doctor_avoider's recent activity

  1. Comment on How best to get a thorough inspection after avoiding doctors for a decade? in ~health

    doctor_avoider
    Link Parent
    …and that's the reason I've avoided the medical system for the second half of that decade (the first half was due to being in my 20s with other priorities)

    …and that's the reason I've avoided the medical system for the second half of that decade (the first half was due to being in my 20s with other priorities)

    3 votes

  2. Comment on How best to get a thorough inspection after avoiding doctors for a decade? in ~health

    doctor_avoider
    Link Parent
    I'm similar to you. To copy another comment I just left,

    I'm similar to you. To copy another comment I just left,

    If my mood tracking is anything like my physical health, I can distinctly remember being at a -3 (on a -3 to +3 scale) at noon, yet my overall mood for the day is ±0.25. Similarly, unless a problem bothers me on the day of my appointment, there's a good chance I'll report that my physical health is “fine” or “good enough.”

    3 votes

  3. Comment on How best to get a thorough inspection after avoiding doctors for a decade? in ~health

    doctor_avoider
    Link Parent
    This is tangental, but what's the third presentation of ADHD? As you mentioned, there's inattentive (formerly ADD) and classic (formerly with the H). That's only two. Definitely need a tetanus...

    This is tangental, but what's the third presentation of ADHD? As you mentioned, there's inattentive (formerly ADD) and classic (formerly with the H). That's only two.

    overdue vaccination

    Definitely need a tetanus boost. May as well get my flu & COVID updates while I'm getting jabbed. Probably some others that only the physician would know.

    no existing ADHD Dx

    I was extensively tested for something and put on an IEP in late elementary school. However, I was never told any specific Dx, and the IEP was removed at the start of high school because I was academically successful without using its accommodations. That all said, who knows if such files are recoverable or if they're long past the data retention limits.

    2 votes

  4. Comment on How best to get a thorough inspection after avoiding doctors for a decade? in ~health

    doctor_avoider
    Link Parent
    Part of my rationale is that I'd like to get as much as possible diagnosed and treated while I'm still on Medicaid to minimize out-of-pocket expenses. I strongly expect that once I get the MH...

    Part of my rationale is that I'd like to get as much as possible diagnosed and treated while I'm still on Medicaid to minimize out-of-pocket expenses. I strongly expect that once I get the MH aspects treated, I'll be employed at the level of my natural talents again and have to deal with private insurance again.

    3 votes

  5. Comment on How best to get a thorough inspection after avoiding doctors for a decade? in ~health

    doctor_avoider
    Link Parent
    That is very close to what I'm after. If my mood tracking is anything like my physical health, I can distinctly remember being at a -3 (on a -3 to +3 scale) at noon, yet my overall mood for the...

    That is very close to what I'm after. If my mood tracking is anything like my physical health, I can distinctly remember being at a -3 (on a -3 to +3 scale) at noon, yet my overall mood for the day is ±0.25. Similarly, unless a problem bothers me on the day of my appointment, there's a good chance I'll report that my physical health is “fine” or “good enough.”

    Even the suspicion of ADD didn't get uncovered until some lifestyle changes a few years ago washed away the coping mechanism that (barely) masked the negative effects. For the longest time, I thought it was just regular depression.

    6 votes

  6. How best to get a thorough inspection after avoiding doctors for a decade?

    ~health Ask (advice)
    The last time I ran off to see a doctor was about 10 years ago when I got a concussion shortly after graduating college. After that, I have visited optometrists and dentists, but not an MD. I had...

    The last time I ran off to see a doctor was about 10 years ago when I got a concussion shortly after graduating college. After that, I have visited optometrists and dentists, but not an MD. I had my own insurance at my first big boy job after school, but I didn't schedule any appointments [early 20s with plenty of other priorities] before I got fired after a couple years and lost employer coverage (ain't nobody got money for COBRA nonsense).

    After that, I've been rather chronically underemployed and thus avoided the medical system entirely (with the above exceptions of my eyes & teeth) to avoid being told to go fix expensive problems [and not wanting the monthly drain of premiums].

    Anyway, I (for better and worse) had an hours cut that got me eligible for Medicaid. I'd like to know what to say to get a head-to-toe physical (including mental health) with minimal hassle and needing to re-clarify what I want. Mental health-wise, I can state a suspected primary complaint: undiagnosed ADD due to lacking the H as a child as well as seasonal depression [the chronic depression was entirely downstream from the abovementioned ADD].

    However, I have no idea what to tell the doctor to look for physically. Probably should get some kind of comprehensive blood screening done. Make sure my hormones, iron, etc… are all within normal bounds. Perhaps I have some conditions that should've spooked me into seeing a doctor five years ago, but I'm still alive and well, so they're no longer causes for alarm [even if they should be].

    32 votes