How closely do you follow your doctor's instructions?

[Radical Edward]

I usually follow mine as carefully and exactly as possible. But I can see myself disregarding doctors' orders if, for example, they were an extreme inconvenience that was supposed to solve an extremely minor problem (one that would NOT get worse over time). Or, if they involved some kind of quackery that I knew to be wrong. Not just that I had read was wrong somewhere in a magazine but that I knew, factually, undeniably, and had proper cites, that it was wrong. Or, if the doctor was a dick about it. But in that case, I'd be finding another doctor and following their orders (even if it was the same ones.) Anybody out there ever just ignored their doctor? What happened?

[Khampelf]

I smoked sooner than 24 hrs. after having a tooth extracted. Nothing bad happened, it may have taken a longer while to heal.

I did follow my doctors advice that the stress of quitting smoking could well trigger a seizure and to not bother.

That's right.

I'm under a doctor's orders to keep smoking.

[Radical Edward]

That is pretty awesome.

[Hamadryad]

I don't follow orders as closely as I'm supposed to, but I follow them pretty well. There's this whole thing about "eating healthily and exercising" that I just can't seem to get down with.

Did quit smoking, though.

[Taur]

Uhh, my blood pressure's gone up. Gotta lay off the salty stuff.

Originally Posted by Khampelf

That's right.

I'm under a doctor's orders to keep smoking.

You, my friend, have a future in politics.

[Chacoguy]

If it's something that I can feel, then I make the calls, like pain meds. If it's not something that I can self-diagnose (like antibiotics), I'll let the doc make the call. The 'Chaco' clan is made up of tough, crabby bastards. My 70 year-old Dad was walking, unassisted, a week after he fractured his pelvis.

[Dirx]

While my blood pressure, cholesterol, and all that is totally awesome, I still get lectured about eating healthy. My doctor wrote a book on that topic. He wrote me a prescription for said book. I still indulge in ice cream and fatty foods like a bear preparing for hibernation.

Otherwise, I take doctors' orders pretty seriously, and follow them to the best of my ability.

[AuntiePam]

I follow orders religiously, except when they tell me to quit smoking. I suppose I'm in denial, but it's hard to believe that smoking has an impact on every single illness. When I look up treatment for the flu, for example, it's "don't smoke". Osteoporosis, "don't smoke". And it seems like every single drug warns against smoking if you're taking that drug. Really?

But my husband's worse than I am. He has hypertension, yet he'll not only eat two or three dill pickles at once, he'll salt them. He has diabetes yet he eats two or three ice cream bars a day. But he doesn't smoke, so he's got that going for him.

[Sybarite]

Pretty closely, usually.

[Kat]

As closely as I can. Considering the number of doctors I've seen in the past 5 years, it'd be a waste of time if I didn't.

[AHunter3]

I have been known to take my doctor's advice pretty seriously. Even after I've read all the literature my doctor is still a doctor and I'm not. On the other hand it's my health and my body and I get to make all final decisions.

[severe delays]

Fairly close, usually. But then I don't tend to have many health problems and those that I experience are usually things I've had before. So I pretty much know what I'm doing before I even go and tell the doctor what's wrong with me. If it came to something more serious then I'd follow instructions.

[Who_me?]

I've been known to take my doctor's instructions more like general suggestions than orders. I still smoke and I don't eat very well can be seen as two examples of this.

Currently, I'm recovering from having my gall bladder removed and am considering how exactly to take my doctor's order not to drive for 10 days. In this case, I know he gave me the 10 days to be official and did mention that he drove 3 days after his own gall bladder operation.

[Lord Blackmore]

Currently, I'm following the Dr's instructions exactly. One of the keys for my kidney issues is to make sure I'm 100% in compliance with what the Dr. wants. This include all medications, low sodium diet and getting some exercise.

[Merestil Haye]

Originally Posted by Who_me?

