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Finally... => Life Advice => Topic started by: Neonivek on November 25, 2015, 07:19:48 am

Title: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: Neonivek on November 25, 2015, 07:19:48 am
So I uhhh have an embarrassing condition (Explosive Diarrhea) and that is a bit too embarrassing to tell the doctor, but I should get it fixed...

Are there any alternatives? Like writing the doctor a letter?

Ps. No I don't actually have explosive Diarrhea
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: Delta Foxtrot on November 25, 2015, 07:43:13 am
You can be assured that they have heard it all. Plus there's probably some sort of doctor-patient confidentiality where you live so it's not like they can gossip around.

But if you just can't do it face to face, at least doctors around here have emails that one could send an email to if necessary.
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: Neonivek on November 25, 2015, 07:50:30 am
Quote from: Delta Foxtrot on November 25, 2015, 07:43:13 am
You can be assured that they have heard it all. Plus there's probably some sort of doctor-patient confidentiality where you live so it's not like they can gossip around.

But if you just can't do it face to face, at least doctors around here have emails that one could send an email to if necessary.

My current family doctor SPECIFICALLY doesn't have email.

Though I am registering to a better medical service so they might.
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: ChairmanPoo on November 25, 2015, 08:35:30 am
Consider this: would you rather face potentially serious complications from not telling him/her than suffer a bit of embarrassment? You can't be treated if they don't know that you're suffering from something.

That being said, it doesn't even sound that embarrasing. Diarrhea is rather common I would think.

Also if you don't want information leaking don't write mails unless it is absolutedly necessary.
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: cerapa on November 25, 2015, 10:11:14 am
It's a doctor. They see a lot of shit, sometimes literally. You don't go through medical school and become a family doctor if you're afraid of diarrhea.

So just go see the damn doctor.
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: acetech09 on November 25, 2015, 07:45:05 pm
They've heard it all, and more. Just tell him.
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: Shook on November 25, 2015, 08:02:25 pm
I don't think doctors think in terms of embarassment, really. You have a potential medical problem, it's their job to do something about it, and frankly they probably poke at sphincters and genitals frequently enough that they don't have any problems with it any more.

Spoiler: too much information perhaps (click to show/hide)

So basically, unless you've been stashing stuffed toy animals in your rectum in order to hide them from jealous siblings, don't worry.
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: MetalSlimeHunt on November 25, 2015, 08:06:27 pm
Yeah, anybody who's been through residency has seen all the typical horrors, and anybody who's actually ran a practice for any appreciable length of time has probably seen things you both could not pronounce the scientific names of and would go pale at reading about. Doctors are essentially dead to caring about conventionally embarrassing things.
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: gimlet on November 25, 2015, 10:31:25 pm
Schedule a singing telegram to croon the details so you don't have to say them yourself?

Really, just tell him.  Practice in front of the mirror,  in different accents, and maybe you can find a phrasing that isn't so bad...
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: Flying Dice on November 26, 2015, 07:56:49 am
You're unlikely to find a doctor who hasn't already dealt with a patient with a condition which was more painful or embarrassing than yours, regardless of what your condition is. Their job is literally to be professional and detached in regard to medical conditions, and as others have said most practitioners will already be thoroughly desensitized.
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: FallacyofUrist on November 26, 2015, 09:36:01 am
Basically, it's his(her) job to hear about and deal with these sorts of things. Put your body first above your emotions and just tell him so he can get his job done.
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: Bohandas on December 04, 2015, 03:07:33 pm
Quote from: cerapa on November 25, 2015, 10:11:14 am
It's a doctor. They see a lot of shit, sometimes literally. You don't go through medical school and become a family doctor if you're afraid of diarrhea.

So just go see the damn doctor.

Quote from: Neonivek on November 25, 2015, 07:19:48 am
Ps. No I don't actually have explosive Diarrhea

They've seen the clap and e.d. too. And probably also tourette syndrome and butt cancer.
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: Neonivek on December 04, 2015, 03:12:52 pm
You know... I think E.D would actually be LESS embarrassing.

Because with what I got... I'd have to "prove" it...

With E.D. the doctor would be like "ohhh, well... uhhh.. here you go"

>_< AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH >_<!!!

Heck Butt Cancer would be less embarrassing too... though definitely up there... Though I'd think I'd be getting a test for cancer and it would be butt cancer... not me going "Hey does my butt look cancerous to you?"

