1. Community
  2. Women's health
  3. Menopause

Doctor Phobia

Posted , 12 users are following.

Guest
Guest

Is anybody else afraid of going to the doctor?  Adding up my medical visits in 2016, I've had eleven appointments, including testing and lab work, plus my surgery last month.  Today, I have to see my GI Doctor and will have a colonoscopy at the end of June.  There will not have been a single month in the first six months of this year that I haven't seen a doctor.  I feel overwhelmed by it.  I always expect the worst now, having gone through so much in a short period of time.  I have started exercising again and am working gradually on getting in better shape and wish that would help the anxiety some.  I dread seeing doctors now.

1 like, 37 replies

37 Replies

Next
  • Fairy28
    Fairy28 Guest

    Posted

    Hello Elizabeth, I sympathise - im terrified of doctors, instruments and in fact anything medical, pass out almost as soon as I smell a hospital or see a green outfit, like you ive had my fair share and more of intervention over the last three years and it's left me in a bad way now, can't even pick the phone up to make a doctors appointment, so I feel for you x
  • dwhit83
    dwhit83 Guest

    Posted

    I the waiting. I am waiting on results from a pap smear and an ultrasound. I am scared to death as I wait, expecting the worst. Good luck to you, hope all goes well.
  • jamie50513
    jamie50513 Guest

    Posted

    I have white coat syndrome. I am scared to pieces just going into the parking lot of the hospital doctors office. I've been so much in the last few months that I don't care if I see one anytime soon. Just making appointments sends my anxiety crazy. You are not alone in that fear. I absolutely hate waiting on results. I automatically assume it's the worst.
  • sharcerv52408
    sharcerv52408 Guest

    Posted

    Yes I do! I suffer from white jacket syndrome which where your blood pressure is high in the doctors office but normal otherwise. I get anxious every time i have to go.
  • sharcerv52408
    sharcerv52408 Guest

    Posted

    I wasn't like this until peri hit. I was never a nervous patient before.
    • Guest
      Guest sharcerv52408

      Posted

      I've always been a bit anxious, but the peri has taken me to a whole new level of fear.
  • bobbysgirl
    bobbysgirl Guest

    Posted

    Come on girls, they are only human. Don't be put off by the 'blather'. Take a list of questions and concerns with you and don't be afraid to ask questions and GET ANSWERS!
  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    Well, I made it through another one.  My blood pressure is usually low - normal for me is about 110/60 - but had the white coat today at 141/79.  Very Type A doctor, talks fast, pleasant man who knows his stuff, but he must live on caffeine.  Before peri, he didn't make me too nervous, but now he does.  And yes, I was already freaked out in the parking lot before walking into the building.  So sick of them all.  On to the colonoscopy next month, oh the joy... thankfully, I have a proper vacation scheduled a couple of weeks prior, or I don't think I could handle it.  I've had Crohn's for 20 years and he did the whole song and dance today about dysplasia, polyps, and cancer, and now I just need to run screaming into a chocolate cake.
  • didi0613
    didi0613 Guest

    Posted

    Yes... I personally hate going. Mostly cause they just guess and don't understand Peri symptoms and how they affect women all differently. I had numerous tests done last year when I was feeling at my worst. They put me on all kinds of medI cations and ran hundreds of tests for nothing came up out of the norm. I broke out with a rash from one of the meds. I was on. They couldnt even tell me which one. So I stopped all of them.

    Call it a miracle or inner strength, but I'm so much better now physically and mentally working out this peri stuff on my own instead of wasting time and money at drs. appts. for them to tell me nothing is wrong me. Wish I could get all my money back from all the time and money I wasted going to them last year.

    I recommend not going to them unless you really truly sick, or find one that is actually helpful, empathetic to your health and doesn't make you feel like an idiot. I found all mine were pretty much the same -Useless.

    To each his own, but no more crazy drs.and tests for me. Good Luck!