Currently, I'm recovering from having my gall bladder removed and am considering how exactly to take my doctor's order not to drive for 10 days. In this case, I know he gave me the 10 days to be official and did mention that he drove 3 days after his own gall bladder operation.

What does your vehicle insurance policy say about driving when advised against it by a doctor?

Unless it explicitly says that this is OK, then don't drive.

[Pirate]

This has made me think that maybe I need a new Dr. He's supposed to be the best around though. He's ok to order tests and meds but outside of him telling me to quit smoking he doesn't have a plan for me.

Convincing him to stop the meds takes some doing also. I'd like to be more active but when the meds adds 20 lbs to you in a month it makes it more difficult. Heaven forbid he prescribe some to help me lose it so I could exercise. Something for the pain would be nice too.

[Wolf Larsen]

Mostly very closely, my doctors are educated and experienced professionals. However, they are chickens and I am the pig, so my judgement has to be exercised on risk management. I'm also the only one who can make certain cost/benefit tradeoffs and my tradeoffs might not be theirs.

(In a ham and egg breakfast, the chicken is involved, but the pig is committed. If a medical procedure goes wrong and somebody dies and you go home and have a stiff Scotch, you're a chicken. If you go to the morgue, you're a pig. Pigs have to keep this distinction in mind.)

[Bodhiman]

My last doctor visit was 1995 when I was discharged from the service. No need to have been back, so whatever he did must have worked.

[bufftabby]

They're serious about not eating or drinking anything before surgery. I almost died. Don't judge me too harshly; I was on a forkload of morphine, and it was my teenage boyfriend-at-the-time who decided I could have something to drink because I wanted it.

[Veb]

Originally Posted by Bodhiman

My last doctor visit was 1995 when I was discharged from the service. No need to have been back, so whatever he did must have worked.

I want to go to your doc.

Actually, mine is wonderful. And that comes from someone who's a hardcore skeptic about the healtcare industry. (Very bad hospital experience and I can hold a grudge for decades.) Anyway, he's knowledgable as hell, always take plenty of time to just talk and is very open-minded about alternative medicine--more than I am, to be honest.

So he always explains the "whys" of what I need, but also puts them into perspective and suggests other things that might help. For example, when I was in the middle of a nasty divorce and The Construction Project From Hell at work he told me to not worry about quitting smoking. In his words, "pick your battles, pick your time". Gotta love a doc like that.

He's so reasonable that it just makes sense to heed what he says.

[Solfy]

Doctors are people, albeit highly educated people, and medicine is not an exact science. I haven't seen an actual MD regarding my own health in seven years, but when I did the instructions were simple - apply the cream as directed and don't eat any more mangos.

Annual care, and care for my most recent medical issues, has been provided by certified nurse midwives. What I like about them is they don't tell you what to do, they discuss options with you until you and the midwife arrive at a mutually-agreed upon course of action (within reason - part of the agreement one signs to use their birth center includes a promise not to, say, lock yourself in the bathroom and refuse medical assistance). I imagine good doctors are like this as well.
Example conversation:
Midwife: Well, if you're feeling okay with no fever or extreme pain and as long as bleeding is light, you can either go in for an ultrasound or you could wait and have a blood test done in a few days. If the blood test numbers are down, everything is fine. If no, we'd wait a week and retest and go from there.
Me: Are there any advantages to the ultrasound?
Midwife: Some women want the peace of mind of knowing sooner, which the ultrasound results can give. Other women don't want to have to go through that test, preferring watchfull waiting.
Me: Would either choice impact the ultimate outcome?
Midwife: No, the course of action would be the same either way. You can do what you feel most comfortable with.
Me: Then I would rather wait and see.
Midwife: That's fine. We'll follow up with you, and if anything changes, let us know.

[Islander]

I have a doctor like Solfy's midwife: someone who listens, discusses, and additionally, is open to alternative methods, as I am. I see him every 6 months only because I'm diabetic so my A1c needs to be followed.

In general, when given post-surgery advice I follow it within reason. Other kinds of advice, like medication, I would weigh very carefully.

