Here’s Why You Should Get A Second Opinion About A Health Diagnosis

People in all walks of life make mistakes, and that’s still true of our healthcare providers, even though they are the people that we go to when we need them the most. Some doctors can be more conservative where others are more aggressive and if you have gone to the doctor about a specific issue and you don’t feel satisfied with the outcome of the appointment, you are allowed to ask for a second opinion.

Whether that means booking with a private cardiology consultant or it means going to another doctor in the same practice for another look, you need to feel comfortable about the health care that you are receiving. It doesn’t matter whether your doctor has recommended medication or surgery or therapy, you still deserve to have a second set of eyes look over something if you don’t feel that your doctor has been through enough. It doesn’t mean that you’re insulting the doctor’s experience, but it does mean that you are looking to get the best out of the healthcare that you are paying for. Even in a socialized healthcare system, you are still paying a part of your income towards your healthcare, which means that you deserve the very best. So here are the reasons why you should get a second opinion.

 If you’ve undergone treatment on the basis of what your doctor has said, but your symptoms are continuing, then you need to get a second opinion because nobody knows your body better than you do. If your symptoms are persisting after treatment, then you need to get different doctors or specialists involved so that they can tell you what’s going on.

 If your doctor has followed through with your worries and has confirmed that you are dealing with a disease that they are not a specialist in, that’s when you can get a second opinion from a specialist. It can be very frustrating and frightening to discover you’ve been diagnosed with something rare, but you aren’t alone. There’s so little information about certain diseases and disorders that it’s important to speak to somebody who specializes in that particular disease so that you are getting the best possible treatment. Sometimes, your doctor may take offense to that but it’s not about them; it’s about you and your health and pushing for the best is important.

If you’ve been worrying about a certain issue in your health and your doctor has recommended that you need surgery, then getting a second opinion is also a good idea. It’s invasive to have surgery, and surgery can be quite brutal on the human body. However, a second opinion could determine whether you definitely need that surgery or not. Being proactive and gathering as much information as possible to give you a good amount of control.

Asking your doctor for an additional opinion isn’t insulting their work ethic, and hopefully, they will take it as such. 

This article was written by Charlotte Giver and originally appeared on Your Coffee Break.