# This is why I hate going to the doctor **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 22, 2014, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253 "2014-08-22T23:46:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253/241 "2014-08-30T22:00:14Z")
Several of us: consider hypothetical XYZ. Anamen: X is more expensive that Z they wouldn’t do it like that. = fail, you’ve done it multiple times, but I suspect you know that. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253/242 "2014-08-30T22:13:01Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > My case for or against what? Against me and my use of the English language, apparently. Sorry I pissed in your Cheerios at some point; I honestly don’t recall when it may have been or how I did it. But since it seems that my meaning was clear to other posters, I’m going to leave it there and not try to re-re-reexplain. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253/243 "2014-08-31T13:43:14Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > Several of us: consider hypothetical XYZ. > Anamen: X is more expensive that Z they wouldn’t do it like that. > > = fail, you’ve done it multiple times, but I suspect you know that. Even your example of this is screwed up. For your sake, I hope that was on purpose, but I fear otherwise. When someone’s hypothetical illustrates the complete opposite of what they claim it does, yeah, sometimes it am going to point it out. Don’t worry, the average person can’t follow logic worth a damn. I need these reminders. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253/244 "2014-08-31T13:52:06Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Against me and my use of the English language, apparently. Sorry I pissed in your Cheerios at some point; I honestly don’t recall when it may have been or how I did it. > > But since it seems that my meaning was clear to other posters, I’m going to leave it there and not try to re-re-reexplain. I have no quibble with you. You made a statement I did not agree with, so I said so. I guess no one really “got” what I disagreed with or why, so no biggie. Hindsight is something medical professionals could make good use of, but when you look back with the mindset that by definition the doctor did everything right, most of the use is lost. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253/245 "2014-08-31T14:21:43Z")
It sounds like you are suggesting that someone’s definition of crazy (repeating the same action, and expecting different results) should apply to going to the doctor, because, in your experience, you have never been any better off for having gone, and having gone has never facilitated your recovering from an illness. First, you should know that this is not a universal experience. Second, Pascal’s Wager makes a better model here. Yes, probably the doctor will say “Rest, drink liquids,” but there is the non-zero-- maybe very near zero, but still non-zero-- possibility that you have something very serious, and you want that diagnosed; not only that, you want it diagnosed sooner than later. It’s for that non-zero possibility that you go. It drives me nuts that people who buy lottery tickets have trouble grasping this. Another factor in a lot of people’s decision to got to the doctor is that they cannot claim sick pay for days off-- or sometimes cannot take them at all-- without a doctor’s confirmation. ---
**Author:** ![7e42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/7/51bf81/32.png) [@7e42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/7e42)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253/246 "2014-08-31T15:59:51Z")
I was watching TV last night and heard someone say this “I hate going to the doctor because they always find something wrong with you, that’s how they make their money” ---
**Author:** ![PorchePine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@PorchePine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PorchePine)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253/247 "2014-08-31T16:18:43Z")
> [@7e42](#): > > I was watching TV last night and heard someone say this > > “I hate going to the doctor because they always find something wrong with you, that’s how they make their money” I was watching TV last night, and someone said this: “The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.” ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253/248 "2014-08-31T16:24:55Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Team Naproxen, here. It’s the closest thing to a magic wand I’ve ever found (for me). 😃 Ditto. For severe OA of the knee, it’s better than opiates. For me. YMMV. As I found out after gum surgery – I took a Percocet and my gum/headache pain went away, but my knee still hurt like a sumbitch. Also, a topical RX called Pennsaid works like da bomb. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253/249 "2014-08-31T16:27:47Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Another factor in a lot of people’s decision to got to the doctor is that they cannot claim sick pay for days off-- or sometimes cannot take them at all-- without a doctor’s confirmation. Yup. Which is one of the dumbest ideas ever. Three solid unplanned days off? Sure. Go to the doctor. But one day? Terrible idea. It does nothing but increase healthcare costs for the company in question, and then they get pissy because the healthcare costs increase… My intended once wrote up a note for me. On his coroner’s office letterhead. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253/250 "2014-08-31T17:16:02Z")
