Compulsively going to the doctor for the 20th time..

Published

Can seeking medical attention become a compulsive behavior?

Someone I personally know makes 3 doctor's appointment each week for the hell of it. He is considered to be healthy and walking, but just recently had a minor muscle injury. After 8 ER visits later, 10 visits to the family doctor, 2 appointment to each specialists, PT, then cardio.. on and on..the appointments just keeps on rolling in. These appointments were mostly self scheduled..all within 2 months. Mainly to confirm what the other Doctor said, then to reconfirm, or double check. Sometimes, he asks the family to take him to the ER the minute something feels "weird", "not right". Or make a stat appt with the family doctor when he "hears a different med on tv".. you get the drift.. Yes, this is all covered by the government. Family members each take time off work to take him to the doctor.. and this cycle repeats, with each appointment taking up almost half a day. After months and months- he eventually recovered to 90%. Yet, the complaints were still ongoing and the appointments were still being made 3X a week. He spends his day waiting for the next appointment and having a new doctor tell him new information is like finding gold. I was compassionate and involved in the care, but after months and months of the same story, I find myself having an apathetic attitude towards the situation.

Can seeking medical attention become a compulsive behavior? It worries me that I'm a nurse, yet i'm slowly losing the compassion myself. I care for this person and so many times I've tried to help, but i can't stop him from seeking medical attention. i'm bothered by this type of behavior, and it boggles my mind that others are paying for the care.

It bothers me that I know people actually run to the ER at the slightest problem (at no cost), and never really consider the consequences of expensive medical bills..(eg. stomach ache).. I have these negative feelings and not quite sure of how to express them. I know we're taught to always be compassionate, but can you really give compassion 100% of the time when you know they're seeking medical attention for the hell of it? How do you adjust your own feelings when your patient rings the call bell for the 10th time for something minor? Any feedback is appreciated. I really feel the need to shake off these feelings before I enter the hospital.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in home health, dialysis, others.

We are not allowed to give medical or nursing advice per the TOS, but nearly any behaviour can be compulsive. It surprises me that no one has suggested therapy for this behaviour.

And, yes, we all have those times when it is hard to muster up one more bit of compassion for the patients who use their call light every ten minutes. When you have one of those ask if there is anything else they need before you leave the room, and tell them you will be with another patient for a while, but you will try to get back to them within the hour. Then try to stop by in 30 minutes if you can. If these patients feel you really looking after them, they will not be on their call light as often as before. Everyone has to do the same.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

It sounds like he is afraid of something happening or there's something else bothering him that causes him to feel the need for this much attention. It wouldn't hurt to have a psych. consult.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I have noticed that anyone over 80 seems to enjoy going to the doctor because it gets them out of their house and they may be lonely. My mother brings her aunt who is 88 to one doctor or another every week. Her aunt makes the appointments and my mom is her shauffer for the day.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Home Care.

It bothers me that I know people actually run to the ER at the slightest problem (at no cost), and never really consider the consequences of expensive medical bills..(eg. stomach ache).. I have these negative feelings and not quite sure of how to express them. I know we're taught to always be compassionate, but can you really give compassion 100% of the time when you know they're seeking medical attention for the hell of it? How do you adjust your own feelings when your patient rings the call bell for the 10th time for something minor? Any feedback is appreciated. I really feel the need to shake off these feelings before I enter the hospital.

Don't sweat the small stuff.

You'll learn that there are things in life that you have no control over so there's no point in letting yourself get aggravated about it.

I gave up long ago.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Cardiac, ER.

