Doctors are supposed to be the experts we turn to when we need help, right? But sometimes, even the pros say things that make us raise an eyebrow—or two.
So when a curious Quora user asked, “What is the most ignorant thing you've ever heard from a medical doctor?” people jumped in with their stories. From surprisingly judgmental remarks to outdated advice, these responses will likely leave you shaking your head in disbelief.
#1
My first daughter was failure to thrive. At 7 months she had gained from a birthweight of 6lbs 11 oz only as far as 12 lbs. this is despite us trying constantly to get her to eat. After eating a very small amount she would start screaming. In pain. Obvious to me. So we took her to dr. He said I was a hysterical young mother who didn’t know what I was talking about. He called children’s aid on me and reported me for not feeding her. I’m guessing he thought I was a monchausen by proxy mother. He also referred to a Pediatrician who also dismissed my concerns as her “playing with her voice”. When I argued I was again told I was a hysterical young mother who didn’t know what I was talking about.
at 7 months of age we took her to emerg at McMaster university medical centre. They actually looked at her and discovered stage 4 cancer. It started in her liver. She was screaming in pain from eating as it must have felt much like a gallbladder attack due to the swelling from the tumours. She died because doctors thought I was a hysterical young mother who didn’t know what I was talking about.
Image credits: Sheri Fogel
#2
That my mammogram showed no signs of tumor. I read the report, and each breast had the exact same description. The doctor had written the same report about both sides of my breasts. I got a sonogram and my right had three malignant tumors that had spread to my lymph system. I was in stage 3. After chemo, surgery, radiation, and nightly meds, I’m going strong.
Image credits: Annabelle-Lee-212
#3
Not me but my cousin. “Your period can’t hurt that badly”. She then went on to years and years of painful almost debilitating periods. They were so bad and she thought it was normal…well almost normal. She knew it was not as bad for other girls but was convinced it was just a bad case of cramps every month. Finally as an adult a friend convinced her to see their gynecologist and that one ordered an ultrasound. This doctor sent her to HER doctor who performed the ultrasound and said you’re not going home today we’re performing surgery ASAP.
Turns out she had 8 pounds of dermoids in her uterus and some even had teeth and hair. If they had kept growing her uterus could have burst and k**led her. But because one doctor brushed off her symptoms and never really did anything about it she almost died. If they had been discovered earlier there were things they would have known to look out for and she would have had less health issues related to uterine health. Eventually she had an hysterectomy at 28 and that stemmed partially from this doctor ignoring her initial complaint.
Unfortunately it seems epidemic that doctors more frequently brush off women’s complaints about their pain and isn’t that a sad medical fact.
Image credits: Marie Phillips
#4
When my daughter was 4 I took her for her yearly check-up. I stated she was still peeing at night so I was putting her in pull-ups. The doctor said the reason she was still peeing at night was because of the pull-ups and that I should immediately stop using them. I felt like I was a horrible mom so for the next year, multiple times a week she would wake me up because of a wet bed, I would help her change, strip her bed and remake it. Some nights I would just make her a bed on the floor. I was exhausted and cranky because I also had a newborn waking me up at night and I was not always patient with her. A year later I went to a different doctor and told her of our dilemma, she simply stated why aren’t you just using pull-ups? ARGGG After that we all slept through the night and life was so much sweeter. She did thankfully grow out of it at age 8.
Image credits: Gretchen Eckerle
#5
My daughter was just at that age where she had begun menstruationand she wasn't doing well. She was very pale, bruised easily, was tired all of the time; classic anemia. I took her to the doctor at the local Air Force base (my husband was army worth a local posting). The brilliant doctor that saw her, after getting a lost off symptoms, and without a single blood test, pronounced her to be a “troubled teen”. He tried unconscionably hard to pressure me into having her committed to an institution. I was dumb founded!
After seeing a second doctor, out of pocket, he actually tested her, but before the results were in, he said that it was a “classic severe case” of anemia and that she would have been in great danger had she remained untreated. The results proved that to be true. He prescribed a certain kind of iron and as long as she took it she was as good as new.
And for those that wonder why I didn't just buy iron supplements and call it a day, her symptoms seemed very extreme to me, though classic. Better to check and be sure.
Image credits: Krows Solitude
#6
The local doctor in our small town did not believe I had asthma. I had been diagnosed when I was a little baby. I had to take a day off work every month to see him, before he would refill my medications. I bugged him until he relented and made an appointment with a large medical teaching school that was known well for their outstanding work. Loma Linda Medical University, which had taken great care of our special needs child.
They ran their tests, sent them to the doctor. I asked why I still had to come in each month. His answer, “They made a mistake”.
Months later, during the spring I was having great difficulty breathing. I went to the doctor. He would not see me, but had his NP, Nurse Practitioner, see me. She, Fancy, called him over for a consult outside the door of my room, then she came back in to see me. She told me she was going to get in trouble, but she told me to cross the parking lot and go into the emergency room.
I walked in the door and headed toward the check-in counter. I was intercepted by 2 men and a gurney. They waylaid me and hurried me into the ED. I was connected to oxygen, given a shot of tetracycline, adrenaline, and a breathing treatment. Twenty minutes later, another breathing treatment.
Then they called in the doctor. They had him stand fifteen feet from me. Then they, 2 ED Doctors, chewed him out. They let him know that if Fancy had sent me home as he had told her to do, I would not have lived through the afternoon, much less the night.
Last time I, or any of my family saw him. We drove a ways to where there were better doctors. His business began to fail, lack of customers, aka, patients. He retired, thankfully.
Image credits: Tony Williams
#7
I was playing in a basketball league and jammed my finger, like I have many times before. This time was different though. I immediately noticed that I couldn’t straighten my finger. It was bent down, not all the way like in a fist, but about halfway down. I could push it straight with another finger but couldn’t straighten it on my own.
