You may have reservations about discussing your health and wellness concerns with others, but you should never hold back with your doctor. Not only is it your GP’s job to monitor your health – and so telling the truth is kind of necessary – if you don’t ask questions because you’re somehow embarrassed by them, your wellbeing could be at risk. The chances are, it isn’t even an embarrassing or gross question – your doctor has probably heard it a thousand times already, and heard questions that are a thousand times worse!
According to Dr. Mary Jane Minkin, an OB-GYN with Yale University’s School of Medicine, ‘You want to be with a health care provider you feel comfortable with, someone who is going to spend time with you and who you’re not embarrassed to ask questions. I’m your doctor. That’s what I’m here for – to talk about your ovaries, about fertility and sex. That’s my job.’ So what are some of the common questions that doctors get that patients find hard to bring up?
1. Is it OK that I hardly ever have sex?
A low sex drive is the most common issue that Dr. Susan Blum, founder of the Blum Centre for Health in New York, and the author of The Immune System Recovery Plan, hears about. ‘Most of the time, what female patients struggle with is low sex drive,’ she says. ‘It comes up when we talk about their family … or when we talk about their hormones.’ Dr. Shieva Ghofrany, an OBGYN with Stamford Hospital, adds that her patients are ‘incredibly relieved and, oddly to me, surprised to hear that it’s very common.’
2. What’s that smell?
Ghofrany notes that patients ‘often say, “Um, I have an odour,” and I say, “A fishy odour” And they say, “Yes! How did you know?” They think it’s unique to them.’ However, a fishy odour is a symptom of bacterial vaginosis, which the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), lists as the most common vaginal infection among young women in the US. Treatment, which is especially important for pregnant women, usually means just a course of antibiotics, so don’t be afraid to ask!
3. When am I at my most fertile?
Dr. Minkin says you might be embarrassed to ask this question, because you think it’s a basic thing you should already understand. Dr. Minkin explains that even though her patients ‘are, in general, pretty darn educated,’ they cop to not knowing much about their menstrual cycle or when they’re ovulating. Having a good time and not stressing about timing is what Minkin often recommends to patients, but doctors can absolutely help you figure out when you’re ovulating and how to synch up your efforts, so ask away!
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