What We Forget to Tell Our Doctors
Doctors need to know everything about your health and in general are rather good about asking the right questions to obtain the information they need, but there are a few conditions that for some reason do not come up in regular conversation and are therefore overlooked.
Doctor's appointments seem the same for everyone. You feel sick,
you make an appointment, you get a diagnosis and a prescription and go on about your business. Even if you are a stickler for keeping yearly annual exam appointments, there is something about the routine appointment that finds you home regretting that you forgot to mention something that has been bothering you.
Fatigue is a condition that many suffer from chronically, but for some reason do not tell their doctors about. For most it is a condition most adequately treated with exercise and changes in diet, but your primary care physician should still know if you are suffering from this downer. It could by the side effect of a medication you are taking, and a switch up in the dosage or brand could solve the issue. It could also by an underlying symptom of something more serious like an auto immune disease, a vitamin deficiency, or even cancer. Of course, fatigue alone does not define any of these diagnoses, but keeping the information from doctors is not going to help your situation.
Unexplained bruising is also a condition that is often overlooked. It is hard to remember to mention this in an appointment when the condition is not present at the time, and it is difficult to time an appointment so the bruises can be monitored since they may be gone or fading before you can get on the schedule. Sometimes this is just a genetic phenomenon, but, like fatigue, it could be a sign of something else. Leukemia is sometimes recognized as a result of a patient complaining about bruising. It could also be the side effect of medications. Pre-
Alzheimer's patients sometimes experience unexplained bruising due to falls caused by poor judgment that accompanies the disease. Fainting is a situation that is embarrassing to some, so they often avoid situations that are known to make them faint. But keeping this information from doctors could keep a diagnosis of diabetes, vasovagal syncope, epilepsy, etc. from being timely. You may have suffered your whole life from fainting episodes when you have a simple vasovagal response that can be treated with a simple medication, or you may wait too late allowing a fainting episode to turn into a diabetic seizure.
These simple symptoms are not always the beginnings of detrimental diagnosis, but they are serious enough situations to reveal at a regular appointment. They may be nothing. They may be something, but doctors will never know unless you tell them.
