Please share your incompetent doctor experiences

[missy]

I unfortunately have 2 bad experiences to share but am on the go right now so will share later if this thread holds any interest. No names of the incompetent doctors please. Just keep the incompetent health care professional anonymous in name to protect us.

But I would greatly appreciate hearing others experiences. Feeling very down right now. I'm in the healthcare field and it can sometimes be impossible to know till it's too late...

To be fair I have had many more positive experiences with good to great doctors than bad ones but the bad ones are the ones that can change everything.

Thanks.

 

[House Cat]

Just last week.....ugh!

My 23 year old son has Crohn's disease. When he was 8 years old, he was receiving Remicaide infusions to treat his illness. This medication is considered a biologic. After a Remicaide infusion, my son had a four hour seizure and almost died. It was determinied that the Remicaide lowered his seizure threshold and that he should never be put on a biologic again.

Enter this new GI specialist. He recommends that my son start a biologic right away because it is convenient and because my son's current meds have the potential for causing cancer. He challenges my son on why the Remicaide caused the seizure and says the new med is very different and then GOOGLES the new med for my son. Doesn't even use Google Scholar to show my son any real literature on the med and its seizure potential.

My son passes.

We look up the seizure potential of the medication suggestion it is .48. The seizure potential of the medication that caused my son's seizure (and many other people's seizures all over the net) is .07.

I was about to have my son's neurologist call this guy and bitch slap him but we are changing insurance this year anyway, so there is no point.

So, extreme incompetence or negligence... yes.

 

[Austina]

Many years ago, I had a gynae procedure, the surgeon cut a blood vessel, causing extreme blood loss. He then went on holiday. I knew something was wrong when I came round from the anaesthetic feeling weak and in extreme pain, and a nurse was sitting by my bed, checking my vitals every 20 minutes.

His miracle cure procedure had no effect, in fact left me in more pain than I'd been in before. His suggestion - a hysterectomy. No way, I was 30 years old and not about to give up my reproductive system.

 

[t-c]

@House Cat, This is a little off topic, but it seems like your son was given Remicade before it was approved for use in children (around 2005, 2006). Were you part of a trial or was this off label?

On topic and not serious: I was rushing to my doctor's appointment when I slipped on ice and fell hard about half a block from his office. I check in and was almost immediately called into an exam room. The doctor comes in, I tell him about my fall. He checks my heart and says, "You're tachycardic; we should run tests". Of course my heart is beating fast, I have adrenaline coursing through me from the fall!

 

[Slickk]

Wow, @missy I saw your toe! Eek, hope it heals soon, it looks painful.

I'll share a story in hopes someone will take something from it. I had a complicted neck surgery (titanium plates, a harms cage, screws, etc). Loved my surgeon, I thought he was awesome. He was so proud to be able to help me at such a young age for reconstruction. He even called the other the Drs/PA's in to show them what a mess I was and how he fixed me.
BUT, when I sent my mom to him for back pain, the experience was very different. He sent her for an MRI. When she returned to his office for results, he didn't have them yet. Grr! She was in so much pain, so I called the next day and asked for the results to be sent directly to us as well (I'm pretty adept at understanding spinal imaging).
Well, when I received the results by mail, I saw that they had detected cancer on her adrenal gland, fairly large at ~5cm. At that point, upon learning about this cancer, we had far bigger worries than her back aches and thus she started her short-lived fight for life. Amazingly, the surgeon never followed up with her results. Not one call ever to let us know they found cancer in her MRI. I guess no one in that office reviews results unless you come back in? Shouldn't the ordering Dr/staff review the results of tests they ordered?
If I hadn't gotten those results myself, we would have never known she even had cancer and it would've robbed us an earlier chance to fight it.
I have gone back to him as I have ongoing spinal problems and he is the 'best' but I was so disappointed to not receive word of the terrible results.
Lesson...Always get copies of your results!! Google is amazing at helping decipher them and I think some Drs are remiss.

Edited for clarification. This is a sensitive subject for me.

