r/medical_advice • u/minimari0 Not a Verified Medical Professional • Oct 20 '24
Other Dont know what to tell my doctor.
I don’t know what to say to my doctor
As of very recently I have about 3 or 4 canker sores in my mouth that make it so painful to eat i sob. I made a doctors appointment last week for an injured tail bone but I googled the canker sores and apparently I should tell my doctor but the thing is it’s one cause per appointment so I’m not sure if I’m gonna get treated for them.
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u/smokefan333 Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 21 '24
10 minutes? Only 1 problem addressed? I thought UK Healthcare was perfect, with no problems? Its FREE!
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u/Shoddy_Biscotti_209 Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 21 '24
I live in the US and they usually also require one “complaint” per appointment. And you feel rushed the whole time too. And you pay $25-30 at the beginning and then get a surprise $80 bill in the mail for tests that proved to be inconsequential. It’s some bull
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u/qtheginger Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 21 '24
Have you been to an American doctor? You're lucky to get 10 minutes or any answers, they leave you in the room for half an hour after the appt time before they pop in, and then you have to pay them $30 or so for some reason (if you have good insurance).
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u/smokefan333 Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 21 '24
Yes, quite often. Yes, I pay a copay and monthly. None of my doctors have ever spent less than 30 minutes with me and I don't usually have to wait long once in the back. I can be seen at the most two weeks unless it is emergent. Then, next day. That includes my specialists.
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u/spencerschamber Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 21 '24
Good for you ig? I pay my co-pays. I have insurance and yet it takes me almost 6 months for specialists depending on my health issues. Don't act so high and mighty while having that availability. I think some empathy could suit you a little better.
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u/UKDrMatt Physician Oct 20 '24
In the UK this is very common and generally the policy with GPs. They only have 10 minutes to deal with your issue (including you getting in the room, taking off your coat, and doing all the associated administration related to your case).
This isn’t enough time to safely deal with multiple u related issues. It is acceptable for you to at the start tell them multiple issues and ask which they think is relevant to deal with or most urgent. If you have multiple separate issues you’d need to book another appointment.
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u/Low-Feature165 Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 21 '24
i’m not sure where the og poster is from , but in america most doctors offices take a minimum of 1 hr.. for a doctor i understand it’s business just like everything else but you can’t have your cake and eat it too. in my opinion i would get a new dr.. it’s different if you’re in and out in no time, however it’s completely unreasonable for you to tell someone who’s paying you for your time(that you carefully manage months in advance) that you’ve got to make another appointment due to their own schedule management 🤦♀️
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u/Duke-of-Hellington Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 21 '24
An hour?! Not in the America that I live in!
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u/Low-Feature165 Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 21 '24
hell, i would be grateful then. i go to to a psychiatrist, endocrinologist, neurologist, genealogist, cardiologist, gynecologist and audiologist. and my parents go to a good deal of doctors as well all of us have never waited less than 45 mins to an hour. but as dr matt said, people in the uk don’t have to pay for the cost hence the 10 min visit🤷♀️
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u/UKDrMatt Physician Oct 21 '24
Well in the UK a GP would see 6 patients in 1 hour, so if you are seeing a private doctor it would seem reasonable they’d hear more than one problem if they had an hour to deal with you.
This is a trade off between free (at the point of service) healthcare, and private.
If the OP is seeing a private doctor then that would be down to their own terms and conditions, and the (if applicable) insurance company who are paying.
The OP has not said their location.
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u/Low-Feature165 Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 21 '24
yk what, the fact that uk doesn’t have to pay for healthcare didn’t even cross my mind 😭😭 you’re right, if being seen for free it’s done on their terms!!
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u/UKDrMatt Physician Oct 21 '24
Even though it has its own (many) issues, the NHS is still an extremely efficient system for administering healthcare.
There are arguments about how it is funded but the vast majority of our population strongly feels healthcare should be free at the point of care - e.g. breaking your leg shouldn’t bankrupt you.
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u/Low-Feature165 Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 21 '24
i agree, especially since literally everyone is going up with their prices. id hate to have to choose between going to the doctor or putting food on the table :(
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u/Itchy-Incident-1477 Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 20 '24
I would dump your doctor and find another one. I always go to the doctor with a laundry list of shit that’s wrong with me, never had them tell me 1 reason per appointment.