> [@7e42](#): > > Fish Oil cures Arthritis not Panncreatis And you know you had arthritis because…? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253/251 "2014-08-31T17:23:53Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > Ditto. For severe OA of the knee, it’s better than opiates. For me. YMMV. As I found out after gum surgery – I took a Percocet and my gum/headache pain went away, but my knee still hurt like a sumbitch. > > Also, a topical RX called Pennsaid works like da bomb. For some things, I like Naproxen, like sprains, pulled muscles, anything involving inflammation, and a low dose each of Naproxen and Tylenol together seems to work better on fevers, than a regular dose of either one separately. Narcotics work on me, but they stop working after about for days, and I get really constipated from them (plus, they don’t make me high, just unpleasantly dizzy). If I need something like surgery, I want the narcotics for the first couple of days, but after that, I just want OTC drugs. Codeine is a really good cough suppressant, though. FWIW, codeine, percocet, etc., make migraines worse. It’s true for me, and my doctor says it’s true in general-- the phenomenon is even one way of diagnosing atypical migraines. > [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > Yup. Which is one of the dumbest ideas ever. Three solid unplanned days off? Sure. Go to the doctor. But one day? Terrible idea. It does nothing but increase healthcare costs for the company in question, and then they get pissy because the healthcare costs increase… > > My intended once wrote up a note for me. On his coroner’s office letterhead. 😛 We had to start doing it where I worked as a supervisor, because people were abusing the pager system. We had an on-call person who would go in and sub for someone’s shift if they were sick, and this was a job where the staff people were responsible for aiding people with disabilities who couldn’t be alone, so someone HAD to show up. Once the pager person got called in, if a second person called in sick, then the supervisors had to go in. We had people calling in sick, who we knew had been calling around looking for a sub so they could go to a concert, we had people call in, and we’d hear a party in the background. So we made a rule that if you couldn’t find your own sub, and you called the pager person, you had to have a doctor’s note, or some other proof that you couldn’t come in, like the receipt for the tow when your car broke down. If you didn’t, we wouldn’t approve your using sick, or personal time, and on the second offense, you’d get a write up. On the third, a suspension. It never got that far though, because everyone was surprisingly healthy after that. It was the same 10% of the staff people all the time, but we can’t make a rule saying “This only applies to the screw-ups.” Think about them the next time you run up against an asinine rule at work. ---
**Author:** ![7e42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/7/51bf81/32.png) [@7e42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/7e42)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253/252 "2014-08-31T17:30:23Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > And you know you had arthritis because…? It was confirmed with the x-ray ---
**Author:** ![Amberlei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@Amberlei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amberlei)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253/253 "2014-08-31T17:49:26Z")
> [@7e42](#): > > It was confirmed with the x-ray And what was the profession of the person who ordered the x-ray and the person who studied the results? ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253/254 "2014-08-31T17:50:10Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > For some things, I like Naproxen, like sprains, pulled muscles, anything involving inflammation, and a low dose each of Naproxen and Tylenol together seems to work better on fevers, than a regular dose of either one separately. > > Narcotics work on me, but they stop working after about for days, and I get really constipated from them (plus, they don’t make me high, just unpleasantly dizzy). If I need something like surgery, I want the narcotics for the first couple of days, but after that, I just want OTC drugs. Codeine is a really good cough suppressant, though. I hear you; I think I got a buzz from codeine once. Once. And Demerol once. But mostly I fall asleep, When I had knee surgery a few years back, I took percocet for the first day post-op, and then switched to Aleve, 600 mg TID. Worked well. > [@](#): > > FWIW, codeine, percocet, etc., make migraines worse. It’s true for me, and my doctor says it’s true in general-- the phenomenon is even one way of diagnosing atypical migraines. But not true across the board. It can cause people with episodic migraine to get drug-rebound headaches, yes. That’s a huge concern. Also, who wants opiates if they can take something else? I loved when Imitrex came out – bonus points for the nasal spray option. That said, when you move into the waters of chronic migraine, things are different. My neurologist specializes in migraine, and has said that yes, opiates can help, but we obviously like to not take them. But if I have a bastard-bad head pain, the combo of a triptan (Relpax for me) and percocet works nicely; if I throw in some coffee or a real Coke, I’m fine to work for almost a full day. Basically when you get to the point of “chronic”, anything goes as far as treatment. When mine went chronic, I would’ve tried waving a dead chicken. (I have a friend who has chronic migraine who had a stimulator implanted in his brain. That’s some desperation. Because, you know…his brain!) > [@](#): > > We had to start doing it where I worked as a supervisor, because people were abusing the pager system. > > \ > > It