Worst advice given to you by a "professional"
Replies
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Gotta face it. We all make mistakes. In order to avoid the really big ones... sometimes fatal... question the things that seem wrong and double check the critical things, even if the first answer sounds good to you.
Many other professions have people who say things just as misleading as doctors, trainers, etc.
Several lawn care "professionals" have assured me that their treatment included "no chemicals" and was "safe" -- but they had no clue what was in it. One told me it was "60%" filler, but had no idea what was in the filler... but it was "safe". Another specialist told me that without expensive treatments two trees in my yard would die in about a year... two years later after I didn't do the treatments and quit using that company, the trees are in much better.
A lot of financial advisors told people not to buy Apple stock when it was $30 a share, about 5 years later it was over $600 a share. (Several of the "big" finance companies had it rated as "don't buy".) Other financial advisors, paid a lot of money, advised people to buy weird financial "instruments" recently.
One furnace inspector gave me the opposite advice than someone else from the same company. The head of maintenance in some apartments said a drip wasn't anything to worry about, about a month later my friend's picture and part of the wall came down because the wall behind was soggy and moldy.
A writer tried to see what would happen if he submitted a copy of a few chapters from Pride and Prejudice to 18 publishers. Only one recognized the resemblance and told him, "told him not to mimic ' Pride and Prejudice ' so closely". The other 17 rejected the classic, which has inspired over 40 authors to write sequels and parodies, and numerous movies.
Hair care professional who said that cutting my hair shorter would make it look longer.
A tax professional who filled in forms that had a client living full time in multiple states (and so paying full state taxes) at the same time.
"Demand clarity.
If someone tells you, “You wouldn’t understand,” tell them,
“Oh, yes I would, if you would speak plainly.”
- I like the advice for dealing with professionals that came with this at http://engineeringthinking.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/advice-from-professionals-who-do-you-trust-part-2/0 -
I had a cardiac work-up in the late 1990's due to chest pain (I was in my mid 30's at that time). My EKG had shown some significant changes so they had me do a cardiac stress test and a cardiolite test.
I was told to wait until the doctor was able to review the results of the testing before leaving the hospital. Well, unfortunately the dr they had assigned me to spoke VERY fractured English and after the technician spoke with him via phone, she turned to me and said "well, he either said he wants you on medication or he's going on vacation, I don't know". ?? WHAT ?? I never did find out anything for the next full WEEK and I finally had to make an appointment myself with a new cardiologist to get the real results.
I am fine now by the way . . no more cardiac issues and my blood pressure is better than it ever has been since losing 50 + pounds.0 -
Not weight loss related, but when I had raging bad TMJD and couldn't open my mouth more than 9mm without intense pain and my jaw making all kinds of horrible cracking noises, a tmj specialist oral surgeon told me, "That's just the way god made you."
Dude... I'm an atheist. In my mind, god didn't make me. And I wasn't "made" this way two years ago, so fix my damn jaw already!
My regular dentist got me all straightened out. And now I can open my mouth like a frickin' Pez dispenser. :happy:
I'd be walking out of that office and not paying the bill. I don't go to the doctor for a sermon. Dang.
How dare someone speak a common, innocuous phrase mentioning God in the presence of an ATHIEST. Grow up. You SHOULD be pissed that he was gonna let you stay that way, not offended at his choice of phrase.0 -
128 lbs ago when my Dr told me to get gastric bypass. When I asked her if I should try it the traditional way first (cause truth be told I hadn't) she said "girls like you don't lose weight without surgery" guess I proves that theory wrong!
