Quote Originally Posted by Muirenn View Post
Doctor. ASAP. First thing tomorrow.

A few weeks ago, I started coughing up blood at 5:30 pm on a Saturday. I live in a small town, so nothing was open except the ER. I briefly considered posting here asking whether I should go, then pictured the response I would get. I was in the car by 5:33, and in the ER about 3 minutes after that. They saw me right away.

Turns out I have tonsillitis.

But really, there are times when we ask in a place like this because we don't want to deal the possibility of it being a real issue, as opposed to something relatively innocuous.

Well, deal with it and go. I hope it turns out to be nothing.

Good luck.

Edit: just realized you said you were going. Ah well, at least I got to share my story

Tulip:
As a sociologist of medicine, this is one thing I can say with professional authority One of patterns patients follow before going to a physician, and one that gives "cred" and helps move your consultation forward, is that people try to "soldier through", then talk to family and friends who will often urge them to see a doctor, then they go to the doctor and say "I'm having x and y symptoms. It's not really a big thing and I didn't want to bother you with it, but my [wife, mother, cycling buddy - it's often a woman!] badgered me into it." This is the point when the doctor takes over and starts examining, asking further questions. The "didn't want to bother you" and "badgered me into it" bits are actually part of the recipe for patient-doctor interaction success, as is stating symptoms rather than proposing diagnoses! I could probably even find the research references on this, but I won't bore you with that.