The #1 reported reason people avoid doctor’s appointments is because they’re afraid of finding out they have a serious illness.
If you have that fear, that’s normal and you’re not alone. Also remember, there is basically no serious illness that isn’t less serious if you catch it sooner.
If you have that fear, that’s normal and you’re not alone. Also remember, there is basically no serious illness that isn’t less serious if you catch it sooner.
Comments
It wasn’t appendicitis, it was Crohn’s.
I went early. Didn't get treatment for my chronic illness. Developed fibromyalgia because of it.
So there's that too.
not that I'll have a serious illness, but the cost of diagnosing, treating, and living with it.
maybe he's generalizing these claims, which were part of Cleveland Clinics men's health awareness month, about why men, specifically, avoid doctors
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/why-so-many-men-avoid-doctors
definitely grounded in reality. they did a great job getting honest self report answers from participants, nothing to worry about here!
I can't believe someone would do all that work and simply not address cost. That's academic malpractice, journalistic malpractice, or a twofer
1. I'm fine (in which case I've wasted my money).
2. I'm gonna die (in which case I've wasted my money).
I go to the doctor when somebody makes me.
and the bill that i cant afford in the first place.. let alone treatment if i am sick...
And fighting back and forth between insurance companies.
THAT'S the #1 reason. And when you pay to an insurance company who may or probably not cover it, why go?
Ignorance can be bliss.
If I have a serious illness, it’ll kill me before I ever know it, not out of stubbornness but because I can’t afford not to die to it.
A lot of healthcare professionals opt for "less work equals more money," especially with those covered by - in the EU - public health insurance
If you pay for it yourself, they take you a lot more seriously since they can charge the heck out of you. They can't do that with insurance.
Most Americans are probably more afraid of the cost of treatment of a serious illness than they are of the illness itself.
I went to a regular doctor. She spent the entire appointment pushing behavioral health surveys in front of me.
Didn't order one lab or test.
Noted my chart that I wasted HER time.
Haven't been back.
Gonna die from it. Is what it is.
It's so much worse for others though.
So many med establishments being financed by pharm companies. They skip over real issues. Some folks never find out what is wrong.
Fam member told docs something was being missed. Didn't listen to him.
Found out last week he has metastatic cancer.
https://youarewithinthenorms.com/2025/02/16/the-digital-nooses-predictive-policing-peter-thiel-and-algorithmic-genocide-podcast-anlysis-and-review-the-artificial-intelligences-council-of-trent/
My heart attack will be fatal because I can't afford to find out early.
Ah well, at least none us will have health coverage pretty soon and I won't have to stress. I'll know nothing will be covered by anything and I'll just die.
If you live in a rural area, you can't find a doctor without a half day drive after waiting 2 months to get in, sent to another, a year later...
It is not just the fear of having serious illness, but then the stress and fear of going into medical debt.
Of course, worrying about family and friends(being a burden)...
Then there is losing your job, etc...
How 'bout, "There basically are no serious health issues that will be any 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 serious if discovered later rather than sooner."?
Other words, it's likely that 𝘢𝘯𝘺 health issue will be worse the longer it goes undetected.
Way to go America 👍
And then come home to a $15,000 bill to learn absolutely nothing as the doctors say “we don’t know, let’s keep an eye on it”
This shouldn’t happen at all in the world’s biggest economy. It’s just cruel.
I HAVE health insurance and this is still partly the reason I avoid doctors for anything that isn't obviously a virus or injury. I get passed around and told to "come back if it get's worse" until I'm so sick of missing work & scheduling appointments that I give up.
Come, be the 11th province.
My reason is $$$$$.
No way in the world to get advance warning of costs. No matter how many phone calls you make.
It is impossible.
But, finding out you have a serious illness is often the first step to recovery.
I know it's not quite that bad, but everyone is afraid.
😬
I'm not proud to admit it because I've rarely experienced racism (lots of white in me,) but hooooooo boy, have I had to fight as a woman.
For reference, I've had chronic pain all my life.
Well, a hysterectomy for stage 4 endometriosis happened at age 27 (doc was a woman,) and then...
Yep. Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.
My collagen is trash and my joints are falling apart.
It was never in my head. It was in my DNA.
It just doesn't vibe well with me, I know and acknowledge the cleanliness but I don't like it.
At this point, seeking basically any non-emergent care feels like more risk than just staying home and hoping for the best.
First doctor who did ordered a surgical procedure within five minutes. That took five years to get.
And that was before the shit hit the fan.
Think needing extensive chemo after the cancer has spread vs just getting that suspicious mole checked out and removed
I want those diagnoses for you, and I want you to be safe when it happens
❤️💛💙
You have NO IDEA how much I hate cooking.
I don't have an attic, but y'all could just like, stay in my house or something.
You'll be my cousin from Missouri, here to resettle due to an infestation of roaches in your country.
It'll be fun! I'm in the sub-arctic, so dress warm! 💜
.. since I am a straight female, it was not the place I needed to be.
I've been a healthcare provider for more than 20 years. I intellectually know that's bullshit. But knowing this has not changed the reality.
Hope we see increased Sarco pod debate this year.
I was thinking fear of medical debt/bankruptcy over condition more this decade.
Healthcare also makes a lot of poor people too.
It's definitely the cost in the area I'm in. 🤦♀️
That also means the people who don't have the money to go to the doctor over every worry, don't get asked by doctors why they don't go to doctor appointments.
So I think cost is probably the actual #1, just not talked about as much.
I have gotten annual checks without fail. Two biopsies.
Zero surgeries.
I’m 60 years old with my original parts intact.
Proactive is better than reactive. 💐
I can either have a good plan that costs a third of my pay or a high deductible plan I can afford that pays for nothing until I meet the deductible. (Which is over 3 months of my take home pay)
I've Epilepsy & had a stroke. Just the thought of making an appointment causes anxiety. Walking into hospitals pisses me off. Still haven't gone a year without a seizure. My brain🗑ed.
https://youtu.be/J_swGiAHhbQ
US healthcare and capitalism, am I right?
But it's almost always true, especially if you are showing symptoms, so do see your doctor regularly.
4 appointments later I am just given antibiotics....