Published:

02/11/2012 10:13am

Things Your Doctor Should Never Say

I'm what many consider a "professional patient". Being diagnosed with many chronic illnesses since the age of two, I've been under the care of literally hundreds of doctors. Many doctors have truly found their calling and are experts in not only their fields but experts in treating the person and not just the disease. Other doctors make you wonder how they stumbled into the health field when they were clearly suited for a dictatorship or an egotistical politician.

1. Everybody is tired. You should get more rest.

Let's face it, most people don't get enough sleep. With jobs, children, bills, and responsibilities, I don't know too many people who claim that they have too much time to sleep. But there is a difference between being tired and experiencing debilitating fatigue. Fatigue that can get so bad that sleeping in the middle of street during rush hour traffic sounds like a good idea. (I have personally been this tired) Having to take naps just from walking to the mailbox is not normal. Debilitating fatigue can point to many different illnesses ranging from mild to life threatening. If you suffer from severe fatigue, it is important that you get this information across to your doctor so that he or she may examine you more carefully.

2. You're too young/old to have this symptom/disease.

There are lots of illnesses that affect a specific race, age group, or sex but that doesn't mean that you can't suffer from it as well. Searches from case studies have shown that different illnesses strike regardless of a number of factors. Recently, I was hospitalized for trigeminal neuralgia but I had a condescending doctor that believed that it only occurred in people over fifty years old. If I would have listened to him, I would not be getting the treatment that I needed. The doctor that saw me was a general practitioner. I was diagnosed correctly by a neurologist. That's a big difference.

There are many people out there that defy the odds and mystify the medical journals. You could be that statistical anomaly that goes against what the textbooks say. If you know something is wrong, be persistent. There are many stories of people online that have also defied the odds. Ovarian cancer usually strikes after fifty but I have a friend that is suffering with it right now, barely into her twenties. Thankfully she had a doctor that went against conventional wisdom to give her the right treatment.

3. My other patients that have this disease are much more sicker than you.

Having a specific illness does not mean that your illness will reflect or mimic what others are going through with the same diagnosis. The disease process is different in every individual. With Lupus, my nervous system is being affected while some close friends of mine have kidney trouble. My blood work often comes back unremarkable but I have presented symptoms that were pretty frightening despite what my labs stated. If you have a physician that only treats you based on your labs and not your symptoms then he is a physician that needs to be replaced.

4. Your disease/illness is pretty rare, therefore you can't have it.

I've fallen in this trap as well, going back to my trigeminal neuralgia and lupus diagnosis. I asked one emergency room physician why don't many doctors believe that I have both diseases. He simply stated that most doctors aren't specialized in connective tissue disorders and have never seen a case of lupus or trigeminal neuralgia in person. Or the people they have seen were much older than you are or even live on different continents.

It doesn't occur to them that no matter how rare an illness may be, you could still run across it in their medical career. They shouldn't be quick to write anything off. If they do, they are taking a huge gamble with your health and that shouldn't be tolerated.

5. You're just depressed/anxious.

Having a possible chronic illness can be depressing or make someone anxious. It is well known that sometimes suffering from such ailments can lead to poorer health. But a doctor shouldn't be quick to rule