I still don’t think if something feels off to you, that it hurts to seek other opinions from medical professionals. It doesn’t mean you have to abandon the doctor that gave the first opinions. A good doctor should be fine with someone getting a second opinion even if to only *confirm their diagnosis and treatment. I feel like that’s just good science?
420caveman t1_jdzknxj wrote
This is so true.
I had four doctors say the same thing but a fifth doctor ran the right tests, proving four other doctors wrong, and now I am on the right track to better health.
Wild-Caterpillar76 t1_je09avz wrote
As someone who has been suffering from a debilitating degenerative illness for 6 years this is so important. It’s taken me 6 years to find a compassionate doctor that has finally prescribed me a medication to help my symptoms. You must advocate for yourself.
_Morvar_ t1_jdzvyio wrote
Also in some cases you may be dealing with health anxiety, where stress and fear causes physical symptoms that can be debilitating but not dangerous. The fear of having a serious disease perpetuates the stress cycle. If you are in a situation where several doctors give you the all clear, it is very likely that anxiety is causing the symptoms. Ideally the doctor should be able to help with that but you can also seek out a mental health professional.
CIsForCorn OP t1_jebkek5 wrote
Actually, *as someone that suffers from health anxiety due to bouts in the hospital from very real things that weren’t taken seriously at the time (one ended up leading to MRSA), I don’t entirely disagree with this. I HAVE found that some things I was concerned about were symptoms that I worked through with a mental health professional. HOWEVER, there have absolutely been other instances in my life since then that were dismissed as health anxiety as a result of these earlier experiences, that upon getting further opinions and testing showed that there really was an underlying *physical problem that was being discarded as anxiety.
Wild-Caterpillar76 t1_je09ysr wrote
This is not true at all and horrible advice. Have you ever heard of fibromyalgia? For years and even now, doctors have told people nothing is wrong with them and that it’s in their head. This goes for numerous other illnesses including cancer. Trust your body, go to as many doctors as you need, advocate for yourself. To tell people “oh it’s just anxiety” is the worst advice ever.
_Morvar_ t1_je0pb3a wrote
I'm sorry I have offended you. I'm sure there are many people who have had awful experiences with doctors dismissing their problems and calling it imagination and whatnot. Maybe you or someone close to you has suffered due to a situation like that, and that is awful and shouldn't happen.
The point I was trying to make was that there is also such a thing as health anxiety, and no amount of clear diagnostic tests can cure it, the only way out is to identify the anxiety and treat that. I'm not disagreeing with OP, I'm just adding this sidenote.
Wild-Caterpillar76 t1_je3uodd wrote
I understand your view on your side note but how you worded your response does not indicate that. You’re stating that it’s “most likely” anxiety and not something else. Obviously, I could be anything but but stating most likely, you’re indicating it is that. That is horrible advice. It doesn’t matter if it happened to me or someone I care about. I care about people struggling with their health who are dismissed by shit doctors and people who believe nonsense rhetoric such as it’s anxiety.
keepthetips t1_jdz4tx7 wrote
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fortyeightD t1_jdz6dew wrote
I agree that you can seek other opinions, but you should also keep in mind that sometimes a doctor needs a patient to try a few different treatments to see which works best. Just because the first thing your doctor suggests doesn't work doesn't mean you need to switch doctors. They might start with the cheapest treatment first, or the one with the least side effects or least risks. If they don't work then the same doctor might have other treatments.