Let's play a game called "the time my doctor was wrong". I have quite a few stories, luckily nothing severe at all but a little unnerving. Any times your doctor misdiagnosed you or was sure XYZ would happen and it didn't?
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A former doctor told me I couldn't have Hashimotos Thyroiditis because my levels were in the normal range, even though my sister has it and it is common for hypothyroidism to morph to Hashis after pregnancy... I finally got him to test me for the antibodies... Guess what? I have Hashis
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Oh this is fun. Let's see, how about first when I was in the hospital for meningitis and my doctor told me that I have a type of meningitis that has only a 40% survival rate. Then that time my doctors told me that the DNA culture test done on my spinal fluid for said meningitis showed that I had meningitis caused by genital herpes even though I have never had genital herpes, even though I had tested negatively for HSV 2 as recently as two months before having meningitis. When they assured me that I must have recently contracted it (even though I had been with the same partner for years) and that the antibodies would show up in my blood tests within a few weeks and now, three years and countless blood tests later I still have never tested positive for it...it was especially fun when my mom was telling everyone I was in the hospital for meningitis caused by genital herpes
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I had MRSA in college. We finally got it looked at late at night and the doctors all decided it was a spider bite reaction and wanted to admit me. We pushed a nice nurse and asked if anything awful would happen if I just went home and went to my normal doc in the morning, as long as I got treated it would be fine.
Had to sign out ama. Went to my doc next morning he cultured it, put me on killed antibiotics and minus being crazy tired for 2 weeks I was totally fine. So glad I didn't languish in the hospital that whole time
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@beatrixkiddo: I would have throat punched my mom for telling everyone that!
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There was the time that an eye doctor told me I had chlamydia in my eyeball and when I told her I was in a monogamous relationship, she said I should have a serious conversation with my husband about that.
It was just your general run-of-the-mill eye infection that a course of amoxil cleared right up. I had to get that from urgent care after suffering for eight weeks and paying $120 for various eye ointments and drops from the eye doctor.
I don't see them anymore.
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@beatrixkiddo: lol oh mom
-I got told I had scabies when I had a RASH from my sports bra after I had I suggested to my doc multiple times that it was caused by running/sweating but no, I had to use that ridiculous toxic cream from head to toe. and sanitize my entire house.
-OB told me I had molluscum, some gross genital virus, when it was literally razor burn (I had used an old razor on vacation and told her as such)
-And can't forget the doozy- the time two fertility centers told me it would be near impossible to get pregnant naturally, that I should use donor eggs, that I was entering menopause, etc .....I got pregnant. 3 times.I really feel like all doctors do is look at numbers and not YOU and your background or your lifestyle.
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Mine isn't about me but about my daughter. At two years old we took her to our family doctor at the time because she had a serious limp. He informed us everything was likely fine and to give it time. We went for a second opinion and learned that in fact everything was not fine and she has juvenile arthritis. Obviously we no longer see that doctor.
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When I was 8 weeks pregnant, I went to my GYN to do ultrasound. They couldn't find the sac. A lot of commotion later they told me they were pretty sure I would miscarry. They offered me to wait and see, or I could schedule a D&C. DH was traveling a lot at that time and I didn't want to be alone if I miscarry naturally. Logically speaking it would be smarter to schedule a D&C when I know DH would make a plan not to travel that week. it was a hard decision. They let me stay there and think. I was there for AN HOUR texting my friend (my friend said wait and see, she said maybe it was still small that's why they couldn't find the sac), when the whole time I was super thirsty (I still had very strong pregnancy symptoms). THEN. After an hour (!), they said the blood tests results came back and my pregnancy levels went way up. So while they think I would miscarry, they recommended me to wait and see (or maybe they just wanted to kick me out). Gosh.
Thank God I waited. DS is now 6 years old.