    • jamie50513
      jamie50513 didi0613

      Posted

      I agree with you. I only go when I literally have too. I spent 5 months continuously going to the ER and hospitals only to be told nothing was wrong. Numerous tests, worrying, and a boat load of medicine and still nothing was wrong. The last time I went, the doctor really made me angry with a smart comment and basically fobbing me off. That was the last straw for me. I stopped taking all that medicine and only take what I need. I feel a lot better than I did months ago and treat the symptoms myself as they arise. I am not going again unless I am truly truly sick and unfortunately peri/meno is not classified as an illness even though it should be.
    • Guest
      Guest jamie50513

      Posted

      I agree with both of you and must tell you a couple of things that I find ironic:

      1 - The gynecologist who did my surgery was a referral from a GP.  At the first visit, she was thorough and caring, had some definite ideas about where things were going... but post-op, after it turned out to be a minor issue, she didn't mention anything again about peri or some of the related symptoms she'd been so eager to discuss at that first exam.  It was just "come back next year" and I was back on my own.  

      2 - In 20 years of living with Crohn's, neither of the GI doctors who have overseen my case have ever talked with me about diet, lifestyle, and other factors that impact the disease.  I've been lucky to have mild disease, but I've never really relied on a doctor for any practical advice about living with it because they've never had any to offer.  They've dealt with me strictly as a patient who comes in for checkups, prescription refills, and colonoscopies, like clockwork.

      I have to mention one more irony... my weight is the highest it's ever been in my life.  After a bad car accident three years ago, I got heavily into comfort eating, which then became a kind of binge eating issue when peri took hold.  I went in there today and stood on their stupid digital scale in clothes and shoes, right after lunch, of course, and weighed 200 pounds.  Not a word from the GI Doctor, nor did the gyn say anything a few weeks ago when it was something like 198 on her scale.  I am significantly overweight for the first time in my life and neither said a single word about it.  Maybe I'm crazy, but I thought they'd notice that... or maybe I just wanted them to notice.

    • CCinCal
      CCinCal Guest

      Posted

      My opinion of doctors had really changed with peri. They are like 9-5'ers. They punch in and they punch out. I had an appointment with my primary doc at 11:30 am a few weeks ago. I was in agony over all my peri symptoms. She fobbed me off as you all say. afterwards I went to the cafeteria there for lunch. As I was leaving after I ate she was coming in and she says ,"anything good today?" With a smile as she walked past me. I thought she would have at least stopped to say some encouraging words especially since the office visit time is so short to get anything really said.

      I really don't think doctors really care these days. It's just a job to most of them. At least in my experience it's like that. Or maybe I just gave them too much credit.

    • jamie50513
      jamie50513 Guest

      Posted

      I know exactly what you mean. The docs have not addressed anything that I say about my symptoms. I guess since the blood work is nothing to worry about they aren't worried regardless of me telling them how I feel. They were just pushing pills with no real reason as to why I was taking them. Glad I stopped. Now the new doctor did blood work and explained it all to me and said that all was well except my iron and vit D was low. I'm glad that's the only issue but still no answers to why I feel the way I do. It's scary because it's so unpredictable. You never know when the symptoms will hit and you never what symptom is going to hit. To be walking around and not knowing a reason is scary and stressful. I've become so scared of everything that I just stopped going and decided to take care of this on my own and it's sad that I have to resort to treating myself. Doctors just scare me and I stay away..
    • bobbysgirl
      bobbysgirl jamie50513

      Posted

      Hi Jamie, I'm breaking down my posts into bite size pieces. I'll explain later. First - EVERYONE'S Vit D is low (except if you live in Florida and are out all day!) That is part of the problem - nutrition!

      Menopause was never easy. But years ago 1 - women didn't live so long (menopause was part of 'old age'). 2 - Our ancestors ate better - no sugar or big mac's!

    • Guest
      Guest bobbysgirl

      Posted

      Nutrition is definitely a problem, and with Crohn's, it is always a struggle to absorb nutrients properly.  Peri with Crohn's is a one-two punch of a nightmare.  I take a mutivitamin-multimineral supplement daily, and a couple of months ago, I also started taking a B-complex supplement and a D supplement daily.  The real issue for me is diet.  I get sick if I have too much fiber.  With the peri, though, I know that eating lots of refined carbs and junk food doesn't work.  I don't want to end up with diabetes or cancer.  I understand now that the doctors aren't going to help me with this - it is my body and making these changes is in my hands.  All that any doctor will do is diagnose whatever horrible thing happens to me if I don't start living and eating properly.  That's really all that they do anymore.
Back to top
Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.