How are you?

  You know how when you're asked this question, you just answer that you're fine, assuming it's a social phrase and not a query as to your actual state of health.  And you usually reciprocate the civility by turning the question back on the asker.  But how do you answer when the question is asked by a doctor entering the examination room: do you say fine or do you detail your health report?  I  think I usually choose the first option, but I'm not always sure because I tend to suffer from a type of physician's office amnesia: blacking out whole sections of say a physical exam.  Did the doctor look in my ears, or my throat, or palpate my abdomen?  Can't prove it by me---I lull  myself into  a trance-like state; in my mind I'm not really there.  That could be why physical therapy rehab was so uneventful; pain recedes if you're not present for it.  Mostly, I say I'm fine and wait for the doctor to ask more specific questions.  I figure the less said the better.
     But one time, when the doctor asked how I was as she entered the room, after I said I was fine, I asked the doctor how she was.  She answered that she was not doing so well, as she had had a very stressful day up to that point, was very worn out, and was glad to have had the little break that she considered my appointment to be.  I can't recall how I responded, but  am sure I was sympathetic, and maybe even expressed appreciation for her efforts and dedication.  I can only imagine how difficult it is to be a doctor who specializes in breast surgery.