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Going to the doctor for lots of stuff at once?
Kamar
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, the last time I had a full physical I was maybe 13 or 14--I'm about to turn 25. In that decade, I've had quite a few chronic things pop up, disappear, and pop up again that I never saw a doctor about. Recently I decided that as much as I might ignore the other crap, the chest pains I've had off and on for years are probably worth seeing a doctor about even though I have no money or insurance, as debt's better than dying.
The thing is, I've seen a doctor for one or two of these various problems over the years without mentioning the others, and it's occurred to me that all my little things might add up to a big thing or two if I laid them all out. But I'm also worried about sounding like (or being) a hypochondriac. But I'm also worried that worrying about looking like a hypochondriac could get me dead at a young age. But a lot of my stuff seems unrelated to the rest. But then I'm not a doctor.
So I'm wondering if I should schedule an appointment and just lay out the things that seem important, or just print up this crazy-person laundry list of complaints to drop on him/her ( a few of these are pretty gross):
Complaints
Every joint in my body always aches. Literally always, every joint.
I'm always thirsty, drink at least a gallon of water per day, but still show as dehydrated according to an impedance test thing at the grocery store. I pee clear, though, so maybe that's wrong. I'm also always hungry--I can stuff myself to a disgusting level, wait 20 minutes, and do it again. Makes keeping my diet a real pain in the ass. - a lot of this bit might just be bipolar wackiness.
Blood work to figure out my occasional severe canker sore outbreaks showed me as severely D deficient last year and recommended supplements. Got the results in the mail, so I couldn't tell the doctor I already supplement well over the daily recommendation.
Rarely (maybe once a year) butt sores. Similar to the canker sores, but minor and on the other end.
Random occasional weak pain in either my lungs or ribs or something, go away if I hold a full breath but come back when I let it out. Go away on their own fairly quickly.
Random sharp pains throughout my body (head, limbs, joints, abdomen, back) that immediately disappear.
Chest pain, weak and lasts for maybe 30 minutes. Don't show up when I exercise, mostly when I'm sitting. Seem too far left to be my heart, but obviously heart pain doesn't always come from the heart. My dad died of a heart attack at 40 so I'm most worried about his, although his was almost certainly because he literally drank more calories in Jack Daniels than he ate.
Skin weirdness. I've had scaly patches that lasted for months or a year then disappeared, places that suddenly felt super sensitive and tender but looked normal and went away in a few hours, and I have pretty much constant severe scalp...acne or something (and face acne, but that's in the family).
Limbs falling asleep very easily, sometimes with completely relaxed normal posture
Probably not related?
Lower back pain. Randomly shows up, intense pain that lasts an hour if ignored or goes away instantly if I get in a hot shower. Might be related to me falling out of a tree onto my ass as a teen, or a bit of scoliosis since my mom's got a bad case and my sister a minor.
Diagnoses for a few mostly-handled mental health problems...bipolar disorder, ADHD, anxiety issues. Not likely to be related unless one or more of those diagnoses are wrong and I've got, I dunno, a thyroid problem. Bipolar often comes with binge stuff, so that could explain the hunger/thirst stuff at least.
Migraines. Haven't had one in a long time, not since I started knocking back a few ibuprofen the second I even suspected I was seeing auras/floaters/etc.
Things that seem to help:
On a keto diet (super low carb diet) some of these seemed to improve, but I might have just been feeling better because I knew my numbers were improving (weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol were all healthy on that diet, are all a bit high off it).
I rarely get canker sores as long as I supplement a crapload of Vitamin D and B12.
Don't matter:
Cutting caffeine did nothing for any of these issues (does keep my paranoia from getting...weird...when I'm tired, though).
If I wanted to play too-much-Googling-wannabe-doctor, I'd be worried about something autoimmune like Lupus or maybe a digestive disorder messing with my vitamin absorption. But self-diagnosis is dumb. But still. I'm worried and since I worry about stupid things all the time, I'm not sure how to handle it.
