Person Asks “Doctors, What Was The Worst Thing You’ve Seen In A Patient That Another Doctor Overlooked?”, And 30 Folks Deliver

My best friend was in her late twenties and was feeling constant irritation in her stomach. She went to see several doctors over the course of almost three years, and they all dismissed her saying she had an irritable bowel. She would try a new diet every few months, but nothing helped.

One day she calls me and tells me she broke her ribs. She didn't know how it happened, but she started having horrible pain and her doctor said her ribs must be fractured.

Long story short, it wasn't fractured ribs. At some point when the pain became too much to bear, she went to the ER and got a CT. Turns out she had stage 4 colon cancer with 4" tumors in her abdomen that were compressing her organs and causing the pain. She died a few months later.

She'd been seeing doctors about her symptoms for three years. If one of them had taken her seriously and sent her to get a colonoscopy she'd probably still be alive.

For the record this was not in the US. Any doctor could have sent my friend to a colonoscopy, but I guess it was easier to write her off. The cancer may have killed her, but the reason for her death was apathy.

I'm the patient but it's an important story to tell.

From the age of about 17 I start getting regular abdominal pain every day and terrible gut problems. I can't seem to eat much anymore. I get fluctuating diarrhoea and constipation. Menstruation gets more and more painful. I start losing enormous amounts of blood despite being incredibly small (less than 5ft).

Now you would think any doctor worth her salt could figure out it's a gynecological problem. But my doctor (a woman by the way) at the time insists it anxiety and says she "wouldn't bother testing for or treating a gynecological problem unless I was older and having trouble conceiving".

Over the next few years my gut and uterus symptoms slowly deteriorate. I get bounced around the system to dozens of different specialists. I get told it's just stress, anxiety, are you pregnant? ARe yOu SuUuUrE yOuRE NoT prEGnAnt???, every woman has painful periods, it's just constipation take this over the counter product, etc. etc.

Meanwhile my gut function slowly grinds to a halt. A functional gut test took 6 hours to pass an egg sandwich when it should have taken 90 minutes. I weighed only 40kg. It get's so bad I even start losing bowel control. No treatment seems to work. I was 24 and unable to work because I was literally uncontrollably sh*tting my pants. Doctors suggest I should maybe seek therapy and suggest I could be exaggerating

Anyway one day I see a new GP for some regular sexual health tests but get an abnormal pap smear. Within 2 weeks I go in for an exploratory laparoscopy to rule out cervical cancer only to discover I am absolutely riddled with endometriosis. On my bowel. On my cervix. On my perineum. On some ligaments. Ovarian cyst the size of a tennis ball. It was even in my gall bladder. With excisions + treatment I had my gut function back within 3 months. I will never be able to have children.

If that woman when I was 17 had just done her goddamn job I wouldn't have lost 7 years of my life, my gall bladder, my fertility and my mental health

My husband had a weird dimpled spot on his back. Went to the dermatologist multiple times, was brushed off and told not to worry about it. Derm even burned off a nodule that was bothering him (at his belt line) but repeatedly said it was nothing and was visibly irritated with us for being anxious. We waited for nearly 10 years before going to another dermatologist - since our experience was so negative. Next derm immediately diagnosed what turned out to be a sarcoma which had 10 extra years to grow. My husband now has a 48 inch scar snaking down his back from the removal of the tumor and the reshaping of his back. I now have months of experience with wound drains, tunneling, bandages, triage and the laundry that comes with massive wound healing. I would like to take that first dermatologist who was so f*****g patronizing with our concerns and shove his face deeply into his own a*s.

Im not a doctor (Im a nurse, but not in medsurg).

My sister had her gallbladder out, routine surgery, and two days later woke up at 4 am in searing pain, went to the ER by ambulance. I met her there.

The ER docs were all apparently convinced she was a drug seeker and did not even conduct a physical exam beyond taking her vitals. They snowed her to shut her up because she was just yelling “help me! Help me! Im dying!” They did eventually do an MRI but said it was negative and sent her home. She didn’t want to leave, insisted something was terribly wrong, but they said they would call security and have her thrown out.

At this point I’d like to mention that she had no history of drug or alcohol abuse.

She continued to get worse at home and the next day went to a different hospital. They did a workup and found that the metal clip that closed off the bile duct had cut right through the tissue and she had a large bile leak that was literally burning all her abdominal organs. She had to have three surgeries to fix it and was hospitalized for 9 days. Left with chronic pain from adhesions and chemical burns.