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I took my at the time 1 year old to a new pediatrician because our insurance network had changed. She tested his iron and it came back way low so she put him on liquid iron supplements. I went back for a recheck a month later and it had barely gone up, she accused me of not giving him his medicine (i had maybe missed 2 doses on a twice a day regiment). She raised his dose again and I came back in another month and it hadn't increased much. She told me that he most likely has a disorder or disease and it could even be leukemia. I freaked the F out. I went running back to his original pediatrician out of network that I loved. He ordered a CBC at the in network hospital, but in the mean time he did an in office test on him that came back in normal ranges. He told me that the in office one can vary a lot if poor technique is used (alcohol not given time to evaporate off the skin or squeezing and wiping too much). The CBC came back totally normal, and his iron levels were on the high side. It turns out she was expecting him to have iron levels of a grade schooler and not that of a baby/toddler.
To add insult to injury, the terrible ped expected an explanation for every cut, scrape, or bruise on my son that had been walking for only a couple months. I told her I wasn't sure, probably one of the many times he fell in the backyard, or on the deck, or was playing with our dog, or got ahold of the cat when I told him not to.
Needless to say we switched peds, and thankfully as of 5 months ago, we're back to his original ped.
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@pachamama: I have a scabies one too! I went to a dermatologist because I had a rash all over and the doc told me it was scabies so I did the same--used that nasty toxic cream, not only on myself (in the early days of pregnancy) but on T too, went crazy disinfecting and steaming and vacuuming, only to get no relief after multiple applications. Went back to a different doctor that told me that it was definitely not scabies, but a common early pregnancy symptom. I had told the first doc i was pregnant and asked whether it could be hormone related.
I think in fertility more than many other medical things, it is such a guessing game. I forgot about the two doctors that told me that I don't ovulate on my own and would need medical help when I decided I wanted to get pregnant...6 weeks of unprotected sex later, oh hai second line. Doctors, especially fertility docs, like to see the problems because hey, that's what they're trained and paid to do. I get it. But there are few that take the time and have the ability to look at the big picture.
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We got diagnosed for impetigo when it was hand foot mouth. Then DS got diagnosed two weeks ago with hand foot mouth again, but it never showed up on DS' hands, feet, or mouth. Just his ears, cheeks and elbows. No fever or malaise, and no one else got it. So I'm going to call that one wrong too.
I do in general like my doctors, but we haven't had any real medical issues, so there's that.
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I woke up one day and couldn't get out of bed. I wasn't able to walk without assistance (and only very slowly at that). It hurt so much to sit down I had to fight back tears.
The orthopedic doctor I saw said that I probably just strained a muscle in my back and I'd be fine in a few days. That'll be $400, please.
I went for a second opinion, and they found I had a degenerative joint disease.
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My DH had been having bad headaches and his primary care doctor decided to have him take an MRI to 'rule out a brain tumor'. Cue him freaking out thinking he's dying. After spending $1,000 for a clear scan, and switching to a new dr., turns out it's just allergies and issues with his glasses.
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After a LEEP in March 2017, my doctor (who I had only seen for the LEEP) told me to wait a year to get pregnant because it increased miscarriage risk. After a few months, I tried to get an appointment to discuss that and some other questions and she had left the practice and the only other doctor I knew there didn't have an open (non emergency, gyn) appointment for months. So I switched practices and my new/current doctor said he had never heard of that recommendation after a LEEP and that they generally had no lasting effects. So a year of waiting to conceive on bad advice. I'm almost 12 weeks pregnant now.
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We were trying TTC and I had way long cycles so my Dr said I should see an OB specifically to figure out why. I made an appointment and like 2 days before it got a positive test. I kept the appointment and let them know. Well I was only like 4 +2 weeks and had a tiny bit of spotting. The Dr. insisted she do an ultrasound even though I told her I was only 4 weeks and I knew that because I had taken ovulation tests. So she did an ultrasound and turned the screen towards me and said" your uterus is empty, you are having a miscarriage" Yep not the case, DD is 5.
When I was pregnant with DD my appointment was with one of the nurse practitioners. I laid down for her to measure my belly and she felt it and asked if it always felt like that cause she thought it felt like I had a pulmonary embolism. Nope just extra fat on my stomach but thank for sending me into a tailspin of anxiety. Left in tears and went back later that day because I wanted to see my Dr. He reassured me everything was fine and I told them I never wanted to see the NP again.
