[SeekingZen]

I recently read Payne1's thread where someone mentioned not to disclose fibromyalgia when seeing a new provider regarding an unrelated condition. While I am apprehensive about withholding information from physicians, I also do not want to have an unrelated medical concern chalked up to anxiety/depression.

Do you feel that it is necessary to withhold anxiety and depression from a physician in order to be taken seriously?

It is ever appropriate to do so? I do think there is a lot of bias and docs tend to take other medical conditions less seriously when you have anxiety and depression.

Is it necessary for another specialty to list "psychiatric conditions: anxiety or depression" on their medical history questionnaire? Am I obligated to disclose this?

I would love to hear your thoughts!

[lizardlady]

SeekingZen, my personally philosophy is to disclose ALL of my medical conditions on a questionairre at the doctor's office. I've gone to the doc to get help with a problem. They need to see the whole picture of me in order to treat whatever is going on.

That said, I will admit that there are some docs who see "depression" or "fibro" on my history and seem to stop reading at that point. They will try to blame whatever is going on on one or the other. I then have to advocate for myself and say "NO, that's NOT causing the current problem." I've had to go toe-to-toe with a couple of docs who wanted to blame health problems on depression.

[kebsfroggy]

I think it is always best to be honest (and detailed) with your dr. but at the same time you have to stick up for yourself too. If the doctor isn't responding to the information you are providing, tell him how you feel and if that doesn't work find a different dr.

I was having lower back pain and nothing my primary doc perscribed seemed to work. Then I went to pain management. They took "pictures" and we went from one pain med to another then more pills per day. Then came injections with the time between getting closer and closer. It was time to say "that's enough". They suggested I find a neurosurgeon. I did and now for the first time in almost 30 years I'm pain free. Seems I was a ticking time bomb to being a quadriplegic. 2 surgeries later I'm mostly pain free, an inch taller and off all pain meds.

I truly believe in telling your dr everything and also let him/her know when their treatment is not working. If you find they are not listening then it is definitely time for a new doc.

Good Luck and don't give up trying.
kebs

[SeekingZen]

kebsfroggy, I am so happy that you are doing well after going through years of back pain!
Thank you both for your helpful replies.

[puzzledone]

I have mixed feelings on this. I have always felt its best to be honest with your healthcare provider. Most of them have statement at the bottom of new patient forms that you sign stating you have filled the form out honestly. And that they have the right to discharge you from their practice if they find out you did not.

I used to be honest, but I choose carefully now . When my last dr found out I had depression and anxiety, then all ther sudden all my physical complaints were in my head. Even though there were plenty of test results showing they were not.

[yellowted]

if they are anything like my doctor they wont take any notice of anything you tell them untill your third appointment in one month and getting three in a month is rarer than unicorn sxxt!

[Leed]

YellowTed -- I thought you were going to MY doctor until I saw you were in the UK. My doc doesn't listen either, unless I DEMAND that he SIT, be QUIET and LISTEN. It's ridiculous!! I basically have to treat him like a dog. Sit, quiet, listen! LOL Otherwise he's in and out of the exam room in about 2 minutes. Some doctor visit, huh?

[LucyG]

Originally Posted by Leed

YellowTed -- I thought you were going to MY doctor until I saw you were in the UK. My doc doesn't listen either, unless I DEMAND that he SIT, be QUIET and LISTEN. It's ridiculous!! I basically have to treat him like a dog. Sit, quiet, listen! LOL Otherwise he's in and out of the exam room in about 2 minutes. Some doctor visit, huh?

Leed, toooo funny!!! I had to tell an neurologist that if he wouldn't help me, I expected to be referred to the University school of medicine. My husband thinks he realized he was open to a charge of failure to treat so he actually sat down, got a pen and paper and listened carefully to every word I said. When I got done [I was half screaming, half crying I was so sick and in so much pain], he ordered numerous very complicated blood test that freaked the lab techs out they were so complex--the blood couldn't be exposed to light, etc., etc.

