Check out this article in USA Today! Thanks to my friend Joyce for alerting me about this.

The title is "Experts say lying patients at risk".

I’m so glad they published this article…and published it where lots of people will read it.

As embarrassed or unsure as you are about what a doctor’s reaction might be, it’s so vital that you tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

People tend to avoid subjects such as sex, depression (or other psych problems), herbal medicines, taking old medications (such as previously prescribed antibiotics), drinking habits, other conditions.

If you don’t tell the doctor about everything, you risk getting medications that will adversely interact with what you are taking. Many herbal medicines have dangerous interactions too.

Do not make the mistake of compartmentalizing your doctors. You may think that a specialist is taking care of a problem completely unrelated to anything else you have. But everything in your body (and everything you put into your body) is interconnected. So, tell them about everything. Oh, and don’t withhold information because you think that telling the doctor about everything is wasting his time. That is not the case when it comes to understanding what is happening in your body.

This is the reason I am such an advocate of carrying a list of your medical problems AND a list of your medications!

Read this article and pay attention, please.

Terrie