Fibbing to your doctor is a lose-lose situation. If they don’t know all the facts, it makes it harder for them to give you the best care—also, you can trust your doctor to keep your secrets thanks to a little legal precedent known as doctor-patient confidentiality. Here are the things people should never lie to their doctor about—and why.
Shaving a few years—or even a few decades—off of your age at the doctor's office might feel more like stretching the truth than telling a lie, but it can ultimately prevent your doctor from doing their job properly. For instance, if you were to say you're in your 30s instead of revealing that you're actually in your late 40s, your doctor might mistake those hot flashes as a symptom of hyperthyroidism instead of a symptom of menopause.
"Drinking is going to affect the body much more prominently in your 40s," explains Dr. David Greuner of NYC Surgical Associates. Excessive drinking can cause a myriad of health issues that range from heart disease to hepatitis—but the more honest you are about your drinking habits, the better your odds will be. Patients who are diagnosed with alcoholic cirrhosis, for instance, have a five-year survival rate of 90 percent when they stop drinking compared to a five-year survival rate of 70 percent when they continue to hit the bottle. Plus, if your provider doesn't know that you're a heavy drinker, then they might just end up prescribing you something that really doesn't mix well with alcohol—but by the time you know it, it'll be too late.
Be careful not to leave out any details about your family's medical history when you talk to your doctor—genetics can play a major role in your physical and mental health. The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center notes that "some people are genetically predisposed to developing certain types of cancer," and folks with familial histories of cancer can benefit from getting genetic testing.
"In spite of all the technology available today, the history is still the mainstay of diagnosis," notes one report written in Physician Connection. "The impact of social, environmental, hereditary, and behavioral factors on patient well-being and illness must be realized in the patient's history." Everything from allergies to medications to previous surgeries can have an impact on a doctor's diagnosis and course of treatment.
Typically it's impossible to lie to your doctor about how much you weigh, given that doctors' offices have scales at the ready. But it's important to tell your GP the truth about your size, even if you may be uncomfortable with it—especially if your weight borders on obese. Research published in the journal Pharmacotherapy, for instance, found that standard doses of certain antibiotics didn't work for obese individuals. Remember: with your doctor, honesty is always the best policy.
Patients don't really lie about their symptoms so much as they simply forget to mention them—but everything you omit makes it harder for you to get an accurate diagnosis. Every symptom—even if it doesn't seem like a symptom at all—brings your doctor closer to the cause of your pain and suffering—and likewise, anything you leave out can lead to a misdiagnosis.
All of the medications you take—whether they're prescribed or unprescribed—should be revealed during the informational portions of your doctors' appointments. Every medication, from over-the-counter sleep aids to prescription anxiety pills, has its own fair share of side effects, and failing to mention that you're taking something could prevent your doctor from accurately diagnosing the root of your discomfort—or worse."The most dangerous [lie] is not being honest about what medications [you] are taking," says Glen Stream, a primary care physician with the Rockwood Clinic in Washington. "Sometimes patients see more than one physician because they try to compartmentalize their health issues or view them to be unrelated. Perhaps they're taking a psychiatric medication that they don't tell you about and you're seeing them for their blood pressure. You could prescribe something that could have a potentially fatal complication."
Oh, really? This seemingly minor omission could seriously derail your health. As Agus explains, when his patients don’t tell him about all of the medications they’re taking, he may miss an important interaction or potential side effect. This includes prescription drugs like blood-thinners, antibiotics, antidepressants, and heart medications, as well as supplements and over-the-counter drugs, such as aspirin, minerals, amino acids, botanicals, and vitamins.“Supplements are drugs and need to be treated as such,” he told Gizmodo. “They should be listed on a patient’s record of their medications.” The nature of drug-on-drug reactions depend on the particular mixture and the unique physiology of the patient, but some drugs pack a bigger punch than others.
A patient comes in for surgery and the anesthesiologists asks, “When was the last time you had anything to eat or drink?” The patient responds, “Oh doc, I haven’t had anything all day.” It may sound like a harmless fib, but according to M. Fahad Khan, assistant professor of anesthesiology at NYU Langone Medical Center, it could result in disaster.“It is very important for patients to be honest about that last oral intake of food or drink as it can have significant consequences with regards to their anesthetic plan,” he told Gizmodo. “Patients presenting for elective surgery are assumed to have an empty stomach, because they are prepped to do so.”
“If your cholesterol is up, blood glucose is high, as is your blood pressure, don’t just say you’ve been going through a bad period when your life has been bad for as long as you can remember,” says David Jenkins, professor of Nutritional Sciences and Medicine at the University of Toronto. “You need help. You need a change in lifestyle.
And if that’s not sufficient then you need a change in meds.”Dr. G. John Mullen says that too many patients try to sound perfect for their doctors, but lying about exercise in particular only hurts the patients. “We all know diabetes and heart disease are major problems in developed countries,” he told Gizmodo. “Exercise and diet are the best methods for beating these diseases, so don’t lie about it! Overlooking the daily necessity of nutrition and exercise is a big problem. Be honest and get some helpful tips from your doctor.”
A patient may tell their doctor that they’re only taking about 1 to 2 tablets of Tylenol once in a while, but in reality they’re taking about two tablets every four hours around the clock, seven days a week. As Dr. Khan explains, acetaminophen toxicity is real and can be deadly.“Doctors need to know an accurate record of how much over-the-counter acetaminophen a patient is actually taking in order to prescribe them a safe pain management plan,” he says. “Several pain medications (i.e. Percocet, Vicodin, Norco, Ultracet) are combination pills that include a strong acting opioid medication in addition to acetaminophen.”