was the same 10% of the staff people all the time, but we can’t make a rule saying “This only applies to the screw-ups.” Think about them the next time you run up against an asinine rule at work. Jaysus! I can see the need for it in that kind of situation. My comments apply more to regular office jobs, where nothing terrible happens if you’re out for a day or two. (Because I work with three MD’s, and in software development, the running joke in my department is that we’re unlikely to have a population health emergency, and FFS please _ **don’t** _ come in when you or your kids have the stomach flu or pinkeye or mono or whatever contagious thing you have. That’s what PTO is for.) Also, I’ve reported to bosses (again, in an office environment) who decided that the two people with chronic health problems in a department had a “problem” because they were out sick more than the others on the team. But the department did not have interactions with patients/clients, nor did it staff a phone line, so being heavy-handed if Janie had an IBS flare-up served no purpose but for the manager to be able to swing his or her metaphorical schlong. And to increase healthcare costs, by sending Janie to a doctor when she could instead have \*\*phoned \*\*her doctor and get directions for the needed treatment. Edit: I’d say that making rules for the 10% of abusers at work isn’t great management. Common, but not great managemennt. If it were me, I’d be taking notes on the patterns of behavior and then having chats with the offenders. Unless there was NO rule, in which case, yes, you’d need a rule. ---
**Author:** ![7e42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/7/51bf81/32.png) [@7e42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/7e42)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253/255 "2014-08-31T18:26:47Z")
> [@Amberlei](#): > > And what was the profession of the person who ordered the x-ray and the person who studied the results? Orthopedic Surgeon ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253/256 "2014-08-31T18:49:50Z")
> [@7e42](#): > > Orthopedic Surgeon So, this person is qualified to diagnose the condition, but not treat it? :smack: I have an aunt who has very severe OA, because she had rickets as a child (she was a Jewish kid in Hitler’s Europe, what can I say? she didn’t get a lot of y’know, sunlight-- or a varied diet for that matter). Anyway, her pain waxes and wanes. There are days when all she needs in Naproxen. Some days she adds Tylenol. Some days she needs narcotics, but those are not all days. Some days her hands really hurt, but her back, not so much. Other days, her hands aren’t so bad, but she can’t walk well. Mondays are usually her worst day, because she has no PT on the weekends. When she was younger, some days she didn’t have pain, other days she had mild pain, and just let it go. Other days, she had to take something, the pain was so bad. She took more narcotics when she was younger, because you couldn’t get Tylenol and Naproxen in the US. Actually, what she took, IIRC, was darvocet, but it made her sleepy, and she took aspirin if she could, but it didn’t help a lot. She was so happy when Tylenol because available in the US. BTW: for UKers, Tylenol (brand name; generic is acetaminophen) is paracetamol. ---
**Author:** ![7e42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/7/51bf81/32.png) [@7e42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/7e42)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253/257 "2014-08-31T19:23:18Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > So, this person is qualified to diagnose the condition, but not treat it? :smack: > > I have an aunt who has very severe OA, because she had rickets as a child (she was a Jewish kid in Hitler’s Europe, what can I say? she didn’t get a lot of y’know, sunlight-- or a varied diet for that matter). Anyway, her pain waxes and wanes. There are days when all she needs in Naproxen. Some days she adds Tylenol. Some days she needs narcotics, but those are not all days. Some days her hands really hurt, but her back, not so much. Other days, her hands aren’t so bad, but she can’t walk well. Mondays are usually her worst day, because she has no PT on the weekends. > > When she was younger, some days she didn’t have pain, other days she had mild pain, and just let it go. Other days, she had to take something, the pain was so bad. She took more narcotics when she was younger, because you couldn’t get Tylenol and Naproxen in the US. Actually, what she took, IIRC, was darvocet, but it made her sleepy, and she took aspirin if she could, but it didn’t help a lot. She was so happy when Tylenol because available in the US. > > BTW: for UKers, Tylenol (brand name; generic is acetaminophen) is paracetamol. Tell her about GNC Fish Oil. Take it for 7 days and it will change her life ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253/258 "2014-08-31T19:25:02Z")
> [@7e42](#): > > Tell her about GNC Fish Oil. Take it for 7 days and it will change her life And if it doesn’t, what will you have to say? ---
**Author:** ![7e42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/7/51bf81/32.png) [@7e42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/7e42)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253/259 "2014-08-31T19:25:58Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > And if it doesn’t, what will you have to say? everyone I recommended it to says it has worked well so far ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253/260 "2014-08-31T21:45:07Z")
**7e42** , did you tell your doctor about the fish oil working? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-i-hate-going-to-the-doctor/696253.md?page=14)