Congratulations!0 -
LMAO!0
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I was told by an internist that I needed to stop eating all carbs and i'll lose weight. When I told her there was carbs in veggies and fruits she studdered a bit and said, " well those carbs are good" . *facepalm*
LOL at the internist0 -
I went to the ER the day before my bachelorette party in intense pain. I was practically writhing. I knew I had a family history of kidney stones, and due to the intense localized pain, I figured that's what it was. Upon arrival the nurse informed me that I couldn't have any pain medication until I took a pregnancy test. I was NOT pregnant, I was on birth control. Yet they demanded I take a test. I couldn't pee, so instead of letting me drink water because I was VERY thirsty, the gave me an IV. I was finally able to pee and obviously the test came back negative. So finally after nearly 4 hours of excrutiating pain, They gave me morphine. At some point before the morphine my "Doctor" came in and said that I wasn't writhing and flailing enough for it to be a kidney stone and it was probably an infection. One CT scan later, it happened to be TWO kidney stones and I am just very tough.
Still owe nearly $7,000 for that.
I also had a 400 pound doctor (who couldn't be bothered to rise off of her wheeled stool to examine me, literally wheeled all over the room!) tell me that I needed to lose weight when I was 16! The hypocrisy!0 -
Dr told me to go on the HCG diet. Eat 500 cal... I tried to tell him i was running 3 miles daily and that would not sustain me. We had a huge argument me in favor of lifestyle change and personal accountability. HIm on pushing his products. Needless to say I found myself a new Dr. he was my GYN! LOL!0
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Not weight loss related, but when I had raging bad TMJD and couldn't open my mouth more than 9mm without intense pain and my jaw making all kinds of horrible cracking noises, a tmj specialist oral surgeon told me, "That's just the way god made you."
Dude... I'm an atheist. In my mind, god didn't make me. And I wasn't "made" this way two years ago, so fix my damn jaw already!
My regular dentist got me all straightened out. And now I can open my mouth like a frickin' Pez dispenser. :happy:
I'd be walking out of that office and not paying the bill. I don't go to the doctor for a sermon. Dang.
How dare someone speak a common, innocuous phrase mentioning God in the presence of an ATHIEST. Grow up. You SHOULD be pissed that he was gonna let you stay that way, not offended at his choice of phrase.
I'm not an Atheist (I was raised Roman Catholic) but I get really pissed off whenever I hear God's name especially in non-religious activity such as this :grumble:0 -
Not weight loss related, but when I had raging bad TMJD and couldn't open my mouth more than 9mm without intense pain and my jaw making all kinds of horrible cracking noises, a tmj specialist oral surgeon told me, "That's just the way god made you."
Dude... I'm an atheist. In my mind, god didn't make me. And I wasn't "made" this way two years ago, so fix my damn jaw already!
My regular dentist got me all straightened out. And now I can open my mouth like a frickin' Pez dispenser. :happy:
I'd be walking out of that office and not paying the bill. I don't go to the doctor for a sermon. Dang.
How dare someone speak a common, innocuous phrase mentioning God in the presence of an ATHIEST. Grow up. You SHOULD be pissed that he was gonna let you stay that way, not offended at his choice of phrase.
I wouldn't be pissed at his choice of phrase, but the fact that a medical professional would say that "that's all there is to it because that's how god made you" is NOT an acceptable diagnosis. I wouldn't pay for that service because that is NOT a medical diagnosis or treatment.0 -
Not weight loss related, but when I had raging bad TMJD and couldn't open my mouth more than 9mm without intense pain and my jaw making all kinds of horrible cracking noises, a tmj specialist oral surgeon told me, "That's just the way god made you."
Dude... I'm an atheist. In my mind, god didn't make me. And I wasn't "made" this way two years ago, so fix my damn jaw already!
My regular dentist got me all straightened out. And now I can open my mouth like a frickin' Pez dispenser. :happy:
I'd be walking out of that office and not paying the bill. I don't go to the doctor for a sermon. Dang.
How dare someone speak a common, innocuous phrase mentioning God in the presence of an ATHIEST. Grow up. You SHOULD be pissed that he was gonna let you stay that way, not offended at his choice of phrase.
