Do many couples attend routine medical and dental appointments together?

[momtoboys]

I have two sets of friends, both in female same sex marriages (which may not have any bearing), that attend all medical and dental appointments together. Including one of the couples goes into the dental appointment and sits next to her wife while she is in the chair having her teeth cleaned. I truly am not judging, it just never occurred to me to do that with my DH.

Do many couples do this?

Thanks.

Can I ask a question about this - curious, not being rude. Do you take the whole day off work if you're doing something afterwards? And does your husband take time off work to come with you to your appts?

We do this too, appointments are either after work, or just a quick nip out around our calls, working from home allows plenty of time for appointments in lieu of using a break/lunch

Do you realise that other people might live differently to you? That your way isn’t the only way?

Count yourself as fortunate that your ex was obviously in good health and you didn’t need to be involved in his healthcare. Not all of us are healthy.

What’s a half hour trip? Your drive there and back to the doctor? Or does that make include the appointment? Not everyone has work to go back to, or children to pick up.

No things aren’t all within a 10 minute walk. Some people can’t walk for 10 minutes. Some places the weather is too hot or cold or shitty to walk. The terrain might not be suitable for walking. Some medical professionals are worth a longer drive to get to them.

Often after a dentist appointment yes DH and I will go and do something together. We’re out and have time to kill until it’s school pick up.

Use your imagination. People can be different to you.

Unless one is a carer for the other, this is too much involvement for routine appointments. I'd rather wait in the car than in a doctor's waiting room, if my partner had a check up and we were going somewhere afterwards.

Absolutely not.

Ok, so maybe this is a situation for those unemployed/elderly/in poor health/rural locations.

We are both young, no health issues, in a city with everything 10 minutes walkable, and busy jobs to get straight back to: and no, I've never in my life in a very hilly city, found anywhere impassable or too hot/cold to walk...

Nor have I had time to kill for a good 12 years now. But when my kids are grown and I'm retired, perhaps that will change. I can indeed see how those without jobs or kids, would very easily have lots of time to kill.

My parents used to go together to make sure at least one of them remembered everything.

Again, why does a journey need to be shared? Most GP/dentists are a 10 minute walk. Are people driving this stuff?

This is actually hilariously obtuse.

We live in a rural hamlet. Nothing except a stables and a church within 10 minutes walk. Can you really not understand that not everyone lives within 10 minutes walk of a healthcare provider? That some people have to see specialists? That some people are not allowed to drive after procedures or due to epilepsy?

FWIW, I do not ever need DH with me but I can absolutely understand there may be circumstances in the future where I do.

I don't think there is any controlling going on in either instance. These are smart, outgoing women in their 50's with no medical issues, phobias, etc. I would never have asked the question if any of those had been the case. Perhaps, as others have mentioned, they make a day of it. Maybe it is part of their social life.

And, I am well aware it is none of my business. I was just curious if more couple did this than I realize.

I apologize - I just saw that I posted this question once before when I knew one of the couples did this together. I recently found out another couple does too, that is why it came to my mind again. I did not remember doing it before.

Yes as my partner is quite nervous at the dentist and asks I come with him for moral support. No for doctors.

We tend to go to things together. Mostly because we are pretty rural, so if we are out for a hospital appointment, or the dentist it is roughly 30 miles away and we are probably going to have lunch or shop. We are both retired.

We make a routine dental appointment for both of us - but the other would sit in the waiting room. It's practical to get your 6 month appointment done at the same time.

I would probably go into a Dr consultation with DH purely because he is fairly deaf and has a very strong Scottish accent (we are in England) that a lot of people fail to follow. Even if English is their first language. I am his translator/hearing support animal.

"DH will sit near my feet out of the way of the dentist and massage my feet to help me to be calm during the appointment."

This cannot possibly be true.

Not routine appointments, but as DH and I are older, we will do it for more serious appointments. He and I have both had major operations in the last several years, and we went to each other's pre-op appointments.

I do think that health care providers need to be careful, though. Always being accompanied by a partner can be a red flag for an abusive relationship.

I book all five dental appointments back to back so the whole family goes together! We don’t actually go in to the room though, only one of us goes in with DD3 (DDs 1 and 2 are adults so they go on their own), the rest of us sit in the waiting room.

Such an uncomfortable read

I live in London and my dentist is a 30 minute journey away. The dentist 10 mins from me is not very good and so is not my dentist.

We sometimes go to the dentist together because it's a fair distance away and check-ups are generally needed at the same time. But I wouldn't go to anything else, unless it was very important.

same as pp, as a family of 5 we book a routine family dentist appointment so 5 slots back to back and we all go together. It makes us laugh because 2 of our dc are now adults 😂
always slotted in for the very last appointments of the day but yes to routine dental appointments.
No to doctors appointments, none of us have those routinely though, only if any of us have something wrong with us and it doesn’t take 2 of us to attend so just the person who needs the appointment goes.

Your dh massages your feet in the dentist’s?!
I have no words (but I bet the dental staff do…).

Christ, that's really fucking weird.

I don’t have a partner but if I did that would never happen. I’d feel totally suffocated. It sounds like very strange behaviour to me.

I find it weird and dependent and don’t do it. Am also in a same sex relationship.

Omg , that is so weird.

We don't.
Late 60s, retired, no health issues. Even if I have to go to A and E I go alone. I don't want anyone with me.