Two days later it’s still in the same condition. The swelling and pain had reduced but still couldn’t straighten it. So I make an appointment to see my primary care Dr. He does x-rays and verifies it’s not broken. He’s about to send me on my way. I ask him, “well what about the issue where I can’t straighten my finger?” He tells me it will be fine, it will straighten out on its own in a few weeks. This didn’t sound right to me at all. So I asked if he could refer me to a hand specialist. He said that was a waste of time and money. I said that’s ok, it’s my time and money. He was resistant but referred me.
Cut to a week and half later when I saw the hand specialist. He immediately knew what was wrong. I had a ruptured tendon in my finger, better know as mallet finger. It’s not an uncommon injury. This doesn’t get better on its own without treatment. Without some basic treatment my finger would have eventually healed incorrectly and been left disfigured and permanently bent.
The treatment for mallet finger was simple and easy. Put my finger in a splint so it’s held straight. Keep it this way so my tendon could regrow and reattach. I did that as instructed by the good doctor and like magic my finger is as good as new. Good thing I was not willing to listen to my primary care Dr. who didn’t know what this common condition was.
Image credits: Bill Ambrosini
#8
I had just changed primary care doctors several years ago and had to see this new doctor for the first time, can’t remember what for but probably a sinus infection or something equally simple and treatable. Since it was my first time meeting him, he was making conversation and asked if I had any children. I said not yet, and that my husband and I were looking at possibly adopting. He asked if there were medical issues that made adoption necessary. I said no, it was just something that I knew would always be an option for us. He told me, “If you can have your own biological children, don’t adopt. You won’t form the same kind of bonds with an adopted child that you will with your own.” A nurse was in the room at the time and she jumped in before I could even begin to respond. She more or less chewed out this doctor! I was in 100% agreement with her… she said something like, “Why would you assume that? I know lots of people who have both adopted and had biological children.” He actually tried to argue with her. He said, “But I bet if you got them to be totally honest, they would tell you that they are closer to their biological children.” I was witnessing a heated exchange between nurse and doctor, and completely siding with the nurse who put him in his place for expressing his opinions about something I had not asked him about. Neither one of them backed down. I suspect they continued to have words after I left; thankfully I had already gotten what I needed from the appointment. And, thankfully I didn’t listen to him. My husband and I went on to have two biological children and we adopted one child. And I can very confidently say that we love all three of them with all our hearts. Each one is very different. And for that, I am thrilled and grateful.
Image credits: Kathleen Milligan
#9
I grew up on a farm, and we had chickens. When I was 3 or 4, we ended up with too many roosters. They has problems, including them becoming significantly more aggressive. Combine that with me possibly antagonizing a bird slightly and I got spurred in my wrist.
For those who may not be aware, roosters have a long fixed talon on the back of their leg that they use for fighting and defense. This is why cock fights are so bloody, brutal, and illegal. They also walk around in poop all day.
So, after the initial accident my mom patched me up. I may have seen a local doctor, I don't know. The following days I started getting really sick… to the point where my mother took me to urgent care.
When we finally got in to see the doctor, he asked what was wrong. My mom said I had gotten badly injured and was worried the wound was infected. The doctor asked how I had gotten hurt and my mom said I was attacked by a rooster.
The doctor for whatever reason thought that was hilarious. Like bent over laughing… maybe he thought it was a put on? Or maybe he thinks of chickens how cartoons portray them and couldn't imagine them being dangerous. I don't know. The fact of the matter was I had blood poisoning (as we discovered later) and the doctor was laughing at a very sick little kid.
My mother asked me to wait in the hall. I was little, so the memory isn't super detailed, but I do recall hearing her through the door threatening to “bring the rooster to your office so it can punch a bunch of holes in you, too.”
He then examined me, far more sheepishly than before… then things got dead serious for a little bit while they tried to prevent me from dying from an otherwise hilarious rooster attack.
Image credits: Austin Lewis
#10
Went to the doctor for test results back in the day. The pain in my stomach had me worried I might have anything from an ulcer to Bigfoot growing in there.
The doctor walked into the office and began by “I’ve got some bad news. You have cancer.”
Shock was followed by gloom and a hint of despair as the doctor began to outline what the plan of attack was and the next doctor I would have to see and what my odds were for my kind of cancer. I sat there stunned, trying to take everything in and thinking I should be asking questions or taking notes or something other than just sitting there.
“. . . There have been a lot of good work in the past few years with this kind of cancer, but you still might want to go ahead and tie up loose ends to be on the safe side. The oncologist I’m sending you to will want to do his own tests, but he comes highly recommended and he’ll probably take an aggressive approach right from the start. But you’re young and you’ll have a fighting chance to beat this, Brian.”
It took me a second, but I did ask my first question. “Brian?”
The doctor didn’t even blink. “I like to use first names, but if you’d rather I call you Mr. Watley. . . .”
“Watley?” Something was clicking in my head. “You’ve made a mistake.”
“No, Brian. The tests are conclusive. You have cancer and. . . .”
I stood up. “Apparently Brian Watley has cancer. . . and I’m not him.”
To be fair, the man had met me briefly before sending me off to have tests to determine the pains in my stomach and a nurse probably ordered the file folders on his desk, but to provide someone with a scary diagnosis without first being sure of who you are talking to was unforgivable in my mind. I waited as he found my diagnosis— a food allergy— provided me with some lifestyle changes and sent me on my way with no apology in sight.
I found a new doctor who sent me to a nutritionist and has been my primary care doctor now for about 20 years.
Image credits: Robert Girard ·
#11
My sister Sharon’s older son, Russell, was seven years old when he developed crippling pain in his lower right abdomen. My sister’s first thought was “appendicitis,” and she took him to our local children’s hospital, thinking that he would need surgery right away. Sharon was herself sick with strep throat at the time. The doctor examined him and announced that it wasn’t appendicitis, but given Sharon’s condition at the time, the doctor said, “He has strep throat in his side,” (his exact words) and sent them home with antibiotics for strep.