 

[Queenie60]

16 years ago I was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer. Prior to diagnosis, I found a lump on my breast in the shower. Immediately got myself in to see the OB - he told me I had a cyst on my breast. Lump continued to get larger - a very hard mass. Went back to see him and told him that it hurt when I did pec presses or opened my chest up in pilates. He told me that I probably pulled a muscle because "breast cancer doesn't hurt"; went back a third time and he dismissed me as being over anxious. Thank god my intuition got the best of me. I contacted my General Family Doctor who immediately got me in for a mammogram and I was diagnosed that day with a very aggressive tumor in my breast. Had I listened to the first doctor...... I wouldn't be posting right now! Moral to the story - be your own advocate with your health, take it into your own hands and be persistent.

 

[kmarla]

This didn't happen to me, but it was all over the news yesterday. I just can't imagine how something like this gets missed ?!?!

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/0...-ruler-sized-blade-inside-patient_a_23006969/

 

[FeFeV]

For 5 months I dealt with a severe breast malformation that had onset after I began an intense round of hot yoga. I went to a new Gyno because our health insurance had changed and my old doctor was merging with a new practice. The new Gyno was a male which made me feel kinda insecure, but I was assured by his great patient rating on United Healthcare's website. Upon meeting him I gave an impeccable history of my breast changes and also revealed some of the proposed diagnosis that I had considered based on the fact that I hold degrees in Biology and Microbiology. The doctor literally laughed in my face. I was greatly offended for obvious reasons; I may not have desired to go to med school but I am absolutely no slouch in my comprehension of human body physiology and treatment. The doctor proceeds to diagnose my breast issue and prescribed me a treatment plan that includes medication that will eradicate my natural bacteria flora and cause an overgrowth (ie: yeast infection). I expressed this concern to him... Again he laughs and tells me I am misinformed. I take the medication as prescribed and sure enough 8 days later (still taking the meds) I develop an adverse response to the medication AND my breast issue had become painfully worse. Now I need additional medication to help the new issue. Two whole months later and two doctors later I finally encounter a respectful, competent doctor who absolutely values the knowledgeable patient that I am... She takes my concerns super serious and also feels the same way as I do about the possible true diagnosis of my issue. She sends me to UNC's Cancer Hospital for a mammogram, ultrasound, as well as diagnostic from a breast specialist. Weeks of tests and treatment yield that I have developed chronic spongiotic dermatitis from a prolonged allergic reaction to latex and spandex. Apparently, during hot yoga the extreme temperatures and profuse sweating caused the fabric of my sports bra to break down on a microscopic level... With constant latex exposure my nipples were just suffering so badly! Eventually the lack of accurate diagnosis or proper treatment led to developing a chronic illness from something that could have been a controlled allergic reaction if treated early enough. In the end after almost $8000 in medical, several months of antibiotics and creams my boobs are 100% back to normal in appearance. I permanently can not wear bras that are not 100% cotton or I feel the burning sensation immediately and my nipples skin gets dark and starts to harden & flake. I also have to use a prescription cream on my nipples everyday FOREVER in order to keep the dermatitis at bay. Totally a painful, unnecessary, sucky experience. DOCTORS ARE NOT GOD!

 

[FeFeV]

16 years ago I was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer. Prior to diagnosis, I found a lump on my breast in the shower. Immediately got myself in to see the OB - he told me I had a cyst on my breast. Lump continued to get larger - a very hard mass. Went back to see him and told him that it hurt when I did pec presses or opened my chest up in pilates. He told me that I probably pulled a muscle because "breast cancer doesn't hurt"; went back a third time and he dismissed me as being over anxious. Thank god my intuition got the best of me. I contacted my General Family Doctor who immediately got me in for a mammogram and I was diagnosed that day with a very aggressive tumor in my breast. Had I listened to the first doctor...... I wouldn't be posting right now! Moral to the story - be your own advocate with your health, take it into your own hands and be persistent.

Honestly, I feel some type of way towards male Ob/Gyn's... They are way too flippant about female breast issues. My situation was very similar to your's. I am glad you're still with us today.

