My mother all her life has used doctor visits for entertainment purposes. Once the visit is complete, she concocts big stories about her "unique" health issues. She is 85 and is healthier than most 60 year olds. She can get up from sitting on the floor without any aid, and without getting on her hands and knees first. She comes from a family with longevity. She has always been a hypochondriac and since getting older it has worsened. She makes weekly doctor appointments for the new "flavor" of the week illness or injury she states she has. The doctors has run tests, ultra-sounds, more tests, more tests and nothing is wrong for the numerous ailments she claims to have. How do I let the doctor know she is faking it without causing a risk that one day she may really be sick and be taken serious?
Many of her problems were apparently psychological. Others were self-induced from things she was doing. Strange thing is that when the male doctor she loved retired and she started seeing a female doctor she liked less, all of her imaginary illnesses disappeared. I have a feeling that my mother just wanted to see her old doctor because he made her feel good.
You might drop off a note at the doctor's office stating your concern, but other than that, there's not much you can do, other than to try and interest her in finding some other kind of entertainment, like taking part in activities at the local senior center.
Mom doesn't like doctors who are women, Mom always comes out of the office saying "she doesn't know what she is talking about".... of course Mom says the same about sports announcers who are women, and Mom wouldn't dare vote for a woman running for office..... [sigh]
Switching your mom to a female doctor might help, based on others comments on here. Or even a physician's assistant, if that's possible, so she's not taking up the doctor's valuable time for non-existent maladies.
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