PSA to anyone going to any doctor.
This is REALLY important. This is for any doctor appointment. Whether it be cuz you are sick, or disabled, or ANYTHING. Unless it’s a MRI, Xray, Catscan, etc where NO ONE can be in the room with you (cuz of machines and radiation etc), you do not have to listen when someone says you can’t bring someone back with you.
You are the patient. This is YOUR body. Don’t let them tell you it’s ‘a small room’ don’t let them tell you that it’s not common. This is YOUR body. If you are more comfortable with someone in that room with you- INSIST. Insist multiple times if you have to, be REALLY upset, show that you are upset.
As someone who has been in PLENTY of different doctors offices and procedure rooms, the only real reason to not allow someone else in that room is if it’s because of sanitation/safety reasons (ie - surgeries, MRIs, X-rays, Catscans). Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
^^ Very much this. I usually take a great deal of pride in being able to deal with anything alone, and I’m old enough now that it’s strange for me to bring people back with me. BUT I was severely traumatized during a dentist appointment when I was seven and I still REALLY NEED to have someone with me who knows me well enough to tell a dentist (or literally anyone who puts me in a chair and comes at my face, really) to back the fuck off in the event that I start to panic harder than usual. So hell fucking yeah, you better believe I tell them my mother’s damn well coming back with me, and when they give me shit I trust her to press the point. If you’re too anxious or unwell to argue with a medical professional (the stress of visiting a medical professional makes me lapse into old behavior patterns in which I view any authority as a direct threat, which is AWESOME and super helpful), discuss it ahead of time with the person you want to bring with you. It’s so much easier to defend someone else rather than yourself, and a good friend or a trusted family member can make the whole experience less painful.
(via ripleytwd)
