Ever get bad advice from a professional?

CSARdiver

I use the term "People with letters behind their name" until I see them perform.

I could write a book based on all the stupid I've seen MDs do.

Tyke2410

Health visitor told me my daughter just a bit clumsy, then the pediatrician said was perfectly normal, just a developing slower than her twin. One new pediatrician later, she has an Autistic spectrum disorder diagnosis and I'm very glad I didn't believe she was just slow and clumsy.

Also had a consultant rheumatologist prescribe some pretty powerful drugs to treat psoriatic arthritis that I didn't have. When I had an allergic reaction he told me my only other option was surgery. Turns out to be fibromyalgia and I can't imagine what kind of surgery he was contemplating.

Medical practitioners are definitely not infallible; I think that if you think they're wrong you must stick to your guns and don't let them patronise you into submission. On the other hand, All Hail the NHS, they do a grand job!

KiltFuPanda

This is why I've avoided doctors for so many years. I went for two physical checkups at different doctors, and each one of them brought out that damned weight/height chart. I have NEVER been on that chart (11.5 lbs at birth, and have been a bit of a giant ever since). I know I'm overweight (that's why I'm here), but it's just wrong to assume that there are no "outliers" and just because someone is 6'2" they MUST be under 190 lbs to be considered healthy.

The first doctor wasn't real nice about it and said "You've got to lose 150 lbs" on the first visit, without checking muscle tone or even asking if I was physically active. The next doctor just rubbed me the wrong way (you scheduled a minimum of six months in advance, and it was almost assembly line how they ran patients through there) - and again with the chart.

I decided to risk it again and get a checkup at a new doctor two months ago, and this one was more than willing to expand the horizons, so to speak. She gave me the contact information for someone to do a proper body fat assessment, and didn't even mention the chart once. She did mention BMI, but that was more for the sake that most insurance companies would look at it. She seemed more interested in how I *personally* was doing, rather than how well I fit into a specific mold.

I know... this isn't something like "misdiagnosed a kidney stone", but it's pretty important to me. Anyone who I'm going to trust with my health should at least be able to think "outside the box" - especially on something as simple as "How much should a person weigh?"

radicalfae

Lets see. I had 3 doctors tell me I didn't have diabetes based on a urine test by all three doctors. Moved and chose a 4th doctor who looked at my patient information sheet and said "Wow these are all symptoms of diabetes." I told him I'd my urine tested by 3 other doctors who told me I didn't have it and he turned bright red and said "What! That's stupid! That only finds the most severe diabetics! We got to get you a blood sugar tester and have you test for a week." They showed me how to use it. Guess what. I had diabetes type 2. Three friggin doctors in a row misdiagnosed one of the most common diseases in America.

Francl27

radicalfae wrote: »

Lets see. I had 3 doctors tell me I didn't have diabetes based on a urine test by all three doctors. Moved and chose a 4th doctor who looked at my patient information sheet and said "Wow these are all symptoms of diabetes." I told him I'd my urine tested by 3 other doctors who told me I didn't have it and he turned bright red and said "What! That's stupid! That only finds the most severe diabetics! We got to get you a blood sugar tester and have you test for a week." They showed me how to use it. Guess what. I had diabetes type 2. Three friggin doctors in a row misdiagnosed one of the most common diseases in America.

Yikes.

daniwilford

In 2008 I went to the ER on Labor Day (1st Monday in September) at least 1 of 3 strokes, identified the next day, was misdiagnosed as a panic attach. I love my personal physician but I had to kiss a lot frogs before I found my prince.

Pammalla

When I was pregnant I went to my dr because I was so sick I had not even been able to keep water down for 5 days and I was seeing stars whenever I sat up and he told me he was sure I was over reacting but would run some blood tests if it would make me feel better 10 hours later he was calling me franatally that he was sending an ambulance to get me because I was in sever liver failure

Athijade

Years ago I was diagnosed with overactive bladder and put on medication for it. For years I suffered with painful bladder symptoms, constant "UTIs", and the side effects of the meds. Finally got into a Urologist and I was diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis. Which meant in all those years, it was doing more and more damage to my bladder. Now I have had PT, am on the IC diet, and am on the right meds. No remission yet, but it's already SO much better then it was!

elphie754

Merkavar wrote: »

Protranser wrote: »

keyhole procedure? My head is trying to visualize what that means. It sounds frightening!

Keyhole as in a small tiny hole they stick things in instead of cutting a giant hole in you.

Say they need to check something in your heart, instead if cutting your chest, cracking ribs etc they can go in your leg/groin and up to the heart that way.

No expert

Negative. The procedure you are describing is called cardiac catheterization. They can go in from the groin or wrist. They usually give some pain medication and occasionally some medication to relax. This is used to check if there are any blockages to the arteries that supply the heart. It is actually pretty common. If they do find a blockage they usually put in stent so that the artery stays open. Sometimes cardiac cath is done on an emergency basis (you are actively having a heart attack) or doctor has reason to believe you have a blockage that can lead to a heart attack.

"Key hole" surgery is also know as laparoscopic surgery. This is done under general anesthesia. The most common are appendectomies. It used to be that they had to cut open the abdomen to perform an appendectomy, now they use small instruments that make small cuts (about an inch) and use cameras to see what they are doing.

Completely different procedures.

♥xenawarriorprincess♥

Protranser wrote: »

I'll share:

One year ago, my doctor was flabbergasted at how fat I got, and the weight reading on his scale. I was 100 lbs heavier than normal weight for my height and gender. He told me, almost verbatim, "Stop eating! Just stop. Go talk to Carol at reception, she used to be a nutritionist."

