10 “secrets” you shouldn’t keep from your doctor

Posted on 10. Mar, 2009 by Omega Eee in Health-Aware

Don’t hide from your doctor the fact that you:

1. Smoke, drink excessively, do illegal drugs

No one’s proud of any of the above, but your doctor needs to know. He can’t accurately diagnose and treat your health problems if you hide your substance abuse. “Remember, there are strict privacy laws between patient and doctor, so the information is not going to be shared,” Kaminetsky says.

2. Have peeing or pooping issues

“I once had a patient who literally died of embarrassment,” Rackner says. “She had blood in her stool, but she was too embarrassed to tell her doctor. A year later she was in terrible abdominal pain, and did go see her doctor. It was colon cancer, and it had spread to other parts of her body.” The patient came to see Rackner, but it was too late to do surgery. She died six months later.

3. Take herbs

You might feel like your doctor looks down on herbs and other forms of alternative medicine, and there’s a good chance you’re right; many M.D.’s are dismissive of alternative medicine. But even if you fear seeing your doctor’s eyes roll back in her head, tell her about the supplements you’re taking. Certain herbs don’t mix well with certain medications, so she needs to know.

4. See a chiropractor or an alternative healer

See above about the eye-roll you might get if you tell your doctor you’re seeing a chiropractor. But if you’re having neck pain, it would help your doctor to know that just a few days ago your chiropractor adjusted your neck.

5. Are having financial troubles

“Money is the ultimate taboo,” Rackner says. “We have no idea how to talk about money.” But talk about it we must, she says. For example, if your doctor recommends a procedure you can’t afford, just say so. You might be able to work something out with the doctor.

6. Want cheap medicine
If you want a cheaper medicine than the one your doctor prescribes, don’t be embarrassed to say so.

7. Feel depressed or anxious or stressed out

Along with money, many people have trouble talking about their feelings. “Depression is a serious disease and a lot of patients hesitate to tell their physician because because they think it’s embarrassing, or the problem will go away by itself,” Kaminetsky says. “Depression is too dangerous to keep a secret.”

8. Defied the doctor’s orders

When your gynecologist asks if you are doing your breast exams every month, don’t lie and nod your head. Admit that you’re not. Perhaps she’ll come up with a way to make it easier to remember. Same goes for medicines: If you’re bad about taking the drugs your doctor prescribed, she needs to know. This isn’t school; you won’t be punished.

9. Don’t exercise and eat badly

10. Have a small problem you think is unimportant

So how do you get the guts to admit these things to your doctor? “You can just say to the doctor, ‘Hey, this is embarrassing for me to talk about. This is hard for me. This is a taboo topic,’ ” Rackner suggests.

Another option: Tell the nurse, if you feel like you connect with her better.

A third idea: “If your doctor does e-mail, try that, or just write a note,” says Rackner. “Some people do better writing things than saying.

The above is has been copied and edited from cnn. You can get the full article from cnn’s health section http://edition.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/03/05/ep.secrets.doctors/index.html

Tags: Health-Aware