----

Wow... Actually when I think about what I'd have to do...

I am not sure how I'd ever do it...

I'd rather this been explosive diarrhea... HECK!!! I'd prefer this be such terrible explosive diarrhea that I'd have to go to the doctors in a full smelly diaper. This is several times more embarrassing then the time I went for my allergy test with pants that didn't fit right so they fell down so the doctor had to hold them up and pick them up several times walking me to the waiting room. (I am allergic to all dust mites and cat dander)
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: Sappho on December 04, 2015, 03:43:25 pm
When you go to a doctor and are too embarrassed to say straight out what the problem is, the doctor isn't going "oh my goodness how awkward." They're going "SPIT IT OUT ALREADY. Did you jam something up your butt? Do you get an erection when someone hops on one foot in front of you? Tell me what the friggin problem is so we can deal with it." The only person at all concerned with it being embarrassing is you. They're just sick of dealing with people who are too embarrassed to get proper medical attention.

Gynecologists have to check for cancer in women by sticking a finger in the butt AND the ladyparts at the same time and feeling the wall between them for bumps. And that's just a standard preventative procedure like having your blood pressure checked to them. Man doctors have to fiddle around with the man parts to check for problems, too. If you go to the doctor and tell them your butt is mysteriously itchy, they just pull your pants down and poke around until they find the cause. Believe me, I know. If you can't pee, they grab your parts and shove a tube in there. It's all just... part of the job. Seriously, there is literally nothing you can tell a doctor that will make them feel awkward or embarrassed, and they're really just annoyed with you for stalling because they have other patients to see with stuff stuck up their butts. The most uncomfortable part for them is the part where they have to wait for you to tell them what's up. Busy busy busy.
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: MobRules on December 04, 2015, 04:30:45 pm
There's probably nothing that's going to stop you from feeling awkward. But keep in mind, it almost certainly won't be the worst thing the doctor heard that day. For them, it's just another unremarkable day at the office.

If only the human mind worked in such a way that knowing that would be enough to feel comfortable discussing it with them  :-\
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: Neonivek on December 04, 2015, 07:30:12 pm
This is a family doctor in a small (women's... because she moved...) clinic.

Yeah... It really would be the weirdest thing she seen that day.
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: Shook on December 04, 2015, 09:03:31 pm
Bro, i'm going to be an arsehole for a second: You're just coming up with excuses to avoid feeling embarrassed (which, granted, isn't an unusual thing to be doing). The doctor legally can't refuse treatment, and the only feeling that's relevant to her is whether you feel physical pain/discomfort or not. Embarrassment just feels bad, whereas a medical problem can actually hurt you and adversely affect your quality of life, or worse. So, unless you're willing to risk medical complications, i'd say that's a fairly clear choice, yes?

Therefore, to directly answer your title question, here's how you do it: Open your mouth, and say "hi doctor my X is Y'ing can you help me". Tell her DIRECTLY, don't communicate through cryptic hints, because i'm sure we all hate those cryptic school assignments where we have to figure out what the hell they're on about. Don't make me go get one of Bay12's medical students to tell you as well, because that'd be bad for my hands. :v
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: martinuzz on December 07, 2015, 05:10:55 pm
Listen to this. Proceed to giggle. Think "okay, now THAT's embarrassing". Realize it's Weird Al, and that real doctors will never react like in that clip. Then go to the doctor, have fixed what needs fixing, and have a good laugh about whatever it is that's been bugging you afterwards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFLu8_rEQL0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFLu8_rEQL0)
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: Bohandas on December 08, 2015, 10:26:32 am
Whatever it is it can't ge as embarassing as the last madical problem I had to go to the doctor for (adult bedwetting; apparently a side-effect of the antidepressants I take to make me less sad and patbetic)
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: Thief^ on December 09, 2015, 11:38:22 am
If you really want something to push you to go, listen to TotalBiscuit saying when he revealed he had bowel cancer and wished that he had gone to the doctor sooner about the blood in his poo. His embarrassment over that has basically killed him, because his cancer is now late stage and he does not have a good survival prognosis. After the diagnosis he is not even slightly embarrassed any more, and I get the impression he feels ridiculous for having put his embarrassment ahead of his health.

Personally, I had to get and give a doctor's note to my employers explaining that I was repeatedly late to work due to my bowel medication (taken at night) confining me to the toilet at a precisely inappropriate time on a morning. That was all sorts of embarrassing. But you get over it.

