Happy Talk About It Tuesday!
Today I want to talk about the importance of having a doctor that you can talk to and that will take the time to listen. I recently needed to see an Ear, Nose, Throat (ENT) specialist and he was the worst listener of all time.
In order to ask a question, I had to interrupt him because he would not stop talking to listen. He literally told me to tough it out and if I wasn’t any better in 6 weeks then he would stick a needle in my head and check for cancer. Wow! Really? Guess what I did?
I NEVER went back. In fact, I went back to my family practitioner and told him what happened too. He was very apologetic and I told him :”No need to apologize. You have great listening skills.”
A doctor that listens is truly a blessing, especially when you are living with chronic pain. When they listen, they can pick up on a new condition that is developing, or know if the meds you are on are not working properly. When they don’t listen… well… that is how I ended up on 20 medications that were doing more harm than good.
If you go to the doctor and they are not listening, you are within your rights to demand that they do listen to you and let you ask questions. If they get all moody about it, then it may be time to start looking for a new doctor. Doctors cannot be effective if they do not listen to their patients. More often than not, it is the patient’s symptom complaints, NOT the medical tests, that end up being the true indicator of their condition as well as their quality of life.
So, next time you go to the doctor, remember to talk about it… and make sure he or she is listening. 🙂
Be well today and always!
Alicia
Image credit: transcribable.com