[Who_me?]

Originally Posted by Merestil Haye

What does your vehicle insurance policy say about driving when advised against it by a doctor?

Unless it explicitly says that this is OK, then don't drive.

The reason I'm not supposed to drive is due to the Percocets he prescribed me. Out of 40, I took 4.

[Dragonlady]

So he meant "Don't drive while you take Percocet." Seems reasonable enough!
As long as the four weren't taken TODAY, you're probably ok!!

[Jaglavak]

The way I look at it, it's my body and I'll take any advice under consideration. Basically if I decide that it's good advice, I follow instructions to the letter. Otherwise I do my own research and use my own judgement. There's no shortage of lazy quacks out there who are still pumping out the same old bad advice they learned 30 years ago.

[Pseudovirtual Quasithinker]

I *used* to follow it to the letter, until the EPIC SAGA of 2009.

I visited my ob/gyn mid- October because I found out I'm anemic as result of heavy periods. I had occasional chills and slight fatigue as a result.She prescribed me birth control pills and and 3 times the standard amount of a prescription iron supplement.

That was on a Wednesday. By Saturday, I was suffering from fatigue so bad I was having trouble going up and down the stairs, in addition to body aches. And I developed a limp- seriously. No, I didn't have a fever. On Monday, I was teaching a class that was broadcast live on tv when I started seeing those black dots that presage imminent loss of consciousness. I walked off set, went home, and called the doctor. The nurse wouldn't let me talk to the doctor, and looked at the list of side effects (it was a new brand of iron). My symptoms weren't listed, so she told me I probably had the flu and told me to take an over the counter iron supplement. I never heard from the doctor.
I stopped taking the iron, but kept taking the birth control pill. Somehow I thought bc pills must be safe and side effect-less..theyve been around forever, right? They gave me horrific cramps, made me bleed all the time, and made me sad. I stopped taking them too.

For about 2 weeks, I dealt with the awful fatigue. I went to work, and came home and went to bed for 12 hours, fell masively behind with work, and things were just awful.

Part 2 of THe EPIC SAGA

At the end of October, I woke up on a Sunday with a horrible stabbing pain in my right jaw that wouldnt stop, no matter what I did. I thought it might be a toothache, but none of my teeth hurt. After about 30 hours of pain, I called the ER nurse, who said that I should come in if I had jaw pain. I went and my blood pressure was HIGH AS HELL (thats the only time Ive heard that, so I think it was from horrific pain). As a result, and I think since I'm black, I was given an EKG, xrays, pills for high blood pressure and was told to go get a nuclear stress test as well as to consult a dentist. They gave me some vicodin and I went home, still in horrific pain. This was probably the worst week of my life. I felt like someone was stabbing me in the face with forks, I was tired, I had a huge pile of work I hadn't been able to do...I was taking vicodin, and advil, and drinking, and I was still in pain. On Thursday, I went and did the nuclear stress test- everything was fine. On Friday, the pain stopped. I finally got an dentist appointment for the following Tuesday-it had been a toothache.


Since then I've had some other run ins with medical professionals that made me hate them even more....I went to the ER with a headache (it turned out to be stress) and a nurse said to me "Maybe your braids are too tight and that's why you have a headache?". I'm black and I have dreadlocks. "Really, lady???" I was thinking. "Get some cultural sensitivity." I thought about saying nasty to her but figured they'd diagnose me as schizophrenic or something.

This past fall I got something in my eye and rubbed and my sight in that eye went all blurry. I consulted a doctor, who made me pee in a cup (all black people have diabetes, dont you know?) to test my blood sugar. I was diagnosed with a possible corneal scratch, and a herpes infection in my eye. Herpes is a serious, not very common eye infection and the medication costs 75 bucks, even with insurance....I followed up with an opthamologist 2 days later, who told me that doctor was an asshat.


