Question about visiting the Dr.

[Tommyhinzo]

Hello. This is my first post. Hopefully this is an appropriate board to post this question. I am a 26 year old male. I am healthy. I hate going to doctors. I have not been in over 7 years. I have a new HMO and therefore a new PCP. Before my PCP will see me, he wants to give me a physical (I'm sure this is routine). I do not want a genital exam. I check my testicals every week for lumps and I will go to a doctor if I find an abnormaility. How do I go about telling my PCP this? Will he even see me if I don't submit to a type of physcial that he deems neccesary? Please do not tell me to go ahead and get the full exam...ie "its not so bad." I will not do it. I would rather self-medicate (if needed get antibiotics from the internet/black market) than have a full physical. I'd appreciate any advice and/or insight. Thanks!

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[Tommyhinzo]

anyone?

 

[mamadoc]

anyone?

**long sigh**
No one's responding because, unfortunately, it's kind of a stupid question and you're being unreasonable. You are not qualified to diagnose lumps, whether in your testicles or elsewhere, or other physical findings. How do you KNOW, if you are not a physician accustomed to examining people, that your self-exam is normal?? And setting such limits on a doctor's exam is asking the doctor to be unreasonable - as in, you're asking the doctor NOT to practice competently. For a physician to do an exam on a 26-year-old man without doing a testicular exam is irresponsible and incompetent. I don't know anyone who'd agree to your conditions.

What I would recommend is that you ask to *discuss* with your new PCP your concerns. You don't explain why you don't want to submit to this exam, but you need to trust your new doctor enough to explain your reluctance to him or her. S/he may be able to address your concerns in a way that will make it easier to proceed. Just don't ask any of us to practice irresponsibly.

 

[AJM]

Well, first off I'll also add my opinion that you are being unreasonable because testicular cancer is one of the main things that a 26 year old man is at risk for.

That said, go ahead and make the appointment. You don't have to tell them ahead of time that you don't want a testicular exam. And yes, your physician will still see you and be your doctor even if you refuse portions of the exam. What your doctor will do is document that you refused the testicular exam. He/she will document this more to cover him/herself in case you present later on with late-stage testicular cancer or hernia or some other problem and are mad because your doctor never found a lump.

It's not a big deal to tell your physician that you don't want them to do a part of the exam -- this happens all the time. Being a female physician, I have had several male patients express their discomfort at a testicular exam. I usually sit down and discuss their discomfort with them as well as explain the pros and cons of the exam -- 19 times out of 20 they will change their minds and consent to the exam, and then they'll find out it wasn't nearly as bad as they thought it would be. Again, if you still want to refuse the exam that's your choice. Your physician isn't going to refuse to be your doctor just because of this.

 

[Tommyhinzo]

**long sigh**
No one's responding because, unfortunately, it's kind of a stupid question and you're being unreasonable. You are not qualified to diagnose lumps, whether in your testicles or elsewhere, or other physical findings. How do you KNOW, if you are not a physician accustomed to examining people, that your self-exam is normal??

With all due respect, your arrogance may be outweighing your intelligence on this matter. I have felt my testicles at least once a week for the past 9-10 years. I will know better than any other person on earth if a lump is present. Attitudes like yours make me want to reconsider going into medical malpractice litigation (I'm currently a law student *ducks*). If you are a doctor, I really hope you have the sense to listen to your patients concerns and honor their requests (even if you dont agree with them).


P.S. I think medical malpractice lawsuits are out of control and tort reform is badly needed.

 

[Tommyhinzo]

Well, first off I'll also add my opinion that you are being unreasonable because testicular cancer is one of the main things that a 26 year old man is at risk for.

That said, go ahead and make the appointment. You don't have to tell them ahead of time that you don't want a testicular exam. And yes, your physician will still see you and be your doctor even if you refuse portions of the exam. What your doctor will do is document that you refused the testicular exam. He/she will document this more to cover him/herself in case you present later on with late-stage testicular cancer or hernia or some other problem and are mad because your doctor never found a lump.

It's not a big deal to tell your physician that you don't want them to do a part of the exam -- this happens all the time. Being a female physician, I have had several male patients express their discomfort at a testicular exam. I usually sit down and discuss their discomfort with them as well as explain the pros and cons of the exam -- 19 times out of 20 they will change their minds and consent to the exam, and then they'll find out it wasn't nearly as bad as they thought it would be. Again, if you still want to refuse the exam that's your choice. Your physician isn't going to refuse to be your doctor just because of this.

I hope this is the case. Thanks for the reply. I may make an appointment on Tuesday....as I mentioned above, I do not think I am being unreasonable. I know my testicles better than naybody else.

 

[FMbound]

With all due respect, your arrogance may be outweighing your intelligence on this matter. I have felt my testicles at least once a week for the past 9-10 years. I will know better than any other person on earth if a lump is present. Attitudes like yours make me want to reconsider going into medical malpractice litigation (I'm currently a law student *ducks*). If you are a doctor, I really hope you have the sense to listen to your patients concerns and honor their requests (even if you dont agree with them).


P.S. I think medical malpractice lawsuits are out of control and tort reform is badly needed.

With all due respect back to you, you probably do know all the lumps and bumps in your testicles. Doctors encourage their patients to do testicular self-exams. There are even teaching models so that patients know what to look for.

That being said, YOU would be the first one to file a lawsuit against your doctor if he or she happened to miss a cancerous mass because YOU refused the testicular exam.

Food for thought.