Carol is now a medical billing assistant? At least, I think that's what she does. She never seems to set up appointments and is always on the phone with various insurance companies whenever I'm in the waiting area. Her advice? "Don't add any oils to your foods when you eat. Don't use any dressings for salad unless they're fat free. Don't have any sweets."

LOL used to be a nutritionist! Seriously though..find another doctor. Be your own advocate, research. Eat whole foods as unprocessed as you can get. Yes I have gotten bad advise from a professional and as a result was diagnosed with cancer years after it probably started. Thankfully I am in remission and doing well. Don't just take a doctors word, do the research yourself..educate yourself.

elphie754

♥xenawarriorprincess♥ wrote: »

Protranser wrote: »

I'll share:

One year ago, my doctor was flabbergasted at how fat I got, and the weight reading on his scale. I was 100 lbs heavier than normal weight for my height and gender. He told me, almost verbatim, "Stop eating! Just stop. Go talk to Carol at reception, she used to be a nutritionist."

Carol is now a medical billing assistant? At least, I think that's what she does. She never seems to set up appointments and is always on the phone with various insurance companies whenever I'm in the waiting area. Her advice? "Don't add any oils to your foods when you eat. Don't use any dressings for salad unless they're fat free. Don't have any sweets."

LOL used to be a nutritionist! Seriously though..find another doctor. Be your own advocate, research. Eat whole foods as unprocessed as you can get. Yes I have gotten bad advise from a professional and as a result was diagnosed with cancer years after it probably started. Thankfully I am in remission and doing well. Don't just take a doctors word, do the research yourself..educate yourself.

You used to be a nutritionist and yet claim our bodies can't process artificial sweeteners?

LiveLoveLift48

Yes ...i was recently in the hospital due to issues i had with using a pre workout ( thought i was having a heart attack) . Luckily my heart is fine. The cardiologist told me " at your age you dont need to be lifting heavy weights and getting your heart rate up where you could put undue stress on your heart....just use the very low weights for high reps". Ok that is exactly what i will do for now on......NOT. Light weight , low reps has its time and purpose but that was just bad advice in my opinion. At my age my *kitten*!!!! Like im old.....so i did stop taking any kind of pre workout on his advice ( good advice) and i find that i lift just as well without it and have broken some PRs since getting off of it.

kiela64

Wow, I haven't had anything like this happen. The only thing my doctor ever did was try to treat me for PCOS before running the test. I didn't have it, I'm just exceptionally hairy for a girl I guess. But it was the same treatment for painful periods, so there wasn't any harm done.

The only thing I am miffed about is that she didn't tell me I was obese. She never brought it up. I actually had no idea until I looked up the chart this year, and found out I've actually been obese for a number of years while thinking I was simply overweight and it was no big deal other than aesthetics. She never said I should lose weight or anything. The only reason I can guess is that she's not skinny, and I'm pretty short.

arussell134

For a short bit prior to my MFP days, I saw a nutritionist. She put me on a GF diet (I'm not celiac BTW) and recommended a bunch of supplements. Makes me mad now b/c I'd specifically told her I didn't want to see her if that's what she was the path she was going to head down!

The last time I saw her she mentioned she sometimes recommends cleanses for her clients. That should have been the clincher.

Oddly enough, she stopped working, and I lost contact with her. Funny, I ended up losing ALL the weight and then some doing my own thing here. HA!

smantha32

I developed ulcers in the upper section of my esophagus. I went and saw a gastroenterologist, and he kept putting me on antibiotics for things I knew I didn't have. Ulcers and acid reflux. Never had em. Viral infections like herpes.. never had em.
He never did heal the problem and he cost me a lot of money.
I ended up figuring it out myself. I was having an allergic reaction to something used in Keurig K cups. I was drinking a lot of them at work. I narrowed it down through elimination.
He never even considered sensitivities or allergies.

CSARdiver

Yesterday on 3rd watch we brought in an emergency patient with an appendix ready to burst...and it did just as the cutters opened him up. Luckily they caught this just in time and avoided a certain case of sepsis.

On call ER resident made the comment "Good thing it burst, that was close"

WTF? Remember kiddos when you consider the value of grading on a curve and the extremely low attrition rate in medical schools.

Abby2205

WickedPineapple wrote: »

Mr. Pineapple, however, had a pretty recent experience with this. The doctor told him he didn't have RLS because he's too young to get it (??) at 34 and proceeded to make him undergo an unnecessary and painful procedure (it had something to do with shocking I think).

Was it a nerve conduction study? The technician sticks electrodes on you and gives you progressively more severe shocks? (What a job!). If so, it wasn't bad advice, the doctor was ruling out a more serious nerve problem. I have idiopathic peripheral neuropathy in my feet and legs which is also very annoying at night, and I went through several tests to rule out diabetes and degenerative nerve conditions, which without treatment could progressively get worse. They were all negative so I'm left with "annoying", but it wasn't bad advice to test to ensure it wasn't more serious than that.

WickedPineapple

Abby2205 wrote: »

WickedPineapple wrote: »

Mr. Pineapple, however, had a pretty recent experience with this. The doctor told him he didn't have RLS because he's too young to get it (??) at 34 and proceeded to make him undergo an unnecessary and painful procedure (it had something to do with shocking I think).

Was it a nerve conduction study? The technician sticks electrodes on you and gives you progressively more severe shocks? (What a job!). If so, it wasn't bad advice, the doctor was ruling out a more serious nerve problem. I have idiopathic peripheral neuropathy in my feet and legs which is also very annoying at night, and I went through several tests to rule out diabetes and degenerative nerve conditions, which without treatment could progressively get worse. They were all negative so I'm left with "annoying", but it wasn't bad advice to test to ensure it wasn't more serious than that.

I can totally get on board with that. However, he had any no other symptoms at all, just the restless legs (and only at night laying down).