And when I was pregnant with DD I had to see a cardiologist, I have always had a murmur and they just wanted to check on it again. Well when I went for my intake appointment when I was pregnant with DS they said didn't anyone tell you had Pulmonary hypertension? I had no idea what it was and Nope, no one had in the 2+ years since I seen the Dr. Come to find out its really bad if you have it and shouldn't get pregnant. Had to go to another cardiologist which took months to get into cause I waned to see the best and come to find out I don't have it. That one was really bad cause I didn't know if DS and I would live!ETA I forgot the time I was pregnant with DD and I went to the ER on a Sunday because my OB told me to cause I had a red, hot lump on my leg. The ER Dr never even touched my leg and told me it was in ingrown hair. Ya the next week at my appointment my OB asked if I had my leg looked at. I told him yes but the Dr. said it was fine but I showed him my leg again as the area had gotten a bit bigger. Yep (superficial) bloodcot on my leg. And that ER visit cost me $1200!
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The time at least 6 doctors were wrong.....
After having DS1, I started having all sorts of weird ailments. I was getting dizzy, vertigo, ocular migraines, increased anxiety, and panic attacks, as well as ALL sorts of gastric problems. I saw multiple doctors and specialists, who all suggested various serious things, from brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, gastroparesis, infections, and even a possible tapeworm.
And guess what. After having countless tests, including invasive ones like an endoscopy and some weird thing where they made me eat radioactive eggs, I was finally diagnosed with.......post partum anxiety. Yup. My symptoms all went away the next day, after being informed that I wasn't actually seriously ill (or crazy). It's been 5 years and the symptoms never came back.
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After years of irregular or just zero menstruation and various treatments I was told the next step would be a scan for a pituitary tumor, and was also told adoption would be my best option (o knew I didn’t want to go through fertility treatments). A few weeks later I got my period without medical intervention for the first time in years, had it regularly for 4 months for the first time ever, and then got pregnant (with an IUD). I got an OB appointment right away to have the IUD removed and get a scan, and they said it was a blighted ovum and it looked like I would miscarry. That blighted ovum is 4.5.
Our first pediatrician told us my daughter probably just had the flu (I was concerned she had a repeat UTI due to complaints about lower back and abdomen pain), but because it was the weekend they wouldn’t test and anywaybshed be fine. She ended up hospitalized for 3 nights with RSV. I switched Peds right away.
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I threw my back out really bad when my daughter was only 3.5 months old and had to go to the ER. They gave me pain meds and recommended that I see an orthopedic dr, so I found one and made an appointment. The first dr that I saw there was very kind and compassionate and could clearly see that I was in a lot of pain. He ordered an MRI of my back. After my MRI, they scheduled a follow-up visit with a different dr at the same practice, and he was the exact opposite. He told me that I just needed to lose some weight and be more active. Hello, I just had a baby! And I was hurting so bad I could barely even pick her up, much less exercise.
He didn't even bother to look at my records until I asked what the MRI results had shown - he didn't even realize they had sent me for one! When he finally looked at the results, he saw that I did in fact have a badly herniated and extruded disc in my lower back. After all that, he said the only thing he could do was recommend a surgeon, so needless to say I never went back there!
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My entire pregnancy was a series of bad calls by the practice I was in. I rotated docs too, so this wasn't even just one person. I knew exactly the day that I got pregnant, but baby measured small from day 1, they blamed it on wrong conception dating, even though I insisted I knew the exact date. Then there was a scare with one of the early genetic tests, but instead of re-testing, they sent me to multiple specialists,, all of whom told me I just need to be re-tested because I had no family history of the particular issue. At every appointment I brought up that kiddo was measuring small and that I wasn't gaining weight, and was repeatedly told some combination of a) you're already overweight, it's fine if you don't gain, b) your conception date is wrong, and c) you're short and your husband is short so of course your kid is going to be small. Thank God the one doc I had for my 36 week checkup listened when I got concerned that kiddo was not moving as much, and had the foresight to check my records and see that she hadn't grown in 4 weeks, so they induced me and found that not only was she very small (4 lbs 6 oz at birth) but that my placenta was the size of a fist (IUGR ended up being the official diagnosis) so it wasn't supporting her growth effectively and was why I didn't gain weight and the kiddo grew so slowly.