I'm not an Atheist (I was raised Roman Catholic) but I get really pissed off whenever I hear God's name especially in non-religious activity such as this :grumble:
Agreed. Others might want god in their doctor's appointments, but I would prefer solid science and for the doctor to be doing what I am paying the doctor to do. If I wanted an opinion about how god made me, I'd go to a preacher. Grow up? I did grow up, I started questioning mainstream religion and decided that it has no place in medicine, politics, schools or any other place that is NOT A CHURCH. But pardon me if you interpret that as immaturity. Would you feel the same if a Muslim person who went to a non-Muslim doctor was upset because the doctor said hey, don't worry, this is how god wanted you to be! Give me a break.0 -
My mother-in-law (who doesn't like me much) told me to eat nothing but pork rinds and water. That's right, pork rinds and water :grumble: and the reason was that if you mixed the two somehow it would keep you full all day. That when you put the two together the water makes the pork rinds expand and !TADA! you are full. I told her I would. :noway: I think my way has been much better. :drinker:0
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The 2000 calorie a day myth , told to me by more trainers than I care to recall... if you are a female, at or under 5 foot, trying to lose weight, and you don't hit the gym like an animal, you probably should not be eating this many calories.0
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When I was 14 and being diagnosed with PCOS, insulin resistance and a metabolism problem, the endocrynologist told me that I wouldn't be able to lose any weight unless I did 2 hours of intense cardio every day and seriously restrict my diet. That discouraged me for a really long time! Now I'm on medication to regulate my insulin and working out and losing weight like a normal person. Same lady also told me it would be unlikely for me to have kids. Got two of them now (thanks to said insulin-medicine which also increases fertility lol)0
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At 18 I was diagnosed with hashi,motos hypothyroid, along with goiters in my neck. My doc told me I could deal with them for up to 20 years and be ok, or until I couldn't button the top button on my dress shirts. Um what 18 year old wears shirts that high, and two, I wasn't going to be miserable for that long. So I had my thyroid removed. Good thing I insisted on it, because it was 4x it's normal size and cancerous.
I felt so much better when the doc told me I was right for trusting my instincts!0 -
Maybe not "advice" per say, but when I was in college I sprained my ankle playing flag football. Went to the emergency room (only place open at the time) and once the doctor is done checking my injury this is the conversation we had:
Doc: "It's not broken, just really badly sprained. Rest, ice, elevate, and don't put any weight on it for 2 weeks. You need crutches."
Me (I'm sitting in a hospital wheel chair): "OK, can I get some here?"
Doc: "Sure, just go straight down those stairs and you'll see where."
REALLY?! And am I supposed to fly down those stairs?0 -
I am 6' tall.
My doctor told me to
1) eat 1200 cals a day or less to lose weight
2) do ONLY cardio like running or biking (despite her giving me a series of knee injections for horrible chondromalacia)
3) to not strength train anymore
4) to take phentermine
5) to take an antidepressant that is the #1 CONTRAINDICATED antidepressant for bipolar disorder, which I have (her response: "well, I guess that's why I'm not a psychiatrist!")
She got fired.
By you or the practice?!0 -
I am 6' tall.
My doctor told me to
1) eat 1200 cals a day or less to lose weight
2) do ONLY cardio like running or biking (despite her giving me a series of knee injections for horrible chondromalacia)
3) to not strength train anymore
4) to take phentermine
5) to take an antidepressant that is the #1 CONTRAINDICATED antidepressant for bipolar disorder, which I have (her response: "well, I guess that's why I'm not a psychiatrist!")
She got fired.
By you or the practice?!