When the new hospital finally acquired the MRI from the original ER visit, she was told that the leak was small but clearly visible in that image.

I work in EMS. We got a call for a female with leg pain. When we arrive on scene, this woman’s leg is three times the size of her other one, blue and purple, and she has no pulse in her foot. She fell on ice a few days prior and the urgent care didn’t do any X-rays, told her she had a sprain and gave her a walking boot. In reality, her tibia and fibula were both so badly fractured they were cutting the blood vessels and muscle tissue. She lost her foot.

I’m a dental assistant and a patient came in and his color was off. His jaw hurt and a tooth. He’d just come from the Dr. who told him to see us. I was suspicious of heart attack. I put the pulse ox on him and almost fainted myself 82% I grabbed our emergency high flow and yelled for the AED and 911. The guy was having a heart attack. The guy lived and brought me a big old heart shaped box of chocolate at valentines. I’ve never been so scared or angry for another person. The dentist I worked for called the MD and said, “my 25 year old assistant just saved your patient’s life.”

Not a doctor, but actually the patient. I had a doctor prescribe me birth control. While in line to pay for it, i'm reading the paperwork that comes with it and learn that another medication i am on (permanently and everyday) completely voids out any effect the BC would have. I went back to the pharmacist and ask about interactions, and he says I may have side effects. I ask which ones, and he says "Pregnancy". Pregnancy is not a side effect. It is a lifelong commitment. Then I call the doctor and ask why they would prescribe something they KNEW wouldn't work, and she said, "butyou asked for BC". Like, yeah I did, but I wanted some that would work. Silly me for not specifying that.

I suppose I have one for this as a resident doctor. We saw a kid in the emerg for difficulty walking. He had been slowly losing the ability to walk over months, and also had random unexplained projectile vomiting episodes. Looking at his records, he saw his doctor several times who X-rayed one hip... Then the other hip... Gave some Zofran, etc.

Turns out on exam he is *blatantly* ataxic (bad coordination) and can't even stand. Failed all our bedside neurological examinations for cerebellum function. It was obvious to me and I'm not even good at this yet. Did a CT scan.

Big a*s tumor in his cerebellum. It was obstructing fluid drainage in his brain too, raising his intracranial pressure and causing the vomiting.

Had to call in the neurosurgeons overnight for emergency drain and he went to ICU. Later had more surgery for the tumor. My supervisor got pretty emotional about it actually.

The history was that he really declined further over the last few days prompting the ED visit, so he looked really bad for us but I'm not sure what he looked like before. To any med students reading this: 1. Do an exam. 2 It's OK to cry sometimes.

Not a doctor, but a friend of my mom's went to an opthalmologist for an eye problem. During his exam, he asked her, "So how long have you had MS?" (writer's note: multiple sclerosis). That was the first she was diagnosed. She had been battling various MS symptoms for a couple of decades without a diagnosis.

Patient was lactating but not pregnant or breastfeeding. Previous doctor told her it was residual from her baby that had been weened for 14 months. Sent her immediately for a brain scan, brain tumor. She had surgery a week later to remove it and is doing very well now.

I did not do any of the follow up care. She left my office with a referral for an MRI and a referral to an endocrinologist, who took over care.

Also, please, if you are concerned about your health in any way or are not happy with your doctor/care, obtain your medical records and bring them with you to a different doctor. Don’t solicit medical advice from strangers on the internet that know nothing at all about your medical history. That is very dangerous to your health.

Not a doctor but the patient.

When I was born, I was my dad's third child - two from a previous marriage. He knew something was wrong with me because of the way I was breathing: very rapid, short breaths.

When I was three months old, they noticed there really wasn't a change. The first hospital he and my mom took me to, they said that there was nothing to worry about and babies just breathe like that. He was 100% certain they were wrong.

They took me to a second hospital, and they said there's definitely something wrong. But they didn't have the technology to help (1986). They recommended us to a third hospital, which was a couple hours away.

Finally, the third hospital took me right in and performed surgery that day. Turns out I had *five holes in my heart*. They tried to go through my rib cage, but it didn't work. They had to crack my sternum and go directly through my chest. They took my heart out of its body and patched the holes.

I'm doing wonderfully medically today, and am forever in their debt (not financially, thank you Ronald McDonald House Charities!)