That was “most ignorant thing I’ve heard from a medical doctor” #1 in this saga.
After several days on ABs, Russell was no better and literally couldn’t walk upright. He was bent over double and clutching his right side from the intense pain. We took him back to the children’s hospital, hoping to see a different and more intelligent doctor. We did get a different doctor, who listened patiently to the history. We told him several times that we were certain it was appendicitis. They ran some bloodwork, and while we waited for the results, the doctor wanted to run another test on Russell. He told my nephew to stand up straight (in spite of the debilitating pain of doing so), stand on his right foot, and hop up and down several times. Russell did so. He was trying to be stoic about the pain while he did this “test.” The doctor then announced that a person who has appendicitis cannot physically stand on their right foot and jump up and down without collapsing from the pain. So, this doctor said that there was no way that Russell had appendicitis. I don’t know whether he even looked at the bloodwork results; he had already made up his mind, and he sent us home, saying that Russell should stay on the antibiotics, and the situation would resolve itself.
That was “most ignorant thing I’ve heard from a medical doctor” #2.
And just to tell you “the rest of the story”:
The next day, my sister took Russell to their pediatrician to get a third opinion. Russell had a very high fever by this time and could barely walk. The pediatrician ordered Sharon to get her son to the local university hospital (NOT children’s) immediately, where the ER doctors took the situation very seriously, and listened to us when we said that we were sure it was appendicitis. They ran their tests, of course, and told us that Russell had, indeed, had appendicitis, but now he had a much worse condition. His appendix had burst (thanks to the delay in competent treatment), and by then, infection had been flung throughout his abdomen. They admitted him immediately, performed surgery, and then started him on IV antibiotics, but they got across to us the seriousness of his situation. He was by no means out of the woods. It took about 2.5 weeks in the hospital on strong antibiotics to pull him through. He came home with a tube protruding from his side that was to drain any remaining infection.
Had the children’s hospital made the obvious diagnosis the first, or even the second, time, a lot of time, pain, effort, and money could have been saved.
Russell is now a very lean 6’5” 30 year old.
Image credits: Katie Burke
#12
I was a young 10 year old girl who had never thought about her weight. I wore comfortable shorts and I loved this pretty summertime, colourful, unicorn tank top that I had, I wore it a lot. All that little girl knew was that she was healthy, ate very healthy, and loved to exercise and play. Then that little girl went to the family doctor for a standard check-up one day and the doctor took out a chart. She said it was a weight chart. She pointed to a point on the chart and said “this is the weight you should be for your age,” then she pointed at another point on the chart and said, “and you’re waaaaaay over here. You need to stop eating as much sugar and start exercising more.”
When I went home and looked in the mirror that day, I could no longer see that girl, that playful little girl who liked her body. She was gone, lost forever to the world where your worth is measured by how much you weigh. The little girls’ comfortable shorts grew dusty at the bottom of her dresser, and as often as I had looked at that unicorn tank top and considered wearing it, all I could see when I put it on was fat, fat, fat, fat. So I never wore that unicorn tank top again, the shorts I had outgrown without even wearing them, and I no longer wore dresses, just baggy sweaters. The doctors’ words rang in my head and I gradually become less healthy, started binge eating and starving myself. I can no longer see that playful girl when I look in the mirror, I can no longer see myself, all I can see is imperfection and hatred.
I’m a teenager now and I probably would’ve become insecure either way, but my doctor shouldn’t have said that to me. I was just 10 years old and I was perfectly healthy and active, there was no need for her to do what she did. It’s been a long time but she’s still my family doctor and I still remember what she did, how she made me realize, how she made me start to hate myself. I know doctors make mistakes and I think she’s a good doctor, I don’t doubt her skills, but either way, I think it was quite stupid of her and hurtful to me to have shown me that chart and said what did to me.
Image credits: Mel
#13
When I was in my mid 20s, I started gaining weight. A LOT of weight. So my doctor put me on a diet. I followed it religiously (weighing my food out to the gram). It was 1,200 calories a day, I was always hungry, never had any energy, and was still gaining weight. Two months later, I go back to my doctor, who starts by noting that I’m still gaining weight (30 pounds in 2 months) and then asks why I’m not following the diet he gave me. I told him I was, then I made the mistake of mentioning how hard it was. He looked me straight in the eye and told me “if you were actually following the diet I gave you, you’d have lost 30 pounds, not gained 30 pounds.” I left that doctor’s appointment in tears and left feeling like a horrible human being. I stopped seeing that doctor a few months later for completely unrelated reasons.
Oddly enough, it only took my new doctor a few weeks to diagnose me with a small tumor on my pituitary gland. Tumor removed, I was able to go back up to eating 2,000 calories a day like a normal person and almost all the excess weight went away within a few months. I don’t think the tumor would have k**led me if left untreated but it’s appalling to me that a medical doctor would rather think a patient was willfully lying to them than look at why that patient’s body wasn’t behaving as expected of a healthy individual.
Image credits: Kat Kuhn
#14
When my son was two going on three years old, I noticed that he was having a lot of nosebleeds for no apparent reason. It was to the point where at any moment throughout the day, I would look at him and he would have blood trickling out of his nose. I also noticed that he had an extreme amount of bruises, including bruises up and down both sides of his spinal column on his back, to the point where I could actually distinguish the location of each vertebrae from the bruises emanating from them. This went on for several months and I became quite alarmed.
At his three-year well-child exam, I brought it up to the pediatrician and asked that he have some blood work done. I was, of course, concerned about leukemia. The pediatrician chuckled condescendingly at me and said, “He's in daycare and he's three. He's going to have bruises. I would be worried if he DIDN'T have bruises!” I again mentioned the strange pattern of bruising along his spinal column. She said he was probably crawling under tables and chairs at daycare and getting the bruises from that. Then she said, “He's probably fine, but if it will make you happy, I will humor you and do some testing. But I am sure it will come back negative.” Humor me?? I couldn't believe she used that tone with me, a concerned parent. I was beyond infuriated.
