Some years ago I noticed a lump under my eye. I wondered if it was a growth of some kind, so I went to see the doctor. She looked alarmed, and didn't know what it was either, and sent me to a specialist. (thank goodness for HMOs) The specialist looked at it and told me that what I had was a case of bags under my eyes. We all have a layer of fat around our eyes, and in some people, that fat oozes out in to the pockets under our eyes. She said that for a price she would cosmetically fix that for me, but I declined. But I left that day feeling that I looked like a hypochondriac.
These past few days I noticed a very swollen gland on the back of my neck. It's about the size of a quarter. It is very sore to the touch. I have ignored it, and figured it would go away on it's own. But tonight I noticed that it seems to be spreading, and worried that I have some kind of infection. I decided to call the advice nurse and ask her opinion. She suggested I go in to the minor injury clinic which was open late until 11:00 pm.
Two hours and $30 later, I was told that basically it will go away on it's own, (might take as long as 2 weeks) and there is no treatment they could give me. If I start having more severe symptoms, then they would advise a treatment, but as for now, I look once again like a hypochondriac.
I think I'm going to wait until I'm on my deathbed before I go to the doctor again. Some months back I was very ill with what I now feel was a kidney stone. But I toughed it out because of the fear of looking like a hypochondriac if I went in to urgent care. Maybe I'm just not a good judge of when I'm seriously ill, and when I'm not. But tonight has made me think I'll just doctor myself next time.
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5 comments:
Good Luck to you. I understand completely. I get strep throat very easily and can tell from the earliest signs where it is headed.
When I go to the Dr for it, knowing full well what my body is preparing to fight, the Dr always says the same thing.
Granted there are few preventive things that can be done, but if I know it's coming, I want to start treatment then to avoid the many days of not swallowing.
And I have had kidney stones - they are the worst feeling. If it feels like you have a baseball inside your body, that is pushing your other parts around in the most painful way imaginable and you just want to stretch to release some of the discomfort but it doesn't help - could be a stone.
I've found morphine makes the process tolerable, but not painless.
The person who just paid $675 to find out she has a normal heart completely agrees with you. :0)
Funny...I was just thinking about one of my trips to the doctor a few years ago for a problem I'd rather not talk about...
However, I had him look at my back to see if there were any moles that looked like skin cancer. I felt as though he was rolling his eyes and thinking I was so stupid to even be asking that...
Nothing worse than feeling silly at the doctors. I'm so tired of my mother forcing me to take my screaming baby in to find out that he is just teething again! That's what the doc is there for though... our co-pay is for a sense of comfort. Hope you are great otherwise!
After many years of careful analysis of my doctors' diagnoses, I have concluded that the only thing doctors really know is how much I owe them. The medical system is just the mother of all placebos! For this reason, I too have decided to avoid seeing them unless I am brought in unconscious by a loved one.
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