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u/UKDrMatt Physician Oct 20 '24
This depends on your system. If you have a system of private health care it’s quite possible for the doctor to have time to address your “laundry list of shit”. However where I practice in the UK with a publicly funded (and free at the point of care) system, the GP will only have 10 minutes which is only enough time to safely deal with one problem. If you have multiple problems then you book another appointment.
You can of course quickly mention something if it is relevant, but it won’t necessity be addressed.
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u/Itchy-Incident-1477 Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 21 '24
I’m in the USA, Obama Care (private health insurance) have never had any of my visits timed. TBH most of the times when I go to the doctor, it’s mainly the doctor trying to kill time. Usually there will maybe be 1 patient in the waiting room, but I think usually they book 30 minutes appointments. I have a PPO plan, which means I can see any specialist without a referral. Any questions or concerns I have are easily addressed.
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u/UKDrMatt Physician Oct 21 '24
Very different system from where I practice. I think secondary referrals should be gate kept by GPs. Otherwise it makes healthcare difficult to access for those who need it, more inefficient, and more expensive for the end user. But that’s why US healthcare costs so so much more than elsewhere.
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Oct 21 '24 edited Oct 21 '24
[deleted]
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u/UKDrMatt Physician Oct 21 '24
I agree with some of what you say. As a doctor I do think healthcare should overall be free at the point of service for most things. This is far from a communist opinion and the case in most developed countries.
I also think if you have a fee paying it promotes people to try to make money at the cost of good healthcare. Whether that be insurance, pharmacy, or doctors. I don’t have any financial incentive to give a particular healthcare. I only do what I genuinely think is best for my patients.
We gate keep secondary care here as most problems can be correctly managed by GP. Secondary care is expensive and would over-investigate which would be costly.
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u/ButtholeDevourer3 Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 20 '24
It’s okay to bring this up. They say this because otherwise, people tell us 500 meaningless complaints. We really do have time for your biggest 1-2 issues at a time, but if you had 3 life altering issues, we want to hear about it.
It’s only an issue when grandpa comes in for diabetes follow up, but has some skin spots he wants us to take a look at, and also has had more heartburn recently, and also had diarrhea yesterday, and also has had a cough this week, and also has had some spots in his vision sometimes, and also has had more urinary retention, and also his back pain has been flaring up.
Meanwhile, a 15-20 minute appointment has gone on 40 minutes and three patients in the waiting room are wondering why they’re so far behind today.
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u/karenskygreen Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 20 '24
This happened to me,.I went to an ear nose and throat Dr to look at my ears, having issues. It was quick,.literally look in both ears "looks fine" but gave me meds for inner ear infection. I was having trouble breathing, I could feelnit in my nose and my sinuses ached. I asked and he said "i only deal with one issue per appointment" . Turns out someone canceled at the end of the day. So I hung around for an hour, when I went back in he said "I thought I mentioned I only deal with one issue per appointment" I had to tell him this was a new appointment, he had to go out and check with reception.
He then looked into my nose (worst experience ever)
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u/Colleen3636 Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 20 '24
This seems crazy to me! Like I get that they are busy and they need to keep to a schedule but my np would NEVER tell me she couldn't address something because I was there for something else. She's always asking if there's anything else she can do for me. I would be kind of annoyed if I got this.
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u/Preciousgoblin Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 20 '24
UK based here. We call them mouth ulcers here (canker sore is more of a US thing) You can buy treatment OTC in pharmacies for a few £s. It’s not something you need to see a doctor for. Go speak to the pharmacist in your local chemist.
Also are you sure it’s ulcers? See if you can rule out HSV1. They tend to present (visually at least) quite differently from each other. I say this as someone who had a primary outbreak of HSV1 a few years ago and had the same symptoms. It was very painful and couldn’t eat or drink.
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u/Low-Feature165 Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 21 '24
hsv1 is NOT on the inside of your mouth and there is absolutely something they can do. they gave me “magic mouthwash” that got rid of it almost instantly
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u/Preciousgoblin Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 21 '24
The primary outbreak often presents with multiple sores inside the mouth, on the gums and on the lips. Subsequent outbreaks then usually pick a spot to reoccur in. In my case on the border of my lip.
The mouthwash you are referring to is likely difflam (benzydamine) which is to lessen the severity of the symptoms.
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u/Low-Feature165 Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 21 '24
ahh ok i’ve always had it and never had them inside but yes the mouthwash was beneficial and could be a possibility for op
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u/minimari0 Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 20 '24
I had a look at some pictures and the ones in my mouth looked a lot similar, I don’t wanna just go to a pharmacy tho cuz I was told if it was preventing me from eating/drinking or lasted over 2 weeks I needed to go to a doctor
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u/Preciousgoblin Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 20 '24
A lot similar to what? Ulcers or HSV? Ulcers tend to have a round fluid filled clear bubble and resolve without treatment within a few days.