Ha. By me. She still has a practice right down the street.0 -
I went to the ER the day before my bachelorette party in intense pain. I was practically writhing. I knew I had a family history of kidney stones, and due to the intense localized pain, I figured that's what it was. Upon arrival the nurse informed me that I couldn't have any pain medication until I took a pregnancy test. I was NOT pregnant, I was on birth control. Yet they demanded I take a test. I couldn't pee, so instead of letting me drink water because I was VERY thirsty, the gave me an IV. I was finally able to pee and obviously the test came back negative. So finally after nearly 4 hours of excrutiating pain, They gave me morphine. At some point before the morphine my "Doctor" came in and said that I wasn't writhing and flailing enough for it to be a kidney stone and it was probably an infection. One CT scan later, it happened to be TWO kidney stones and I am just very tough. Still owe nearly $7,000 for that.
I also had a 400 pound doctor (who couldn't be bothered to rise off of her wheeled stool to examine me, literally wheeled all over the room!) tell me that I needed to lose weight when I was 16! The hypocrisy!
ER's always do pregnancy tests. Even if a woman is on birth control she can still be pregnant. It's better to be safe than sorry, since many medications can cause serious complications for pregnancies, birth defects, etc.0 -
From my old OB/GYN: get pregnant and nurse the child if you want to lose weight.
O_O0 -
I went to the ER the day before my bachelorette party in intense pain. I was practically writhing. I knew I had a family history of kidney stones, and due to the intense localized pain, I figured that's what it was. Upon arrival the nurse informed me that I couldn't have any pain medication until I took a pregnancy test. I was NOT pregnant, I was on birth control. Yet they demanded I take a test. I couldn't pee, so instead of letting me drink water because I was VERY thirsty, the gave me an IV. I was finally able to pee and obviously the test came back negative. So finally after nearly 4 hours of excrutiating pain, They gave me morphine. At some point before the morphine my "Doctor" came in and said that I wasn't writhing and flailing enough for it to be a kidney stone and it was probably an infection. One CT scan later, it happened to be TWO kidney stones and I am just very tough. Still owe nearly $7,000 for that.
I also had a 400 pound doctor (who couldn't be bothered to rise off of her wheeled stool to examine me, literally wheeled all over the room!) tell me that I needed to lose weight when I was 16! The hypocrisy!
ER's always do pregnancy tests. Even if a woman is on birth control she can still be pregnant. It's better to be safe than sorry, since many medications can cause serious complications for pregnancies, birth defects, etc.
This is very true - it's a precaution. I had my gall bladder out when my oldest was like a month old...and yes, I had a pg test. I had CT scan when #2 was about a week old - and yes, I had a pg test (which, of course, was positive...)0 -
Oh - and my current ob/gyn practice is driving me crazy. I have been having a lot of issues ...and the only thing they ever say is "Mirena". Really? that's the magic cure all?
I had to have an endometrial ablation last month and woke up in the middle of the night in extreme agony. I took a pain pill (prescription) and went back to bed. Called them in the morning - I had a uterine infection last summer after having my 3rd son and the symptoms were similar, so wanted to check ...and they told me it was just gas and then made it seem like I was a pill popper. Never mind the fact that the pill was the last one in the prescription that I got LAST AUGUST (during said uterine infection). Yep, thats a sure sign of addiction when your 10 pills last 8 months.
I was rather offended by their blowing off my concerns about infection (we used a sterile procedure) - umm, okay, I'm pretty sure the hospital did to last summer but I still had an infection then. Now that I think about it - I had called them last summer about 4 days after delivery due to the pain - and was blown off then - despite the fact that this was my THIRD kid - so I knew what to expect. Ended up in the ER the next day with the infection.
I think I have just talked myself into finding a new OB/GYN.0 -
My mom had gained about 30 pounds in a week and a half. Her doctor told her to stop snacking so much.
A few months later she went to the ER with respiratory problems. They said her fat was crushing her windpipe and gave her a tracheotomy.
One month later she died of a heart attack.
Thats awful! :frown:0 -
Not weight loss advice, but I came to a doctor for missed periods and they dismissed me and told me it's because I'm fat.
Went to another doctor and she actually listened, and diagnosed me with PCOS, which can actually make you gain weight to begin with. She also never belittled me or dismissed my symptoms just because I'm fat, and she's now my full time doctor.
