Has anyone found that it helps when someone goes in to a doctors appointment with you?

Question

such as a mother, father, sister, brother...etc..., does the doctor tend to listen more or better when someone else is with you?(im in the usa)

Answer 1

YES! I am a middle-aged woman with a lot of health problems. One of them is chronic optic nerve pain. This is unusual. I find when my husband comes in with me, the doctor asks HIM a lot of questions about my problems. (I also have pulmonary fibrosis, so I have to be on oxygen, and I suffer from depression and anxiety/panic attacks.) Anyway, with my husband there to back me up, I get a lot more respect, and it's a lot easier to get the medications I really do need.

Great question deserves a star! :)

Answer 2

You may think you hear everything the doctor is saying until
he says something in medical jargon and then your mind
stops, in trying to understand and pauses over the
meaning of the word, instead of continuely listening to
the full thing. Having someone else there with you can
fill up any gaps you might have missed.

There are many times that people leave the doctor office
and don't remember what the doctors instructions were
cause they are ill or they are diagnosed with something
that has totally been a shock to them. If you do not
have someone there with you, it is good to take a
notepad and write down the instruction and not rely
on your mind.

There are many questions that you have and when
you get to the doctors office, your mind will go blank.
Writing them all down before you get there helps.
But, having someone else there may bring up questions
you really wanted to ask but never thought about, and
then you will feel more comfortable when you leave
that everything was covered.

Sometimes it is a matter of respect, like you mentioned.
If you are in your teens or younger, it is natural that you
will not receive information like a 30 to 50 year old would.
An older doctor about the same age as your parents,
would be more comfortable and forward with people
closer to his age.

There are times when the doctor will ask things that
you may not know the answer to and the person with
you may be answer it for you....things like past
medical conditions and medications you have taken
and diseases you had when younger and what other
doctors you had and what they said about your conditions.

It is your right not to have students or anyone else in with
you during your doctor appointments if you have reached
your upper teen years. You may have to come out and
tell the doctor your wishes.

I hope this may have answered your question.

Answer 3

I would say it depends. For some stuff, i want to go alone (the gyno man being one of those solo events) but if it is something more serious, I do think that two brains work better than one...and the person that is not the patient seems to think a bit better than the one that is, in cases of a more serious nature.
If the person is a spouse or a parent, I have found it helpful as to not have to answer 1000 questions when I get home to give the update....
IF you feel the need to take another person to your appointments because the doctor does not listen to you, it is seriously time to find a new doctor.
YOU should feel comfortable talking to him/her and vice versa. This is not just ego, if the doctor is not listening to you there are symptoms that he/she could miss. This could seriously be the difference in being cured and misdiagnoised....there are too many doctors in all areas for you to not feel valued and respected as a patient

Answer 4

I find that it helps me to have someone to talk to while I am waiting but not nescessary in the room with me. It also depends on why I am at the doctors off and what kind of doctor I am seeing. It all just depends on your comfort level and how comfortable you feel with the person that is with you during a personal moment between you and your doctor or if you mind them nothing whatever the doctor has to say to you.

Answer 5

It all depends what you are going to the doctor for.

Answer 6

to a serious one, yes.if all is well , go to a doc of the same sex-works best for communication style.