 

[autumngems]

My sister's mother-in-law had a pacemaker and was having some trouble, she went into the hospital and the pacemaker had moved and dislodged itself, while there she started getting worse so they go in and remove the pacemaker and see serious infection, the doctor removes the pacemaker and find a surgical sponge left behind and it caused infection. He had to go in and clean out all the infection and put in a new pacemaker. Can you say LAWSUIT!!! for original doctor.

 

[azstonie]

When I was 3 years old, I had spinal meningitis. My parents took me to several emergency rooms in one night and both ER docs thought my parents were just nervous new parents and there was a flu epidemic in San Francisco so thought my parents had a baby with the flu and freaked out.

The third ER doc made the correct diagnosis. Lucky my parents didn't take me home to die after the second hospital ER doc ridiculed them for bringing me in.

 

[monarch64]

Missy, I am so sorry to hear you're feeling down about the incompetency of health care providers and have had bad experiences. I don't have anything to offer to your thread, but I hope you feel better soon.

ETA: well, I take that back. Honestly all of my experiences with docs and surgeons have been positive. When I was little and had my ears pierced for the first time, they got very infected and my lymph nodes were swollen all over my head and neck for weeks after I took out the piercing posts. Instead of just chalking it up to an allergy, my pediatrician referred me to a specialist and I was tested extensively for Hodgkin's disease, or cancer of the lymph nodes.
Years later, I was in a car accident and developed a huge swelling from a teeny, tiny bruise that didn't even look like the skin had been broken. The first doc who looked at it said "that's cellulitis with hematoma" gave me a shot of Cipro, and informed me that had I let it go any longer I could have lost my leg to osteomalitis, or infection of the bone, among other things.
My mom wanted to call my dad a loss after he died on the table for 30 minutes after a cancer surgery and was on life support for several days. She wanted to pull the plug and let him go, but my brother and I AND my dad's whole team of surgeons said "no." My dad is still with us today, nearly 14 years later.

Anyway, just wanted to post some feel-good stories. For every incompetent doc out there, I'm sure there are 10 wonderful ones.

 

[katharath]

Ugh, I could add several things in here, but it is a very sensitive topic for me too... when I start thinking about the (permanent) damage my body has experienced from incompetent doctors, it makes me very angry plus want to cry. Also, my stories are long, lol.

I will just say that it's very important to find a doctor who LISTENS to you, and that you can trust. They are out there, but sometimes you have to go through a few bad ones (or even just ok) to get to the "good" ones. And one other thing - you must be your own advocate, don't be afraid to speak up and speak up *loudly* if you think something is wrong. Honestly, in worst case scenarios, I find the field of "medicine" to be like one big machine that will just chew you up and spit you out, and you have to fight to make sure that doesn't happen!

Sorry if that sounds extreme; it's just my personal experience. ETA - I've had some very good doctors too, but the bad experiences I've had have really colored my view.

 

[partgypsy]

wow, my story doesn't seem so bad. Decades ago I had a seizure, and then a 2nd seizure a couple months later. My primary care doctor (whom I otherwise love, and continue to see) prescribed an antiseizure medication for me. Over the course of the weekend I started feeling worse and worse. The beginning of the next week I went to see the seizure specialist and reported all the various concerning symptoms I was having. To make the story short, I ended up in the hospital for 3 days, connected to machines to monitor my heart among other things, because the medication build up to toxic levels in my body (my system was not breaking down properly). Apparently this happens frequently enough it is standard of care to test the medication blood levels 48 hours afterwards it is prescribed to catch this, but my PCP wasn't aware of this. Whoops!

 

[ksinger]

Jeez, where to even start? We'd all die of old age if I started in. So I won't. I will only say that most of my experiences don't deal with gross incompetence as in amputating the wrong leg (although, yes, I knew someone this happened to) but more with chronic lack of listening, bias against women, and lack of compassion concerning pain of all kinds. In their self-congratulatory belief that they are the smartest, and therefore the superior, in the doctor-patient relationship, doctors rarely bother to ponder what drives them, and therefore get sloppy at hiding their disdain or outright contempt, for their patients.