The blood work was obtained, and that doctor personally called me with the results rather than having a nurse call me, so I knew something was wrong. The doctor still did not apologize to me, though! Thankfully, it wasn't leukemia. It turned out my son has a bleeding disorder (not hemophilia, but along those lines). He was referred to a pediatric hematologist for treatment . He is now a healthy 18-year-old in his first year of college.
I have never forgiven that doctor for her condescending tone that day, and I strongly feel that as a pediatrician, she should know better than to question a mother's instinct like that. I never questioned my motherly instincts again!! If you are a parent, you know when something is not right with your kid. Trust your gut!! And don't let any doctor tell you otherwise. They don't know your child like you do.
Image credits: Amy Wilson
#15
My 8 year old son (see last line re: stupid) had painful stomach cramps that were misdiagnosed by his pediatrician as hysteria or malingering. I was able to get him admitted to King’s Daughters for observation. It was tough to see the residents come in and watch their eyes display disinterest after interviewing us.
All that changed after the pediatric gastrointestinal specialist finished his examination. After a quick examination, he diagnosed the problem as abdominal migraine. Within minutes, we had several residents stopping in to learn about the gastric migraine and how they could have diagnosed it. All came except my son’s pediatrician. During rounds the next morning, he lectured my son about not bothering his parents with phantom illnesses. After I lectured the pediatrician on the importance of staying current on his patient’s chart, I warned him I was coming very close to becoming violent with him and asked him to leave. Stupidity comes in with pediatrician either not reading the chart or not believing what he was reading. To verify, I searched the MicroMedex (20 years ago) and quickly found the reference for abdominal migraine. Such stupidity and arrogance for the peds guy to not bother with research!
Image credits: Edward Schon
#16
My Baba's, (Ukrainian grandmother), doctor told her on a routine check-up to stop eating sour cream; stick to white chicken meat, not thighs; switch from rye bread to whole wheat and avoid anything pickled like herring and beets because they were all bad for her health.
She was 87 years old and told him she'd already buried 3 doctors, she'd bury him too but promised to switch to light sour cream.
#17
It was actually three different Gynecologist. I was in my late 20s, I hadn’t a period in years, I had morning sickness everyday and hot flashes. I had other symptoms, that could’ve just past off as no big deal, but still they were symptoms. Each Gynecologist said, “…there is nothing wrong with you, it is all in your head.”
Finally I went to an Endocrinologist that told me WHAT WAS IN MY HEAD! I had a pituitary tumor (benign). These little buggers create a lot of havoc in your body, throughout your life.
I got a copy of one of the Gynecologist’s notes on me. He had blood work that proved I had a tumor and he did nothing. Didn’t refer me, or even tell me that something was wrong.
#18
I probably could write a book on the failings of the medical community in my care. I will stick with this: while fighting breast cancer, and simultaneously suffering with fibromyalgia, I had kidney stones for good measure. Imagine the pain you would be in? I was given toradol.
Not treating patient’s pain has been the most ignorant abuse of power I have seen, and I have seen it over and over in my care. 3 oncologists refused pain meds for me after my chemo regimen changed. I was still getting bags of dr*gs, but these weren’t the kind that your hair falls out anymore. It caused sores all over my arms. It caused pain in my joints and hands.
I woke up from my cancer surgeries screaming, shaking from inadequate pain meds. Choosing to treat all humans like dr*g addicts is the most ignorant s**t I have seen.
#19
When I was five years old, I developed migraine headaches. My parents took me to a doctor because they were afraid I had a brain tumor, which was a logical concern on their part—most little kids don’t have headaches at all, and I was having attacks once or twice a week where I would vomit and scream and be unable to bear light. Anyway, the doctor looked me over and explained that the problem was that I was an only child, and that if I had a little brother or sister, my headaches would disappear. And he sent me home, where I kept suffering.
To this day I’m still not sure what the basis for this “diagnosis” was, although since it was the 1970s and there were still a lot of myths around only children (which weren’t as common then as they are now) he may have thought I was either spoiled and faking for attention, or just neurotic because of my lack of a sibling. I did end up with a younger brother a few years after that, and a younger half-sister much later, but I kept having migraines throughout the rest of my childhood and well into adulthood—I still get them occasionally now in my late 40s.
Image credits: Aghast Gee
#20
I have severe neurological diseases. I was having difficulty opening my mouth. I asked the neurologist if the symptom was the result of my disease. He asked me how far I could open my mouth and commented that it was severely compromised. His next follow up statement was “at least you’ll lose weight”. I was not overweight. He made no further recommendations. Eventually when this progressed a week later it was discovered to be a life threatening reaction to a medication. Wish it was my only bad encounter with the medical profession.
#21
I went to the doctor with a friend of mine who had been diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. Unfortunately, she had discovered a large lump far too late to do to much about it, at least in the minds of conventional medical circles. She asked the doctor what her chance of survival were and he answered, “I wouldn’t bet a bucketful of bolts on you.”
We were both stunned. What a horrible way to tell a patient that they were unlikely to live very long.
Only thing that made a difference was the bottle of wine we drank afterwards. We spent lunch maniacally stating, “Not a bucketful of bolts! Not a bucketful of bolts!”
Well, Doc, I wouldn’t bet a bucketful of bolts that any of your patients liked you.
