Don't Do's For Talking To Your Doctor About Senior Sex
Don't make these mistakes on your next doctor's visit
, especially when you want to talk about sex. Not only will they just waste your time, but you won't get your questions answered and your needs met. Yet, most people make these mistakes with every doctor's visit they have.Mistake #1: Get Lost in the Details
Details take time, and get in the way of getting to the real issues. When you spend most of the small amount of time you have with the doctor listing every symptom, every fear, every detail of every episode of every trouble you've been having, you confuse both yourself and the doc. And, there won't be any time for getting to solutions.
What to do instead: write a list of your major symptoms, how many and when you experienced them, what the impact an episode has, and bring it with you to your appointment. Take the time to keep your conversation focused and brief. Be sure to make a copy of your list to give to the doctor. When he has your notes, it helps him get the full picture of what's going on with you.
Mistake #2: Ignoring what else is going on in your life.
Focusing on how you're feeling and the symptoms you're experiencing tells your doctor only a part of the story. When you ignore what else is going on in your life, with the health issues other members of your family are having, or have had, you're withholding important information that can help point to the cause of your troubles. Not telling her what other medications you routinely take, including supplements and over the counter remedies, leaves out important information she needs to know.
What to do instead: Include pertinent family history on your list for the doc. Include how they are related, what they had, and the effects they had. Do the same for your medications, prescription and otc, as well as the supplements you regularly take. Be sure to include the dosage and strength of each, as well as how often you take them.
On a personal note, I triggered an unpleasant and mysterious health problem when I started taking some new vitamins. Unbeknownst to me, they interfered with the absorption of a medication I needed every day. It took weeks, and many tests, to get to the bottom of the puzzle of why I was feeling so rotten. Simply changing the timing of when I took the meds and when I took the new vitamins took care of the problem. If I hadn't listed the new supplements on my notes to the doc, who knows how much longer it would have taken to solve the mystery.
Mistake #3: Leave it Up to the Doc to Solve Your Problems.
Most people with medical concerns or questions only ask the question, and then let the doctor tell them what to do. Then, they blindly follow the doctor's order. So, if she says, keep it covered with the bandage, they do. They keep it covered. Never peeking to see how it is doing, if it is okay, or even if it is getting worse.
"Fred" ended up with a festering mess after cutting his leg on a box cutter at work. His doctor told him to keep the bandage on, and come back in a week. So, Fred did. He never took it off, never looked, and had no idea that an infection had set in. He just complained to everyone who listened what a quack his doc was. His leg was getting worse, not better.
What to do instead: Ask and ask again. Make sure you know exactly what the doctor means when she tells you how to take your medicine, care for your bandages, and what to look out for when things are not going right. Ask her what to expect, and what to watch out for. Ask and ask again if you are not totally clear on your responsibilities as a partner in your own health care.
by:Pat Wiklund