Much like Queenie's post above, my SIL would have died from stage IV colon cancer, if she had allowed herself to be told her concerns were unfounded. She did wait too long, and did end up with stage IV (at age 3 but the brushing off and outright "I'm not going to do a colonoscopy on you." that she got from her gastro doc, was enraging.

I have encountered a few good docs. Most of them are one-offs - the surgeons who fix something, one and done. But for ongoing care? I only have one, and that's my gynecologist, a bundle-of-energy older woman who manages to be no nonsense AND a genuinely compassionate person. A human being.

Most docs though, are not worth their co-pay.

 

[stracci2000]

I have a dental story to tell.
Five years ago I went to the dentist for a toothache. The dentist said a root canal was needed.
Afterwards, at home, the numbness in my jaw had receded, but the front of my chin and bottom lip was still numb. Several phone calls to the dentist later, I was assured that the numbness would eventually go away. Well it didn't.
After much online research, I had concluded that the numbing agent, or packing material applied inside the root, had damaged the nerve, and the nerve would probably not recover. This situation is common worldwide, and is called paresthesia. The dentists I spoke to acted like it is so "rare" and "unusual", and apparently didn't want to admit how common it actually is.
A few months later, Dentist sends me to an associate/specialist who couldn't explain my problem.
I spoke to some lawyers who specialize in medical issues, and I was told that since I had some recovery, and I am not slobbering or having trouble eating, I didn't have a case.
So five years later, my lip and chin are still numb. Luckily, it has not interfered with my speech, has not caused any eating problems, and nobody knows my lip is numb but me.

 

[Rockdiamond]

my story involves a very famous TV dr- you have all seen him, I guarantee.
My wife needed emergency surgery .... there was a blockage caused by a kidney stone.
The guy does the surgery- takes about 3 hours. It was ambulatory.
I took my darling wife home.
2 hours later she started running a 102 fever.
Dr TV? NOWHERE to be found.
I had to take her to the ER.
Thankfully this was about 6 years ago- she's better.
Every time I see this sucker on TV, a feel like smashing the screen

My son passes.

Can I just say, this was a poor choice of words- scared the crud out of me!!
Thank goodness he's ok.

 

[cmd2014]

I'm not sure this is a fair thread. It's designed to pull for the disgruntled/unhappy stories and totally ignore the much more frequent occurrences where everything goes as expected, people do good jobs, and because no one is unhappy, not much is said about it. People don't tend to talk about their healthcare providers when they are satisfied (how many millions of surgeries go well...but the ones we hear about are the horror stories, right?). It's just expected that they'll be perfect 100% of the time...but boy do they ever complain when they're not. And sometimes bad outcomes happen for reasons other than poor care. Adverse reactions to medications happen. Infections aren't 100% preventable. Sometimes diagnoses aren't immediately evident. People can't be on call 24 hours/day. Sometimes people don't follow instructions, or aren't honest about certain aspects of their life that might be relevant, or withhold information because they're embarrassed (or because they forgot). It's a tough job to provide care to other people.

I've had a few jerk doctors, but most have been excellent. Both of my surgeons have been fantastic, which is saying something as they are not generally known for their bedside manner. They've also managed miracles (been able to do things laparoscopicaly that were felt to be open surgery issues only - I gave consent to let them try, knowing it would be 2 procedures if they couldn't, and both times it paid off to take the chance). I also really love my GP. The funny thing is, I hated my previous GP. She'd breezily tell me not to worry about things and I'd feel like she wasn't listening to me (to the point where a I became convinced that she was jeopardizing my health), but when I finally made the move to a new doctor because I felt like I could no longer trust my previous one, my new doctor agreed that the things that were freaking me out were benign. With an explanation I could see it, and stopped worrying that something had been missed. Makes me glad I had kept my thought to myself and didn't badmouth her to others. She was right. I just didn't like the way she was saying it to me.

It's hard to be a patient. It's hard to be vulnerable. It's hard to let go of control. It's hard to trust the expertise of someone you don't know. And it's hard to accept that sometimes things happen that medicine has a hard time fixing.