#22
I remember shadowing a RN during my clinical days. She has asked me to walk with her to visit her friend who was an ultrasound technician. During the session the tech was with a monolingual Spanish speaking patient and I was asked if I could help translate the procedure to the patient. I was confident I could utilize my Spanish utilizing medical terminology. However, a Doctor stepped into the conversation and stated that I was not in a position to translate and the Doctor stated he knew Spanish “very well” The Doctor explained to the patient that they’re going to a*sess for “Cancer en los huevos” (Cancer in his balls) and the procedure entails putting the equipment “en las pompis” (Spanish slang for butt” I observed the poor man’s ego shattered and my jaws dropped in disbelief as I was in no position to enlighten the Doctor in Spanish medical terminology.
I later on processed my experience with the RN and explained to her what the Doctor simply told the patient in Spanish, how it was inaccurate and perceived to be misinterpreted. I enlightened her that as a nurse or a human service provider we must always be culturally sensitive and one way of doing it is by educating ourselves and be mindful of appropriate and effective communication skills.
#23
Several things come to mind.
A young GP in Israel told me that cats cannot carry rabies and that rabies is a disease of dogs. This is of course not true. Rabies can infect any mammal whatsoever, from mice to elephants. The same piece of human ignorance has cost the life of a young Israeli soldier back in 1997 when his military doctor assured him that rat bites do not pose a risk of rabies. The guy didn’t get a vaccine and died of rabies a month later.
I had an infected tooth that ultimately required a root canal, but prompted a display of dentist ignorance along the way. One doc told me that my aching tooth requires plaque removal. Another told me it ached because … 3 months ago I had done a filling on the same jaw without anesthesia. Only the third doc in my doctor-shopping experience understood it’s an infected tooth, prescribed antibiotics (which helped A LOT) and ultimately performed a root canal. In total this parade of stupid dentists cost me about 4 months of horrible tooth pain.
The third ignorant doc I met was a US orthopedic surgeon. This guy prescribed me Percocet and Aspirin despite the fact that I am taking citalopram. Percocet with citalopram is not a good idea because of obvious possible psychiatric effects. Also citalopram has some very mild blood-thinning effects and pairing it with a strong blood thinner like aspirin will cause a synergy and bring about blood vessel rupture and internal bleeding. This fact is stated boldly in both citalopram and aspirin dr*g sheets. Needless to say, I refused both prescriptions. This same doc told me you can’t use self-dissolving sutures on feet. This is bulls**t of course: that’s how my first foot surgery was ended — with self-dissolving sutures, saving me another trip to the clinic to remove the threads.
Image credits: Margarita Orlova
#24
I've told this story before. An elderly but very active woman was found to have a lung mass. Biopsy confirmed an aggressive type of lung cancer and she opted for chemotherapy (this was back in the 80s). She was hospitalized for the initial round of chemotherapy. I was in her room when the oncologist, who had a reputation for being hard on patients, came in to discuss the treatment, its side effects and so on. The elderly woman became quite upset and began to cry, saying "I don't want to die" to which the oncologist replied "We all have to die sometime" instead of keeping his mouth shut. I consider this sort of response to be worse than ignorant.
There was only one oncology group available to me - otherwise I would not have used this person.
#25
Went to see a doctor for a persistent sore throat. She looked at my throat, with the little light, and little wooden stick, and ended up her examination with a satisfied “Well, your tonsils aren’t swollen.”
I had my tonsils removed when I was 7.
#26
My answer is not about anything extremely, life-threateningly serious but it does point out the absolute ignorance of a medical doctor in a field in which he was, supposedly, an expert. I am a diabetic whose kidneys are failing and I am, therefore, in dialysis. My access for the blood-cleansing machine is called a fistula. It is where a vein and an artery are grafted together in my left arm and, after a period of time, the fistula requires a fistulagram wherein the fistula is, essentially, roto-rooted and, in my case, a stent is inserted. About 4–5 weeks after the stent was placed I came down with a fever and thought I had the flu. One day, at the end of a dialysis run, I was standing for a blood pressure count when I passed out. At the time I was quite ill and had a fever of 102 but, when you are in dialysis, there are no days off. I collapsed in a heap and wound up in the hospital where it was determined that I was septicemic (bacteria in the blood) with a streptococcus bacterium, a slow growing one that is usually harmlessly found on the skin surface. Now the hospital I was in is in the city of Aberdeen, SD, population roughly 30,000 with a hospital that is somewhat limited in services that it can provide. Therefore I had 4 video teleconferences with a, so called, “expert” in infectious diseases who was located in Sioux Falls, SD. During the 4th of my rather useless teleconferences, the doctor that I was communicating with stated that he was still wondering how the bacteria got into my blood. Then he said, “You know, I think I know how it happened. I think it happened when you fell.” I then told him that at the time I fell I already had a 102 fever and had been sick for about a week. The bacteria were ALREADY in my blood and he should have known that. All he could say was “Oh”. And he was supposedly an expert in infectious diseases. What an absolute waste of time that was! In my opinion it was rather obvious how the bacteria got in my blood BUT the hospital doesn’t want to hear anything about that. I think I received a nosocomial (hospital-sourced) infection when the stent was inserted. The bacteria was of a rather slow-growing variety, would have been introduced at about the time I got the stent and after 4–5 weeks of growth (incubation) they would have started asserting themselves. I got sick 4–5 weeks after the operation and the timing is perfect.
#27
I was having slight vision issues, and with a family history of high blood pressure and glaucoma my primary care doctor referred me to an ophthalmologist to have pictures taken of my retinas for a baseline image for future comparison.
Since I was only in my early 30s, the ophthalmologist was curious about what had brought me in. I said that I'd been on a kick to address any and all health issues before they got worse down the road. We had some more chit chat, and the subject of dietary changes came up.
Me: … and eventually, I'd like to have another allergy panel done. The one I had as a kid didn't cover foods, and I've grown into issues.
Him: Oh really, like what?
Me: Well, it turns out I'm allergic to avocados. I'd love a medical evaluation to see if I should carry an EpiPen.
