Do you lie to your doctor?

When you’re struck down with sickness or concerned with something, health-wise, there is always one person you can trust to help you get back on the road to good health and happiness: your doctor.

While a visit to the doctor is pretty straightforward, they often throw you a couple of curveball questions such as ‘Do you smoke?’, or ‘How many standard drinks do you have a week?’ – which may result in a little white lie being blurted out.

Because, really, how does your social smoking habit affect your contraceptive pill? And does your weekly binge drinking session hugely change your iron levels?

So, why do you tell white lies about your health? Are you embarrassed? Do you want to avoid the lecture about the importance of using contraception? Your doctor doesn’t want to judge you; they want to properly diagnose you and lay out the best possible options to help you. Glossing over the truth won’t do you any favours.

Dr Vicki, a general practitioner based in Sydney, sheds some light on the repercussions that come with not being honest with your doctor.

“Generally, I think most patients lie. If you make the patient feel as relaxed as possible, they tend to be more honest, but most of they time they feel self-conscious. They’re there to try and improve themselves, which is why they might lie,” explains Dr Vicki.

“If a patient lies about their general health and lifestyle, it can make a huge impact on their diagnosis. If someone tells me they don’t drink much alcohol, but in fact they have a severe alcohol problem, medications that are metabolised through the liver – like anti-depressants, some antibiotics or the oral contraceptive pill – could interact with the alcohol” she says.

“If I was prescribing an oral contraceptive pill for a patient, I would not want them to smoke because smoking and taking the pill increases the risk of clotting. When it comes to a patient’s health, I need to know the truth,” she explains.

Want to hear the beautyheaven team’s doctor’s office confessions? Yes, we’re guilty too! Read on…

“I lie to my doctor all the time, and it’s always about how many standard drinks I have a week. I usually say something like, “Oh not many, maybe like five max in a week. I also lie about the exercise thing. My minimum is zero workouts a week, but I always say I go at least twice a week.” – bh’s Carli

“When my friend was 16, she asked her doctor if she could go on the Pill ‘for her skin’ – and only revealed she was sexually active years later when her mum stopped going to doctor’s appointments with her. So naughty!  – bh’s Katia

“When I was a regular smoker, I used to say I smoked socially. When I cut back to social smoking, I used to say I didn’t smoke at all. The question about how many drinks I had per day used to confuse me. In my twenties especially, I was a weekend binge drinker, so ‘technically’ I didn’t drink at all most of the week. But no doubt I consumed more alcohol than the recommended 1-2 drinks per day when it was all added up! These days I lie about how much exercise I do (which is none). I clock up chasing after a 14-month old as incidental exercise anyway!” – bh’s Michelle

“I went to the doctor because I bled after having intercourse. She asked me if it was the only time it had happened, and I said yes even though I had bled a little maybe three of four times but put it down to friction or other causes. She did an STI check and it was clear and the bleeding seemed to go away, so we didn’t think anything else of it. But a couple of months later when I had my Pap smear, abnormal cells were discovered. Bleeding after sex is one of the early warning signs of cervical cancer, and if I’d told the truth I might’ve known that earlier. Luckily, I was due for a Pap smear otherwise my lie could’ve led to the cells developing further and turning into cancer.” – Sam

I told my endocrinologist that I run three times a week. In reality, lately I’m lucky if I’ve run one time! – bh’s Beth

“I tell my doctor I have one or two glasses of wine a week and conveniently leave out the Saturday night birthdays/weddings that include me drinking one or two BOTTLES!” – bh’s Liv

“I lie about the standard drinks thing because I think every person under thirty is technically a binge drinker. And I tell my physio I’ve been doing my exercises more than I actually have been. I just can’t stand the look on his face when I tell him I haven’t been doing them or that I’ve been busy because he seems so disappointed in me. – bh’s Laura C

“I lie about drinking all the time. When asked how many standard drinks I have per week, my response is generally vague: ‘Oh, a few more than that but nothing too bad’. In reality I probably hit close to 15-25 standard drinks on a normal night out. Which occurs 2-4 times per week. #oops” – bh’s Kelly

Have you lied to your doctor? What have you lied about?