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I think I have just talked myself into finding a new OB/GYN.
Now that sounds like good (self-)advice! Good luck!0 -
I recently got full lab work done and received a letter stating everything was "normal". When I called to get copies of the test results for my home records, I found out they hadn't even ordered half of the tests! Took days for me to get an explanation and even then it was just a "woops, our bad"
Always ask for your test results.0 -
i feel awkward sharing this but after reading most of your stories i feel like this fits..
not advice but comment made to me by an aide..
i was burned in a fire many years ago and after six and a half months in hospitals, i was finally able to go home. i needed a nurse and a home health care aide to help out with wound care and showers etc..this one older woman, the health care aide, says to me, as she's taking off my bandages..[my hands were burned and parts of my fingers are missing]..she says to me..
"they will grow back though, right?"
what. i couldn't even..11 years later and i am still speechless..
[it does make me laugh sometimes though.]0 -
Tis didn't happen to me, but to two people I love:
My Aunt went to the doc for lumps in her side. He told her they were "fat" lumps and not to worry. She died of the cancer a few months later.
When we were 19, one of my best friends had a mole removed from her leg. It was tested and found to be benign. A few years later, she developed weird skin problems (after getting married and having two young children.) The medical "professionals" went and retested the mole (by law they had to keep a sample of it.) Turns out, the mole from six years previous was cancerous and wasn't tested in the proper part of the mole, so a false result came out. She died at 26 after enduring cancer treatments from hell. Her children were 2 and 5. I was a bridesmaid at her wedding and 2 years later, pallbearer at her funeral.
Both cancers were treatable and preventable.0 -
Tis didn't happen to me, but to two people I love:
My Aunt went to the doc for lumps in her side. He told her they were "fat" lumps and not to worry. She died of the cancer a few months later.
When we were 19, one of my best friends had a mole removed from her leg. It was tested and found to be benign. A few years later, she developed weird skin problems (after getting married and having two young children.) The medical "professionals" went and retested the mole (by law they had to keep a sample of it.) Turns out, the mole from six years previous was cancerous and wasn't tested in the proper part of the mole, so a false result came out. She died at 26 after enduring cancer treatments from hell. Her children were 2 and 5. I was a bridesmaid at her wedding and 2 years later, pallbearer at her funeral.
Both cancers were treatable and preventable.
That's too bad. I'm so sorry for both of them0 -
I went to the ER the day before my bachelorette party in intense pain. I was practically writhing. I knew I had a family history of kidney stones, and due to the intense localized pain, I figured that's what it was. Upon arrival the nurse informed me that I couldn't have any pain medication until I took a pregnancy test. I was NOT pregnant, I was on birth control. Yet they demanded I take a test. I couldn't pee, so instead of letting me drink water because I was VERY thirsty, the gave me an IV. I was finally able to pee and obviously the test came back negative. So finally after nearly 4 hours of excrutiating pain, They gave me morphine. At some point before the morphine my "Doctor" came in and said that I wasn't writhing and flailing enough for it to be a kidney stone and it was probably an infection. One CT scan later, it happened to be TWO kidney stones and I am just very tough. Still owe nearly $7,000 for that.
I also had a 400 pound doctor (who couldn't be bothered to rise off of her wheeled stool to examine me, literally wheeled all over the room!) tell me that I needed to lose weight when I was 16! The hypocrisy!
ER's always do pregnancy tests. Even if a woman is on birth control she can still be pregnant. It's better to be safe than sorry, since many medications can cause serious complications for pregnancies, birth defects, etc.
This is very true - it's a precaution. I had my gall bladder out when my oldest was like a month old...and yes, I had a pg test. I had CT scan when #2 was about a week old - and yes, I had a pg test (which, of course, was positive...)
I was positive I wasn't pregnant because I was on my period. Also, now that I am off of birth control I have infertility issues. So there was no chance.0
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