It's something I've noticed all through my life. Women will almost always go to get a check-up from their GP if there's something out of the ordinary. But men seem to ignore it if there's something slightly wrong until the symptoms get more serious, which by then of course is a much bigger problem.

My housemate told me his **** had been soil black the last two times he went to the toilet and that he also had stomach cramps. I've been trying to convince him to go the doctors but he keeps on saying he'll 'just wait'.

So what do you reckon it is? Fear that it reminds you that you're not invincible? Embarrasment? Laziness?

Because from my point of view it's win/win if you go the doctors. If it's nothing then it will be a weight off your mind and if it is serious then you have caught it as early as possible. I always go to see my GP if there is something worrying me.

Anyone got any other good examples of male friends/family putting off seeking medical help?

OMG and what about asking for directions right??? YEAH!

But really, f that because it costs $.

well asking for directions would hurt our male pride so that'[s obv out of the question

Healthcare is publically funded in the UK where I live so it wouldn't cost him zip to go.

But seriously, you don't think having blood in your **** and stomach cramps is a good enough reason to go the doctors?

Slippery slope. I've had blood in my **** a couple of times. Unless it's massive, I don't bother. And lo and behold, it went away after a short time. Strangely, this coincided with me eating **** tons and taking huge dumps.

See also: hypochondria. Note the slippery slope thing. And GPs know jack **** about a lot of stuff.

Because it costs money (here at least) and most of the time things correct themselves on their own.

I will agree I'm a poosy when it comes to going to the doc though. Something about the whole experience has just always creeped me out. On top of that, a lot of doctors don't know WTF they are talking about in my experience...yet most people never think to question them.

Going to the dentist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPQ7KMCrPLE

I went to a doctor after I kept passing out after trying to exercise(3 laps in a pool, I threw up and fell in the locker room)

The doctor said it was my diet and recommended The South Beach Diet.


Why don't I like going to the doctors? Because a lot of them aren't very smart.

why go to the doctor when you can just use google? all a doctor is going to do is listen to your symptoms then pull out one of his manuals and see what the symptoms mean. but now we all have access to those manuals there is no reason to go speak with the keeper of the manuals personally.

the only thing I cant do is run a blood test on someone. everytime one of my friends or family members is sick I just type it into google and I get a 100% accurate diagnosis. then they go to a doctor and pay him $100 copay just to hear him say " im not sure what it is take some tyelenol and come back to me ( and pay another$100) if the symptoms dont go away in a month. but by then its too late because they died of a brain tumor.

did he take pepto bismal for stomach cramps?

I don't mean going for every small niggle. But stuff like in the link below, cancer is a big one where men are really late to go get something done about it

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8154200.stm

Yeah I can understand it putting you off when you're paying $100 to get something you could have found on the internet. But in Britain it's free.

Also if you don't think what the doctor said is correct just ask to see a consultant or something. This happened to me, I had something wrong with my ear and the regular doctor kept telling me it was ok, I asked to see a consultant and he told me I needed an operation quite soon to prevent permanent damage. But I guess that would cost you again in most places?

did he drink pepto bismal for his upset stomach?

nah, why? does that make your **** go black?

I'm not "afraid" of it at all, but it simply doesn't seem worth the time/effort to me.

Also your OP seems to have a lot of faith in doctors....they're just normal people who learned a bunch of **** in the same schools and same classes we all went to. I've gone to a doctor twice that I can recall in my adult life...once was for something called alopecia areta(positive I butchered that spelling) where I started losing tiny patches of hair off the back of my scalp. The doctor told me it was due to stress and to wait a while and see if it goes away. other time was for damaged ulnar nerve in my arm/wrist/hand/fingers....doctor told me to take some anti-inflamatory medicine and ice it. Both times I considered it a total waste of a trip, and I even had to pay $100+ once due to being a poker player and not having insurance.

Best reason to go to a doctor is when you need a prescription. What are your other options, get pills from Saudia Arabia in a paper envelope? Meh.

Here's another example of why I hate going to the doctor:

I'm on TRT and wanted to talk to my doc about switching prescriptions. I called in and asked if I should get a blood test before coming in because it's pretty obv to me that it's going to be necessary. They said "nah just go ahead and come in". I make an appointment and pay the $40 copay just to hear "well we're going to need a blood test before I can do anything". $#$@...so tilting.

On top of that, I always have to inform HER of any new studies, protocols, etc that are proving to be effective for others. WTF? That's supposed to be her specialty...why am I even paying her? Oh yeah...just so she can scribble on a piece of paper so I can pick up my script.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHKTE75dgE4

Ummm yeah, of course. But they're experts in health. Same way you would take your car to a mechanic if it was broken and you didn't know how to fix it.

From what a lot of you are saying though it sounds like the health system is done differently over there. The healthcare I've received has always been very thorough and well done.

If you look at the article I posted above it shows there's a massive divide between men and women. These are the statistics for the UK



It just seems pointless to me that a lot of men pay their taxes, which go towards providing public health, then don't use it and then end up with a much worse state of health than if they had erred on the side of caution.

Do you think all these women are being overly cautious by going more often than men? There's some dude in that article who waited 9 months to get a swollen testicle checked out, that kind of thing just seems so stupid to me...

because women are weak so they are constantly looking for help from others in order to survive. men are trying to survive on their own and if they are good enough at surviving then they will be able to help others survive. if a man goes to a doctor then he is admitting that he has failed in his gender role.

Your family is in good hands.

Not necessarily...especially when you're talking about GP's. New studies are coming out all the time. Do you really think all docs are up to date? Some are, sure...but it's like any profession, there are some great docs and some very ****ty ones. You can't just automatically trust one because they have MD after their name.

I'm glad you brought this up bc it illustrates my point perfectly. Some mechanics are very knowledgeable and honest...others are incompetent and will **** you in the ass just to make a couple extra bucks. Do you really just take your car to one mechanic when you need it fixed? I always shop around. Prices and quality of work are vastly different depending on where you go...just like doctors.

This.

Also if I went to the doctor every time I had some weird ache or pain I'd spend my whole ****ing life in the waiting room.

Best reason to go to a GP: getting a referral to specialists. Or prescriptions.

And obviously some GPs are pretty knowledgeable on some subjects. The experienced ones have seen a lot of cases in their time after all, it would be foolish to dismiss everyone as clueless.

Obama doesn't care whether you visit a doctor or not. He only mandates that you fork over $5,000 a year as your share for his healthcare bill.