Fear of medical diagnosis

Jon

Administrator
Staff member
#1
I don't like doctors nowadays. Everytime I go in, I fear something a bit more sinister than when I was younger and feeling immortal. My tendency to bury my head and avoid bad news is detrimental to my physical health.

Am I alone in this?
 

The_Doc_Man

Founding Member
#2
No, though not everyone has that problem. My father would be right next to you in that sort of thing, and the husband of the woman who was the matron of honor at my wedding is a complete doctor-phobe. (Iatrophobe?).

I'm a firm believer in finding out what needs to be done to stave off the wolf at the door. I want to know what is wrong and what can be done about it. Or if nothing can be done for me, I want to know what time I have to do what I need to do for my family.
 

Jon

Administrator
Staff member
#3
I too am a firm believer in finding out what needs to be done. It is the most logical thing to do. But I have this battle with my emotions. "I will get to it when I feel better prepared emotionally", and other such bonkers excuses. For example, I have been wanting to get my blood work done for ages, but what if I find something sinister that will utterly depress me? It is that short-term pain for long-term gain thing.
 

The_Doc_Man

Founding Member
#4
I understand. I had to go 'round and 'round with my urologist in scheduling my prostate surgery because that was happening in the same year as my gall bladder surgery and a lesser knee procedure. I told him I had to be emotionally prepared because it was too many things going on at once and my emotions were not cooperative at the time. He accepted that statement with ill grace, but my delay was only about two months. After that, we scheduled the surgery and I got it done. I'll be honest - all three of those procedures in the same half year made me worried about what the anesthesia would do to my kidneys and liver, so I wanted to stretch those out a bit and get better recovery time. I was over 65 at the time and just wasn't quite so sure about my tolerance levels. It turned out OK, but I understand the "better prepared emotionally" concept quite well.
 
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