Medical Phobias- Face Your Fears

[Opa3]

1) Needles (Belonephobia):

 I use LabCorp for bloodwork and never see the same person twice. Went today and it was more than a misquito bite pain. I used deep diaphragmatic breathing to beat this phobia.

 

2) Doctor's Office ( Iatrophobia):

Called white coat syndrome. Especially with  a new doctor. Higher blood pressure than normal? You get 140/70 and your labeled hypertensive.

I take my Bp daily and  show my results to the Dr. He quickly retracts his opinion. It's stranger to stranger warfare( even after a year) with some of these people.

 

3) Blood (Hemophobia): Not to much of a problem if in a vial. 

 

4) Anesthesia (Trypanophobia):  The risk is extremely low. At 67yo, went under for recent colonoscopy and endoscopy (Dec, 2012).  I'm still here.

 

The US Dept of Health & Human Services says men are 24% less likely than women are to see a doctor. Score one point for the ladies.

 Avoiding doctors will hurt your health today and in the future. 

 

What's your biggest  medical phobia?  Mine is needles(1).

[bartfull]

Mine is doctors. I have seen too many family members killed by either wrong diagnoses, wrong medications, or too many conflicting medications and their side effects.

 

I also don't like hospitals. Not only are they full of doctoers, but a lot of the nurses and aides are incompetent. Last time I was at a hospital was with my friend Kelly who died of cancer. Took her in at 8 AM and told those in charge that it was time for a dressing change on her tumor. Went back at 8 PM and it STILL hadn't been changed. Oh, and while I was there an aide came to refill the H2O on her oxygen machine. She came back a few minutes later and said, "Oh no! I put the wrong liquid in!" She had put some CHEMICAL in instead of the water!

 

The time before that was to visit a friend who had been suffering for months with blood clots. She finally went to a different hospital and found out they had had her on a maintanence dose of Cumadin for all these months instead of a clot busting dose.

 

And of course now there is the risk of all these superbugs in hospitals because they don't wash their hands.

 

Nope. I don't like doctors and I don't like hospitals. If I break a leg i may go, but for illnesses, I'd rather take my chances on my own.

[1desperateladysaved]

Fear of lectures and disapproval.

[shadowicewolf]

For needles, ask for the smallest needle possible.

I dislike the appointments.q

[Gemini]

I totally agree with Bartfull.  My blood pressure goes up when I come near a doctor.....the old white coat syndrome.  I never, ever totally trust them except my thyroid doc but I have known her for 25 years and she is a gem.  Haven't met a PCP that I trust.  It all stems from being misdiagnosed by them for 30 years with regards to Celiac.  Too many laughed at me when I mentioned symptoms or told me to seek psychiatric help because there was nothing wrong with my stomach. They really don't like patients who know a lot and ask questions and don't just go along with what they say.  They push far too many meds and do far too many unneeded tests, instead of really listening to people to figure out the problem.  I wouldn't call it fear but disgust and distrust. I have seen them make bad mistakes with people that cost them a lot in health.

 

I don't think staying away from doctors when you are feeling well is a problem. If you have symptoms of something or are really sick, then that is when it is time to go and seek help but otherwise, I go as little as possible.  My family are always running off to one and they are all on meds and not as healthy as I am. Exercise and healthy eating go a long way to staying well. My grandparents generation didn't go to doctors that much and they all lived to be very old. The AMA have people convinced today that you can't get 10 miles down the road without monitoring by your doctor....I don't know when that happened but it's obnoxious.

[Adalaide]

I am afraid of needles. Every time I have my blood drawn I sit there waiting, fine, until they are tying that thing on my arm. I'll start breathing really shallow and fast. Then they stick the needle in me and I just stop breathing. It isn't on purpose, it just happens. Eventually I suppose I start turning colors because I get told to breathe.

 

I do a similar thing with my blood pressure. They are obsessed with doing my blood pressure on my left arm. (Which would be the one that has begun to be affected by CRPS.) I start to be borderline hyperventilating before they even start. By the time the thing is at full pressure I usually start to hold my breath because it is the only thing stopping me from either crying, ripping that cursed thing off my arm or screaming at the nurse. This though isn't accidental, it is entirely intentional. I have vowed since the last time that I will never again have my blood pressure measured on my left arm. If they don't like that they can, in plain English, go pound sand.

 

I also hate doctors. This isn't a fear or phobia, I just plain hate them. I am quite sure that 97% (conservative estimate based on personal experience) of them are complete and utter morons and beyond incompetent and have no business having graduated medical school or practicing medicine. I suppose I don't just pin this on doctors, but on the medical profession as a whole. When my husband had surgery right after we were married he kept testing and testing and testing but no matter what he did or how much he corrected with insulin he kept coming up between 300 and 500 on his blood sugar. I asked several nurses throughout the afternoon if they were SURE that his IV was JUST a saline solution. They checked his chart and yup, that was it. One even checked the bag. Fed up I eventually got up and read the bag. It had *$#&@% glucose in it!!!! What kind of dips$#& puts a diabetic who is allowed solid foods on a glucose IV?! I'm just glad that we had told them up front that he would manage his own insulin while he was hospitalized. (He doesn't trust some moron to do it and I don't blame him.) We were billed for THEIR insulin which we straightened out later, but we were billed thousands of dollars for less than what uninsured at the pharmacy is a $300 vial. That is just the tip of the moronic doctor iceberg for me.

[IrishHeart]

I'm with Barty, Gem and Addy--

Hospitals and  doctors. I lost respect for them. You all know my opinion of them, so I will not belabor it.

I do not have phobias about them, just a healthy disrespect.

 

I do admit...I have a "thing" about heights. I think it was because of the vertigo I had from celiac, maybe?

 

 

 

 

 

oh....and clowns...what's up with those???

[Adalaide]

I used to have a thing about heights. Then for a summer I lived with my dad on the farm as an adult and I had a choice between packing my few belongings and leaving and being homeless.... or painting the tin roofs. I painted. Every. Tin. Roof. On that farm. There were 4 in total. (I think, maybe it was 5.) That fixed my wagon right up. Besides, if we really face the truth of it, it isn't the being up high that is scary. Or the falling. It is the sudden stop at the bottom.  This is why I don't skydive. I am quite sure it is a blast... until your parachute doesn't open. I'm not even afraid of dying, I'm afraid of living through that. I still can't fathom why on earth someone would jump out of a perfectly good airplane.