As a result of these experiences, I have trust issues where doctors and the medical establishment are concerned....I get the impression that they're big on racial profiling, covering their own asses to avoid liability, and experimenting on people to see what works. Or maybe I shouldn't say all doctors; I friggin love dentists. They pinpoint a problem, they fix it, end of story.

Anyway, for those of you who saw my other post about falling on my iPad and hurting myself. *This* is why I didn't go to the ER. I probably would have ended up in a body cast.

[Jaglavak]

Hey, it happens to white folks too. My dad lost 30% of the vision in one eye by following his doctor's orders to the letter. Even after adverse side effects from glaucoma medication, the doctor couldn't see him because he was headed out of town for a four day golfing vacation. None of the other doctors at the vision clinic felt it was important enough to step on any toes. He was told it was just temporary discomfort that could wait a few days. Result; blinding headaches, eye pressure spike, retina damage. Their lawyers can beat up our lawyers. Same old story. I was a kid at the time, but I watched and learned.

[Anacanapuna]

I've never gotten what I thought was bad advice from a doctor but, then again, I only go to the doctor if I'm so sick or in so much pain that I can't sleep or it's scaring me.

Or if I've been in my woodshop more than two hours.

For the most part, I take the pills as close to the prescribed times as is convenient, and until the pain goes away, so I always have some really powerful antibiotics and pain medications around for the next time, and there will be a next time. That's because, when it comes to pain, I am the world's biggest pussy. So when the next sinus infection or kidney stone rolls around, I grab the leftover meds from the last time and then call the doctor's office to get refills.

I've also been lucky enough to live in small towns most of my life, where my GP is someone I see at Wal-Mart and at the local high school play, and I am not afraid to pull him aside and say, "Listen, Doc, I gotta' come see you about this pain. It's scarin' me!"

[KidVermicious]

It depends, for me. I'll always finish a course of antibiotics, for example, but when I had surgery on my ankle I was walking two weeks later. My doc was very mad.

[Solfy]

Guess work happens to everyone. As much as we'd like to believe medicine is a hard science, it's not. There's no guarantee that symptoms X, Y, and Q always add up to diagnosis N. OTOH, you know what they call the person who graduated last in his class from med school? Doctor.

[ulfhjorr]

I'll give a doctor's instructions their due consideration, but it's not like they are the Word of (the non-existent) God.

I'll listen to my body more closely, and if it's telling me something else, then that's the way I'm more likely to go.

[Shot From Guns]

Depends what kind of instructions we're talking about. Drug dosage and diet related to drugs (e.g., vitamin K when I was on warfarin) I follow as exactly as possible. Something like, "You should really quit smoking" (when I smoked) was obviously more along the lines of advice than instructions.

Originally Posted by AuntiePam

I suppose I'm in denial, but it's hard to believe that smoking has an impact on every single illness. When I look up treatment for the flu, for example, it's "don't smoke". Osteoporosis, "don't smoke". And it seems like every single drug warns against smoking if you're taking that drug. Really?

Yes, really. Nothing wrong with smoking if you want to smoke, but you really should stop trying to convince yourself that smoking doesn't have a serious negative effect on your health. It's pretty much the equivalent of making a rash decision on a tattoo because you can wash it off if you don't like it. Being honest with your doctor about how much you smoke is also essential for making sure you don't get prescribed something that will be dangerous to you in combination with the cigarettes.

Originally Posted by Anacanapuna

For the most part, I take the pills as close to the prescribed times as is convenient, and until the pain goes away, so I always have some really powerful antibiotics and pain medications around for the next time,

Aaaaaaaaack, no no no no no. Saving extra pain medications is fine. Stopping a course of antibiotics because you're "feeling better" is a great way to (a) make yourself sick again and, worse, (b) create antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Feeling better when you're taking antibiotics does not mean that the infection has cleared your system--it just means you've squashed it down far enough that your symptoms have improved. If you stop your drugs early, the bacteria that survived up to that point (i.e., the ones that were resistant to the drugs) may rebound.