Are you a sensible patient, or are you the terror of the nurses, sulking the whole time?--Al

-- Al Schroeder (al.schroeder@nashville.com), November 09, 1999

Answers

I'm the WORST. I sulk, I don't take doctor's advice, I am a horrible patient.--Al

-- Al Schroeder (al.schroeder@nashville.com), November 09, 1999.

I'm a horrible patient in that I won't go to see doctors. Doctor's offices and hospitals completely freak me out. Even dentist's offices are overwhelming. I hate needles, I hate people in white coats or green medical garb, I hate hospital smells, I hate someone poking and prodding me, i hate the doctor saying "hmm, that isn't good" then letting me hang for 10 minutes before he explains the comment. I feel paniced and depressed for weeks after a doctor's visit. I have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the doctor. However, once I'm there, I follow their advice to the letter.

-- Jason (bulldog2@bigfoot.com), November 09, 1999.

I'm the sort that drives Doctors up the wall asking zillions of questieons instead of being "properly" submissive and taking their advice as if it were handed down from the mount on stone tablets (pun not intended, or at least not admitted to be intended). But then I've been seriously ill for the past 5 years now, and the doctors haven't been able to do much, so my faith in the medical professions is somewhat shaky.

-- Bek Oberin (gossamer@tertius.net.au), November 12, 1999.

a good patient i think. before i go in i have made two lists...... one the medication i am on and any over the counter medications. the other list is the reporting of the unusual things about my condition. one other thing making me a good patient and an obedient one is my deep reading on medical matters, researching side effects on rx medications and reading books such as the ones joe graedon writes. i do not try to diagnose my case and ask questions on what i should do in addition to taking that medication prescribed, at the proper times. if i had continued my education, my aim was to be a doctor. our family doctor was a wonderful example of what a doctor should be and i wanted to follow him.

-- ici jongleur (ionoi@webtv.net), January 05, 2000.