Difficulty Complying With Doctor's Orders

[Retired]

Sometimes doctors' orders are not followed by patients for a variety of reasons.

It could be the orders were not clearly understood, required lifestyle changes that were unable to be modified at the time, the cost of the treatment, or difficulties following the treatment plan.

Have you found there can be obstacles in trying to comply with the doctor's orders, resulting in problems with your recommended or prescribed treatment?

What were the causes for difficulty to exactly follow the doctor's orders in your case?

How did your doctor respond to your challenges and were you able to eventually overcome the obstacles?

 

[Charity]

For me personally, it's just the inconvenience of changing long-held habits!

A couple of examples... Well, I need to take off a few pounds. I won't say any specific numbers, but I'm getting dangerously close to the big 2-0-0! Of course I need to eat more healthily and exercise... I try sometimes, but I very quickly fall right back into eating the same old things I've been eating my whole life. And exercise-- pleh. I can't even make myself try. I have a lot of natural inertia, lol. I expend as little energy as humanly possible in almost all situations. Change is stressful for me. I always tend to do things the way I always have done.

Another one-- I have an icky fungal infection eating my feet at the moment. It hurts, it itches, and it looks truly horrifying. I tried to treat it a while back, but I didn't do it well enough for long enough, and now I'm right back to square one. I started the treatment over again a couple of days ago, and I really really want to follow it through to the end this time, but it's a pain! Every morning and evening I have to scrub my feet down and apply a slimy ointment, which makes it awful wearing shoes and even worse going without them. In the evenings, I have to apply the ointment and then wrap my feet in plastic wrap all night!! I do really well for a few days or a week, but pretty soon the pain-in-the-butt aspect of it makes me start slacking off.

Definitely, for me, it's just the effort involved in making any sort of change or special effort. I'm sure there are lots of other reasons for other people.

 

[Jazzey]

I'm also guilty of not following doctor's order.

I was "supposed" to quit smoking back in November due to a cancer scare. While I tried a few times, I keep getting the "who cares" message in my brain. I really want to care, and I'll give it another go, but sometimes just taking care of my mental health is exhausting.

I'm on medication for depression - I often stop taking them altogether, even though I remember them every day. Again, the "who cares" message in my brain, can't be bothered. I was also supposed to increase the dosage back in April...and didn't do that either since I was taking them on and off.

Now I'm actually going to start trying to care. And I'll forgive myself when I fall of the 'caring' wagon. Often times, when I stop caring, it's easy to lull myself into the thought that the damage is already done so there's no point in pretending now.

Now I actually will try and care and who knows, maybe by caring I'll actually get the message "I do care" for a change?

 

[Retired]

Have you considered reporting the difficulty you have in following the doctor's orders back to the doctor?

It is not at all an unusual situation where individual patients have difficulty with a particular treatment plan, or regimen or even medication, such as Charity's ointment.

In fact the doctor would probably be pleased to know difficulties have been encountered, and there are often other strategies available to replace the unsuccessful one.

In fact lack of compliance can be a frustration for the prescriber, because the patient fails to make progress...but if the patient reports back, in the same way that one would report back any adverse side effects from a medication, the prescriber would have the opportunity to consider other options.

Jazzey, is your doctor aware of the medications you take in addition to cigarettes? Sometimes medications interact with cigarettes, and other measures might make the cigarette cessation a bit easier.

Charity, it is clear ointment is uncomfortable for the treatment of your feet..have you asked your doctor if an anti fungal cream might be available or can this fungal infection be treated systemically with oral tablets?

 

[Jazzey]

I don't actually keep much from my doctor. He knows that I struggle with smoking cessation and has offered some avenues. He keeps encouraging me and invites me to come back if I choose to take one of his avenues. But I'm pigheaded. I once quit smoking for 9 months cold turkey - and I know I can do it again...It's just been a rough year and the motivation wasn't there - but I better find it soon: Charity and i are quitting on the 22nd...Monday.

 

[Retired]

If you need more motivation to quit smoking, ask your doctor about the studies that show how smoking at least doubles your chances of developing a number of specific maladies and disoders associated with smokers vs non smokers.

No, the damage is not necessarily done, and much of the damage can be reversed.

It's worth the effort for your own well being, that of your family now and in the future....not to mention what it does to the inside of your (new) car...:yuck:

 

[Jazzey]

:lol: I currently have pneumonia - which I typically have about once a year. It's definitely a reminder of the consequences of smoking.

And, I NEVER smoke in my car...Ironically, I can't stand the smell of tobacco around food or in the inside of a car. Even in my home - I typically will go out on the balcony in the warmer season and I have a room which is my "smoking" room the remainder of the year. Yup, there is nothing "typical" about me.

 

[Zach]

For me personally, it's just the inconvenience of changing long-held habits!

A couple of examples... Well, I need to take off a few pounds. I won't say any specific numbers, but I'm getting dangerously close to the big 2-0-0! Of course I need to eat more healthily and exercise... I try sometimes, but I very quickly fall right back into eating the same old things I've been eating my whole life. And exercise-- pleh. I can't even make myself try. I have a lot of natural inertia, lol. I expend as little energy as humanly possible in almost all situations. Change is stressful for me. I always tend to do things the way I always have done.

Another one-- I have an icky fungal infection eating my feet at the moment. It hurts, it itches, and it looks truly horrifying. I tried to treat it a while back, but I didn't do it well enough for long enough, and now I'm right back to square one. I started the treatment over again a couple of days ago, and I really really want to follow it through to the end this time, but it's a pain! Every morning and evening I have to scrub my feet down and apply a slimy ointment, which makes it awful wearing shoes and even worse going without them. In the evenings, I have to apply the ointment and then wrap my feet in plastic wrap all night!! I do really well for a few days or a week, but pretty soon the pain-in-the-butt aspect of it makes me start slacking off.

Definitely, for me, it's just the effort involved in making any sort of change or special effort. I'm sure there are lots of other reasons for other people.

I can understand how you feel about changing your diet and exercising, I've always been fairly lazy(not calling you lazy ), never liked exercise, and loved eating junk food. It really helped to find ways to exercise that were enjoyable for me, if you keep trying different things you should find something you like. Simply taking a walk every morning can be very beneficial to you, it doesn't have to be anything exhausting to start with. I started doing a few pushups each day when I could barely do 3 and now I can do 40-50 easily, you just need to start slow and introduce the change gradually and you will reach your goals. If you have family members or friends who you see regularly or live with tell them about the change you want to make so that they can keep you motivated when you don't feel like sticking with it. And there are a lot of great foods that aren't too bad for you, try some new things and see if you can find some healthier foods that you like. The sooner you start making a change the easier it will be to change and the sooner you'll fix the problem.