When do you go to the doctor?

[dreamshark]

When I was posting about my back "going out" last week, a couple of people responded with "Go to a doctor immediately!" My response was, "Why on earth would I do that?" In general, I've found doctors to be useful only if I have a problem that is very specific, unambiguously diagnosable, and can be fixed by either medicine or surgery. Specifically, doctors are notoriously helpless when it comes to dealing with back pain. So, no, I didn't see a doctor.

But it got me wondering how other people make the decision to seek medical attention. I go to the doctor when I have an earache and/or pinkeye (which happens about once every 3 years) or when I have a cough that is so bad I can't sleep (twice in the past 10 years, I think). That's about it, really. I'd go to the doctor if I broke a bone or spiked a fever of 104, but so far neither of these has happened (knock wood). I used to visit doctors somewhat more often, but gradually stopped when I realized how rarely they were able to help me.

Am I completely weird about this? What guidelines do other people use for deciding when to visit a doctor?

Incidentally, my back is back to normal now. Thanks to all who gave advice or shared similar experiences. And if anybody who is reading this HAS ever found it helpful to go to a doctor for an aching back, I would be interested to hear about it.

Comments

When and why?

[markiv1111.livejournal.com]

I may have just gone to the default "talk to your doctor" because of my job. (Most of my LJ friends know that I'm a medical transcriptionist -- a glorified flunky who types doctor's notes -- but some of yours and mine might not.) I have developed a solid respect for the people whose notes I type; generally they can recommend *something*, with the thought in mind that if this recommendation doesn't work, you can come back and they can try something else. The times that I have been a patient, and not remotely helped by the doctor (four times in the last 38 years, starting the clock ticking when I started living on my own) the problems have had to do with doctors flatly not being willing to listen to what I had to say, and jumping to conclusions about my situation. I'm not saying this won't happen with you -- four times (from four different doctors) implies quite clearly that this problem is significant. But the chances are still good that the doctor will know more than a randomly selected friend, and be able to guess why it happened, how long it will last, and a few things that won't hurt and might help. The times I perceive this with my own health, I will see a doctor (less often than you might think); the times I perceive something else, I won't, unless necessary to get a "sick" excuse from work. But I need to admit that I am biased. I certainly don't have first-hand experience to confirm that doctors are completely ignorant about back pain, so your first-hand experience would obviously trump my lack thereof! (Right?)

Nate