Life as I Know It; Family; Lifestyle; and Healthy Living!
Is it really so hard...enlighten me.
Published on January 3, 2005 By foreverserenity In Home & Family
You know there are two really important reason to go see a doctor. The first one is to keep yourself healthy. The second one is to find out if you're really sick and take preventive measures if you are. Am I right?

My husband as been complaining of one thing or the other the last couple of months, say, since October. I commisserate with him, I cuddle him, I give him tablets. I yell at him, go see a doctor. I ask him if he's been in pain for a long time, does it really bother you so much, are you worried about it, do you feel different? The responses I get, "no, it's nothing; no, it will go away; Just give me two pills". These responses makes me scream and curl up inside!@@#3!

So each time we go through this and I say to him, you really need to go see a doctor. You see, usually I'm the one who makes the appointments and make sure he goes to see the doctor. I didn't get around to his appointment last year for one reason or the other. So I told him I'm going to schedule a checkup for the end of the month and I don't want to hear that he can't go. I'm particularly worried too because his father died last year (we had a lot of deaths last year) and his father had prostrate cancer. It's a combination of aches and pains and swellings of joints and other areas, though it may not possibly be his prostrate.

But really men, why is it so hard for you guys to go see a doctor? I've asked him this question and gotten not much of a response to it. At least nothing logical. Women go see the doctor when they feel any kind of pain or knows something is wrong. There's no shame in it. So guys, what's up with this?

At any rate, I'm dragging him to his appointment at the end of this month. So there!

Comments
on Jan 03, 2005
Machismo?

That is the best and most honest answer I can give. I fall into the same trap. I don't have a regular doctor (of course I get to use Student Hell, er, I mean Health now), and have only been once in the past 4 years. But I do have an excuse! I have a pretty good idea of what needs medical attention and what doesn't. Might have something to do with my profession/studies. So I have a pretty good idea when what I have is simply something viral I need to tough out, or if it has become more than that.

But I do the same thing with our kids. I look in their ears, their throats, listen to their lungs and hearts, auscultate, percuss, etc. before I even bother to call the doctor. Helps me be more informed.

I think it really is an issue of machismo though. We want to be strong, we want to handle it ourselves, we don't want to show weakness. And there are few places were we, as humans, demonstrate our weakness as much as in the doctor's office.
on Jan 03, 2005
Perhaps you're right. I guess it's the same as men not liking to ask for directions. No matter how lost they are. It's the same thing, as you say, machismo. He's guilty of that too..lol.

We want to be strong, we want to handle it ourselves, we don't want to show weakness. And there are few places were we, as humans, demonstrate our weakness as much as in the doctor's office.


Put this way, I guess I can see why. It still makes no sense to me, although I understand.
on Jan 03, 2005
Before I turned 40 there was three places I hated to go-The beauty shop, the lawyers office and the doctor. Luckily I had been
pretty healthy all of my life so I hadn't been to the doctor's office much and in fact didn't even have a regular doctor. At age 41 I
had a lump come up on my neck and my then wife told me right away to go to the doctor and have it checked out. I told her it
would go away and after three months and it still hadn't, I decide I had better go and see. As it turned out as soon as I found
a local doctor that could fit me in that day and as soon as he saw it he sent me immediatly to have a CAT scan and then a
biopsy and sure enough it was cancer. To make a long story short I went through radiation, chemo and finally an operation on
my neck and am now cancer free and recovering from everything. But back to the original subject. I have been to the doctors
office now so many times I have lost count, in fact I have lost count of how many doctors I have seen. And I still HATE going to
the doctors office. It's a matter of many things why. First, everytime I go I just know it will be the time when they tell me I'm going
to die. Second of all, and this applies to the other places I go, I hate to wait. Sitting in a waiting area is the most torturing thing
I can thnk of. There always seems to be someone else thats called in that arrived after I did and being in the same room with
a bunch of really sick people just makes me about go crazy. Third, and probably the worst thing I hate about it is why in the heck
do they always make your appointment for 1:00 PM and never call you back until at least 2:45? I get there at 1 and I expect to be
seen at 1. If it's going to be 2:45 then by gosh make my appt. for 2:45. The other two places I hate to go, well I don't intend to
ever go back to those. My wife left me when she found out I was sick and after the lawyers visits required for my divorce, never
getting married again is my solution therefore the lawyers visits are over forever. And after my radiation treatments and all my
hair fell out in Feb. of 2002, I haven't been back to the beauty shop and my hair is half way down my back which I am very proud of.
Besides my ex works in a beauty shop so I will never sit foot inside of one of those again either. I don't know if that answers
your question but I hope it helped some. Thanks for bearing with me through this long reply----Sir Walter
on Jan 04, 2005
everytime I go I just know it will be the time when they tell me I'm going to die. Second of all, and this applies to the other places I go, I hate to wait.


This might just be one of the main reasons too.

I'm glad you have recovered Sir Walter.