Him: Oh, don't even bother. You don't want to eat avocados anyway. They're just full of fat. Terrible for you.
o_O
This was around 2010 in the SF Bay Area, arguably the heart of Latest Food Trends, USA. Luckily, I was just there for pics of my eyes. Not sure if I would've trusted any other advice he may have given me.
#28
My husband suffered from severe stomach pains, light-headedness, and chronic nausea. Went to the E.R. and Dr. Alsaadi immediately prepped him for surgery and removed his gallbladder. The next morning a different Dr came in to check up on him in recovery but my husband was still having the same symptoms. When the new Dr checked the charts he didn't understand why Alsaadi decided to take the gallbladder when all the tests showed there was nothing wrong with it. Before he was discharged he was diagnosed with diabetes and now that it's under control all the symptoms went away.
#29
When my father first went in for back pain which turned out later to be cancer, his original doctor never took an X-ray. He assumed it was arthritis in his spine. When the pain didn’t go away after the usual pain medication, he diagnosed my Dad, then just shy of 66 years old, with lumbego and anorexia. Lumbego because this doctor went to school around 1800 and anorexia because the man was in so much pain he wasn’t eating and had lost a lot of weight. This was in the 1990’s, but still lumbego was already laughed at when Granny Clampett complained of it.
Dad wasn’t diagnosed until he went to the ER while that doctor was on his honeymoon (yeah, think about that one) and got someone else. He was then in the hospital for tests so fast he didn’t have time to change his clothes. It was too late by then. Technically, it was too late from the beginning, but a quicker diagnosis would have saved Dad from months of pain from bone cancer that had eaten through his spine.
#30
That the biggest problem for our 2.5 year old daughter was her overly worrisome parents. She had bacterial pneumonia.
#31
My second child had additional newborn screening in the hospital. The nurse jinxed it when I asked what they were asking me to sign and said “You don’t need it, they never come back positive.” I told her that she had jinxed it now. 3 weeks later they called and the testing was inconclusive and had to be redone. 2 more weeks and the doctors office called and said you need to get to the city hospital now, we found a doctor who’s heard of the condition. Then they gave us an hour to get to the hospital. Turns out if they had know what they were doing they could have sent us the medication without seeing us first. They did all kinds of testing including genetic testing on Mom and Dad. Then months later tested our older child who was also positive. This child had been vomiting 2–3 x a week for 3 years. When the doctor called with the results he said “We would have caught it eventually.” Are you serious? Even the neurologist at the hospital didn’t test for it until finding out about it from treating our sons. Actually that was the upside, the neurologist starting testing children with seizures for no reason and 3 of them had the same treatable disorder and could have been saved years of seizures by the additional newborn screening test. Save Babies Through Screening Foundation
I should footnote and say that my child and a set of twins had positive results on the pilot year for additional newborn screening program at that hospital. 20 years later and the hospital continues to run the additional newborn screening.
Image credits: Mary Smith
#32
My late hubby had a successful knee replacement surgery. He went in on the eve.of our (22) anniversary & was in a coma the next day. The surgeon was floored that he was flagged (to visit CCU) to visit his patient, where I met up with him. I don't blame the surgeon. He was very experienced & successful. My husband had been a smoker. He quit on his 40th bcz his heart told him to. LOL.. Wouldn't listen to me of course. However that was 14 yrs ago. Not great but good. Here's my beef!!!—- bcz he had HAD a heart attack I would classify him as a cardiac patient, ergo, he should have been monitored post-op as was his due. Let me interject another factor here—-a machine kept flexing his knee at ALL TIMES (night & day). This man had very little sleep, or rest of any kind. AND up to his surgery, the same restlessness. You see, he suffered from Septic Arthritis! ! & the antis made him nauseous so,no sleep.should have had a Monitor. BUT, he never complained & I did not know all the facts. I would have had them stop the machine.
He coded the night of his surgery.
Response was good but not fast enough. Roomie called staff.
The neuro on call for when I got to hospital said to me, after a few minutes of convo that “s**t happens”!
Jeez people HOLD ME BACK! !
CAR ACCIDENTS where you break a window is s**t happens. Don't be telling ME that. I didn't mean to grt do carried away but that w/e Really gets to me. Like I should've Done MORE. I shall never again laugh when someone says “ the operation was a success but the patient ……”
#33
A few months ago I felt too anxious to go to my own doctor because I felt he never listened to me and also I overall just hate going to the doctor. Anyway, I put off going to the doc. for about a year or two and my mom kept insisting I went with her doctor, he’s a doctor that’s really out of town. So we make the drive all the way where he has his practice.
Take into consideration that I’ve got 3 mood affected mental disorders and what I wanted was a different doctors perspective on my mental health and to also run some blood tests. The doctor sent me to go get some blood drawn for tests and when I return my mom mentions that I’ve got depression and anxiety but didn’t mention I wanted to run some test on how my mental health was so the doctor asked me what made me think I had these disorders and I think to myself “Well I’ve been diagnosed, over five years ago.”
He goes off on rant how mental health, or the lack of having a healthy mind, is by standards an… American made up health issue so that doctors can push pills and make big money that because he doesn’t experience it well it isn’t real. He kept going on and on and I just sat there, stunned that people still believe that one chooses to be mentally ill. Safe to say when he was done with his rant I stayed quiet and just waited to get my blood test. At least my actual doctor makes me take those quizzes on my mental health and doesn’t dismiss the fact I have mental illnesses.
#34
I had an appointment with a nutritionist. After telling me a bunch of stuff I already knew didn’t work for me, and ignoring the reflex hypoglycemia symptoms I was asking her how to manage, she told me to try dressing up nice for when my husband comes home from work so I'd feel better about myself. Just what I needed from a nutritionist in 2016, marriage advice from 1950. Btw, my husband is a disabled veteran who can't work and he'd rather see me naked than dressed up when he comes home.