 

[Austina]

I will only see female OB/GYN's now after my experience, I don't care how qualified men are, they will have NEVER experienced the things women go through.

 

[jordyonbass]

Wow, there are some absolutely horrible experiences here. The worst I had was a doctor in rural Australia who used high proof alcohol to sterilize a wound I had suffered from a boar, did the trick though. Apparently when you are 1000 miles from medical supply replenishment you learn what works that isn't in medical books.

My father had a broken collar bone and the first 2 doctors didn't think that it needed a plate and screws. He got it fixed eventually.

 

[Tekate]

Well, per me, I have some incompent stories.. but I do have a funny story

So it's 1987 I'm in a hospital in POK, NY after 21 hours of labor, an enema (yeah ya read that right) enough pitocin for the whole floor of 100 hospitals speed up labor for all the women there, excrutiating back labor for hours (one shot of some pain med) my 'ob/gyn' on call decides he's going to do a C-sect.. okay now this 'ob/gyn' really isn't an OB anymore he's been a gyn/oncologist in the practice (he used to deliver but moved up the money ladder to be the oncologist in the group, lucky me!).. any way this guy tells me I can't have an epidural because he needs to get the baby out quickly so he's going to have an anesthiologist zap my back and give me a spinal, as I was getting the spinal sitting up I get a contraction and the doctor screams at me!!! in Spanish then English he says he could paralyze me and I can't move.. that was quite feat when I was in labor (which only happened when I sat up)... okay so all of a sudden I am number than numb, and I felt like I couldn't breathe, he said that was normal - I think s--- I'm dead... so as onocologist starts his cutting (which you can feel as pressure) I have this weird senation - I feel like I'm falling, I say to my husband "my leg, my leg, my leg is falling off the table" he says "it's okay everything is fine" I get my ansty and tell him I'm going to fall off the operating table, he pats my hand and tells me everything is fine, so finally I SCREAM! I'm falling off the table and every moves and turns out I WAS falling off the table, haha! my husband said he was so tired so worried and so stressed he had no idea what I was saying.... hahahaha! my life.. anyway, onco doc pulls up my numero uno son, he's got a full head of black hair like punk rockers! so they whisk him away and I cry and my husband pats my hand still and they come back and say, my boy is 9lbs 3oz and is 21 inches long and his apgar is fine..

It turns out that the oncologist owed my doc a weekend from 7 years earlier.. these crazy things happen to me

 

[luv2sparkle]

When my kids were little I had one pediatrician who couldn't diagnose chicken pox and another that when brought my son in with a infection between his thumb and forefinger, that was getting bigger AS I WATCHED, sent us home with an antibiotic prescription. I went to the fire station and got my husband and we rushed him to the hospital. He spent two weeks in intensive care for flesh eating bacteria. Thankfully, he didn't lose his hand but he has a nasty large scar. I don't think I have really trusted drs. since. I am pretty skeptical and do a lot of research on my own before I accept what they say. At least now information is easier to find thanks to the internet. Just a couple months ago, I had a UTI and the dr. gave me Cipro. I came home and researched it after taking it for a couple days. Cipro is a great drug if you have been exposed to anthrax but has some pretty severe and permanent side effects. Another lessoned learned, and I thought I was pretty on top of it. But I will not ever take a med until I have researched it. Doctors downplay the risk of side effects so you really have to decide for yourself.

 

[missy]

Thank you all for sharing. Awful experiences and I am so happy everyone survived them!

I will be back tomorrow to share my stories and to reply individually to each person but just to reply to cmd2014, this thread was to share our incompetent doctor stories of which sadly there are too many.

I think airing things out to the light of day is the only way doctors can learn from their (unintentional) mistakes and shouldn't that be the goal of all healthcare providers...to do no harm first and to do the best job they can for their patients?

Of course there are good doctors and surgeons out there. I had an amazing surgeon. And of course good doctors make mistakes. We are human.

And of course shi* happens that cannot be controlled.