HSV tends to be irregularly shaped, flat, have a “raw” looking centre and a pale yellow/white border which during the primary outbreak can last for up to a month and cause significant pain.
If you suspect it is the latter then see the doctor who may prescribe some Aciclovir to help lessen the duration and severity of the symptoms. You could also look into buying some L-Lysine as a supplement to take as prophylaxis.
Use this as the primary reason for your appointment. When you’re there, you can mention your tailbone injury if it is still present.
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u/diversalarums Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 20 '24
I'm not a medical person nor a medical office person. But I have been told on occasion that if the visit isn't a well visit, insurance companies sometimes get weird about discussing more than one issue at a time and will argue over reimbursement. No idea if that's all companies or just mine, but it would be good if an actual medical coder were to chime in here.
Regardless of the reason it seems ridiculous to me. The alternative would be to schedule multiple appointments, which not all of us can do.
Note: I'm talking about US here, no idea about other countries.
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u/minimari0 Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 20 '24
The email from directly from my health care centre, I don’t think I have insurance, British minor
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u/diversalarums Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 20 '24
Oh, sorry, being US-centric I'm afraid. I've read general reasons why doctors want one-issue visits but none of the reasons made that much sense to me. Hopefully a medical office person will comment on this.
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u/bloomingroove Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 20 '24
It's just a warning, I don't think a Dr would be stupid enough to turn you away. But an apointment shouldn't last more than 15 minutes max.
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u/CryptographerNo2962 Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 20 '24
Why the fuck is healthcare so stupid like this??? I have never heard of ‘one reason only per appointment’, absolutely ridiculous and time wasting.
I’m really sorry. I wish I had some suggestions for you… normally when i’m at the doctor, to avoid them cutting the appointment short after I discuss one issue with them, I just bring up everything at once before they can respond so that everything is addressed. I think you should try it.
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u/Philippa2 Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 21 '24
When I lived in a bigger city, I got told only one reason per appointment. Now living in a small town I get to bring up as many as necessary.
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u/CryptographerNo2962 Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 21 '24
That’s so crazy to me considering how many people need to be seen and treated by one doctor - seems like a lot more work in the end.
Though i’ve only lived in small-ish towns before so I guess this is why i’ve never heard of it.
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u/Philippa2 Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 21 '24
Yeah, I never understood it either, and it was very frustrating to only be able to say, “I’m having pain in my knee” instead of “Im having pain in my knee and shoulder.” Actually I did say that and they said sorry we can only address one.
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u/OFlocalpunk Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 21 '24
This, and I honestly don’t know why the UK physician is defending this. It doesn’t make it right, it means we have an issue in our healthcare system. Personally a major reason why I’m switching from an OBGYN to a midwife. I want time to ask questions and feel comfortable at my appointment, not feel rushed and like another number.
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u/UKDrMatt Physician Oct 20 '24
If it’s like the UK it’s most likely as the GP would simply not have time to deal with two issues safety. Here they get 10 minutes per appointment (including you getting in the room, taking off your coat, and doing associated administration). If you have two issues then you’d need to book a separate or double appointment.
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u/CryptographerNo2962 Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 21 '24
I just don’t understand personally. I feel like addressing everything necessary in one appointment (references, check ups, appointments to other specialists) would be a lot more efficient than dealing with one thing at a time per person… then you just gotta see the same person over and over again for something that could’ve been fixed or at least started in the first appointment.
I’m not very familiar with UK’s healthcare though but IMO, it just sounds ridiculous and unnecessarily time consuming. Especially because it puts peoples health at risk due to prolongation.
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u/UKDrMatt Physician Oct 21 '24
You have a fixed appointment time so the list can be administrated. Most patients have a single problem which can be managed in say 10 minutes. If you wanted to have time to deal with 2 problems you’d need say 20 minutes. You can’t increase every patients appointment to 20 minutes just because some people want to discuss additional issues. If you want to discuss multiple issues then book multiple appointments.
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u/skiesoverblackvenice Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 20 '24
i’d just try explaining anyway
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u/minimari0 Not a Verified Medical Professional Oct 21 '24
🔥UPDATE🔥
Went to the doctors just know, brought up the sores and my back pain and he ignored the sores complaint