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Wow these stories.
Let's see, there was the team of pediatricians that told us it's normal DS needs antibiotics for ear infection every month because "he's just building up his immune system." We pushed for months to get an ENT referral, and no, of course it wasn't normal, and he had a deeper infection that was never fully clearing with the 5-day courses.
With this pregnancy, I've already been told by a physician's assistant that my headaches are not normal and I should see a specialist ASAP, while in the next appointment the OB said it's just my low blood pressure and should clear if I up my salt and caffeine intake (but she gave me a neuro referral just in case). On top of that, the OB said I have a bacterial infection, but when I called the office the next day to get a prescription for the antibiotic, the PA said my records say it's a yeast infection and needs another medication. I'm not sure which one of them is wrong, but someone clearly is. I can't trust a word I hear from either one of them and am tempted to just walk away and never come back, but for all I know, all OB practices may be like this.
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I had a miscarriage and a subsequent D&C. I spike a high fever the day after the procedure, ended up in the emergency room, and had another emergency D&C. 2 months later, my hcg is finally <5 and I wait another 4 weeks for my period. Nothing. My OB starts me on progesterone to induce my period. Still nothing. She then diagnoses me with Asherman's Syndrome (a rare disorder that causes scaring to develop in the uterus after D&Cs) due to me having the two back-to-back D&Cs. She also tells me it will be nearly impossible for me to get pregnant again and to prepare for a long journey ahead. Long story short, my period never returned because all that time, I was actually pregnant and said baby is now 2.5yo.
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There was the time my husband's lower back was hurting and the doctor said it was a strained muscle and gave him pain meds. Two nights later had to rush him to the ER , and he has E.coli and a serious UTI affecting his kidneys.
Same office, 8 months after having my first baby, I went in because the corner of my mouth kept cracking and I was having night sweats and losing hair. Asked them to check my hormone levels and instead was held for a TB test, which even though negative, they made me go get an xray. All because I said I was waking up drenched in sweat at night.. Didn't even test my levels like I asked and I had to deal with the test and xray for almost an entire day.
Next day I go see my dermatologist for my yearly check, and he says I have a yeast infection in the corner of my mouth, gave me a tube of medicine and it was gone in a few days. The sweats and losing hair I guess was hormone related and they eventually stopped. We switched doctors.
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Oh man, I have so many of these stories that we actually have inside jokes in my family about these kinds of events.
My most recent was when I was about 20 weeks pregnant with DD. I started having off and on unbelievably excruciating pain in the upper right center of my abdomen. After a week of the pain getting worse and worse until it was continuous and unbearable, I scheduled an appointment with a colleague of my wonderful OB because he was out of town. This OB (interestingly the only female in the practice) told me, "Pregnancy is hard. Deal with it." YEAH...my gallbladder had failed, which I found out two days later when my OB came back into town and took a look at my chart and called me immediately. 2 specialists in 3 days later, I was on a protocol for saving LO's and my lives.
I HATE that doctor, and refused to allow her to rotate in (they take turns in the practice) during my delivery.
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@pachamama: 3? Did I miss something?!
@beatrixkiddo: Can you tell me more about this? I had what was called chiggers and treated as scabies when I was 4 weeks pregnant with R, but no one else got them and we were all sitting in the same field. And they were way worse than chiggers.Mine is 8 doctors and no one could figure out celiac over a period of two years. My grandma watched the View and realized that's what I had. So many wasted co-pays and appointments .
