Hypothyroidism

Lesson 4: Getting Your Diagnosis

Debunking Doctor - Patient Myths

In the last section we discussed some tips you could use to make your medical appointments more effective. Communicating with your doctor is a necessary skill to have especially when faced with a chronic condition.

Many people hate to go to the doctor. I am one of those people. There are other things I could think of to do with our time that would certainly be more pleasurable. I am sure you can too.

However, I understand that I have to visit my doctor at least occasionally so that I can manage my condition and cope with my chronic hypothyroidism. I also know that my dislike of doctor’s office comes from two very distinct places: my family of origin’s attitudes about medical care and some experiences I had as a youth while visiting doctor’s offices.

Most of the myths people hold about doctors, I would wager a guess, come from some combination of the above. It takes some strength and self-awareness to debunk the doctor myths you hold; but, it is a worthwhile experience. In fact, unless you address your feelings towards doctors, you could be undermining your own health care.

That may sound like a very extreme statement, but studies show that people who don’t like going to the doctor don’t go as often for check-ups and so forth. Those same people are among the millions who go undiagnosed for a plethora of potentially-debilitating or life-threatening conditions.

In this lesson, we are going to:

Are you ready? I am. Let’s dig in.

I’m going to talk about a few myths or ideas in this section which I feel can explain most of these doctor/patient issues.

This first myth still makes me laugh. I can’t believe I used to believe it. It is my first commandment of bad health care practices.

Thou shalt believe your doctor unquestioningly.

That’s a load of you know what. A doctor has attended four years of college, several years of medical school, followed by a few years of a residency in a specialized area of medicine. Doctors take lots of classes and learn lots about the human body.

However, no man or woman is an expert in all there is to know about the human body. Not even an Internist or General Practitioner (GP). They may know more than you do about certain situations and what medications to prescribe, but you have every right and even a responsibility to yourself and your health to question a doctor.

I went to a man who believed that I needed to be placed on a dangerous diet drug. He told me I wasn’t depressed, just overweight and, if I lost some weight, I’d feel a whole lot better. The diet drug in question caused heart defects in patients. I found that out after I took the medication for a few weeks and had some scary heart palpitations.

When I returned to him, he told me that there were some scary side effects and I should have asked him if I had questions. Yes, I should have.

He was busy that day and thought he had mentioned them to me. Regardless of whether you believe that statement, doctors are often very busy. If you don’t ask a question, they assume that you understand what they are telling you, as any normal, human being would.

This leads me to my second commandment, or myth.

Thou shalt not treat your doctor as a god or goddess.

This should really go without saying. However, I think that all of our myths about ‘doctor power’ stem from this little idea that has long been held and not readily-admitted to.

My mother believed everything (and still does) that her doctors would tell her. She takes more medications than I can count and has many conditions that are still under or mal-treated, in my opinion. She is tired all the time, in pain and deteriorating before my eyes.

My mother is an extreme case. She doesn’t research her health or even try to figure out what could be wrong or how to make it better. She lets her doctor lead her down the path without blinking an eye.

It seems that the little letters MD behind someone’s name make some people feel inferior. Often, women, especially those with little education, the elderly, and anyone with low self esteem or authority issues, place doctors on pedestals.

Most doctors don’t have a god complex. They would like to see patients who are active in their own health care, who listen to their suggestions but also make suggestions of their own.

Thou shalt not provide your doctor with any information because thine doctor cares not for your blubbering.

Sure, there are times when you feel rushed by your doctor or put-off by him or her for some reason. Many times, the issue the doctor is facing has nothing to do with you.

Most doctors want you to discuss your symptoms in an intelligent and organized manner. The symptom log we discussed in the last section is one way to do that.

Many people will walk in to a doctor’s office and say, I don’t feel well. They expect the doctor to magically fix them with no information to go on.

It would be pretty frustrating for us if people came into our place of employment expecting the same of us, wouldn’t it?

A doctor wants to help you, but you have to help yourself to. You know more about your body than anyone else does. Well, if you don’t, you should. It’s your body and your health and NO ONE CARES ABOUT IT MORE THAN YOU DO.

Of course, if your doctor is perpetually rude to you, doesn’t listen to your concerns, or explore treatment options you’ve researched, you have the right to find another doctor. You don’t have to be treated badly.

I remember that I saw an endocrinologist a few years back who told me my thyroid couldn’t be low. She said I just needed to diet. At the time, my thyroid was low. She made me cry. I tried to give her my family history; she told me it was irrelevant. I asked her to test my thyroid levels; she said ‘what for?’ and so on and so forth.

I went home that day and vowed to never see her again. That was a huge step for me. I knew there and then that I had broken some of the misconceptions I had long held about doctors and asserted myself in a positive way.

I didn’t scream at the endocrinologist like I wanted to nor did I try to ruin her career. To this day, she reminds me of all the times I allowed myself to be talked down to, to be mistreated or misdiagnosed by a physician. She taught me that I have to hang in there to find good health care just as much as I do to get a diagnosis and proper treatment for my conditions.

She made me realize that I had a right to decent and humane treatment. I think when we stop looking at doctors as gods and goddesses and see them as real people dealing with real issues and doing the best they can, we can move towards better doctor/patient relationships.

In the next section, we’ll discuss a patient’s rights and responsibilities. I want you to know these so that you can feel empowered to walk out of a doctor’s office to never return if you so choose. I also want you to feel good about the choices you do make and to realize, above all, that you are the consumer and the doctor should work with you, not for you.

If you are so inclined, why don’t we chat about doctor myths in the discussion area?

Are there ones I missed?
How did you come by your misconceptions?
Have you done away with them yet?
If so, how? If not, why?

That’s all for now, folks.

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