The intent of this thread when I started it was to share things that were indeed under the doctor's control but he/she dropped the ball or just didn't care enough or was just plain incompetent.

Sorry if it touched a nerve for you. That was not my intent.

May all the incompetent crappy doctors be reported and have their medical licenses taken away before they continue to do harm and hurt people. May all the doctors who want to become more skilled more caring and just better at what they do flourish and continue helping all the people they help every day.

But for the doctors who simply don't give a damn I hope they all burn in he**. It is a profession of critical importance and what they do matters.

 

[katharath]

It's hard to be a patient. It's hard to be vulnerable. It's hard to let go of control. It's hard to trust the expertise of someone you don't know. And it's hard to accept that sometimes things happen that medicine has a hard time fixing.

Honestly, I've found it to be the exact opposite, which is why I wrote what I did. I completely and utterly trusted doctors my entire life. I was extremely healthy right up until it was time to deliver my first son. That delivery had one mistake after another, made by both doctors and nurses; it was a comedy of errors that I have to laugh at or else I'll cry. Ever since then, I have lasting issues that surgeries have only partially been able to correct, and it took me multiple doctors to even get a correct diagnosis (I was patronized by the old white male gyno that I first saw after my son's birth and told that things would "just heal on their own, I was probably imagining things". It took me six weeks to even get in to see him, and another 4 to get in with someone else - after I saw the next doctor, he immediately saw what was wrong and scheduled me with a surgeon. I hope that old man retired soon after I saw him and didn't go on misdiagnosing for years after that!).

My point is that I grew up thinking doctors knew it all; I learned the hard way that they don't. There are a lot of good ones and there are a lot of bad ones. I've had some very good ones but the bad ones have taught me not to trust, but to question. Despite how this may sound, I don't "hate" doctors at all, I'm not an extremist, but I have learned the importance of advocating for myself. I literally had no idea that I would ever need to do that! And I would also add that I think it's very important to have someone in your life that you can trust to help you make good medical decisions if you're extremely ill or otherwise incapable. My DH is lucky bc he has me to do it for him, lol!!

 

[cmd2014]

I think airing things out to the light of day is the only way doctors can learn from their (unintentional) mistakes and shouldn't that be the goal of all healthcare providers...to do no harm first and to do the best job they can for their patients?

Of course. But I doubt that your doctor or any of those discussed here are reading any of this. If the intent is to help people avoid making the same mistakes going forward, then the conversation would be best held with them. Wouldn't you want that if it were your patient? I know I would. Or if they are incompetent, unethical, or dangerous, then a board complaint would be appropriate (or a malpractice suit).

If the intent is to help people make better health care decisions, encourage second opinions when in doubt. Even if it's just for peace of mind. Trust is critical.

But I don't see how bashing any profession is helpful. Shall we start a "share your terrible lawyer" thread, or a "share your terrible therapist" thread, or maybe there's even a "share your horrible dentist" thread. I'm sure there are also horrible realtors, optometrists, podiatrists, engineers, contractors, teachers, veterinarians, daycare providers, hairdressers....the list could be endless.

Maybe it would be more helpful to talk about your current struggle and get support rather than to overgeneralize? Especially since it does sound like this is situation specific rather than general - as it seems that you've had positive experiences in the past. It also sounds like whatever it is, it's been really tough. I'm sorry to hear that you're going through something, and I hope it gets better soon.

But ymmv, so if you're happy with the direction of the thread and it's helping you cope right now, I can happily bow out. Theres lots of room for divergent thought here.

 

[Karl_K]

2 blood clots in my lung and the doc at the walk in clinic sends me home with panic attack pills.
Next day cant move leg, go in blood clot big one, check lungs 2 clots and visible damage where they had been one and lodged higher. The other doctor was doing rounds at the same time as my doc and I heard him yelling at him in the hall about it.

I have had rotten luck with pulmonologists including my current one. Had a good one that helped me a lot by putting me on a bipap at night but he left. I don't check all the check boxes for any one thing and they refuse to listen other than the one.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

I know there are good doctors and mediocre ones and awful ones. If something happens by an honest mistake it's still heartbreaking and sad, but humans make mistakes. Plumbers, electricians and doctors and all professions alike.