Patient: While I was pregnant with my youngest I had really bad acid reflux. Like, I lost 20-30 pounds because I couldn't keep anything down, not even water. It was so bad that I would cry and throw up all the time.

I got hospitalized for dehydration at the end of the pregnancy. My then nurse practitioner said that I was overreacting and it was good for me to lose weight because I was too big anyway. (I understand I'm not skinny but I'm not morbidly obese)

I had the baby and it didn't get better. I was told it would. Popped those anti-acids like candy. Couldn't keep anything down and cried... A lot.

One night it was especially bad, I was vomitting blood and the taste/smell coming from my mouth was just horrendous. I was trying not to cry during all this... Anyway, made it to the hospital... Again... And the doctor there was like "were you not here a few months ago?" Of course I said yes. I got a shot of gravol in the hip and it didn't get better. They gave me something else and still, nothing.

By this point he's like Woah ok, she's not pregnant anymore so what gives? Calls a surgeon over, she orders x-rays and it's found that my gallbladder is super inflamed and needs to come out. Too far gone to save it. She ordered a mess of medication because finally, someone believed me when I said I was in so much pain.

It took a week before the swelling went down enough for me to get surgery. I am so grateful for this surgeon

Probably the worst story one can hear. My wife found a lump under her breast that was really concerning. It took her about 2 months to get a proper appointment to have it looked at. Doc diagnosed it as a cyst and fibroadenoma. She drained the lump and it was fine. Grew back a week later and was bigger. Finally after being in pain for weeks on end, the doctor said this is clearly not working, so we will do surgery and remove it. Upon going in for the check up, thinking theyd take a look at the scar and healing, it turns out that she had Stage 2A Triple Negative Breast Cancer. The surgeon was absolutely floored. The most upsetting thing was that while her main surgeon/gyno (who was fantastic) was on holiday another male doctor told her "any surgery would be merely cosmetic and it clearly didnt bother her because he could touch the lump". I almost laid that doctor out in the office. When she got the diagnosis he apologised to both of us for being an a*****e. Unfortunately, this story didnt end well. Despite doing 8 months of therapy (chemo and radio), her cancer returned 7 months later and ultimately led to her death after it spread to her brain and spinal fluid. So many people told me "ah breast cancer, thats one of the easy ones! my *insert relative nobody f*****g cares about here* had it. She switched gynos twice because they wouldnt take it seriously. Its been 6 months now and not a day goes by where I wish I could have taken her cancer away. She was f*****g 27 years old.

To everyone wondering how I am doing: its been 6 months since she passed, though I have been grieving for a while longer (anticipatory grief they call it) and so considering everything, I am doing well. It was her birthday on Feb 28 and she would have been 28, so the week was quite solemn but other than that, I have found ways to move forward with her, not from her. Whenever I have a moment, I let it happen and then continue. I do have PTSD from her time in the hospital but I am learning to deal with it and when COVID calms down I will go to therapy. All in all, I am doing well, enjoying life as much as COVID allows and just processing all my feelings. I miss her everyday and will for the rest of my life.

Ive had a few people tell me to sue the doctor especially considering the cost of treatment, etc. I live in Berlin, Germany and despite that unfortunate initial diagnosis her treatment and care have a been breeze afterwards. She received care from the Charité, Berlin, one of the finest medical institutions in the world and because of our healthcare system, we haven't paid a dime for any of her treatment. Its been a while and I am at peace with it all. I am not going to go down the litigation path and sue a doctor for something that happened in 2019. Though I do understand your concerns. Thank you all.

Broken neck.

No really.

So this one guy was brought in with an ambulance for upper airway obstruction.

We diagnosed what looked like an advanced throat cancer and did a tracheostomy.

After the operation, where you pull and push the neck like crazy, we checked his neck x-ray and a junior asks when did he break his neck. He had a brand new unstable neck fracture. Checking his initial x-ray we see that it was there PRIOR to the operation.

After questioning the patient he said that on his way to the hospital the ambulance was in a car crash. No one bothered mentioning it to us when he eventually came in. He only thought he had some whiplash, but he was a few millimetres away from permanent paraplegia.

Unfortunately he passed away about 2 weeks later due to the cancer.

LAL17 said:
I found an obvious huge rectal cancer on a patient who was previously told over and over again that she had hemorrhoids.