As far as the OP question, I know fibro is the medical profession's dreaded 'F' word that they won't utter to save themselves. I know this as I was misdiagnosed with it, and one doctor out-and-out refused to even use the word lest it defile his lips. I had gotten to the point I'd done enough research on the subject and was treating my pain with trigger point massage--I had myofascial pain which is why I was misdiagnosed--didn't have the tender points per se unless I just happened to have myofascial pain in the same area. Anyway, I also was using supplements and meds that I had researched that supposedly helped so I wasn't really seeking their help which is good because they just don't want to deal with it. Like another one of my doctors told me, it isn't that they don't believe in it, it's that it's incredibly difficult to treat with very almost no positive results so it frustrates everyone to death.

I would downplay the depression and fibro unless that's what you're going in for. If it comes up, try to move the conversation back to your original complaint so they can't blame it on just being depressed.

Here's a link to a post where the OP also has fibro among other things so I posted a lot of info I've researched on fibro with some really great links that helped me figure out what was going on with me.

http://forums.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=252479

[Travelinglady]

I see a comment I made sparked some discussion. In thinking of recent behavior at new doctors' offices, I think I do try to mention my bipolar and fibromyalgia, but as was said, play it down. I did have an orthopedist who refused to do surgery on my wrist, saying it wasn't carpal tunnel, but likely the fibro that caused the pain. And I even had the EMG reports that said my nerve was being pressed on! I found another doc, had the surgery, and it has definitely made a difference.

I try to work hard at how I come across, given my bipolar. I found out my former GP was being very careful in what she told me about a diagnosis, worried that I might "overreact." Sigh.

[Pixie12]

This is a good question. On the one hand we want to be taken seriously and be seen as a whole patient. On the other hand if we do that we could be setting ourselves up to be given the brush off. The problem with not telling the doctor is if we are taking medications and the medications do not mix well we could have a bad reaction and become sick or even die. So not telling the doctor isn't in our best interest from that perspective.
Pixie

[Squaw]

I have found that since I have a serious chronic back and neck problem, along with fibromyalgia that developed as a result of this...I CANNOT find a PCP that will listen or hear me, after they realize that I have anxiety issues and being Bipolar seems to scare them, or cause them not to listen to me...I need a doc that I can depend on regardless of what illness I am seeing them for. As for receiving pain meds, no one wants to prescribe them since I seem to have "mental issues". I don't take lots of meds in the first place so I don't understand why they don't want to hear what you are trying to tell them......so frustrating.

[Rose76]

A year ago I would have answered this differently. I used to believe in giving any doctor as much info as possible about myself. Not now.

I was referred to someone about my neck pain, related to 2 deteriorated discs. He seemed to be minimalizing it. I said that I was having a lot of anxiety about the problem. When I said that, he smiled broadly and nodded and said something that sounded like he thought that was my main problem. I was very disappointed.

I tend to be anxious about anything wrong that I can't fix. I do have a low pain threshhold. But my neck problem is not in my mind. An X-ray and an MRI show degenerative change. Supposedly, the images do not show anything horribly alarming, but I've heard (from a resident) that doctors can't really tell how bad pain is by what shows up on images.

I will never mention anxiety to any doctor, other than a psychiatrist. Even with my PCP-MD, I now maintain a purposefully calm demeanor and hide my emotions about anything I discuss with him. The past year has convinced me that doctors absolutely do discount symptoms when they know of a history of anxiety. Unfortunately, all my doctors are in the same system and can electronically read each others notes (I think.) So I don't expect an unbiased response.

Next year, when I qualify for Medicare, I will go to another system of providers. I plan to not discuss my psych issues with anyone, other than to tell them what meds I am on so they can reorder them. Maybe trust will evolve, but I don't count on that.

I think fibromyalgia is met with a variety of attitudes. I once heard a pdoc in a facility where I was employed explain to staff that it was a "waste basket diagnosis." It seems to me that each generation of doctors believes that they belong to the final generation that has figured out everything. I think they should be a lot more humble about things they don't understand well, especially given the history of the medical profession having so many lame ideas.

[(JD)]

Are they really listing anxiety and depression as psychiatric conditions?

Rather than say fibromyalgia, why not list that you have soreness/tender points? (Not trigger points.)

Treat them like a second opinion, you give some symptoms and see if they come up with the same "labels" as another doctor?

[Rose76]

I like JD's suggestion.