Not everyone is a doctor. Patients are not doctors. It is not meant to be taken as an offense, but it cuts at a serious reality of modern culture. People feel embarrassed or hesitant to tell their doctor about an ailment. To avoid saying anything (or go through the hassles of dealing with it medically) they self-diagnose. They presume the problem is manageable or will go away. In other words, they become doctors. How can patients work around this natural hesitation to tell their doctors about health?

A Change in Patterns

Noticing something different from before? Is something slightly off? Even “slightly off” could have deeper ramifications. Patients should tell their doctor anything that changes from the regular pattern of their health. This is a good way to get around the mental leap required to report something. Understand and commit to saying something to a doctor if it is different from before. Use 72-hour windows if that helps.

The Possible Answer and Medication

Is there a fear of what the answer could be? Remove it. This is not a matter of what could happen because nothing could happen at all. It is a matter of obtaining knowledge about a condition from a professional. There may be fears of taking a new medication and how it may impact current medications, but these things can’t be predicted before going to a doctor and finding out what “it” even is.

Tell Doctors More, Not Less

If there is any big take away from what to tell your doc, it is to tell them more information as opposed to less. There is a natural inclination to hold back and there are some logical reasons for doing so. Some people think it just isn’t necessary. Some people think they are burdening their doctor with needless details. They could easily be embarrassed by the situation. For the last point, it is a non-factor. Ask any doctor in the world. They will tell you that embarrassment or judgment from the doctor is non-existent.

Tell the doctors more than they need to know in regards to health. Underneath the seemingly excessive information could be a little nugget of information that could be life-altering- or even life-saving.