Going to the doc

[skii96]

Might be going to the doc soon to get some blood work, just for my personal benefit no probs. anyway, should i know the doc well before i tell him i use AS? he cant say anything, but will he help me out? or are their certain docs that are good to go to? some help here. thanx

[TNT]

Welcome to the board, skii96! I compliment you on your questions, as well as on going to a doctor when you don't have to do so - it will tell you how you're doing when you're not having problems, and will provide a "baseline" for any problems that come up down the road. To answer your questions . . .

No, you should not have to know the doc well before you're up front with him or her about any AS use. It's better to establish a positive relationship at the start - before you have any kind of medical problem that might be impacted (or even caused) by your AS use. Now is the best time to find out about any prejudices, presuppositions, or preconceived notions your doctor may have. (A good doctor-patient relationship is for the long haul - I've been using my current doctor for over 20 years.)

Will he help you out? As in, will he write prescriptions for AS? Assuming that you do not have a legitimate medical need for AS, no - he will not, especially if you are a new patient. (He will feel that you're coming to him as a source and, even if he were flexible enough to consider prescribing an AS-related drug, he would not do so for a stranger. And if he would, he would be a sleazebag, and I'd recommend that you find another doctor. Remember, the kind of bozo that will prescribe anything questionable for you is not the guy you want treating you when you really have a medical problem.)

I hate to say this (actually, I love to say this, because it's a dose of reality), your AS use is on you. Everything from the decision to use AS, to the develoment of a cycle, to figuring out how to score your gear. Your doctor's proper role is to make sure you don't go off the wall. He can give you honest opinions, but don't expect him to supply the gear.

Are there "certain docs that are good to go to?" Again, if you're looking for a source, no. But if you are looking for a physician who may have a better understanding of AS than others, you will find that most often among sports medicine specialists, endocrinologists, and on rare occasion, urologists and rheumatrologists. But your best best is a good general doctor who has a knowledge of AS, and finding one of those is a crapshoot.

My advice: Find a good doctor, period. One that you can trust as a patient when you have a medical problem. Confide in that doctor now so you know whether you have chosen the right physician for you - remember, you shouldn't expect a pontifical blessing, but you shouldn't get condemnation either. What you should get is the doctor's best opinions, whether positive or negative, and then take responsibility for making your own informed decisions. But always be up front about your AS use - it will often be directly related to your medical condition, on everything ranging from your blood pressure to your cholesterol levels to how horny you feel. And if you don't tell your doctor about your AS use, then he or she will spend time poking you up the butt needlessly to find another cause for any skewed readings.

Finally, if you know anyone else who uses AS, ask them if they can recommend a doctor. But once again, remember that you want a good, medically competent doctor, not a freakin' source. And incidentally, if you find a doctor who admits that he or she does not know much about AS, that is not a good reason, in itself, to drop the doctor. I'd rather have a physician who admits that he doesn't know something (and is willing to either check it out or refer me to a specialist) than a doctor who doesn't know squat but but doesn't admit it.

[skii96]

thanx for the advice, no i'm not looking for a source i have enough of those, just a doc who i can sit with and feel confident that he'll help me if stuff starts to go wrong and actually know what to do about it. other docs i've went to don't know squat about AS use and have been asking me if i use since i was 16 years old! i just didnt know whether to go to a sports medicine doc or a general. thanx tnt. later

[Hitman]

hey dude just a coincidence(not bullshiting ya) but i went to the doc yesterday, pulled a sicky and my company demands a medical cert, anyway while i was there i said to him that in 4 weeks time i was going to do a cycle. He was like do you know the pros and cons and i was like yeah, so i asked him if he felt comfortable about checking on my bloods and liver values each week and he was sweet as about it. He was actually happy that i asked him and didnt go about doing it like down back alleys and shit. There ya go thats my experience so far. its going to be my first cycle so might as well do it right.

[TNT]

Originally posted by skii96
other docs i've went to don't know squat about AS use . . . i just didnt know whether to go to a sports medicine doc or a general.

You've raised a great point here, skii96, which is why finding a good doctor is such a crap shoot. Most of them don't know squat about AS use. (Actually, all they know about AS use is squat. )

But between a sports medicine doc or a general practitioner, I'd lean toward the general practitioner. One of the problems with sports medicine physicians is that they tend to be specialists in another area of medicine (most commonly orthopedics), so their total perspective tends to be skewed toward that specialty. As you may know, orthopedists are (usually) also surgeons, which means that they sometimes lean toward a surgical solution to a problem with there coule be a non-surgical solution.

One thing you can say about general practitioners (or, as they are more often referred to today, family practitioners) is that they see the big picture, not just one specialized system in the body. Of all the doctors I've ever used (and, since I pay for my own health insurance, I want the best - hell, I'll go to a surgeon even if I get a hangnail), the absolute best diagnostician is my good ol' family doctor, because he looks at the whole picture and not just part of it.

My advice if you're looking for a doctor: Think of yourself as not just a patient, but as a medical consumer. Call the doctor's office and actually interview the doctor you are checking out. Nothing intricate, just a brief question or two. And the most important question is about AS.

Don't be coy about it, or make a big issue of it. Just be honest and say something like, "Doctor, I've heard great things about you [it never hurts to butter up a doctor], but I have to tell you that I use anabolic steroids for bodybuilding purposes. It's not a big thing, but I want to be honest about that in case it ever impacts a medical condition. I don't expect you to prescribe them, but I do want to have basic labwork checked occasionally to make sure I'm not harming myself. Would that cause you any problems?"

