Comments on: Have You Ever Lied to Your Doctor?

By: E

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 13:20:52 +0000

I was misdiagnosed with bipolar II and I have lied to an MD’s about it because A)I don’t want to be stigmatized for it and B)I was transitioning off all the meds I hadn’t needed and didn’t want to be pressured back into taking them.

It has backfired at times (sometimes spectacularly) because they found out later and have tried to cause me grief for it, but I still see myself as justified.

Now I just go ahead and say the dx because it’s easier to just play the game. I am not on anywhere near the med load, my life is so much better as a result of not being in a constant fog and no one who didn’t have access to my medical records would ever think that I had a classifiable mental illness.

If I have to live with being stigmatized by doctors then f@*&k it, they’re a very small part of my life anyway, and I’ve come to realize that as long as I’m “normal” they can’t do anything to hurt me anymore.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 01:55:07 +0000

Never. I have bipolar disorder, and, was at first misdiagnosed as depressed. It wasn’t because I concealed my mania. At first, I didn’t mention it because it was mild and I didn’t recognize it. When I did start to suspect that I was bipolar, my psychiatrist told me that she’d have to see me in a manic episode or I’d have to have a family history to be diagnosed as bipolar. So she told me it was just anxiety and put me on anti-anxiety drugs that turned me into a zombie. I saw a different psychiatrist, and she didn’t hesitate to diagnose me based on a test and my description of my symptoms.

By: chris

chris — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:53:17 +0000

well for me my case is differ. i dealt with battles of emotions since i was little but just never spoke to anyone about it cause i dont wanna have that lable of being bipolar i just want to be me. but as time is going on i see that i might need help with dealing with it so i need to see or speak to a doctor before i can nolonger handle it. so to answer the question yes i have hid things from my doctor…..

By: Miley McClain

Miley McClain — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:59:33 +0000

Yes I have lied to doctors while in JPS / Trinity Springs and WFSH just to get out of there. After being in so many time for overdosing I know what they need to hear to make them think I was better but still felt like a danger to myself many times. I never stayed on my medications either, to me they never helped slove the problems anyway so why waste my time and money on things like that. I still have a lot of mood changes but who doesn’t. I tend to take things out on some people not intending to but I have a family who cares and understands the life I have been through. Who wouldn’t want to kill themselves after losing their children, home, spouse. My kids are grown now and I see them sometimes but still have a hard time dealing with some stress issues even at work I get depressed. And yes the medications I believe cause a lot of side effects. I became a diabetic after being hospitalized many times for my Bipolar, Borderline personality. I even went as far to bark at the doctor in WFSH. I told him that some one in there had to have a since of humor to keep things from being too bored. And yes the doctors do lie too. They told me I would get out in one week then they test you to see if you can handle the truth that is why I overdosed in there.I will never take anything else for my depression but let God handle my problems.
Thanks Miley Atwood; Jackson, Sampley, McClain

By: Anon1

Anon1 — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:03:46 +0000

“have you had patients who have attempted to sway you to facilitate their own agenda?” Isn’t there a problem if the doctor’s decided that (s)he has a different agenda than the patient? The people who’ve mentioned suicidal thoughts as something they’ve avoided telling doctors about almost certainly saved themselves some trouble, possibly some serious, life-altering trouble. A doctor who over-reacts to the word “suicide” could easily take some steps that would a make a miserable person’s life feel even less worth living and that would have a significant negative effect on that person long after any suicidal thoughts had subsided.

By: Kass

Kass — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:29:14 +0000

I have not explained the extent of some of my more scary symptoms (delusions/hallucinations). I also tinker with my meds without telling my doctor, which is a form of lying I suppose.

By: NancyT

NancyT — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:23:11 +0000

I tend to be the opposite. As a retired RN, I tend to see all kinds of “symptoms.” So I wait until I absolutely have to see my doctor and then I let him have it will all my self-diagnoses. I list all the symptoms and any other details.

Sometimes he’ll (very politely) tell me he doesn’t agree and why. Sometimes he thinks it’s worth following up on and orders a few blood tests. I’m not crazy about testing, it’s just that I’m familiar with all of it so I don’t fear any procedures.

Nine times out of ten, the results come back “normal” which is really quite reasurring to me.

It also tells me to refrain from being so eager to rattle off signs and symptoms. I’m not the one who went to medical school, but….. I get a bit of satisfaction when I’m able to say, “I knew it!”

We both laugh then. (usually) I have a great doctor.

By: Busy

Busy — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:33:17 +0000

Have I lied to my doctor? you betcha. I would never admit that I think of suicide daily, Have done so since I waa a child. I wake up every morning and evaluate wether I will live this day or not. Truth is, I have too many people depending on me to leave now. But once they are all gone…who knows.
Do I sound depressed? sure, But I am used to being this way. Don’t feel comfortable on meds that make me artificially happy. And I don’t want to go back to having to pay someone just to whine to them. So I quit therapy and meds. Not officially bipolar, but I have always been aware of rapid mood swings, just never so high and happy, more irritable snapping at people, but always short lived and back to the down feeling where it seems I will be pretty much forever.

By: smz

smz — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:18:56 +0000

I am not bipolar, I do have ADHD which requires me to visit with a psychiatric nurse practitioner on a regular basis for perscriptions. I have tried to be as honest as possible however there have been some instances when I have found it easier to avoid being completely open.

For instance, in the initial evaluation she asked if I had ever had suicidal thoughts, I think that to some degree all of us have had a fleeting moment of questioning this though it does not usually escalate to the level of actually taking action.

Also, I denied ever having had an eating disorder because I know that the medications for ADHD are not recommended for use in individuals with eating disorders. I believe that I am not currently in a situation where that factor is of concern and that treating the ADHD is of greater value than the risks associated potential eating disorders at this time.

In addition, I frequently avoid discussing areas of my life affected by ADHD that could still use improving upon because she often tends to over analyse things and is not able to relate in many instances. Any negative discussion tends to prompt her to suggesting antidepresants which I have not found to be of any help in dealing with my particular issues.

So, bottom line is, yes I have lied to doctors. However not out of a desire to be dishonest but as a means to benifit my treatment.

By: thinker22

thinker22 — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:36:04 +0000

I’ve been diagnosed as bipolar by both a psychiatric nurse practitioner and my PhD therapist. The former thinks I have bipolar ii and the latter, bipolar i. The reason why it took so long to diagnose (I’m now 30) is not because of lies, but unintentional omissions. My super “up” periods seemed to be the real me…who I wanted to be…so it never registered that they were a part of a larger disorder. I thought my problem was just the severe depression. My regular manic (not hypomanic) episodes (several identified in the past week at age 20, 23, and 29) were not full of elation, but rather insomnia, irritability, and impulsiveness for weeks and at times months. That can just seem like anxiety/depression too.

So, have I ever lied to any of my doctors? No. But if you don’t know what you’re dealing with, you can leave out details you don’t know are important to what you see as your problem. I was afraid of medication (and kind of still am since we’ve not found the right combo in all this time and I’m not feeling so great at the moment) until last summer when I decided to give it a try out of a last ditch effort, but my fear of it never caused me to lie about my depression, it just kept me from going to psychiatrists and MDs for most of my life.

I agree with the others who have issues with the authorities who don’t listen or make assumptions about one’s health and mental state as if it’s their body or they’ve seen enough cases to generalize about the individual patient. That can turn a patient cynical and less cooperative if not hostile. I think most people go to doctors for help and they realize if they’re not honest, they won’t get the help they need.