The thing is, I've seen a doctor for one or two of these various problems over the years without mentioning the others, and it's occurred to me that all my little things might add up to a big thing or two if I laid them all out. But I'm also worried about sounding like (or being) a hypochondriac. But I'm also worried that worrying about looking like a hypochondriac could get me dead at a young age. But a lot of my stuff seems unrelated to the rest. But then I'm not a doctor.
So I'm wondering if I should schedule an appointment and just lay out the things that seem important, or just print up this crazy-person laundry list of complaints to drop on him/her ( a few of these are pretty gross):
Complaints
Every joint in my body always aches. Literally always, every joint.
I'm always thirsty, drink at least a gallon of water per day, but still show as dehydrated according to an impedance test thing at the grocery store. I pee clear, though, so maybe that's wrong. I'm also always hungry--I can stuff myself to a disgusting level, wait 20 minutes, and do it again. Makes keeping my diet a real pain in the ass. - a lot of this bit might just be bipolar wackiness.
Blood work to figure out my occasional severe canker sore outbreaks showed me as severely D deficient last year and recommended supplements. Got the results in the mail, so I couldn't tell the doctor I already supplement well over the daily recommendation.
Rarely (maybe once a year) butt sores. Similar to the canker sores, but minor and on the other end.
Random occasional weak pain in either my lungs or ribs or something, go away if I hold a full breath but come back when I let it out. Go away on their own fairly quickly.
Random sharp pains throughout my body (head, limbs, joints, abdomen, back) that immediately disappear.
Chest pain, weak and lasts for maybe 30 minutes. Don't show up when I exercise, mostly when I'm sitting. Seem too far left to be my heart, but obviously heart pain doesn't always come from the heart. My dad died of a heart attack at 40 so I'm most worried about his, although his was almost certainly because he literally drank more calories in Jack Daniels than he ate.
Skin weirdness. I've had scaly patches that lasted for months or a year then disappeared, places that suddenly felt super sensitive and tender but looked normal and went away in a few hours, and I have pretty much constant severe scalp...acne or something (and face acne, but that's in the family).
Limbs falling asleep very easily, sometimes with completely relaxed normal posture
Probably not related?
Lower back pain. Randomly shows up, intense pain that lasts an hour if ignored or goes away instantly if I get in a hot shower. Might be related to me falling out of a tree onto my ass as a teen, or a bit of scoliosis since my mom's got a bad case and my sister a minor.
Diagnoses for a few mostly-handled mental health problems...bipolar disorder, ADHD, anxiety issues. Not likely to be related unless one or more of those diagnoses are wrong and I've got, I dunno, a thyroid problem. Bipolar often comes with binge stuff, so that could explain the hunger/thirst stuff at least.
Migraines. Haven't had one in a long time, not since I started knocking back a few ibuprofen the second I even suspected I was seeing auras/floaters/etc.
Things that seem to help:
On a keto diet (super low carb diet) some of these seemed to improve, but I might have just been feeling better because I knew my numbers were improving (weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol were all healthy on that diet, are all a bit high off it).
I rarely get canker sores as long as I supplement a crapload of Vitamin D and B12.
Don't matter:
Cutting caffeine did nothing for any of these issues (does keep my paranoia from getting...weird...when I'm tired, though).
If I wanted to play too-much-Googling-wannabe-doctor, I'd be worried about something autoimmune like Lupus or maybe a digestive disorder messing with my vitamin absorption. But self-diagnosis is dumb. But still. I'm worried and since I worry about stupid things all the time, I'm not sure how to handle it.
Kamar on
0
Posts
Let them decide if you're hypochondriac or ill because they have the Medical training to tell the difference.
Don't rely on your memory, bring in a written list with all your complaints as succinctly as possible.
understand that the doctor is not necessarily any better at his job then any of the rest of us and may not know the answers to your questions. Especially if they are not common problems. You may need to be referred to a specialist or specialists for accurate treatment. Also, i have found doctors to be fairly dismissive of issues that are important to you. This is a combination of them not knowing the answer and not being able to see whats happening because your symptoms are not currently manifesting at the appointment.
If you don't think your getting a fair shake, go see a different doctor. In fact, maybe ask if you can interview the doctor and see if he/she is someone you click with before shelling out the out of pocket cash for an appointment.