How the doctor answers will tell you (1) whether he has any knowledge about AS at all, and (2) what his attitude will be as far as treating you.

[skii96]

thats exactly what i'm going to do. i'm calling tomorrow, havent had a good check-up in a while so thats going to be what i'm actually going in for. i let u guys know whats going on later. Great advice.

[J-Bud]

Questions and answers like this are why I really come to this board. Its helped me learn way more than I ever thought possible.

Anyway, this also brings up a question for me. Now I know the Doc is not allowed to tell people about your AS use. But what about insurance?? Can he tell your insurance company that and then they deny a claim? Anyone know how this would work?

[TNT]

Originally posted by J-Bud
. . . this also brings up a question for me. Now I know the Doc is not allowed to tell people about your AS use. But what about insurance?? Can he tell your insurance company that and then they deny a claim? Anyone know how this would work?

This is an interesting question, one that was just addressed on the board within the past week. Unfortunately, the originator of the thread deleted all of the posts, so I'll try to summarize what I wrote last time . . .

There is a "master list" of diagnostic codes called the ICD-9, which physicians use to classify all diseases and disorders. Every condition has an ICD-9 number, and it's this number that is usually sent to insurance companies.

The only time an insurance company will receive additional information such as labwork and medical history is for the purpose of "utilization review," a euphemism for the process of approving a diagnostic or surgical procedure. Apart from insurance, however, your medical records can also be subpoeaned (or requested through the discovery process) in the event that you have, say, an auto or work-related accident and are involved in a lawsuit. In that case, opposing counsel would have information on your medical history, which is why I recommend that you ask your doctor not to note any of your AS use in your chart if it can be avoided.

As for denying claims, it doesn't usually happen. Let's say, for example, that you live on every steroid under the sun and, after a few years, you develop liver failure. Would the insurer pay for an operation or would they deny the claim?

The answer is simple: They would do the same thing that they would do if you were an alcoholic, had been drinking for years, and had developed cirrhosis of the liver. In other words, they would approve treatment for a juicer under the same circumstance that they would for an addict or alcoholic. An since both alcoholism and drug addiction are considered diseases, the same could be construed about medical sequelae (a fancy medical term for consequences) as a result of chronic AS use.

With that in mind, it doesn't mean that an insurer would approve everything. Just as they would not approve, say, a heart transplant for someone who still smoked cigarettes, they would neither approve a liver transplant for someone who was still drinking or an AS user who was still juicing. But short of that, and keeping in mind that there are xeceptions to every rule, the norm would be for all medical conditions to be covered.

Another question that was addressed in the previous thread is whether an insurer receives copies of lab work. Again, the answer is normally no, unless the labs are relevant for utilization review purposes. Even if a doctor were to write a prescription, that does not go before the insurer, except in the case of a limited number of prescriptions that require pre-approval (such as Celebrex, Viagra, and Vioxx).

So the good news is that, except in the limited circumstances I have described here, your relationship with your physician is fully protected by confidentiality, but it never hurts to add a little assurance by asking your doctor not to comment on AS in your chart.

[skii96]

Although this confidentiality thing sounds great and all, my mother whos has worked at a hospital for over 30 years knows exactly what the doc does and says to me before i can even explain what happened! this is why i'm going to a doc not affiliated with that hospital, but it brings up the point that alot of docs arent trustworthy and that is why i am leary of going and spilling my guts about my AS use!

[TNT]

Originally posted by skii96
. . . my mother whos has worked at a hospital for over 30 years knows exactly what the doc does and says to me before i can even explain what happened! this is why i'm going to a doc not affiliated with that hospital, but it brings up the point that alot of docs arent trustworthy and that is why i am leary of going and spilling my guts about my AS use!

I don't blame you, skii96 - once burned, twice shy. The problem is obviously that you've been using a doctor who knows your mother. You haven't mentioned your age, but remember that if you are under 18, the degree of confidentiality which is honored depends on the individual doctor. (Some feel the need to tell parents.) If you are over 18, however, there is no excuse for breaching confidentiality at all. (In fact, it's legally actionable under civil law.)

So the four words I would have for you are quite obvious: Find your own doctor.

And make sure that the doctor does not know your mother or, at the very least, that he will not discuss with your mother anything about you. Establish that up front.

Also, remember that sometimes, confidentiality is not breached by a physician, but by his or her staff (nurse, medical assistant, receptionist, billing clerk, etc.). It all boils down to gossip, but gossip has no place in a medical practice. So avoid any physicians where any of the staff knows your mother.

But do find a doctor in whom you can confide your AS use - it really does make a difference in the event that you have a medical problem in which AS use has an impact.

[skii96]

TNT i am over the age of 18 by only a few years but i am over. Far away from home now, anyways got my appointment for next week but wasnt able to actually talk to the doc. i'll keep ya posted. later

[IronCy]

I know Im new to this board, but I know good shit when I read it...BUMP this whole thread---excellent communication and superb knowledge. Good shit!

[gymnut4u]

bump TNT ,
true and honest info as always !!!!!!! great post !

[Anabolica]

Sorry to Hijack your thread bro but how oftern should you see a doc when on AAS?,

I have a endocrinologist and see him once a year and he dose a blood tests,bp and so on when i see him.

Is once a year enough?
thx and sorry about hijacking your thread.
-A

[needle]

Once a year is not enough, for me its the end of every cycle! So depending on that variable thats when you should probably go and see a doc. I also see a endo, just because I had some probs- in the past with my kidneys.

[BDTR]

This thread is THREE years old.