Doctors beg patients not to lie about these 6 things, and I bet you’re exaggerating on the fourth

If you’re like most people, you probably exaggerate when you see your doctor. This might look like lying about how much you drink each week, how much you exercise, symptoms of depression, or thoughts about taking new medications.

In fact, a University of Utah study found that 60 to 80 percent of adults lie to doctors about their lifestyle habits.

Failure to disclose your complete medical condition to your doctor can harm your health, so such omissions are especially dangerous. Of course, there are many reasons why people ignore the truth; they may lie because they are afraid of a lecture, worried about a new prescription, or afraid of a doctor’s judgment.

“People do think that if doctors knew something about their habits, good or bad, that doctors would think differently about them and treat them differently,” said Dr. Katie Freeman, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School. “But we really don’t care. We don’t have time to judge people. We really want to know so we can figure out what the next steps are going to look like.”

Hiding your condition from your doctor will only make their job more difficult and endanger your health. Below, doctors share what they really want their patients to stop lying about, and why it’s so harmful:

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1. Not taking medication.

“I find that one thing I really, really always wonder about is if there are people who are not taking their medications,” said Dr. Raquel Zemtsov, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

This is a common question. Studies show that up to 50% of people who take statins, a type of cholesterol-lowering drug, stop taking them or don’t take them as prescribed within the first year of starting.

Zemtsov said she doesn’t feel disappointed or upset when she learns a patient has stopped taking their medication, “but if you still have symptoms and I think you are taking your medication, I may make a different decision or may come up with a plan that is not helpful or unsafe for you,” she said.

Zemtsov added that this may look like prescribing additional medication, scheduling tests or increasing the dose, but it isn’t actually necessary.

Always tell your doctor if you are not taking your medication for any reason (such as side effects, cost, or forgetting to take it).

“Together we can come up with a plan to find a better drug or a better way to take it without having to do any additional testing or imaging or any other prescription because I don’t think the treatment is working,” Zemtsov said.

2. If you feel uncomfortable with the treatment plan.

While medication compliance certainly falls under this umbrella, it’s also important to tell your doctor if you’re unwilling to follow a specific treatment plan from the beginning, Freeman says.

You should tell your doctor if you are experiencing side effects from medications or are nervous about necessary surgery and plan to cancel the surgery because of this. This way, they can both help you calm down and prescribe alternatives that you feel comfortable with and want to stick with.

3. Lifestyle habits such as exercise and diet.

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Freeman explained that humans are known to downplay things that we are not proud of. This includes not developing lifestyle habits that you recognize should Adopt, such as exercising and eating enough fruits and vegetables.

“If I didn’t know someone wasn’t exercising or eating a healthy diet, I probably wouldn’t think to look for other conditions that might be developing as a result, such as diabetes or high cholesterol,” Zemtsov said.

If your doctor thinks you’re getting the fiber you need or doing the right amount of strength training, they may not advise you on what you actually need to do.

4. Substance use, including alcohol, cigarettes and drugs.

For many people, when a doctor asks how much they drink, how often they smoke, whether they use marijuana, or whether they take illegal drugs, the instinctive reaction is to exaggerate, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Maybe you told your doctor you drank six drinks a week, when in fact the number was closer to 10. Or maybe you tell your doctor you smoke marijuana once a month, but actually smoke it five times a month.

Two experts told The Huffington Post that it’s important to be honest with your doctor about your medication use. Drug use can affect many aspects of your health, including sleep quality, cancer risk, breathing, and cognition.

Freeman explains that if a doctor believes a patient is not using a substance or is using only a small amount, counseling on that topic won’t be helpful because the doctor simply doesn’t know the patient’s specific needs.

For example, “If you drink to a certain level, and you minimize it, I don’t have enough space to really give you the right information about how that might affect you. What effects it might have on your liver? What effects it might have on your blood counts and bone marrow, how it affects your energy, your sleep, your mood,” Freeman noted.

Additionally, substance abuse can often tell doctors about your physical and mental health. Zemtsov said she finds it’s a way to treat the symptoms or concerns people have when they use substances outside of healthy or legal parameters. “Whether it’s anxiety, depression or pain,” Zemtsov added.

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She explains that understanding why someone uses a substance allows doctors to discuss the risks of substance use and address the underlying issues that lead to substance use.

“I was able to have some very productive discussions that came from understanding that there were people who smoked every day because they had very severe anxiety. We were able to get them treatment, I could start giving them medication and they felt better, maybe they quit smoking and now their breathing feels better,” Zemtsov said.

5. “Embarrassing” things such as defecation and urination.

“The other thing I want people to know is I think people are worried about talking to their doctor about their bowels or their bladders or the diarrhea they’ve had for a long time or a rash in a weird place that no one sees but it’s really bothering them,” Freeman said.

“I really think people think doctors would find this disgusting,” Freeman added, noting that couldn’t be further from the truth.

It may be uncomfortable to talk to your doctor about things that aren’t commonly discussed socially, but it’s important to let your doctor know.

“If your doctor doesn’t know, then they can’t help you,” Freeman said. While you can search the Internet for information about your “embarrassing” problem, “it’s actually more comfortable and probably safer and more private to tell your doctor,” Freeman adds.

“We do have something that can help and really improve people’s quality of life and their ability to do things,” Freeman said.

Additionally, certain conditions may be signs of more important problems that your doctor may want to test for. For example, intestinal problems are often associated with colorectal cancer, and rates are currently on the rise.

6. Your sexual health.

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“I strive to create an environment where my patients know they can talk to me about anything and that sexual health is part of health,” Dr. Beth Olera family doctor in Kansas told The Huffington Post via email.

“Often when I ask someone about their sexual health, it’s the first time they’ve been asked about it and they just think painful intercourse or erectile dysfunction is something they have to deal with,” she says.

Oller said patients should not feel embarrassed about these topics but should feel empowered to raise sexual challenges with their doctors.

Sexual health issues can put stress on an individual’s body and Mentally, they can sometimes indicate other health problems. According to the Mayo Clinic, erectile dysfunction is linked to diabetes and heart disease. Vaginal dryness can be a sign of menopause and an autoimmune disease called Sjogren’s syndrome.

Ohler added that if doctors don’t understand a problem, they can’t help.

“If you’re uncomfortable talking to your doctor about sexual health (or any other issue affecting your health), it may be time to find another provider,” she says.

Finding a doctor you trust can be difficult, but once you do, it’s easier to be honest about your lifestyle habits, good and bad.

“I think having a regular primary care provider, whether it’s a family doctor or an internist, a pediatrician, promotes trust in the doctor, which makes people more honest and more comfortable,” Freeman said.

She adds that when you see the same doctor again and again, it’s also easier to work with them to make lifestyle or habit changes.

“I think it’s important to make sure the primary care doctor you see is one you feel supports you and listens to you, because having a doctor you feel will do those things will also make it easier for you to talk about the things that are important to you,” Zemtsov said. “Ultimately, it’s our job to help you, and we can’t do that unless we know everything about you.”

Need help with a substance use disorder or mental health issue? In the United States, call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 800-662-HELP (4357). This article originally appeared on The Huffington Post.

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