Ah, the age-old famous hypochondriac question: should a hypochondriac switch doctors?
Well, the answer is a bit more complicated than just a simple yes or no. As with anything else in this life, there are several pros and several cons that come with this inquiry. For a hypochondriac, switching doctors comes with more complications than it would for an individual who does not suffer from hypochondria.
Should a Hypochondriac Switch Doctors: Pros
You May Get Different Perspectives.
Different doctors offer different perspectives. This is due to a wide variety of factors: where your doctor went to medical school, what your doctor specializes in, who your doctor was mentored by, when your doctor went to medical school, where they interned and for how long, what type of technological advances were available to them at the time of their training…you get the drill.
There are a lot of different ways that doctors can approach the same issue.
Therefore, it makes sense that, if you switch doctors, you may get different perspectives. Now, this can often be a slippery slope for hypochondriacs. If you are looking to get different perspectives in the sense that you want to keep checking whether or not that mole is suspicious, even though you’ve already been told multiple times that it’s not…well, that’s a little bit different.
It is only a good idea to switch doctors for different perspectives if you are looking for a second opinion. When you start to get into third, fourth, and fifth opinions, that’s when you start to get into the tricky realm of hypochondria versus genuine health concern.
Therefore, it may be a good idea to have your established primary care physician whom you trust and whom knows about your hypochondria. It also may be a good idea to have an established secondary care physician whom you can turn to for a second opinion (and to get a different perspective) without having the instability of jumping from doctor to doctor.
You May Be Taken More Seriously.
It may be tempting to switch doctors, especially if your primary care physician knows about your hypochondria. After a while, you may start to feel as if your primary care physician is no longer taking you seriously. You may feel as if they’re brushing off your concerns or not taking them seriously. If that is the case, you may want to consider switching primary care physicians.
The reason why is that you may be taken more seriously with a new physician, even if they know your history of hypochondria. If you come to them with a concern, they may be more careful in looking at it or giving you a diagnosis.
One thing you will need to remember, however, is that doctors take an oath to do no harm when treating patients. So, even if you feel as if your initial primary care physician is no longer paying attention to you, rest assured that if they see any serious indicators of disease, that they have a duty to report these to you and help you seek out treatment.
You Will Get a Fresh Start.
Sometimes, it’s just nice to get a fresh start. You may feel as if you have too much history with your current doctor, and that you’ve aired out too many hypochondriac concerns. In this case, you may be tempted to switch doctors to get a fresh start.
Should a Hypochondriac Switch Doctors: Cons
You Won’t Have an Accurate Baseline.
If you switch your doctor, you won’t have an accurate baseline when you get tests or other medical procedures done. This is due to the fact that your new provider won’t have a history with you and won’t know about what health concerns you may have had or experienced in the past.
You could arrange to have your health records transferred over to your new provider, but for many hypochondriacs, this is besides the point. Part of the reason why you want to switch doctors is because you may want to start over with your history of health anxiety and go to a new doctor.
However, if your doctor doesn’t have your baseline, you may know information that they don’t know…and that could lead to some wrong or differential diagnoses. If you reveal that you know something about your health, they may ask you to send over your medical records anyways. At that point, they would then find out that you suffered from health anxiety and may not take you seriously.
All around, this option is a lose-lose.
You May Not Get The Most Accurate Results.
Because your new doctor won’t have your medical history or know about your hypochondriac diagnosis, you may find that you may not get the most accurate results when you get testing or medical procedures done.
As a hypochondriac, this alone should make you wary of switching doctors. If your primary goal is to preserve and maintain your health, you’re going to want to ensure that your test results are as accurate as they can be. Otherwise, you may have a serious health condition that goes undiagnosed because you don’t have the most accurate test results made available to you.
You Won’t Have an Established Patient-Doctor Relationship.
It takes a little while to become comfortable with a new doctor. As with any relationship, there are things that both parties involved must say or do in order to become comfortable with the new doctor. Trust is one of the most important factors involved in whether or not you feel comfortable with a new doctor.
Established patient-doctor relationships are mutually beneficial for both parties because they are familiar with one another, (presumably) trust each other, and are willing to work towards the same common goal of healing.
You Won’t Have Compassion or Understanding.
If you switch doctors because you were embarrassed about how often you were reaching out to your previous doctor, you may want to think twice before doing so. If hypochondriac embarrassment is the underlying reason for your switch, it can be safely assumed that you won’t tell your new doctor that you struggle with regular health anxiety.
This is a bad idea, simply because you will not be met with the same compassion and understanding as your initial physician. If a doctor knows that you are struggling with hypochondria, they can do their best to assure and comfort you while yet not enabling you. If a doctor doesn’t know you are struggling with hypochondria, they likely will not understand if you come to them with multiple concerns in a panic. They may even start to not take you seriously or view you as the “Boy Who Cried Wolf.”
So, should a hypochondriac switch doctors? That’s a very personal decision, but we certainly hope this article helped give you clarity.
