Telling Primary Physician

[iatec779]

A couple months back I went to a urologist at a different healthcare facility than my primary Dr. I never told my primary Dr my issues yet and figured he just send me to a urologist so I just went straight to a urologist.
I have an annual appt coming up. Should I tell my primary dr about my OAB and urge incontinence diagnosis? The obvious answer is yes but I guess I don’t really want to go through the whole thing again with him.
I am on a new med now from the urologist for OAB so I suppose I have to tell him about that but I just don’t really want to.
I worked at this local hospital for years, I know many people there and I guess I’m not sure I’m ready to have incontinence in my chart there yet. Like, I assume some staff that I may know at future visits will see I have a form on incontinence and wear diapers and or pads.

 

[Constantlydamp]

A couple months back I went to a urologist at a different healthcare facility than my primary Dr. I never told my primary Dr my issues yet and figured he just send me to a urologist so I just went straight to a urologist.
I have an annual appt coming up. Should I tell my primary dr about my OAB and urge incontinence diagnosis? The obvious answer is yes but I guess I don’t really want to go through the whole thing again with him.
I am on a new med now from the urologist for OAB so I suppose I have to tell him about that but I just don’t really want to.
I worked at this local hospital for years, I know many people there and I guess I’m not sure I’m ready to have incontinence in my chart there yet. Like, I assume some staff that I may know at future visits will see I have a form on incontinence and wear diapers and or pads.

It was the best thing I ever did was to explain to my doctor why I was wearing a pull up. It got me a referral to the urologist and eventually to the NHS Continence Advisory Service who now look after me and supply my Tena Ultima and Tena Flex Maxi protection and my pubic pressure urinal. Do not be afraid of talking with the doctors as they will have heard it many times before.

 

[CLPP]

Of course you should tell your primary doc if they don’t already know. It’s very important that your doc knows everything about your diagnosis and subsequent treatment. Incontinence isn’t something to be ashamed about any more than any other ailment!

I’ll be seeing MY primary care doc next week as follow up to my having had a stroke several weeks back. I haven’t seen my primary since my urologist acknowledged last November that I have urge incontinence so my wearing a diaper in front of my primary will be a new experience. The way I see it is that if you can’t let a doctor know you’re wearing a diaper, who can you tell?

 

[CheshireCat]

Tell your primary what your urologist stated: OAB. That and your medication for OAB will go in your record, not "incontinence."

Perception is everything, so doctors normally only put your statements and their absolutes into your record, otherwise it can open them up to lawsuits later if what they put into the record is wrong and influences another doctor on how to treat you.

 

[iatec779]

Yea you’re all right, I’ll just do it.
The urologist office asked me if they wanted my record there linked to my primary. I said no that day but after I see my primary in a few weeks, next time I go to urologist I’ll just let them link it so they can see it all I guess.
Sorry just still processing it all I guess

 

[Edgewater]

I fully understand your base concerns, But, very happy that you are now taking that next step!

Your primary medical doctor is where your medical files are kept /maintained. Having your medications as part of your medical file is very important! You are likely one of thousands in your area that have medical based requirements for wearing diapers and should /if you are involved in a major car crash or other major medical event, having your medical file up-to-date can effect what life savings medical procedure /medications are used.

To be mean and hard: You are Incontinent and that common implies that you either likely or may soon have other underlining medical issues that tend to accompany incontinence. This is just another part of that first step you took out your front door wearing.

FYI: please have your urologist send the documents to your primary document either prior to or after your visit with your primary doctor. I would do it in advance, but that is just me!

 

[SparkyDog]

100% everyone in your medical team should know
even unrelated doctors
my cardiologist knows. Everything in the body is connected. Every dr should have as much information as possible

 

[iatec779]

I will have them put it all together, I know it’s the best thing to do. Just a lot to process lately.
Been dealing with some med side effects and such.
I sent a message regarding medication to the urologist the other day, she called me back, discussed the med questions etc. I started asking her about how other people manage nighttime incontinence like condom caths etc. her response was “we don’t really prescribe that for just nighttime purposes, do you really want a tube from you to a bag all night. If you haven’t already I would get some briefs”. 1st time I ever had the Dr actually tell me to wear diapers to bed. I already have been for a while now but coming to reality I guess.
On a good note my OAB during the day is slightly better from the medication. One step at a time I guess.