All of the most infuriating stories, though , have one point in common: They were totally avoidable. Mostly due to some sort of hubris going on.
Like when I told the old ENT doctor who we had to go to for dh's qemergency: Couldn't he be suffering a sudden hearing loss? With severe damage to his inner ear? And he just said: "Are you a doctor?No? So I'll just keep diagnosing stuff here and just hold his hand..it's something completely different. You won't understand the details."
RIGHT

A day later in the special ENT unit in our top notch hospital we were asked why we didn't come earlier, since for sudden hearing loss, timely therapy is crucial... hubby's ear is permanently damaged now.

Or for one of my deliveries, when the ob/gyn forgot I didn't have an epidural. Just wanted me to keep still and I told her: the baby is coming NOW.
She goes: No
I go : yes
She:no
I: I know. excatly .where it.is.
(Head comes out)
She: stop , I need to put on my gloves!
HONESTLY ?STOP? As if one could.

Absurd situation and abbreviated to get the fun side out, but there had been complications before and they were FIVE and just wouldn't listen to me. It was so frustrating. Because I knew what was happening and they just didn't want to listen to me.
So I think this thread should make any doctors aware that they need to listen to their patients. And if you don't know what to do? Get help from a specialist colleague. It's the right thing to do.

We as patients need to trust, be we also MUST be responsible for our own health. If you feel the doctor andis wrong/not up to it:
Get a second opinion.
If she/he wants to talk you into anything or you think they just "try " something on you for training: WALK OUT!
I have a 4 cm scar from a 0,5 cm mole a dermatologist took out when I was 19. She told me she wanted to practice her sewing when she had finished. At that age I didn't have enough confidence to walk out,when everything seemed fishy... lesson learned...

 

[missy]

cmd2014 I started this thread as a vent for me and for anyone else caring to participate and to make me feel a little bit better about being hurt by either a doctor who is uncaring or incompetent or both. It was a a thread to garner support and to show others if one has experienced harm at the hands of a doctor one is not alone.

It is called support and comfort and sharing info and experiences. That is what some of us do here at Pricescope. In fact I might go as far as to say that is one of the best things about PS. The bling and the caring support of Pricescopers.

No one is forcing you to participate. Perhaps you don't like the way this thread is going but you have the free will not to participate. Or participate. Happy to have you here chiming in with your thoughts either way. You certainly do not have to agree with this thread or the direction it is going in but last I checked I am not breaking any rules of PS or ethics in general.

Just wanted you to know the intent of this thread was not to upset you and is not in any way about you though I get the feeling you are taking this personally. So just in case I am right I will repeat it is not a thread directed against you or the medical profession in general (I have a whole family filled with members who are doctors) but just against some doctors who are bad doctors. Interpret bad any way you want.

If you took the time to read my first post in this thread you will see I praised the fact that there are good and great doctors too. I started this thread from 2 terrible experiences I have had and one that my friend has had that cost her life unfortunately.

So yes, the intent of this thread was not just to vent and share and comfort but also to inform because it illustrates how important it is to advocate for oneself and perhaps bring a loved one to help advocate and to realize doctors are human and not all mighty all knowledgeable and all powerful. They make mistakes. The good ones learn from them and the bad ones don't care and then there is a whole mess of doctors square in the middle of these 2 extremes.


And my doctor will certainly know (or most likely already knows now) how I feel as I reviewed him on a few different sites yesterday morning before I even posted this thread and I used the details necessary so he knows exactly who I am. I am not one to go quiet into that good night especially when the welfare of others might be at stake. I am funny that way. I always stand up for the person or animal who has no voice. That is something I am compelled to do. I would hope to prevent this experience from happening to any other patient and if my reviews helped save just even one person from the same egregious mistake then I am satisfied for having taken the trouble to write my review.

Kipari exactly. It's the mistakes that are totally avoidable that are the most upsetting.