It turned out to be stress induced, and I recovered after about a year, but I would still have ended up in the ER or dead if I hadn't gone to my doctor about it.

Seriously go already.
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: heydude6 on December 28, 2015, 01:40:11 am
Anyway, since there is no reply in this thread from the OP, I'm assuming they haven't seen a doctor about it yet. Well here's my take on it.

First, step 1: Write down in explicit detail exactly what's bothering you on piece of paper. You don't have to show it to anyone, just have it written down. Don't read any further until you get that done. If you can't even write it down on a private piece of paper, then you have problems too deep for a life advice thread to answer.

I'm waiting...


Good, now that that's done (I hope  >:( ) we can continue to step 2

Of course, before actually continuing to step 2, we need to figure out the specific nature of your problem. Are you incapable of telling anyone about your worries? Do you have no confidant? If so, then why? Is it because you don't trust anyone enough? Or is it because you are so alone that you literally have no one to talk to? In case it's because you don't trust anyone enough, then go to step 2. If you are a loner skip to step 4.

Step 2: Tell the person you trust the most about your worries. Now this may be incredibly hard to do depending on how you feel about this issue but try anyway. If you really can't tell them, then go to step 2b

Step 2b: Remember that note you wrote earlier? Remember how I said not to show it to anyone? Well, I lied...

(Please read this next part like a 12 year old squeaker)

WAVE THAT NOTE AROUND THEM LIKE AN ALOOF MONKEY HIGH ON COCAINE !!!!!!!!

(End the squeaker voice)

Eventually they'll get so sick of your waving shtick that they'll ask you about your note. Because of how shy you are, you'll refuse to say no and after a lot of prying, eventually show them your note. They'll have a good laugh or whatever, and then you can begin doing something productive. Believe me, this will work, I've literally asked out girls using this trick.

Step 3: Now that you friend knows about your deepest darkest secret, I think we should review the significance of what you've done so far. You've managed to tell the secret to someone. Although someone close to you, you still managed to pass on the burden of you secret to another human being. Be proud of yourself, this is no small achievement.

So, back to step 3. Make arrangements between you and your friend to see the doctor together. Have him make the initial ice-breaker (as in telling him/her about your worry), and then get him to leave. You're probably gonna want to have a private conversation about this. If you made it this far then congrats, you're done.


Step 4: If you're a loner, here is my advice. Schedule an appointment and pass the doctor your note. He'll read it and you'll know what to do from there.


And if you fail: Keep your note, read it everyday and understand how serious your issue is. Google it on the Internet and read about how people like you suffered because they were too afraid. Do this everyday, make it your routine, and maybe someday, you'll have the courage to do what's right.



Anyway, that's the end of my wall-of-text. How was the tone? Was it angry and condescending? Because that is the worst case scenario if you tell the doctor about your condition. He might be a bit annoyed, but he'll help you anyway.

Good luck  ;D
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: Fenrir on December 28, 2015, 02:06:25 pm
Quote from: cerapa on November 25, 2015, 10:11:14 am
You don't go through medical school and become a family doctor if you're afraid of diarrhea.
But this diarrhea explodes!
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: Urist McScoopbeard on December 28, 2015, 07:45:48 pm
of all the things in the world of medical problems yours is extremely mundane, friend. There's really nothing to be embarrassed about here. I mean all you have to say is, "I have explosive diarrhea." If her reaction is anything other than stoic disinterest you should probably go see another doctor. Again, there is NOTHING to be embarrassed about here. It's just explosive diahhrea y'know?
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: Neonivek on December 29, 2015, 01:08:56 pm
Well if it makes you feel better I actually have read every single post here.

I guess the issue is also...

It isn't anything "Serious" and I could live a healthy active life with the condition.

So to fix it I literally need to throw a stink about it >_>
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: hector13 on December 29, 2015, 01:14:24 pm
Not a problem if it is indeed explosive diarrhea. /terrible joke (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=119347.0)
Title: Re: How to tell your doctor embarassing info?
Post by: Djohaal on December 29, 2015, 02:38:28 pm
If something is weird, you should still go and get it checked out, seemingly innocent symptoms might be warning of more serious conditions sometimes.

Being a doctor I can say that a patient being direct and telling whatever is going on (with all details, no matter how embarassing) with them really makes my day, because then I have all the information I need to do my part and try to help the patient.

So just go ahead and do it!