I have a appointment soon and I've been wondering if I should out myself to my Dr and how. I am unsure if it matters or not...
Because of your orientation, the only thing that would be different might be sexual health concerns and, for some, mental health concerns associated with some stressful life situations, though not always. If you know the ins and outs of sexual activity, such as precautions, what is high risk, medium risk, low risk, and no risk, how to navigate that, and I'm talking in detail, then it wouldn't be necessary. However, if you show up one day with a pesky bacterial infection, he or she will want to know the events that led up to that, and can then deduce your orientation. It's totally up to you, though. Do you like your doctor? Do you foresee that your doctor will treat you the same way after such a declaration? On one occasion, I had a new doctor upon moving who, upon reading my chart and seeing my age (~35 then, and single) just asked out of the blue and as one of his first questions "Have you had any homosexual experiences?" I found that crass. And I've had one friend that, as a late teen, experienced outright rudeness over medical concerns brought on by his sexual orientation. However, in all other cases, my physicians just look at my medical history, ask about unusual symptoms, check vitals and feel lymph nodes, order tests, and do not pry if everything is hunky-dory. As it should be. But things have changed, and doctors are supposedly now better at dealing with diverse patient populations. They take a Hippocratic oath, so they should have always been good at this! So, if you feel it will make for better a doctor-patient relationship with a doctor you like and will continue to respect you, then you can if you want to.
Hi, I suspect it only matters from the standpoint of ensuring vaccinations are in place for diseases more common in the gay community and regular screenings. There is also a discussion on HIV Post-exposure prophylaxis and where your doctor stands in the use of it (eg. Condom breaks, etc) WHO | More infomation about PEP for HIV prevention
Yes, he should ask for Hep A, Hep B, and HPV vaccines. Sometimes clinics do these at reduced rates, depending on what his insurance and financial situation are. This info can then be transcribed to the MD to avoid duplication of the vaccinations. ---------- Post added 3rd Aug 2013 at 02:50 PM ---------- Yes ... and no. The easy part is knowing that you should have the vaccines, if you haven't yet had them. For starters, do you like your doctor and do you two have a good rapport right now?