Of course. But I doubt that your doctor or any of those discussed here are reading any of this. If the intent is to help people avoid making the same mistakes going forward, then the conversation would be best held with them. Wouldn't you want that if it were your patient? I know I would. Or if they are incompetent, unethical, or dangerous, then a board complaint would be appropriate (or a malpractice suit).

If the intent is to help people make better health care decisions, encourage second opinions when in doubt. Even if it's just for peace of mind. Trust is critical.

But I don't see how bashing any profession is helpful. Shall we start a "share your terrible lawyer" thread, or a "share your terrible therapist" thread, or maybe there's even a "share your horrible dentist" thread. I'm sure there are also horrible realtors, optometrists, podiatrists, engineers, contractors, teachers, veterinarians, daycare providers, hairdressers....the list could be endless.

Maybe it would be more helpful to talk about your current struggle and get support rather than to overgeneralize? Especially since it does sound like this is situation specific rather than general - as it seems that you've had positive experiences in the past. It also sounds like whatever it is, it's been really tough. I'm sorry to hear that you're going through something, and I hope it gets better soon.

But ymmv, so if you're happy with the direction of the thread and it's helping you cope right now, I can happily bow out. Theres lots of room for divergent thought here.

Glad to see you agree that I have every right to post my thread. Oh and please be my guest and go ahead and start your own thread sharing any of your specific personal experiences but please don't tell me what to do or what not to do and I will do the same for you. Not tell you how to post or be a net nanny.

If people sharing their experiences here can help anyone reading this thread (and remember there are many more people reading and lurking than posting) in any way-even if just to be more cautious or advocate for themselves or a loved one better than I see this thread as being positive. YMMV and guess what? I am OK with that.

 

[missy]

I am so sorry for those of you who suffered harm at the hands of the professionals who were meant to help you least of all harm you. That oath "Do No Harm" is what I specifically had in mind when I started this thread. Do NO harm. It is the very least you should be able to expect from a healthcare professional.

For those who have only had positive experiences with healthcare professionals I am happy and pleased for you and I hope you never experience what some of us are sharing in this thread. But please realize that just because you haven't experienced it doesn't mean it isn't a real problem that exists. And I hope you have empathy for those of us who have experienced this and don't judge us for wanting to vent about it and hopefully sharing some thoughts about it along the way.

This is not a non issue. This is a real problem. There are "good" doctors but certainly there are "bad" doctors too and that hurts everybody including the good doctors.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/03/health/medical-error-a-leading-cause-of-death/index.html

...

Through their analysis of four other studies examining death rate information, the doctors estimate there are at least 251,454 deaths due to medical errors annually in the United States. The authors believe the number is actually much higher, as home and nursing home deaths are not counted in that total.

Dr. Martin Makary and Dr. Michael Daniel, who did the study, hope their analysis will lead to real reform in a health care system they argue is letting patients down.

The problem is not unique to the United States. Earlier studies have shown undercounted medical errors are a problem in hospitals throughout the world.
"No matter the number, one incident is one too many,"

Doctors are human and they are going to make mistakes, but the system shouldn't continue to perpetuate them, Makary said.
...

https://www.usnews.com/news/article...rs-are-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-the-us

...
The magnitude of the death toll – roughly 10 percent of U.S. deaths annually – is striking coming, as it does, in an era dominated by efforts to reform the health system to ensure safe, high quality, high-value medical care. Patient safety efforts have failed to gain much traction, Makary says, because there's no systematic effort to study medical errors or to put effective safeguards in place.

...

As I wrote before not every disease or condition has a cure or even a good treatment. That is not what I am posting about. I am posting about those doctors who made errors that were preventable and in doing so caused harm to their patient. I am sure we can all agree that is something we don't want happening. Part of the problem (but not in my specific incidences) is that doctors are overworked and overwhelmed especially with the need to see more and more patients to continue making the same amount of money. That is a system that leads to medical errors no doubt.

I will share more later as I have run out of time.

 

[cmd2014]

Missy,

I'm sorry, I seem to have hit a nerve for you. I hope you find comfort however you can.