Boudutunnel replied:
My SIL was fobbed off with the exact same thing. Young female, severe chronic abdominal pain. Finally referred for a scan which was cancelled because she was low risk. She was again in a lot of pain, so my brother insisted she be checked again this time by a new physician who decided to do a rectal check. Diagnosed with colon cancer there and then and immediately referred for a scan then to the best specialist in the area. Chemo, removal of most her bowels narrowly avoided a bag and a lifetime of adjustments but thankfully in remission now. 2 years of being diagnosed with piles instead!

I was working nights and a patient came in for a nailbed repair under general anaesthesia (it was a slow night). As they're anaesthetising him, he aspirates so we do a chest X-ray to see if he's got any spit/blood in his lungs.

What we didn't know is that prior to this emergency surgery, he'd been going to his GP for over 6 months complaining about chest tightness. They'd put him on various different asthma medications, but none had any effect on him.

The X-ray showed a massive dark mass in his left lung. We kept him asleep and transferred him to ICU.

His wife and three year old daughter were waiting for him on the ward. We had to tell them where he'd gone, why he'd gone there, and what was going to happen.

He died from lung cancer within the month.

Edit: A general anaesthetic is absolutely ridiculous for a nailbed repair but he refused to have it done under local.

A commenter below rightfully corrected me, and after talking with a colleague, the dark space in his lungs was the normal lung, and the rest was whited out because they were riddled with tumors. This man was in his late 20s, a non-smoker, and I couldn't move past the situation for months after it.

There was a story pretty recently in the hospital I work for, where a cardiologist in the ER was doing a rather difficult nightshift, and started feeling light-headed, dizzy and fatigued.

Given how intense those shifts are [26++ hours, sometimes multiple times a week], nobody thought much of it, and the doctor in question went to catch a quick nap in the staff room.

People just passed by him in the staff room every once in a while, but they just assumed the poor guy was exhausted and let him rest.

He was dead for several hours by the time someone realized something wasn't right.

I’m not a doctor, but a RN. This happened to me, but isn’t nearly as bad as most of the stories on here.

When I was in college, I got to where I couldn’t swallow. It started with difficulty swallowing, progressed to me having to swallow bites of food multiple times/regurgitating it, and then got to where all I could swallow was broths and mashed potatoes with no chunks. I went to the doctor multiple times, and was told every time it was acid reflux and part of my anxiety disorder. I lost 30 pounds (was only 120 when this started) and was just generally miserable.

Finally my grandma was tired of watching me be sick all the time, so she called the GI doctor herself. They said we needed a referral, but she explained the situation and they got me in the next day. Did an endoscopy and my esophagus was 95% occluded at the gastroesophageal sphincter.

For some reason, some of my primary doctors notes ended up in my discharge paperwork (I guess they had to contact her to get my information) and she had told them it was acid reflux and basically I was being over dramatic. She stated she did not recommend them to do the procedure.

Needless to say, I switched doctors. F**k that b***h. Was not a fun year.

I'm the patient in the story. When I was a toddler and started walking, my extended family noticed that I would waddle a lot... my parents didn't really notice it because they grew used to my funny walking but my grandma and my aunts that saw me so much less often insisted that I had a limp.

So my mother asked our pediatrician about it and he reassured that it was nothing and would fix itself when growing. One year passed and it didn't fix itself, it got more noticeable. My mother asked again to my doctor, she asked for an x-ray to make sure everything was fine and the doctor bite her head off for wanting to expose me to the rays. He insisted it was nothing but referred us to a specialist anyway.

The specialist suggested my parents put some wool around my leg that had the limp. Because wool would warm it up and speed up the growing process. Right.

My dad finally had enough. It was summer and my regular pediatrician was on holiday. His partner visited me because meanwhile the limping became really bad and my parents wanted another opinion.

The new doc measured my legs. There was a 4 or 5 centimetres difference between the two legs. They sent me to a specialist children hospital to get it fixed right away. I had severe dysplasia... so severe my right hip didn't have a socket for the femur bone. 3 years and 3 surgeries later, months of physiotherapy to learn to walk again, I was normal.

If the second doc didn't catch it, I would have grown up disabled. He split up with his work partner (the first doctor). Second doc is now my daughter's pediatrician.

MD here. Recently was called over by a nurse who told me a patients bandages were wet as they were bleeding a little. Patient had recently had his leg amputated. We pulled his bandages off and found a spurting femoral artery - at this point the patient passed out. Patient was sent to theatres for an emergency operation. Close call for sure.