#35
There was a group of doctors trying to decide if I needed a hysterectomy, since all my symptoms had vanished and perhaps the problem had disappeared and I was fine.
I explained to them that I had undergone three months, living abroad, of enormous stress, misery and a traumatic experience after which the symptoms appeared, and then I came home and there had been several months of recovery and healing.
The head doctor said dismissively “Your mental state has no relation to the pathology of your uterus.”
I assume every woman who has suffered PMS would snort at that.
#36
I have Bechets disease, which is a rare autoimmune vasculitis. It is more common in the middle east and in Asia, and as a result they have done more research there than they have here in the United States.
I am a science nerd, so reading research docs is nothing new to me. I've written more than my share. When I was given the diagnosis, I think I read every single English language article and report I could get my hands on.
Fast forward to my third or fourth appointment with the rheumatologist office. Since it was just a med check, I was scheduled with a PA or something. I mentioned that I had not gotten much relief from the latest prescription. Her response was, “you OBVIOUSLY don't have Bechets if that didn't do anything!” in the most condescending tone you can imagine.
Now, I am not a doctor. I don't claim to know more or better than my physician, just because I read a few articles. Never mind that the dr*g was being prescribed off label, and was a secondary or tertiary treatment option, if even recommended, anyplace else in the world that has more experience dealing with Bechets. It simply doesn't make sense. You cannot have a condition diagnosed by multiple physicians prior because an off label dr*g didn't work for you.
I mentioned this to my regular doc, and recieved a letter of apology in the mail from the department head, along with a referral to Mayo. Much happier with my care now.
#37
Here’s a good one.
My grandmother went to see a doctor who called her anorexic (she’s not) and the following year a doctor told me to watch my weight because I was a pound overweight (this is glorious because they weighed me in my full winter regalia including the boots, winter coat, and two layers of sweaters). People freak out because I’m actually in danger of being underweight.
#38
I started getting gran mal seizures (the big ones where you pass out and start shaking) when I was 10. The first doctor we went to told us I started getting seizures because I read to much. He actually wanted me to stop reading. It wasn’t like I was staying up all night reading. I read during the day when I had time and went to bed at 8pm. We never went back.
#39
When I was 13, I had what is called Ganglion Cysts. It is a round nodule that for me, formed on the joint of my wrists. They were slightly painful to have and occurred from time to time. I had many Doctors call it a “Bible Bump,” because Doctors would just tell you to smash it with a Bible. We had Doctor after Doctor tell us to do this. We tried, but each time the Cysts came back more painful and bigger.
Now as it turns out, there’s research from the 70’s that shows that smashing the Cyst might actually make it worse and in fact they go away on their own in most cases or can be operated on.
I finally said to the last Doctor we ever went to about this: “We’re not going to keep doing that. Can’t you just drain it?”
The Doctor then quickly said, “No. That wouldn’t work.”
I said, “Well, why not?”
The Doctor then said, “It just doesn’t work that way, you have to smash it with a bible and it will go away.”
Then I said, “Well, that doesn’t work. It just comes back worse. Where’s your diploma? I don’t see one anywhere on these walls.”
After that, he explained what should have been explained the first time I got the cysts. You can drain it, you can smash it, it will go away and may or not come back. It may even just go away on its own. There really was no point to smash a heavy book on my wrists, but it is one way to treat the problem.
I don’t want to put doubt on Doctors. The moral of the story here is clearly that if you are receiving treatment and it isn’t working, focus on communicating your problems better to your Doctor. If that doesn’t help, go to another Doctor.
Guess what, those cysts went away on their own. Smashing them with a Bible does one thing, and one thing only, it makes kids fear and hate Doctors and Christianity. Nobody wins.
#40
It was 2014, I had been back and forth with my GP over a urinary tract infection that had lasted for going on six months. He kept prescribing me antibiotics, which I took but the pain never really went away. So around that six month time frame,I had an episode at home where I started to urinate blood clots, actual clots, which I didnt know could happen until it did, doubled over in pain I went straight to the nearest urgent care. They seen me, and referred me to a urologist in shelby NC which was close to my home in SC. I went the next day to this doctor, He did a cystoscopy in office, and through the pain I indured in the office visit, he showed me 4 actively bleeding tumors, advised that this was extremely serious and I needed to be in surgery yesterday. I scheduled surgery in two days. After a 6 am surgery to remove said tumors, I went back to dr for treatment. I had no insurance at the time so all of this was self pay. I paid in full for every treatment / visit following surgery. On the 5th visit He actually sat there and stated He could not treat me any longer unless i enrolled in Obama care. Mind you i paid cash visits every trip i made to see him. I advised that I didn't think it mattered what I had as long as he was getting paid in full each visit. And he advised he could not see me. Now I'm not political, but I didnt think in 2014 that insurance was such a big deal if you were paying cash in full for each visit. The visits weren't cheap, and there was no discount given. So why did this make a difference in my living or dying? Welp folks it did. And you know where I ended back up? The same doctor that didnt catch the problem the first time. So here's my conclusion, were gonna live and were gonna die, this took a lot of faith from me regarding the healthcare we receive as humans. And I wondered if we are even looked at as humans. How could this even happen? The world hasnt gotten any better in 2019. #qualityoverquantity my friends. Stay well or die.
#41
A friend of mine had a bilateral mastectomy after her DCIS diagnosis. She lives 65 miles southwest of me, so she couldn’t use the hospital system where my breast cancer care team is. At my urging, after my own lumpectomy for IDC (invasive ductal), she went to the hospital in the county seat for a mammogram—it came back abnormal, so she was referred for further imaging to the local gyne center in her exurb. When the radiologist’s P.A. walked in she said, “Sooo…flunked your mammogram, eh?” My friend was so aghast that she walked out and went to the hospital where my husband is on staff and is her cardiologist—halfway between her town and ours. That hospital has an excellent and skillful breast surgeon, to whom my husband referred her.
