A doctor visit isn't the easiest place to ask embarrassing, scary questions. Yet, what doctors dread most is that you won't raise them during your next visit. That's because what you don't ask about is often what you need to know most.
Hear how Mayo Clinic experts hope you'll participate during your next medical visit, and why.
We asked Mayo Clinic experts: What questions do you wish your patients would ask?
Craig Sawchuk, Ph.D., Psychology: I wish patients would ask me more often, "What can I keep doing so I don't necessarily have to come back and see somebody like me?"
Laura Raffals, M.D., Gastroenterology and Hepatology: I hope that my patients will ask how they can improve their lifestyle or ask me what changes they can make in their lifestyle to help their overall health.
Dr. Sawchuk: Being in mental health, there's lots of things even long after therapy is over, that people can actually continue to do to maintain their gains over time.
Mikel Prieto, M.D., Transplant Surgery: Don't leave the office with questions because you just didn't dare to ask. The thing that would bother me the most is somebody, after leaving, they thought, "I wish I had dared to ask this or that," or "I wish I thought about this question."
Yvonne Butler Tobah, M.D., Obstetrics and Gynecology: Start asking questions like, "Well, how can I manage the pain during pregnancy?" As opposed to, "Oh my gosh, there's going to be so much pain during pregnancy."
Ian Parney, M.D., Ph.D., Neurosurgery: I encourage them all to speak up, to get as much information as they can, to ask as many things as they want to ask, to seek out as many sources of information as they'd like.
Dr. Butler Tobah: There's absolutely nothing wrong with walking into your doctor's office and stating that, "I'm worried about X," because of either this experience or, "Because I've heard this," and it's starting the discussion from there.
Karthik Giridhar, M.D., Medical Oncology: I love working with engaged patients. Patients that want to make sure that they're understanding why we're doing what we're recommending.
Dr. Prieto: What I want when I see a patient is that when they leave, they feel they have had the answers to everything they wanted to know.
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