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Mine still infuriates me. I went to the hospital to get my rh shot. While there my blood pressure was borderline high... Which is normal and my Dr's and specialists were aware. Anyway they held me to try to get it to come down. Well I was trying to text dh who had gone home and feel asleep!!!! Needless to say my bp didn't go down and the nurse told me I might be having my baby that night...at 26 wks for no other reason than my bp at that moment! They said that they were going to admit me and catheterize me.... I started freaking out and saying I was going to leave and the terrible nurse said that would jeopardize my baby and all this horrible stuff. Finally my dh arrived and they asked for a urine sample to check for protein in my urine. And this is the ridiculous thing...I drank a lot of water..like a lot. Anyway the dr tested my urine and came in to tell us the results and she said it was fine however she suspected I watered it down.... I was so taken a back that I looked to dh and I said did she just accuse me if watering down my urine!!!???!! It was surreal!!!!! What would watering it down even do!??!!?? Ughh it was a horrible horrible experience and it was all for nothing!!!! After about 45 mins my bp went back down but they held.me overnight at which time it even went low!!! I was so pissed and demanded to be released early the next day....went to my specialist and he said the whole thing was a mistake and he gave me his cell # for the next time...thankfully the was no next time!
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I'll cut them a little slack b/c it was the health center at my university but it still pissed me off and shouldn't have happened.
Senior year, spring finals week and I got up early to study before on of my exams. My eye was really hurting me. I had enough time to visit the health center where they took a look at me and told me I had pink eye. I argued that pink doesn't hurt and what was coming out of my eye was tears and not well, the grossness of pink eye. They still sent me on my way and I don't remember them giving me drops. It wasn't until later that night (long story there) that I was able to get to an urgent care (long time ago before there was a minute clinic at every Walgreens). I had a corneal abrasion. They gave me some gel to put in my eye and an eye patch (gasp) and I went right on studying.
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The joys of living in a tiny town that is big enough to have a small hospital, but not big enough to draw quality doctors...
I was (correctly) diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy, but when the doctor told me about it, she said I would have to immediately go to "_____" (city 1 hr away with a large hospital) for surgery. I asked if I had time to go home and grab a few things, and she said no, I had to leave right NOW. She then said she would be right back and left me in the exam room for a half hour where I freaked the F out, bawling and calling my husband to pick me up and get to this other hospital. Then she comes back and says, "oh, I guess there's this other new thing you can do now where you just get a shot". After doing more of my own research later, I got more and more pissed. Methotrexate for an ectopic is really not a new thing.
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@pachamama: whoa wait, 3 times???...
@Pollywog: it is called atopic eruption of pregnancy. For me, I had a rash that popped up in random places on my body, and some of the bumps were welts that connected with other bumps so it almost looked like scabies trails. Mine looks very similar to the first picture that comes up with you google. -
@yerpie110: that was one determined baby!
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@beatrixkiddo: that is exactly what I had. I had no idea it was a thing
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My last OB said I would need a c-section, but my angel of a nurse easily broke up some scar tissue and my baby was born quickly after that.
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At my 20 week ultrasound, the doctor (not my primary) told me my baby had Congenital adrenal hyperplasia or ambiguous genitalia. She talked about what to expect, getting surgery, how they would proceed, etc. I mean she went through a whole spiel and referred me to the maternal fetal specialist. We went to the appointment later on in the week and the specialist said, "Nope, the ultrasounds look like a classic girl." We had to go for a followup with another specialist, and they also said classic girl. I was glad everything was okay but man was I annoyed at that particular doctor
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My first OB told me I wasn’t getting pregnant because I was overweight. Nope, but thanks for the fat shaming! (It was autoimmune issues)
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Aww, so many. Luckily, none related to my pregnancies or my kids so far.
1st time I can remember: I had an odd stomach pain in college. Went to the on campus clinic, where the (male doctor) asked me if I was on my period. I said no, and wouldn't be for another two weeks. He poked around and said it couldn't be appendicitis and said it must be "hormonal cramps". I restated that I wasn't on my period and it wasn't a cramping feeling. I specifically said it was a burning feeling. He told me that sometimes women have hormonal cramps even when they aren't on their periods and sent me on my way with no other testing.
that night, I popped a fever and stomach burning was intense. Went to ER, where they told me I had an "advanced uti" and THEN that male ER doc lectured me and told me I should have done something sooner and told me UTIs can be dangerous when left unchecked. Grrr. Didn't appreciate being talked down to then, still don't.Last year I posted a few threads about my 4.5 month long ordeal with a horrible full body rash. I went to a host of doctors, went through several misdiagnoses...FINALLY found out that I'd had mono and Coxsackie at the same time which ran down my immune system. Then I was given amoxicillin (misdiagnosed with strep) which is a no-no for Mono because it can cause a rash. However, my immune system went into overdrive and started stacking itself and kept the rash going way after I discontinued the amox--4 months longer. I had doctors tell me I had bed bugs (nope), pityriasis roses (nope), maybe a form of cancer (no thank god). I even had an eye doctor tell me it was because of my "standard American diet" and said that just going paleo would solve all my problems!