 

[Stacy]

i just told her i wet the bed, she prescribed me some sort of nasal spray that gave me headaches so i quit using it

 

[Mapboy]

With the advent of computerized medical records all your doctors know what is going on. I had a follow up appointment with my GP for an I am having with fecal incontinence and I had seen a GI specialist. My GP was able to pull up the notes from my GI specialist and read them verbatim to me. The good news is here in the states, your medical records and information are all protected under HIPAA. Only doctors and medical staff treating you as well as selected family members or caregivers you have on your Hipaa form have access to these records and by law doctors are not allowed to share them to anyone not treating you or on your HIPAA form (hence why if you switch practices, you have to fill out a form for the new doctor obtain these medical records. Therefore you are protected. Also your cardiologist would know too because he’s on your medical treatment team. I hope this helps.

 

[iatec779]

i just told her i wet the bed, she prescribed me some sort of nasal spray that gave me headaches so i quit using it

Ha! Although not funny I can’t believe that was all they tried. My son did a nasal spray thing that actually worked. He wet the bed until he was almost 17. He was on that nasal spray from about 14 and it really helped him for the next few years. I don’t remember what it’s called. He eventually stopped taking it and for whatever reason hasn’t wet since that I am aware of. Just took his body longer to not I guess.
Mine that came back now as an adult, is a different issue.

 

[iatec779]

With the advent of computerized medical records all your doctors know what is going on. I had a follow up appointment with my GP for an I am having with fecal incontinence and I had seen a GI specialist. My GP was able to pull up the notes from my GI specialist and read them verbatim to me. The good news is here in the states, your medical records and information are all protected under HIPAA. Only doctors and medical staff treating you as well as selected family members or caregivers you have on your Hipaa form have access to these records and by law doctors are not allowed to share them to anyone not treating you or on your HIPAA form (hence why if you switch practices, you have to fill out a form for the new doctor obtain these medical records. Therefore you are protected. Also your cardiologist would know too because he’s on your medical treatment team. I hope this helps.

Yea I know all about it actually. I worked in healthcare IT for many years lol.
That was the reason I been keeping it from my primary physician. I know everyone is bound by HIPPA but eventually I’m sure I will have an appt somewhere where I know someone and they will see this on the list.
Now that another Dr has me on a medication, I think I have to give in and tell them. Let the OAB, and incontinence show up on the chart there. UGH

 

[Mapboy]

Yea I know all about it actually. I worked in healthcare IT for many years lol.
That was the reason I been keeping it from my primary physician. I know everyone is bound by HIPPA but eventually I’m sure I will have an appt somewhere where I know someone and they will see this on the list.
Now that another Dr has me on a medication, I think I have to give in and tell them. Let the OAB, and incontinence show up on the chart there. UGH

They can only talk about it if it is related to treatment. If they mentioned in a personal setting and it was caught they could get in some serious trouble. It really is up to you to discuss it with them further but truly they can only bring up the clinical side and that’s all

 

[iatec779]

They can only talk about it if it is related to treatment. If they mentioned in a personal setting and it was caught they could get in some serious trouble. It really is up to you to discuss it with them further but truly they can only bring up the clinical side and that’s all

Oh I know, it’s just that my wife works for the same hospital, so many of our friends are nurses or hospital staff that we hang out with outside work. They would never see it unless I were hospitalized or receiving care from their area.
Now that I think about it more I’ve had surgery there in the past and I know at least one has seen it all so what’s one more diagnosis lol.

 

[Edgewater]

i just told her i wet the bed, she prescribed me some sort of nasal spray that gave me headaches so i quit using it

I hope that you told your primary doctor that it gave you headaches so that both the stopping the use and why are listed in your medical record as other medications may contain a like formation and their use for other issues can er avoided.

 

[Sourpants]

If it were a place I worked I would not share that information unless comfortable/beneficial. I heard from a nurse that you are not supposed to be looking at charts like that unless you are at work and it relates to work. Because of that, in a medical facility, I would feel more comfortable sharing an OAB diagnosis. I actually have urinary/bowel incontinence in my medical sheet because of something that happened earlier in my life, I am am a long time enuretic, however there is a place in my patient portal where I can remove older conditions. I don't know if it affects what my PCP can see in my history, and for that reason I assume that most people sum it up to not necessarily an active condition but helpful in my medical record if I experience it again.