Fast forward to surgery day. In the pre-op roomette, where she was awaiting being rolled in to the E.R., the nurse-navigator asked if either of us had any questions. My friend didn’t, but I did. “I had a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy on only one breast, but I’ve been advised that puts me at lifelong risk for lymphedema,” I said, and went on. “I’ve been warned not to use the arm on that side for needles, I.V.s or blood pressure cuffs—even wear a medical ID bracelet that says so. My friend is having a bilateral, including sentinel node biopsies on both sides. So what is she supposed to do when she needs blood drawn, a shot, or her blood pressure taken?”
By then, the surgeon had walked in during the Q&A session. “Blood pressure?” she snorted, “Don’t you know they treat lymphedema with compression sleeves, so how could a blood pressure cuff for a few seconds cause it? Don’t worry about it.”
When I later told my own lymphedema specialist, he rolled his eyes in disbelief. But then he added, “stands to reason. Guess how much time the average medical school curriculum devotes to the lymphatic system?” I shrugged. “An hour at most. Over the course of four years!” he replied.
So sometimes, even among physicians, ignorance is the default.
#42
Most of the doctors replied that it was Gastritis and gave medicine for gastritis, but actually, they were Gallstones, Kidney stones, Ulcers, etc. That happened about 4–5 times to my close friends.
#43
The most ignorant thing I’ve heard from a medical doctor wasn’t on the subject of medicine.
I don’t remember why, but I was at a same-day appointment for myself. Many US clinics offer same-day appointments for injuries and illnesses that need prompt treatment but aren’t emergencies. In this clinic, you saw whichever doctor was available if you needed a same-day appointment.
I had to bring my 6-month-old baby boy with me. No problem. I knew that clinic had books and toys in every room.
So my baby and I were waiting for the doctor in a room, and we were together on the floor playing with some toys.
The doctor walked in and promptly insisted that we put the toys away so he didn’t trip.
I told my son to put them away. He was cooperative and quickly did so. I got him out a book, and the doctor told us to put that away, too. We did.
Within a couple of minutes, my bored child was fussy. I bounced him on my leg to calm him, which helped a little. He was still fussing, which included making unhappy noises. I couldn’t do much about it and still interact with the doctor.
The doctor said, “He isn’t very well-behaved, is he?”
My jaw dropped. This man expected a baby to sit quietly and do nothing? He just took away all the toys and books! He was lucky my son was well-behaved, or it would have been a lot worse!
Despite my shocked stare, the doctor went on as if nothing had happened. He treated me for whatever I’d gone in for.
There were comment cards in the lobby. It’s the only doctor’s office I have ever seen with comment cards. I filled one out. I sincerely hoped that the administrators did something about that doctor’s attitude.
#44
It wasn’t what he said, it was what he did. When my youngest son was 7 months old, we moved to the USA for me to do some postdoctoral study. My husband took our youngest son to the doctor for his 9 month “well baby” check and the doctor, not being familiar with intact penises, retracted my son’s foreskin. By sheer good luck, he was able to do so without doing any damage. However, doctors, nurses and mothers in my country know that the foreskin is normally adhered to the penis in infancy and that separation happens gradually and may not occur until puberty. Any attempt to retract the foreskin can lead to pain, tearing, bleeding and pathological adhesions forming. For this reason, nobody but the boy himself should ever attempt to retract the foreskin of a prepubertal boy and it is impossible to diagnose phimosis in a prepubertal boy. When my husband met me at the end of the day and said that the doctor had retracted my baby’s foreskin and said that it was “okay” because he could retract it without causing the baby pain or bleeding, I was furious. Although my husband is himself intact, he did not know that it is not safe to attempt to retract the foreskin of a prepubertal boy, and especially not an infant boy.
#45
Back in July I fell, breaking off the radial bone, dislocating the radial bone and breaking my humorous bone. After 6 weeks with metal external fixators , placement of a titanium elbow, casts, and currently a brace, I still have stiffness, and radial hand palsy. The P.A. told me not to worry, they would be able to get me back to work because ‘ As a nurse, all you need is for your thumb and first finger to work,’ I shudder to think that MD’s actually have so little knowledge of the nursing profession.
#46
I live in Ohio but was working in Indiana, only home weekends. I had some emergency female trouble. Got it taken care of in the ER and then had an office appt with a GYN. He was making sure I was up-to-date on my tests and asked me if we have mammograms in Ohio.
#47
When my daughter was 13 she would have terrible cramps during her menstrual cycle. I decided to talk to our Primary Care Physician about it. He suggested birth control as the estrogen would relive the cramps. I agreed to try.
Well she was on them 2 weeks and turned into a little monster. I took her off them. The physician said that they was “NO WAY” the birth control pill could have that effect on her so quickly. Hmmmm.
A couple of months later when we addressed the issue again ( with an OBGYN), we found that my daughter had an ovarian cyst and was put on a very low dose of estrogen. All worked out fine.
Apparently the first physician put my 85 pound teenager on a high dose of estrogen.
#48
I take Eliquis, a blood thinner due to diabetes. My Dr. wondered if I was taking it 2x daily and I said no as she hadn’t reupped my script. Even 2 wks. later she still hadn’t renewed the script. She steadfastly told me I should’ve followed the 2x daily, She said I could die. I told her she had no common ssense, extending my supply by 1x daily was not going to k**l me like running out could. She maintained her position, my god how stupid people can be.
I told my cardiologist of this situation, he chucked and said, not taking Eliquis was not going to k**l me, it was just a helper for circulation to my lower extremities. Another diabetic coma is what would k**l me….
#49
“So, does Black vagina actually taste different?”
This was a question asked by a friend(?) of mine, who STUDIED MEDICINE.
His level of ignorance was f**ked, reeking of a secluded and sheltered life.
(edited for brevity and took out the saccharine virtue signaling that used to pock mark my writing.)