My platelets were low, I had an active mono infection...but no one tested that stuff until I finally got to an amazing rheumatologist who also found out I have Sjogrens and a form of lupus.
And by the way, I did a Whole30 that I turned into a Whole90 and I just got sicker and sicker (but that was the mono and the low platelets and the rash getting me down). Fuck that eye doctor. I still sometimes want to throw a paleo cookbook through his glass office window. Just terrible terrible awful medical advice for someone who has every classic Sjogrens symptom relating to eyes.
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I could go on and on... fortunately nothing with a horrible ending, but I've been misdiagnosed so many times... most recently the ped and their lactation consultant said repeatedly that LO didn't have a tongue tie, and still attest that it's not a thing. He definitely did, and my boob attests otherwise.
I still remember when I was a kid getting called over to my aunt's house, along with all her friends and family. She'd been told she had ovarian cancer and everyone was sobbing hysterically. Very happily, turns out it was all a mistake and she didn't have any problem - not even a benign tumor. Obviously much better than the reverse of having cancer and it being misdiagnosed, but it was still temporary hell.
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@Anagram: I had a friend in college with a similar story to your college one, except she had appendicitis and legit called 911 from the doctor's office because the doctor wasn't listening
And since when does an eye doctor dispense nutrition advice, ugh, so sorry you had to go through that
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My doctor once told me I likely had something wrong with my gall bladder since I was very sick to my stomach and had pain/tenderness right around the gall bladder area. They scheduled me for an U/S the next day and told me to go to the ER if the pain got worse.
Turns out I had a stomach virus and a bruised rib. It was scary, but I totally understand the initial misdiagnosis!
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I went to visit with a gastroenterologist because I wanted to get tested for celiac disease (this was about 14 years ago).... My sister had just been diagnosed after years of testing and trying to figure out what she had. my mom mentioned a few of the issues I was having and said, I bet you have it too.
At the time, celiac wasn't as "known" as it is now I guess... there wasn't gluten free everywhere, and I don't think doctors considered it as much. Anyway, I met with the head of gastro at a very large well-respected hospital in Boston. I told him my symptoms, etc. He asked about family history including where my ancestors were from (??) and was like, I don't think you have celiac, I think you have IBS, he wanted to send me home, no follow up. Umm, OK.
Anyway - I basically forced him to give me an endoscopy to confirm (they also didn't have the blood test then that they have now). And sure enough, confirmed celiac.
Trust your gut! ( in my case, my broken gut, haha)
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When I was 23 weeks pregnant I felt like I was having more "leaking" so I went in to get checked and they did the amniotic fluid swab test. It came back positive, but they never did an internal exam or any other testing, and basically prepared us to deliver our baby that night because my blood work also showed I was fighting an infection. We had to have talks with the doctors about what kind of interventions we'd want them to use to save the baby. They rushed me to a bigger hospital with a better NICU, where they did an actual internal exam and microscope testing on the fluid only to realize I was NOT leaking, the other test was just a false positive, and the infection was probably just a run of the mill normal thing, not PPROM related at all. It was a crazy rollercoaster ride of emotions with the best possible outcome, but I am still so mad at the first doctor who was not very thorough or sure of what she was saying before scaring the crap out of us!
that night, I popped a fever and stomach burning was intense. Went to ER, where they told me I had an "advanced uti" and THEN that male ER doc lectured me and told me I should have done something sooner and told me UTIs can be dangerous when left unchecked. Grrr. Didn't appreciate being talked down to then, still don't.
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