wow. reading your post reminded me that my mom was also very punishing to any of us kids for being sick or injured. She took it as a personal afront - as if we got ear aches on purpose ! She also would not take us to the Dr. unless she was convinced we were "really" sick. To her, it would be the worst thing in the world to go to the doctor and find out there was nothing wrong or that there was nothing to be done. When one of my kids complains of a sore throat and I know there is strep going around at school - I take them in for a throat swab. But I do feel anxious while sitting in the waiting room .. after reading your post it hit me that I have reacted similiarly in that taking my kids in to the doctor for other than well care checkups causes me anxiety.

And I'm always putting my checkups off to the very last - I worry that I might be wasting the Dr's time or something. As a result I usually suffer longer than necessary because I wait until I'm really really sick before making an appointment.

Thanks for posting - I learned something new about myself also.