Come spend a shift with me in my ER. I have decided that there are some people who just want to be sick. Maybe they want the attention, maybe they want an excuse for other things not working out in their lives. I've posted before about abuse of the medical system in general,.an especially the ER, and often times those people are drug seeking, but not all. I am not exaggerating when I say we have pts that have 200 ER visits a year and never have a diagnosis! I've decided that some people like the drama of telling their family and friends about how they had to rush to the ER!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ED only.

itsmejuli is correct. We have no control over the number of visits these people have in an ER nor their complaints so, it is a waste of your time and energy to even think about this. Just provide the care you need to provide, smile, and hopefully, someday, the health care system that we have will stop some of this when someone finally figures out this is a waste of health care resources. (But, I wouldn't hold my breath while waiting for this to happen.) In our hospital, anyone on public assistance and has mutiple ER visits in a short period of time can be referred to a case manager who will review the visits and often, will set up a care conference with staff who have to see this person frequently and the case manager at the state level who allows these visits to be paid. This has stopped many of our frequent fliers in their tracks once they are told they cannot come to the ER without authorization from their payor or they will be responsible for the bill. It changes their behavior fast. We would still see them no matter what but the visits declined dramatically. You might check and see if your hospital also has something like this for any of your frequent fliers.

Back to the original theme - nothing we do or say will change their behavior so, provide good care and let the "system" take care of this problem patient.

And, obviously this person doesn't work or they wouldn't have this much time to go to the doctor's. Maybe you could suggest they go volunteer somewhere - do something that might be rewarding to them personally because spending lots of time alone only allows a person to focus on themselves. They need a view from a broader perspective. Work or volunteering might provide this for them.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I have found that some of the frequent flyers that we deal with are homeless. Usually their significant other stays in the room with them, and the patient may be admitted for one complaint but inadvertently developes some other ailment as the day goes on. Then we have the residents that want to be thorough and order tests that are not going to find anything and this just prolongs the stay. If you did not have to pay for your hospital stay, you had a bed to sleep in and a wait staff 24/7, it sure beats being homeless. It does get hard to feel compassion for some of these people, but I get paid the same whether I am taking care of someone that really needs it or not.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

thank you for all those who replied. I tried to sleep it off last night and definitely felt a little better after reading your posts. I can imagine the ER nurse seeing so many people come in for the hell of it, but I agree you have to just let it go.

I cannot believe people go to the ER 200 times a year!! wow.. yea I agree that older people do enjoy going to the doctors. Hopefully within a month, he will be able to get himself back out to the community and do productive things..

I guess the real work nursing-patient role is different, its a lot easier to shake it off. but it's a little bit harder to "let it go" when its someone you personally know, and they personally seek your help to be a care giver.

after attending to their every concern, every need, being a full time care giver day after day, it gets kinda old when the cycle repeats. now i know maybe he's just compulsive with going to the doctors. For now, i will still try my best to be there, and try to put these negative feelings aside.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in pulm/cardiology pcu, surgical onc.

Some of these frequent flyers need psych consults IMHO.

ETA: we are a magnet and a non profit famous in the area for excellent care AND an almost guaranteed write off of charges. What wack job wouldn't love that?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

In my experience the root of a lot of this behavior (in patients without social work needs - not homeless, are not on illicit drugs) is anxiety.

If a patient comes to me (I'm an NP) with a complaint that seems very minor or keeps coming in urgently for non-urgent things I start asking questions like "did something happen at home?" "you seem very anxious about this. Is everything alright?" "how are things with your family?" and lo and behold, the truth comes out. For example, Mom just got diagnosed with cancer and now the patient is concerned that her earache lasting for 1 day is a brain tumor. A little reassurance and redirection to mental health goes a long, long way!

Patients from other cultures may also have a lot of complaints that are very vague (ie, nonspecific abdominal pain, chronic pain "all over my body") because that is how anxiety and depression are expressed in their culture. Important to pick up on this or here come the expensive tests!

I'm surprised that your friend has gone to the family MD so many times without the mental health being explored, or perhaps it has and the he is not disclosing it to you. Either way, you can only do so much and it's not your problem to solve. As a friend you can maintain your boundaries - don't be sucked into the caregiving drama. I've learned a lot in nursing about meeting people where they are (wherever that may be ~) and putting judgments on the back burner.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

[quote=

I'm surprised that your friend has gone to the family MD so many times without the mental health being explored, or perhaps it has and the he is not disclosing it to you. Either way, you can only do so much and it's not your problem to solve. As a friend you can maintain your boundaries - don't be sucked into the caregiving drama. I've learned a lot in nursing about meeting people where they are (wherever that may be ~) and putting judgments on the back burner.

:up: thank you

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion