Don't Be Bashful

Don't ever be reluctant to ask a doctor for your records in order to get a second opinion. If a doctor is reluctant to cooperate, that would be a good reason to be wary. Good doctors are always open to expanding their knowledge base. They are regularly reading journals, going to lectures and consulting with other doctors. If a doctor is truly interested in your well being his ego will not be bruised by consulting another practitioner. Make it clear to the doctor that you are not leaving his or her care, you are simply interested in getting another perspective to your problem that you will share with him or her. If there are several ways to treat your condition your doctor would prefer to discuss the pros and cons before you start, rather then to deal with doubts once treatment is underway.
Be warned! You must select your second opinion doctor very carefully. This doctor needs to be interested only in what is best for you. He or she has to be ready to provide a second opinion only, in a way that will help you and your doctor. You don't want your second opinion to disparage your doctor in order to steer you to his practice. It is never a good idea to disclose to the second opinion what part of your first opinion that you are not happy with. This will open the possibility for the second opinion to tell you what you want to hear and not what you need to hear. One way to avoid some of these pitfalls is to seek a second opinion out of your immediate geographic area.