If this is a new patient visit the time shouldn't be that short but yes, a heads up wouldn't hurt anything.
Also you're right on with the idea to not really expect to walk away with answers from the first visit.
Yeah new patients typically get slotted for about 45 minutes to an hour. Existing patients get the 15-30 minute slots (since the doctor doesn't need to do a full H&P on them).
Stay off Google and WebMD, you are not trained and don't have the experience to make diagnoses.
However, if you're going to get bloodwork done, then a ketogenic diet may look all fucked up. Ketosis and Ketoacidosis are going to show up some similar things in your bloodwork. So tell your doctor or PA or whatever you're on such a diet so hopefully that goes into the analysis. Better yet would be to return to a "normal" diet when getting bloodwork.
I don't think it a great idea to lay down a decade of occasional symptoms on your doctor all in one go. I'm not trying to counsel that you not be upfront with your doctor, but you don't want to put him into diagnostic overdrive cause your situation is such that you're laying on him 10 years of medical history, vs 6-12 months of medical history that you would if you'd kept up with a primary care physician.
I'd say take a deep breath and start monitoring yourself regularly. Buy a blood pressure measuring device and take your pressure 3 times a day (maybe breakfast lunch and dinner) and journal it, along with daily weights. Observe your excretions and take note.
It sounds like you're trying to take some control over your health which is great. But taking a few weeks to get some baseline observations may relieve your anxiety, or show a pattern that you can show a doctor to help inform diagnostics.
Of course if there is any acute development you should seek medical attention.
As Doctor House says, it's never lupus
I'd take a wild guess and say you should be worried about diabetes. Unquenchable thirst is a classic first symptom - it's what got my ex to the doctor for the first time in about 10 years, and yes, it was diabetes. Diabetes is not a big deal if it is caught early, but if you put it off any longer you might end up in the ER or worse.
Diabetes would definitely be my first thought, but I've had basic blood work including glucose levels twice for different reasons, long after all these symptoms showed up. The first one (3 years ago), I was on a keto diet so it wouldn't be surprising for me to look fine even if I wasn't (well, apparently with type 1 you end up in the hospital. But it's great for type 2), but for the second (2 years ago) I was eating normal/bad and still nothing unusual showed.
...really, though, it being diabetes it would be about the best outcome aside from "It's all in your head/minor unrelated things" that I can think of, since it's relatively easy to deal with and would encourage me to stick to my diet with religious fervor.
Anyway I'll be scheduling a doctor's visit as soon as I check with my sister on when I can get a ride, so guessing's pointless. I haven't dropped dead in the 7ish years I've had all these symptoms, probably not going to drop dead in however long it takes for me to get sat down with a doctor.
Keto diets can cause weird diabetic like side effects, too, so watch out for that, and make sure to mention it to your doctor.
Frequent thirst, ketone breath, frequent urination, lethargy... all classic diabetic signs
Also, you can try to improve your diet and whatever. Try to avoid shitty carbs as much as possible such as those from grains and starchy veggies. Since you mentioned B12 and vitamin D supplements are helpful, then maybe you can focus on eating lots of eggs and dairy for the B12, and increase your intake of mushrooms and sunlight (for vitamin D). Your lethargy may be caused by iron deficiency. If so, try sea weeds, particularly chlorella and its sister spirulina, to increase your iron load, but take note that to be effective you may want to have it with a vitamin C source (I recommend Camu Camu) while avoiding dairy at the same time. Another one is kelp, which gives you lots of Iodine, and brazil nut, which gives you selenium. Both of these are good, but you should check with a thyroid specialist first to make sure you dont have issues which makes them back for you.
Also, try to eat as raw as you can. Raw fats are much better than cooked fats (no proof to be honest just my feeling).
All the best
Lists are great. They are good for the doctor and even better for you. It's amazing what can happen to your brain the second the doctor walks in. Most likely you will review over the list together and will be asked what are the 2 or 3 most important issues to you. Those will be what is focused on during the first visit and the rest will be tackled at subsequent visits.